Plan to cut off the nine states

Song Qizhu did not send anyone to see the King of Shu, he went there himself.

There was a boat waiting by the river. The Shu soldiers on the boat were surprised when they heard that Song Qizhu was the envoy of King Ning, "So fast?"

"It's not far away, and Prince Ning is very anxious."

The north of the Yangtze River was now the territory of King Ning, and the Shu soldiers had no doubts. They picked up Song Fezhu and dozens of followers on the boat, and set off immediately to rush back to the Shu camp.

Gan Zhao was also surprised. He had heard of Song Qizhu's name and knew that this man was a hero in Jingzhou. He was not surprised that he was not killed by King Ning.

"Mr. Guo... why didn't you come back together?" Gan Zhao was particularly surprised by this.

Song Qizhu cupped his hands and smiled and said: "King Ning has not seen Mr. Guo for a long time and stayed to talk all night. But he couldn't keep King Shu waiting for a long time, so he sent me to be the guide. Mr. Guo will arrive soon, which is only a matter of a day or two."

After all, Song Qizhu was a famous figure. Gan Zhao quickly dispelled most of his suspicions and held a banquet in honor of him. At the banquet, he asked, "Mr. Guo, did you pass on all my words?"

"Of course, I'll miss every word." Song Qizhu asked Guo Shifeng about the general situation, and he knew what he was talking about.

"Prince Ning...do you agree?"

Song Qizhu put down his wine glass, glanced at the other generals, and replied: "Except for Xiangyang, everything else is easy to talk about."

Gan Zhao was prepared for this and nodded: "King Ning has great achievements and it is indeed too much to ask him to give up Xiangyang. As long as King Ning is willing to give up Yiling City and Hanzhou, we can talk about Xiangyang again."

Song Qizhu smiled and said: "If King Ning was not very sincere, he would not send me here. To be honest, after Mr. Guo's persuasion, King Ning has been a little tempted, but he still has doubts."

Gan Zhao was overjoyed and said, "Prince Ning and I have known each other since we came out of the World Army together. What doubts does he have?"

"The king of Shu is sitting in the land of Tianfu, with many soldiers and generals, full of grain and grass, and ships covering hundreds of miles of rivers. Although King Ning won a new victory, he suffered many casualties, and Wu and Jing states were not stable, so..." Song Qizhu smiled.

Gan Zhao understood what he meant, "Didn't Mr. Guo make it clear? I just want to live in Yizhou and have no intention of competing for the world. Anyone who asks for Yiling, Xiangyang, and Hanzhou is just using them as a gateway, and has no greater ambitions. Moreover, ——Ning Jun is in urgent need of food and fodder right now?”

"It's urgent."

"I dare not say that Yizhou is rich, but it still has some surplus funds. To show its sincerity, it is willing to provide food for Ning's army."

Song Tizhu nodded with a smile, and Gan Zhao asked: "What else does King Ning have to ask for? General Song doesn't have to hide it, just tell him everything."

"Why does the King of Shu think King Ning sent me as an envoy to Yizhou?"

"General Song has made great achievements many times and is a close confidant of King Ning. It is only natural that you should be sent as an envoy." Gan Zhao actually still had some doubts in his heart, but he didn't say anything.

"I have indeed accomplished a few small feats, and I have won the trust of King Ning. However, King Ning has many generals under his command. Some of them, such as General Luohan Qiluo, are old acquaintances with the King of Shu. King Ning does not use him but me. , in fact there are other reasons.”

"I would like to hear the details." Gan Zhao was most puzzled by this matter.

"That's it. King Ning will lead his troops to attack Jiangling City and then return to Wuzhou to quell the chaos. However, he is worried about the instability in the rear, so he has assigned me a group of soldiers from the Southern Army, numbering one hundred thousand, and ordered me to take them back to Hunan and Guangzhou. The two states, one is to stabilize the morale of the army, and the other is to explain the death of Chen Bicai to the old man. "

Gan Zhao nodded repeatedly and did not take the "one hundred thousand" number seriously. "When King Ning is employing people, he can release the soldiers of the Southern Army, which shows his great justice."

