"Li Xia left the city today. Not long after he returned to the city, several people escorted a carriage into the city. We looked for a road in that direction and saw a posthouse outside the city with more than 30 Mongolian horses in the yard.

match."

"Li Xia went out of the city to meet with the people of Hunduhai? Let them enter the city while the guards stayed outside the city?"

"possible."

"Can the barbarians of Liupan Mountain give him such a big face?"

"Maybe they wanted to hide, because Hanzhong had only been occupied for a few months, and they also knew that there were fine works left by us in the city. By the way, the old man on the carriage was not a Mongolian, but a Han. When the wind blew the curtains of the carriage, I caught a glimpse

One glance.”

"Old man? Han Chinese? Where will you stay after entering the city?"

"Chengnan Station."

Jia Hou couldn't help but frown.

He was in a posthouse in the north of the city, and Li Xia's people were following him when he went out, so it was inconvenient to take a look.

But there are already vague speculations about this person's identity.

There are only a few Han people who support Ali Buge, and there are even fewer in Liupanshan.

It's an old man...Liu Taiping came in person?

Jia Hou began to think deeply.

He could guess that the war would start in Longxi.

As for the deployment of troops on both sides, we don't know. This is a secret and Liu Heima didn't say anything.

What can be felt is that Liu Heima is confident in this battle. After all, Kublai Khan has already ascended the throne and is waiting for the chance.

However, Halahalin was too far away from Liupan Mountain, and by the time Hunduhai received the general's order, the opportunity had been lost.

Therefore, as to whether Hunduhai will form an alliance with the Song people... Jia Hou thinks it is possible.

"We must find a way to take a look for ourselves..."

Marshal's Mansion, Assembly Hall.

Liu Yuanli was brought in again.

Li Xia asked him to sit down and asked, "Brother Zhongmin, have you considered it?"

"I have a few questions, and I would like to ask Li Jieshuai to answer them."

"That's fine...you all stand down."

During these three days, Liu Yuanli was no longer assigned to do any labor. He was moved to a clean cell in the county jail, with all the necessary food and clothing, and he regained the demeanor of many children from aristocratic families.

When everyone in the hall had left, he still sat upright and did not attack Li Xia.

Li Xia was very skilled, and there was no way he could capture him before the guards rushed in.

"Li Jieshuai wanted the Liu family to rely on him, but now with Li Jieshuai's power..."

"It doesn't matter." Li Xia said: "I understand that if you want someone to join you, you must at least be stronger than the other person. I am incomparable to the Liu family now."

Liu Yuanli nodded and thought to himself that Li Xia's brain was not completely broken yet.

Li Xia said: "Brother Zhongmin, have you ever thought that if Kublai Khan did not return to the grassland to attend the Khuliltai Conference and ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, this move would be the same as betraying Mongolia. What is he doing? Does he really admire the unification of the Han Dynasty?

"

"In worldly affairs, only when you have to give up can you gain something."

"Then there will be a bloody battle between Kublai Khan and Brother Ali. Are the Liu family willing to defend Longxi?"

Liu Yuanli wanted to argue, "That's better than surrendering to you," but in the end he didn't say it and just nodded.

Li Xia said: "If I want to be stronger than the Liu family, there are two ways. One is to quickly increase my strength, and the other is to quickly lose the Liu family's strength. What will happen after the battle in Longxi?"

"Not that much."

Liu Yuanli finally said something back, "My father has a strong army and strong horses, and the Wang family is a rival to each other. There is no way he can be inferior to Li Jieshuai."

"Do you really think that Hunduhai is easy to bully? He already has 70,000 elite cavalry, and more than 30,000 southern expedition troops brought back by Asotai. If Brother Ali sends more reinforcements, he will have a mighty army of more than 100,000, and the Liu family will

Can you stop it?"

Subtly, a glimmer of light appeared in Liu Yuanli's eyes, which disappeared in an instant.

He realized that Li Xia could accurately tell Hunduhai's military strength...

"The Liu family and the Wang family together have an army of one hundred thousand."

Li Xia said: "When you look at the situation, you only look at the current situation, but I look at the future. Brother Alibaba is indeed not as good as Kublai Khan. Now it seems that as long as Kublai Khan survives the early stages of the war, he can win with the wealth of the Han Dynasty.

