Plan to cut off the nine states

Gan Zhao was most concerned about the safety of Yizhou, and his original intention was to defeat Yang Qinzai's navy on the river and show off to Shanyu, so the army had more ships than soldiers, with hundreds of ships and only seven or eight thousand soldiers.

Seeing the Song army coming one after another, the number of people was getting larger and larger. Although there were not 100,000 people, there were as many as 20,000 or 30,000 people. Gan Zhao could not help but feel uneasy. He regretted his hasty decision after drinking, so he ordered his generals to secretly prepare for war again. , he personally climbed to a high place and supervised the Song soldiers getting on the ship.

It wasn't until the first batch of ships left without any accidents that Gan Zhao felt a little relieved. The hangover from last night came to his head, and he asked his entourage to help him back to the ship to rest - the camp on the shore was a temporary construction, and the tents were far inferior to those in the cabin. Comfortable.

The two maids took good care of the King of Shu. After Gan Zhao lay down, he couldn't help but sigh, "If you two were placed in Qinzhou, they would be worth at least five hundred taels of silver each. When I was a small official, I wanted to see It’s hard to even take a look.”

The two maids laughed, and one of them said: "The total amount is only a thousand taels, so it's not much."

"Haha, you grew up in a wealthy family and don't know the hardships outside. What's more, that was back then, and it's even more valuable now."

"How much did King Shu spend when he bought us?"

"Haha, this is exactly what I feel: others hate the troubled times, but I want to thank the troubled times. From a small official in Qinzhou to the lord of Yizhou, there are so many beauties in front of me, and I don't spend a penny."

"Who made you the King of Shu? We sisters were lucky enough to become the maids of the King of Shu. Our food and clothing are better than before. It is rare that the King of Shu is a sensible person and neither beats nor scolds us. We always say this in private It’s a blessing gained from my previous life.”

"Isn't that right? We have settled with the King of Shu. One day the King of Shu will get tired of us and don't sell us. We will be satisfied if we stay with him and serve as maids."

"No, no, not even ten thousand taels of gold." Gan Zhao felt so happy that he closed his eyes and fell asleep, with a smile on his face.

The two maids squeezed the King of Shu's shoulders and beat his legs. After making sure that he was indeed asleep, they quietly got out of bed, stretched their tired bodies, and complained to each other in a low voice: "Can't a person who is king take a bath every day? There is plenty of water. He doesn’t have to do it himself.” “Yes, yes, I also like to drink. The smell—I can’t even breathe.”

The two of them were talking in a low voice, making up the bed and getting ready to rest. Suddenly one woman froze with panic on her face, and the other woman hurriedly followed her gaze and froze with fear.

King Shu, who was obviously asleep, woke up at some point and was sitting on the bed, listening.

Thinking that their complaints just now might be heard by the King of Shu, the two maids were full of regret and were thinking of ways to beg for forgiveness. The King of Shu on the bed said, "What sound did you hear?"

The two women shook their heads at the same time. They had not recovered from the shock and could not speak.

"There must be some noise outside. Go and see... No, no, I'll go and see it myself." Gan Zhao got out of bed, without wearing boots, took out the knife from the table and walked to the door barefoot.

The two maids were trembling with fear and hugged each other tightly.

As soon as the King of Shu stepped out of the hatch, there was a thud. After a long silence, someone pushed the door open and came in. It was a general with a sword.

The two women rarely appeared in public, and they couldn't tell which family the visitor came from, so they hugged each other tighter.

"Hey, the King of Shu is very blessed. Don't be afraid. Someone will take you back to Yizhou. Just stay here honestly and don't run around or scream."

The two women nodded immediately.

The general exited the cabin with his sword in hand.

"There will be... a new King of Shu?" When she was finally able to speak, a woman asked in a low voice.

"I hope he is a King of Shu who loves to be clean." The other woman said, although she was still scared, a new reverie had arisen in her heart.

Xu Chu stayed in the Song army camp, waiting for the last batch to set off.

Song Qizhu opened the curtain and came in, smiling: "Mr. Xu is really calm, not worried at all."

"It's up to me to make suggestions, and it's up to General Song to act. My worries are useless at this time."

"What if I fail?"

"I will escape to Prince Ning."

"Haha, Mr. Xu is really an honest man. No wonder you don't call yourself the king, but want to be a counselor. It sounds like being a counselor is safer."

"It is indeed safer, but when everything succeeds, the person who gets everything is not the counselor."

Song Qizhu hummed, "Guo Shifeng was passing by and was just stopped by my people. How should I deal with it?"

"Invite him over."

"Can Mr. Xu see someone now?"

"I have to hide for a while longer, so I want to recommend a counselor to General Song who can stay by his side at any time."

"Guo Shifeng? He is a popular figure around Prince Ning. Why would he seek refuge with me? Besides, he doesn't seem to be very reliable."

"General Song wants someone reliable?"

"Of course, in troubled times, reliability is more important than ability, right?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

"Am I wrong?"

Xu Chu said: "In troubled times, for the strongest, reliability is more important than ability. For others, ability is the most important."

"I'm definitely not the strongest one. Because of this, I feel that I need reliable people more than Prince Ning and others."

"General Song needs it more, but General Song must understand that you can't get it now."

Song Tizhu was stunned for a moment and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu's words almost destroyed my ambition."

