October 12th, noon, North Chuan Province Tongren County.
North Chuan Province was located in the southwest plateau of China. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was part of the Southern Barbarians. The terrain within the territory was high in the west and low in the east.
Other than the Han, there were also the Miao and Mountain Barbarians living in the territory of North Chuan Province.
The province was rich in mineral resources, with a large amount of coal reserves, a complete range of coal quality, and was known as the "Southwest Coal Sea". It could be said to be the engine of industrialization.
The five counties under North Chuan Province, from north to south, were Tongren County, Guiyang County, Xingyi County, Duyun County, and Guzhou County. The leader of the [North Chuan City State], Lord Ximen's territory, Fengmound City, occupied the northernmost Tongren County of North Chuan Province.
At noon, Lord Ximen personally led his seventy thousand troops all the way east to the border of his territory. Further east was Changde County of Xiangnan Province.
Speaking of Changde County, one had to mention a lord — Gu Henxiao. It was not because Gu Henxiao was famous, but because Gu Henxiao had a general under him, Li Mu.
Using Li Mu's military power, Gu Henxiao's territory occupied three of the five prefectures of Changde County. The border with Tongren County was Gu Henxiao's territory — Lai Feng City.
The arrival of the army of Fengmound City made the border guards of Lai Feng City quite nervous.
A few days ago, the two field armies of Dan Yang City went south to attack Xiangnan Province. They adopted the strategy of attacking Changsha County first and then Changde County. Therefore, Changde County had not been involved in the war yet.
Even so, Changde County was still in a state of panic.
At this time, the army of Fengmound City suddenly came to the border. It was really suspicious.
Strangely, Lord Ximen did not intend to start the war directly. He just smiled and said to the general of the border guards of Lai Feng City, "I am Lord Ximen of Fengmound City. I have now submitted to the Great Xia Dynasty. I have something to discuss with your lord, please report it quickly."
When the border guard heard this, he did not dare to make the decision on his own and sent someone to inform the lord.
Soon, Gu Henxiao, who was in Lai Feng City, received the news. His face was full of shock and doubt. He immediately summoned Li Mu to discuss with him and asked, "General, what do you think the other side is planning?"
In the morning, Gu Hen Xiao and Lai Feng City were not among the troops of the lords of the two cities who "pledged their loyalty" to the Great Xia Dynasty. It was because of the previous battle in Guilin County that Li Mu and the Great Xia Dynasty had become enemies.
With this knot in his heart, Gu Henxiao naturally didn't get too close to Great Xia.
However, the drastic changes in the past two days had caused Gu Henxiao to be a little flustered. First, Rosy Cloud City had completely fallen out with them, and their intention to annex the city-states was clear. Then, there was the loyalty incident in the morning, which directly buried two major city-states.
Moreover, Pill Yang City's army could attack at any moment. In such a whirlpool, with Gu Hen Xiao's ability, he didn't know what to do and didn't know what to do.
Gu Heng Xiao was originally a Feudal Lord with average aptitude. It was only because of his good luck that he managed to summon a Divine General like Li Mu that he managed to achieve his current status. However, according to the current situation in the wilderness, even Li Mu couldn't protect Lai Feng City.
When Li Mu saw this, he didn't directly answer, but asked, "In your opinion, if the Great Xia Dynasty doesn't intervene this time, can we resist the pincer attack of Rosy Cloud City and Pill Yang City?"
"Absolutely impossible."
Gu Hen Xiao still had this judgment.
Because of the early establishment of the city-states, there were few attacks within the city-states. Therefore, in the remaining three counties of Xiangnan Province, there were as many as 13 large and small territories.
Among these territories, there were allies of the Great Xia Dynasty, pawns of the Yan Huang Alliance, and factions of the city-states that remained neutral. The three parties were entangled with each other, like a plate of loose sand.
In this way, how could they resist the pincer attack of Rosy Cloud City and Pill Yang City from the north and south? If the Great Xia Dynasty didn't intervene, it was almost certain that Rosy Cloud City would unify the Xiangnan Province.
Li Mu said, "In that case, there are only two paths in front of my lord. Either submit to Rosy Cloud City, or submit to the Great Xia Dynasty. Which side is my lord going to choose?"
What Li Mu said was indeed the truth. With the simultaneous efforts of the Yan Huang Alliance and the Great Xia Dynasty, the wilderness no longer had space for small and medium-sized territories to survive.
For small and medium-sized territories, at this time, there was no room for survival for small and medium-sized territories.
"This …"
Gu Hen Xiao was a little embarrassed.
According to common sense, Gu Hen Xiao naturally didn't want to submit to the Great Xia Dynasty, but it was impossible for him to submit to Rosy Cloud City. Who was in the South of Rosy Cloud City? It was just a lord of a city-state that was slightly stronger than Gu Hen Xiao. How could he be willing?
"If I let the general choose, which side will you choose?" Gu Hen Xiao asked.
Li Mu was not embarrassed and directly said, "I will choose the Great Xia Dynasty."
"Oh?"
This made Gu Hen Xiao quite surprised. Because Gu Hen Xiao knew that Li Mu also had a knot in his heart. This knot in his heart was not because of the Battle of Guilin, but because the culprit who destroyed Zhao, Bai Qi, was in the Great Xia.
"Has the general let go of the knot in your heart?" Gu Hen Xiao asked.
Li Mu nodded and then shook his head, which made Gu Hen Xiao confused. He explained, "I have also thought it through. In the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi fought righteously. As a general, I shouldn't be so narrow-minded towards Bai Qi. It's just that in the end, I still can't accept Bai Qi. I can't wait to fight again. "
During the Battle of Changping, Li Mu had not completely risen in the Kingdom of Zhao yet. It was a pity that he didn't have the chance to participate in the battle.
