Plan to cut off the nine states

In any case, Xu Chu had to go to the Eastern Capital. After the banquet, he said goodbye to the three parties.

The first one was Yang Qinzai. Xu Chu returned the original pearl without saying a word. Yang Qinzai opened the golden ball, took out the pearl and watched it for a long time. He raised his head and smiled and said: "I knew it was my pearl when I saw it, but I didn't see it for a day." , I have to have a good chat with it.”

Xu Chu smiled and nodded.

Yang Qinzai said again: "I think I have made it very clear. Guarding Xiangyang is not our job in Jingzhou. Just our family can block the Bingzhou army, but we cannot block the He Rong cavalry behind. Moreover, with our With his reputation, it is difficult to recruit reinforcements. He must be the King of Xiangdong or the King of Jibei."

"The two kings don't seem to have many victories," Xu Chu reminded.

"Haha, it's really not possible for the two kings to fight. They are not here to lead the army, but to borrow the name of the king of the Zhang family."

"Is it General Chen's idea?"

Yang Qinzai's face darkened, "We will send troops to defend Xiangyang. Mr. Xu will go and invite the two kings. Everyone will perform their duties. There is no need to know how the other party does things."

Xu Chu resigned. His strategy was only enough to gain temporary trust. Once the other party woke up and became suspicious of him, the less he said at this time, the better.

Chen Bingcai was sobering up and was about to leave Yiling City soon. When he saw Xu Chu, he took out a letter and said, "I won't let you go to Dongdu empty-handed. This is the letter I wrote to the two kings. You must hand it with your own hands." Leave it to your two highnesses.”

"Whether the two kings can come or not depends entirely on King Liang."

"The King of Liang has proclaimed himself. I don't recognize him, and I'm not familiar with him. Whether I can convince him depends entirely on Mr. Xu. I believe that as long as Mr. Xu can show five points of persuading me, he will be enough to make the King of Liang release him, and even Maybe ask him to send an army to Xiangyang."

"I dare not promise too much to General Chen."

Chen Bingcai came closer and said, "I can't promise too much to Mr. Xu. The soldiers of the Southern Army are all people with families and careers. If you follow me north, there will be many casualties. I can't waste any more soldiers. Xiangyang can If you keep it, keep it. If you can't keep it, give it up. Mr. Xu said that I am a person who "continues to support others", but this matter is too big for me to support alone. Mr. Xu encouraged me with his heroic words, and I should be a good person. example."

Xu Chu cupped his hands and said, "I must do my best."

Chen Bingcai also lowered his hand and said hum.

When Xi Ren saw Xu Chu, he only whispered: "If you dare to deliver a letter to my wife again, no matter whose letter it is, I will chop off your head. Do you understand?"

"There is no other letter, but should General Xi Er give me a letter?"

Xi Ren sent a letter to Xu Chu and waved away the guests.

The letter was written by Xi Ren in the name of Heng Guo Gong Xi Yun, and it also meant to strongly invite the two kings to come to Jingzhou.

Xu Chu called Chang Yan and escorted hundreds of soldiers from each of the three families to Xiangyang, which was the only way to the eastern capital of Luozhou. At the same time, these were the first batch of soldiers to rush to Xiangyang's aid.

Chang Yan was more restrained this time. He didn't drink too much and could still sit steadily on his horse. Not far from Yiling City, he approached Xu Chu and whispered: "You can tell that Jingzhou people are timid and dare to go to defend Xiangyang." , Let’s say they are brave, but they can’t find anyone who dares to accept the title of King of Chu. Song Qizhu is brave, but it’s a pity that no one admits it.”

"The inconsistency is often because the person has a big intention and cannot explain it clearly at the moment, so it seems weird." Xu Chu murmured, roughly guessing the intentions of the three families.

"If you don't want to be king, why don't you still want to be emperor?" Chang Yan said in surprise.

Xu Chu smiled and said: "Someone wants to be called emperor, but it is not these three families."

Chang Yan was even more surprised. He walked silently for a while and finally figured it out, "The three families are going to establish a new court in Jingzhou. In this case, the emperor in Shan Yu's hands will lose his usefulness. The three families will also call for reinforcements in the name of the new court." The name of the meeting is justifiable, and the emperor of Yuyang... and Princess Huanyan are embarrassed. "

Xu Chu sighed softly, "Cleverness can lead to mistakes. That's me."

"What should I do, Master?"

"Let's go to Dongdu first. Defending Xiangyang is more important than protecting Yuyang."

"Why is it so important to defend Xiangyang? Is it because of the terrain?"

"The terrain is important, and the weather is even more important. Hanzhou closed the pass and destroyed the road to fight against He Rong's army. This is the first step for a baby to learn to walk, and guarding Xiangyang is the second step. Taking these two steps, the more you go, the more stable you will be. , there is a problem with one of these two steps..." Xu Chu couldn't think about it further.

Everyone rode fast, rarely resting along the way, and after a few days they saw the city of Xiangyang.

The envoys from the three families had arrived in advance, plus the Song army that had arrived before. Xiangyang was so excited that almost all the people came out to welcome the reinforcements. When they saw that there were only more than a thousand reinforcements in total, they were all a little disappointed.

The most disappointed person was the city lord Leng Yifang. When he sent a letter to Song Qizhu and Heng Guogong for rescue, he did not expect to receive a response, nor did he expect that an unknown "Mr. Xu" would appear halfway. " to gain more support for him.

He originally expected to see at least 30,000 to 50,000 people coming. Looking at the end of the team, he was puzzled and frightened, and asked: "Who is Mr. Xu?"

Some soldiers turned and pointed back.

