Plan to cut off the nine states

As soon as the weather warmed up, Tie Yuan ordered another attack on Hanzhou, claiming that this was the last will of the King of Shu. A total of nearly 80,000 troops were mobilized, claiming to be 200,000, and they were divided into two routes to the north. This was almost the maximum number of troops that Yizhou could provide. Regardless of whether they were immigrants or natives, all counties and prefectures had to send troops and food.

The commanders of the two Yizhou armies were Tie Yi and Feng Yechou. Although the latter was a civil official, he was familiar with military tactics and was deeply trusted by the natives. With the assistance of military generals, he was worthy of being the leader of an army.

Tang Weitian, who had just successfully pacified the counties, still served as the vanguard general of Tie Yi's army. He was most happy to be able to fight continuously.

The ceremony of sending troops was grand and solemn. The imperial concubine who was in power personally went out of the city to see them off. Although only a very few people saw her in person, the news came out that the imperial concubine was indeed pregnant, which calmed many rumors.

Xu Chu followed Tie Yi to the expedition and set off two days later, missing the ceremony outside the city. The only person who saw him off was Wang Dian.

As winter turned to spring, Wang Dian's condition became worse and worse. He was no longer able to ride a horse and needed to travel by car, but he insisted on sending him to the Ten-mile Pavilion and setting up a banquet for Xu Chu to see him off.

"This may be the last time I meet Mr. Xu." Wang Dian had no hope for his health, poured a large glass of wine, and took a sip, "I have two questions that I have not answered, and I hope Mr. Xu can give me some advice."

"I dare not, but I want to hear Mr. Wang's questions."

"Can King Ning win the world?"

Xu Chu rarely drank, but at this time he poured himself a small half cup, held it in his hand for a long time, drank it all in one gulp, and then pushed the empty cup aside, indicating that he could not drink anymore, "We will see clues in the next two years."

"How can we win? How can we not win?"

"Let's talk about the current situation first. It is heard that in Jingzhou, Xiangyang surrendered to King Ning, and the Xi family in Jiangling surrendered first, sent troops to pursue Song to take bamboo, but was attacked by the Song army and lost Jiangling , but Song Quzhu did not defend Jiangling, but gave the city to King Ning, which embarrassed the Xi family. "

"King Ning was also embarrassed." Wang Dian squeezed out a strange smile, "On the surface, Song Quzhu made great contributions to King Ning and deserved a heavy reward, but he gave up Jiangling and occupied Yiling, which made it difficult for King Ning to turn his face for a while, not to mention that Yizhou's grain and grass to support King Ning passed through Yiling, so King Ning could not act rashly. He is worthy of being the person Mr. Xu has chosen. At least this move has both retreat and advance, and his demeanor is extraordinary."

"It's just a temporary victory. Song Quzhu did keep a foothold in Jingzhou, but his strength is still weak, surrounded by powerful enemies. Whether it is Yizhou, the Xi family, or King Ning far away in Jiangdong, if any party is free, he will not be defeated. is an opponent."

"It must be for this reason that King Ning forgave the Xi family and allowed them to return to Jiangling, which was actually to make enemies for Song Quzhu."

Xu Chu nodded, "But the Xi family was forced to send a large number of their own children and soldiers to King Ning as hostages, and they never recovered from it. King Ning did not want to see the Xi family win, so he did not allow him to attack Yiling without authorization, which was considered to give Song Quzhu some breathing time. "

"The Yizhou troops were sent to Hanzhou, and Song Quzhu got a little breathing time. This is Mr. Xu's credit. "

"General Tie is willing to give up small grudges for the sake of great cause. This is the most important reason. "

"Alas, Jiangdong finally belonged to King Ning. It is said that he pacified Wuzhou quite smoothly this time. Before the beginning of summer, he must have completed his mission. At that time, he will be free The hand is coming. "

"Yes, whether King Ning can seize the world will have the first clue this summer. At that time, he will have three choices: one is to go north to Huaizhou, completely defeat the Sheng family, take advantage of the situation to enter Ji, and compete with King Liang; the second is to return to Luozhou, take advantage of the situation to enter Han and Qin, and compete with He Rongren; the third is to go up the river, consolidate Jiangling, recapture Yiling, and then send a general to Yi, and personally lead the army north to compete for the Central Plains. "

"Which plan can seize the world?"

