Plan to cut off the nine states

Song Tizhu returned to his sleeping tent and saw that his wife, Ma Qigu, had not yet woken up, so he quietly took off his boots and lay down next to her, planning to take a nap while it was still dark.

But he couldn't sleep, and his heart was ups and downs. One moment, his pride reached the sky, and he seemed to be able to hear the voice of the mountain shouting, "Long Live the Mountain." , and then gave him a scolding.

"You didn't come back all night." Ma Qigu woke up.

"Yes, I woke you up after chatting with Xu Chu and Guo Shifeng all night?"

"Your breathing is too heavy - I was about to wake up too." Ma Qigu sat up, crawled over her husband, got out of bed and put on her clothes and shoes, "There is no march today, you can sleep a little longer, I will go out and watch look."

"I can't sleep." Song Tizhu also sat up and suddenly smiled: "I haven't apologized to you yet."

"What are you apologizing for?" Ma Qigu asked in surprise.

"I originally promised that after the Battle of Xiangyang, I would take everyone to seek revenge from the Xi family, but in the end I had to go south to Hunan and Guangzhou."

"Prince Ning doesn't allow you to attack Jiangling. There's nothing anyone can do. Anyway, Prince Ning's methods are ruthless and he will definitely avenge my father."

Ma Qigu was about to leave, but turned back when she reached the door, "You can't sleep because of other things."

Song Tizhu smiled and said, "I'm wondering if the two of them are working together to lie to me?"

"Tell me carefully."

Song Qizhu recounted last night's decision and finally said: "I handed over most of the soldiers to Guo Shifeng and knew nothing about Xu Chu's detailed plan to go north. I stayed in Jingzhou not knowing what to do and what else to do. Prove to them that I am worth 'relying on' - I was in the mood at the time, and they would look down upon me if I hesitated for a moment, so I had no choice but to agree, but..."

"You feel a little regretful now and don't want to admit the big words you said?" Ma Qigu said with a smile.

Song Qizhu nodded, "It's too risky. Not long ago, I was short of soldiers and food. Shan Yu and King Ning were more fierce than the other. I managed to escape from death. I finally had this little capital. Although the morale of the army was unstable, the food and fodder were also insufficient. It can only last for half a month, but it is also my greatest achievement since the uprising. I am really... reluctant to give it up. "

Ma Qigu sat next to her husband and said harmoniously: "If you want to be a robber, let's go into the mountains and take only our own people. We don't care whether the Southern soldiers live or die, or what Xu Chu and Guo Shifeng think. If you still feel uncomfortable, just Kill them both."

Song Tizhu asked in surprise: "Ma'am, are you serious?"

"The question is do you want to be a robber?"

Song Qizhu was silent for a while, took out the Chu King Seal from his arms, rubbed it gently, and said firmly: "I don't want to."

Ma Qigu changed her harmonious tone and said sternly: "In that case, why are you still hesitating? With the little military rations you have now, there is not much chance of winning when you go south to fight for hegemony. Compared with the heroes in the Central Plains, you are even more like a tiger and a cat." . It's rare that two well-known counselors in the world are willing to help you, but you still think about things and feel that you are not willing to take any risks. Have you ever thought about whether Xu Chu and Guo Shifeng are taking risks? It's a hundred times more secure than what you have here. Those who value you are nothing more than being able to gain complete trust from you. If you hesitate, they will have different concerns and you will lose even your last chance of winning."

Song Qizhu said hurriedly: "I didn't show it. In front of them, I didn't show it at all. I only told my wife these inner thoughts."

"It's enough to talk. Let them do it. Let's not be idle. We must really make something happen. Don't let them look down upon us."

"After King Ning captures Jiangling City, he will return to Wuzhou to rescue Stone City. As soon as he leaves, I will attack Yiling. Although Yiling is small, it is the only way out of Yizhou along the river. I can control Yizhou soldiers. The entry and exit of horses and forage.”

"It's up to you to decide this kind of thing. I'll follow you. Anyway, I have been a robber since I was a child, and I have long been used to taking risks."

Song Tizhu held his wife's hands and said with a smile: "Madam is my good wife. Without you, I don't know how many mistakes I would have made."

Song Qizhu didn't sleep anymore. He went out of the tent to visit the generals one by one, either to show their affection, to motivate them to reason, to force them to use force, or to lure them for profit. Then he summoned them all in the tent and formally appointed them. Guo Shifeng is the commander-in-chief of the army, Dai Pohu is the general on the left, and Mao Yuanti is the general on the right. Under the control of the commander-in-chief, he will start his troops south to Xiangzhou tomorrow.

Of course, Song Qizhu could not say that he was staying in Jingzhou. He only said that he wanted to supervise the queen and discuss world affairs with King Ning. He would soon go to Xiangzhou to join the army.

All the generals were worried that King Ning would be angry, so they deeply believed in General Song's decision.

It was already afternoon after the matter was settled, and Song Qizhu was still in good spirits. He invited Guo Shifeng to have a drink and introduced his generals to him without any barriers.

Guo Shifeng was very happy and tried his best to make friends with the generals, but he was just polite to Song Qizhu.

Xu Chu did not participate in the banquet and stayed in the tent to think about something.

It wasn't dark yet when Guo Shifeng came suddenly, with a slight panic on his face.

"What's wrong?" Xu Chu stood up and asked, thinking that the banquet would last for a long time.

"King Ning sent an envoy."

"Um."

"The fact that the envoy was able to cross the river means that King Ning has obtained the ships from Yizhou."

"Who is the messenger?"

"Kou Daogu."

"It is indeed him. The news that Mr. Guo served as the commander-in-chief of the Song Army will soon spread. There is no need to avoid him."

