As for the Second Marquis of Wu'an, given the opponent's series of records, everyone still believes in Lu Yuan's strength.
Especially when Lu Yuan was in Dongting County, he had attacked hundreds of miles and defeated 100,000 Miao people in the three southern prefectures in one fell swoop. Now there is another glorious victory with troops attacking for hundreds of miles, surrounding Xiangyang City, and killing two Xiantian in a row.
With these precedents, everyone is optimistic about whether Lu Yuan can complete this plan and successfully capture Xichuan County.
However, despite this, this is a journey of thousands of miles. It has to pass through the three counties of Xiangyang, Hanzhong and Xichuan, and it will take more than a month. During this period, there are too many accidents and possibilities, and the danger cannot be ignored.
Therefore, although everyone agreed that this trip must be made by the King of Changsha.
But whether the king is willing to do this or not, everyone is unsure.
Facing everyone's gaze, Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, and then said: "This strategy is indeed very good, but from Xiang to Hanzhong, and then from Hanzhong to Wushan, passing through mountains and ridges, crossing water and building bridges, the journey is probably nearly two thousand miles.
Running such a long distance is dangerous.
If I implement this strategy, if I am not careful, the army will be destroyed or even die on the battlefield.
The risks and costs are too great. "
Lu Yuan looked at everyone's eyes, looked calm, and truthfully stated the difficulties.
Hear the strings and know the elegant meaning.
After hearing what he said, Bai Mengyang, who had the previous experience, immediately knew what he meant.
So he nodded slightly, and then said with a solemn expression: "King Changsha's trip is indeed dangerous and difficult. This Northern Expedition is a matter for our four countries. It is a bit unreasonable to let King Changsha take the risk alone.
However, looking at the coalition forces, the person who can carry out this task is none other than the King of Changsha.
This action is crucial to the outcome of the Northern Expedition and must be done.
This is good. The King of Changsha can make some demands. As long as they are not too difficult to handle, we, the four countries, will do our best to meet them.
With these conditions, is it feasible for the King of Changsha to send troops? "
When Yan Wangqiu heard this, he immediately nodded and said: "Indeed, if the King of Changsha has any needs, he can put them forward. As long as we can do it, we will never shirk it."
Su Xuange also said: "The same is true for me."
As soon as the three people spoke, they basically represented the attitudes of the three countries of Vietnam, Ninghai, and Nanhai.
If a request is made at this time, as long as the three of them discuss it, it will be settled.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan was finally satisfied, so he said: "It is not impossible for me to lead the troops to attack. But one thing is that after this attack, if Xichuan County can be recovered, then I will have Yuzhong, Linjiang, and Wushan. Mansion.
If you cede these three mansions to me, then I will go for this attack. "
He looked at Bai Mengyang and stated his conditions.
The reason why we want Yuzhong, Linjiang, and Wushan is mainly because of the location of these three mansions, which are too critical and important.
Xichuan County is located to the west of Dongting County. If the imperial court, or the holy monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan who are interested in the imperial court, take control of it, then there will be a threat from the two innate masters on the west side of Changsha Kingdom.
If these two men raise their troops to the west, and the imperial court attacks from the north and east from the Xiangyang County and Yuzhang County areas it currently controls, Lu Yuan will be in the dilemma of being attacked from both sides in an instant.
Therefore, for him, if he can capture the three eastern prefectures of Xichuan County, he can build a defense line here and establish a western barrier to isolate the threat from Xichuan County.
In particular, Xichuan County is a basin with mountains on all sides and rugged roads. There are many dangerous passes that only one man can pass and that no one can pass.
This is especially true in the north and east.
Regarding the three prefectures of Yuzhong, Linjiang, and Wushan that Lu Yuan asked for, Linjiang Prefecture and Wushan Prefecture had two major passes, Yufu and Wushan. And Yuzhong Mansion is a mountain city, surrounded by a river at the foot of the mountain, with the mountain as a wall and the river as a pool. It is a majestic town in itself.
If he can occupy these three mansions, then he only needs to station 30,000 soldiers and horses in Yuzhong Palace, and then order an innate master to guard it. Then even if the two countries of Xichuan and Sichuan come to attack, the other side will not be able to capture Yuzhong Palace.
