Plan to cut off the nine states

Pan Kai felt that he was standing on the edge of a cliff. If he was not careful, he would fall and be shattered to pieces. However, there were swarms of tigers and wolves behind him, so he had to prepare to jump.

It was just getting dark when Guo Shifeng hurried back. Pan Kai immediately pushed back the guards, stepped forward and said, "How?"

"It's just as I expected." Guo Shifeng said urgently.

Pan Kai was shocked, "Xu Chu has noticed it?"

"It's not that he noticed it, but he already knew it. He led his troops to Dongdu and found excuses to refuse to leave. In fact, it was all because of you, General Pan."

Pan Kai's expression suddenly changed, he slowly sat down and murmured: "Prince Liang still refuses to believe me after all..."

"Prince Liang may still be hesitant, but after Xu Chu comes, Prince Liang will definitely make up his mind. And the old eunuch seems to be hiding something."

"The King of Liang once gave the eunuchs in the palace to slaves, but no one dared to treat them as slaves..."

"Because they are all Prince Liang's spies?"

"Well, Gao Shengze is the leader of these informants."

"General Pan is also with you?"

Pan Kai held out four fingers and said, "But it doesn't matter. This is the meeting hall. I have given an order that eunuchs are not allowed to enter. What we say here will not be spread out."

"really?"

Pan Kai opened and shut his mouth, not entirely sure.

"I can't hide it anymore. Please make a decision quickly, General Pan."

"Don't worry, maybe...maybe Prince Liang is just testing me. He has this habit."

Guo Shifeng said with a smile: "General Pan is too loyal and refuses to admit the facts before his eyes. The King of Liang ordered General Pan to defend the Eastern Capital and even leave his wife and children behind. However, as soon as he arrived in Jizhou, he would marry another daughter of the Tiancheng clan and abandon him. The heart of the Eastern Capital is clearly revealed.”

"Why did King Liang abandon Dongdu?" Pan Kai asked in a low voice, but he already agreed with Guo Shifeng's statement.

Guo Shifeng was sure of victory and said patiently: "The general situation is like this. The king of Liang went north to Jizhou to marry Tiancheng, and then turned to attack Bingzhou to regain his hometown of Qianliang. The Eastern Capital was no longer very important to him. It was just used to attract He Rong's army so that he could win. Get some respite in the north.”

"The King of Liang simply doesn't believe that I can defend Dongdu."

"The King of Liang didn't believe it. He just hoped that General Pan could defend the city as long as possible, so that he could attract more enemy troops. But after Jizhou decided to marry the Zhang family of Tiancheng, he began to worry that General Pan had no intention of defending the city and would attack the King of Liang." It was a big trouble for him, so he wanted to replace him with another person to defend the city. "

"Xu Chu." Pan Kai replied immediately, feeling that everything was clear, "Who else is more suitable to guard the Eastern Capital than Xu Chu? After all, he has defended it once before, and he did it well. This time he just needs to defend it longer. Can."

"That's the truth."

"But... King Liang just changed the general. I won't disobey orders, let alone fight with Xu Chu. Why do you have to put me to death?"

Guo Shifeng laughed loudly, as if this question was not worth answering.

Pan Kai figured out the reason himself, "The King of Liang still suspected that I had colluded with Xu Chu, so he asked Xu Chu to kill me to show that he had no two intentions."

"This is one of them. General Pan asked himself, how many of his relatives and friends are generals in Liang's army?"

"That's a lot, not fifty, but also thirty. King Liang used to trust me... very much. As long as he is recommended by me, he will be made a general, even if he has never been on the battlefield."

"And General Pan recommended only relatives and friends?"

Pan Kai's face turned red. He had never considered this issue before. Now that he thought about it, he suddenly felt that he had been making mistakes. "I don't know many people. King Liang... King Liang always said that his family is a general, so it is convenient for me to lead him." Soldier."

"Where are Prince Liang's family members?"