Leng Yifang had a big belly and stood out under the canopy, quite eye-catching. Xu Chu rode up to him, dismounted and cupped his hands and said, "I, Xu Chu, have met Lord Leng."

"Ah." Leng Yifang was a little vague, but finally couldn't help but ask: "Is there anyone else behind?"

"Yes, in at most two days, the Xi, Chen and Yang armies will arrive one after another."

Leng Yifang breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I heard that Mr. Xu has been running for help for Xiangyang these days. The soldiers and people in this city are all grateful and say that they want to enshrine Mr. Xu as a Bodhisattva."

"Xiangyang is an important place. If you guard one city, the world will be safe. I am also a member of the world, so I will do my best."

"Mr. Xu is too modest, and the city has prepared some wine to welcome Mr. Xu and the soldiers of the three families."

"I want to go to the city, but I can't stay."

"Where else are you going, Mr. Xu?"

"Luozhou, these reinforcements are not enough, we must continue to ask for reinforcements."

Leng Yifang was taken aback and smiled a little reluctantly, "Mr. Xu... I heard that Mr. Xu is the son of the general?"

"Um."

"No wonder, no wonder. But...there are two things I don't understand."

"Excuse me, Lord Leng."

"Reinforcements are coming, and there will be more in the future. Who will they listen to?"

"As guests do, of course they are at Lord Leng's disposal," Xu Chu said casually. None of the three families mentioned this issue. Based on his judgment, no one would give up military power.

"Haha, actually I don't know much about fighting. I just read some military books when I was young. But guarding Xiangyang is my duty and I have no obligation to shirk it." Leng Yifang smiled more naturally.

"What about the other thing?"

"Uh... there are more and more reinforcements, but Xiangyang City doesn't have that much food and grass."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "The Xi, Chen and Yang families all have enough food and grass."

Leng Yifang breathed a sigh of relief again, "That's good, don't be like Song Qianshou, who brought a group of hungry wolves...Does Mr. Xu really not leave without a glass of wine?"

"The situation is urgent. How long does it take for the Bingzhou Army to arrive?"

Leng Yifang's expression suddenly changed, "Wuguan has been broken. It will take at most three days to merge the state army..."

Song Tizhu came over and interjected: "Come on, let's decide the winner quickly."

"The reinforcements haven't arrived yet, and the situation is not good for Xiangyang." Leng Yifang said.

"The King of Jin and the Chanyu are not stupid. They will attack only when the situation is favorable to them. With such a general situation, Xiangyang is unfavorable no matter what."

Leng Yifang laughed twice, did not answer, and said to Xu Chu, "I'll give Mr. Xu a ride, and you can have a farewell drink on the way."

Song Qizhu said: "Master Leng, you should stay in the city. Reinforcements from the three families have arrived. It's okay if the Xiangyang people are not grateful. They all look like they are dead at home. When the generals of the three families are angry, they may lead their troops and leave." ”

Xu Chu went to ask for more reinforcements, but the three families had ready-made reinforcements. It was clear which one was more important and which one was less important. Leng Yifang immediately said: "I am confused too. Mr. Xu Haihan, please ask the King of Song Chu to see you off for me."

"Hey, I am not the King of Chu now, but the General Protecting Jing."

"General Song, please send me off." Leng Yifang called her entourage and hurried into the city to entertain the three generals.

Xu Chu and Song Qizhu followed the team into the city and gradually mingled with the soldiers and people of Xiangyang. Their ears were filled with complaints that there were too few reinforcements.

Xu Chu asked: "Is this also the case when General Song enters the city?"

"It's different. Most of my subordinates are locals from Xiangyang. They have many relatives and friends in the city. When we came, we were extremely popular. Will those three families really send reinforcements here again?"

"Yes, but no one wants to be the King of Chu. Your treasure seal is still with me."

Song Tizhu smiled in surprise and said, "Do you think the King of Chu has a bad reputation? But the treasure seal is real. On the day I raised the army, my feet suddenly shook..."

"I know, they want me to go to Dongdu to invite the kings of eastern Hunan and Jibei."

"I didn't expect them to be quite humble." Song Tizhu didn't think much about it.

Xu Chu didn't explain either. He chatted all the way. After leaving the city from the other end, he walked for more than ten miles. Song Qizhu stopped and said, "I've seen you off for a thousand miles, but you have to say goodbye eventually, so I'll see you off not far away. The three families asked you to invite two King, why don’t you even send any guards?”

"I don't want it myself. Few soldiers are useless, while too many soldiers will cause trouble."

"Then I wish Mr. Xu a smooth journey and immediate success."

"I have something to remind General Song."

The two rode horses for a distance, and Song Tizhu's entourage stopped behind.

"Mr. Xu, please tell me. I will keep your reminder in mind."

"Who does General Song think Lord Leng is?"

Song Tizhu was slightly startled, "Leng Yifang is... a good official. When I raised the army, he sent congratulatory gifts. Although he refused to let me take refuge in the city when I was defeated and ran out of food, he didn't Kill them all, I have to thank him for his kindness."

"Compared with Xi Yun, Chen Bingcai, and Yang Qinzai? If there is a fight, who will win and who will lose?"

"In terms of ability, Leng Yifang is definitely worse. If nothing else, he and Chen Bancai became officials in the same year. Now they are the shepherds of two states, but he is the lord of Xiangyang City."

"This is what I want to remind General Song."

"Um?"

"General Song must make a clear distinction between guarding Xiangyang and guarding Lord Leng."

Song took the bamboo without saying a word, Xu Chu said goodbye, called up Changyan, each rode a horse, and headed for Luozhou along the road.

Song Qizhu turned his horse around and headed back to Xiangyang. He saw the city from a distance and felt hesitant in his heart.