Plan to cut off the nine states

Xi Yun did not like or trust Xu Chu, but like many others, he believed in this man's ability.

"Xi Ren, what did you say?" Xi Yun didn't want to appear too interested or lose a possible opportunity, so he didn't make a decision and asked his second son.

Xi Ren wanted to take revenge as soon as he saw Xu Chu, and his impression did not change at this time, "I said I would push him to the military gate and behead him, but I will do it myself to avenge my elder brother."

"Hey." Xi Yun sneered, "If you want to help me, just tell me."

Xi Yuanyu figured out what his uncle was thinking and stepped forward: "I want to ask Xu Chu a few things first."

Xi Yun nodded in agreement, feeling a little relieved that at least the descendants of the Xi family were not all idiots, and there were still people to help him.

Xi Yuanyuan turned to Xu Chu, "How do you plan to help the Xi family capture Xiangyang?"

Xu Chu smiled and said: "The general who is in doubt should ask the question in reverse."

"Um?"

"Capturing Xiangyang, chasing the Jin army, and gaining trust are three important things. To do them, start from front to back, but to explain the reasons, you have to start from back to front."

"As you wish."

"Getting the Chanyu's trust is actually very simple. Offer the whole of Jingzhou and serve as the vanguard of the He Rong people."

Xi Yuan laughed suspiciously, "I thought you had some clever plan, but it turned out to be nothing more than this. The Chan Yuan is the reinforcements invited by His Majesty today, specifically to pacify Jiuzhou. The Xi family can distinguish between enemies and friends, and helping He Rong is serving the imperial court. . It’s not up to you to explain this.”

"General Yue Sui didn't understand. No matter who the Xi family is loyal to, the most important thing is to dedicate the 'whole' of Jingzhou. It doesn't matter if a piece is missing. The gain outweighs the loss. There is no other reason. He Rong people believe in bullying the weak, especially Shanyu. In In the eyes of the world, Jingzhou belongs to the Xi family..."

"Jingzhou belongs to our Xi family." Xi Yuanyi said immediately.

"So if a piece of Jingzhou is missing, it is the Xi family's dereliction of duty. In the eyes of the Chanyu, it means that it is not strong enough. If Jingzhou is weak and serves the Chanyu, not only will it not receive gratitude and attention, but it will also suffer harm. Duke Heng is willing to lead Xi Are our descendants going to be slaves outside the Great Wall?" Xu Chu asked Xi Yun directly.

Xi Yun snorted, and Xi Yuan said doubtfully: "You don't have to use provocation. No matter what, the Xi family will take back the entire Jingzhou. This is inevitable."

"The Xi family is based in Jiangling. What they lack is the counties in the east..."

"The east side has been calmed down." Xi Yuan said doubtfully, glancing at his uncle's expression and making no further explanation.

"Very good, the other gap is Yiling to the west."

"Yang Qinzai's navy will be the Xi family's navy from tomorrow." Xi Yuan smiled and said, "As for Chen Bingcai... he is not a strong enemy." He still did not explain further.

Xu Chu didn't ask any questions and said with a smile: "The biggest trouble is in Xiangyang."

"Master Xiangyang Leng was already under Jiangling's command, so there is no gap."

"What if Xiangyang falls and falls into the hands of the Bingzhou Jin army?"

Xi Yuanyu was speechless for a moment.

"So if you want to preserve Jingzhou, you must defend Xiangyang and expel the Jin army."

Xi Yuanyu glanced at his uncle again, "The Jin army has surrendered to the Shanyu. Wouldn't it be a challenge to the Shanyu to expel the Jin army?"

Xu Chu shook his head, "It's the same sentence. Shan Yu Chong bullied the strong and knew that the Xi family was the master of Jingzhou, but he sent the Jin army to seize the city. He clearly thought that the Xi family was weak and not enough to..."

Xi Ren shouted: "You said the Xi family is weak?"

"I didn't say that." Xu Chu said with a smile, "It was Shanyu who thought it was true."

"Are you the roundworm in Shan Yu's belly?"

