Plan to cut off the nine states

According to Meng Nilun's plan, Song Xingcao was arranged to stay in the city. In order to avoid suspicion, he went out to patrol the city as soon as it got dark, which coincided with the approach of King Wu.

The Eastern Capital had just ended its state of division. Xu Chu was trying to unify his orders. Many of the descending armies were not used to this. The subordinates of King Liang and King Shu recognized King Wu as the lord of the city, but were hesitant to obey orders. Song Xingcai went around During the inspection, all the problems that could not be solved were recorded and prepared to be handed over to King Wu for disposal.

The people in the city were hiding again these days, closing their doors tightly before dark. When the rebels and the officers and soldiers fought in Nancheng, they did not help each other, and they were even more cautious after the war.

The soldiers who had escaped death were more indulgent than before. After nightfall, they wandered in groups in the streets and alleys. They were just a little more careful. When they saw the night watch team, especially when they heard that they were from King Wu, they fled. See you again later.

Song Xingcai shook his head all the way and said to the deputy general beside him: "The World Army is used to being disorganized. If we want to correct it, we must use severe punishments and severe punishments to govern."

"This is probably what King Jingshi entrusted the entire army to Zhizheng." The deputy general believed in King Jingshi very much.

Song Xingcai also believed it and nodded with deep understanding.

The corpses on the battlefield in Nancheng have been collected. The people who originally lived here quietly returned to their homes and tried their best to put things in order. Many rebel soldiers also came here, either to pay homage to their relatives and friends, to cry in the street, or to climb over the broken courtyard wall. Look for opportunities to loot.

King Wu repeatedly issued orders prohibiting looting, but some people still took risks at night. No one dared to complain anyway, and they only needed to avoid the patrol team.

Song Xingcao inspected Nancheng and prevented many robberies, but did not arrest anyone. He just drove them away from people's homes.

The entire team consisted of about 120 or 30 people, with more than ten people on horseback and the rest on foot. Everyone was not very nervous. This was the city, and under the banner of King Wu, they had no obstruction and had never been out before. That's right. Although those incarnation armies are loose, they are easy to deal with. They can scare them away with a few roars.

Song Xingcao was riding a horse slowly, thinking only of Meng Nilun. The generals of the seven tribes rose up together, came to Luozhou together, and appointed Xu Chu as the ruling king. Their friendship became deeper and deeper. He deplored Meng Nilun's act of committing suicide. , and at the same time felt that he should save Wang Dian.

When the arrow came, no one reacted in advance. Song Xingcai didn't look up blankly until he was hit by the arrow. He made a sound in his throat, as if he wanted to ask something. Before the words came out, he fell from his horse. He fell down and never got up again.

The arrow was shot with great accuracy, hitting Song Xingcai's forehead right in the middle.

The deputy general was horrified and immediately divided his troops to search for the assassin.

The assassin was obviously very familiar with the terrain and disappeared quickly, but he was not alone. Two of his accomplices were caught up and died in a fierce battle. The lieutenant found the waistbands of the officers and soldiers on their bodies, indicating that they were from Jizhou.

When the news came back to the camp, Meng Nilun and others, who were about to set off, gave up their original plan and put the entire army on alert, waiting for King Wu to return.

The corpse was placed in the meeting hall. Song Xingcai's eyes widened. He didn't understand what was going on until his death. He had experienced many battles and did not die on the battlefield, but died due to an arrow from the dark. .

The officers and soldiers of the Wu army were extremely sad. After hearing the news, they immediately searched for the hidden officers and soldiers in the city. Meng Nilun urged, but did not let anyone go to find the King of Wu, but waited patiently.

Xu Chu was also very angry. Song Xingcao was by no means a perfect general, but he was loyal and brave. When the Wu army needed morale most, he was always the first to rush to the front and made great achievements many times. It can be said that he is indispensable. .

It was he who was assassinated.

It was written clearly on the two waist tags that the two killed were Jizhou soldiers. They obviously did not have time to withdraw from the battlefield and stayed in the city to become assassins.

