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Chapter 411: Contribute a Plan to Win the City (ask for monthly ticket)

As soon as the city was offered, the atmosphere suddenly became tense. Zhou Pinglu's face changed color, and he stood up hastily, waving his sleeves and saying, "Don't mention this matter again. You and I have received the grace of the country for generations. How can I betray the country?"

It would have been better if he hadn't said this, and everyone would have just thought it was the talk of a drunken man and let it go. But when he said this, it was like pushing everyone to the edge of a cliff. He, Zhou Pinglu, was the most outstanding young generation in the Zhou family.

If they went ahead and exposed this matter, they would probably all be punished, and this matter, which could have been easily laughed off, would become even more serious.

Suddenly, a man stood up, took a half step forward, and put the dagger in his hand directly on Zhou Pinglu's neck, saying: "Master Zhou, where are you going!"

Zhou Pinglu said: "Today's matter should be about serving the country. How could you put me in this situation!!!"

The crowd all changed color and struggled one by one, while the official from Yin Yixiao said with a cold face:
"Now Lord Zhou's uncle, General Zhou Xianping, has expelled Zhou Liuying from the family and the family tree. Lord Zhou is the young master of the Zhou family. If you tell others about this, you will be rewarded for nothing, but we brothers will all be severely punished."

"Lan Wendu's head was smashed by Lu Youxian's hammer."

“Our family background, martial arts, official positions and noble titles are far inferior to Lan Wendu. If Lu You kills them first, he can kill us!”

Zhou Pinglu said sternly: "We Zhou family are loyal to the emperor and love our country, how can we listen to you!"

Yin Yixiao said: "Loyalty to the emperor and love for the country!"

"Brother Zhou, do you still remember the old story of Lord Taiping?"

His words about the past of Duke Taiping were like a thunderbolt that struck many officials, causing them to tilt their minds towards Yin Yixiao. Yin Yixiao said, "Duke Taiping made great contributions to the country, but he died in the palace."

"How do you and I compare to Duke Taiping?"

"With the reputation of the Duke of Taiping, this is how he ended up. If our affair was exposed, how could His Majesty give us a chance to live?!"

The situation was turbulent. These middle-level officials stared at Zhou Pinglu, who was already staring at the enemy. Zhou Pinglu said, "You!" Yin Yixiao said, "Brother Zhou, your younger brother Zhou Liuying was good friends with Li Guanyi, the son of the Duke of Taiping, and now he is a general under Li Guanyi."

"Can you really say with a clear conscience that you are loyal to Da Chen?!"

"Even if you are truly loyal, would His Majesty, who killed Duke Taiping and imprisoned Marshal Yue, believe it?!"

"But remember, it's false!"

As they pressed on step by step, the resistance on Zhou Pinglu's face became weaker and weaker. Finally, he just sighed and said, "If you guys are like this, what else can I do?"

Seeing that Zhou Pinglu, who had a dignified demeanor, had also agreed, everyone was overjoyed. Yin Yixiao took a half step forward, grabbed Zhou Pinglu's hand, and said, "Brother Zhou, please don't blame me for being rude just now. Zhou Liuying is under the command of Qin Wuhou."

"Brother Zhou has to guarantee our lives!"

As soon as these words were spoken, people around him started to think about it, and some even considered whether to kill Zhou Liuying. Only then did they calm down in the face of their lives and property, and swore an oath of blood to each other, and then elected Zhou Liuying's brother Zhou Pinglu as the leader of the group.

Zhou Pinglu, one of the nine sons of the Imperial Academy, was known for his great talent.

Although he was forced to this point by coercion, he also showed great talent when deploying troops. He said calmly, "In this case, please listen to my arrangements."

Therefore, the defenses of different city gates and the formations were all configured. Everyone agreed after hearing it and went to do what they were supposed to do. However, some of the more perceptive ones had a vague feeling of uneasiness in their hearts.

What a coincidence.

After Lu Youxian realized Wen Qingyu's plan, he had already begun to target officials of all ranks in the city, rearranging their positions, disrupting their original duties, and even dismissing many of them to avoid loopholes.

However, under Zhou Pinglu's arrangement, cracks were actually created inside this iron wall.

And these cracks, viewed individually, don't seem to be that important.

It was just that the lamp oil was delivered a little late today, causing the city defense in a corner to appear slightly dim; it was just that there was a moment's difference in the time when the defenders changed teams, and the formation plate that maintained the large formation was therefore obscured; it was just that the crossbow arrows were sent to the wrong direction.

