Plan to cut off the nine states

If it weren't for the title of "King of Wu", no one would believe a word Xu Chu said. Several generals argued for a long time. Xiao Gu'an walked back alone and bowed his hands and said, "We dare not make the decision on such a big matter..."

"I'm lying to you." Xu Chu said.

"What?"

"I made up those words just now. King Liang did not frame me, and the New World Army did not sneak into Luozhou. I removed the title of king just because I was tired. I shouldn't use lies to implicate you. Let's go. I'll go with you to see King Jin."

Xiao Gu'an froze there for a long time without speaking. Suddenly he turned around and went to discuss with his companions. This time it was very short. The four of them came to King Wu together. Xiao Gu'an said seriously, "Do we understand what King Wu meant?"

"Sorry, I just..."

Xiao Gu'an did not accept the apology, and then said, "Please rest here, King Wu. I will send someone back to ask King Jin for instructions."

"You still don't understand." Xu Chu smiled.

Xiao Gu'an and the others were not smiling. "The King of Wu is very intelligent. He had expected that the King of Jin would send people to chase him, so he played a trick of playing hard to get, and finally directed the disaster to the Jin army."

Xu Chu was stunned and shook his head. "Once the lie begins, the truth has no place to stand. It's my fault. Please arrange it, General Xiao."

Xiao Gu'an immediately assigned 50 people to "look after" the King of Wu, and ordered the deputy general to take 50 people to return to the Jin camp immediately to seek clear instructions.

Xiao Gu'an divided the 50 people left into five teams, taking turns to rest, feed horses, guard, stand sentry, and patrol, without any chaos. His attitude towards the King of Wu also changed. He was still respectful, but more vigilant. He had already determined in his heart that the King of Wu intended to put the blame on the King of Jin.

Xu Chu slept against the wall, not caring about other people's business, thinking about how to deal with the King of Jin.

Probably because he was guarded by someone and felt at ease, Xu Chu slept quite comfortably. When he opened his eyes, the sky was slightly bright, and the small fire nearby was still burning. Obviously, someone had added firewood.

Xiao Gu'an stood outside the wall, carefully observing the situation on the avenue.

Xu Chu felt bad, so he stood up and walked to Xiao Gu'an, "General Xiao didn't sleep all night?"

"How dare I slack off when I have a duty? King Wu slept well?"

"Not bad... well. How long has General Xiao been following King Jin?"

"My father was a general under Shen Mushou, and I inherited my father's position. I have been following the Shen family for more than 40 years."

"Longer than the Tiancheng court."

"Of course, the Shen family rose, and our Xiao family followed all the way." Xiao Gu'an said proudly.

"I think General Xiao knows King Jin very well."

Xiao Gu'an looked around and found that there were no outsiders around him, so he whispered: "King Wu, stop it. If you do something to provoke me, I can't be polite."

King Wu was known for his treacherous reputation, and he was suspected as soon as he opened his mouth. On the contrary, no matter how complicated the conspiracy he told was, people believed it.

"I am alone now. Even if the provocation succeeds, what good will it do me? You don't want General Xiao to travel the world with me."

Xiao Gu'an smiled slightly, "If you are not provoking, please say it, King Wu, please don't praise or criticize King Jin, which will embarrass me."

"Of course." What Xu Chu wanted to say was exactly "praise or criticism". After thinking for a while, he said, "If King Jin has any accusations, General Xiao must not defend himself. Kneeling down and admitting his guilt will keep him safe."

"Hmm? I didn't break the law. Why did King Jin accuse me? What do I have to defend myself?"

"I'm just talking in general." Xu Chu smiled.

Xiao Gu'an was puzzled, "King Wu should go and rest for a while. It is estimated that King Jin's order will be received before dark. No matter what, we must set off before nightfall."

Xu Chu walked slowly when he was alone, and the Jin soldiers galloped and could go back and forth in one day and one night.

