Plan to cut off the nine states

Ning Baoguan climbed up the hill and looked to the south. The broad river lay in front of him. Yiling City on the other side was vaguely visible. A string of ships were moored in the south. There were only seven or eight small boats in the north, which refused to dock easily. .

The north of the Yangtze River was in chaos. Dozens of camps were scattered across the mountains and rivers. They were all different sizes and were completely unorganized. Soldiers and people came and went at will. The generals had no intention of stopping them. Everyone tried to go to the south of the Yangtze River, but there were no ships, so they had to stand there. On the shore, looking at the river and sighing, some people shouted loudly, hoping to bribe those few boats with heavy sums of money to carry them across.

Luo Hanqi, the general of the Ning army, led a group of people on horseback up the mountain. He had stayed outside Jiangling City and was ordered to lead his troops to support him. Not long after he arrived, "King Ning, Chen Bingcai, the shepherd guard of Hunan and Guangzhou, came with the leaders of the camps." visit."

"Invite them to come up the mountain." Ning Baoguan said, still looking towards Jiangnan.

"yes."

"You stay and let others deliver the order."

Luo Hanqi dismounted and ordered his men to invite the guests to go up the mountain. He handed the reins to others and climbed the last few steps. "What are your orders, King Ning?"

"We are almost at the point of no return."

"Then don't retreat and fight to the death. I don't believe that the He Rong people have three heads and six arms." Luo Hanqi replied with his head raised. He had never experienced the power of the He Rong cavalry.

"If everyone thought like you, things would be much simpler." Ning Baoguan sneered, mocking not Luo Hanqi, but the heroes.

"A bunch of cowards." Luo Hanqi looked at the crowd gathered on the shore, "Do you want me to lead my troops to kill them and let them understand what military discipline is?"

"Hey, He Rong hasn't called yet. Let's kill our own people first. Only you can come up with such a bad idea."

Luo Hanqi's face turned red, he turned his head and glanced, lowering his voice slightly, "I heard rumors that all the heroes are planning to escape, and they have made an agreement with Yang Moyu to cross the river by boat tonight. How many soldiers can each lead? The remaining troops will stay in the north of the Yangtze River. They are said to be under the command of King Ning, but in fact they want us to resist the He Rong people alone. "

Ning Baoguan sneered, "Even you have heard about it, these people really know how to keep it secret."

"I guess Chen Bancai and the others are here just for this matter. What does Prince Ning plan to do? Do you want me to do it all?"

Ning Baoguan looked at Luo Hanqi, "We grew up together, and everyone said you were brave."

"How courageous I am, Prince Ning knows best."

“Some people feel that Zong Mingyi’s death was unfair, what do you think?”

Luo Hanqi raised his eyebrows, "What's the point of injustice? You can't kill people in a war? I don't expect to survive every battle."

"Okay, within two or three days, He Rong's army will definitely come after you. I will send you as the vanguard. You can advance or retreat, and you can die or live."

Luo Hanqi said with emotion: "When I see Zong Mingyi under Jiuquan, I will never be ashamed."

"I will personally lead the army behind you. If you die, I will avenge you. At worst, I will die a little later than you. If you don't die, let He Rong's cavalry attack me. I will never let you go after I die. "

Luo Hanqi knelt down, "If I live alone, tell me... tell me to be a bastard for eight consecutive lifetimes!"

Ning Baoguan laughed and said, "Get up, the guests are here."

Chen Bancai and a dozen others rode up the mountain. When they saw King Ning's guards, they all stopped in the distance.

"Take the guards down the mountain."

"There are many of them, Prince Ning is alone, I will stay..."

"You think I'm afraid of them?"

The Arhat retreated sarcastically, called King Ning and his guards, rode down the mountain, and stared at the leaders one by one as they passed by, silently warning them to be careful.

No one cared about Luo Hanqi, so they all dismounted and followed Chen Bancai to the top of the mountain.

Ning Baoguan turned around, his position was slightly higher than everyone else, and before Chen Bing could speak, he said first: "I'll stay."

Everyone was surprised. They had indeed come with this purpose. They thought it would be very difficult and a huge price would be paid, but they did not expect that Ning Baoguan would take the initiative to ask for help.

Chen Bancai was particularly surprised and a little embarrassed, "Prince Ning has..."

"Everyone cross the river, I will stay and fight to the death with the He Rong people."

"We are not greedy for life and afraid of death, it's just..."

"I understand that there is no need for everyone to die in the north of the Yangtze River. If you cross the river, you still have a chance to make a comeback. However, there are many people and few boats, so we cannot all cross at once. We must leave people to resist the Northern invaders. Ning has many soldiers, so I should be the one to stay. "

Among the heroes, the Ning army and the Nan army were the largest in number, and they were equally ranked. Chen Bingcai's face turned red when he heard this, "I will stay too. We can't let King Ning face the enemy alone."

Yang Qinzai stepped forward and said: "Everyone understands General Chen's intention, but without General Chen's assistance, what will King Xiangdong do?"

Chen Bingcai was in a dilemma, and Ning Baoguan said: "General Chen cannot stay. We have been defeated repeatedly because of different military orders. Since it is a decisive battle, let me alone make the decision."

Chen Bingcai said helplessly: "Since Prince Ning insists... Alas, he failed to defend Xiangyang, and the blame lies entirely on me..."

"We will decide how to convict him later. I am willing to stay, but there is one requirement."

No one expected Ning Baoguan to stay happily in Jiangbei. After hearing his request, they felt more at ease and asked him to speak. Before they heard a word, someone clapped their chests and assured him that it would be okay.

