Plan to cut off the nine states

The most important reason why Bao Dun surrendered to King Liang and led his troops to attack Bingzhou was that he thought he could take shelter from the Liang army and protect the safety of Runan City.

What disappointed him was that King Liang had no intention of protecting Runan, or even Dongdu, and let it be taken away.

Bao Dun observed for a long time, until not long ago when King Ning sent people to capture Dongdu again and ordered all the cities including Runan to surrender. He finally determined that King Liang was not interested in the entire Luozhou, but only wanted to gain a foothold in Jizhou and then seize the old place of Daliang.

Bao Dun neither made any remonstrances nor argued, just did what he had to do and waited for the opportunity silently.

Hearing that a Jizhou army defeated the He Rong people in Qinbei, he believed that the time had come and immediately sent people to contact this side, arriving several days earlier than Liu Youzhong.

Yang Tongcai had never heard of Bao Dun's name, and naturally did not pay much attention to his envoys. He did not meet them at all, pushed them to Yin Fu, and then forgot about them completely.

The envoy explained the cause and effect clearly, and finally took out Bao Dun's letter as evidence. Yin Fu was moved because he saw the hope of defeating the Jin and Liang armies at the same time, so he secretly formed an alliance with the envoy and sent him back to Bingzhou to report.

"It's not that I concealed it intentionally, but because I had an agreement with the envoy of the Bao family, but Mr. Xu guessed it himself, it's not that I broke my promise. It's just right for Mr. Xu to give me some advice, can this Bao Dun, the Lord of Bao City, be trusted?"

Xu Chu thought for a while, "Who is the envoy?"

"The surname is Lan, and the name is Lan Ruofu. Mr. Xu knows him?"

Xu Chu shook his head. He had never heard of this name.

"He claims to be a distant relative of the Lan family and calls Guowu Hou Lan Xun his great uncle. I think he is not very old and seems to be from a noble family. He has heard of Mr. Xu's name and admires you."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "I don't know this Lan Ruofu, but I have met Lord Bao several times."

"Can this person be trusted?"

"This person is a hero from Runan. When the world was in chaos, he was elected as the city lord. Before I led the Wu soldiers to the Eastern Capital, I had a foothold in Runan. Lord Bao surrendered to the Wu army, but later switched to the Sheng family in Huaizhou. When King Liang and King Ning planned to attack Huaizhou, Lord Bao switched to King Liang and helped him plunder Bingzhou. Now he has changed his mind again."

Yin Fu frowned slightly, "So, this Lord Bao He is a man of two minds and two hearts. "

"He is devoted to Runan City. When he found that King Liang was unreliable, he immediately planned to rebel. I guess he will turn to King Ning after the success to ensure the safety of Runan. "

Yin Fu frowned even more tightly, "Is the small city of Runan worth so many treacherous things for him?"

"Everyone has their own ambitions."

Yin Fu nodded and smiled, "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Xu. If it weren't for Mr. Xu's timely reminder, I might have made a big mistake again."

Xu Chu bowed and said, "I just happened to know Bao Dun and know some of his experiences."

"Mr. Xu's travels are really useful."

Yin Fu did not reveal the next plan, and Xu Chu did not ask any more questions. He stood up and said goodbye.

Liu Youzhong was anxious and greeted Xu Chu as soon as he saw him, "How is it?"

Xu Chu was silent.

"Fourth brother, there is no need to be shy. I can bear any result."

"How long have you known the King of Jin?"

Liu Youzhong was slightly stunned, not understanding the meaning of this question, "Ten... a few years, when I first met the King of Jin, he was still young."

"Brother, you are loyal to the King of Jin, which is admirable, especially rare in this chaotic world."

"What do you mean by these words, fourth brother?"

"Brother, you are famous for your physiognomy. I advise you to cherish your reputation. Ten years is not long. You still have a chance..."

Liu Youzhong's face changed, "Fourth brother, you are too much to say that. Have you forgotten the oath you made when you became sworn brothers?"

"Forgot." Xu Chu admitted.

Liu Youzhong was stunned again, because he didn't remember it either, and snorted coldly, "Mr. Xu, don't think of the sworn brotherhood. Don't call me brother from now on. Goodbye."

Liu Youzhong strode out of the tent, and Xu Chu didn't chase him, but sat down to rest.

Zhang Shiqing came uninvited, "Is that old man Liu Youzhong?"

"Yes."

"Why is he so angry?"

"I advised him to leave King Jin in time, but he was unhappy."

"He is consistent and worthy of his name."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "He pretended to be angry, but he actually wanted to leave. The only thing I haven't guessed is who he will go to next?"

"Is there any need to guess? Of course, he will follow us back to Jizhou and join the court."

"Jizhou has no momentum to rise, so he shouldn't go."

"My brother... Alas, if it weren't for my parents, I wouldn't go to Jizhou. What about you, why do you want to go to Jizhou?"

"I'll take you home."

"That's all? I don't believe it."

Xu Chu didn't defend himself, and smiled and said, "Why are you here?"

"I'll give this back to you." Zhang Shiqing handed over the "divorce letter".

"That's all? I don't believe it either." Xu Chu took it in his hand.

"Hmm... a bit boring."

"There is really nothing interesting in the camp."

"Not really, I live very comfortably in the Advent Army camp, but I have nothing to do here, I can neither participate in the battle nor discuss matters."

"Heroes without a place to use their skills?"

"Yes. Of course, I am not a hero, I just hope... I hope to have something to do, I don't want to be regarded as a useless princess."

