Plan to cut off the nine states

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Ahead was a village, with smoke curling up from the kitchen. As they got closer, the soldiers discovered that it was not the smoke from the kitchen, but the remaining smoke after the fire burned.

The entire village has been reduced to ashes, with only a few ruins remaining.

The soldiers were a little nervous. From here on, they had entered the war zone.

Xu Chu said to the leader: "Send someone in to check and see if there are any survivors."

The team leader hummed, then turned around and assigned a small team of ten people to go into the village to check. At the same time, he sent the only two cavalrymen and a guide to the front to inquire about the situation. Then he said to Xu Chu: "Sir, can you turn around?"

Xu Chu sat on his horse and looked towards the village, "We haven't found the rebels yet."

"If we find it, we won't be able to go back."

"Yingcheng will be attacked sooner or later. Instead of waiting, it's better to find out in advance."

The captain was a veteran in his fifties. He was not very sympathetic to the young man in trouble and sneered: "We are soldiers of Jinyang. We don't care about other people's business. Even if we want to, we will wait until Master Mu Shou comes. "

Xu Chu was slightly angry in his heart, and suddenly remembered Guo Shifeng's words. He had the same problem as the noble master, and could not win over the crowd. He couldn't even win over an ordinary soldier, so he jumped off the horse and said with a smile, "I came to join Bingzhou. I want to make a decision." Every inch of effort will take effect on its own, so I have to leave the city, causing everyone to suffer along with me."

After all, the other party was a guest of the Shen family. The captain did not dare to go too far and said with his hands: "I don't dare. Since you are a soldier, you have to accept your fate as a soldier. Master, just don't risk our lives. I don't have anything else." You mean, we only carry three days of dry food. We have been out of the city for more than a day. After dinner, we have to turn around and go back to the city anyway. Look at the situation here, there is no place to replenish food. "

What the team leader said was right, but most of the soldiers in this team were on foot. The local guide was slow to lead the way, and they only walked more than 30 miles in a whole day.

Xu Chu was hesitating when a soldier who entered the village came back and said, "There is another living person... he can be considered a living person."

There was a man sitting behind a broken wall. His whole body was blackened by smoke. He couldn't tell whether he was a man or a woman. He was hunched over. He must be very old.

The soldiers surrounded the man and asked questions repeatedly, but the man seemed not to hear and remained silent. Seeing Mr. Xu arriving, the soldiers moved aside.

"Old man." Xu Chu called several times, but there was still no response.

Xu Chu got up and wanted some water to wash the old man's face. The team that followed him stepped forward and kicked him. The old man woke up as if from a dream. He glanced at the person in front of him and suddenly burst into tears and clapped his hands on the ground. It turned out to be an old man. woman.

The team leader drew his sword for a moment and said sternly: "Shut up, old guy, we are officers and soldiers!"

Xu Chu was trying to please the captain. Although he felt that he had gone too far, he did not stop him. He stood aside and watched, feeling quite embarrassed, thinking that he should not be so rude to an old woman who had probably just lost a loved one.

"It's all dead, it's all dead, how can I still live..." the old woman howled.

The captain pulled out his knife and patted the old woman's head twice with the blade. "It's easy to die. First tell me who burned the village? When did it burn? Where did the people go?"

The old woman got excited and said she didn't want to live, but she still had some strength left in her body. She stood up slowly while holding on to the wall, without looking at the officers and soldiers. She moved her crooked legs and tried to run. Every step was difficult. It's like wading through a quagmire.

Captain laughed and was about to stop the old woman when Xu Chu couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Forget it, let's wait until the spies come back."

The captain glanced at Mr. Xu, put away his knife, and called the soldiers back to the road.

Xu Chu stayed behind and felt around. He only had some money and a few books, which were of no use at this time, so he had to leave.

"All dead!" The old woman suddenly cried again.

Xu Chu did not dare to look back.

On the way, the two spies and the guide had returned. They obviously hadn't gone far and were talking to the team.

The team member turned around and said: "The people who burned the village were a group of rebels. I don't know whether they killed each other or encountered other officers and soldiers on the road. Several people died. The guide said that there is a Linhe town twenty miles away, but there has been no news for several days. The news is out, it’s probably fallen and has become a nest of rebels.”

"Twenty miles, not too far." Xu Chu deliberately went to find out.

The captain shook his head and said, "We won't go. Although the rebels don't know how to fight and don't even have scouts, there are so many people. Two fists can't defeat four people. We only have enough people to deliver meat to others. Mr. Xu wants to make meritorious deeds. Go back to the city and mobilize more troops."

The soldiers all expressed their agreement. These Jinyang veterans had not fought in many years and did not want to get close to the enemy.

When he went out this time, Xu Chu took a slipper with him and put it on his shoulders. He put books in the back and some practical things in the front. He picked it up and put it on the ground. He first took out the book and showed it to everyone to show that he had no secrets. Then he took out a small package and opened a corner to reveal the jewelry and money inside.

"There are rewards for meritorious deeds."

This move was simple and direct, but effective. The soldiers gathered around and Xu Chu put the package away.

The team member hesitated for a while, "Are these rewards?"

"Of course, this is my personal reward. If there is any reward, I will ask you for credit after I return to the city."

The team members were looking at their soldiers, and they understood each other's intentions with just a few glances.

"Let's do this. I'll assign twenty people to follow you, and the rest will stay behind. If the young master encounters danger, run back immediately. We will take care of you. If you don't come back early tomorrow morning, we won't wait for anyone. As for the reward money , give it to me when you come back, and I will distribute it, how about?"