"Search the city, search door to door, starting with Nancheng." Xu Chu ordered. This was a decision he had to make. Only in this way could he show how much he valued Wu Jun and Song Xingcai.

"General Meng is asked to be responsible for searching the city. Don't miss any place, including the palace, but don't disturb the people. Do you understand?"

"Follow your orders." Meng Nilun understood that he did not have to leave the city to die for the time being. He had to avenge Song Xingcai first and make the whole city aware of it, but he could not damage the image of the rebels. The spontaneous plundering of a few people could be stopped. Once things changed, Cheng Quanjun's actions can no longer be undone.

Xu Chu was still angry and stared at the corpse for a long time, then came to join the generals' discussion.

Meng Nilun arranged it very well. Some people blocked the streets, some searched in separate areas, some announced orders, and some patrolled back and forth. He used a lot of troops and asked the kings of Shu and Liang to assist.

"Try to capture them alive. Officers and soldiers will not become assassins for no reason. There must be someone who instigates them." Xu Chu added, "General Song must die clearly."

It was already dawn. Xu Chu first summoned the generals who had nothing to do and announced the appointment that had been spread for a long time: Xue Jinyao, the wife of King Wu and the daughter of the ancestor king, would be the general who came to the world, ranking above all the generals.

Because of the assassination incident, the appointment ceremony was relatively hasty. No one was dissatisfied with this, and no one even cared about Xue Jinyao's identity as a woman. Her height, strength, and the Battle of Xicheng eliminated all doubts.

Xu Chu needs her to stabilize the World Army.

Xue Jinyao was not good at searching cities and was not interested. After being appointed, he asked directly: "When will we fight again?"

"Tomorrow, concentrate our forces and fight to determine the outcome."

"Everyone is under my control?"

"Except for King Ning's eight thousand men and one thousand horses, the rest are yours."

"What if the King of Shu and the King of Liang are dissatisfied? Especially the King of Liang."

"Look for me."

"Okay." Xue Jinyao has no doubt that she is more familiar with the World Army and is willing to use the old army to stay and discuss tomorrow's decisive battle.

Xu Chu did not attend the meeting to show his complete trust in the general who came to the world, and only recommended a few people to her as staff advisors.

The preparations for the war and the search for the city were carried out at the same time, and Xu Chu had to keep his promise and go to release Ningbaoguan.

Ning Baoguan had already heard about Song Xingcai's death. As soon as he saw the King of Wu, he said, "Song Xingcai is a rare and powerful general. King Wu has suffered a great loss."

"We will avenge him." Xu Chu said flatly.

The two looked at each other for a while, and Ning Baoguan said: "If the defeated soldiers have no one to command them, they will not be able to hide before they can run out and assassinate the enemy general."

"I know. King Ning is well on his way. We will organize our troops today and leave the city tomorrow. The officers and soldiers will use assassins, and I will return the favor with thousands of troops."

Ning hugged Guan and held his hands, walked out of the room, turned around after a few steps and said, "The King of Wu is no stranger to assassination, is he?"

Xu Chu forced out a smile and said, "As long as it is a useful method, anyone can use it. It depends on whether he uses it well or not."

"I don't know how to use it. It's not that I don't want to, but I don't know how. I can't trust any assassin." Ning Baoguan strode away. Even when walking in King Wu's camp, he didn't feel the slightest bit timid.

Niu Tiannu stayed behind and stepped forward and said: "King Wu, please don't blame me. King Ning is straightforward and has no ill intentions."

"I would rather deal with a cheerful person like Prince Ning, and Mrs. Niu has a good rest."

"My children will be brought here later. The guards will just bring them directly to me."

Xu Chu nodded and said goodbye, said a few words to the guards at the gate of the military camp, and returned to the meeting hall to check the situation.

Xue Jinyao was having a heated discussion over there. She had already decided on the general formation, who would be in the front, who would be in the back, who would be in reserve, and who would be the surprise troops. They were all well organized, which made the generals admire them, even the generals in the Liang and Shu armies. It doesn't matter, no matter how you arrange it.

