Plan to cut off the nine states

Ma Wei felt deeply anxious. For a moment, he forgot that there were other people around him, and kept repeating a sentence in a low voice: "Counsels can make mistakes, but kings cannot."

Gao Shengze stood behind Prince Liang. After hearing it several times, he couldn't help but said, "The emperor can let others make mistakes."

Ma Wei was startled and turned to look at the old man, his expression suddenly changed.

Gao Shengze realized that he was talking too much, so he immediately knelt on the ground and gently placed his hands on Prince Liang's knees. This action could be understood as intimacy and convenience of speaking, or it could be turned into an apology at any time, and he knew what words would always arouse Prince Liang's interest. , "When I was guarding the gate in the palace, I once heard the Emperor of All Things say that if the emperor is above tens of millions of people, he must use the power of tens of millions of people. Otherwise, even if he loses his power and his subjects have no masters, they will become a piece of loose sand. ”

This trick is often effective, Ma Wei's expression softened, "Did the Emperor of All Things really say such a thing?"

"How dare I deceive Prince Liang? I am not the only one who heard this. Prince Liang can call him over and ask."

"No need, it's not who said it, but whether it makes sense." Ma Wei never expected that he would care so much about the Emperor of All Things, but the longer he lived in the Dongdu Palace, the more he wanted to know everything about that "tyrant". I regret that I could not serve the Emperor of All Things.

"I just heard about it and didn't think it was special. Does Prince Liang think it makes sense?"

"It makes some sense? There is a great truth in this." Ma Wei smiled, but did not say what the truth was.

Gao Shengze secretly breathed a sigh of relief, squeezed Wang Liang's leg for a while, then stood up and quietly stood back to where he was.

Ma Wei fell into deep thought again, and Gao Shengze, who had escaped, did not even dare to breathe this time.

"General Pan, please come."

"According to the order." Gao Shengze immediately ran out of the military tent as if he had been pardoned. He quickly invited General Pan Kai, while he stayed outside to wait for orders.

Pan Kai was the highest-ranking and most important general in the Liang army, but he cared about etiquette very much in front of the King of Liang, and had to kneel down even if he was wearing armor.

"No courtesy, please sit down." Ma Wei was more polite than usual.

Pan Kai clasped his fists in salute, sat on the small stool next to him, put his hands on his knees, and looked up at Prince Liang.

"I have an extremely difficult thing to do. After thinking about it, no one can entrust me to it. It must be General Pan."

"Prince Liang, please tell me, no matter how difficult the task is, I will try my best to do it." Pan Kai said with emotion.

"I want you to guard Dongdu."

"It is our duty to refuse, but Jizhou..."

"I will personally lead the troops to attack Jizhou."

Pan Kai's face was slightly red. Although he was a general, he had never experienced a battle on one side so far. His name was somewhat untrue, and he thought that he would not be trusted by King Liang because of this.

Ma Wei said: "Logically speaking, General Pan should have attacked Hebei and I should have defended the eastern capital. But after I thought about it carefully, I felt it was inappropriate."

"The King of Liang is a man of extraordinary talent, and he is like a god in the use of soldiers. It is up to the King of Liang himself to conquer the great cause of attacking Hebei. The King of Liang will surely succeed immediately. I would rather serve as a pawn in front of the King of Liang and do a small service."

Hearing the words "Immediate success", Ma Wei smiled and then said sternly: "On the contrary, it is easier to attack Hebei than to defend it. Why? Jizhou has experienced several wars and was plundered by the He Rong people. It is now empty. Ye The city is called a big city, and the defenders are only a few thousand. The defenders of Yuyang are slightly more, but they are not afraid. The only goal is to attack Hebei quickly. As long as we can capture all the checkpoints before the heavy snow closes the road, we will be successful in defending the east capital. But it is different. Liang Jun has not been able to capture the entire territory of Luozhou. There is still Mengjin in the north, and there is no danger to defend in other directions. The enemy marches straight in and reaches the city in a moment. "

"King Liang is worried about He Rong's army entering Luo from Qinzhou?"

