Plan to cut off the nine states

The battle raged on and off for five days.

First, Tang Weitian led his troops to challenge and tried to lead the He Rong people into the mountainous area, but failed, so they stopped retreating. The Jishi Army and the Yizhou Army increased their strength day by day, and the He Rong people increased their troops. The two sides fought fiercely, and it was difficult to determine the winner.

For the soldiers on the disadvantaged side, the indisputable outcome is enough to boost their morale. Only the top generals understand the danger: if this continues, they will soon have no troops to send, but the enemy will have a constant supply of energy.

Zhang Shiqing still couldn't ride a horse, but insisted on following the female soldiers to the battlefield. They did not participate in the battle, but only raised the flag to show their momentum. However, they were not far from the battlefield. If the soldiers in front retreated, none of them would be able to escape.

He Rongren never showed signs of collapse, and Yin Fu began to panic. He never showed it in front of his subordinates, but told the truth to Xu Chu: "It's time for the Golden Saint to appear. If even she can't scare her away... we just have to If you can accept your fate, you can only accept your fate.”

Xu Chu persuaded him in every possible way, thinking that the time had not yet come, and asked Yin Fu to wait patiently for a while.

That afternoon, Yin Fu sent someone to invite Xu Chu over. He looked very excited and held up a letter in his hand, "The Jizhou Army plans to surrender!"

"Jizhou Army?"

"It's not our side, it's the Jizhou army on the opposite side. The He Rong people coerced Ji, Bing, and Qinzhou to send troops to assist. The King of Jin led his troops to escape back to Bingzhou. Qinzhou was in a famine and the people were small, so Jizhou soldiers had the largest number." The letter said , Jizhou soldiers are no different from servants in the army. The soldiers are dissatisfied and want to flee, but they have never had the chance, so they prefer to surrender to me. "

Xu Chu was also very happy, but still cautious, "Which general is the letter from?"

The excitement on Yin Fu's face subsided slightly, "There is no signature. The sender is a soldier. I can't say anything. I guess it should be General Yang Tongcai Yang."

General Yang Tongcai of Zuo Wuhou was an important general of the Tiancheng court, and he usually commanded the soldiers of Jizhou.

"Can I see it?"

"Of course." Yin Fu handed over the letter.

Xu Chu read the letter and returned it to Yin Fu, "The other party will send someone over tonight to discuss it."

Yin Fu nodded, "I will light a fire a few miles southeast of the camp as a signal. General Yang's people will enter the camp after seeing it - it must be General Yang. He is worried that the letter will be leaked, so he does not dare to write his real name."

Xu Chu thought for a while and said with a smile: "That must be the case. If we can get General Yang to defect in front of the battle, our army will definitely win."

Seeing that Xu Chu also believed it, Yin Fu was overjoyed and said, "I thought so too. The Jizhou army turned against them. How could the He Rong people not be in chaos? Tonight, Mr. Xu, please come with me to see General Yang's envoy."

Xu Chu shook his head, "This matter is confidential. I am not from Jizhou. If the other party's envoy sees me or becomes suspicious, it would be better for me not to show up."

Yin Fu deeply believed it and said with a smile: "I have been studying for many years in vain. I thought I was well-informed, but I still can't calm down when things happen. Now Yang Tongcai wants to surrender. He should be anxious, not me. If he is not anxious, There must be fraud behind it.”

Xu Chu nodded with a smile, said goodbye and left.

All the armies are now gathered in the same camp, close to the front line. One team has just returned from the battlefield. The soldiers are all exhausted. As soon as they enter the camp, some people throw down their weapons and sit down to rest. Only the signal for dinner can wake them up. .

Yang Meng's army passed by Xu Chu on horseback, nodded to him, said nothing, and went straight to the central army's tent.

Since the beginning of the war, Yang Meng's army has been working the hardest. They mobilized troops at night and personally supervised the battle during the day, with almost no rest.

Another man came over on horseback, stopped in front of Xu Chu, and said with a smile: "How?"

"Can you ride a horse?" Xu Chu was a little surprised.

Zhang Shiqing rode his horse for dozens of steps, then turned around and came back, showing that he was fine. "Actually, I could ride yesterday, but they only gave me the horse today."

"Congratulations."

Zhang Shiqing laughed and rode away.

It was just dark when Xu Chu came to see Zhang Shiqing. She was having dinner with a group of female soldiers. She suddenly became nervous and was pushed by everyone before she stood up and walked over. She whispered: "I'm fine now. You don't have to...come with me at this time."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Actually, I'm here to ask for your help."

"Ask me for help...what clever plan have you come up with?" Zhang Shiqing's eyes flashed.

"My clever tricks are always inseparable from bluffing." Xu Chu said his thoughts again.

Zhang Shiqing nodded repeatedly, "I understand, just leave it to me." After saying that, he walked away, stopped after a few steps, turned around and smiled happily at Xu Chu, who was still standing there, as if he had something to say, but in the end he just said Unsent, obviously happy to accept the assignment.

Xu Chu turned a corner and went to see Yang Mengjun.

Yang Mengjun distributed his troops while eating. When he saw Xu Chu, he invited him to eat with him.

"I've eaten." Xu Chu sat across from him. The two of them were already familiar with each other and could be informal.

Yang Mengjun was not polite and said directly: "I will have no more troops to add tomorrow, and He Rongcai will only send 30 to 40% of his troops."

"There is good news from Master Yin."

"I heard about it, but I don't know if it's true or not. Even if the Jizhou army can really switch sides in the face of battle, the battle still has to be fought by us. We can't be careless at all."

"What General Fierce Army said is absolutely true. Is there any news from Liangzhou?"

