Plan to cut off the nine states

Tie Yuan is easy-going by nature, and he and Gan Zhao are both monarchs and ministers, and have been friends for many years. When they were young, they were officials in the same government office. Friend, when will I release him?

The effect of this move was unexpectedly good, maybe too good. After that, the two became sworn friends. Instead of fighting, they supported each other and even protected each other. The boss was even more troubled. When he left office, he said: "I don't know." Did I help you or did I harm you? I hope you two can take care of yourself. You would rather be friends with gentlemen than villains. "

The two agreed well, and remained the same afterwards. They gathered some followers and became powerful officials in the county. When the World Army rose, Gan Zhao was unfortunately captured. Tie Yuan went to the enemy camp alone, and Yuan used himself to replace his friends.

Someone reported this to the King of the World, and Xue Liujia was deeply moved, so he kept both of them, promised them high positions, and took their families so that they could not escape.

Now that he was willing to be called the king of Shu, Tie Yuan was also entrusted with the important task of becoming a general. He led his army all the way north and was about to enter the territory of Qinzhou.

"It's not a return home in glory, but it's not a shame to be able to bring these soldiers back." Tie Yuan smiled at Xu Chu.

When he heard that Xu Chu had arrived, Tie Yuan came out of the camp to greet him with a very respectful salute. He took him to inspect the military camp. After entering the military tent, a banquet had been prepared. It was sumptuous and exquisite. There were more than ten people accompanying the banquet, most of whom were old friends from Dongdu. , had a very good impression of Xu Chu, and toasted him in turn.

At Xu Chu's insistence, they gave up the title of "King of Wu" and changed their name to "Mr. Xu".

Since leaving Yecheng - including in Yecheng - Xu Chu has received no more courtesy than this.

Tang Weitian was particularly excited. He jumped up and down like a monkey. After drinking too much, he insisted on dancing with a knife in public. "Mr. Xu has seen my long hair, but he still hasn't demonstrated his knife skills."

What Tang Weitian demonstrated was military swordsmanship. There were no tricks. The back and forth was just horizontal blocks and vertical cuts, with his feet advancing or retreating.

Fortunately, the audience were all veterans who had been on the battlefield, so they could see the beauty and applauded repeatedly.

Tie Yuan came over and whispered to Xu Chu: "This boy is born with supernatural power. Except for bows and crossbows, any weapon in his hands can work wonders. But he has no patience. His master said that his moves were inaccurate, so he beat him up." After a while, no one dared to say anything wrong, only praise."

Xu Chu smiled and nodded, and then joined the crowd in applauding.

There was still a march the next day, and the banquet did not last too late. Everyone left one after another. Tang Weitian drank the most, and the knife dance did not consume too much drunkenness, so he was carried out of the tent by the guards.

Tie Yuan sighed: "It must be God who helps me to see Mr. Xu here."

"The same goes for me, but General Iron may be disappointed." Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Why, Mr. Xu doesn't want to stay in our army? That's okay. I'll send someone to take you to Yizhou to ensure that you have a safe journey. The King of Shu will be happier than me when he sees Mr. Xu."

"The King of Shu will have to pay his respects sooner or later. There is no rush. In fact, I want to persuade General Tie to lead his troops to retreat to Hanzhou."

Tie Yuan was obviously stunned, "Why is this? Mr. Xu thinks our army is too weak?"

"The He Rong people have occupied many counties in Qinzhou. General Tie will inevitably encounter them. Will they fight or avoid them?"

"It turns out that Mr. Xu is worried about this matter." Tie Yuan smiled, "The King of Shu has made arrangements for this. The King of Shu said that the He Rong people are sharp and sharp. After capturing Xijing, they will not gradually take over the whole Qin Dynasty. We want to take advantage of the victory and move south to point our troops at Hanzhou."

"What the King of Shu said is absolutely true. I have been with Shanyu for a while, and he has decided to enter Hanzhou before winter. He should have sent troops by this time."