Xu Chu bowed his hands. He had said everything he should say. He really wanted to rest for a while. Suddenly, he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance, so he stopped and looked into the distance.

A sentry came and stopped on the road. He shouted to Xiao Gu'an: "A group of people is coming from the direction of Mengjin."

"How many?"

"More than 30 people, two cars, and the others are on horses."

"Tell everyone to retreat, get on their horses...to protect the King of Wu."

Fifty soldiers quickly gathered, mounted their horses and lined up on the roadside, blocking the King of Wu. Xiao Gu'an led the way. If the other party was just passing by, he had no intention of causing trouble. If the other party had other intentions, he was not afraid. Fifty people against thirty people, the chances of winning were quite good.

As the team marched, Xiao Gu'an breathed a sigh of relief. Although the people who came were all on horses, they were all ordinary people judging by their attire.

Those people also saw the soldiers on the roadside and stopped far away. One person came forward alone and bowed, saying, "A passerby is looking for a convenience. May I ask which king's subordinates the general is?"

Xiao Gu'an had already asked the soldiers to lower their flags. He did not want to reveal his origins and replied, "We are also passing by. We will take a rest here. You can take care of your own way. We will not interfere with each other."

"Thank you, General." The man did not dare to neglect it. After thanking him, he returned to his team and called his companions to continue moving forward.

The two sides were on guard against each other. There was an old man in the civilian team. When he passed by the Jin soldiers, he could not help but be curious and turned his head to take a look. This one look caused a big trouble.

"King Wu! King Wu is here!"

Xu Chu did not hide deliberately. Standing in front of the broken wall and behind the Jin soldiers, he felt that the passerby looked familiar. He was carefully identifying him. When he heard the call, he looked closely and recognized that it was his old servant.

The old servant was wandering on the street and was taken in by the King of Wu. I don't know why he came here.

When the old servant called out, everyone else turned their heads to look. When they saw the King of Wu, they were all shocked and stopped immediately.

It turned out that these people were not ordinary people. Some were the original guards of King Wu, mostly Wu people and the World Army. There were also more than a dozen strangers, whom Xu Chu did not recognize.

Xiao Guyan shouted: "Go your way!"

Although these people took off their armor and hid their weapons beside them, they drew their swords one after another. One of the first people shouted loudly: "King Wu, we are here to surrender to you. Who are these people?"

Xu Chu was even more surprised than the Jin soldiers. He walked over quickly, cupped his hands to Xiao Guan and said, "General Xiao, please be patient. I said I would follow you, and I will keep my promise. These people are all my old troops. Let me say a few words to them."

Xiao Gu'an nodded, waved to the Jin soldiers, and ordered them to lower their swords and guns, but still hold them tightly in their hands, ready to fight at any time.

More than thirty people, including the old servant, knelt on the road and kowtowed to King Wu.

Xu Chu stepped forward and helped them up one by one, and said: "I am no longer the King of Wu. I am very grateful to you for coming to seek refuge, but forgive me for not accepting it. Who else do you want to seek refuge with? I can write a letter to recommend you."

A former guard said: "We just want to follow King Wu, no matter who he is..."

"I am just a commoner now, my surname is Xu Mingchu. Your name is Chang Yan?"

The surname Chang is one of the seven clans of the old Wu. Xu Chu once killed a general named Chang Shunzhi in front of the battle. Chang Yan was of the same clan as him, but he was not a brother.

"It's me. All seventeen of us are willing to continue to serve as guards for Mr. Xu."

The old servant interjected: "Yes, the fifteen of us are also willing to continue serving the young master."

Xu Chu smiled bitterly and said: "People in civilian clothes don't need so many people..."

Chang Yan said: "Master Xu, please accept us. Anyway, we have nowhere to go. God is so merciful that we meet Master Xu again. We will never leave again."

The old servant interjected again: "Yes, the young master left too hastily before and we had no time to follow him. This time he didn't leave at all."

"How come you have nowhere to go? General Jiangshi, Prince Liang and General Wang Dian..."

