"We can't reach an agreement." Dong Wen shook his head, seemingly sighing.
"Brother Xu, you have to understand. After I conquer the two prefectures, I will collect the surrendered soldiers, plus the extra land for raising horses, I can produce at least 60,000 cavalry and 140,000 infantry."
Xu Mu was unmoved and looked at Guan Xia with an extremely calm tone.
"You should also understand what kind of person I, Xu Mu, am. When I have nothing to rely on, I dare to go into the grassland. If Brother Dong doesn't believe me, please come and give it a try."
"Your energy is gone. Instead, I led Liangzhou to a great victory!"
Xu Mu stood at the city gate and made a cold "please" gesture.
"You pigs and dogs kill your father and brother, how dare you speak so shamelessly!"
"Killing one's father and killing one's brother is the crime of wanting to punish others."
Dong Wen turned around and took only a few steps, his face became extremely cold, and his voice suddenly sounded.
"Announce it to the world, saying that the king of Shuzhou, Xu Mu, violates my dignity in Shangzhou and will destroy the state and exterminate the clan!"
"Ten days later, the Liangzhou army attacks Shu!"
Under the Yu Pass, countless Liangqi raised their spears and pointed at the Yu Pass, roaring angrily. Lianghu Sima Xiu stood up and walked out of the hut, his elegant face also showed the intention of killing.
…
From early in the morning, Xu Mu knew that this was a nonsense alliance. It was just Dong Wen's appetite for using Shuzhou's excuses.
When the sound of horse hooves outside the city gradually died down, Xu Mu's face became solemn.
"Lord, with Yuguan here, I will protect Shuzhou in the end!" Chen Zhong clasped his fists beside him.
"Of course I believe you." Xu Mu nodded. But what he had to consider was not as simple as Chen Zhong thought.
According to the original discussion with Jia Zhou, the Liangzhou people were more likely to attack Shu from two directions. If they waited until the two Bailu counties were captured, and outside Yuguan, they were completely blocked.
Both passages were destroyed. Then, he would really be trapped and die in Shuzhou.
Of course, if it were the Dou family, they would only be guarding Yuguan and Banan County in the south, and they would be safe and sound. But Xu Mu is not just a guard dog. These fourteen counties in Shuzhou should be a pair of wings.
Rather than a cage.
"Chen Zhong, please be careful during this time."
"Don't worry, my lord, if anything goes wrong at Yu Pass, I'll come and see you!" Chen Zhong solemnly clasped his fists.
Again, the possibility of Yuguan being captured is not too great. The naturally dangerous pass is destined to protect Shuzhou's appearance.
Xu Mu nodded silently and walked down the city wall.
"Lord, what should I do with the thirty thousand taels of silver?"
"Send it back to Chengdu and reward the three armies!"
…
Chengdu.
The sky was dim and there was still rain, which was beating on the windowsill and splashing out tiny drops of water.
Dongfang Jing wrapped himself in a robe, lit an oil lamp, and kept looking at a map on the desk.
It's not just a map of Shuzhou, but also the terrain outside Yuguan, the city gates, peaks and ridges, streams and depressions.
After a long time, Dongfang Jing seemed to have made up his mind. He picked up the Langhao pen and circled it more than seventy miles away from Yuguan.
"Dongfang Military Advisor, my lord has returned to Chengdu."
"General Han, I understand. General Han, please send me to the palace."
In the palace, the attendant added another round of lamp oil.
Under the shadow of the swaying lamp, Xu Mu and Jia Zhou were sitting on chairs, their faces solemn.
"The King of Liangzhou definitely wants to conquer Shu. With the great victory, coupled with the defeat of the King of Yuzhou, this is a good opportunity." Jia Zhou looked calm.
"With my lord's temperament, he will definitely reject the alliance. He has already guessed it."
"There won't be an army of 200,000, and a cavalry of 60,000 is even more ridiculous. He has just captured the two states of An and He. He can't afford such a number of horses. I estimate that with the reduction of soldiers, he can at most be ten
An army of ten to twenty thousand."
Even if it's 110,000 or 20,000, it's already a lot.
"Wenlong, Shuzhou cannot be trapped to death." Xu Mu's tone was solemn. If he lost the two Bailu counties outside the state and was blocked at Yuguan, wouldn't he be completely trapped to death?
"I know. If this is the case, we in Shuzhou can only divide our troops into two groups to stop the Liangzhou army. But on the other side of the Xiangjiang River, the Liangzhou people are attacking with horses and there is no need to cross the river. The situation is even more critical."
But both ends have to be taken care of, and the troops are stretched thin.
Of course, if one of them is given up, it will probably be easier to fight. But how can a country that has been conquered with great difficulty be handed over to others?
"Heavy troops should be stationed outside Bailu County and Yuguan. General Yu Wen will be sent to contain them——"
"Teacher, lord, I will guard the area outside the Yuguan Pass!"
"I would like to issue a military order!"
Xu Mu and Jia Zhou, who were discussing, both turned their heads and looked at Dongfang Jing who was pushing the cart in front of them.
…
"It's Liangzhou's Tian Xia Zhao Wen again." Chang Shilang looked coldly and threw a piece of silk paper in front of him to the old military advisor in front of him.
"First, they announced the merger of two states, and one was issued. Not long after, another one came!"
"Master, please don't get angry, be careful of touching the wound." Liu Ji picked up the silk paper and gave a hasty advice.
"The egg is still hanging, so I won't die." Chang Shiro frowned, "This bitch chose the right time to attack Shu."
"Northerners are good at horses, and southerners are good at boats. Even in the northwest, people in Liangzhou are still not familiar with water warfare. Therefore, conquering Shuzhou should be Dong Wen's next goal. After all, once Shuzhou is defeated, the people next to it will be
Muyunzhou will also be uprooted."
"In this way, he will be able to control the land of the five states. If he slows down and slowly builds up momentum, he may truly become a powerful tyrant."
"There's nothing he can do. As long as my old friend doesn't move, he can't break the Yu Pass."
"My little boss... will make a move. Unless he is willing to give up the two counties outside the state and be trapped in Shuzhou."
Hearing this sentence, Chang Shiro, who was still somewhat confident, fell into silence.
"Lord, you and I both know that he definitely doesn't want to be a defender. But with nearly twice the number of troops, it's not a water battle. The two outer counties of Shuzhou are not strong cities."
"Furthermore, I have heard that Liangzhou King Dongwen has begun to contact the Xiqiang people as hires for the attack on Shu. If the peace talks are successful, Liangzhou can add tens of thousands more troops-"
"I believe him." Tsuneshiro breathed out.
"The Liangzhou dog's momentum of victory should stop here in Shuzhou."
Liu Ji was a little stunned.
"My lord, before the war, I did some analysis and found that Shuzhou's military strength, baggage, and even food and grass are less than half of Liangzhou's. Moreover, he does not intend to fight a defensive battle."
"These things are useless." Changshiro smiled, "Even if one day my old friend picks the stars off, I won't be surprised."
"He is a man who is good at creating miracles. Just wait, the King of Liangzhou and the three bullshit generals of the Zhang family. This time, the little boss will play them all to death."
Liu Ji smiled bitterly, "Then I will watch and see if the King of Shuzhou can perform another miracle."
"He will. I don't know why, but I just want to believe him."