Plan to cut off the nine states

(Thanks to the reader "No Redemption for Drunkenness" for the red tip.)

Xu Chu also went into danger alone, or to convince the other party, or to confuse the other party, but he never directly gained someone's trust.

Gan Zhao did it.

The kings were wary of each other, and a melee was about to break out. Xu Chu was an old friend of the King of Jin and the King of Liang. In the eyes of outsiders, the three of them were the same type of people. They came from a high family and had a prominent family background, and they were not the same as the Jishi Army.

Under such circumstances, Gan Zhao came to visit alone, at least on the surface, giving King Wu great trust.

Xu Chu must repay the same trust and feel ashamed in his heart. At this time, he does not dare to take risks, and he already has a reputation for being good at planning, so he will be considered to have ulterior motives wherever he goes.

Xu Chu took the magic stick, stroked it twice, and returned it to Gan Zhao, "Although this stick is not a sacred object, the soldiers of the World Army are in awe of it, and it should be kept in the hands of virtuous people. The King of Shu is Elder, no one is more suitable to possess this stick than King Shu."

Using the magic stick can recruit many soldiers of the Incarnation Army, which is quite useful at the moment.

Gan Zhao shook his head, "I don't want to, but I dare not. King Liang has sent people to ask for this stick many times. If I continue to refuse, I'm afraid I will bear the brunt. Returning this stick is to keep the promise and to resolve the disaster. To escape, King Wu does not have to refuse.”

Xu Chu laughed, knowing that Gan Zhao was being polite. Whoever gets the magic stick will get a lot of support from the World Army, and there is no need to be afraid of the threat of King Liang.

Xu Chu accepted the magic stick and sighed: "I have disappointed the kings. Less than a day after taking office as the army leader, the foreign enemies have not retreated even one step, and the city has already been in chaos."

"Every king has his own different intentions, and the fault does not lie with King Wu."

This is a delicate moment. The two kings meet and tell each other the truth. Whoever takes a step back will be the minister. If he takes a step forward, he will be the master and will have to bear greater responsibilities and risks.

Xu Chu hesitated a little, but soon disappeared. He was tired of boring persuasion and wanted to make the decision himself.

"Right or wrong, I am already exhausted. Does the King of Shu have any suggestions?"

Gan Zhao said with a smile: "I became king by chance, not by any great strategy. I came to see the King of Wu just to ask for advice."

Xu Chu thought for a while and said, "The King of Jin and the King of Liang are obviously rebellious and intend to betray the King of Shu, King Ning and me, and lead their troops back to Bingzhou. The reason for the delay is that they want to win more surrenders." Secondly, Shijun has not yet reached an agreement with the officers and soldiers.”

"What the King of Wu said is absolutely true. The officers and soldiers are strong, and the kings united have little chance of winning. If they are divided again, they will definitely lose. I have no objection and am willing to follow the King of Wu to advance and retreat, but I don't know if the other three kings can still save it? "

"Prince Ning is calm and understands the general situation. He must be willing to join forces, but it is difficult for him to believe me."

"King Ning still has some trust in me. I can give him a few words of persuasion, and he might listen. The reason for the division of the kings lies with King Liang, not King Ning. Persuading King Liang is the most difficult thing."

This was what Xu Chu was waiting for. Although both of them told the truth, they also concealed something. Gan Zhao must have discussed it with King Ning before meeting King Wu again. He said "a few words of persuasion", which meant that he would definitely succeed. .

Xu Chu thought for a moment, "Although King Liang is the initiator, he is not the leader. He only needs to persuade King Jin to change his mind, and King Liang will naturally suppress his ambitions temporarily."

"Can Prince Jin give me some advice?"

Xu Chu thought for a longer time and replied: "It can be persuaded."

Gan Zhao was overjoyed and said, "If we can persuade the King of Jin to return, great things will happen."

"But I can't just go like this. King Jin is very thoughtful and it's hard to persuade him with words alone. We have to let him see the reality first."

