Plan to cut off the nine states

When Xi Yun learned that Yang Qinzhai had turned against him, he was furious and issued an order to send troops to attack the city, but he calmed down soon, revoked the order, and sent an envoy to explain the misunderstanding.

The second son Xi Ren was slow to realize it and ran to the tent to question his father: "Yang Moyu openly betrayed, why did you show weakness? The small city of Yiling was originally the city of the Xi family. We were unable to spare our hands for a while, so we fell into the hands of the pirates..."

"This is all your fault." Xi Yun said.

"Father, I didn't do anything." Xi Ren was confused. "I just led the troops on the road, and was rejected outside the city. I didn't even see Yang Moyu, and he was shooting arrows on the city."

"You think he is a pirate, how can he treat you with courtesy?"

"But he is a pirate. Father once offered a reward for his head a few years ago. And I am not a fool. I have always been polite in front of him and never said anything nonsense. But he, when he met with father in Jiangling, acted as if he was an important person." Xi Ren became more and more indignant, gritting his teeth and waving his arms.

Xi Yun shook his head helplessly, "It's all my fault."

"Father is not wrong either. It's all Yang Moyu's fault. He detained Xi Yuanyi and Xu Chu and refused to lend me the road to cross the river. He was so bold and reckless. He must have found a new backer." Xi Ren didn't know at this time that the reason for the matter was Xu Chu's words.

Xi Yun's face changed slightly, "If Yang Qinzai finds a new backer, will you be happy?"

"Father said all kinds of weird things today. Yang Moyu is looking for a new backer. What should I be happy about? I'm just not afraid of him."

Xi Yun shook his head, "There must be something fishy about this matter. Yang Qinzai went to Jiangling City to negotiate peace in person and would never regret it easily. Alas, I was confused for a moment. I was a little impatient because of what Xu Chu said, so I sent you to Xiangyang overnight. No wonder Yang Qinzai was suspicious. I should have sent an envoy to ask for the way first, or even went there in person..."

"Father!" Xi Ren was so angry that his face turned red. "Although the status of our Xi family is not as good as before, we have not fallen to the point of bowing to pirates!"

Xi Yun still shook his head. Xi Tang and Xi Ren are both good sons. If the world is peaceful, they can be the pillars of the Xi family. If there is chaos everywhere, they can't be the guardians of the Xi family.

Xi Yun patiently explained: "This is not a matter of falling. When Tiancheng was still alive, there was so-called status. Once Tiancheng died, everyone stood on their own. 'Status' is just a false name. If you cling to it, you will be destroyed."

Xi Ren was still unconvinced and reluctantly said: "Father, are you still hoping that Yang Moyu will change his mind?"

"I said, there must be something strange about this. Don't ask about this matter. Stay in the camp honestly."

Xi Ren left in anger without even saying goodbye to his father.

Xi Yun continued to send people to Yiling City, but they could not enter the city.

Shortly after noon, news came from the front that although the city gate had not been opened, Xi Yuanyi and Xu Chu were released and were on their way back.

Xi Yun was overjoyed and went out of the camp to greet them personally.

Xi Yuanyi rode back first, and immediately jumped off the horse when he saw his uncle, and ran over in a few steps, "Xu Chu...Xu Chu..."

"Speak slowly, what's going on with Yang Qinzai?"

"It's not Yang Qinzai, it's Xu Chu..." Xi Yuanyi was more and more anxious and couldn't speak. He looked back and saw Xu Chu not far away, so he took a deep breath and said, "Xu Chu said in front of Yang Qinzai that our Xi family had the intention of killing people and seizing the city. It happened that my second brother brought troops to arrive, and Yang Qinzai actually believed his lies, so..."

"No need to say more, I understand." Xi Yun was relieved instead.

"It's all Xu Chu..." What surprised Xi Yuanyi was that his uncle actually showed a polite smile on his face, passed by him, and strode towards the "envoy".

