-- November 4, the fourth year of Jingzhi of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Maicheng, Nanjun County, Jingzhou, the residence of Li Shen, King of Qin.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness the King of Qin!"

With the sound of hurried footsteps, Fu Ao, the commander of the Third Army of the White Water Army, hurriedly walked into the residence of Li Shen, the king of Qin, and handed a letter to his own lord who was having breakfast.

Putting down the chopsticks and wiping his mouth elegantly with a silk silk, Li Shen, the king of Qin, took the letter handed by Fu Ao and asked lightly, "Where did you come from?" ”

"Nanling!" Fu Ao lowered his voice and said, "The remnants of the Taiping Army in Nanling, Qi Zhi and Xu Le!" ”

"Huh?" With a chuckle, Li Shen tore open the cover, took out the letter and spread it out to glance at it a few times, and suddenly realized, "I see! - It turned out to be a letter from four days ago, and this king was still wondering, so Qi Zhi would definitely not be stupid enough to do this...... Uh-huh, hmm, hmm-hmm......"

Looking at the lord who nodded his head again and again, Fu Ao couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what did Qi Zhi's gang say?" ”

Raising the letter in his hand, Li Shen said lightly, "There is nothing new, that is, he and Xu Le have decided to take refuge in this king, and they plan to surrender to the Zhou army and help this king win this war!" - In fact, it is the same with or without this letter, the ice city of the Zhou army has been in turmoil these days, and this king has already seen it...... Well done, Qi Zhi and Xu Le! ”

Fu Ao chuckled lightly when he heard this, after all, they all knew that the Zhou army camp would not stop in the past few days. Although the ice city of the Zhou army was twenty miles away from Maicheng, there were scouts and light cavalry from the two armies who kept an eye on each other and monitored each other's every move.

You must know that such a war with tens of thousands of troops at every turn, attacking the city, and the fierce battle between the two armies scouts in the wilderness outside the city, will always be a big drama before the real war begins. Only when one side could not afford the losses of the scout cavalry chose to relinquish control outside the city. That's when the real siege battle will begin.

"According to the scouts sent to the vicinity of the Zhou army's ice city, the Zhou military camp has been very lively in the past few days, and there have been several sounds of fighting, and the last general thinks that the commander of the Zhou army is probably in a hurry at the moment......"

"Xie An?" Li Shen chuckled when he heard this.

"Why Xie An?" Fu Ao's face was full of surprise. Puzzled, he asked, "Shouldn't it be Li Xian, the king of the eight sages?" ”

Li Shen shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It is not difficult to see from the night attack of the Zhou army on our military camp that the current military division of the Zhou army is Liu Qing, the former leader of the Taiping Army and the heavenly Ji ...... The eldest grandson, Xiangyu and Li Xian, would never use such a risky strategy to force our army to retreat......"

"What does Your Highness mean that the eldest grandson Xiangyu and Li Xian may be forced to serve as military advisors and command the Zhou army for the time being?"

"It's not that I can't temporarily serve as a military advisor and command the Zhou army...... If nothing goes wrong, the two of them should not be in the Zhou army! Otherwise. The careful and cautious eldest grandson Xiangyu and Li Xian will not allow Liu Qing to carry out such a risky strategy......" Speaking of this, Li Shen paused, reached out and touched his chin, and said with a smile, "The woman of the eldest grandson Xiangyu has always been in poor health, and she helped Xie An and Li Shou to fight against the Xiliang rebels, and she was seriously ill during the period. If it's not illness, it's ...... Not. Congratulations to that Master Xie! ――According to the information that this king found in Jijing's eyeliner, the woman of the eldest grandson Xiangyu seems to have been pregnant with Liujia for a long time, and if she counts the days, she should retire at this time and find a place to give birth with peace of mind, right? ”

"I see...... What about Lee Hyun? If he wasn't in the Zhou army, where could he go? ”

"Where else can I go? Koto! Li Shen chuckled. said slowly, "That Wu Heng of the Taiping Army is not a simple character, the heavenly Ji Liu Qing, he will give up if he says it...... Count the days. The whole Jiangdong may have been in his pocket for a long time...... That's what Xiaoxiong did, it's not that Liu Qing's milky little girl is not comparable to Chen Bei's reckless men who are brave and not good at scheming! If this king's expectation is correct, Li Xian should have rushed to Jiangdong and handed over the matter to Xie An to deal with...... Heh, hehehe! ”

"His Highness seems to be very happy to see that Xie An is in charge of the army?" Fu Ao asked in surprise.