But when all these mistakes are added together, they are enough to create a fatal flaw.

He felt as if he had become a puppet.

And Zhou Pinglu is the one who controls all of this.

Even today, he himself doesn't know why, instead of simply drinking and complaining under tremendous pressure, he turned into someone so excited that they swore a blood oath that they could not go back on.

They were originally involved in the affairs of Wen Qingyu and Lan Wendu. Defending the city was a life-and-death struggle. Even if they managed to hold the city, Lu Youxian would most likely settle accounts with them for their past deeds. Now that Zhou Pinglu was leading the way, they might as well take a risk and venture out.

After everyone left, Yin Yixiao dropped the dagger, half-knelt on the ground, bowed his head and said:
"I have offended you, sir."

"Please punish me, sir."

Zhou Pinglu said, "This was my plan. You took the risk for me, and I am grateful to you. What crime have you committed? You'd better get up quickly. If you are discovered, it will be very bad."

Yin Yixiao thanked him, stood up and said, "General Lu Youxian, didn't you arrange the 'eyes'?"

Zhou Pinglu said: "Lu Youxian was solemn, he arranged the eyes."

"But after he killed Lan Wendu, he had to face the millions of troops outside. Even the eyes might not all stand on his side. Human nature is fickle and black and white are always mixed. At this time, it was not wrong for a resolute general like Lu Youxian to guard here."

"But unfortunately, Wen Qingyu already had a plan."

"His hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were more or less accepted by officials of all ranks."

"All kinds of business also have filial piety."

"These people don't have the guts to be greedy, they just treat it as a favor, but they don't know who Wen Qingyu is, why don't they try to imagine?"

Zhou Pinglu asked, "Is it so easy to take the money from Wen He and Wen Qingyu?"

"I took a copper coin from him and was about to throw it away, fearing that something might be etched into it."

Yin Yixiao asked: "Is it poison?"

Zhou Pinglu frowned and said, "No, using poison doesn't suit Wen He's character. It's most likely Ma Fei San or Croton. Although his methods are cruel, he usually won't hurt people's lives. He will just stop when necessary."

Yin Yixiao asked: "What if it's unusual?"

Zhou Pinglu said: "If he thinks it is unusual, Wen He would probably choose to chop even the earthworms in the soil into three parts and throw them into the fire."

Yin Yixiao was speechless.

Zhou Pinglu said: "Every ounce of silver in Wen He's hand will be repaid a hundred times. Those who want to take advantage of him often even lose their lives, and they don't even know when they lost their lives."

Yin Yixiao knew Zhou Pinglu's thoughts and finally sighed:
"Son."

"Are you serious? Are you going to betray Dachen?"

Yin Yixiao followed the righteousness. He was a young man trained by traditional scholars and officials. He valued loyalty between the monarch and his subjects. Zhou Pinglu looked at him sideways and said, "The State of Chen was a vassal king granted by the Red Emperor. So, should we be loyal to the State of Chen or to the Red Emperor?"

Yin Yixiao hesitated.

Zhou Pinglu said, "The one outside was personally appointed by the Red Emperor. He does not bow when entering the court, but wears a sword and shoes when entering the palace. He is the master of the Red Emperor's sword, and the Red Emperor's Grand Marshal who controls the troops of the world. You and I are military officers of the Red Emperor's dynasty. When we see the Grand Marshal who controls the troops of the world, isn't it natural for us to be under his command?"

Yin Yixiao was speechless. He always felt that something was wrong, yet he also felt that it was completely logical.

The concept of status is sometimes as light as a fallen leaf.

But sometimes it can be so heavy that it weighs more than a thousand pounds.

Zhou Pinglu patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "If the State of Chen was originally the territory of the rebel Red Emperor, the more loyal you are, the more you are a traitor, isn't it?"

Yin Yixiao's expression suddenly changed, and he finally bowed and said:

"Understood, sir."

Zhou Pinglu asked, "Who are you loyal to?"

Yin Yixiao replied: "Loyal to you, sir."

Zhou Pinglu looked at him for a long time and sighed, "What a cunning man."

Yin Yixiao said: "I am a loyal person."

Zhou Pinglu didn't say much to him. He just looked at the flags in the distance in the night and said to himself, "Lu Youxian's strategy is profound. As time goes by, it will become more and more difficult to defeat him. Even I can only create a gap of opportunity for a period of time."

"Well, can you catch it?"