"I have to show my appearance to the third daughter of King Yidu."

"In your eyes, everything has hidden motives." Zhang Shiqing walked around half a circle and stopped: "Yes, I just want to show them, especially Zhang Shisheng. We have been competing since we were young, and I can't lose to her. I have already met General Tie Er, and he is indeed one of the best among men. No wonder she is so proud."

"Thousands of miles apart, you can feel her pride?"

"Listening to you telling what she did in Jindu City, that's how proud she is."

"She is indeed proud. General Tie Er turned defeat into victory in Qinzhou, and formed an alliance with Liangzhou. After moving his troops back to Yizhou, he will definitely receive a heavy reward."

"He has made great achievements, and the person in power is his brother. Of course, a heavy reward is indispensable - Zhang Shisheng is even more proud."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "You think I'm not as good as General Tie Er?"

Zhang Shiqing waved his hand, "It's not the same thing. He is a dragon and a phoenix among men. You are... what are you?"

"I'm just a commoner."

"I'm not better than this. No matter how high General Tie Er's status is, Zhang Shisheng is still attached to him. I want to do something on my own, like the Golden Saint."

"This is not easy. The Golden Saint is also a daughter who follows her father's footsteps, and she wants to make her younger brother king."

"So I came to you, please give me an idea."

Xu Chu thought seriously for a while, "If the Golden Saint can make a difference, she must rely on the Avatar Army. The same goes for you. Only when you return to Yuyang can you have room to move around."

"Like Huanyan?"

"Um."

"But she doesn't seem to have much leeway."

"The momentum is unstoppable."

"Alas, the Zhang family is unfortunate. After returning to Yuyang, I will take action from my brother. If the emperor becomes stronger, Tiancheng will still have a chance to recover, right?"

Xu Chu nodded in agreement.

Zhang Shiqing was very happy. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then asked, "How can I persuade my brother to cheer up?"

"First of all, you have to call him 'Your Majesty'."

"Can't you even call me 'brother'? Okay, just change the title. I can do it. What's next?"

“Secondly, act according to circumstances.”

"Yeah, let's play it by ear." Zhang Shiqing waited for a while and said in surprise: "That's it?"

"that's all."

"It's like saying nothing."

"If I knew how to persuade the emperor to cheer up, I would have done it long ago. Besides, if everything depends on my guidance, where is your own ability?"

"Hide your idea, I want to go myself." Zhang Shiqing turned and left.

Zhang Shiqing still didn't get rid of his old temper, but Xu Chu was not angry, but found it interesting.

In the evening, Zhang Shiqing came again, bringing food.

The food in the army was not good, and the dishes were particularly scarce. There were only some bean paste and pickles, and a few pieces of bacon were rare delicacies. Zhang Shiqing could only get some of them because of his status as a princess.

The wine is even worse, and tastes more like intoxication when you drink it.

Fortunately, Zhang Shiqing was used to drinking and eating without any objection at all. She drank all the wine first and said, "I have figured out a way."

"oh?"

"I'm being escorted back like this. Brother... the emperor won't listen to my persuasion. I have to accomplish something great."

"That makes sense."

"This Jizhou army is very important to the emperor. Tiancheng's revival will most likely depend on it."

"Yes, Yuyang has few soldiers. Without this Jizhou army, it would be difficult to defend the city."

"So the key lies with Mr. Yin."

"Master Yin is a loyal minister."

"Have you heard the rumors? Master Yin is very ambitious and wants to attack the Jin and Liang armies at the same time."

"I have been resting in the tent and haven't heard any rumors."

"That's right. It is said that Master Yin summoned the generals and claimed that he had secretly formed an alliance with a general under King Liang. If the Jizhou army attacked Jinyang, that general would kill King Liang."

Yin Fu deliberately spread the news so that Bao Dun would not be able to regret it, or at least make Liang Jun and his ministers at odds.

"Um."

"If everything goes well, Master Yin will be able to capture the entire Bingzhou, which will be a great achievement."

"Yes, and it will be very easy to recapture Yuyang."

"Yeah, so I've been thinking about how I can help."

"Have you figured it out?"

"Of course." Zhang Shiqing lowered his head to eat.

"Are you asking me to guess?" Xu Chu said with a smile.

Zhang Shiqing smiled and nodded.

"You want to take a detour and return to Yuyang in advance to deliver the message?" Xu Chu guessed.

Zhang Shiqing opened his eyes wide, "Can't you just... think about it for a while?"

"That's because we thought of going together."

"You also hope to go to Yuyang as soon as possible?"

"The situation of merging the states has been determined. The Jizhou army is sure of victory, but Yuyang doesn't know about it. It is a great achievement to be able to deliver the news in advance."

"It's my credit."

"When you get to Yuyang, you will have all the words to say."

Zhang Shiqing smiled again and concentrated on eating. He ate every last grain and then said, "There is one more thing that I guessed right."

"Which one?"

"Liu Youzhong, he somehow convinced Master Yin and was allowed to leave, but instead of returning to Bingzhou to see King Jin, he went directly south. It is said that he wanted to take a detour to see King Ning."

Xu Chu sighed lightly. Liu You finally chose Prince Ning among the heroes. This was not only expected, but also made him deeply regretful.

But there are only these things he can do now: point out a way out for Liu Youzhong, give King Liang a distant reminder, give Zhang Shiqing a little encouragement, give Tang Weitian a city and a chance to stand on his own feet...