"It can only be said that they are quite lucky. When Yang Mengzhi and King Qiang heard that our army was coming to fight the He Rong people, they were doubtful and did not dare to go outside the boundaries of Liangzhou and stayed to watch from a distance."

"There must be contact between Liangzhou and Herong people."

"I still have people over there in Liangzhou. Yang Mengzhi has indeed been in contact with the He Rong people. However, after the He Rong people were defeated in Jingzhou, he also had a different idea. After discussing with the Qiang King, he decided to stand still and wait here. After the situation of the battle is clear, we will join the battle again. In short, if we are defeated, there will be no way to escape. "

"There is no need to escape, tomorrow is the decisive battle."

Yang Mengjun put down his bowl and chopsticks, "Mr. Xu, did you receive a reply from the Golden Saint?"

"Um."

"Since Liangzhou has been in contact with the He Rong people - can this trick deceive them?" Although Yang Mengzhi agreed with Xu Chu's strategy, he had a doubt at the last moment.

"How did the He Rong people perform on the battlefield?"

Yang Mengjun thought for a long time, "It is true that they are not as brave and fearless as the rumors. When fighting, the He Rong people always have to keep a stone's throw away from the enemy. But in the past few days, the distance they have opened is getting farther and farther, and the arrows they shoot are not There are few, but they rarely fall on our troops, which is a sign of their timidity. "

"We have to catch up with He Rongren tomorrow no matter what. We can't let them keep the distance anymore."

"Our army has less than two thousand horses... I will try my best, Mr. Xu, don't worry."

Xu Chu said goodbye and returned to his tent to wait for news.

After the third watch, the first person to invite him was Yin Fu.

Yin Fu had just sent away the envoy from the Jizhou Army on the opposite side, "There is something strange."

"how?"

"The visitor is a sergeant who refuses to reveal his name. He claims to be an envoy sent by all the generals in Jizhou. Yang Tongcai doesn't know about it, and he doesn't dare to rebel against the He Rong people."

"Are they willing to defect tomorrow?"

"I would, but..."

"Um?"

There was a trace of confusion on Yin Fu's face, "Could this be a trick to mistrust the enemy? The Jizhou army pretended to defect, making our army relax its vigilance..."

"If it is a suspected soldier, the envoy should claim to be sent by Yang Tongcai. He refused to reveal his name and said he was sent by the generals, which is ridiculous."

"Mr. Xu said it is trustworthy. I feel more relieved. After all, we have no other choice." Yin Fu suddenly smiled, "There is an interesting thing. The envoy ran into a group of female soldiers near the fire outside the camp. They claimed to have seen the light of the fire. We found the wrong camp—is this arranged by Mr. Xu?”

"What does the messenger think?"

"He didn't say it clearly, but he obviously thought they were the subordinates of the Golden Saint."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "That is of some use."

"I hope so." Yin Fu didn't want to show the anxiety in his heart anymore. He held his hands and smiled: "Tomorrow you and I will fight side by side. Mr. Fan knows what he is doing, so he should be pleased. At least his disciples are not just sitting around talking about Taoism. Some people dare to do something practical.”

Xu Chu returned the favor and said, "Even if it's for Mr. Fan, we should fight hard."

"Fight hard."

Not long after Xu Chu returned to his residence, Zhang Shiqing came. As soon as he entered the tent, he smiled and said: "The job is done - is this a great job?"

"Calculate."

"Actually, I understand your intention."

"oh?"

"The Golden Saint will not bring her troops back at all, and the fierce general will not be able to recapture Liangzhou. She can only 'bluff' in the hope of scaring off the He Rong people."

"Not many people see through it, right?"

Zhang Shiqing shook his head, "That's not true. I think many people would rather believe it."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "It's good to scare He Rongren a little. We can't just sit back and wait for death."

"Of course, since we are going to fight this battle, we have to do our best. We are not afraid of deceit. Whether it is bluffing or real, it is all a way of fighting."

"That's the truth."

"Are we really going to fight tomorrow?"

"What a beating."

"You want to go to the battlefield too?"

"Yes, anyone who can use weapons will go to the battlefield."

"We female soldiers won't just raise the flag and shout, can we join the war?"

"It has to be."

"I do." Zhang Shiqing hummed heavily, "I'm going to rest and recharge my batteries."

"Well……"

"What else do you want to say?"

"Don't die on the battlefield."

"Haha, at least I won't die before you." Zhang Shiqing smiled and left.

Xu Chu thought he would lose sleep, but after sitting for a while, he fell asleep unconsciously until he was awakened by Tang Weitian.

It was still dark outside, and Tang Weitian had already put on all his armor, "Sir, dinner is ready."

"Yes." Xu Chu stood up in a hurry and put on some pieces of armor.

"Young Master should stay."

Xu Chu hadn't fully woken up yet and didn't have the strength to speak, so he just shook his head.

"Then young master, try to stay as far back as possible. I'll charge in front and won't be able to take care of you."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "Come back to me alive. I have many things for you to do."

Tang Weitian patted the wooden stick on his waist, "It protects me."

After a hasty breakfast, Xu Chu left the camp with his team and headed to the battlefield, guarding behind Yin Fu of the Jizhou Army.

The female soldiers of the Avatar Army were all on the side of Yang Meng's army, but not long after the formation, Zhang Shiqing, escorted by several female soldiers, came down to the Jizhou Army to find Xu Chu, and whispered: "General Meng Jun asked me to come over."

"Follow me closely," Xu Chu said.

"Follow me closely." Zhang Shiqing retorted.

The morning sun has risen, the drums in the army are beating, and the first batch of troops march to the battlefield.