"It's not that I'm worried. The He Rong people will definitely come to attack Dongdu. However, Jizhou is not stable and we can't leave too many soldiers. Moreover, we may not be able to return reinforcements throughout the winter. We have to rely on General Pan to hold on."

Pan Kai cupped his hands and said: "Prince Liang, don't worry, there is only news of my death in Dongdu, there is no possibility of me giving up Dongdu."

"General Pan cannot die. Dongdu is very important to Daliang. If Dongdu is lost, Jizhou will also be in danger. Moreover, I will leave the princess and all the disciples in Dongdu. Please take care of me, General Pan."

Pan Kai was shocked, "How can this be done? The princess and the prince should go to Yecheng..."

Ma Wei raised his hand, "As soon as the princess left, everyone thought that I would give up Dongdu and have no intention of holding on. However, General Pan's two sons chose one to follow me to Jizhou. The tiger father has no sons. I hope the Pan family can continue to do so." Send out a general."

Pan Kai knelt down from his stool, "Prince Liang, I... I want to die... I can't die. No matter what, I want to defend the Eastern Capital!"

Ma Wei did not offer any support and said with a smile: "I believe in General Pan. Although there is no dangerous fortress in Dongdu, the walls are high and the pool is deep, unrivaled in the world. I am not afraid that I will not be able to defend it, but I am afraid that I will not dare to defend it, or that I will fall into the enemy's conspiracy."

"The beam is in danger, and I dare not claim to be good at fighting, but I still have some courage, and I will not dare to defend it. As for the enemy's plot, I will only concentrate on defending the city, and I will not go out of the city to fight under any circumstances."

Ma Wei held Pan Kai's shoulder and said, "I hope General Pan will remember what he said today and never leave the city no matter what. If the enemy troops circle the city and move north, let them pass without blocking them. Even if there is no soldier left outside the city, Don't go out of the city to pursue. Or if someone calls the door, even if the other party is alone, don't open the city gate unless I come in person. "

"Keep it in mind that Dongdu is the capital of King Liang and will never fall into the hands of others."

Ma Wei nodded, helped Pan Kai up, asked him to sit down, chatted for a few more words, wrote down the military order on the spot, stamped it with the king's seal, and handed it to Pan Kai himself. After giving him many instructions, he let him go.

Ma Wei only had to deal with Xu Chu alone. It would be best if Dong could defend. It was okay if he couldn't, but he had to hold on longer to give him a chance to breathe.

Pan Kai is a good choice.

Ma Wei called Gao Shengze in and ordered him to invite Bao Dun.

Bao Dun ordered his tribe to recruit troops in the city, and they had already gathered eight thousand soldiers. No matter how many soldiers were left, they would stay to guard Runan. He has been living in Liang's camp these days to show his loyalty.

He came very quickly and also wanted to kneel down. Ma Wei got up and stepped forward, put his arm around him, and walked side by side with him in the tent while chatting.

"Although General Bao and I met for the first time, we felt like old friends at first sight. When I was in Dongdu, I often heard about the name of Third Master Bao of Runan, and I regretted not having the chance to meet him."

Bao Dun hurriedly said: "Bao San is just Bao San. How dare he be called the 'Third Master' in front of King Liang? I have also heard many stories about King Liang, but I am blind and ignorant. I only want to stick to my hometown town. I am in the real world." Without realizing it, he fled to Huaizhou in a panic. Fortunately, Mr. Xu woke him up and turned to the light in time. "

Ma Wei smiled and said: "Xu Chu is very good at judging people."

"I feel guilty about Mr. Xu."

"Xu Chu won't care, and General Bao doesn't need to worry about it. We invite General Bao to come because we have something to discuss, and it's related to Xu Chu."

"Prince Liang, please tell me that I am clumsy at heart, but I have the strength and am willing to run for Prince Liang."

"General Bao is too humble. Before Xu Chulin went to Huaizhou, he offered me a plan, saying that Jizhou was difficult to defend alone and had to expand outwards. Jizhou is connected to the three states, and Huaizhou in the south. Xu Chu went to make peace. It didn't mean much. The problem is, in Luozhou in the southwest, I have sent General Pan Kai to defend the eastern capital, and there should be no major danger. Only Bingzhou in the west is separated from Jizhou by mountains, but there are many passages. Since ancient times, it has been easier to move from Jizhou to Jizhou. Merger."