"

As he spoke, he picked up a pen, placed it on the pen holder, and lightly pressed the high end with his finger.

"But sometimes, just changing the chips a little bit turns the tables, doesn't it?"

"Li Jieshuai, brother Ali is definitely not an easy person to deal with. If you seek skin from a tiger, how can you gain anything?"

Liu Yuanli said solemnly: "If the tiger and wolf troops from Hunduhai are allowed to enter the pass, all life will be devastated. Isn't this what Li Jieshuai wants?"

"I don't want to either, so I would like to ask your father to work with me."

Liu Yuanli smiled bitterly and secretly thought that Li Xia had underestimated the unity of the northerners.

When Northerners are like Zhao Song...

Li Xia stopped talking.

He has answered everything he can.

After a long time, Liu Yuanli said: "Please allow me to think about it again."

"That's good. I heard that in troubled times, families will not put their eggs in the same basket. Even if only Brother Zhongmin is willing to help me, I will be happy."

"Thank you Marshal Li Jie for your kindness. I feel ashamed for those who were captured by the defeated army..."

Liu Yuanli stood up and bowed, lowered his head, and glanced at Li Xiayu.

He noticed that several maps on Li Xiagu were made of sheepskin.

Generally speaking, the paper produced in the Song Dynasty should be Pu paper.

Parchment paper, mostly used by the Mongols...

Li Xia watched Liu Yuanli leave, tapping the parchment map on the table with his fingertips, thinking about it.

After that, he stood up, put the map into the secret compartment behind the bookcase, and walked to the back house.

Returning to the back hall, I didn’t see my wife and concubines at home today.

He went to the courtyard again, and not long after, he heard their voices.

"Nian'er has moved, and only Sister Gao and Sister Tang are left... Come again, one, two, three, we are all wooden people... Oops..."

"Qiao'er lost. In the next round, Nian'er will come and catch him..."

Gao Mingyue slapped Han Qiaoer on the head and cheered.

When she turned around, she saw Li Xia, and she quickly stopped the little girl's smile and straightened her tied sleeves.

Looking very embarrassed.

It wasn't that she was afraid, she just felt that she was a little embarrassed. She shook her body from side to side unconsciously, and then looked at Li Xia and smiled softly.

Li Xia couldn't help but laugh.

Usually when he comes back at night, Gao Mingyue and Tang An'an are treated like wives and concubines, but they don't know that they are like this when they are playing.

As for Tang Anan, he kept moving his legs.

Her legs are indeed slender, with her toes touching the ground, showing beautiful curves.

But when she saw Li Xia coming, she quickly put it away, straightened some of her messy hair, and assumed a ladylike posture.

On the contrary, Nian'er was not afraid of Li Xia. She stood there and looked at him, her eyes full of expectation, as if she really wanted him to come and play with her.

It's just that because Madam is there, she won't rush forward.

Han Qiaoer was the happiest. She called "Brother Li" and ran over. She pulled Li Xia and asked, "Why are you back so early today? Do you want to play together?"

"You guys go ahead and play. I have a guest to meet later, so I thought I'd have some free time and come over to talk about something..."

Han Qiao'er blushed and ran away again. She hugged Nian'er and whispered, pretending that she was busy.

During the New Year's Day, Li Xia had made an agreement with Han Qi'an to welcome Han Qiao'er to visit him after he was busy for a while. The little girl had been very nervous recently.

"What do you want to say?" In the end, Gao Mingyue stepped forward to take charge of the situation.

Li Xia tidied her hair and asked with a smile: "You are embarrassed to see the game I taught you to play?"

"It's not that I'm embarrassed, I'm just afraid that the servants will see me and say I don't look like a handsome lady."

"Don't worry about it. Didn't I say during the Chinese New Year that I would take you to Xixiang for fun and leave in the next two days?"

"Really?"

Gao Mingyue and Han Qiaoer were very happy when they heard this, while Nianer stood on tiptoe, wanting to ask something.

Li Xia didn't wait for her to speak and said, "You all go and bring more guards."
To be continued...