"The King of Shu also said that the two states of Han and Yi are closely related to each other. If the He Rong people take Hanzhou, they will most likely attack Yizhou first, then advance by land and water, and roll eastwards towards Jingzhou."

"Although Shan Yu didn't say it explicitly, it must be so. Han and Yi states are said to have a lot of grain, so they can use it as a backing to advance eastward without any worries."

Tie Yuan smiled and said: "It's a bit exaggerated to say there is more food, but at least the soldiers will not be hungry. The King of Shu was worried about this, so he sent me to lead his troops into Hanzhou. The King of Shu said that if we can capture the whole Han Dynasty in one fell swoop, we will win. It was the best choice to destroy the plank road and lock the border city, so that He Rong's cavalry could not go south. However, the situation in Hanzhou had changed, and the officers and soldiers were getting stronger. I could neither persuade them to surrender nor eliminate them in one fell swoop. Instead, I congratulated them. Honorable people can take advantage of this opportunity.”

"That's right." Xu Chu nodded.

"The King of Shu also gave me a best strategy. He said that if we can't capture the whole Han Dynasty, we should go directly north to Qinzhou. We must mobilize the main force of the He Rong people and then retreat to Sanguan."

"Sancuan City is defeated, it is easy to attack but difficult to defend."

"Then we must advance to Qinzhou, forcing the He Rong people to turn to Sanguan and have no time to go south, and then retreat step by step, destroying the plank road, making it difficult for the He Rong people to move forward."

"What happens after this? This plan can only keep Hanzhou safe for one winter."

Tie Yuan smiled and said nothing, but Xu Chu had guessed what he was thinking: "General Tie Yuan wants to defeat the officers and soldiers in one winter and seize the entire Hanzhou?"

"I hope to defeat the officers and soldiers within a month or two. Once the harsh winter comes, it will be difficult for the infantry to fight."

Xu Chu pondered.

"What do Mr. Xu think of this plan?"

"Did the King of Shu submit a letter of surrender to Shan Yu?"

"Hand it over. At this time, whoever doesn't hand it over is a fool. You will do whatever you have to do after handing it over. Besides, King Shu's share does not count as a letter of surrender. We are now using Tiancheng's banner. Since Emperor Tiancheng has surrendered to Shan Yu, The King of Shu is just following."

Xu Chu smiled, not saying that there really was such a fool, "But the King of Shu didn't go to see Shan Yu?"

"Of course I didn't go. I sent someone to deliver a message and pretended to be seriously ill. All the leaders of Hanzhou went. Because of this, I was sure to defeat the officers and soldiers within a month or two."

"Chang Shilouyin also went to see the Shanyu?"

"Lou Yu is Xi Mu Shou's deputy. He is not a leader, so there is no need to go. Is this building director Shi really Mr. Xu's...brother?"

Xu Chu nodded.

"Haha, this building manager Shi is easy to talk to. The King of Shu sent people to negotiate peace, and he got the help of building manager Shi." Tie Yuan suddenly smiled strangely, "Master Xu is not interceding for building manager Shi, right?"

"What do you want me to ask for?"

"If I want to capture Quanhan, I have to fight with the building commander Shi. Although he has helped before, military affairs are more important. If Mr. Xu can persuade the building commander Shi to surrender, he can avoid a military disaster. As long as Mr. Shi is willing to go to Yizhou, his official position will be much higher than that of Mr. Yizhou. "

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Actually, I haven't met this building manager Shi very often. I don't even know what he looks like."

"Aren't you brothers?"

"The general has too many descendants. Lou Yu left home early, and he won't be able to meet all his brothers when he returns to the capital, so..."

"Understood, but brothers are always brothers, at least they can talk to each other."

"I can go and persuade the building commander Shi, not to persuade him to surrender, but to persuade him to defend Hanzhou with General Tie Da."

