Plan to cut off the nine states

The hall was in a mess, with drunk people lying all over the place, filth all over the floor, and all kinds of smells mixed together, almost solidified.

A dozen servants stood guard at the door, secretly lamenting their bad luck: the master was drunk, but they were asked to clean up the mess, and they might not be able to rest for a night.

Ning Baoguan still did not fall down, but spoke incoherently, holding Pan Kai's hand tightly, and kept nagging.

Pan Kai had already been drunk and unconscious, occasionally letting out a few silly laughs.

The only person who remained sober was Guo Shifeng. He didn't dare to drink too much and had been serving King Ning. At this time, he carefully advised: "It's getting late, everyone is tired."

Ning Baoguan looked over and said, "I'm afraid they are pretending to be drunk. Wake them up!"

"They are really drunk. King Ning is also drunk. It's time to go back and rest."

Ning Baoguan pushed Pan Kai beside him and got a silly smile in response, "How much wine did you drink? The Pan family is so drunk?"

"Drink a lot, and King Ning's subordinates are also drunk."

During the banquet, King Ning invited several Ning army generals to come and sit with him. At this time, they also fell to the ground, drunk.

"Useless thing." Ning Baoguan struggled to get up, and Guo Shifeng hurried forward to support him.

The servants at the door breathed a sigh of relief. Once the guests left, the banquet was over.

When he reached the door, Ning Baoguan suddenly lowered his head and vomited violently. The stench was overwhelming. The servants dispersed one after another. Only Guo Shifeng had no way to retreat. He had to keep rubbing his back and comforting King Ning.

After vomiting, Ning Baoguan was somewhat sober and stood up and said, "Wine is really not a good thing, but we have to drink it. Military Advisor Guo, what do you think we should do?"

"Then drink less and drink in moderation."

"If you don't drink to your heart's content, neither the host nor the guest will be happy."

Guo Shifeng helped King Ning out of the hall, "It's difficult to make both the host and the guest happy and not to hurt the body."

King Ning pushed Guo Shifeng away, "Yes, unless one party only cares about being happy and doesn't care whether the other party lives or dies."

"That's a way, but..." Guo Shifeng, who was originally smiling, suddenly froze at this moment, stepped forward and grabbed one of King Ning's arms, whispering, "King Ning, be careful..."

There was actually a large group of soldiers standing in the dark. Guo Shifeng had gone out during the banquet, and there were no such people at that time.

But Prince Ning was not afraid, "It's our people."

"Oh." Guo Shifeng let go of his hand, and his heart skipped a beat.

Prince Ning shouted to the soldiers in the dark: "Be quick and don't hurt your family."

Led by the two generals, dozens of soldiers drew their swords and walked towards the hall. Among them was Zong Mingyi. He changed into the soldiers' armor and held the hilt tightly, more firmly than others.

Guo Shifeng stood there in a daze. When the soldiers passed by him, his hair stood up, as if a knife would cut him.

No one paid attention to him. All the soldiers entered the hall one after another. Guo Shifeng's legs were weak. What surprised him was that there were not many screams in the hall. Occasionally, there was a short and low scream, as if it was just a small accident.

"Mr. Guo, are you going to stay here?" Ning Baoguan asked.

"No, no, I... I'm going with Prince Ning."

Ning Baoguan strode out, and another group of soldiers came forward and escorted Prince Ning out.

Outside the palace, Ning Baoguan tried to mount his horse, but after two failures, he had to give up and said with a smile: "I'm really drunk, really drunk. Alas, my alcohol tolerance is not as good as before."

Ning Baoguan walked to the camp, and Guo Shifeng followed closely.

"Mr. Guo, what do you want to say now? I have to take a good nap after returning to the camp. I can't listen to your nagging until at least tomorrow afternoon."

Guo Shifeng laughed dryly twice, "King Ning has made up his mind. In fact, I have nothing to say, but... King Ning doesn't trust Pan Kai?"