On that day, Po Jun was analyzing the stars, deep in thought. He asked the cavalrymen who went out to harass the enemy every day to come back and report what they had seen and heard. Looking at it today, he found that there had been changes from his meticulous strategy of the past.

Pojun has deduced and reviewed the arrangements within the city defense.

He immediately judged that this slight omission in the external performance represented a huge problem in the internal defense, and raised his eyes slightly:
"Ok??"

"Someone has created a gap. Is it a loophole, or is it to lure the enemy deeper?" He reported to Li Guanyi again, and led the troops to besiege the side gates of the city on both sides. Drums and gongs sounded, flags waved, and horses galloped like thunder.

The defenders on both sides had already been unable to rest because of the defeated army's strategy of tiring out the soldiers. Now they were attacked again, and they originally thought it was just an ordinary harassment. However, when they climbed up the city wall and looked, they saw flags flying.

The city gate guard looked forward and saw a big man wearing armor, with his sleeves rolled up, holding a hand halberd in each hand, shouting like thunder, and the red dragon image raised its head and roared, laughing:

"I am Yue Qianfeng from the Qilin Army. Who dares to fight me!!!"

Behind them, flags were fluttering and tens of thousands of soldiers could be vaguely seen.

The guard at the other side of the side gate was looking at the arrow stuck on his helmet, and saw a man in the distance with a bow and arrow in his hands, his brows raised. It was the archery general Wang Shunchen. The soldiers, cavalry, archery, and siege equipment had all been pulled out.

The general defending the city felt his scalp tingle: "Damn it!!!"

Shouting: "Attack the city, Qilin Army attack the city!!!"

"It's our army that has arrived. They are frightened and want to attack before our army arrives. Where is the mechanism?!"

The sound of gongs and drums spread throughout the city. Lu Youxian climbed up the city to deal with Li Guanyi's attack. However, at another side gate, Zhou Pinglu's eyes rippled and his mouth curled up: "...pretend to attack the city to create opportunities for me."

"It can also be connected with the previous strategy of exhausting the enemy, combining the real and the fake."

"If this kind of fighting method is not Yuan Zhi or Feng Xiao, it must be Mr. Po Jun. However, it is time."

Lu Youxian climbed up the city first, and there were battles on all sides. At this time, Zhou Pinglu had already arrived at the general's mansion. He looked stern and said anxiously: "Qin Wuhou is attacking the city. I am here on the general's order to open the formation and protect our city!"

The guard heard this, but his face changed drastically, he drew his sword and said sternly: "General, if Zhou Pinglu comes to tell this, it is treason!!!"

"Kill them all!"

Zhou Pinglu's eyes flashed with coldness. Lu Youxian's caution and determination were indeed amazing. In just a moment, the sound of the crossbow exploded, and the arrows shot from the back killed the guards. When they fell, they couldn't believe it and looked back. It was the merchants arranged by Wen He to enter.

Although most of them were dealt with by Lu Youxian, there were some who had been hiding secretly long ago and were not dealt with until now.

Zhou Pinglu remained silent.

Lu Youxian was a famous general, but he ultimately misjudged the people's hearts.

When everyone is greedy, if you are not greedy, you will be expelled from this turbid world; everyone has taken money from Lan Wendu and Wen Qingyu, but you want to investigate thoroughly, you are the enemy of all officials.

"It is not the general's fault that he was born in this country."

Zhou Pinglu entered and slashed a crack in the city defense formation with his sword. It did not cause the formation to collapse immediately, but only left a gap. Then he led everyone to leave quickly.

Chen Wenmian, holding a long-handled double-edged sword in one hand, appeared at a place where there was a loophole in the city defense. He was about to attack the city, but the guard on top suddenly raised his hand, chopped up all the crossbows that were arranged in an interlaced manner on the city wall, and threw them down.

All of Lu Youxian’s hard work was thrown to the ground like this.

Chen Wenmian was stunned.

Then he looked at the side door of the city that Lu Youxian had worked so hard for, and it slowly opened. A dozen officials held the seal, threw their weapons aside, and knelt there respectfully with their personal guards, saying:

"Your Highness, I am here to surrender to you, Your Highness!"

Chen Wenmian suddenly understood why Mr. Pojun, who had always been wary of him, asked him to go out and take charge here. He looked at the silent city in the night and suddenly understood -

"Mr. Pojun, did you see it early on?"

He sighed, knowing that as the former crown prince, he personally led the army to capture the city of Zhenxi, which was the only way to completely gain the trust of Pojun and others. He tightened the reins and shouted softly, "Go!"

