Plan to cut off the nine states

Zhang Shiqing drove away the official who came to ask questions. The reaction of Yecheng was quite calm. No one was sent until dark. However, the guest that Xu Chu expected came after the second watch of the night.

Xu Chu had already fallen asleep and was awakened by the knocking on the door. Chang Yanzhi whispered outside: "Excuse me, sir, a guest has come. I thought you would meet him, so I brought him directly."

Xu Chu turned over and sat up, put on his clothes, shoes, lit the lamp, and went to open the door himself.

Chang Yanzhi flashed in with someone.

The man was wearing a cloak and was about to kneel down and kowtow as soon as he entered the room. Xu Chu hurriedly supported him and dragged him to the table. With the help of the lamplight, he recognized that the guest was his old subordinate Meng Yingbo.

Meng Yingbo was the younger brother of Meng Senglun. After his brother committed suicide, he briefly served as the leader of the seven tribes of Wu, but because of his rough personality, he quickly handed over the position. He didn't care much and was willing to be a small leader. He followed the Jin Shengnv to Qinzhou with the soldiers of Wu.

"Little General Meng!" Xu Chu was a little surprised.

"King of Wu, I finally see you." Meng Yingbo was very excited and wanted to kneel again.

Xu Chu did not let him kneel, and helped him sit down.

Chang Yanzhi said: "I have reminded you several times that the young master has not used the title of 'King of Wu' for a long time."

"Yes, but I have to call him, otherwise I will feel uneasy."

Xu Chu also sat down and said with a smile: "Calling 'Young Master Xu' shows the old feelings, and you must not use the word 'King of Wu' again."

"I will only recognize you if Young Master Xu says it himself." Meng Yingbo said.

Chang Yanzhi shook his head and sat down as well. He was very concerned about the situation of the children of the seven clans, so he wanted to stay and listen to a few words.

"When did General Meng arrive in Yecheng?"

"Don't mention it. He arrived in Yecheng seven days ago. He has been deceived by Tian Jiang and lived in a small dark room. He never saw the sun. He was released yesterday. Someone showed me the way and asked me to meet Mr. Xu in the evening. Let's not talk about other things first. Where is Tian Jiang? Let him come out to see me."

Chang Yanzhi brought Meng Yingbo over as soon as he saw him. He was shocked when he heard his words before he had a detailed conversation. "Don't you know? Tian Jiang was arrested."

"It's what he deserves. Who arrested him?"

"A barbarian king of He Rong's tribe."

"Why did the barbarian king arrest people in Yecheng?" Meng Yingbo was no longer so gloating.

"It's a long story. Tian Jian must have told his men to release you as soon as he was caught. For this alone, you should thank him."

"Hehe."

"First, why did you come here? Are the children of the seven clans still in Qinzhou? Has Xijing fallen? Has anyone I know died? Sorry, sir, I'm a little anxious."

"These are exactly what I want to ask." Xu Chu said.

"Yes, I was just about to say - is Tian Jian okay? Although he kept me locked up for seven days, he gave me good wine and meat every meal, which was quite polite. I came to see you on the orders of Saint Jin. Now the situation in Xijing is critical and it is uncertain. Please think of a plan quickly, or go there in person. With you here, everyone's morale will surely be high and we will be able to break the siege of the soldiers again."

"Saint Jin sent you?" Xu Chu asked.

"Yes, since I recognize Saint Jin as my master, of course I will follow her orders."

"Do you have a letter?"

"No, the journey from Xijing to Yecheng is long, and there are soldiers everywhere. If Saint Jin's handwritten letter is found, I will not have the chance to see you. I won't say much nonsense. I am almost dying of anxiety after wasting seven days in Yecheng. I don't know what the situation is in Xijing now. Does you have a way to relieve the siege of Xijing? If not, follow me and go there in person. You can't just stand by and watch someone die. As the saying goes, you should look at the Buddha's face instead of the monk's. You don't care about the life and death of us Wu people, but you should go to help Saint Jin."