Gu Hen Xiao understood and asked, "Can the general tell me why you suggested me to choose the Great Xia Dynasty?"
"In the world today, the Great Xia Dynasty is the only outstanding one. It is the best in the Southwest and has the momentum to unify the world. Rosy Cloud City is located in the Southwest, but it is just a chess piece in the hands of the Yan Huang Alliance. It can be destroyed by the Great Xia Dynasty at any time. Comparing the two, naturally we should choose the strong. "Li Mu explained.
What Li Mu did not say was that perhaps only a vigorous dynasty like the Great Xia Dynasty could allow him to show his strength, gallop on the battlefield, fight in the outer regions, and leave his name in history.
Only a great ruler like Emperor Xia could accommodate the talents of the world.
They were all Divine Generals, but Bai Qi, Han Xin, Huo Qubing and the others were famous in the wilderness. Especially Bai Qi, his name as the God of Slaughter shocked the world. On the contrary, Li Mu, Wu Qi and the others were unknown.
Wu Qi still had the chance to lead the army, but Li Mu could only hole up in the corner of Changde County.
Did Gu Hen Xiao know about Li Mu's depression?
Gu Hen Xiao's eyes flashed with a hint of interest, but he did not agree immediately. Instead, he said, "Other than Rosy Cloud City and the Great Xia Dynasty, we can also rely on Danyang City. Why didn't the general mention it?"
Li Mu replied, "My lord said that the Yan Huang Alliance is a place where the nobles gather. It is not suitable for commoners to rely on. Moreover, the Yan Huang Alliance has internal strife, so it is not a good leader. To say something disgraceful, if I rely on Danyang City, I may be able to be put in an important position, but my lord will be neglected. This is not what I want. "
When Gu Hen Xiao heard this, he could not help but shiver in his heart. He thought about what happened to the Dragon Seeking Acupuncture Point and the others. What Li Mu said was not a lie, but something that could really happen.
The current predicament was only for him, Gu Hen Xiao. Divine Generals like Li Mu were highly sought after wherever they went. When he thought about this, Gu Hen Xiao was touched. He was touched by Li Mu's loyalty.
Li Mu continued, "The Great Xia Dynasty is different. According to my lord, Emperor Xia rose from a humble background, so it is time for him to use people. Moreover, Emperor Xia is very trustworthy, so he will definitely put my lord in an important position. If I am not wrong, the purpose of Lord Ximen's discussion is to recruit my lord for the Great Xia Dynasty. "
"The rise of a new dynasty will definitely nurture a large number of new aristocrats. It is the best time for ambitious people to make contributions. It is also because of this that the descendants of aristocratic families like Lord Ximen are willing to rely on the Great Xia Dynasty and not the Yan Huang Alliance. My lord, please consider the reason carefully. "
Li Mu was indeed a Divine General. He analyzed this matter very thoroughly.
When Ouyang Shuo expressed the ambition of the Great Xia Dynasty to be inclusive, regardless of whether it was a civilian player or a descendant of a small or medium-sized aristocratic family, they all saw the opportunity and willingly pledged their allegiance to the Great Xia Dynasty.
Even for the descendants of aristocratic families, with the current foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty, Ouyang Shuo had the confidence to accept them and integrate them into the system of the Great Xia Dynasty.
At the same time, in order to keep the aristocratic families in check, Ouyang Shuo was also nurturing new aristocratic families. Other than using historical figures as the backbone of the dynasty, he was also not stingy in nurturing people like Mu Lanyue, Bai Hua, Black Snake, Meng Zhida, and Gong Jian.
This even included those generals who were incorporated into the other lords of the Great Xia Dynasty. These people, along with the families behind them, would become the new aristocrats of the dynasty.
To be able to see this clearly, Li Mu was really not simple.
When Gu Hen Xiao heard this, he felt his blood boiling. He was finally convinced by Li Mu and said, "Alright. Since that is the case, general, accompany me to meet Lord Ximen. "
"Yes!"
Li Mu cupped his fist and felt slightly relieved.
…
At about three o 'clock in the afternoon, Lord Ximen finally waited for Gu Hen Xiao and his entourage. He smiled and greeted, "Brother Gu, how have you been!"
Gu Hen Xiao cupped his fist and said, "Brother Ximen, how have you been? It is easy for people to misunderstand you by mobilizing so many people."
"I was too reckless," Lord Ximen smiled and admitted his mistake. Lord Ximen smiled and admitted his mistake. "I didn't come here with the intention of starting a war. Instead, I came to deliver a great fortune to Brother Gu."
Gu Hen Xiao had already guessed Lord Ximen's intention, but on the surface, he pretended to know nothing. He smiled and said, "Brother Ximen, don't make fun of me. I am having a hard time now. There are wolves in front of me and tigers behind me. There is no fortune."
When Lord Ximen heard this, his heart was filled with joy.
Gu Hen Xiao compared Rosy Cloud City and Dan Yang City as tigers and wolves. His attitude was very clear.
At this point, Lord Ximen did not beat around the bush. He took out a secret letter and passed it to Gu Hen Xiao. He said, "This is a letter that Emperor Xia entrusted me to give to Brother Gu. I hope that Brother Gu can consider the things mentioned in the letter."
Gu Hen Xiao's eyes froze. He knew that the real show was coming. He reached out his hand and took the secret letter.
Since the words had been said, Gu Hen Xiao had nothing to hide. He opened the letter on the spot. The more he read, the more complicated his expression became. There was excitement, regret, and an inexplicable melancholy.
After reading, Gu Hen Xiao did not immediately reply to Lord Ximen. Instead, he turned around and passed the secret letter to Li Mu, who was behind him, and said, "General, take a look!"
"Yes!"
Li Mu took it respectfully.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