The Canglang Guards were silent. The young Canglang passed over the surrenderers and rushed into the majestic city of Zhenxi as the city defense formation slowly crumbled and dimmed. The Canglang's roar rose to the sky.

Lu Youxian was fully on guard against Li Guanyi when he suddenly discovered a fire in the rear. The hub of the formation, which he was responsible for, was on fire everywhere. He was hit by an arrow from Wang Shunchen. He used the sword in his hand to cut off the arrow that had pierced his breastplate. Suddenly, he heard shouting from behind.

Lu Youxian turned around, and what was reflected in the eyes of the 49-year-old general was the flames burning in the granary and the hub of the formation behind him. The flames seemed to break the backbone of the entire defenders in an instant, and the Canglang Guards also galloped into the city, trying to cut off the rear of these defenders.

The solemn and resolute general seemed to calm down at this moment.

The night wind blew his white hair at the temples. Inside and outside the city, there were armies wearing ink-colored armor and with dark unicorn patterns on their flags. It was like the surging trend of the world. This trend was coming surging, and he was just a mantis trying to block it.

At this time when the situation is turbulent and people's minds are changing.

A sound of breaking air was heard, and Wang Shunchen's arrow swirled and shot towards him. The deputy general next to him seemed to have been distracted by the sign of defeat and lost his will to fight. He did not notice the arrow at all. Lu Youxian stretched out his left hand and pulled the deputy general to the side.

He suddenly grasped the knife and chopped down, breaking the arrow into pieces. A loud sound came from the wind, and the sound of a war drum was quiet in his chest. The deputy general was in a trance for a long time before he came to his senses and saw Lu Youxian's back.

The general's back was still broad and he still stood straight, like a mountain.

Lu Youxian's voice was still calm and solemn, and he spoke word by word: "The front troops will follow me to hold on here. The middle troops and the rear troops will retreat in order to protect the people. Do not engage in a fight with the Canglang Guards and retreat into the inner city."

Even in the face of the impact of this mighty army, he never lost his will to fight.

Lu You knew in advance that the outer city would be breached, so he further destroyed the outer city's defenses, then led his army back, gathered the people, routed his army, and retreated to the inner city. This godly general, who was evaluated by later generations as "Yi Zhong", was not panicked even now.

After a fierce battle in the street fighting, Lu Youxian successfully used the terrain to create an opportunity, personally covered the rear, and fought Chen Wenmian with a sword in hand. After killing dozens of enemy soldiers with his own hands, he retreated into the inner city and still activated the formation defense.

He finally looked at Zhou Pinglu who was standing between the outer city and the inner city.

Zhou Pinglu also looked at Lu Youxian.

Lu Youxian said: "...it is indeed you, Zhou Pinglu."

His voice was solemn:

"How hateful! In order to appease the Zhou family, His Majesty did not allow me to kill you..."

Zhou Pinglu shook his sleeves, cupped his hands, and said, "I also know that Your Majesty is good at weighing pros and cons. Otherwise, how could I dare to continue to serve under the general?"

"If you regard me as worthless, then I will regard you as an enemy. Your Majesty has already regarded us as abandoned pawns, so we will naturally regard King Chen as an enemy."

Lu Youxian looked on in disdain and did not refute.

Li Guanyi rode on a Qilin, holding a Tiger Roaring Sky Halberd, and went out into the battle, saying:
"General Lu."

"Long time no see."

Lu Youxian asked, "Marquis Qin Wu, are you here to humiliate me?"

Li Guan thrust his Tiger Roaring Sky Halberd into the ground, and rode forward on his Qilin alone, saying, "General, you are a good general of the time. The State of Chen is in a critical condition. In the court, officials are in a state of political conflict, and the noble families are oppressing the people. With your talent, why would you bother to stay with Chen Dingye?"

Lu Youxian said in a deep voice: "I am not alone for Your Majesty."

"It's a pity that people like you have become enemies of the state."

"It's just that you and I are enemies, no need to say more!"

He drew his bow and shot an arrow at Li Guanyi, pulling the bow to its full potential. However, he knew that the arrow was so powerful that it would never hurt Li Guanyi. This arrow was only to show his position.

Li Guanyi had no choice but to retreat.

Po Jun couldn't help but admire: "His spirit and will are not shaken at all. How could such a person exist in the State of Chen? How could the State of Chen, which has so many famous generals, fall to this point?"

"The invasion is like fire, there is the Wolf King Chen Fubi."

"The majestic general of the central army is the Duke of Taiping."

