The flags were blowing in the wind and the snow was fluttering. King Qinghe was on the carriage, holding the letter and carefully considering all aspects.
This is an autographed letter from King Cheng. It was sent by someone, but I don’t know whether it is true or not. The handwriting is indeed King Cheng’s. King Qinghe can be sure of this, because he has corresponded with King Cheng many times, and his brother’s handwriting is his. Recognize.
But the content of the letter had to make him suspect that it was a forgery. It asked him to unite with Zhuang Xun of Xia Kingdom to fight against Li Pingyuan, and even asked him to let Li Zhuang Xun when necessary. This was something he could not understand.
This made King Qinghe, who had received Zhuang Xun's early warning, be wary. He received Zhuang Xun's reminder that Zhao was preparing to attack him, and then King Cheng asked him to join forces with Zhuang Xun to share the profits.
Could this be a trap set up by Zhuang Xun? After all, Li Pingyuan has the ability to change dynasties, and Zhuang Xun is more determined to unify Jizhou.
Li Pingyuan is an enemy, but Zhuang Xun is not an enemy?
Zhuang Xun's hostility should be even greater. The Seven Northwest Paths of You Kingdom at that time were effectively ceded from his hands. He and Zhuang Xun had a certain grudge, and Zhuang Xun knew it very well.
Li Pingyuan was like a fierce tiger to him, and Zhuang Xun was like a hungry wolf to him. Both sides wanted to eat him up, so he was slow to suspect.
But the words in the letter were quite true. He couldn't defeat Li Pingyuan, so he had to give himself a backup, which used to be Zhao Guo.
Now, Zhao Guo has a tendency to betray him, which is the information given by Zhuang Xun, but he himself has vaguely noticed some changes in the direction of the wind, so he is now undecided.
The name has been announced, and the Qingjun family has repeatedly pledged its support, but Qinghe King still has no confidence.
Even if there is not much difference between him and Li Pingyuan in terms of paper strength, if Li Pingyuan gets the support of Zhao Guo, the situation will be completely different.
In terms of intelligence, he was at a disadvantage. He relied more on Zhao's intelligence network, not to mention the preparation of materials and weapons.
Therefore, he must understand Zhao Guo's intentions today. He cannot listen to Zhuang Xun's words, let alone be unprepared for Zhao Guo.
The maid on the side did not dare to disturb him, she lowered her eyebrows and waited for King Qinghe to think. From King Qinghe's solemn expression, she could see that the situation was not good.
Directly declaring war on the court in winter, there is no buffering event and no preemptive strike. This is actually a disadvantage for King Qinghe.
Giving Li Pingyuan the opportunity to prepare for a formal encounter would actually be a disadvantage for King Qinghe who did not have a national-level military commander.
But he had a reason to do it, not only to prevent himself from being slowly wasted to death by Ri Gong Yizi, but also to do a verification for today.
"Almost there?"
King Qinghe asked with a heavy heart, a smile on his face, trying to look cheerful and without any pressure.
"We're almost there. We'll reach Jingyun City in half a stick of incense."
The maid went out of the carriage to ask, and when she came back she told King Qinghe, who nodded in understanding.
"Tell everyone to follow the plan."
King Qinghe issued an order, and the decision he made could no longer be changed, hoping it would not be what he thought.
Waiting for the carriage and horses to enter the city, as the carriage and horses stopped at a mansion, he got out of the car and walked straight into the mansion.
"Your Highness Jin An, I'm sorry to welcome you from afar." A fat man came out to greet him.
"No more gossip. Bai Guanshi. Why has the weapon he promised to provide last time been delayed in delivery?"
King Qinghe looked angry. The most important item of assistance from Zhao was weapons and armors of special craftsmanship. These were all obtained by giving up the seven northwest counties of You.
"Your Highness, the State of Zhao is now facing the two countries Zheng and Jing. We really can't draw out our armor and weapons, so we can't send them over."
Manager Bai was embarrassed and looked very embarrassed.
"We don't have any weapons and equipment. How do you want me to deal with Li Pingyuan? War has been declared. We just wait for Chunri to send troops."
King Qinghe snorted coldly, speaking of the upcoming war and increasing his oppressive tone.
"There is absolutely no need to declare war. Why does Your Highness think of declaring war now? It is too impulsive. We can delay it for a while. We are also stretched now and have no choice."
Manager Bai had some impulse to complain about King Qinghe, why he suddenly declared war and caught them off guard.
"Because someone told Gu that someone wanted to harm Gu, and if he didn't fight hard, the advantage would be eaten away by Li Pingyuan. Now that he is guarding the food and grass in Kaxi, he must act now. What can your Zhao country do? Can’t give support.”
King Qinghe had something to say, but he didn't say it clearly. He showed an annoyed look, and his eyes were full of questions.
"Of course, you can, but the time you chose was wrong. The goods were all arriving at the border, but King Jing passed away. Who knows?"
Steward Bai was wiping his sweat. In winter, he was getting nervous and feverish. King Qinghe said that someone was harming him. Why didn't he just say that Steward Bai was responsible for him?