Guo Shifeng understood this truth, but he was still a little afraid, not of Kou Daogu, but of Prince Ning. After calming down for a while, he said, "I'm going to see him. Please wait here, Brother Chu."

They had been waiting for nearly two hours, and the night was already dark. Guo Shifeng finally came back, his face even more drunk, obviously having had another drink.

"Prince Ning must use a plan." Guo Shifeng said.

"Um."

"Kou Daogu came to reward the Song army, saying that the Song general made a decisive decision and made a great contribution to King Ning. The Yizhou army was already frightened and fled, but left a few ships and sent people to beg King Ning for surrender. King Ning was about to send troops to attack The Xi family in Jiangling asked General Song to concentrate on the two states of Nanping and join forces next year to work together for the great cause."

"Um."

"Kou Daogu was not too surprised to see me. He said that he would tell King Ning everything and allow me to stay with General Song."

"Um."

Guo Shifeng took a deep breath and said, "In short, Prince Ning speaks very well, so good that he doesn't even look like Prince Ning."

Xu Chu was silent.

"I guess King Ning has already contacted Hunan and Guangzhou, and maybe it's Beizhen, the governor of Xiangzhou." Guo Shifeng said.

Xu Chu thought for a while, "I guess it's the Xi family."

"Huh? Oh -" Guo Shifeng suddenly realized.

Song Qizhu happened to come in, and Guo Shifeng turned around and said: "The Xi family probably surrendered, and they are going to attack the Song army secretly on the order of King Ning, or cut off the Song army's retreat."

Song Qizhu was stunned, "The Xi family has persisted for so long and surrendered right away?"

Guo Shifeng said: "The people the Xi family relies on are nothing more than Shanyu and the Sheng family. Now that He Rong's army has been defeated, the Sheng family's attack on Stone City must not have gone smoothly. King Ning is so powerful that the Xi family has no choice but to surrender."

"Prince Ning easily obtained Jiangling City, and it was even more difficult to deal with him." Song Tizhu sighed softly.

Guo Shifeng shook his head, "Not necessarily. King Ning knows priorities. On the surface, he doesn't care about Stone City and is reluctant to lead his troops back to defend. In fact, he regards Wuzhou as his foundation and takes it very seriously. He must have given up Jiangling in exchange for the Xi family. After surrendering and sending troops, he quickly returned to Jiangdong to fight the Sheng family. "

Song Qizhu nodded and looked at Xu Chu.

Xu Chu said: "What Mr. Guo said is absolutely true."

"You two gentlemen, even if you go south and north, if the Xi family sends troops, I will deal with it." Song Qizhu left thousands of troops, which was far different from the Xi family's military strength, but he was not afraid and said with a smile: "The Xi family is plotting against my father-in-law, if he comes to our door. Come on, it couldn’t be better.”

The three chatted for a while, and Song Qizhu said: "Prince Ning gave me a gift, but this gift must be transferred to Mr. Xu."

"I don't need a gift."

"Mr. Xu will definitely need this gift." Song Tizhu said goodbye to Guo Shifeng.

Xu Cuzheng was wondering when someone came in again, it was Ma Qigu, holding a young woman in her hand.

Xu Chu cupped his hands and said, "Mrs. Ma, I have told General Song that there is no need..."

Ma Qigu smiled and said, "If Mr. Xu doesn't want it, I will really take it away."

The young woman sobbed: "Sir, it's me."

"You...why is it you?" Xu Chu was shocked. The gift given by King Ning to Song Tizhu was actually "Princess Fangde".

"They...they sent me here..."

"Let's talk slowly." Ma Qigu exited the tent.

Xu Chu asked Binfen to sit down and speak slowly.

Binfen was sent to Xiangyang as a princess and thought she would die. Unexpectedly, there was a sudden chaos in the city. He Rong people retreated one after another and took her with them. Not far out of the city, they thought she was too slow, so they abandoned the car and left. Shan Yu Even though she was dead, no one wanted to kill her and bury her in He Rong Pingshan.

Fenfen didn't know why. She didn't wait long in the car and was taken back to the city. She became a "prisoner" of the Ning Army. She was taken to the Ning Army camp a few days ago. She was frightened every day. Suddenly she got into the car and took a boat. After wandering to the Song army camp, I felt sad and kept crying until I saw Xu Chu and cried even harder.

"I really didn't expect it, I never thought of it..."

Xu Chu also didn't expect that he and Chang Yan had made an appointment to pick up Binfen after the war, but one of them faked his death and the other died real, so the matter had to go unfinished.

"Tell me about the situation in the north." Xu Chu requested. When the two first met, Binfen had said a few words, and he wanted to know more details.

Binfen finally stopped crying, took a deep breath, and was about to speak when Xu Chu suddenly felt something was wrong, "Wait a minute, I'll call a few people."

"I don't want to see anyone else."

"They... are good people, and you will have to rely on them for protection in the future."

"Where's the young master?"

"I'm going out tomorrow."

"Take me with you."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "The place I want to go is very dangerous, and you can't go there."

Binfen didn't dare to force it, but she wanted to cry.

Xu Chu hurriedly walked out of the tent and went to find Guo Shifeng first, and then the two of them went to see Song Chuzhu and his wife. "King Ning sent her here, probably because he guessed that I was not dead. But she is not the princess, but the princess's maid, named Colorful.”

The three of them were all surprised. Xu Chu said: "Binfen knows something about Qin and Liang. Although it happened a long time ago, it is somewhat worthy of reference."

Guo Shifeng said: "Mr. Xu wants to go to the World Army?"

"That's right."

"But how do you get there? There are Ning Jun and He Rongren in the middle."

"Borrow the way to Yizhou." Xu Chu said with a smile.