"The third plan, the north is in chaos, there is no rush, if King Ning can pacify the south of the Yangtze River, then the general situation can be determined. "

Wang Dian took a sip of wine, "If King Ning implements the third plan, Song will surely fail to take Zhu, and the Yizhou army will also be wrong to enter Hanzhou in the north. "

Xu Chu nodded in agreement.

"But Mr. Xu still urged General Tie to send troops?"

Xu Chu laughed and said, "Although Yizhou is prosperous, the people are not used to fighting, and it is extremely difficult to recruit soldiers. 80,000 people attacking Han has a 70% to 80% chance of winning, but if they are used to stop King Ning, the chance of winning is only 30% to 40%. Moreover, King Ning may not use the third plan. In my opinion, he will lead his troops to attack Huaizhou to avenge the Sheng family's invasion."

"What if Mr. Xu guesses wrong?"

"Mr. Wang should persuade General Tie to submit to King Ning and never confront him head-on. Although Yizhou is a place surrounded by mountains, it is not unbreakable. Moreover, there are many internal troubles, which are not enough to fight King Ning."

"King Ning is the great enemy of my seven clans in Jiangdong." Wang Dian said bitterly After thinking for a moment, he said, "I will do my best to push King Ning to attack Huaizhou."

"If this is the case, King Ning will go astray, and he will need to work several times harder to seize the world."

"The first doubt has been resolved, and there is a second one."

"Please speak."

Wang Dian glanced outside the pavilion and confirmed that the servants were standing far away and could not hear the conversation here. He whispered, "How far can the Tie family go?"

This is a very sensitive topic. Xu Chu is not a minister of Yizhou, but he can talk about it. "If you only defend Yizhou, you can only hold on for two years at most. If you can take Hanzhou, you may be able to hold on for another two years."

"Just like that?" Wang Dian was a little disappointed.

"What do you think, Mr. Wang?"

"I... don't know. I followed Xu Dashi earlier, but he was as ruthless as King Ning, but not as wise as King Ning. It was disappointing. General Tie was generous and resourceful. It was most comfortable to be a minister under him, but... ..." Wang Dian had great respect for Tie Yuan and hesitated for a while before saying: "But the ambition seems to be a little small. It's not that there is none, but it is one level lower than other heroes. This time we send troops to Hanzhou, no matter whether it is successful or not, I'm afraid this is the last time the Tie family mobilizes troops."

Wang Dian had already made a judgment in his mind, and the reason why he asked Xu Chu was just to get a positive answer.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "For the Tie family, it may be a good thing to be less ambitious."

Wang Dian sighed, and when he thought about how soon he was about to die, he looked away a lot, "General Tie gave me a place to stay. No matter what happens in the future, I have to be loyal to him. Two doubts have been solved. If Mr. Xu doesn't I’m in a hurry, can we chat for a while?”

"It's not urgent." Xu Chu was just a guest in the army, and Tie Zhi didn't need his advice when fighting the war. There was indeed no urgency.

"It's really surprising that Mr. Xu joined Song Qizhu. Can he really win the world? Although offering Jiangling and leaving Yiling is a clever plan, it is still far from establishing a firm foothold, right?"

"There's a big difference. A hundred steps away, if King Ning takes fifty steps, Song Qizhu can take less than ten steps. It may take three or four years before he shows signs."

"But what does Mr. Xu see in him?"

"Who else would it be than me?"

"Um?"

