At the same time, Wanqiu City, thousands of miles away, was also shrouded in pitch darkness, but there were no brilliant fireworks here, only the murderous aura hidden in the darkness.

In a forest on the west side of the Wu State camp, hundreds of Chen soldiers were secretly assembled, dressed in black, watching every move in the camp from afar. There were only a small number of troops patrolling the large camp, and the flickering firelight created a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

The black-clothed men silently approached the Wu army camp under the cover of night, and they leaned against the fence, blending in with the dark night.

Two Wu soldiers were standing guard at the side door, chatting and laughing about trivial matters at home, the charcoal fire in the brazier was booming, and the crackling sound of sparks cracking was particularly crisp in the silent night sky.

At this time, the man in black quietly stepped forward and raised his crossbow to aim at the two unsuspecting Wu soldiers. I saw two black lights flash, and arrows shot out from the shadows, hitting the heads of the two people, and before the idle talk was over, they had fallen to the ground and died. Immediately afterwards, hundreds of black-clothed men streamed in through the side door, divided into several small teams, and quietly lurked outside the tent.

However, just as these black-clothed men were about to kill, countless torches suddenly lit up outside the camp, and the dense firelight lit up the night, and Wu Bing actually killed them from outside the camp.

Only then did the men in black know that they had been tricked, and seeing that the camp was under siege, they had nowhere to survive, and now they could only desperately break through like moths to a fire. However, it was all in vain, and the Man in Black was quickly slaughtered.

Zhang Xun watched the killing staged in the camp from afar, and said to Ji Zheng: "Although this sneak attack was blocked, sooner or later the Chen people will find out that we only have a thousand people. ”

"Yes, once Chen Guoren comes to kill with all his might, the big camp will be lost."

"Hey, I don't know what the situation is on General Huang's side." Zhang Xun was disturbed in his heart, and frowned unconsciously, he turned to the adjutant and said: "Order, clean up the battlefield, collect the dead, the whole army will return to the camp to rest, and stand guard in three groups in turn." ”

"Whoa!" The adjutant replied.

"Wait!" Zhang Xun suddenly felt that the adjutant looked familiar, so he stopped the adjutant and asked, "Are you?" The scholar who played chess with Brother Gonghui at the beginning, Jieyin? ”

The adjutant replied: "It is here, if the general hadn't accepted me as a grain division in the left military camp, I am afraid that I would have starved to death. ”

After saying that, Jie Yin knelt down and bowed to Zhang Xun, Zhang Xun hurriedly helped Jie Yin up, and said, "It doesn't have to be like this, please get up quickly." How did you become my lieutenant? ”

Jieyin got up and replied: "After the expedition, I have been serving as the Zuo Army Food Division, responsible for logistics and supply. When General Huang went to rescue the crown prince, he took almost all the military officers with him, but I was not taken with me because of my low position. Now I am the only civilian officer left in the army, so I am temporarily appointed as the general's adjutant. ”

"Okay, good, I'm a lot more down-to-earth with you here."

"General Xie appreciates."

"Well, let's go and herald."

"Whoa!"

Zhang Xun had just returned to the camp, and happened to see Cao Zu coming on horseback, Cao Zu had just stepped into the camp and fell off the horse tiredly, Zhang Xun hurriedly ordered someone to help Cao Zu up, and fetched water to quench Cao Zu's thirst.

Cao Zu didn't have time to drink water, and said in a panic: "General Zhang! Oh no! Big ......"

Zhang Xunsheng was afraid of disturbing the morale of the army, so he hurriedly signaled Cao Zu to shut up, but he already vaguely felt the crisis. Afterwards, Zhang Xun took Cao Zu into the camp tent and asked, "What is the matter?" Don't panic, speak slowly! ”

"General Huang! General Huang, he was also captured! ”

"Huh!? What's going on?! Why were you captured again?! ”

Cao Zu poured a big sip of water and said, "We met a scarface on the road who came to answer, who knew that this scarface was actually Chen Guo's spy!" Chen Guoren used the threat of the crown prince to lure General Huang to negotiate, and General Huang was captured by Scarface as soon as he walked in front of their camp! ”

"Huh! Why is General Huang so careless! Zhang Xun beat his chest and hurriedly asked, "What about the four thousand soldiers?!" What's going on now?! ”

"I temporarily ordered the soldiers to retreat ten miles, but fortunately, the Chen people did not chase and kill, but now the dragons are leaderless, and the four thousand soldiers are not commanded. In case Chen Guoren rushes over, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist! ”

Zhang Xunfang is in chaos, and the current situation can really be described as a blessing, and the disaster is not a single line. Ji Zheng saw that Zhang Xun was pacing back and forth in a hurry, so he hurriedly stepped forward and pressed Zhang Xun's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

Ji Zheng asked Cao Zu: "What about the prince's 3,000 people?" ”

"It is said that more than 1,000 people were killed by Chen Guoren yesterday, and the rest were ordered by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to surrender."

Ji Zheng shook his head helplessly and sighed: "The general trend has gone." ”

"That's not right!" Zhang Xun suddenly said firmly: "There is still a chance!" As I said before, there's another strategy! Although the risk is extremely high, it can turn things around! ”

"How?"

"Capture the thief and capture the king first!" Zhang Xun said these words categorically.

"Do you mean to attack Wanqiu, capture King Chen, and use a greater threat to coerce the people of Chen?"

