At dusk, the sunset glows against the mountain scenery. The mountain breeze blows, and the shadows of the trees sway gently.
"Brother Mu, my sister-in-law!"
Xu Mu raised his head and saw the slim figure running under the sunset, and couldn't help feeling a little sore in his chest. He pulled up the reins high, and General Feng jumped up in an instant, flying through the dirt and jumping over the stream.
"Xu Lang!"
Jiang Caiwei ignored her untied bun and hurried forward.
"Uu."
General Feng quickly lowered his horse's hoof, probably still remembering his mistress's appearance, and even scratched his hoof happily.
"Caiwei, mount your horse."
After Jiang Caiwei got on the horse and the two rode together, General Feng followed Xu Mu's instructions and ran toward the woods...
"What are they doing in the grove?" Si Hu looked carefully and was stunned, "Brother Yu, what are they doing in the grove?"
"Don't ask any more, General Xu will be back soon."
"That won't work, I want to protect Brother Mu." Si Hu said angrily, slapped the horse under his crotch twice, and rushed forward.
Yu Wen rubbed his forehead and blocked it in front of him.
"If you go, your shepherd brother will beat you to death. Follow me into the city first."
"Tell me, Brother Yu, what are they going to do?"
"Go pick mushrooms."
"Then I'll go too."
"Get rid of the eggs." Yu Wen couldn't bear the trouble, so he stretched out his hand and took away half of the roast chicken in the bag in front of him, then turned around and ran away. Si Hu was so shocked that he cursed and chased after him.
…
"Chen Sheng, Xu Lang came back and you didn't call me!"
Li Dawan stared angrily, then stretched out his hand to straighten his newly combed bun.
"Second Madam, I shouted eight times, but you don't want to wake up." Chen Sheng looked helpless.
Li Dawan, who knew he was in the wrong, had no choice but to stop talking and hurriedly took a few steps forward. Unfortunately, Xu Mu was not found among the army entering the city.
"Brother Mu and the others went to pick mushrooms." Si Hu grinned and mumbled, then jumped off the horse, holding the roast chicken he had snatched back, and stepped forward excitedly.
"Puppy Fu, Er Goudan, San Lunzi, your tiger brother is back."
Several children who were huddled behind their mother heard Si Hu's words and ran out howling. This time, they did not grab the roast chicken first, but hugged the silly big boy and wiped their noses several times.
"Young Master has practiced eighteen kinds of peerless martial arts. Without Brother Tiger, no one in Zhuangzi would dare to challenge me."
"I beat the old lame leg so much that both legs are lame!"
…
Zhuge Fan, who was only lame on one leg, stood up and was still thinking about where the branches were strong, but suddenly he found that the army had completely entered the city.
"welcome--"
Wei Feng led 2,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, forming two teams and making way for a passage.
Nearly 20,000 people, including civilians, slowly entered Fufeng City. Only tens of thousands of people could hardly leave their houses and kept cheering.
Jia Zhou, wearing a brand new scribe's robe, stood in the middle, bowed his hands in worship to Yu Wen and others.
At this moment, he was happy.
Not only did my master come back safely from the border, he also brought back so many people.
"I've seen the military advisor."
Cao Hong, Yu Wenchaizong and others quickly dismounted their horses and bowed hurriedly back.
"Guard Cao, where is the lord?"
"Going into the woods..."
"This is a great act of kindness." Before Jia Zhou could say anything, Chen Jiaqiao next to him had already spoken, "I know a little about the art of mountain viewing. Everyone, please look at the mountains and rivers in the distance, which are dragons and phoenixes, and the soil is the breeding ground. Di, the young master of my imperial family, if nothing unexpected happens, will be born."
Except for Jia Zhou, everyone nearby twitched their mouths and didn't know how to reply, so they could only walk forward with a dry smile.
"Brother Sheng, let people prepare a banquet. There will be a big drunken party in Fu Feng City today."
…
As the sky darkened, Xu Mu burped inexplicably, and he and Jiang Caiwei rode General Feng back to Fufeng City.
"Xu Lang, please go back to the house first."
Jiang Caiwei's face seemed to turn redder when reflected by the surrounding firelight.
"Go ahead."
Xu Mu smiled. The pain of lovesickness was relieved, and the long separation suddenly faded away.
"Greetings, my lord!"
As soon as Xu Mu entered the city, loud shouts rang out from all around.
Xu Mu raised his head, his face a little touched.
Jia Zhou, Chen Sheng, Zhou Zun and Chen Jiaqiao, together with Yu Wen, Chaizong and Fan Lu, all bowed to him and called him their lord.
"Get up!" Xu Mu was in high spirits.
Fame and fame were in vain, but in the end, he reached this point. Even a small Fufeng City still had a place to live.
After walking a few more steps and just dismounting, Xu Mu was surprised to see a ball of nephrite falling into his arms. When he lowered his head and looked down, he discovered that Li Dawan, who was crying like a tabby cat, was facing him.
Tears washed away from his nose.
"Xu Lang, I've had a hard time waiting for you to have a baby."
Xu Mu, who lost his strength in the woods, gritted his teeth and reluctantly rejected Li Dawan's suggestion.
…
A banquet passed.
Only then did Xu Mu have time to sit with Jia Zhou and discuss the next thing.
"Lord, how is this Fufeng City?"
"Wen Long is quite capable. He really captured Fufeng City with an army of a thousand men."
"Here's a little plan. My lord doesn't want to say it, so let me tell you that this Fufeng City is too small after all. My lord's goal is to be in the Thirteenth County of Shuzhou."
Xu Mu nodded silently, this is not his plan. Fufeng City is equivalent to a small town, and it is located on the border of Shuzhou, so it can only be used as a temporary refuge.
For future development, Fufeng City’s auxiliary power is almost non-existent.
"I have done some calculations and found that my lord's current strength, excluding the settled civilians, should be about 16,000. Excluding the wounded and veteran soldiers, it is only about 12,000."
Twelve thousand, to many big warlords, is nothing more than a small shrimp.
Even if you want to recruit soldiers and gather the refugees, Fufeng City simply cannot afford it given the current situation.
"On the other side of the Anling Mountains is Muyun Prefecture. Further forward from Fufeng City is Shuzhong. With the two sides pinching each other, the situation is very unfavorable for us."
Xu Mu understood what Jia Zhou meant.
Time is running out. If we succeed in entering Shu, we can only find a way to enter the territory in Shu earlier.
It is not a good idea to live here for a long time in a crumbling border town. Don't expect that there is any way to honor Zhang Yongnian and present him with a geographical map of Sichuan.
Of course, the two feats of killing the traitor and rescuing the border guard may have other hidden bonus points. But no matter what, you still have to rely on yourself after all.
"Does Wenlong have any good ideas?"
"Fish in troubled waters." Jia Zhou's expression remained unchanged, "My lord's best chance is to find a way to provoke a war between the three kings of Shuzhou. The oriole is behind and has the opportunity to enter Shu."
"The weakest of the three kings of Shu is King Nan, who only has two counties. In order to support his 30,000 subordinates, I heard that he goes around selling horses in exchange for food."
"The king of Shu sells horses?"
Xu Mu was startled, and for no reason, he thought of someone in his mind.
"Lord, what's wrong?"
"I seem to know a horse dealer. I'll go look for him when I have time. I hope I can gather some information about Shuzhou."