Chang Yanzhi frowned and said, "Xiao Meng, you are still talking nonsense. You are forcing you to go before you figure out the matter. You also say 'stand by and watch someone die without helping'. How many times have you saved Wu people? Don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember. I'm just... anxious." Meng Yingbo looked at Xu Chu anxiously.

"Don't worry, even if you want to go to Xijing, now is not the time."

Meng Yingbo heard a glimmer of hope and was overjoyed, "Yes, we have to prepare, but there are too many soldiers on the road, we can't walk during the day, we can only walk at night - how about tomorrow night?"

"General Meng is still too anxious." Xu Chu smiled, "Let me ask you a few questions first, so that you can have a general idea."

"Yes, yes, the young master is a master of strategy and victory thousands of miles away, ask."

"How many troops are there in Xijing now? How many civilians?"

"Uh... the specific number is not clear, the young master also knows that the soldiers of the Jiangshi Army will come and go in the future, and they have always been unstable, but there are more than in the Dongdu, because the soldiers are fighting Too cruel, too close, many people came to surrender. As for the people, the families of the Advent Army are almost as many as the soldiers, maybe even more. "

"What about the original people in Xijing?"

"There are not many left. Xijing is almost an empty city. Jin Shengnv sent Cao Shenxi into the city for negotiations and captured the whole city without bloodshed."

"Well, has Xijing had any new troops join?"

Speaking of the new army, Meng Yingbo smiled, "Even if you don't ask, I have to talk about this. There are many leaders in the new army, and there are three with the highest status. One of them is called Xiong Nandi. I don't know what he was thinking, but he actually asked Jin Shengnv for marriage..."

"I have heard about this." Xu Chu interrupted.

"Oh." Meng Yingbo was a little disappointed, "What happened later?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

Meng Yingbo became interested again, "We talked back and forth several times, and Jin Shengnv said that she had to see me in person before she could decide whether to marry or not..."

"Golden Saint Girl said something like this?" Chang Yan shouted.

"Sit down and listen to what I have to say. We hadn't arrived in Xijing at that time, and there weren't that many officers and soldiers. It was difficult for the enemy to choose a place. Each side brought thirty people to meet. I happened to be selected and saw the scene with my own eyes. ." Meng Yingbo laughed first, and kept laughing. He stopped after a while, coughed twice, and continued: "The hero is very satisfied, but the golden saint is not satisfied. If she loses, Just agree to marry him, if you win, haha..."

Chang Yan said: "No wonder Tian Jiang locked you up for seven days, and even then he didn't let you calm down."

"Sorry, I feel funny when I think about it. The Golden Saint said that if she wins, Duryodhana will accept her as his godmother."

Chang Yan was stunned and burst into laughter.

Xu Chu laughed and shook his head. He felt it was impossible, but also felt like something the Golden Saint would do.

Chang Yan said with a smile: "No need to ask, the Golden Saint must have won and gained an adopted son."

"Of course, we have all seen what the Golden Saint is capable of, but Duryodhana has never seen it. We thought the rumors were exaggerated, so we readily agreed. The two were competing on horseback skills, and coincidentally, they both used long spears. In the first round, no one stabbed anyone, and Duryodhana was a little embarrassed. In the second round, the Golden Saint didn't make any moves and just fluttered by. Duryodhana used too much force and almost fell off his horse. , the third round - when the two horses were crossing each other, the golden saint stabbed diagonally with her long spear, knocking off the helmet of Duryodhana. Haha, it’s a pity that you were not there and didn’t see how embarrassed Duryodhana was. He didn’t admit defeat at first. , then said that there was something wrong with his horse, and then scolded his men, saying that their cheers were not loud enough. Then... then when no one expected, he suddenly turned around, knelt down, and called to the Golden Saint. Saying 'Godmother', he got up and ran away. The thirty people he brought with him couldn't catch up in time, so it would be so embarrassing to stay there, haha."

Meng Yingbo spoke happily, and Xu Chu and Chang Yan also found it funny.

