In early October, Xuzhou.

Xuzhou Wuning Domain Town is adjacent to Xuanwu Army in the west, Haizhou in the east to look at the sea, the north is connected with the sea defense envoy, the south breaks into the south of the Huai River, so it can control the 14 states on the right side of the river, under the jurisdiction of Xu, Su, Hao, Si four prefectures more than ten counties, Surabaya flows through Xuzhou City from the northwest to the southeast into the Huai River, is an important town in the Central Plains.

Such a military important place, in the previous Central Plains dispute, has been neglected and has not encountered any major wars. This is not just that Li Ye and Zhu Wen won and lost too quickly, but the focus of the two of them was not here.

The reason why Xuzhou is important is the dispute between the north and the south. When the forces of Huaibei and Huainan compete with each other, the Huaisi front line is the main battlefield, and Xuzhou will be of great importance.

Wu Ning Jiedu made Ren Mao more than fifty years old, from a family of eunuchs, and there were no prominent figures in his ancestors, but in his generation, he was able to sit on the four states of Wuning and become a prince, which can be regarded as a glorious ancestor.

On the three poles of the sun, the rammed earth city wall bathed in golden sunlight, the soldier armor shined, and Ren Mao, who was in a wide-sleeved robe, stood in front of the city tower, with a melancholy face, and sighed for a long time.

Looking along his line of sight, it can be seen that the iron armor outside the city is like a sea, and it is boundless. The water like the sea rose to this place, and it was so strong and heavy that it made people breathless.

Ren Mao sighed with the unique Confucian book of worrying about the country and the people: "Previously, Zhu Wen caused chaos in the Central Plains, 800 soldiers swept through several towns, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses killed people like demons. ”

Later, King An pacified Zhu Wen, and the battlefield was also on the front line of Huazhou, Caozhou, and Gunzhou, although it was a battle of millions of troops, fortunately, the victory and defeat were fast enough, and our Xuzhou was not attacked by the Pinglu army, and we were able to take the first step to see the situation and surrender. ”

"Several wars, each time it is a catastrophe, I can let the people of Wuning Sizhou be able to save for a while, and I have been quite complacent. I originally thought that even though the world was in turmoil and fires, as long as I could see the situation clearly, I didn't try to make progress, but only sought self-preservation, and I couldn't help the people in a town to protect the peace of the people. But I didn't expect that to this day, it is still and still impossible to save the people of Xuzhou from military disasters......"

Speaking of this, Ren Mao sighed, full of shame, sentimentality, and almost tears.

He continued: "As a human minister, I can't survey the rebellious soldiers for the king, and as a human master, I can't protect the territory and the people, and I can't bear the king's favor and the expectations of the people, which is really shameless......

After hearing his emotion, the civil officials and military generals on the left and right had different expressions, some shook their heads and sighed, some were indignant, some were full of helplessness, and some showed disdain.

A young civil servant who had been standing for a young age was relieved: "My father has done his best for the people of Xuzhou, so why should he blame himself too much? It's just that the world is in turmoil, sweeping Kyushu, and being in the torrent of this great dispute, how can we be left alone? Now that the Wu soldiers are attacking, I am willing to defend the city to the death and live and die with the soldiers and people of the whole city!"

This person's name is Ren Zhongshi, is the eldest son of Ren Mao, erudite and talented, although he is a scholar but there is no lack of courage, he is known as a virtuous person in Xuzhou.

When Ren Mao heard this, when he looked at Ren Zhong again, his eyes were full of excitement and relief. However, in an instant, he thought gloomily: "However, the order given to us by King An is to let us resist a little, and then abandon the north of the city and retreat to the sea......"

Ren Zhongshi knew what the other party was worried about, and he was also the only person in the entire Wuning who knew about this plan.

He pondered for a moment, and when he looked up, he had already made up his mind, "Father! Although the Wu soldiers are strong, they have been running for a long time to come here, and the art of war is a hundred miles to the advantage, and we will wait for the rest of the work, and we may not be able to defend the city! In order for the people of Xuzhou not to suffer from military disasters, I am willing to do my best to fight to the death with the enemy!"