"If the Chan Yu thought that the Xi family was strong, he should have sent an envoy to Jiangling to be polite first and then send troops. Now that he is rude and sends troops directly, General Xi doesn't have other ideas, right?"

Xi Ren was silent, and Xi Yuan asked suspiciously: "As you said, if the Xi family defeated the Jin army, not only would the Chanyu not be angry, but he would also look at the Xi family differently?"

"Of course the Chanyu will be angry, so while expelling the Jin army, the Xi family will also send people to see the Chanyu to explain their intention to preserve Jingzhou and dedicate the city to the Chanyu as soon as he arrives. Naturally, there is nothing to worry about."

"What you said is simple. Let's take it seriously. Once the matter here is over, the Xi family will go to Xiangyang. There is no need to 'capture'. Master Leng has already sent someone to ask Duke Heng for help." Xi Yuanyi glanced at the letter on the ground. , it has been lying there, no one picked it up.

"It's too late." Xu Chu smiled.

"This place is not too far from Xiangyang and the roads are smooth. Why is it too late?"

"Just now, General Yusu said that Chen Bing is not a strong enemy. It's interesting, because I came from General Chen's side, and he seemed to think that the Xi and Yang families were not strong enemies."

"Ha, even though my general is defeated, he can boast unashamedly." Xi Yuan said with a suspicious smile.

"Let's not talk about the victory or defeat here. As long as there is a war in Jiangnan, Xiangyang will definitely panic, thinking that reinforcements will not arrive for a while. Is Lord Leng still willing to defend the city?"

Xu Chu had never met Lord Leng at all, but the Xi family was very familiar with him. Although no one answered, their expressions already showed their opinion: Lord Leng would not defend the isolated city.

Xi Yuan said suspiciously: "The Xi family can first send a group of soldiers to Xiangyang to reassure them."

"The general who aids suspects is skilled in bows and horses, a brave general, but he doesn't understand people's hearts. If the Xi family doesn't send people, Lord Leng will persist for a few more days. Once he sends people, but there are not enough troops, Lord Leng will definitely be even more panicked. He is now the most What I’m afraid of is ‘to put my mind at ease’, and this will be regarded as perfunctory.”

"Leng Yifang has been an official in Jingzhou for a long time and will never dare to disobey Duke Heng's orders."

Xu Chu felt at ease, at least "Lord Leng" was indeed Leng Yifang. He told Chen Bancai one less lie, "In that case, why did Lord Leng go around asking for help instead of just waiting for the Xi family?"

"You are the one who said it all, but our Xi family has never seen it."

Xu Chu took out the letter from Leng Yifang to Song Quzhu from his bosom. He had read it. There was only the self-proclaimed "Lord of Xiangyang City" on it, but no name.

Xi Yuanyi took the letter, hesitated for a moment, and turned to hand it to his uncle Xi Yun.

Xi Yun only glanced at it for a few seconds, then returned the letter to his nephew, and said, "Master Xu, continue."

Xu Chu took the letter back and still put it in his bosom, "So Xiangyang must be seized, but not by force, which will add a lot of trouble, but by clever seizure, so that Lord Leng will willingly hand over Xiangyang, and from then on be willing to be an official of the Xi family, and no longer be the 'Lord of Xiangyang City'."

The world was in chaos, and all the heroes set up their own names. Leng Yifang was no exception. In the letter to Song Quzhu, he called himself "Lord of Xiangyang City", and in the letter to the Xi family, he was much more humble.

"How to seize it by trickery?" Xi Yuanyi's tone was also much more relaxed.

"The trick is not in Xiangyang, but here."

"Here?"

"The Southern Army went north, and although they lost two battles in a row, they did not retreat to Hunan and Guangdong. The Xi family thought they would win. Please forgive me for being frank, but in the eyes of outsiders, the outcome is unpredictable."

"No matter how the Xi family looks in the eyes of outsiders, everyone will believe that they have defeated the southern bandits."

"That's right, but the situation in Jingzhou is complicated, and one move can affect the whole body. If the Xi family can win a great victory within two or three days, everything will still be in time. If it is a few days later, even just one day, it will cause..."