"The Shan Yu dared to enter the fortress and aspire to the throne because he had hundreds of thousands of He Rong cavalry; the King of Jin dared to show his ambition early because of his noble family background and was popular among the people in Bingzhou; the King of Liang relied on the emperor of Liang and thought that his destiny was his. King Ning had no great ambitions at the beginning. The more soldiers he had and the wider his territory, the greater his ambitions. These people all had something to rely on. When the Song Dynasty took the bamboo cloth clothes, they had strange ambitions. Although they were concealed, they were occasionally revealed. He has a sharp edge, so I say he has the mentality of "Who else would he give me?"

"Hey, it's a pity that I didn't get to meet you."

"But after all, he has the least reliance, so he needs luck more than anyone else. Even if he is accurate in every step and has good moves, if he is unlucky, he will inevitably rise and die suddenly."

"Haha, as expected of Mr. Xu, even he refuses to say a word to the lord who has taken refuge in him. If King Ning makes a bad move, if Song Zhizhu has no luck, will there be new heroes in the world?"

Xu Chu sighed, "I hope so. If there is no true hero to turn the tide in one or two years, the division of the Nine Provinces will continue for tens or hundreds of years. All of this started because of me, and I will never be able to atone for my sins even if I die a hundred times."

"Unless the Emperor of All Things dies, the world will also be in chaos, maybe even more chaotic."

"I thought the same way earlier, but now I'm not sure: If I can see the world's great governance, I will have no regrets about assassinating him. If I can't see it, I won't have a clear conscience."

Wang Dian stared at Xu Chu for a while, "Mr. Xu also had the intention of 'Who else would you give me?' Why did you do it in the first place... Forget it, Mr. Xu doesn't have to worry about it."

Xu Chu wanted to answer this question, "Because I am intolerant and stubborn. When I advise others, I always hope that others will obey their words. When others advise me, I don't listen to a word. When I was in Dongdu, let go King Ning, it's my fault. If I continue to be king, I will make more and more serious mistakes, so I would rather be a counselor, and I would rather others listen to my words, reject them, and consider them carefully. Leave nothing to chance. Years ago in Jindu City, I made a dangerous plan. If Mr. Wang and others had not come up with a plan to deal with it, I would have been completely defeated and killed in the palace. It would not only harm myself, but also harm others if the counselors made mistakes. When a king makes a mistake, he often has no way out."

"Those who are good at persuading others are not easy to listen to. Mr. Xu knows this very well. Maybe this is the reason why he cannot be king. A king must be a little arrogant and ignorant." Wang Dian stood up, "After seeing you for thousands of miles, there will be a difference in the end. When Mr. Xu goes north, he will definitely stir up a storm. If I stay in Yizhou, I will try my best to prevent King Ning from advancing westward. "

Xu Chu also stood up and said goodbye, "As long as King Ning does not personally lead his troops to the west, both Yiling and Yizhou have a good chance of winning. If I get news from the north that King Ning is heading north to Huaizhou, I will celebrate in the direction of Jindu City."

"Haha, if I hear that the He Rong people fled the Central Plains, I will also clasp my fists northward."

Xu Chu got on his horse and Wang Dian got into the carriage, walking with their backs to each other. No one looked back.

When Xu Chu arrived at Hanzhou via the plank road, the two Yizhou armies had already fought several battles each, and the progress was quite smooth. There were not many He Rong people left behind in Hanzhou, and most of the Central Plains troops were half-hearted. Neither Tie Zhi nor Feng Yechou encountered them. Tenacious resistance.

As a forward general, Tang Weitian worked hard to retake Hanzhong City, so he marched in a hurry, and the army at the rear had to speed up. When Xu Chu caught up with Tie Prey, the Yizhou Army was not far from Hanzhong City.

Tie Zhi was so proud that he made a detailed plan to storm Hanzhong City. He took the time to meet with Xu Chu and said, "It is a great pity that the general failed to invade Qinzhou. In this northern expedition, I must at least capture the plank road and send him to Qinzhou." Mr. Xu entered Qinzhou."

Xu Chu cupped his hands in thanks, and Tie Zhi said: "But I have a condition."

"General Tie Er, please speak."

"You are not allowed to take Tang Weitian away. He is our general in Yizhou and must stay."