"But General Song has one advantage."

"I must listen."

"Stronger than Shanyu and King Ning, you must be devoted to them to be reliable."

"What about the weak like me?"

"You don't have to be wholeheartedly loyal to King Ning to be reliable. General Song, please don't worry about whether this person is loyal to you. Just look at whether he is against or disloyal to King Ning."

"There are many such people."

"So this is the advantage of General Song, and it is also the advantage of many weak people among the heroes. Those who make good use of it will become strong."

Song Qizhu lowered his head and thought for a while, "I'll go and invite Guo Shifeng."

Guo Shifeng was stopped by the Song Army again. He was very dissatisfied, but he did not dare to get angry on the spot. As he walked, he said: "The matter is really urgent. King Ning wants me to go back today..."

"It's just a short while. It won't delay Mr. Guo's schedule." Song Tizhu smiled and pushed Guo Shifeng into the tent without following him.

Guo Shifeng wanted to refuse, but when he raised his head and saw Xu Chu, he was stunned for a moment. It took him a while to squeeze out a smile, "I'm really living in hell."

"Please take a seat." Xu Chu smiled.

Guo Shifeng sat on the stool, facing Xu Chu who was sitting on the bunk, and suddenly stood up again, "Brother Chu is still alive, which is a great thing, but I..."

"Brother Guo can't get out."

Guo Shifeng glanced at the door, then slowly sat down, with a smile on his face, "Song Qizhu? Impossible, how could Brother Chu choose him? Absolutely impossible."

"Why?"

"Obviously, what does the Song Dynasty have to do with taking bamboo? Most of his soldiers are from the south. Once they enter Hunan and Guangzhou, they will scatter and flee. This is why King Ning sent him to raid the south. As for intelligence, courage, insight, and birth status, they are all mediocre. He is somewhat famous in Xiangyang, but even in Xiangyang, he is not a first-class person." Guo Shifeng looked at the door again and shook his head with a smile, "Brother Chu is being coerced?"

"Temporarily establish a foothold in order to stay away from Prince Ning."

"That makes some sense. But why did Brother Chu keep me? You must know that I am Prince Ning's counselor. I must report the truth truthfully when I return. I cannot hide anything."

"Prince Ning treats Brother Guo as always?"

"Of course, I didn't do anything wrong."

"What Prince Ning cares about is not 'doing nothing wrong', but 'doing right'. In this victory, what did Brother Guo do right?"

"Brother Chu, are you trying to alienate me?" Guo Shifeng said with a smile, "Brother Chu, you really underestimate me."

"I only ask two things, and then let Brother Guo leave. I don't have any plans for Brother Guo. I just want to make things clear."

"You ask, but I don't promise to answer truthfully." Guo Shifeng was already a little impatient.

"How does King Ning reply to King Shu?"

"There is no need to hide this. The news will spread soon anyway. King Ning decided to give up Yiling, but Xiangyang refused. As for Hanzhou, the King of Shu could only occupy the two counties outside the plank road. As compensation, the King of Shu To supply a hundred thousand troops with food and fodder for a year.”

"What about Prince Ning's actual decision?"

"Haha, Brother Chu, this is something that is difficult for someone to do." The negotiation with the King of Shu has not yet ended, and of course Guo Shifeng cannot reveal the bottom line.

"Okay, let me ask the second thing: Brother Guo, do you think he can please Kou Daogu?"

Guo Shifeng was displeased and stood up and said, "Why should I please Kou Daogu? I have been following Prince Ning for a long time, and he has just surrendered to me."

"Well, I'm done asking."

"Farewell." Guo Shifeng said with cupped hands and strode out. Seeing that Xu Chu didn't stop him, he stopped and turned around and said, "You did this dangerous move inexplicably. What happened to Brother Chu?"

"From the day Brother Guo recognized me, haven't I been practicing 'dangerous moves'? I guess this is my nature."

Guo Shifeng laughed a few times, walked out of the tent, cupped his hands with Song Qizhu and said, "General Song will have a bright future with this good help."

"Without people like Mr. Guo, we would never be able to go far."

The two looked at each other and smiled, neither believing the other.

Song Qizhu sent Guo Shifeng out of the camp and immediately came to see Xu Chu and asked, "Didn't it work? Guo Shifeng will find out the truth soon."

"If Guo Shifeng comes back and asks to see General Song and me, General Song please kill him immediately."

"ah?"

"Guo Shifeng must have committed a treacherous trick, got past the situation, and complained to Prince Ning. The only option is to kill him to silence him."

"What if he takes a detour?"

"Send more scouts to monitor the intersection. You must not let him pass. If you see him, you will kill him."

"Then he has no way to survive. Why let him take a look? Why don't we do it here."

"If my guess is correct, once Guo Shifeng discovers the truth, he will neither come to ask for an audience nor take a detour to see Prince Ning. Instead, he will flee alone. General Song will bring him back, so this person can be used."

"He didn't do anything wrong, why did he run away?"

Xu Chu showed a smile and said, "Guo Shifeng's crime is that he 'did nothing wrong'. In short, please pay more attention to General Song."

"Okay, please prepare to leave, Mr. Xu. Crossing the river early will make me feel at ease. The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows behind. No one could have expected that Prince Ning will attack."

Xu Chu stood up and picked up the cloak on the bed, "It's time to leave."