"Exactly! I must find a way to break the city, as long as I capture King Chen and force him to surrender voluntarily, we can turn defeat into victory. ”

"Arabian Nights! In the current situation, you can't even protect yourself, so how can you capture King Chen?! ”

Zhang Xun held his chin and muttered, "I haven't thought about it either, maybe I can find a way to sneak into the city." ”

Ji Zheng strongly objected, "No! Never try to get into town! That's too risky! ”

"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and General Huang have been captured, and now they are defeated, if you want to turn defeat into victory, you can only find a way to attack Wanqiu and capture King Chen, and it is a good way to mix in."

"That's tantamount to death!" Ji Zheng pressed Zhang Xun's shoulder fiercely, and said solemnly: "Brother Xun! Don't be stupid no matter what! Besides! How could you possibly sneak into the city! ”

Zhang Xun sighed and said, "Hey...... Also, getting into the city is easier said than done. ”

Ji Zheng saw that Zhang Xun no longer insisted, so he breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's confront each other for a while, judging from the current situation, the two sides are temporarily in a stalemate, and they must wait for changes to emerge in order to break the situation." ”

"Hey...... We still don't even know who our opponent is, how can we win with such a light enemy. It really responds to the sentence in "The Art of War", 'The victorious army wins first and then seeks battle, and the defeated army first fights and then seeks victory'. We have been defeated from the beginning, rash and rash, and pray for change when we are about to lose, but what can change now? We're only going to get worse! ”

"Okay, you calm down first. In any case, there is no way to break the city now, and you can only wait and see what happens. ”

Zhang Xun was helpless, so he could only nod and say, "It's okay, let's think of a way." ”

At this time, Cao Zu was very anxious and asked: "General Zhang, you are now the top general of our army, what should you do now?!" There are still 4,000 brothers in Luanshan, and there is no one to command! What should I do?! ”

Zhang Xun pondered for a moment, slowly raised his head to look at Ji Zheng, and the moment the two looked at each other, Ji Zheng already knew Zhang Xun's intentions, so he nodded vigorously.

So, Zhang Xun handed over his tiger striped talisman to Ji Zheng, and said solemnly: "Brother, I now order you to join the army, and you immediately take Adjutant Cao to Luanshan and take over the command of the troops." This talisman is your token, and Adjutant Cao can also prove it. I also hope that my brother will see the opportunity to act and be sure to contain the defenders of Luanshan! ”

Ji Zheng took a step out, bowed and said, "Oh! ”

Soon, Ji Zheng packed up and prepared to take Cao Zu and Dongya to Luanshan. Before leaving, Ji Zheng asked Zhang Xun: "How are you going to act here?" ”

"Let's wait and see, but one thing is for sure. A thousand men can't hold the camp no matter what, and I must mobilize the defenders of Shuxian and other four cities to expand my forces to deal with the situation. ”

Ji Zheng reminded: "Be sure to act in secrecy and strictly prevent mutinies in the city." ”

"Well, that's exactly what I wanted." Zhang Xun grabbed Ji Zheng's hand and said, "Xiao Ji, the situation in Luanshan is complicated, and you must adapt to the situation." ”

"I know that we have to stay in touch and exchange information at all times, and if there is a turnaround, we may have another chance."

"Hmmm! Take care! ”

"Take care!"

The hazy first quarter moon flickered in the flowing clouds, the two said goodbye, Ji Zheng gradually drifted away, and his figure disappeared into the invisible distance.

Zhang Xun stopped and looked into the distance, and couldn't come back to his senses for a long time. At this time, Jieyin stepped forward and asked, "General, what should we do now?" ”

Zhang Xun said in a low voice: "Quickly send heralds to the four cities of Baji, Beiyang, Hongxian, and Shuxian to transfer back the defenders, and only five hundred soldiers will be left in each city. ”

"General, we left 2,000 people in Baji County at that time, in addition to 300 wounded soldiers, we should be able to transfer 1,200 people, Baji County is very close to Wanqiu, and the defenders can arrive tomorrow afternoon."

"Order the troops to march hastily, and be sure to arrive tomorrow afternoon."

Jieyin pondered for a moment and said: "At the moment, we only have 1,000 troops, and after the Baji garrison arrives, we only have 2,200 people, and the defensive pressure is still very high. The other three cities are far away, and it will take several days for the defenders to arrive, but they will be quite numerous. I estimated that if there were 500 men left in each city, there would be another 2,000 men in addition to the wounded. In this way, in ten days, we can mobilize more than 4,000 men, enough to siege the city. ”

Zhang Xun frowned and said: "The current situation is scorching, major changes may occur at any time, ten days is too long, Chen Guoren will definitely not give us that much time." Huh! The key prince is in the hands of Chen Guoren, and once the news continues to brew, we may be passive everywhere. ”

"The general's worries are not unreasonable, but there is no way to break the enemy at the moment, Ji joined the army and said right, now we can only wait and see what happens."

Zhang Xun shook his head and sighed: "Hey, it's difficult, it's difficult!" Anyway, let's get the nearest defenders over first! ”

"Whoa! I'm going to send the heralds. It's not too early, so the general should go back and sleep for a while. ”

"Where can I sleep, hey, I'll go for a walk outside, you go to give the order quickly."

"Whoa."

Zhang Xun was depressed and walked slowly to the outside of the camp. At this time, the moon was dim, the cold wind was bleak in the darkness, and a forest in the distance was gently swaying in the wind, making a strange rustling sound.

Suddenly, Zhang Xun had a flash of inspiration, a bold plan appeared in his mind, he was so excited that he hurriedly found Jieyin and said, "Quick! Gather the soldiers and follow me to cut down the trees! ”