Xu Chu got off the horse and bowed, saying, "The great event will be accomplished, and I came to report it."

"Mr. Xu, you have worked hard, have you met King Song Chu?"

Xu Chu nodded.

Xi Yuanyi was more and more shocked, and ran over and whispered: "Duke Heng didn't understand what I meant..."

"I understand very well, but I think Mr. Xu must have an explanation."

Xu Chu smiled at Xi Yuanyi and said: "I'm sorry to let General Yuanyi suffer some injustice, but I have my own reasons for doing so." Xu Chu took out a seal and a pearl from his arms, one in each hand.

Xi Yuanyi was shocked again, "This is the night-shining pearl of the Xi family!"

Xi Yun stepped forward, picked up the golden ball, looked inside for a while, and put it back in Xu Chu's hand, "This night-shining pearl was originally a tribute to Tiancheng from overseas. Emperor Zhang Xi gave it to me before his death. The Xi family regarded it as a treasure. A year ago... it fell into the hands of King Jiang. It is said that he carried it with him and never showed it to others."

"It is this pearl." There are three theories about the origin of this gem, and Xu Chu has no intention of arguing for any of them.

"What is this?" Xi Yun asked again.

"Song Quzhu's seal of the King of Chu, he is willing to give up the title of king and give it to a virtuous person."

Xi Yuan was speechless, Xi Yun smiled and nodded, "Mr. Xu lived up to expectations."

"Please accept the two tokens, Mr. Xi, I will go to the Southern Army camp and ask General Chen to come and pay respects to me and pay homage to me."

"Wait a moment." Xi Yun took the seal and took a look at it, and put it back in Xu Chu's hand, "Do they want to make me the King of Chu?"

"Song and Yang both said that the only strong people in Jingzhou are the Xi family and the Southern Army. It doesn't matter who is the King of Chu. Let me choose. I think the Southern Army is outside, and General Chen hasn't returned to his hometown for a long time. Jingzhou can be called the king, and it must be the Duke of Heng."

"I never said I wanted to be the king."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "This is my improvisation. Song Quzhu and Yang Qinzai are willing to pay homage to me and send troops to help Xiangyang, but they all think it would be better to pay homage to the king."

Xi Yun laughed, "I appreciate the good intentions of Mr. Xu and the two of you, but I am a natural minister, the court is still here, and your Majesty is hunting in the north. How can I call myself the king without authorization? This is absolutely impossible."

Xi Ren did not stay "honestly" in the camp. Hearing that Xi Yuan had returned safely, he ran out to check the situation. He happened to hear about the king's announcement and couldn't help but stepped forward and said: "The boy from the Shen family can be called the king of Jin. Why is his father so good?" No?"

"Because I am not from the Shen family." Xi Yun glared at his son and motioned for him to step back. Then he smiled at Xu Chu and said, "Mr. Xu should give these two treasures to General Chen."

"Our luminous pearl..." Xi Ren also recognized the golden ball.

Xi Ren shouted: "I asked you to stay in the camp, what are you going to do when you come out?"

"I...this is the entrance to the military camp..."

"An order is an order, and taking a step forward is also disobedience. Come, beat Xi Ren back."

The guard accepted the order and naturally did not dare to take action. Xi Yuanyi walked to Xi Ren and whispered: "I will enter the camp with my second brother and tell you the whole story."

Xi Ren hummed twice, turned around and walked back to the camp.

Xi Yun said: "I have made up my mind, please don't say more, Mr. Xu."

Xu Chu showed a hint of surprise, "If Duke Hengguo refuses to become king, these two treasures will have to..."

"Give it to General Chen. He is also an official of the imperial court. If he wants to be king, the Xi family will not object and will obey his orders." Xi Yun took a step forward and said, "General Chen will definitely help defend Xiangyang?"

"Of course, but he means to follow Duke Heng..."