"How can people trust a general who betrays his master? Not only him, I don't trust the entire Dongdu. This city is ominous. Whoever occupies it will be unlucky."

"King Ning... doesn't want to occupy the city?" Guo Shifeng was very surprised.

"I just want to capture the city, not occupy it. Mr. Guo, please don't misunderstand. You have made the first contribution on this trip, but Dongdu is not a place to stay for long. The heroes from all directions, no matter who can spare their hands, will come to attack the city. King Liang is at least smart in this matter. He would rather take the risk of running to Jizhou than stay."

"Yes, King Ning has a good idea." Guo Shifeng didn't know what to say.

"This is not a good idea, but common sense. The Ning army can't capture Jiangling City in Jingzhou, but it can't retreat to Jiangdong. The food and grass are about to run out. If they continue to waste, they will definitely die. As the saying goes, a tree that is moved will die, and a person who moves will live. If the Ning army moves to Dongdu, it can not only boost morale, but also seize some food and grass, and also win some of Xu Chu's so-called "reputation."

"King Ning has profound insights, which are not ordinary heroes."

"You are a counselor, not a slave. I don't keep you around to listen to flattery."

"Yes, yes . "Guo Shifeng has recovered, "King Ning doesn't want to stay in Dongdu?"

"Stay here and wait for death? I just want the food and grass here."

Guo Shifeng's pace was a little slow, and he was left behind by a few steps, and hurriedly caught up, "King Ning doesn't occupy Dongdu, and Dongdu can't be left to others."

"Hey, this is what a counselor would say."

"Collect food and grass, recruit civilians, dismiss the old and weak, and set fire to the city."

"It's a pity that too many soldiers and civilians in Dongdu fled." Ning Baoguan said bitterly, still feeling unfair.

"Food and grass are in short supply, and fewer people are not a bad thing."

"Well, then what?"

"There are three ways, corresponding to the three strategies of upper, middle and lower. "

"Are you asking me to choose?"

"I'm the one who gives advice, and King Ning uses it."

"You say."

"While morale is at its peak, King Ning can lead his troops back to Jiangdong to relieve the siege of Stone City."

"What strategy is this?"

"This is a bad idea. After relieving the siege, peace can be guaranteed for a while. The situation of King Ning is similar to that of King Liang today."

"Hey, the King of Liang is an opportunist who seeks peace in order to avoid chaos. He takes advantage of the opportunity to seize Ji and merge two states. He thinks he is the overlord of one party, but he is actually vulnerable. I will not imitate him."

"There is enough food and grass. King Ning can lead his troops back to Jingzhou quickly and attack the Xi family by surprise."

"Is this a middle strategy?"

"yes."

"How is it compared to the current King of Liang?"

"If King Ning can capture Jiangling City, go up the river, form an alliance with Yizhou, gather the ships on the river, and rely on the natural moat to defend himself, the situation will be much better than that of King Liang now."

"There is one better solution left."

Guo Shifeng was silent for a while, "Listen to Xu Chu's advice."

"Mr. Guo didn't seem to agree with his statement before. Why did he suddenly change his mind?"

"If King Ning wants to hold the eastern capital, his best choice is to surrender to Shan Yu for the time being and use He Rong's name to attack the King of Liang in the north. Of course, he cannot participate in the battle of Xiangyang."

"Why didn't you tell me about this plan earlier?"

"Not in time."

"Haha, I have endured enough and will never surrender to Shanyu again."

"If you don't occupy the eastern capital and don't become a vassal, King Ning's best strategy is to lead a large army to Xiangyang. There must be more soldiers. You can't be like King Liang who only sent 10,000 or 20,000 people and still refused to arrive."

"What are the benefits of guarding Xiangyang?"

"Many of the heroes of Jingzhou are in Xiangyang. King Ning leads his army to establish his reputation and collect all the troops. The Xi family will be defeated without a fight. If they can defend Xiangyang and repel the Bingzhou army and He Rong's tribe, they will be powerful in the world and win. By seizing the territory of two or three states."