"Mr. Xu thinks long term."

"So I want to divide my troops to attack Bingzhou."

Bao Dun looked surprised.

Ma Wei smiled and said: "I understand what General Bao is thinking. Liang Jun's attack on Hebei is already risky, but to actually attack and annex it, swallowing two elephants with one snake, is probably a wishful thinking."

Bao Dun immediately said: "Those who achieve great things do not follow the usual path. The King of Liang has a grand plan, and it is Mr. Xu who proposes the plan. I was horrified for a moment, but I never thought it was a wishful thinking. If I think about it carefully, I realize that it makes sense. Hope, They were both driven by the Shanyu. Jizhou was empty, and Bingzhou was also empty. Why couldn't they attack it? What's more, the Liang king only wanted to consolidate Jizhou and didn't seem to need to occupy the entire territory of Bingzhou."

"Exactly, General Bao has won my heart, so I intend to ask General Bao to lead the troops to attack and invade. Is it okay?"

Bao Dun had already guessed the intention of King Liang, but he was still surprised at this time. He cupped his hands and said: "Bao San has been working in farming for half his life. By chance, he was entrusted by others and proclaimed himself the lord of a city. He had no elite soldiers or formations. How can you dare to take on such a big responsibility with your abilities?”

"What I value about General Bao is that he keeps his word and has the demeanor of an elder. After General Bao joins the annexation, he will fight if he can and retreat if he can't. He will either return to Runan or go to Jizhou to join me. In short, Bingzhou is not a land that Liang Jun must capture. We can seize as much territory as we can. Even if we fail to capture an inch of land, I will not blame General Bao."

Bao Dun was slightly moved, "How many troops can King Liang divide?"

"Runan has 8,000 soldiers. I will send another 7,000 troops to make up 15,000. I don't know much, but Liang Jun can only separate these people..."

"That's enough. I can't promise anything to Prince Liang, but it's okay to go to Bingzhou to stir things up."

Ma Wei was overjoyed. He held one of Bao Dun's hands tightly and said with excitement, "One word from General Bao is worth more than thousands of troops."

"The King of Liang has no doubts in employing people and has entrusted me with his great trust. I will never let down the trust of the King of Liang."

Ma Wei personally sent Bao Dun outside the tent, watched him go away, and then turned back to the tent.

Gao Shengze noticed that King Liang was in a good mood, so he followed him and was busy making sure to make King Liang sit more comfortably.

Ma Wei accepted it calmly, "The Emperor of All Things strives to make the best use of people. It is also a big mistake to let his ministers make mistakes, but to die at the hands of commoners."

"The Emperor of All Things is not a wise king, and his words do not need to be taken seriously." Gao Shengze said.

Ma Wei shook his head, "The Emperor of All Things is not a wise king, but what he said must be taken seriously. His mistake was that he did not distinguish between public and private affairs, and confused the way of an emperor with the art of making friends."

Gao Shengze nodded repeatedly, "King Liang hit the nail on the head. Everyone in the palace said that the Emperor of All Things makes friends too casually. Those he likes will be praised to the heavens in a day, and those he doesn't like will be killed on the spot without repaying his hatred. No one can be sure about him. Although there are many guards, they don’t know how to protect me, so I leave it to Xiaoxiao..."

Gao Shengze's heart trembled and he almost knelt down again. He actually forgot that it was rumored that King Liang was also one of the plotters to assassinate the Emperor of All Things.

Ma Wei didn't care, "Well, there are laws for rewards and punishments, and even the emperor can't decide at will - you reminded me, Xu Chu..."

"Will Xu Chu come back?"

"He will come back, but how to deal with it is a problem. I hope he won't make it difficult for me again. No, no, I can't count on him."

"There are laws for reward and punishment for merits and demerits." Gao Shengze whispered.

Mavi nodded.