"What King Wu means is..."

"If the King of Shu and King Ning can come to our camp tomorrow morning to discuss the military situation together, it will be considered a 'real matter' for the King of Jin."

Gan Zhao handed over his hand and said, "Please let King Wu wait for my reply. If King Ning refuses to come, I will come by myself. I vow to advance and retreat with King Wu. If he is willing to come, I will also ask King Wu to work hard and become the leader of the army again."

Xu Chu returned the gift and said, "If I get help from King Shu and King Ning, I will be obliged to do so."

Gan Zhao said goodbye and left. Xu Chu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately went out with the stick of birth and inspected the whole camp again.

The officers and soldiers of the Avatar Army were already dissatisfied with Xue Liujia, but their awe of the Advent Stick was growing day by day. They still firmly believed in the theory of Maitreya coming to the world, thinking that there must be divine power in the stick.

Xu Chu received thousands of people kneeling down and worshiping him. After the news spread, many soldiers of the World Army came to seek refuge. Most of them had no owners, and some came from the camp of the King of Shu - they only recognized the World Army.

For these latecomers, Xu Chu must first answer a question: when will he avenge the coming king?

The Jingshi Army has never been a closely-knit army. From Xue Liujia down to the most ordinary soldiers, everyone has their own ideas. When the Jingshi King was killed, some people did not take it seriously and were even happy, while others were determined to avenge the death.

Gan Zhao told the truth. One of the reasons why he returned the World Rod was that he couldn't deal with these Avengers.

Xu Chu summoned the leaders, placed the Advent Stick on the main chair, and led everyone to kneel down together. After getting up, he said: "The Advent King had a premonition that he would ascend to heaven to meet Master Maitreya, so he left the stick in advance. ”

This statement was much more common than the inexplicable death of the King of the World at the hands of a mortal, and it was immediately supported by the leaders. Many people even thought that this was their original idea, and it happened to be said by King Wu.

"But King Liang is still the murderer of King Jingshi. We want revenge, right?" someone asked, confused by this.

"Yes." Xu Chu could not completely change the leaders' ideas, and he had to cater to them when it was time to do so. "But the matter of revenge must be decided by Maitreya Buddha. Since Buddha had used the hand of King Liang, he could naturally use the hand of others again. This revenge is not unrequited, but the time has not come. If the will of God comes, I will definitely feel it when I hold this stick."

The leaders agreed deeply. Some of them looked at the stick of advent, hoping to see a clue, but in the end they got nothing, so they also believed what King Wu said.

Xu Chu tried his best to persuade the soldiers of the advent army to give up revenge temporarily and concentrate on dealing with the officers and soldiers outside the city.

In the early morning, the officers and soldiers happened to launch the first large-scale siege. Rockets and stone bombs flew over the top of the city, causing many fires and destroying many houses. The casualties of the rebels were few, but they were greatly shocked and believed King Wu's persuasion a little more.

The kings defended the city with all their strength, even the King of Jin and the King of Liang. They understood that the soldiers were testing the rebels. If the rebels could not withstand a single blow, all betrayal, surrender or submission would become worthless.

The battle lasted for nearly an hour, and the soldiers retreated, deployed more siege equipment, and began to treat the rebels more seriously.

Xu Chu was worried that Meng Senglun, who left the city last night, would soon have something else to worry about.

Ning Baoguan came, accompanied by Gan Zhao, each with more than ten guards, and stayed outside the camp gate.

Xu Chu personally went to the door to greet them, chatting and laughing in front of all the soldiers.

When they arrived at the barracks, Ning Baoguan said, "I sincerely respect the King of Wu as the military leader. I don't understand why the King of Liang and the King of Jin are suspicious? Is it because I didn't send all the soldiers to the King of Wu? But the soldiers are besieging from all sides, and the North City also needs soldiers."

Xu Chu said, "King Ning, don't worry. I can convince the King of Jin and the King of Liang to change their minds. There is only one thing. Since you are the military leader, you should act like a military leader. If you are just in name only, it is better for everyone to fight on their own."