"In the words of your counselors, everything is extremely simple, and it is said that you will be defeated without a fight, and that you will be powerful in the world. In fact, it is extremely difficult to do it, and nothing is easy."

Guo Shifeng had returned to his normal state and said with a smile: "That's why we don't advise secular people, nor do we advise ordinary heroes who are content with their contentment. It has to be someone like Prince Ning who has great ambitions, dares to think what others dare not think, and dares to do things others don't. Dare to be honest, what we say is simple is only simple to Prince Ning, if it were anyone else, he wouldn’t even have the guts to hear what I have to say.”

Ning Baoguan laughed.

While they were talking, the group had returned to the Beicheng camp. Along the way, Ning Baoguan had sobered up a little more from his wine, and instead of falling asleep, he entered the meeting hall, summoned the generals, and issued a series of orders. When he was free, he still discussed the current situation with Guo Shifeng.

When the soldiers who massacred Pan came back, Ning Baoguan treated them calmly and did not regard the move as a great achievement. He left Zong Mingyi alone and said, "You can at best correct your mistakes tonight, not meritorious service."

"Yes, I beg King Ning to send me to attack the city and seize the territory."

"Restore your title of general for the time being, take your troops to Xiangyang, invite the Bingzhou Army to fight, and promise victory but no defeat. I will follow with a large army. The name of the Ning Army depends on your battle."

Zong Mingyi was overjoyed and said with emotion: "It's just a fight to the death."

The generals retreated. Ning Baoguan was a little tired, but still unwilling to fall asleep. He said to Guo Shifeng, "Although the best strategy is good, there is still a problem: the prosperity of the family."

"Xu Chu claimed that he could make the Sheng family retreat, and even sent troops to assist Xiangyang..."

Ning Baoguan shook his head, "I don't believe Xu Chu. He is more capable than you, but he refuses to submit to me. His heart is elsewhere. If you obey his words, you will be in serious trouble."

"Ning Wang Mingjian, this is exactly what I am worried about." Guo Shifeng's heart was tense for a long time, but he finally felt relieved.

"I went to Xiangyang not because of Xu Chu, but because of you. Mr. Guo said this was the best policy, so I was willing to believe it."

Guo Shifeng was a little moved, but he maintained his counselor's demeanor and did not kneel down to thank him. He stepped forward and said: "Xu Chu is still unwilling to be used by King Ning, so why not..."

"Although he refuses to be used by me, I have a way to use him now. When he is completely useless, it will not be too late to kill him." When Ning Baoguan said "kill", he did not hesitate for a moment.

"I understand King Ning's intention. Well... we can't let Xu Chu go back to see King Liang, and we can't send him to Huaizhou. If King Ning wants to make the most of everything, it's better to send him to Yizhou."

"Yizhou?"

"Gan Zhao became king in Yizhou. It is said that he has many soldiers and generals and a lot of food reserves. King Ning wants to stick to the river and form an alliance with Yizhou sooner or later. It is better to let Xu Chu go to borrow troops first as a way of saying hello. Cheng Zening The king will benefit, but if it fails, he seems to have no ambition and will not be able to keep Xu Chu."

Ning Baoguan nodded, "That's a way."

Ning Baoguan yawned loudly, Guo Shifeng resigned, and Ning Baoguan said again: "I suddenly remembered that Xu Chu's so-called friend..."

"Chang Yan."

"Since your surname is Chang, you should be from the seven clans of Jiangdong, right?"

"Yes, he used to be a general under Xu Chu."

“Call him to come to me after daybreak.”

"Prince Ning, don't be careless. Xu Chu's intentions are unpredictable. He may have a different intention if he keeps a Wu man by his side. He is the man who once assassinated the Emperor of All Things!"

Ning Baoguan sneered, "I just want to find out what Xu Chu is thinking."