But as long as King Qinghe didn't point it out clearly, he could continue to delay and pretend to be crazy. After all, he didn't come up to arrest him.
"I don't want to know this. If you can't get anything out, I'm going to find Xia Guo. Xia Guo seems to be hostile to Li Pingyuan."
King Qinghe threatened while observing Manager Bai's reaction and calculating the time in his mind.
"You can't go to the Xia Kingdom. The Xia King is capricious and has never fulfilled the responsibilities and obligations of an ally to his allies. On the surface, it is a falling out, but the bones are broken and the tendons are connected. Li Pingyuan is the father-in-law of the Xia King after all. Your Highness, you are an outsider, and cooperating with Zhuang Xun is like seeking skin from a tiger."
Guan Bai was in a hurry. Zhuang Xun's development of the Xia Kingdom was not good for the Zhao Kingdom. Now the Zhao Kingdom was at a critical moment. If Zhuang Xun gained the trust of King Qinghe, he would most likely invade Dongchui of the Zhao Kingdom.
"You refuse to give me equipment, and you don't allow me to form an alliance with Xia. Are you going to watch me be wiped out by Li Pingyuan?"
King Qinghe asked, guessing that the time was about to begin, and the troops he had brought were about to start taking action. Most of them were already firmly seated, and now it was time to finish the work and lure the snake out of its hole.
"Of course not. Your Highness, please take a seat first, and we will discuss it slowly. As long as we hold on, the Zhao Kingdom's magic soldiers will descend from the sky. Then, not only will you be the king of Chengguo, but your Highness will be the king of Jizhou."
Manager Bai laughed along with you and returned to his soft cotton look. No matter how angry King Qinghe was, he always looked like he was justified in not messing with you.
The words were also the reason why Zhao State coaxed King Donghua. Two of the kings of Jizhou were promised. I wonder if Zhao State will make both of them kings if they really unify Jizhou.
"If we can't defend Gu, we will have to wait for death. Can you give me an accurate guarantee that we can get armor and weapons? If we can't defend Gu, we will have no choice but to seek refuge with Xia Kingdom."
The king of Qinghe can eat the big cake, and the king of Jizhou is also very tempted. This is equivalent to three times the expansion of the territory. The premise is that the big cake is really eaten. If it is just a drawing of the cake, it will not solve his current difficulties.
"Your Highness, weapons and equipment matters must be discussed at home. Speaking of supporting you, do you want to know who is planning to murder you? We already have some clues. It is a family in the jurisdiction who is afraid of Li Pingyuan..."
Manager Bai couldn't answer the question and changed the subject, trying to get King Qinghe to focus on catching the traitor first.
It is true that some aristocratic families have wavered and taken a two-faced approach. It would be best to throw them out as scapegoats.
"I don't want to, because I already know the whereabouts of the mole."
King Qinghe sneered and did not look at Steward Bai. Steward Bai didn't know that a disaster was coming, so he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that King Qinghe didn't look evil at him.
"Who is so bold as to want to murder Your Highness?"
Originally, he planned to kill King Qinghe, but today King Qinghe has brought his army, so Bai Guanshi is not in a hurry to take action.
He is not in a hurry, but King Qinghe is.
King Qinghe looked at Steward Bai and smiled approvingly. Hearing the noise outside, Steward Bai turned his head slightly and wanted to know what was going on outside, but King Qinghe Shi Shiran said:
"Except for you, the Zhao State, who would think of harming an orphan, and who has the ability to harm an orphan."
As King Qinghe finished speaking, the surrounding guards rushed forward and pushed Manager Bai to the ground.
"Wait a minute, does your Highness have some misunderstanding? How could we harm you, Your Highness?"
Manager Bai immediately denied it. After all, although there was a plan, it was not implemented and there were no relevant arrangements. The current time was not suitable and he did not think King Qinghe could grasp the relevant evidence.
Even if he communicated with Li Pingyuan, he did not tell him the details. It is even more nonsense that King Qinghe knew.
"A month ago, a batch of goods arrived in Jingyun City. What's in it?"
King Qinghe's seemingly irrelevant words made Steward Bai's expression change drastically, and he no longer begged for mercy.
"how do you know?"
"It's armor and weapons. The waterline is so deep. Gu is naturally curious. Gu is going to fight, but you are still hiding it. So why are you supporting Gu? No wonder King Xia wants to escape. He has seen through your hypocrisy. "
King Qinghe asked with a smile, and Manager Bai broke into cold sweat. A great sense of crisis and fear came over him.
"It's obviously something Gu exchanged with the Land of Seven Paths. If you are stuck like this, do you think Gu is a soft persimmon?"
When King Qinghe heard that Manager Bai would not give him weapons and equipment no matter what, he understood. He guessed that with the evidence, he would go to war, and the weapons promised by the other party would not be delivered.
"Your Highness, spare your life. Your Highness, spare your life. Madam Jiang asked me to do this. I also have information about your family and Li Pingyuan. Spare your life, spare your life."