Chang Yan shook his head, "The King of Wu has treated us with great kindness, and we must repay it. If the King of Wu wants to fight for the throne, we will charge into battle for you. If the King of Wu wants to live in seclusion, we will clear up wasteland for you with pickaxes."

The old servant interjected again: "Yes, even though I am older, I can still work. These people are young and can do a lot for you."

Chang Yan and other seventeen people were all former guards. Even if Xu Chu didn't remember their names, they all looked familiar. However, only the old servant was an acquaintance of the other fifteen people, and there were less than fifteen of them. They probably stayed in the car. Never showed up.

Xu Chu had to ask clearly, cupped his hands and said, "Forgive my blindness, you don't seem to be my generals."

A young man in his twenties replied: "The King of Wu... Mr. Xu has never seen us. We were originally common people in Dongdu. We were imprisoned for something. Fortunately, we were pardoned and went with the army to fight against the Jingzhou army. Mr. Xu We once gave rice porridge to the people in Dongdu and spared them from death. We have eaten rice porridge and received mercy, so we came to follow Mr. Xu and accepted the request, hoping to repay the favor. "

Xu Chu was even more surprised. Many people in Dongdu fled, and the remaining people all had a stay-away mentality. No matter which side recruited them, they refused to show up, preferring to hide in cellars and suffer the hardships of poverty.

When Song Xingcai was assassinated, Xu Chu ordered a large-scale search and found more than 800 young and strong men. He originally planned to kill them in front of the battle, one for revenge and the other for flag sacrifice. Due to various accidents, he pardoned these men and incorporated them into the army. In the army.

Apart from being unable to hide, these people had no other crime. They actually abandoned their homes and careers to come here. Xu Chu was especially surprised and didn't know what to say.

Xiao Gu'an listened on the side and couldn't help but said: "The New World Army has arrived? Are you trying to avoid military disaster?"

Chang Yan said in confusion: "The New World Army? Where did the New World Army come from?"

"The emerging armies of the Qin and Han states are killing people like hemp, eating prisoners alive, and are extremely cruel. Didn't they reach the gates of the Eastern Capital?"

Chang Yan didn't know why, "No, King Liang and the Luozhou Army are now in charge of the Eastern Capital. General Jingshi will lead people to the west... I don't know. General, please ask someone else."

After all the words had been spoken, Chang Yan remembered to be more cautious.

Xiao Gu'an understood that he could not blame others, but he refused to call him "King Wu" anymore. He cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Xu, let's go on the road. If you want to take these people with you, you can, but if you don't, please make arrangements as soon as possible."

More than thirty people looked at it together, their eyes full of joy and expectation.

Xu Chu sighed, "You come with me to see King Jin..."

Everyone cheered, and Xu Chu added: "Xu accepts your kindness, but the road ahead is bumpy. If anyone wants to leave midway, just say so. I will only be grateful and will not stop you."

Some people nodded, and some vowed not to leave.

Xu Chu asked Chang Yan to lead his horse, but he was still wondering why these Dongdu people were willing to risk going out of the city to repay a small favor because they were not even willing to obey the imperial call.

"Is there anyone in the car?" Xu Chu asked the old servant in a low voice.

"Yes, the young master's family."

"family?"

"In the car in front is the seventh master, and in the back is the master's concubine?"

"Um?"

The old servant ignored it and turned to look behind him, "There is another one, why didn't he arrive? Did he regret it halfway and run away?"

A young man from Dongdu laughed and said: "Everyone regrets it, but he doesn't regret it either. Brother Tian is definitely not that kind of person."

"Tian Jiang...is here too?" Xu Chu was surprised again.

"Yes, I'm walking behind. I should have caught up a long time ago." The old servant was still looking from a distance.

Xu Chu turned around and came to Xiao Gu'an's horse, "Sorry, I can't go with you to see King Jin."

"What do you mean, Mr. Xu? It was clearly promised..."

"I'm thinking about your lives."