Wu Ju has been under great pressure recently, not least because Shi'an County has added 5,000 troops.
He can still handle five thousand people.
He knew in his heart that the imperial court sent so few troops here just to express its attitude. If they really wanted to fight Cangwu, how could they send only such a few troops?
His pressure mainly comes from that bastard Xun Youruo.
He wanted to eat mountain delicacies, seafood, and ice cubes to cool off the heat. He didn't have the slightest sense of being detained. He was just a bad visitor.
But he couldn't ignore it. Shi Xie was hesitating. He had to delay time. If he wanted to live a prosperous life in this world, he could only rely on the brothers of the Shi family.
But outside of Jiaozhi, who dares to offend the Xun clan of Yingchuan?
He is caught in the middle, how difficult it is!
Food is easy to handle, as long as you spend money, you can always get it. Although it hurts, it can be tolerated. But where can he find ice? Ask everyone in Cochin, how many of them have seen ice?
"You are like a good brother. I have prepared some good wine. How about getting up and drinking two glasses to go away from the heat?"
Although it is actually a seizure, in name it is to admire the virtuous and to be a guest. The proper etiquette is indispensable.
Just looking at Xun Youruo, who was lying on the bamboo couch with no intention of getting up and showing no respect at all, Wu Ju felt his teeth itching with hatred.
Xun Chen pretended to be dying of heat and said lazily: "Brother Ziqing's kindness is appreciated, but the sun is shining brightly outside and the inner fire is rising inside. They are attacking each other. I'm afraid I'm going to die in a foreign land."
.
Alas, it will be my fault to trouble Brother Ziqing to buy a coffin for me when the time comes."
Of course Wu Ju knew he was faking it.
Damn Xun Youruo has no intention of acting at all, everyone knows it's just an act.
But what's the use of knowing it? Do you want to expose him? If the other party is forced to become angry and really kills himself in his house, I'm afraid his whole family will be buried with him.
Stopping the messenger in Guangxin is a hard job.
Wu Ju sighed, said nothing, and silently exited Xun Chen's dormitory.
There was nothing they could do except wait.
Wait for Shi Xie to make a decision, or wait for the court's patience to run out and send troops to attack.
Xun Chen was still in the mood to torment Wu Ju, but Wu Ju just wanted to throw this hot potato away quickly.
He didn't understand why Shi Xie was still hesitating. The conditions given by the court were good enough. He was granted the official position of Zhou Mu and recognized the rule of Jiaozhi by the Shi Xie brothers. They just wanted some rice from Linyi State.
This condition is so sincere, why are you still hesitating?
He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.
Shi Xie's younger brothers didn't understand either.
His younger brother, Shi 1, asked: "We all know that my brother has no intention of breaking up the earth and becoming a king, but why don't we see the messenger? Why do we still need to forge weapons and gather troops to prepare for war? The world has been peaceful, and it is really difficult to win a war now. Brother
how so?"
"It's not that he took the initiative to ask for war and gathered troops to protect himself." Shi Xie shook his head. He already knew the court's conditions. It was because of knowing that he was full of vigilance.
Seeing that his three younger brothers were not thinking clearly, he pointed out: "Changing Jiaozhi to Jiaozhou recognizes the political status of this place. Giving me the official position of Jiaozhou Mu is just a title. If you and I don't nod, who can sit still?"
Lord of Jiaozhou?
The imperial court asked us to surrender without giving anything.
If these were the only ones, it would not be impossible to discuss, but the problem arises with the rice fields in Champa.
Why did the emperor ask for this Champa rice?"
He paused for a moment, trying to enlighten his younger brothers' ideas, but unfortunately, all three younger brothers disappointed him.
"The emperor heard that there is rice in Champa that can be harvested three times a year, so he asked his brother to get it. We just send people to get it. If the Cham people dare to stop it, send troops to beat them up, and those local monkeys will be honest."
Judge 1 answered.
Shi Xie lamented that iron was not enough, raised his voice, and asked: "Have you ever heard of the Cham people cultivating rice?"
His second disciple smiled disdainfully and said: "How can those local monkeys know how to farm? They just pick some bananas to wrap their bellies."
"Then why did the emperor hear about it? Why did he ask me to go to Champa to get some rice that is harvested three times a year?"
"Why...why?"
"Champa is the capital of the Linyi Kingdom. The imperial court is trying to trick us into attacking the Linyi Kingdom in order to consume our troops. Don't you know that when snipe and clam fight, the fishermen will benefit!"
As soon as Shi Xie said these words, the three brothers were terrified.
The clan disciple Shi Wu stood up and said, "Without brother's guidance, we would have fallen into a trap. The imperial court's intentions are really vicious! Brother, let's rebel. First chop down the envoy's sacrificial flag, and then attack Jingzhou and seize the Yangtze River defense line!"
"
"Shut up!" Shi Xie frowned and scolded: "You have also been to the Central Plains to study, you have also been promoted as filial and honest, you have been promoted to Luo, and you have seen the customs of the Han Dynasty, how can you be as arrogant as those natives? How can Jiaozhi do this?
Are you a rival of the imperial court?"
He looked around at his three younger brothers and said solemnly: "I don't want to hear anyone utter words of rebellion again. That is a way to die."
"Brother, if you neither surrender nor rebel, how should we respond?" Disciple 1 frowned and asked with confusion on his face.
"Delay time, assemble the army and prepare for war. When the imperial court sends troops to fight, we will use the geographical advantage to repel the expeditionary army. Then, we will take the initiative to ask for surrender, negotiate to avoid the conquest of Linyi Kingdom, and escape from the trap of snipe and clam fighting."
The old man Shi Xie stroked his beard, and without expecting his brothers to understand, he directly expressed his plan.
This was the routine that the three younger brothers were familiar with. They all stood up, cupped their hands and said, "Brother, please give me an order for how to arrange things in the future!"
"Work hard to build weapons, recruit native warriors into the army, and send people to inform the leaders of each tribe, asking them to send their tribesmen to fight with me.
The governor Lai Gong could not be trusted and was arrested.
Shi??, you take the soldiers and horses from Jiuzhen County to take over Yulin County. Shi 1, you take the soldiers and horses from Hepu County to support Cangwu County. Shiwu, gather the soldiers and horses from Nanhai County in Panyu County, ready at any time
Go up the river to support the Guangxin war.
The clan's territory cannot be lost, and it must be the main direction of the imperial court's attack.
I will lead the troops and horses from Jiaozhi County as a backup to support various places depending on the battle situation.
Remember, just rely on the geographical location to repel the imperial army. If there are any prisoners, treat them well and do not kill them."
The three younger brothers had been accustomed to listening to Shi Xie's words since they were young. They agreed without hesitation, and then went out and returned to their respective territories to recruit troops and stock up on food in preparation for the war.
When Gan Ning recovered from his injuries and entered Guangxin County with Su Fei to defect to Wu Ju, he was startled by the soldiers patrolling the streets.
"Why is this?"
"The imperial court has sent more troops to the border, and Shi Xie has also sent more troops to Cangwu. An Xin, they are just a bunch of local monkeys who can't even speak human language and dare not stop us."
Su Fei often went to the city to inquire about information, so it was no surprise that Jiaozhou did not strictly manage the flow of people. It was not because he did not want to control it, but because the officials were of low quality and generally lazy, and they could not manage it at all.
Moreover, there is an underlying rule here. Han people are noble people. As long as they can speak Chinese, they are superior to others. Those who can speak elegant language are even more respected.
He smiled and said to Gan Ning, "Just go with confidence and boldness."
"I'm not worried about this, I'm afraid that I won't be able to control the city's defense."