Meng Nilun was in charge of searching the city in a room next door. The streets had just been closed and there was no harvest yet.

Xu Chu ordered people to go into the palace to summon Cao Shen to wash, and he went back to the bedroom to rest for a while.

He needs to rest. He has been feeling dizzy after not sleeping for too long, but he doesn't want to sleep. He feels uncomfortable as soon as he closes his eyes. The door doesn't seem to be closed tightly, there seems to be someone outside the window, and everyone around him seems to be acting the same way. Questions, Ning Baoguan's sarcasm, Xue Jinyao's calmness, Meng Nilun's staying... Even Tang Weitian, who was sleeping soundly, seemed abnormal.

Xu Chu must always warn himself not to be overly suspicious in order to stay calm.

Cao Shenxi came quickly and asked as soon as he entered the room: "Why did King Wu..." He glanced at Tang Weitian who was snoring loudly and continued: "The death of General Song is regrettable, but the people are not guilty. King Wu searched the city... …”

"General Cao is invited to come, just for this matter." Xu Chu interrupted Cao Shenxi, stood up and came to the old general, waved his hands to the two guards at the door, and motioned for them to stay.

"I?"

"Please help General Cao. Do you think it is inappropriate to search the whole city? Do you have any clever ideas to find the hidden officers and soldiers and avenge General Song?"

Cao Shenxi thought seriously for a while, "Searching the city will make the people panic. Although the King of Wu has ordered not to disturb the people, it is difficult for the rebel soldiers to control their balance..."

"I know all this, and I want a better idea."

Cao Shenxi was a general. He knew how to organize troops, but arresting people was not his specialty. "I have old officials there who are familiar with the Eastern Capital and are good at arresting and interrogating. I can use them."

"Are they willing to find the hidden officers and soldiers for me?"

"Since you are protected by King Wu, you should work for King Wu."

"Hey, you'd rather hope that the Jizhou soldiers will be victorious and that you can become an official, right? Later, my people will conduct a thorough investigation of General Cao's administrative office. If nothing is found, perhaps we can borrow the officials. If a hidden person is found, Officers and soldiers—I had to take back the shelter I had always had.”

Cao Shenxi was stunned, "King Wu...is he doubting me?"

"Shouldn't I doubt you?"

"If I had ill intentions towards the King of Wu, I could have done it in Beicheng the day before yesterday. Why would I need to hide my officers and soldiers and resort to assassination?"

"Does General Cao know what outsiders say about you?"

"I heard something. Which one did King Wu hear?"

"People say that General Cao has a little bit of talent but a weak will. The plans he made were ten points, but after being interfered with by others, he often only had four or five points left. Therefore, he often lost in battles and had to be manipulated by strong men in order to be able to exert his power as a general. Therefore, when General Cao fought for the general, he was always successful. After the separation, he became a mediocre general. Tiancheng had been peaceful for twenty years and did not let General Cao show up. Once there was a chaos, General Cao lost consecutive battles. "

Cao Shen washed his face and his face turned green and red. He had heard similar comments before, but this was the first time someone pointed them out to him in person. He was silent for a long time, and then said: "I am a mediocre person, but I will not use despicable means like assassination." , and without being ‘manipulated by a strong man’, how can I arrange assassins?”

"The general is not here, but Fei Zhen is still there. He went to see General Cao the night before, not just to reminisce and express gratitude, but actually to arrange an assassination. Hey, Lord Fei finally got the idea and can use intrigues. He pretended to be the opposite, even I also lied to him, and I admire him. But why did he let General Song be assassinated instead of killing me?"

Cao Shenxi still looked confused, "I don't know what Master Fei arranged, but I will never participate. If the assassin is really arranged by Master Fei, I can guess some clues -" Cao Shenxi stared at Xu Chu, "I've heard people say that the King of Wu relied on his resourcefulness, and he couldn't bear to be deceived the most. He would be irritable when he was deceived, and he would make foolish moves when he was irritable. Perhaps this is what Mr. Fei is waiting for."