Ren Mao glanced left and right.

Up and down the city, in addition to the soldiers, there are many young people in the city to carry stones, rolling wood, arrows and arrows, these Xuzhou people have always been grateful to Ren Mao's benevolent government, and now they heard that Wu soldiers are coming, they have spontaneously organized to resist foreign enemies.

"I can abandon the city and flee and save most of my army, but these young men will be killed...... There are also more than 100,000 people in the city, who will inevitably be burned and looted by the Wu army, and then the men will be driven into military slaves, the women will be raped and adulterous, and the old Confucian will die...... As a festival envoy of a town, food and clothing are all given by his father and fellow villagers, how can he push them into the sea of fire with his own hands?"

Thinking of this, Ren Mao paid attention.

When he looked at Ren Zhong, he said resolutely: "Okay! Since my son has the will to protect the land and the people, he will live and die with you for his father!"

When the responsibility is heavy, hold your fists and lead the life.

The civil officials and military generals on the left and right, seeing that Jiedu made the father and son so loyal and courageous, were deeply touched, so they said in unison: "I am willing to live and die with Wu Ning!"

......

Xuzhou.

Zhou Mingrui stood at the head of the city, looking at the endless Shu army camp outside the city, although his face was solemn, there was no worry or fear in his eyes.

The adjutant general said beside him: "Yesterday there was a battle outside the city, and our army lost no less than 1,000 soldiers, and afterwards Wang Jian sent a letter of persuasion to surrender, saying that if the commander is willing to surrender, he can ensure that the commander is still a loyal and military envoy." ”

Zhou Mingrui snorted coldly, his eyes showing disdain: "Keep me as a festival envoy, if I had said this a few days earlier, Ben Shuai might have answered." But now, I still don't have anything to do with him?"

The adjutant general was silent for a moment and persuaded: "Marshal, the last general has a sentence, I don't know whether to say it or not." ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say that. ”

The deputy general continued: "When Zhu Shuai led us to attack Xuzhou before, because of the help of Taoist soldiers, it can almost be said that it was effortless. Later, the commander of the army served as the envoy of the Zhongwu Army, and was ordered to meet the troops of King An, although he arrived at the battlefield, he did not really fight with the Pinglu army. Really speaking, in the two major battles, the loyal army did not suffer much losses, and now its strength is completely preserved......"

Zhou Mingrui waved his hand, slightly impatient: "What do you want to say?"

The adjutant general hesitated for a while, but still stubbornly said: "The military commander, the ups and downs of the troubled times, the foundation is the foundation, only when the soldiers and horses are complete, the military commander can advance and retreat from the heart." At present, the Shu army is strong, if we fight to the death, we may not be able to defeat it, it is better to ......"

Zhou Mingrui interrupted him and laughed: "You are right, in troubled times, only the strong can survive." The Shu army is strong and our army is weak, and the enemy will only lose itself, so you go and arrange it, and prepare to retreat tonight. ”

The adjutant general was stunned and said unexpectedly: "Where is the retreat?"

Zhou Mingrui said: "Of course, we will retreat to the north and join the team of King Qi, and when King Qi and Wang Jian fight in the future, we will wait to reap the benefits of the fisherman." ”

The lieutenant opened his mouth and quickly accepted the order. He originally wanted to persuade Zhou Mingrui to surrender to the Shu army, but after thinking about it carefully, although Zhou Mingrui's opinion was risky, it seemed that he could seek more benefits, so there was no reason to oppose it.

A sneer appeared on the corner of Zhou Mingrui's mouth.

Li Ye's order, he didn't tell anyone, and he really kept it strictly confidential. When the north retreated to the vicinity of Bianzhou, the generals of the Pinglu Army re-entered the army to hold important positions, and they were not afraid that the generals below would have other thoughts.

After the deputy general retreated, Zhou Mingrui was still standing at the head of the city, looking at the Shu army camp outside the city, his eyes were indifferent.

Indifference is like the Shu army outside the city is not here to attack him, and Xuzhou is not his foundation.