"Xiangyang is the land of Jingzhou, and the Xi family has the responsibility to protect the land, so naturally they will not shirk it. However, I have carefully thought about Mr. Xu's three-fold strategy. Although it is beneficial to my Xi family, it is quite unfaithful to a loyal minister. Since we must protect Xiangyang, we must protect Jingzhou If the whole territory is safe, then do your best, don’t be half-hearted, especially don’t surrender to the foreign tribes.”

Xu Chu's face showed even more surprise, "Dr. Heng Guo... I really don't know what to say."

"I believe Mr. Xu doesn't want to see the Xi family surrender to the Shanyu, right?"

"Of course, I thought this approach would be most beneficial to the Xi family."

"Well, it is good for the Xi family, but not good for Jiuzhou. If Jiuzhou falls, the Xi family will not be able to survive alone. So after thinking about it, I thought it was better to take a risk. If I can stop the He Rong people in Xiangyang, I will not only save Jingzhou and The Xi family also saved the people of Jiuzhou and the world."

Xu Chu held the treasure in his hand and could not give it away, so he had to bow his head deeply and said, "Duke Heng has the world in mind and does not fight for the title of king. This is admirable and makes me ashamed."

"It's not that I don't want to be king, but I think it's more important to protect Jingzhou than to be king. General Chen's subordinates are all southern soldiers, so he should be allowed to be king to reassure everyone."

"In that case -" Xu Chu put away the two treasures, "I will go see General Chen and make things happen as soon as possible."

"Mr. Xu, please go ahead and negotiate. As long as it is beneficial to the defense of Xiangyang, our Xi family is bound to accept any conditions."

"With Duke Heng's words, there is a 90% chance of winning this matter, but..."

"Xu Chu needs to get a token from me?" Xi Yun said with a smile.

"If it can be possible, it would be the best."

Xi Yun thought for a while and said, "The Xi family has indeed accumulated a few treasures, but they are not enough to express my feelings. So, let me write a letter."

"Very good."

Xi Yun invited Xu Chu to join the camp and wrote a humble letter in his presence, urging Chen Bingcai to become the king.

The children of the Xi family were all there. Xi Ren and Xi Yuanyi glanced at the contents of the letter and looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them dared to stop them. They only felt that Duke Heng's behavior was getting weirder and weirder.

Xu Chu set off with the letter and wanted to reach the Confederate Army camp before dark.

As soon as he walked out of the tent, Xi Ren said: "Father, we are really confused."

Xi Yun sat on the chair, looking slightly tired, and murmured: "There is only one way left for the Xi family. If it works, we will live together. If it doesn't work, we will die together."

Duke Heng Guo had never shown such despair and severity. Even Xi Ren did not dare to say anything and kept all his doubts in his heart.

In the Confederate Army camp dozens of miles away, Chen Bingcai did not expect that Xu Chu would come back and actually fulfill all his promises.

"All three of them recommend me as the King of Chu?"

Xu Chu pointed to the seal, beads and letter on the table, "Here is the token. General Chen will build an altar to proclaim himself king. They will all come."

"I am the shepherd of two states and a minister of the imperial court. How can I proclaim myself king as if I can rebel against a thief? And -" Chen Bingcai picked up Xi Yun's letter and read it again, "his rank is much higher than mine, why not Will you be king?"

"There must be a reason."

"Hey, do you think I don't understand? Xi Yun wants me to lead troops to defend Xiangyang and stop the He Rong people from going south. If I succeed, the Xi family will take advantage of the landlords. If I fail, the Xi family will immediately launch a rebellion from behind. Attack, in order to please the Shanyu... No, no, no, Xi Yun did not make any preparations at all, he just wanted to surrender to the Shanyu, and he had to make a great contribution before surrendering. "

Chen Bingcai looked at Xu Chu, "Xi Yun's plan can't be hidden from you, but you still brought me the token here. What's your purpose?"

"Follow the plan and I advise General Chen to proclaim himself king."