"Xie An, Xie Wenyi...... That's the king's old acquaintance! There was a bit of memory in his eyes, Li Shen touched the thin beard on his chin and muttered, "I really didn't expect that Li Shou, the king of Anle back then, was such a prince who was not valued by the government and the opposition, and he could also sit on the throne of my Great Zhou; And back then, a scholar in the upper district of his mansion was now able to be a very popular minister, and he was in the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, and he led more than 100,000 soldiers and horses to confront the king...... Thinking that when his master and servant were forced by the crown prince Li Wei to seek refuge from this king, this king really didn't expect that his master and servant would be able to climb to such a high position now......"

Glancing at Li Shen, who was sighing, Fu Ao asked curiously, "It is said that Li Shou's throne depends entirely on Xie An's advice......

"Xie An? Advise? Li Shen laughed when he heard this, shook his head and said, "No, no, no, then Xie An is not a person who plots things, if he is alone, he and Li Shou will lose ten lives even if they have ten lives!" - Do you remember what the king said? That Xie An doesn't have much ability, but he is the most difficult to deal with! ”

"This ...... I will not be able to understand it! ”

"Bad luck!" Pouring himself a glass of wine, Li Shen said with a solemn face, "Incredible strong luck, unimaginable strong luck!" - When the king was still the prince, Liangqiu Wu belonged to the forces of Li Mao, the king of Yan, the Eastern Army, and the Liangqiu family, for this reason, Li Mao, the king of Yan, was in the military like the sky; And the eldest grandson Xiangyu belongs to the forces of Li Xian, the king of the eight sages, and with the relationship between the small and the young, Li Xian is extremely supported by the eldest grandson family, and the eldest grandson family is ...... Yin Gong, Ruan Shaozhou, Changsun Jing, Prime Minister, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, plus the household department operated by Li Xian, although Li Xian has been absent from Jijing for a long time, his reputation is not inferior to that of the prince Li Wei...... There is also that Jin Ling'er, the assassin in Jinling Dangerous Building, who has not missed for ten years, and how many political enemies have he secretly helped the crown prince Li Wei to eradicate...... At that time, the division of forces in Jijing was extremely clear, and even this king could not get some help from the forces controlled by Li Wei, Li Mao, and Li Xian...... And at this moment, a down-and-out boy from Guangling came all the way to the capital ......"

"That's Xie An?"

"Ah...... That guy has completely disrupted the original power pattern of Jijing! married Liangqiu Wu, got the support of the Liangqiu family, and took the Eastern Army Shenwu Battalion, one of the four towns; married the eldest grandson Xiangyu, got the support of the eldest grandson's family, and even got the respect of many important ministers in the court, such as Prime Minister Yingong, Ruan Shaozhou, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Sun Jing, the chief servant of the Ministry of War; Married Jin Ling'er. Hundreds of assassins in the Jinling Dangerous Building Assassin Pavilion have been the only ones since then...... Then there is Lu Gong of Nangong Mansion, the assassin of Donglingzhong, this king really can't figure out how a guy who was once so down until Chinese New Year's Eve night still seeking a place to stay on the deserted street can have a relationship with so many celebrities and magnates in Jijing...... Bad luck, unbelievably strong luck! ”

That is to say. So Xie An is just a lucky guy? Fu Ao suddenly said.

As if hearing the contemptuous tone in Fu Ao's voice, Li Shen shook his head and said, "Luck is also a kind of strength!" -- There are people with ability and talent everywhere in this world, but not everyone can soar, and sometimes, luck is far more important than strength! ”

"Luck? Compare strength...... This ......"