Tie Yuan was stunned again, "There's no need for this. The King of Shu and the Hanzhou Army have already reached an agreement."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "General Tie intends to counterattack, but he never thought that the Hanzhou Army also had this intention?"

"If the Hanzhou Army wants to repel the Yizhou Army, the best time is when I first enter Hanzhou. Now, it is a bit late. Of course, we must be on guard against others. I made some preparations and sent troops to block the main road. "As soon as there is any change in the Hanzhou Army, I will immediately lead my troops back. The only loss is that I may not be able to attract He Rong's main force."

"He Rong's main force is not far from Sanguan."

Tie Yuan was stunned again, and his face changed slightly, "It's impossible, I've obviously got news that He Rong's army is all gathered in the east, and they are going to enter the Han Dynasty through Ziwu Road."

"The people assembled on Ziwu Road are the Central Plains troops, whose mission is to attack the city and move slowly. However, He Rong's main force is cavalry. Once the order is issued, they can arrive and disperse in a few days."

Tie Yuan's expression changed again, "Where did Mr. Xu get the news?"

"I heard from the captured defenders in Sang City that the general had secretly communicated with the He Rong people. After encountering the enemy, he abandoned the city but left the soldiers behind. It was obviously to lure the World Army to stay nearby, so I guess He Rong’s cavalry will definitely turn around.”

Tie Yuan thought for a while and said with a smile: "It turns out that Mr. Xu just made a guess... Of course, Mr. Xu's guesses are always accurate, but it doesn't matter. He Rong's cavalry came just in time, which saved me a lot of trouble. I'll be there in the afternoon Guan defended for several days, and then retreated while destroying the plank road, making He Rong's cavalry unable to advance or retreat. "

Tie Yuan acted according to the order and wanted to persuade him to return to Hanzhou now. It was absolutely impossible. Xu Chu said: "It is better to do this. There are a thousand people in front of us. They should reach Sanguan by now. Let them defend for a few days. General Tie will turn around. Return to Hanzhou to prepare for war without delay."

Tie Yuan respected Xu Chu, so he did not refuse immediately. Instead, he thought seriously for a while and said with a smile: "No, if He Rong's cavalry does not come to disperse the customs, there is no way to attract them with just a thousand people." Shan Yu’s attention. I understand Mr. Xu’s kindness, but now that the battle is underway, I can’t change my plan based on just a few guesses.”

"I know Chanyu. With his usual style, if he wants to take the Ziwu Road with great fanfare, he will definitely set up a surprise army. This has been the case before: superficially befriending the Shen family of Bingzhou, secretly allying with the Tiancheng court; claiming to go south, suddenly marching westward ”

Tie Yuan scratched his head, "It's not that I don't believe Mr. Xu, but... I suggest that Mr. Xu go to Yizhou and meet the King of Shu..."

"Once you go there and back, even if you ride a thousand-mile horse, you won't be able to make it in time."

"The matters in Hanzhou... Mr. Xu don't have to worry about it. Even if He Rongren has captured Sanguan, I can still deal with it. In fact, I have other reasons for asking Mr. Xu to see the King of Shu."

"Why, General Tie has something to do. Do you need me to persuade the King of Shu to agree?" Xu Chu said with a smile.

"Haha, I talk to the King of Shu about everything. I don't have to work with Mr. Xu to pass the message. I'm just a little worried."

"What are you worried about?"

"King Shu..." Tie Yuan stopped talking.

"General Tie knows who I am, and what I said in the account today will never come out of your mouth or into my ears, and no third party will know about it."

"It's because I believe in Mr. Xu that I said, 'God helps me.' The King of Shu is now surrounded by sycophants and can't even listen to my words. It has to be Mr. Xu to make the King of Shu wake up."

Xu Chu was also stunned, "General Tie went north not just to seize Hanzhou, but because he was deceived by a villain?"

Tie Yuan sighed, his expression gloomy.