According to Meng Shenglun's plan, Song Xingci was arranged to stay in the city, and in order to avoid suspicion, he went out to patrol the city as soon as it was dark, which coincided with King Wu's approach.

The Eastern Capital has just ended the state of partition, Xu Ji is trying to unify the order, many of the descending army is not used to this, the subordinates of the King of Liang and the King of Shu admit that the King of Wu is the lord of the whole city, but they are a little hesitant to obey the order, Song Xingju pickets everywhere, and the problems that cannot be solved are all recorded and prepared to be handed over to the King of Wu for disposal.

The people in the city are hiding again these days, and the gate is closed before dark, and when the rebels and officers and soldiers are fighting in the southern city, they do not help each other, and they are even more cautious after the war.

The army that escaped death was more indulgent than before, and after nightfall, groups roamed the streets and alleys, but a little more careful, and when they saw the night patrol team, especially those who heard that it was King Wu, they fled and reunited later.

Song Xingci shook his head all the way and said to the deputy general beside him: "The Descendant Army is used to being casual, and if you want to correct it, you have to use severe punishment to govern." ”

"The Descending King entrusted the entire army to Zhizheng, probably exactly what he meant." The lieutenant general believed in the incarnation king.

Song Xingju also believed it, and nodded thoughtfully.

The corpses on the battlefield in Nancheng have been taken away, and the people who originally lived here have quietly returned to their homes to try their best to sort out their appearance, and many soldiers of the rebel army have also come here, either to mourn relatives and friends, cry bitterly in the street, or climb over the broken courtyard walls to find opportunities to loot.

King Wu repeatedly ordered a ban on looting, but there were still people who took advantage of the night to come out and take risks, anyway, no one dared to sue, just need to avoid the city patrol team.

Song Xingju focused on patrolling the southern city and stopping many loots, but did not arrest anyone, only drove them away from the people's homes.

The whole team is about one hundred and twenty or thirty people, more than ten people are on horseback, the rest are on foot, everyone is not very nervous, this is the city, under the banner of King Wu, they pass unimpeded, and they have never had an accident, although those incarnation troops are scattered, but they are very easy to deal with, and a few roars can scare them away.

Song Xingju rode slowly, all he thought about was Meng Senglun, the generals of the seven clans rose up together, came to Luozhou together, and served Xu Ji as the ruling king together, and his feelings became deeper and deeper, he regretted Meng Senglun's death, and at the same time felt that he should save Wang Dian.

When the arrow came, no one reacted in advance, and Song Xingci didn't look up blankly until he was hit by the arrow, and a sound sounded in his throat, as if he wanted to ask something, but before the words came out, the person fell down from the horse and never got up again.

This arrow was shot extremely accurately, hitting Song Xing's forehead.

The lieutenant was horrified and immediately divided his forces to search for the assassin.

The Assassin was apparently very familiar with the terrain and quickly disappeared, but he was not alone, two of his accomplices were caught up and killed, and the adjutant found the waist badges of officers and soldiers from the corpses, indicating that they were from Jizhou.

The news spread back to the camp, and Meng Shenglun and others, who were about to set off, abandoned their original plan, put the whole army on alert, and waited for King Wu to return.

The corpse was placed in the council hall, Song Xingci's eyes were wide, and he didn't understand what was going on until he died, he was also considered to have experienced a hundred battles, and he didn't die on the battlefield, but he died from an arrow from the shadows.

The soldiers of the Wu army were extremely grief-stricken, and after hearing the news, they immediately searched the city for the hidden officers and soldiers.

Xu Ji was also very angry, Song Xing was by no means a perfect general, but he was loyal and brave, when the Wu army needed morale the most, he was always the first to rush to the front, and made great achievements many times, which can be said to be indispensable.

It was he who was assassinated.

The two waist plaques clearly stated that the two killed were Jizhou soldiers, who apparently did not have time to withdraw from the battlefield and remained in the city to become assassins.