"Humph! Isn't the former prince Li Wei strong enough? That man once controlled more than fifty percent of the power of Jijing, and the Jizhou army was once no different from his private army. Even the Praetorian Guards of the Northern Army are loyal to him, but what is the result? The guy died...... is obviously the prince who is closest to the throne, but in the end he died the earliest, this is the end of strength but no luck! Speaking of this, the corners of Li Shen's mouth raised a somewhat smug smile.

It is not difficult to guess that Li Shen probably thought of the feat of using dozens of crossbowmen to finish off the former crown prince Li Wei, after all, Li Wei had almost controlled the entire palace at that time. Even Xie An has become Li Wei's hostage, and no matter who thinks Li Wei has won the battle. will inevitably become the next Great Zhou Emperor. And at this time, he Li Shen came forward to end Li Wei......

However, it also left a bane, so that now it is bitten by a mad dog named Li Cheng......

"This king's luck is still not enough!" Thinking of the information about Li Cheng, the king of Anling, in Yuzhou, Li Shen sighed with a little headache, clenched his fists and muttered. "If it was this king who first got acquainted with that Xie An, not Xiao Jiu, maybe this king would not be fighting for the throne now......

I have to say that Li Shen's regret is not unreasonable, after all, he is different from Li Wei and Li Cheng. is not the kind of arrogant person whose eyes are above the top and his eyes are empty, even back then, he was a prince who was gentle and elegant and not inferior to Li Xian, but he was not a gentleman who served the country and the people and had a social heart, after all, the biggest gap between Li Shen and Li Xian was that he was extremely ambitious.

But in any case, Li Shen did not leave any bad impression on Xie An after all, if it were not for the coincidence that Li Shou and Xie An became irreversible friends, and it was not impossible for Li Shen to buy people's hearts and put his heart into his heart, it was not impossible for Xie An to become his minister.

Just like Li Shen said, time is also fate, this kind of thing can only be encountered by chance, not everyone is as lucky as Xie An is enough to make people gnash their teeth.

"That's it, it's come to this, it's useless to talk about it!" Rubbing his head a little tiredly, Li Shen said with a straight face, "If nothing goes wrong, Qi Zhi and Xu Le have successfully surrendered to Zhou Jun, and with their relationship with Liu Qing, Xie An will definitely not be too harsh, unless he has the intention to provoke Liu Qing...... Let the Taiping Army, the Great Liang Army, and the Jizhou Army be stationed in the same battalion, and it is strange that there is no chaos! ”

"Is this what Your Highness is for? - Your Highness is clever! Hearing this, Fu Ao clenched his fists and complimented, and then asked hesitantly, "However, what did His Highness say, and what conditions did he give to Qi Zhi and the others to persuade them to be the internal response of our army?" ”

"Conditions?" Li Shen chuckled lightly when he heard this, and said lightly, "No, this king didn't say anything to them this time!" ”

"This ...... Your Highness, the last general doesn't understand, remember that when Qi Zhi's gang escaped from Nanling, His Highness sent someone to contact Qi Zhi and wanted to recruit them, but Qi Zhi and Xu Le didn't know how to lift up, and refused His Highness's solicitation, why did they choose to take refuge in His Highness because of His Highness's words? ――Isn't there a deception in it? ”

"No, Qi Zhi and Xu Le will inevitably choose to take refuge in this king!" Glancing at Fu Ao, Li Shen said confidently.

Hearing this, Fu Ao became more and more puzzled, and asked suspiciously, "What promise did Your Highness make this time?" ”

"Hehehe! In fact, this king did not say anything to them, this king just sent someone to tell Qi Zhi that the princess they had been loyal to before, Heavenly Ji Liu Qing, had now taken refuge in the Zhou army and was used by the Zhou army! - That's all! ”

"......" Fu Ao was dumbfounded when he heard this, and looked at Li Shen in amazement.