Xi Yun laughed and interrupted Xu Chu, "Mr. Xu has gone through a lot of trouble. In the end, you are still speaking for Chen Bingcai and hope that the Xi family will let him go, right?"

"It's not about letting him go, but about joining hands to defend Xiangyang. Both armies are under the banner of the court, and there is no deep hatred."

Xi Yuanyi's tone immediately became tough, "There was no such thing before, but Chen Bingcai came uninvited and treated Jingzhou as a land without a master. From then on, he has been the great enemy of our Xi family."

Several other Xi family members nodded in agreement.

"The strong tolerate others, and the weak tolerate others. The Xi family has a monopoly on Jingzhou, is deeply rooted, and has strong soldiers and horses. They should take the lead in making peace and turn hostility into friendship. Moreover, after the two sides make peace, it is Jingzhou that is protected, and the people who benefit are also the Xi family."

Xi Yun leaned forward slightly, "Is Chen Bingcai willing to make peace?"

"That's right." Xu Chu didn't take the lie seriously.

"Okay, go back and ask Chen Bingcai to change his flag and serve my Xi family as the master, and I will agree to make peace."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "General Chen serves Emperor Tiancheng as the master and will not change his flag. He is willing to defend Xiangyang with Duke Heng. That's it."

Xi Yun laughed, "Mr. Xu is eloquent, and his reputation is well-deserved. I almost wanted to do that. But I know you have a vicious heart and will never consider my Xi family. The plan you proposed is a poisonous plan to lure my Xi family into death."

"What does Duke Heng have to do to believe that I really have no ill intentions?"

"Go to Hanzhou and bring Lou Ai's head to me, and I will believe you."

"After going there and coming back, I'm afraid the whole Jingzhou has been under his name, I don't know where to find Duke Heng to claim the reward. "

Xi Yun's face darkened, "The Xi family will stay in Jingzhou forever, so there's no need for Master Xu to look for you everywhere."

His meaning was already very clear, and the second son Xi Ren stepped forward, "Let's go, we've heard enough of you."

Xu Chu smiled, and did not argue, and followed Xi Ren out of the tent, and came to a small tent nearby. Xi Ren pointed and said, "Stay here honestly, our Xi family treats you as an enemy envoy, and this time we may spare your life, but we can't keep you intact--" Xi Ren looked Xu Chu from head to toe, "You have to leave something behind."

Xu Chu showed no fear, Xi Ren snorted, and turned back to the central army tent.

There were not many people around, so Xu Chu said, "How is your wife?"

Xi Ren was furious, and turned around and pulled out half of his sword, "What did you say?"

Xu Chu then took out the letter written by Mrs. Tieying, "The daughter of King Yidu asked me to pass this letter to your wife."

Xi Ren was stunned and put his sword back into the sheath. He knew that his wife had a close relationship with the daughter of Yidu and they often exchanged letters in the past, "Which daughter?"

"My little girl."

"Is she still alive?"

"She and her two sisters are alive, married to the King of Shu and two generals respectively."

"How can the princess of the Wang family marry a bandit?" Xi Ren was angry again.

"In troubled times, everyone is helpless."

"The Xi family can make the decision, don't think I will speak for you." Xi Ren put the letter away, turned around and strode away.

Xu Chu walked into the tent and saw Chang Yanzhi sitting on the bed in a daze.

"The Xi family has no way of entertaining guests, and they don't even provide wine." Xu Chu smiled.

"I'm not craving for wine now. I'm learning from you, guessing what the Xi family cares about most. Chen Bingcai likes fame, but what about Xi Yun?"

Xu Chu found it interesting, "Did you guess it?"

"It's really difficult. I sat here and thought about it for a long time. I think Xi Yun cares about Jingzhou the most, right? The Xi family has been operating here for many years and regards it as their own forbidden land. As soon as you smiled, I knew I guessed wrong." Chang Yanzhi was a little embarrassed.

"On the contrary, you guessed right, and I guessed right too." Xu Chu also sat down, "Take a rest if you can, we will be on the road again soon."