The river flows from north to south, separating Qin and the two states, the mountains on both sides are continuous, only a few places are conducive to passage, the southernmost Jinkou is called Pusaka, He Rong's army wants to enter Qinzhou, the first city to conquer is it.

He Rong led 10,000 cavalry, supervising tens of thousands of Jizhou and Bingzhou soldiers and craftsmen to attack the city, he did not like these Central Plains people, they were not only slow to move, but also greedy for life and fear death, and had to be threatened with stronger fear in order to make them rush to the enemy.

But the Central Plains people have a very good set of siege cities, and those seemingly honest and cowardly craftsmen have made extremely powerful weapons, which impressed the people of He Rongren, and they are glad that there is no city on the grassland.

Long before He Rongpingshan led his troops to set off, the armies of Hebei and Bingzhou were already on the way, and He Rongjun's army only took one day to catch up and surpass the front.

Soon, Herong Pingshan received the slightly unexpected news that the defenders of Kasaka seemed to be fleeing, and that it was about to become an empty city.

The hesitation in He Rongpingshan's heart only lasted for a short while, and he immediately made a decision to leave the Central Plains people behind and lead the cavalry to capture the city.

He sent someone to deliver a letter to Shan Yu, and then hurried non-stop, and finally in one afternoon, he saw Kasaka.

The city was intact, the bridges were damaged, but the horses were still allowed to pass, and the defenders apparently fled in a hurry.

"The courage of the Central Plains people is so small." He Rongpingshan said to his subordinates, "We are going to spend the winter in Xijing, it is not very good there, it is said that it has been looted a long time ago, but everyone bear with it for a while, and next year we will go to Jiangnan for the summer." ”

According to Shan Yu's plan, the task of the vanguard army is over, and it is only necessary to defend the city, repair the bridge, and wait for the arrival of the army.

But He Rongpingshan didn't want to wait, it was too easy to capture Jinkou, and he felt that he had no meritorious service, so he immediately sent spies deep into Qinzhou to find the whereabouts of the enemy army.

News soon came that an army of less than 10,000 men was fleeing to Xijing, a day's journey from Kasaka.

There was an argument between the lords of the army and many people thought that they should not risk chasing the enemy, at least they had to wait for Shan Yu's order.

He Rongpingshan is overwhelmed, "We are He Rong people, we have been galloping on the grassland since childhood, and we have grown up with this, unlike the Central Plains people, one step at a time, steady but stable, but once they retreat, it will be difficult to gather, especially the Qinzhou rebels, just a group of villagers, they must be the first to take the people, let them learn the skills of He Rong's cavalry!" ”

He Rongpingshan left a small number of cavalry to defend the city, and he led his troops out of the city, bringing only three days' food and grass, and agreed that he would be able to return within five or six days—he would take the return capital from the enemy.

Nearly 10,000 cavalry set off, and except for the first two days, no news came back.

When Shan Yu's army arrived at Pusaka, it was the fifth day of He Rongpingshan's departure, and there was still no news.

Shan Yu was both anxious and angry, he had already written a letter, ordering He Rong Pingshan to hold Jinkou and not to rush in, and when the credible document was still on the way, his cousin had already gone out of the city to pursue the enemy without authorization.

After Xu Ji was left out in the cold for a few days, he was summoned again, and it was a rare solitary summons, without Kou Daogu or other adults standing aside, only a few servants who did not understand the Central Plains dialect served.

Shan Yu has an advantage, although he will also be angry, but there are all reasons, he never gets angry with others, seeing Xu Ji, he smiled and said: "Well, if you are right, Pingshan will be defeated." ”

"There's no clear news yet."

"If no one is sent back to deliver the letter for three days in a row, Pingshan will be completely annihilated, and there will be no other reason. Alas, this is Pingshan's fault, and it is also my fault, knowing that he is impatient, but let him be a pioneer. The Descendant Army does not seem to be an ordinary rebel army. ”

"An army that has fought for many years and has fought in many places, even if it loses many battles, it should learn something."

"That's right, I used to underestimate the World Army."

"The armies before were all the same as Shan Yu."

"Haha, at least I'm going to fix it a little sooner than they do." Shan Yu suddenly sighed again, "I have high hopes for Pingshan, but I can't think of it...... But how can there be immortals in war? I have five kings, nine masters, and twenty-four horsemen in my He Rong department, all of whom can stand alone. ”

"But why didn't you use these people before?"

"Before I made Shan Yu, He Rong's department was constantly fighting, and Lao Shan Yu could barely suppress it. Since I succeeded to the throne, I thought that although the kings shook hands and made peace on the surface, they still hated each other, and they were not afraid of me enough. Therefore, since entering the fortress, things that He Rongbu is not very good at, such as siege, have to be handed over to my people to do. ”

Shan Yu confessed so frankly, Xu Ji was very surprised, "Shan Yu hopes to use war to convince the kings? ”

"In addition, you can accumulate some experience, and when you attack the city again, it will not be feared by everyone. Long before entering the fortress, I knew that the biggest obstacle in front of He Rong's cavalry was not the Tiancheng court, not the Quartet, but the cities, one city after another, and the Central Plains people hid in it, which would consume the He Rong people. ”

"He Rongpingshan's siege technique has huge casualties."

"The casualties are the Central Plains, not us." Shan Yu smiled.

"In the long run, the people of the Central Plains will also refuse to serve."

"Well, that's a problem for later, and we'll fix it later." Shan Yu sighed again, "The death of Pingshan is a big loss for me. ”

"He could also be taken prisoner."

"In the same way, he made some small mistakes in the past, I can forgive him, this time he made a mistake that I can't use it anymore even if I come back alive."