"Prince Liang's children are all young and he has no other family."

"So General Pan still doesn't understand?"

Pan Kai let out a long sigh, "The King of Liang treated me very kindly and showed me the kindness of knowing him."

"The King of Liang treats you very kindly and asks for more. He wants you to pay for it with your life."

"If it were just my own life, I would be willing to return it to Prince Liang."

"With the character of King Liang, would he let General Pan's relatives and friends go? In other words, if General Pan dies, can his relatives and friends remain indifferent? The most important thing between monarchs and ministers is mutual trust. If one party is suspicious, the other party should also be cautious , Adding suspicion to suspicion will eventually lead to disaster. In the end, it all depends on who strikes first. "

Pan Kai pondered for a long time, still unwilling to make up his mind.

Guo Shifeng waited for a while and then said slowly: "General Pan wants to be a loyal minister. He must first think about one thing: Is the King of Liang really a wise master? A wise king and a loyal minister will have their achievements shine through the ages. A foolish king and a loyal minister will only suffer one injustice." The soul of death. With General Pan's intelligence and Dongdu's strength, he can either stick to it and wait for the situation to change, or he can join another Ming Dynasty to build his achievements, or even become the king himself. Prince Liang, what are the sins of the many relatives and friends who followed General Pan, and are they also implicated in this?"

"Mr. Guo, there is no need to say any more." Pan Kai finally made up his mind, "The King of Liang is ruthless, and abandoning his wife and children is like a piece of shit, let alone me, Pan Kai? With the help of Xu Chu, the King of Liang must have found a more suitable general. Where can I find another general?" Will you take me seriously? Please ask King Ning to send troops, I am willing to hand over Dongdu."

Guo Shifeng was overjoyed and was about to make a promise when Pan Kai said again: "But there are a few things I want to say first."

"General Pan, please speak."

"First, don't harm King Liang's wife. If King Liang wants her, send her there. If he doesn't want her, keep her in the east capital and treat her with courtesy."

"The king of Liang doesn't care about his sweet wife and weak son. It's useless for King Ning to kill her, and it won't help defend the city. Why should she bear such a bad reputation? I agree with this on behalf of King Ning."

"Second, the officers and soldiers of the Liang Army in the city can follow their own wishes. Those who wish to stay will stay, and those who wish to go will go. King Ning cannot force him."

"What King Ning wants is unity. If Liang Jun wants to leave, King Ning will never try to persuade him to stay. Instead, he will ask for gifts to be sent out of the city. But will General Pan stay?"

"Oh, where else can I go if I don't stay?"

"General Pan has a son who lives with King Liang. He can be exchanged for the soldiers of Liang Army."

"No, no matter what, I am betraying Prince Liang. Even if he kills my son, I will not complain."

Guo Shifeng smiled and said nothing.

"Third, let Xu Chu and others go out of the city and go wherever they like."

"This is inappropriate."

"how?"

"How could Xu Chu abandon the city and leave after being entrusted by the King of Liang? Since his arrival, he deliberately avoided the generals of the Liang army and pretended that he was not reused by the King of Liang. But if the King of Liang did not trust him and did not use him, why did he allow him to leave? This is The most obvious tactic is to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger. General Pan felt weak and lost everything, only to bear the name of a traitor. "

Pan Kai gritted his teeth and said, "Then there is nothing we can do. It is Liang Wang and Xu Chu who want to take action first, not me who is ruthless and unjust. When will Ning Wang's soldiers arrive? I will start the attack one day in advance."

"Ning Jun will arrive at any time, but Xu Chu can't wait."

"When is the right time?"

Guo Shifeng remained silent.

"Today?" Pan Kai was surprised.

"Today, tonight, now, there can be no delay."

"But I haven't explained the situation to my soldiers yet."

"No need. General Pan summons his relatives and friends, plus trusted soldiers. Two hundred people are enough."