In this way, the threat in the western part of Changsha Kingdom will naturally be lifted.
Lu Yuan could then concentrate on dealing with the threat of Yue.
This plan is very good, at least for the country of Changsha. But on the other hand, it was not so good for the Yue court who wanted to pacify the Three Kingdoms and restore prosperity again.
Therefore, Lu Yuan didn't know much about whether Bai Mengyang could agree to this condition.
He just said it to test a few things.
If the other party can agree, everyone will naturally be happy, and he will get a free advantage. If the other party doesn't agree, it doesn't matter. Anyway, Lu Yuan will definitely not go on this thousand-mile raid.
In summary, there is nothing to lose.
After hearing his conditions, Bai Mengyang's expression turned gloomy, his eyes became solemn for a moment, and his voice became slightly colder: "Could the King of Changsha be joking? The court in Xichuan County has already given it to the holy monk Ji Hui and the head of the Qiao family.
The king is going to these three palaces, so how should we appease these two people?
They also contributed to the court this time and made a lot of contributions. You can't just take away the land that was originally promised to the other party with just a word from the king, right? "
Not to mention the Xichuan County, it is related to the imperial court's strategy of pacifying the Changsha Kingdom in the future.
Just say that the three mansions were cut off today, and the imperial court has no way to explain Baifeng Temple and Guanhai Villa.
Although these two forces have always been on good terms with the imperial court, and are weaker than other Jianghu sects.
It really made people anxious. If these two parties stabbed each other in the back, it would be an unimaginable disaster for the court.
There is no need to backstab, as long as Holy Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kang withdraw. Without the two innate masters on this frontline battlefield, this Northern Expedition will not be fought.
Even if Lu Yuan succeeded in his surprise attack and took back Xichuan County, what would this mean to the court?
Therefore, the three eastern prefectures of Xichuan County were the bottom line for the imperial court and could never be ceded.
However, regarding Bai Mengyang's words, Lu Yuan said: "Of course I know the merits of the holy monk Ji Hui and the head of the Qiao family, so this request for Dongsanfu is not just a big deal, but a compensation."
Having said this, Lu Yuan walked to the map of the two countries in front of him, then pointed to the southern area of Hanzhong County and said: "Wu'an Marquis, please see, these are the three prefectures of Xixiang, Nanjiang and Baishi of Hanzhong County. This time I will attack thousands of miles away, and I will Passing through these three places.
If you stop by this time, you can capture it.
And according to what I said before, all the territories I conquered along the way during this attack belong to me, and this time should be no exception, right?
If this is the case, I will exchange the South Three Prefectures of Hanzhong County for the East Three Prefectures of Xichuan County.
The three prefectures in the south of Hanzhong County were not affected by the war and had a very rich household registration, with nearly one million households.
On the contrary, the three eastern prefectures of Xichuan County have been in turmoil for years, and all countries have deployed their troops here. Nowadays, there are probably no more than 200,000 left in the three houses, right?
I exchanged a prosperous land for a desolate land. This kind of transaction, this kind of transaction, can't be said to have caused Sage Jihui and the Qiao Family Master to suffer, right? "
The original Xichuan County was naturally rich, even richer than Dongting County before the war. At its peak, there were 800,000 households and more than 4 million people, and it was known as the Land of Abundance.
But since the 28th year of Longqing, Li Xiong of Xichuan County led the Qiang people to raise troops, and then Xichuan County began to be in chaos.
During this period, the imperial court and Li Xiong went back and forth, and both sides continued to levy money, grain, and taxes, and even forced the people to work. This made the place almost without peace, the people found it difficult to produce, and starvation was everywhere.
Finally, Li Xiong took control of most of Xichuan County and established the Western Shu Kingdom.
In order to break through Xiantian, he began to encircle and suppress local Jianghu sects, which once again set off a wave of chaos.
Then Wu'an Hou led his army westward, entered Xichuan, and fought with Li Xiong. The elites in the rear of Xichuan County raised more than 100,000 troops to respond.
Both sides attacked and killed each other, and the people of Xichuan, who had only been at peace for less than a year, experienced another disaster.