"It seems that Shan Yu should use the five kings, nine masters, and twenty-four horses."

Shan Yu has long had this intention, and it has been difficult to make a decision, "The timing is not very good." ”

"There is no such thing as timing."

"Hey." Shan Yu looked at Xu Ji, "There are some things that you Central Plains people are better at, especially you." ”

"I'm ashamed." Xu Ji said with a smile.

"For example, figuring out people's hearts."

"Whose mind do you need me to figure out?"

"The left and right virtuous kings, the left and right winning kings, and the left capital king."

"Why isn't there a king of the right capital?"

"I am the king of the right capital, and the new king is one of my younger brothers, who is of the same heart and mind as me, and is not among the 'five kings' with different aspirations."

"And the nine masters, twenty-four horses?"

"They belong to the kings, and if you settle the kings, you will naturally be able to solve them."

"Hmm." Xu Ji thought for a while, "I haven't seen the Five Kings, so I can't figure it out." ”

Shan Yu said with a smile: "You have seen, every time they have a meeting, they are around me and are closest to me." ”

"Oh, that's a bit impressive."

He Rongren did not distinguish between dignity and inferiority when deliberating, and all the adults present could squeeze in front of Shan Yu to speak, but there were indeed a few people, even if they did not speak, their positions were fixed around Shan Yu.

"The five kings don't seem to be all old men."

"Three of them are older, and two of them are about the same age as me, but they all have the same heart, and they are dissatisfied with my ability to get a single position."

"Because they feel more qualified?"

Shan Yu smiled and did not answer.

"I still can't figure it out, because I don't understand you."

"If you have to understand the other party's language to figure it out, how can the Central Plains people and the Herong people fight? Do you mess with each other? ”

"The more I know, the more accurate I can figure it out, and now I can only generalize."

"Very well, I don't want you to figure it out too accurately, just generalize." Shan Yu is still on guard against outsiders.

Xu Ji thought for a while, "What did Kou Daogu say?" ”

"It's my business to judge whether it's good or bad, you can talk about your own 'generalizations'."

"Well, I'll just make a general statement: there is no need to figure out the thoughts and intentions of the five kings."

"That's a strange statement." Shan Yu said with a smile.

Xu Ji was about to explain, when someone came in outside and spoke in He Rong, Shan Yu Teng stood up, then sat down slowly, replied a few words, and the person who came retreated.

Shan Yu was silent for a long time, and said to Xu Ji: "Pingshan is back." Later the kings will come, and you will observe again. ”

Usually when the adults are deliberating, Xu Ji stands in the distance, and today he makes an exception to stand behind Shan Yu, although it is still a corner, the position is much more important.

The adults arrived first, and sat down separately, not shouting and shouting as usual, but whispering in twos and threes.

The five kings sat on Shan Yu's left and right, three old and two young, different from others, did not whisper, but spoke directly to Shan Yu, and there seemed to be accusations in his tone.

Shan Yu nodded, occasionally replied with a few words, and seemed to accept all the blame.

After a while, He Rong Pingshan entered the tent, his gorgeous clothes were tattered, only the jade belt on his waist still had a little grace left, he knelt on the ground as soon as he entered the tent, and said something excitedly.

Shan Yu did not speak, but allowed the adults to speak, and many people spoke one after another, especially the five kings, who spoke the most, and the accusation was more obvious.

He Rongpingshan kept kneeling on the ground, occasionally justifying a few words, and frequently raised his hand to point at himself, as if he was taking all the responsibility.

Shan Yu spoke, only said a few words, some people objected, and Shan Yu was indifferent.

He Rongpingshan kowtowed to Shan Yu, untied the jade belt, held it with both hands, put it on the ground in front of him, and then pulled out the short blade, shouted something, and stabbed it into his lower abdomen.

He didn't die immediately, his face showed pain, but he gritted his teeth and refused to cry out in pain, but he couldn't stop the blood from gradually flowing from the corners of his mouth.

There was silence in the tent.

After waiting for a while, Shan Yu nodded, and several warriors stepped forward to help He Rong Pingshan stab the short blade deeper, seeing that he was still breathing, a warrior glanced at Shan Yu, and after getting the signal, he drew his knife and stabbed it into the heart, confirmed that he was dead, and carried the body out of the tent.

A jade belt and a pool of blood were left on the ground.

Shan Yu said some words again, without the slightest sense of sadness, as if he was inspiring.

The adults dispersed, and only Xu Ji remained.

The servant presented the jade belt over, took it in his hand, wiped it carefully, and finally took it into his arms, turned to Xu Ji and said, "Go on with your words." The tone was flat, as if nothing had happened.

Because he had a similar experience, Xu Ji admired more than others.

"It doesn't matter what the kings think, they have the opportunity to succeed Shan Yu, and they will always think about it, even if they don't want to, someone will think about it for them."

"Hey, are you sowing discord?"

"There's no need for that. Instead of figuring out the five kings, it is better to figure out the nine masters and twenty-four horsemen, and entrust them with heavy tasks and rewards. ”

"Most people won't be loyal to me."

"That's when it's necessary to sow discord."

Shan Yu was stunned for a moment, then understood, and said with a smile: "Sure enough, the Central Plains people are better at this kind of thing, I will consider it, but I may not do it." This is enough to save you a few days of speech. Go ahead. ”

Xu Ji said goodbye, walked not far away, and turned to look at Shan Yu.

Shan Yu took out the jade belt again, looked up and saw Xu Ji, and muttered: "I shouldn't have taken his wife, Princess Tiancheng should go to accompany him." ”