"Search the city, search from house to house, starting with the south city." Xu Ji ordered that this was a decision he had to make, and only in this way could he show that he attached great importance to Wu Jun and Song Xingju.

"Please ask General Meng to be in charge of searching the city, don't miss a place, including the palace, but don't disturb the people, understand?"

"Yes." Meng Shenglun understood that he didn't have to go out of the city to die for the time being, he had to avenge Song Xingju first, and let the whole city know about it, but he couldn't damage the image of the righteous army - the spontaneous looting of a few people could be stopped, and once it became the action of the whole army, it was irreversible.

Xu Ji was still angry, stared at the corpse for a long time, and came over to participate in the deliberations of the generals.

Meng Shenglun arranged it very properly, some people blocked the streets, some people searched in pieces, some people announced orders, some people patrolled back and forth, used a considerable number of troops, and asked the king of Shu and the king of Liang to assist.

"Try to catch them alive, officers and soldiers will not become assassins for no reason, there must be someone to instruct them." Xu Ji added, "General Song has to die clearly. ”

It was already dawn, and Xu Ji first summoned the generals who had nothing to do and announced the appointment that had already been spread: Xue Jinyao, the wife of King Wu and the daughter of King Zu, was appointed as the descending general, above the generals.

Because of the assassination, the appointment ceremony was relatively sloppy, and no one was dissatisfied with it, and no one even cared about Xue Jinyao's identity as a woman, her height, strength, and the battle of Xicheng, which swept away all doubts.

Xu Ji needs her to stabilize the Incarnation Army.

Xue Jinyao was not good at Sou Cheng and was not interested, so after being appointed, he asked directly: "When will you fight again?" ”

"Tomorrow, concentrate your forces and decide the outcome of a battle."

"Everyone's in my hands?"

"Except for King Ning's eight thousand men and a thousand horses, the rest will be yours."

"What if the King of Shu and the King of Liang are not convinced? Especially King Liang. ”

"Find me."

"Okay." Xue Jinyan no longer has any doubts, she is more familiar with the Descendant Army, and she is willing to use the old department to stay and discuss tomorrow's decisive battle together.

Xu Ji did not sit in to show his complete trust in the general, and only recommended a few people to her as staff officers.

The preparations for the war and the search of the city were carried out at the same time, and Xu Ji had to keep his promise to release Ning Baoguan.

Ning Baoguan had already heard the news of Song Xingci's death, and as soon as he saw King Wu, he said: "Song Xingci is a rare fierce general, and King Wu has suffered a lot of losses. ”

"We will avenge him." Xu Ji said flatly.

The two looked at each other for a while, and Ning hugged Guan and said: "The defeated army, if there is no one to command, it is too late to hide, and it is impossible to run out and assassinate the enemy general." ”

"I know. King Ning will go well, reorganize his troops today, and leave the city tomorrow. Officers and soldiers use assassins, and I want to return thousands of troops. ”

Ning hugged Guan and walked out of the room, and after a few steps, he turned his head and said, "King Wu is no stranger to assassination, right?" ”

Xu Ji squeezed out a smile, "As long as it is a useful means, anyone can use it, it depends on whether he uses it well or not." ”

"I won't use it, it's not that I don't want to, but I won't, I can't trust any assassins." Ning Baoguan strode away, even if he walked in King Wu's camp, he did not have the slightest timidity.

Niu Tiannu stayed and stepped forward and said: "King Wu is not strange, King Ning is straightforward and fast-talking, and there is no malice. ”

"I'd rather deal with a cheerful person like King Ning, and Mrs. Niu have a good rest."

"A few of my children will be brought in later, and the guards will bring them directly to me."

Xu Ji nodded and said goodbye, explained a few words to the guards at the gate of the barracks, and returned to the conference hall to check the situation.

Xue Jinshao was talking hotly, she had already set a general formation, who was in the front, who was behind, who was in reserve, who was a surprise soldier, all of them were well organized, which made the generals admire, even the generals in the Liang and Shu armies had nothing to say, how to arrange it.