Later, the Zhou people came to kill them, and the two countries fought. This was another disaster.
The year before last, there was an earthquake in Xichuan County, and local people suffered heavy losses. At this time, they had to pay taxes, obey corvees, deliver military supplies to the Zhou and Shu coalition forces on the front line, and even go to the battlefield.
These oppressions forced the local people to revolt, setting off a rebellion.
This forced the Zhou and Shu coalition forces to give up the siege of Yuzhong Mansion and return to the rear to suppress the rebellion. This was another massacre.
Later, after a battle, Bai Mengyang withdrew from Xichuan, and Xichuan County finally had peace for the rest of the year.
But even so, the 300,000 Zhou Shu coalition troops stationed in Tianmen Mansion still need a large amount of money and food from Xichuan County, which is another great oppression.
So counting from the above, you can calculate how many disasters Xichuan County has experienced. Including the Qiang and Jianghu people, there have been four major uprisings. Among them, there were three wars between Zhou and Shu and Zhou and Shu and Yue.
During this period, all kinds of massacres and heavy military service and taxes had already tortured this originally prosperous Xichuan Tianfu into devastation and desolation.
At this moment, if we look at the ten prefectures in Xichuan, there must be more than a million people.
And if these million people give one more point to the two powers, they will only have five to six million or six to seven million each.
The people under their rule are less than a million. What do Jihui Saint Monk and Qiao Kangquan mean by being kings?
Therefore, if Lu Yuan proposes to exchange the South Three Prefectures of Hanzhong County for the East Three Prefectures of Xichuan County, then the possibility of the two forces agreeing is really high.
After all, the imperial court wants Xichuan County to threaten the east side of Lu Yuan. If it does not harm their own interests, then maybe Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan are willing to help.
But if it comes to self-interest...
What?
For the sake of the imperial court's grand plan, I would rather give up a million people and take this dilapidated and desolate poor place, and then contribute people to the imperial court and take risks to conquer Changsha.
Sorry, I'm in trouble too and can't help.
As for what to do if you take over the three southern prefectures of Hanzhong County and arouse the hostility and hatred of Zhou State?
joke.
If I don’t take the three southern prefectures of Hanzhong County, won’t Zhou Kingdom be hostile and hate me?
The imperial court placed these two families in Xichuan County for the purpose of allowing them to withstand the firepower of the Zhou Dynasty and relieve the imperial court of some pressure in the west.
If we can capture the three southern mansions of Hanzhong County at this time, we will not only increase our own strength, but also weaken the enemy. For Holy Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan, this is a good thing.
Therefore, Lu Yuan's suggestion was really not to bully these two people.
Because the whole deal is a good thing for him and can stabilize the western frontier. For Holy Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan, they could only gain a large number of people without losing any territory.
The only one who suffered a loss here was the imperial court.
And the imperial court?
As mentioned above, if the core interests are not touched, then of course they are willing to cooperate.
But if it harms one's own interests, then whether this sign is useful or not is a matter of opinion.
Even worse to say.
For Holy Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan, is it really a good thing for them that they helped the imperial court conquer Changsha?
Without Lu Yuan standing in the way, the imperial court took back Dongting County.
So the next step is to prepare to march into Xichuan, destroy both their families, and restore the original territory.
This is very possible.
Therefore, for them, the existence of Lu Yuan is actually a good thing.
Therefore, it is very beneficial to sell him face and let him stand in front of them to help them withstand the threat of the court.
Just like the national affairs of the South China Sea and Ninghai, the principles are interoperable.
At this moment, Lu Yuan seemed to be improving his western defense line, but in fact, he was taking precautions and trying to split the relationship between the court and the two families of Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan.
He knew this very well, and after being stunned for a moment, Yan Wangqiu and Su Xuange quickly came to their senses and understood the intention.
The two of them are naturally happy to expand the anti-imperial alliance and increase the strength of their own camp.
So at this time, he turned his curious eyes to Bai Mengyang, wanting to see how Wu Anhou would respond.
In fact, Bai Mengyang was caught off guard at this time.
He didn't expect that Lu Yuan would come up with this method and come up with such a plan.