"This is the human heart!" The corners of his mouth raised a slight smile. Li Shen said lightly, "There is no need for any conditions or promises, as long as Qi Zhi and Xu Le go to Zhou Ying to see Liu Qing, they will choose to take refuge in this king!" ――Who told Liu Qing to plan to help Zhou Jun? I don't want to think about it, the Zhou army was the murderer who caused the almost total annihilation of their Taiping army, as the central figure who commanded the war at that time. The descendants of the Tang royal family, that Liu Qing was mixed up with that Xie An after the defeat, what would this make those surviving Taiping soldiers think? -- The 4,000 Taiping Army...... From the time Qi Zhi and Xu Le met Liu Qing, they no longer had the surname Liu! ”

"Your Highness is wise!" Clenching his fists, Fu Ao admired from the bottom of his heart.

Li Shen chuckled a few times when he heard this, and said coldly, "It is said that there are two calligraphy and paintings hanging in the study room of Xie An's mansion, and the grace of a meal will be repaid, and the grievances of the eyes will be repaid, this sentence is deeply in line with the king's heart!" - Liu Qing's milky girl who has not dried up calculated this king before. If this king does not retaliate one or two, how can I dispel my bad spirit? ”

"Your Highness is right...... However, Qi Zhi and Xu Le, how does His Highness plan to use them? ――Is it just a little trouble for Zhou Jun? ”

"Huh? ――What do you mean? ”

The last general thought that Liu Qing was quite smart, and he might also guess that Qi Zhi and Xu Le had secretly taken refuge in His Highness, if His Highness wanted to ask him to be the two of them. I am afraid that it will not be smooth in the war......"

"Hehehe!" Li Shen chuckled and nodded when he heard this. Said lightly, "Of course! - This king is not so arrogant that he can hide this kind of thing from Liu Qing...... It doesn't matter, this king has his own clever plan! - That Qi Zhi and Xu Le are just outcasts in the game between this king and Liu Qing! ”

"Your Highness has a plan?"

"Huh...... You, Chen Zhao, and Huang Shou, each will lead 20,000 Baishui troops tomorrow, and set up camp on the northern, northwestern, and southwest sides of the Zhou army......"

"Division?" Fu Ao's face changed slightly when he heard this. said in a hurry, "Your Highness, divide the troops at this time?" ”

As if he had guessed what Fu Ao was thinking, Li Shen lowered his voice and said, "Yes." It is to divide the troops at this time! -- If Xie An didn't want to be attacked and encircled and attacked by our army on many sides, and it would be difficult to take care of the beginning and the end, what he would do would naturally be to divide the troops. But the 4,000 Taiping army, Xie An definitely didn't dare to move lightly, what he would call was naturally the loyal Jizhou army and the Great Liang army, the more our army was divided, the more troops the Zhou army would naturally distribute, so that the 4,000 Taiping army would bring more pressure to Xie An...... If there were only 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers left in the Zhou army's ice city, and at this time, the 4,000 Taiping troops suddenly defected, tsk, that kind of scene...... Hehehe, hahahaha, how interesting it will be......"

"Your Highness's plan is wonderful, but what if the Zhou army attacks the city?"

"Isn't there still an army of 40,000 vassal kings? Besides, there are thunderstorms, and the Zhou army can't capture Maicheng! - Go ahead! ”

"Yes, the last general obeys!"

The next day, three teams of 20,000 people suddenly left Maicheng and camped on the north, northwest and southwest sides of the Zhou army's ice city.

Regarding Li Shen's unexpected division of troops this time, Xie An immediately recruited Liu Qing and the generals of the Jizhou Army and the Daliang Army to discuss with the commander, and he didn't have to think about it, and he knew what Li Shen's intentions were in this division of troops.

"Li Shen's trick...... Is it forcing our army to divide its troops? ”

At the meeting, Tang Hao, who had a keen grasp of the battle situation, frowned deeply, and at the same time subconsciously glanced at Liu Qing, who was sitting on the first place on the left side and drinking tea silently.