Meng Shenglun was in charge of Sou Cheng in a room next door, and had just closed the streets, and there was no harvest yet.

Xu Ji ordered someone to go into the palace to summon Cao Shenxi, and he went back to the bedroom to rest for a while.

He needs to rest, he hasn't slept for too long, he already feels dizzy, but he doesn't want to sleep, he feels bad as soon as he closes his eyes, the door doesn't seem to be closed tightly, there seems to be someone outside the window, and everyone around him seems to have a problem, Ning Baoguan's ridicule, Xue Jinyao's composure, Meng Senglun's stay...... Even Tang Weitian, who was sleeping heavily, seemed abnormal.

Xu Ji must constantly warn himself not to be suspicious and overly suspicious in order to stay calm.

Cao Shenxi came quickly, and as soon as he entered the room, he said: "Why did King Wu ......" He glanced at Tang Weitian, who was snoring loudly, and continued: "The death of General Song is regrettable, but the people are not guilty, and King Wu searched the city ......"

"Please General Cao to come, just for this matter." Xu Ji interrupted Cao Shenxi, got up and walked in front of the old general, waved his hand to the two guards at the door, and motioned for them to stay.

"Me?"

"Please ask General Cao for help, do you think it's inappropriate to search the whole city, but there is a clever plan to find out the hidden officers and soldiers and avenge General Song?"

Cao Shenxi thought seriously for a while, "Searching the city will make the people panic, although King Wu has an order not to disturb the people, it is difficult for the soldiers of the righteous army to grasp the proportions......"

"I know all of this, and I want a better idea."

Cao Shenxi is a general, he understands the arrangement of troops, but this kind of thing is not his forte, "I have old officials there, I am familiar with the Eastern Capital, and I am good at arresting and interrogating, so I can use them." ”

"Are they willing to find out the hidden officers and soldiers for me?"

"Since you are protected by King Wu, you should do things for King Wu."

"Hey, you prefer the Jizhou soldiers to win a big victory and become an official on the same day, right? My men will investigate General Cao's mansion in the future, and if nothing is found, they may be able to borrow the officials, and if they find out a hidden officer and soldier, I will have to withdraw the shelter I have been holding. ”

Cao Shenxi was stunned, "King Wu...... Are you suspicious of me? ”

"Shouldn't I doubt you?"

"If I have malicious intentions towards King Wu, I can do it in Beicheng the day before yesterday, why hide the officers and soldiers and take such means as assassination?"

"Does General Cao know what outsiders say about you?"

"I've heard it, which one did King Wu hear?"

"People say that General Cao has more than a little bit of a strategy but is not strong-willed, and the plan he has formulated has ten points, and after being interfered with, there are often only four or five points left, so he often loses in the big war, and he has to be at the mercy of the strong to give full play to the talents of the generals. Therefore, when General Cao fought for the general, he was invincible, and after parting ways, he became a mediocre general. Tiancheng was peaceful for 20 years, and General Cao was not revealed, and once there was a big chaos, General Cao was defeated in successive battles. ”

Cao Shen's face was blue and red for a while, he had heard of similar evaluations, and he was pointed out in person, but it was the first time, he was silent for a long time, and said: "I am a mediocre person, but I will not use such despicable means as assassination, and there is no 'strong man's mercy', how can I have the ability to arrange assassins?" ”

"The general is not here, but Fei Xin is still there. He went to see General Cao the night before, not only to reminisce and be grateful, but actually to arrange an assassination. Hey, Master Fei finally got the hang of it, and he will use conspiracy and tricks, he pretends to be upside down, and even I have deceived him, admire. But why did he let people assassinate General Song instead of me? ”

Cao Shenxi still looked confused, "I don't know what Lord Fei arranged, but I never participated. If the assassin was really arranged by Lord Fei, I could guess some clues-" Cao Shenxi stared at Xu Ji, "I've heard that King Wu is resourceful and can't bear to be deceived. Deceived and irritable, irritable and stupid, this may be what Lord Fei is waiting for. ”