The soldiers only obeyed the orders of the captain. Xu Chu had no choice but to smile and said, "It couldn't be better."

The captain assigned 19 slightly stronger soldiers and a guide, and told them, "If Master Xu comes back safely, you will get more rewards if you make contributions. If Master Xu doesn't come back, you should not come back either. Just surrender and become a rebel."

The soldiers agreed one after another. Xu Chu stood aside, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Guo Shifeng was right. He really didn't know how to follow the crowd. When he was in Dongdu, the emperor, the general and others at least took him seriously. Here, the captain only regarded him as a precious and fragile commodity that needed to be properly protected, but was useless.

Xu Chu led 20 people to set off. There was only one horse, led by a soldier. He walked side by side with the guide.

After walking a few miles, there were traces of burning on the road again, and several corpses were lying in the wild. The previous scout did not lie and turned back when he walked here.

The guide was originally a farmer, and was assigned to lead the way out of the city. He was reluctant, but he was not the captain, so he did not dare to show it. He slowed down his pace and pointed to the path and said, "There is a section of the road ahead that is not easy to walk."

"It doesn't matter. If others can walk, we can walk too." Xu Chu said to the soldier who was leading the horse, "Thank you for riding the horse first. If you see an alarm, turn back immediately."

The soldier was puzzled and handed over the reins.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "You are a scout, ride in front, don't go too far away, and report immediately if there is any enemy."

The soldier finally understood, nodded, handed the spear to his companion, jumped on the horse, and galloped away.

It was getting dark, and the scout in front ran back on horseback, jumped off the horse panting, and waved to everyone, "Turn around, turn around quickly."

"Are there rebels ahead?" Xu Chu asked.

The spy panted and took his spear from his companion, using it as a crutch, "No, I didn't see it."

"Huh?"

"Dead people, all dead people."

Xu Chu grabbed the reins, mounted his horse and left. The soldiers behind him looked at each other and had to follow.

The horse was tired, so Xu Chu didn't whip it, letting it move forward slowly.

Night fell, but it couldn't hide the tragic scene of the world. Hundreds of corpses were scattered all over the road. Just by looking at their clothes, it was impossible to tell which were the rebels and which were civilians. Even the original armor and boots on their bodies were stripped off.

"He died not long ago, probably a few hours ago." A soldier whispered, fearing to disturb the dead.

Another soldier was braver and went forward to check the situation. Suddenly, a flock of birds were startled and flew up, frightening him to drop his spear and crawl back to his companions.

"We must see the living." Xu Chu said, insisting on moving forward.

The soldiers had no choice but to follow, and the person who lost his gun had to go back to the corpses to pick up his weapon.

After walking a few miles, there was a cry from the roadside, and Xu Chu was the first to ride his horse forward to check.

A man sat against a stone by the roadside, holding his stomach with both hands and crying non-stop. Seeing someone coming, he dragged his body to crawl into the wild.

Xu Chu jumped off his horse, "Don't run, I'm not here to kill you, I'm... an officer."

The man turned around. Although it was dark at night, he could roughly see that the person coming was a young man in a long gown, and he felt relieved. "Officers? Have the officers and soldiers chased here?"

"Yes, a large group of officers and soldiers will be here soon. Tell me, how many of you are there? Why are you killing each other?"

"I, I don't know how many people there are. It's hard to find a little food, and everyone started fighting on the road... I still have a wife and children to support, please save my life..."

Xu Chu stepped forward and saw that the man's chest and abdomen were covered in blood in the moonlight.

The soldiers behind caught up. The wounded man couldn't see the number of people and thought it was a large army. He sighed, "I am a traitor. Why should I ask for help? My wife and children... probably belong to others. It's a pity that no one is willing to take care of my mother."

"Is your whole family in the army?" Xu Chu asked.

The wounded man showed obvious surprise on his face, "If not in the army, where else can they be? Alas, die, die, this world, no one is left to live, a few more days or less is nothing..."

A soldier stepped forward and stabbed the wounded man in the chest.

"You..." Xu Chu was shocked.

The wounded man was silent, and the soldier put away his spear. "He is a rebel, why listen to his chatter? Cutting off the ear and taking it back is a credit, right?"

The soldier put down his spear, pulled out his knife, and really cut off the dead man's ear, reminding himself: "Left ear, not right ear."

The other soldiers sighed, regretting that they were too late. Someone said: "There are a lot of corpses behind, we can cut off dozens of intact ones, right?"

Everyone agreed and turned to leave. Xu Chu said: "We haven't seen the enemy camp yet?"

The old soldier who cut off the ear stood up, "Young Master originally said that he wanted to see a living person. The one just now was a living person. If you want to see the enemy camp, it is probably not far ahead. You don't have to go and see it in person. Let's go back to the city. These rebels even killed their own people. Maybe they will be killed in a few days. Then we can collect the bodies."

Xu Chu was about to get on the horse, but several soldiers came forward and held his arm to walk back, saying: "Young Master is tired, let's help him walk."

"You..." Xu Chu couldn't argue with these soldiers.

After they walked a few steps, a voice suddenly came from behind: "Is the person in front of you my husband Qi Liulang?"

It turned out to be a woman. The soldiers stopped and turned around, vaguely seeing a figure on the road.

Xu Chu shook off the soldiers and shouted: "We haven't seen Qi Liulang. May I ask who the camp in front belongs to?"

The woman walked slowly and replied: "Yesterday it belonged to the Destroyer King, today it belongs to the Incarnation King, who do you belong to?"

The listeners were shocked. The King of the World should be in Qinzhou, so when did he run to the east?