As the New Year approaches, there is still more than a month to go. The weather in Chengdu has suddenly become colder. The mountains overlooking the city are already completely white on the top of the mountain.
"The Night Owl branch in Changyang will definitely take action soon after receiving my secret order. My lord, there is no need to worry." Jia Zhou, who had recovered a little, walked into the palace again.
Xu Mu was a little silent, knowing that he could not dissuade him. If possible, he would prefer to let Jia Zhou rest for two or three years.
"My lord, there is no need to worry about my illness. Doctor Chen has looked at it and prescribed the medicine. I think I will be fine in a few days." Knowing what Xu Mu was worried about, Jia Zhou felt relieved.
Huo Fu's incident is bound to alarm Jia Zhou. You must know that the actual helmsman of Ye Xiao's Chengdu headquarters is Jia Zhou.
"Wenlong, how sure are you of winning over Huo Fu?"
Jia Zhou thought for a while, "Less than 10%. Considering Huo Fu's previous affairs in Lingzhou and the death of his son, he will definitely be angry with the southerners. I think it is more likely that he will defect to Beiyu.
"
"After all, he has served as the general of the Lingzhou Navy. I think he knows the Xiangjiang defense line in the south. If this person is not eliminated, it will be a big bad thing for me in Xishu."
Xu Mu did not hesitate. At this time, the overall situation of Xi Shu was the most important.
"Wenlong, after spring next year, I plan to go to the Western Regions."
It will take nearly two months to go back and forth to the Western Regions. Before going, Xu Mu needs to confirm one thing. Is there really any intention of a temporary truce in Beiyu?
If war is imminent, he cannot leave.
"I wrote a letter to Tsuneshiro some time ago."
Listening, Jia Zhou looked slightly condensed, "I understand what the lord means. The Western Region, as Bo Lie said, is likely to help the lord win. Now in the entire Central Plains, the resources in the north area, the lord can no longer reach out. Northwest.
It is barren, Jiangnan has been at war for a long time, and the South China Sea Alliance is just a vassal, so the lord cannot be too hasty."
"One day, my lord will show off his power in the struggle between the north and the south. I believe that the people of the South China Sea Alliance will voluntarily merge with Western Shu without my lord's words."
"If trade can go smoothly, within two years, I am confident that we can build another elite cavalry army of 20,000 to 30,000 people. Moreover, the iron and stone from the Western Regions will be transported to Shu, and more weapons and armor can be built."
With the three states of Liangdi and the Western Regions, they are almost the back garden of Western Shu. As long as they are run well, they can be a great help.
Therefore, Xu Mucai planned to go to the Western Regions in person after the spring. It was not that he did not trust Yin Hu and Weifeng, but that sometimes, as the king of Western Shu, he took action and put many things on the table, which would be better solved.
"Has the King of Yuzhou replied to your letter?"
"I don't know about that, it's not in my hands anyway."
"What my lord means is to sign a non-aggression contract."
"More importantly, I want to see Chang Laosi."
"When he annexed Hebei, the king of Yuzhou did not attack his heart. Now, many people in the four states of Hebei and the remaining forces of the four kings are rebelling. It will take a long time for him to completely pacify it. In addition, the Rouzhou outside Yanzhou
However, I also hate Beiyu to the core."
"When Ye Xiao came with information and old Zhongde was still alive, he wanted to persuade the king of Yuzhou to use a marriage plan to temporarily stabilize the situation outside the customs."
"He will definitely refuse. According to his temper, if he doesn't obey, he will be beaten."
"indeed……"
"If it were me, I would still fight." Xu Mu raised his head and remembered what Chang Laosi said back then.
We fight back and fight, and Digou is a foreigner, but he cannot step into the Central Plains.
"My lord and the King of Yuzhou were both heroes of that time. However, in this Central Plains, there can only be one person who can proclaim himself emperor and usher in a new dynasty."
"I really hope that I can have two or three more drinks with Chang Laosi. Wenlong, when I was a brewer, I had a very simple idea."
"Lord, what is it?"
"I was thinking at that time that Chang Shiro and the young Marquis could sit down and talk, and I would accompany the last seat so that the three of us could have a good drink. But now, this long-cherished wish can no longer be realized.
"
"It is no exaggeration to say that Chang Shiro is my first nobleman, Xu Mu. Without him, I would not be where I am today."
"My lord, you should distinguish between small favors and great favors. The young Marquis is not wrong, you are not wrong, and the King of Yuzhou is not wrong either. What is wrong is just this troubled world."
"Wen Long, I know everything. The general trend of the world will inevitably merge after a long time. The struggle between the people and the aristocratic families, the two classes, neither I nor Chang Shiro can escape."
"There will eventually be a fight."
…
In the Changyang Palace, Chang Shiro sat alone in front of the Zhongyi Temple. He spilled half of a pot of wine and drank half of it himself.
The golden stone statue in the temple is the silhouette of the young marquis.
"Do you want to eat soybean?" Tsuneshiro grabbed a piece of soybean and stretched it out in front of the stone statue.
There is no bird in the stone statue.
"You are such a boring person. You are like this when you are alive, and you will be like this after you die." Changshiro raised his head, his voice a little sad.
"Xiao Taotao, I have no old friends."
"You are gone, Zhongde is gone, and my little boss is going to fight with me. It seems that the three people I like most in the world are no longer here all of a sudden."
"Do you know that according to your wishes, the young master finally followed the civil road? The territory he conquered is almost as big as mine. But out of nowhere, I also conquered most of the Central Plains. Many people say that we are sure
He wants to fight for the world. When Lao Zhongde died, he used his death as a remonstrance. How could you not fight me?"
"With a clear conscience, those who win will be the big boss, and those who lose will be the second boss."
Changshiro raised his head and took the last sip of wine.
Perhaps having said enough, he slowly calmed down, turned his head, and looked at the snowstorm outside the temple.
"The thing I regret most is that when Qingjun was away from home that year, I originally thought about dragging you two over to have a drink with me. But I was too shy to say anything."
"I will never have tea with you as old friends in this life. My little boss doesn't know whether he will live or die in a fight. Two days ago, Chang Wei cried and said that he didn't want to fight with that stupid tiger."
"But how can we not fight?"
"We'll have to fight eventually."
"I can only fight."
Tsuneshiro stood up and grabbed the empty wine bottle and meat in front of him. He also carefully bent down and picked up a thin bone in the corner. After gathering up the mess, he finally grabbed a broom and put it away.
The dust in the temple was swept clean.
The wind and snow outside the temple became more violent for a while.
When Changshiro walked out of the temple gate, hundreds of personal guards waiting outside were already shivering with cold.
"My lord, the military advisor just sent someone here to discuss something."
"Looking more and more like Lao Zhongde."
Changshiro murmured something, then turned around and mounted his horse, leading hundreds of personal guards and galloping away in the direction of the palace in the north.
The horse's hooves trampled through the snow at the north gate, throwing up flakes of snow.
Beside the north city gate, more than a dozen big men selling charcoal saw that they were the king of Yuzhou. They quickly moved out of the way and waited until they walked out of the city gate tremblingly. The expressions of these ten people turned cold.
Cao Yong wrapped himself in his old robe, hid the long knife again, and sat on the ox cart pulling charcoal, with a calm expression on his face.