"You can cross the river, but each of you can only bring one hundred soldiers. General Chen can bring two hundred soldiers. The rest must stay in the north of the river and be at my disposal."

The leaders looked at each other in confusion, and Ning Baoguan said again: "There are only a few boats but many people. Once everyone rushes to cross the river, there will be chaos. Not only will it increase the damage, but it will also destroy the morale of our Ning army."

Chen Bancai was the first to express his position: "What King Ning said is right, and we can't take away all our people and leave Ning's army alone to fight the enemy."

The Southern army was large in number, and Chen Bingcai could only take away 200 people. Since he agreed, others naturally could not refuse, so they all expressed their agreement. Some people wanted to take away more soldiers, but they did not dare to say anything.

Ning Baoguan said: "Then it's settled. You all go back and inform the whole army to accept my orders from now on."

"From now on?"

"He Rong's army will come after him at any time. Do you have to wait until we are on the battlefield before you are willing to listen to my orders?" Ning Baoguan said sternly. The speaker hid behind others, not daring to breathe.

"Also, please keep your mouth shut and don't talk nonsense about crossing the river. Find a place where no one is around tonight, go quietly, and leave the rest to me. Do you understand?"

Ning Baoguan was very rude, as if he was lecturing his subordinates. The people in front of him were all military leaders. From Chen Bingcai down, no one had any intention of resisting, and could only nod in agreement.

"Forgive me for not sending him off. I will send someone to take over the armies in an hour."

Chen Bancai and others said some words of respect and said goodbye at the same time and went down the mountain.

Ning Baoguan stood alone on the top of the mountain and continued to look towards the river. After a while, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and said coldly: "What else does General Song have to do?"

Song Qizhu came back alone, stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "I won't cross the river, but I will stay."

"Hey, why?"

"I'm from Xiangyang." Song's reason for taking bamboo is very simple.

Ning Baoguan stared at Song Qizhu for a long time and said, "Why didn't you say it in front of everyone?"

"I fight for the sake of war, not fame."

Ning Baoguan laughed again, "You come back alone, aren't you afraid of those people talking behind your back?"

"I told them that I had a way to get King Ning to allow each family to bring more soldiers across the river."

Ning Baoguan shook his head, "No, you can't help it. There are only as many people as we promised."

Song Tizhu said with a smile: "That's just an excuse. If I tell them it doesn't work, they won't blame me."

"I have long heard of the reputation of the 'Thousand Hands Song' - why is it called 'Thousand Hands'?"

"It is said that I can take a lot, give a lot, and manage a lot."

"In Xiangyang City, you led troops to fight against the He Rong people."

"It's a pity that we didn't win. It was a disastrous defeat and many soldiers were lost."

"But you dare to fight after all, unlike those people who just run away after hearing the news."

"Nothing can compare to King Ning. If King Ning had not led his army to fight and retreat at the same time, all the heroes would have been wiped out long ago, without even a chance to escape to the river."

Ning Baoguan's tone suddenly showed some enthusiasm, "That's what fighting is like. You have to advance without retreating. If you really have no choice, you have to fight while retreating. Otherwise, the morale of the army will be chaotic and it will collapse thousands of miles away."

"There is General Zong Mingyi in the front and Prince Ning in the back, setting an example for the heroes."

"Even if we are defeated in the next battle, you and I will still be worthy of our reputation as heroes."

"Prince Ning is the real hero, I am just a native of Mingshou Township."

Ning Baoguan waved to Song Qizhu to come closer, "There are some people I have to be wary of when I get along day and night. There are some people I regard as my confidants the first time I meet them. General Song is the latter type of person."

Song Qizhu was slightly excited, "I don't have many subordinates, but my desire to fight to the death is the same as King Ning's."

"In that case, tell me where Chen Bingcai and the others will cross the river tonight?"

Song Qizhu immediately reached out and pointed downstream, "There is a flat land around the mountain. Yang Jun's ship will go there at midnight tonight to pick up the heroes. What King Ning means is..."

“The leader crossed the river, how could the soldiers fight to the death?”

Song Tizhu was shocked, "I also thought that heroes should not be allowed to cross the river."

"There are also those boats on the other side." Ning Baoguan gritted his teeth, "As long as the boats are there, even my soldiers' hearts will move."

"Prince Ning wants to destroy the ship?" Song Tizhu was even more frightened, but also a little admired.

"After General Song comes down from the mountain, don't say you want to stay. Prepare with the other heroes. Tonight, I will lead people to intercept and kill Chen Bancai and others. Then General Song will take a boat to the other side and set fire to the boats. Make sure not to leave any boats behind. "

"Leave one ship alone, I will be punished by death."

"If we lose this battle, we will only die. If we win this battle, the world will belong to both of us."

Song Qizhugan smiled and said, "The world belongs to Prince Ning, I don't have such ambitions."

Ning Baoguan said coldly: "I think General Song is a true hero. Why doesn't General Song repay his sincerity?"

Song Qizhu took out a treasure seal from his arms and said, "To be honest, this is the seal of the King of Chu. I will always carry it with me. If I win this battle, I will still be the King of Chu."

A smile appeared on Ning Baoguan's face, "That's right. The world is vast. I occupy the south of the Yangtze River, and the King of Chu occupies the north of the Yangtze River. You and I will rule across the river."

"Cross the river and rule." Song Qizhu's voice trembled slightly. At this moment, he was far more convinced than suspicious of Prince Ning.

Ning Bao only cared about the upcoming flames and decisive battle, so having an internal fight first didn't seem that "bad" idea.