"This move is also out of necessity. On the one hand, there was an agreement at the beginning, and King Ning cannot break the agreement. On the other hand, the south is uncertain and will be a legacy. Rather than sending another army south in the future, it is better to let the soldiers of the southern army go back now and pacify the two states on their own."

"It makes sense. General Song will succeed immediately if he accepts this important task."

Song Qizhu smiled bitterly and said: "'Success' is no problem, the problem is that it is difficult to 'get it right away'."

Gan Zhao was stunned for a moment, then he came to his senses and said with a smile: "We are missing a boat."

"Prince Ning's fire really burned everything."

"If you fight with your back to the wall, you should be burned clean. I understand. General Ning came to borrow a boat from me?"

"The two sides haven't formally negotiated a peace, so I came over to ask for a boat..."

Gan Zhao laughed, and the last doubt in his heart disappeared, "Prince Ning and I are friends, not enemies. Even if there is no peace negotiation, what's the problem of borrowing a few ships? How many ships does General Song need?"

"The more the better, and the sooner the better. To be honest with the King of Shu, I am from Xiangyang, but I don't have many soldiers. My subordinates are all southern troops left behind by Chen Bingcai. The longer we stay in the north of the Yangtze River, the easier it is for the army to change."

"Understood." Gan Zhao thought for a while and felt that there were no flaws in Song Tizhu's words. "Can you do it tomorrow?"

Song took the bamboo and immediately held it in his hand and said: "The King of Shu is so kind and kind, Song will never forget it."

The King of Shu immediately ordered Tie Zhi, who was drinking with him, to prepare to transport the soldiers of the Southern Army tomorrow.

"What should we do with our people?" Tie Zhi asked.

"Go ashore first."

“South Shore or North Shore?”

Gan Zhao hesitated for a moment and asked, "Which is more convenient?"

"The north bank is convenient. If you go to the south bank, you have to go more than ten miles further, which is closer to Yiling City."

"Then the North Shore."

Tie Zhi took the order and left. Gan Zhao asked Song Qizhu: "Is Yiling City still unwilling to surrender to King Ning?"

"How dare you not surrender? Everything has been agreed upon, but after King Ning met Mr. Guo, he said that it would be better to ask the King of Shu to take Yiling City for himself, so as to avoid the name of 'concession', which would be beneficial to both kings."

"King Ning is still thoughtful." Gan Zhao was also more willing to capture Yiling City by himself, so he was very happy.

"But this is just what King Ning said. Everything will have to wait until Mr. Guo comes back before discussing it with King Shu in detail. My words may not be accurate." Song Tizhu showed a trace of regret on his face.

Gan Zhao toasted repeatedly, and the generals took turns to toast, and both the host and the guests were very happy.

After drinking a lot of wine, Gan Zhao whispered: "How does King Ning plan to explain Chen Bingcai's death to Xiang and Guang?"

Song Quzhu was obviously drunk and said loudly: "It's simple. Chen Bingcai wanted to cross the river alone and abandoned 100,000 southern soldiers. The whole army knew it. Based on this point, can the elders of Xiang and Guang forgive him?"

"Well, it makes sense. I heard that King Ning killed all the heroes by the river..." Gan Zhao smiled, "General Song must be deeply favored by King Ning, so he is fine."

Song Quzhu sighed. He only told the truth to Xu Chu. He had another set of words to say to outsiders: "Who made me a Xiangyang native? Others can leave, but I can't. At that time, I just wanted to fight to the death and live up to the hometown children. Who would have thought that I would escape because of this. But I learned a lesson: never betray King Ning."

"I have learned the same lesson." Gan Zhao said, continuing to toast and get words from Song Quzhu, trying to find out whether Ning Baoguan coveted Yizhou.

Song Quzhu said some things, but didn't say others. In the end, he said everything. Gan Zhao knew more and more about it and became more and more enthusiastic about Song Quzhu.

"No, no, I really can't drink anymore... The King of Shu is preparing the boats, and I have to go back to arrange the soldiers..."

"General Song, don't worry. I will see you off in person. Just sit here and drink." Gan Zhao ordered the boat to sail, and he and everyone else continued to drink in the cabin.