"According to this, this hero is not that powerful." Chang Yan said.

"You can't say that, it's called the strongest among the strongest. After Xiong Duryodhana ran away, he never mentioned the matter of proposing for marriage, but he killed dozens of new army leaders in a row, and they all used long spears, which shows that his She is not low in ability, but the Golden Saint Girl is superior."

"This is strange. Duryodhana is defeated by the Golden Saint. How can he kill his own people?"

"Not counting our own people. There are many leaders in the new army and they are not subordinate to each other. After Duryodhana loses in the competition, he always feels that he is being laughed at. He is unreasonable and does not inquire to understand. When he hears rumors, he brings them with him. When soldiers go to attack, they must stab the opponent to death with a spear. "

"Hero Duryodhana made too many enemies and was killed by other bosses, right?" Chang Yan guessed.

Meng Yingbo shook his head, "You are wrong. Later, when officers and soldiers entered the Qin Dynasty, Xiong Nandi was defeated in a row. The number of new army leaders who laughed at him did not decrease, but became more. Even his own subordinates often joked about this matter. When the hero was angry, he simply took his people to the Golden Saint and called her 'godmother' every day, even more filial than to his own mother."

Chang Yan was stunned for a long time, "Xiong Di... is a true hero. It seems that he sent the assassin before the competition."

"What assassin?"

Chang Yan narrated the story of Dai Pohu's assassination in general. Meng Yingbo was shocked and angry, "I never thought Dai Pohu would do such a thing! But it's okay. The enemy no longer dares to send assassins. When the young master arrives in Qinzhou, he will He has to be called 'adopted father'."

Xu Chu smiled bitterly and said: "I dare not recognize such an adopted son. According to you, the strength of the Avatar Army has greatly increased, and as far as I know, the officers and soldiers from various states are suspicious of each other. As long as the Jizhou Army besieges the city with all its strength, the Avatar Army will not be able to It’s very precarious.”

Meng Yingbo was stunned for a moment, then immediately said: "It's not a question of more soldiers and fewer soldiers, but of food and grass. There is an adequate supply of officers and soldiers, but the incarnation army has less food every day. Although there are many soldiers and generals, they are a burden. There is another big problem. Although the Golden Saint has conquered Xiongdi, the number of people who oppose her in the army has only increased."

"Why?"

"There is no way, why is the Golden Saint a woman? After the Incarnation Army returned to Qin, life has not been smooth. Although Xijing was captured, there were four empty city walls and lack of food and clothing. Many people said that soldiers are pure Yang. , You can't let a woman be the commander-in-chief, because the Yin energy is too strong, it is difficult to have a future. Many people want to promote the young king to the throne, but more people miss the young master, and miss the young master's cleverness and bravery. As long as you. Once you go, all problems will be solved.”

Xu Chu hummed, thought for a moment, and then said, "What did General Wang Dian say?"

"Wang Dian? Nothing happens to him. I am following the orders of the Golden Saint..."

"Wang Dian is the leader of the seven clans, but he didn't even say a word about you when you came to Yecheng?"

"Ah...just told me to complete the task..."

"General Xiao Meng, if you are unwilling to tell the truth, then leave now and don't waste your breath on me."

Xu Chu's tone was stern, but Meng Yingbo still thought he was the King of Wu. He was frightened and said hurriedly: "To tell the truth, it's all Wang Dian. I said that I can't hide it from the young master. He insisted... It's not the Golden Saint who sent me. It was a joint decision of the seven clans, but what I said just now is not a lie. The Golden Saint is indeed in trouble internally and externally. There are officers and soldiers outside the city, and dissatisfied leaders inside the city. This happened more than 20 days ago, and the current situation is just that. It will be even more critical. Now only we Wu people and some surrendered officers and soldiers are truly loyal to the Golden Saint, and neither the Old World Army nor the Heroes can be trusted..."

Just as Xu Chu was about to speak, the panicked voice of an old servant suddenly came from outside the house, "The government has sent someone again, and this time the little princess can't stop him!"