"The generals are marching forward, with Xiao Wuliang and Yue Pengwu crossing thousands of peaks."

"Even the defenders have such a resolute and determined character like Lu Youxian."

"The Chen Kingdom has become so decadent in just twenty years. Should we say that Chen Dingye has changed so much, or that Tan Tai Xianming is really a ruthless person?"

"It has turned a country like this into what it is now."

Pojun remained silent, but suddenly thought of the strategy of the strategist who even Pojun's lineage considered radical: [Weaken one country, strengthen another, destroy the Western Regions, and swallow the world], although he looked down on Tan Tai Xianming who made this happen with conspiracy.

But we have to admit that even if the hero rises up, it still coincides with his strategy.

However, Pojun was still arrogant and still looked down on Tantai Xianming.

"You are just a conspirator. You said you want to make one country strong and another weak in order to unite the world. But unfortunately, it is not your strong country that gets the world, but my lord who occupies Jiangnan, unifies the Western Regions, and directly shakes the Wolf King, Jiang Su, in an upright manner."

"This is the right way to win the country, there will be no other like it in a thousand years."

"How can it be compared with your sinister ways!"

Lu Youxian was strong-willed and still guarded the city within a city. There were holes on the walls of the inner city, through which crossbow arrows could be shot out with great power. The Qilin Army could attack by force, but at this time, Mr. Pojun did not choose to attack by force.

Pojun and Yuanzhi went to inspect the heroic city of Zhenxi.

Even Po Jun had to admit that this city was the kind of configuration that could scare the heavy cavalry tribes of the Western Regions to death, with its crossbows, formations, and trenches. In particular, he discovered Lu Youxian's subsequent strategy -

"???"

"We plan to build high walls between cities in the southwest, western regions, and corresponding countries to resist the invasion of other countries, starting from Zhenbei Xiongcheng in the west and ending at Zhenbei Pass in the north."

"Relying on this city wall that stretches for thousands of miles, or even tens of thousands of miles, to resist the cavalry from the Western Regions, and quickly transport logistics and complete message delivery, hiss... the ultimate defensive faction, or a defensive counterattack style."

"If this old turtle succeeds, he intends to completely interrupt the advantages of the Western Region Heavy Cavalry and really intends to cut off our momentum. Whether it is the Western Region Rangers or the waterways, he intends to suppress them with this Wanli City Wall."

Po Jun's expression changed.

Among the several schools of military strategists.

Lu Youxian is undoubtedly the top player in defense and national war.

Such a person does not fight with strategy, but with solid national strength and logistics. His lower limit is extremely high and his upper limit is also extremely high. The stronger the country's national strength, the stronger the pressure Lu Youxian can exert.

Lu Youxian, who was raised in these three hundred years of chaos, is also one of the top generals in the entire history. People's attention is on top generals like Jiang Su and Wolf King, but they ignore this general who has no outstanding achievements.

"If I could get Lu Youxian, I would be able to control ten strong passes in the west!"

But the problem is that the city is a dead object. Such a city can be effective in the hands of Lu Youxian, and the same is true in the hands of Pojun.

Li Guanyi asked: "Sir, do you know how to defend a city?"

Po Jun replied: "I understand a little bit, a little bit."

He inspected the majestic city in the west of the town and grinned.

I have never fought such a rich city defense battle.

Li Guanyi said, "The reinforcements from the State of Chen will arrive soon, and Lu Youxian intends to defend the city. Do you have any plan?" Pojun withdrew his gaze from the city defense map and said with a smile, "Don't worry, my lord. I have a good plan."

When the reinforcements from the State of Chen, led by those generals who were still able to fight, crossed the long distance at the fastest speed and arrived at the Zhenxi Pass in the Western Regions, they saw that the flag of the Qilin Army was rising above the Zhenxi Pass.

Large flags with ink-colored backgrounds were planted on both sides of the city gate tower, rising into the sky.

The flags were flying like clouds falling from the sky.

Above the ink color, there is a scarlet Qilin pattern.

When the scouts of the Chen army reported the intelligence, Ye Chongdao and Zhou Xianping's expressions froze. Then they saw the heavily armored Qilin Army on the city wall. In an instant, a piece of information was conveyed, which shook the morale of the reinforcements.

"Lu Youxian, lost?!!"

And at this time.

Inside the city, Lu Youxian was stationed in the inner city.

The Qilin Army did not enter the inner city wall to attack, but began in front of the many Chen soldiers and civilians who were surrounded in the inner city.

banquet.

(End of this chapter)