"Xu Chu led nearly 20,000 troops. I'm afraid the 200 people I have here are not enough, right?"

Guo Shifeng said with a smile: "We are following a trick. Xu Chu is good at using tricks. In order not to arouse General Pan's suspicion, he deliberately alienated the general. However, there cannot be too many people who know about this kind of thing. I guess only a few people in the Liang army know about Xu Chu." There is not even one real purpose. Xu Chu has a secret decree and he will let Gao Shengze declare it when necessary. Who dares to violate it? "

"This is why Gao Shengze came here."

"That's right. So General Pan had to make a decisive decision and lead his troops to kill Xu Chu and Gao Shengze, and then claimed that he was acting on the orders of King Liang. When King Liang learned the news, King Ning's army had also arrived. General Pan was slow to Just convince the generals slowly.”

Pan Kai hesitated for a while, then made up his mind again, "Okay, we'll start in an hour."

"General Pan's move saved Dongdu and the soldiers and civilians throughout the city."

Pan Kai grabbed one of Guo Shifeng's arms and said, "Prince Ning wants to defend the Eastern Capital, right?"

"Of course, otherwise, why send me here to persuade General Pan? Dongdu is dispensable to King Liang, but it is crucial to King Ning. Without Dongdu, King Ning cannot break the situation."

Pan Kai let go of his hand, strode away from the door, and said to the guard: "It's urgent military affairs, go and call Pan Ju."

Pan Ju was Pan Kai's nephew and confidant. He was young and energetic, and knew everything about his uncle. Pan Kai only said, "The King of Liang wants to get rid of the Pan family." Pan Ju immediately became furious, without even asking the reason. Holding the handle of the knife, "The Pan family will never sit still and wait for death. The general gives the order. We will fight to the death. When the matter is accomplished, the general will be king!"

"I have made a plan, and I don't need you to talk nonsense. Go and call the relatives and friends of our Pan family. Don't make a big fuss, just say... just say that I want to celebrate my mother's birthday, and invite them to come over to discuss it. I won't say a word about anything else. Don’t mention it.”

"I understand, who should I look for?"

Pan Kai named a series of names, and Pan Ju knew them all. He repeated them, kept them in his mind, and hurried out to look for them.

The first step had been taken. Pan Kai no longer hesitated and did not need Guo Shifeng's supervision. He ordered the guard leader to invite the four eunuchs given to him by King Liang.

"These four people must be eliminated first to avoid leaks." Pan Kai explained.

Guo Shifeng cupped his hands and said, "General Pan is still thinking carefully."

First several relatives and friends arrived, and then four eunuchs arrived at the same time. They had no idea what was going to happen, but they just felt strange that General Pan allowed them to enter the meeting hall.

Pan Kai shouted: "Take it!"

The guards immediately pushed the four eunuchs down, and the relatives and friends watching were shocked.

The eunuchs were even more unconvinced and shouted one after another. Pan Kai did not explain, he drew his sword out of its sheath and chopped down one of them. The remaining three people had pale faces and did not dare to speak again.

Guo Shifeng stepped forward, stopped Pan Kai from continuing, and asked the three eunuchs, "Did Gao Shengze come to question you?"

The three of them were too scared to open their mouths and could only nod.

"Gao Shengze asked about General Pan's movements?"

The three of them continued to nod.

"Did Gao Shengze just ask?"

The three of them still nodded.

Guo Shifeng looked at Pan Kai, whose expression changed slightly, "If it is as Mr. Guo said, Xu Chu will take action."

The three eunuchs were confused and didn't know what this had to do with Xu Chu.

Guo Shifeng nodded slowly and took a few steps back.

Pan Kai said to several relatives and friends: "The King of Liang sent envoys to drive out the Pan family. I don't want to die. Will you join me in the uprising?"

These people were all Pan Kai's cronies. They immediately drew their swords and shouted.

The three eunuchs were shocked. Just as they were about to argue, they all had time to scream.