He looks like an outsider.

In Zhou Mingrui's heart, Xuzhou is just a place he has visited, and if there is a better place to go and a higher position in the future, he will abandon this place. And now, resisting two battles a little, showing an invincible appearance, taking advantage of the situation to give up Xuzhou to Wang Jian, and obeying Li Ye's arrangement, is the bargaining chip he must pay to get to a higher position.

As for the rest, Zhou Mingrui naturally didn't take it to heart.

......

The moonlight sprinkled out of the window, the house was brightly lit, Li Ye sat on the low collapse, his fingers twisted his eyebrows, looking very distressed and helpless.

In front of him, Miss Xu, who was dressed up in beautiful makeup and almost dressed in full costume, and Shao Siming, who was dressed plainly and had an ethereal temperament, were confronting each other. The former's eyes were full of flames, and his back was slightly arched, like a kitten with teeth and claws, and he would bite each other with his teeth at any time;

After a long while, Li Ye put down his hand and looked at the two of them weakly: "You two have been standing for almost half an hour, are you planning to stand for one night?"

The angry Miss Xu was unwilling to admit defeat, and turned around and said aggrievedly: "It has always been my duty to serve 'King An', and I am in charge of food, clothing, housing and transportation, why do you want to drive me out now?"

The incident happened half an hour ago, it was already late at night, Miss Xu sent supper, and drank a few pots with Li Ye, but this time she didn't get drunk, so she didn't prepare to leave, saying that she would stay in the house anyway.

Just when Li Ye was a scoundrel, Shao Si Ming floated in and blocked in front of Miss Xu, and without saying a word, he tried to use the power of cultivation to shock the other party out...... In fact, she did shake the other party out. This is also the reason why Miss Xu's hair is slightly messy now, and she looks like a fried hair.

Shao Siming didn't speak, but let out a rare cold snort.

The meaning is very clear, Li Ye and Miss Xu both understood: It's okay to serve King An, but there is no way to sleep!

Li Ye shook his head and smiled bitterly, and waved his hand: "Okay, okay, you all go down, I'll rest by myself." ”

Shao Si Ming and Miss Xu are you looking at me, I am looking at you, and walking out of the room step by step.

This action is normal for Miss Xu and is in line with her character, but it is very rare for Shao Siming.

As soon as the two of them went out, Song Jiao walked in, holding a two-point battle report in her hand.

"Xuzhou and Xuzhou fell one after another according to the plan. But..... The process is a little different. ”

Li Ye took the battle report, just glanced at it, and then stood up with a solemn expression.

"The Wuning army of Xuzhou refused to act according to the plan and fought a bloody battle with the Wu army for three days...... Jie Du envoy Ren Mao, his eldest son Ren Zhong died in battle. Today, the city of Xuzhou was broken, and the remnants of the Wuning army retreated to Gunzhou......"

"The Xuzhou Zhongwu army defended the city for a day, and abandoned the city that night, and most of the soldiers and horses have been successfully withdrawn......"

Li Ye put down the military newspaper.

Song Jiao asked, "What do you want to say?"

Li Ye was silent for a moment, "Follow the plan to receive the two armies." ”

Song Jiao glanced at Li Ye deeply, and finally swallowed back the words that came to her lips and retreated silently.

Li Ye knew what she wanted to ask.

Xuzhou Wuning Jiedu envoy Ren Mao father and son, bloody battle for three days, resulting in excessive losses and a great reduction in the combat strength of the Wuning army, has violated Li Ye's requirements.

Li Ye didn't say much, but he didn't mean to blame.

Behind those two battle reports, there was also a wire report submitted by the Tsing Yi Yamen.

"After the city of Xuzhou was broken, Gao Biao was afraid of the power of the joint efforts of the army and the people of Xuzhou, and in order to appease the resistance of the army and the people in the city, he strictly ordered the three armies not to plunder the people after entering the city, and the order in the city was ......."

"Wang Jian entered Xuzhou, the Shu army wantonly burned and looted, and the fire in the city was sky-shattering, and the crying and shouting were earth-shattering......"