"What is the 'act' of the King of Wu? Just tell me, I won't say anything."

Xu Chu also had to look at Ning Baoguan with new eyes. The King of Mang, who used to speak bluntly and harshly, actually knew how to flatter and didn't look embarrassed at all.

Those who can bend and stretch are especially difficult to deal with.

Xu Chu didn't think about these for the time being. He chatted with the two kings for a while and went out to patrol the city together. This time, it extended to the areas guarded by Ning and Shu. Every time they went to a place, Ning Baoguan and Gan Zhao would definitely recruit generals first and reiterate the oath that the King of Wu was the military leader.

Xu Chu was not polite either. He ordered people to make a list and call for a batch of command arrows. He had made a seal with only one word "Chu" on it before, so that the generals could recognize it and remember it firmly in their hearts. From then on, they would pass military orders with the seal and command arrows.

Ning Baoguan and Gan Zhao were appointed as the generals of North City and West City respectively. Although this has always been the case, the fact that they were appointed by the King of Wu in public added another layer of obedience.

North City suffered the heaviest attacks. Xu Chu designated several royal palaces not far from North City and converted them into huge military camps to accommodate the Advent Army, which could support North City or West City at any time.

The East Capital Arsenal was still there, leaving a lot of equipment. Xu Chu moved them all out, leaving some in the camp, and the rest to King Ning and King Shu, so that the soldiers could learn and use them immediately, trying to give everyone something to do so as not to cause chaos for no reason.

There were more equipment outside the city, with catapults everywhere, and the tower car was just built in its infancy, and it could compete with the city wall.

Ning Baoguan and Gan Zhao frequently sent people to report the war situation. Xu Chu knew that the two kings were actually trying to find out his movements and see when he would go to persuade the King of Jin and the King of Liang.

Xu Chu was not in a hurry. He sent more scouts to monitor the east and south. If there was an accident, he could immediately send troops to take over the city gate.

Ma Wei was fierce on the outside but weak on the inside. When he assassinated the emperor, he ran the fastest when he heard the news was leaked. Xu Chu therefore guessed that as long as he showed his strength, Ma Wei would definitely surrender.

Shen Dan was the real opponent. Like Ning Baoguan, he could bend and stretch. If he thought it was necessary, he would surrender faster and more naturally than Ma Wei.

When killing Xue Liujia, Shen Dan refused to show up, which showed his ambiguity. Xu Chu therefore thought that he was a person who could be persuaded.

This time, he guessed right.

At dusk, the messengers of Ning Baoguan and Gan Zhao came more frequently. Every time they saw that the King of Wu was still there, they would unconsciously reveal a trace of disappointment. It was not until they heard that the King of Wu had entered the palace to meet the King of Jin that the messengers returned happily to report the news.

Shen Dan did not invite Xu Chu directly, but sent a message through Cao Shenxi, hoping to meet in the palace to resolve the misunderstanding.

The arrival of the officers and soldiers made Cao Shenxi very embarrassed. He did not want to get involved in the affairs between the kings anymore. He just wanted to protect the queen mother and find a reason to exempt himself after the war. However, he could not resist Shen Dan's temptation and came to invite the King of Wu in person.

"The King of Jin said that he only brought Liu Youzhong and Tan Wuwei with him to express his brotherly love to the King of Wu." Cao Shenxi sighed.

Xu Chu kept Cao Shenxi for a few drinks before getting up and entering the palace together.

Guo Shifeng and Song Xingcai came to meet him. They had heard about the situation outside and became more respectful to the King of Wu, especially Guo Shifeng, who bowed below the friend line and was only slightly higher than the minister line.

Xu Chu ordered the two men to continue guarding the Queen Mother's bedroom, and then went south to find a spacious side hall, with only four guards, waiting for the arrival of his three brothers.

After trying to figure out Shen Dan's character again, Xu Chu called in eight more guards and put on armor himself.