As for the other generals, they remained silent, especially the generals of the Great Liang Army, after all, because of the conflict in the camp a few days ago, Liu Qing's situation became very embarrassing, and at the same time, the attitude of the Great Liang Army towards her changed from gradually adapting to being indifferent and hostile.

"Ahem!" Seeing this, Xie An coughed, looked at Liu Qing and said, "What do you think of this military advisor?" ”

"80,000 people are crowded together, it is inevitable to take care of this and take care of the other, if you don't want to suffer, then learn from Li Shen to divide the army!" Sipping the tea, Liu Qing took a sip of relaxed tone.

Nonsense, if you really want to divide the troops, do you need to ask you?

Xie An glanced at Liu Qing angrily, but unfortunately the latter drank the tea slowly and methodically, and didn't see it at all.

Just when Xie An'an was depressed, he saw Liu Qing put down the tea cup in his hand, and said, "Since Li Shen wants to play, let's play with him!" -- 60,000 soldiers out! ”

"Sixty thousand?" Tang Hao secretly took a breath of cold air when he heard this, and glanced at Liao Li, who was sitting next to him who had not yet healed from his injuries, as if he wanted to say something and stopped.

In all fairness, everyone in the room understood what Tang Hao wanted to say, after all, not counting the two partial divisions of Fei ** and Ma Dan's army, Xie An's main division here only had a total of 80,000 people, and if it was divided into 60,000, it meant that there were only 20,000 people left in Bingcheng, as well as an unfathomable loyal Taiping army of 4,000 people.

If there is a what-if......

"......" Thinking of something unpleasant, Xie An frowned deeply.

[Qi Zhi and Xu Le...... How do you think loyalty? ]

[Once faithful, not now!] ]

Recalling her answer when Fang asked Liu Qing just now, Xie An glanced at Liu Qing, and at the same time, Liu Qing also glanced back at him.

I see......

However, this girl ...... It's playing with fire!

"Old man......" Under the inexplicable gaze of the generals in the house, Qin Ke'er, who could almost be said to have a heart-to-heart with Xie An, smiled and handed a copper coin to the man he admired.

"Smack!" Under the smiling gaze of Liu Qing's mouth, Xie An flicked a copper coin high, and then slapped it on the table, but he didn't look at the copper coin with his eyes closed.

"According to what the military advisor said, divide the troops!" Looking at Liu Qing, Xie An said in a deep voice.

While the generals in the room were stunned, Liu Qing smiled faintly and glanced at Xie An. For some reason, there was a faint warmth in her eyes at a glance, which made Xie An slightly stunned.

An hour later, the news that the Zhou army had also decided to divide the troops finally reached the place where the Taiping army was stationed in the northwest corner of the ice city, to Xu Le's residence, and to the ears of Xu Le and Qi Zhi.

"I understand Li Shen's intentions......"

After thinking about it carefully, Qi Zhi nodded slightly and told Xu Le Li Shen's intention to divide his troops. After all, Qi Zhi is also one of the six generals in the Taiping Army, Yuheng Divine General, and he is also a general who can take charge on his own, how could he not figure out the true intention of Li Shen's division of troops.

"I see...... Is that Li Shen deliberately creating opportunities for me? Kong Wu's powerful and simple-minded Xu Le nodded suddenly in understanding.

"That's what it means, but...... Do you really want to do this, Xu Le? Qi Zhi looked at the only living warfighter in front of him with a solemn face.

"......" glanced at Qi Zhi, endless anger appeared in Xu Le's eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Chen Shuai, Vice General Yang...... Many Tongze died at the hands of Zhou Jun, but she could still shamelessly join the same stream with Zhou Jun, she ...... No longer my allegiance to Her Royal Highness the Princess! - Since she doesn't do it, I'll do it! Avenge Chen Shuai, Vice General Yang, and many brothers who died at the hands of Zhou Jun! As he spoke, he stretched out his right hand towards Qi Zhi.

With a long sigh, Qi Zhi opened his mouth and stopped talking, but in the end, he still firmly held Xu Le's hand.

"Then ...... Let's go! (To be continued......)