When Song Quzhu finally landed, he staggered and spoke unclearly. He was carried to the horse by his followers and rode reluctantly. He left a few people to hand over to the King of Shu, and took the rest away.

Gan Zhao stood on the boat and watched the guests go away.

Tie Yi had already arranged the boats. The Shu soldiers could land tonight and transport the Song army tomorrow. He walked to the King of Shu and said, "King of Shu, be careful not to be fooled."

"If it was Guo Shifeng, I would be extra careful. It's okay for Song to take the bamboo. He is eager to cross the river to win credit from King Ning. There is no problem."

"Song takes the bamboo and crosses the river to echo King Ning, which will form a pincer attack."

"As long as the boats are in our hands, why should we be afraid of him? Anyway, King Ning will not give up Yiling and Hanzhou, and I do not agree to negotiate peace." Gan Zhao's face suddenly became stern, "Tie Yuan has returned to Yizhou and is rushing to see me. The crime he committed is too great and cannot be pardoned."

Tie Yi blushed, "We, the Tie family, do not ask for pardon, but only ask the King of Shu to spare my brother's life."

"Tie Yuan was demoted to a commoner and thrown into prison. When things here are settled, you will lead the army out of Yizhou again, If you can capture Hanzhou, I can release your brother from prison and allow him to make meritorious contributions. If you fail again or disobey the order, you two brothers will come to see me with your heads. ”

Tie Ying's face turned redder, and he said generously: "I guarantee with the lives of my whole family that I will capture Hanzhou for the King of Shu and will never be deceived by traitors."

"It is said that Xu Chu has been killed in the battle. You should be careful of all counselors and scholars in the future. It's not that they are useless, but you don't know how to use them and suffer from them."

"If you meet such people again, I won't listen to a word and send them all to the King of Shu."

Gan Zhao smiled and nodded, sighing casually, "Xu Chu is too proud and unwilling to be used by others. It's a pity that he met King Ning, and his mouth is useless after all."

When Ning Quzhu returned to the military camp, it was already dark, and he immediately ordered the whole army to break camp and march to the riverside.

He did not lie to the King of Shu. Now most of his soldiers are southerners. There are not as many as 100,000, but not a few.

After the first group of people set out, Song Quzhu found a place to vomit, and after sobering up a little, he went to see Xu Chu.

Xu Chu's name is now "Yu Zhan", and no one knows the truth except Song Quzhu, Dai Pohu and a few others.

Song Quzhu briefly explained the situation, "The King of Shu led his army to land, and tomorrow morning I will lead the troops to kill people and seize the boat."

"The King of Shu can be killed, and others should be spared if possible." Xu Chu said.

"Why, Mr. Xu, you are reluctant to do so because of our old friendship?" Song Quzhu smiled.

"General Song's subordinates are mostly southern soldiers. They killed people and seized boats before crossing the river, just like King Ning. The southern soldiers were happy when they got the boats, but they would be suspicious once they returned to Xiang and Guang states."

"Okay, but it will definitely leave troubles. In today's world, if you want to compete with King Ning, you must be like King Ning."

"General Song is not King Ning."

Song Quzhu was a little embarrassed, and then smiled: "Since it is Mr. Xu's plan, Mr. Xu said not to kill, then don't kill. Then what should I do? Those southern soldiers may not be willing to follow me into Yizhou."

"Can't go to Yizhou?"

"Huh?"

"Yizhou is rich and surrounded by barriers, which wears down the heroic spirit. It will be difficult for General Song to get out after entering."

"But..." Song Quzhu was surprised "Then why should I fall out with the King of Shu?"

"Gan Zhao seeks stability. After surrendering to King Ning, he will not dare to do anything. But after his death, the Tie family will most likely take power. In order to avenge this, they will entangle with King Ning endlessly."

"The Tie family will also seek revenge on me, right?"

"So after General Song killed the King of Shu, he immediately sent someone to send the body to King Ning. After crossing the river, the boats were also left to King Ning. King Ning had no intention of ceding the city to negotiate peace. He was already dissatisfied with Guo Shifeng. He must be very happy to hear the news from General Song, and he will take the credit and take the hatred on himself."

Song Quzhu laughed twice, "This plan is very good. I still have to make some preparations. The King of Shu must die, but not in my hands."