Manager Bai was frightened when he realized that he had no backbone after being exposed, so he knelt down and made King Qinghe laugh.
"Then can you take Gu Yao to get Gu Yao's armor and blade now?"
"Of course, of course..."
Jingyun City was stained with blood, and Zhao Guo's intelligence network suffered heavy losses in Cheng Guo. Due to Bai Guanshi's rebellion, no one in the family could escape death.
After receiving the news, Zhao Guowu didn't worry too much because he had to prepare to attack Jingguo and could not teach Qinghe a lesson.
Zhuang Xun received a letter asking for help. It was from King Qinghe, asking for a joint attack on the forces affiliated with Li Pingyuan. This was a sign that he could see his enemies and friends clearly.
This incident happened quietly, because killing was so normal and it was not a war, so it was treated as a small thing.
Only Li Pingyuan in Jidu summoned his sons and daughters to discuss the matter, because he was the one who was most affected by the matter.
"King Qinghe's reaction was really alert. In this way, he solved the internal threat and eliminated the insiders in the intelligence network."
Li Pingyuan sighed at first, but he didn't have much regret, because in his eyes, Zhao Guo was not a good partner for cooperation.
"It is indeed astute. King Qinghe raised the flag of rebellion. What should we do?" Li Shaoyun agreed. It was King Qinghe who was astute, not that he leaked the information.
"Fight, fight if you don't want to surrender. Dad, I am willing to be the forward." Li Chengzhi still couldn't change his impulsive temper.
"It's not easy to fight, it's not easy to fight. The latest news is that King Donghua has surrendered." Li Pingyuan thought of the latest information and the pressure came on.
"King Donghua, the one from Yu State? Why did he suddenly surrender? Isn't this causing trouble for us?"
The panoramic picture in Li Shaoyun's mind immediately outlined the spheres of influence of several parties, and he gradually frowned.
The surrender of King Donghua means that Zhuang Xun further controls the Yu Kingdom. His attacks on other places will no longer be restrained by King Donghua, and he will no longer have to attack lands such as Donghua Road.
"Then the northern side of the Yu Kingdom will not be able to defend. It is weak and not our direct army. The force will be extended to the river. We must do a good job in crossing the river to prevent the Xia Kingdom from crossing the river."
Li Shaoyun reminded that fighting on two fronts was a taboo and that strategic contraction was needed to block Zhuang Xun's crossing of the river.
"Yes, I will not give Zhuang Xun a chance. The main reason is that it is difficult for Zhuang Xun to conquer the northern side of the Yu Kingdom. The aristocratic families know his methods best and will not give in to him easily. He will continue to digest Yu. country."
Li Pingyuan also gave his analysis. He was relatively optimistic. His idea was realized by Zhuang Xun, and now he has to use opposition forces to stop Zhuang Xun. Li Pingyuan also felt quite complicated.
"Although it's not easy to fight, we must go out and fight according to Chengzhi's words, and use this time to eliminate King Qinghe." Li Pingyuan made his decision loudly.
"Is it too late?" Li Shaoyun couldn't think of any way to win. Who knows how long it will take Zhuang Xun to eliminate the family and how long it will take Chen Bing to attack.
"King Qinghe, isn't he going to send troops to conquer me? Give him a try. There's no need to think so much. If you can win, then go back and help Zhuang Xun. If you can't win, you won't deserve it. I, Li Pingyuan, am destined to do this."
The reckless man's speech was inconsistent with Li Pingyuan's usually steady and cunning temperament, and Li Chengzhi probably inherited this.
"Isn't this too risky?" Li Shaoyun was worried. This was not walking a tightrope. He expected Li Pingyuan to lose and wanted to use force to force him to surrender.
"In a world of great strife, we must fight. Look at your brother-in-law. He has been fighting since he was a common man. He is fighting to be the master of Jizhou. I am not willing to be under him, so how can I not fight? You two will protect Jidu." , Chengzhi, listen to your sister more."
Li Pingyuan explained his ambitions. There were so many plans, and the more he planned, the more constrained he was, and the more he started to fight.
"Why do you leave me at home? I also want to..." Observing Li Pingyuan's unkind eyes, Li Chengzhi swallowed his words.
"Go down and I'll have a word with your sister." Li Pingyuan drove away Li Chengzhi, who could run faster than a rabbit.
"This younger brother of yours can't hold up the wall. Even if I abdicate and get the throne, he won't be able to sit firmly." Li Pingyuan sighed and said that Li Chengzhi's mind was not on human relations and political struggles.
"My daughter will help him well." He smiled and responded hypocritically.
"That's not what I meant. What I meant was that if daddy and I are lucky enough to unify Kyushu and ascend to immortality, I hope you can take over my position. You have worked hard and you deserve it. You can't let Chengzhi just take advantage of you. "
A confident person speaks, even if things are illusory, it seems like it is about to happen. Li Pingyuan will tell Li Shaoyun his carefully considered decision.
Li Shaoyun's pupils shrank and vibrated violently.
There was only one sentence in my mind: "It's too late."
(End of chapter)