Using the prosperous Nansan Prefecture of Hanzhong County in exchange for the Dongsan Prefecture of Xichuan County, which has become a wasteland, I have to say that this is really a clever move and a conspiracy.
If Holy Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan agreed, the imperial court originally expected them to attack Changsha from the west.
With Dongsanfu as a barrier, it naturally became a failure.
The two countries could also use this as an excuse to refuse the imperial court's request to attack Changsha.
As for this proposal, will Holy Monk Jihui and Qiao Kangquan reject it?
Bai Mengyang put himself in the other person's shoes and thought about it for a while, and finally couldn't help but lament.
Because he really couldn't think of any reason for the two parties to refuse?
On the contrary, if it is the imperial court, if the two parties are forced to do so, they will not agree. So these two people may want to ask the court for something at this time, so they may not say anything.
But privately and in my heart, I am afraid that gaps will arise secretly and complaints will arise.
In this way, under such a situation of enmity, after the two people established the country, the court still wanted them to attack Changsha. Is it possible that they were crazy?
I'm afraid these two people not only won't listen to the imperial court, but may also help Lu Yuan resist the imperial army in order to avenge the past!
Therefore, Lu Yuan's proposal was simply a naked conspiracy.
No matter what choice the court makes, he can achieve his goal.
Therefore, Bai Mengyang thought about it over and over again, but in the end he couldn't come up with a result. In the end, he could only say: "This proposal is indeed not a disservice to Holy Monk Ji Hui and Family Master Qiao, but we have to ask them whether they agree.
I need to send a letter first to ask these two for their opinions. We will then give a reply to the King of Changsha based on their wishes. "
At this moment, Bai Mengyang had no other choice but to delay.
However, this method can only delay for a few days at most.
From the camp, go to Wushan Mansion. If you hurry up, you can go back and forth in five or six days.
Ask someone, it's very fast.
So after hearing this, Lu Yuan smiled and said: "Let's do it over there. Marquis Wu'an can send someone to ask. When the answer and results are available, I will decide whether to go on a thousand-mile raid."
Although the matter of running thousands of miles is related to the outcome of the Northern Expedition.
But this matter is not urgent at all.
Xiangyang City cannot be captured for a while. After the opponent's reinforcements arrive, with their strength, they can only confront this side at best.
It's not that easy to defeat the coalition forces here.
So even if it takes some time, it will mean nothing to the coalition forces.
On the contrary, it was able to drive a wedge between the imperial court and Holy Monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan, which made Lu Yuan even happier. He was willing to wait for such a short time.
Bai Mengyang forced a smile and said, "That's it."
After saying that, the Marquis of Wu'an had no intention of continuing to hold a banquet. He said a few words and left in a hurry.
Lu Yuan suddenly made a conspiracy, disrupting the court's original plan.
At this moment, Bai Mengyang had to send the news back to the rear, and at the same time, he was discussing with others how to deal with Lu Yuan's move.
Otherwise, what if he loses two allies and Lu Yuan's camp gains two more grandmasters.
That's based on the strength of the opponent's six masters.
Even if the imperial court won the Northern Expedition and even captured most of Xiangyang County, it would still be a failure and not a victory.
'This means that even if Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan cannot be left behind, they can still be used by the court. But at least they cannot be allowed to help Lu Yuan and become the opponent's wings. '
On the way back, Bai Mengyang was worried and lamented.
Just because of the other party's suggestion, the situation between each other was so reversed, but it happened that I couldn't stop it.
This is really bad news for the court.
…
After the banquet dispersed, Lu Yuan continued to chat with Yan Wangqiu and Su Xuange, consolidating their friendship with each other and confirming each other's unanimous stance when facing the court, and then returned to his military camp.
Then he pondered for a long time in his big tent, and finally picked up his pen and wrote three letters.
Two of them were naturally written to the holy monk Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan.
Although Bai Mengyang said that he would send a message to the other party and ask what the two people meant. But Lu Yuan didn't believe that the letter written by Bai Mengyang would clearly express his wishes.
Therefore, it is necessary to write a letter by yourself and formally express your exchange ideas to the two people.
It took him a while to finish writing the letter, and then he sent his personal soldiers to hurry up and send it to Wushan Mansion.
Then he wrote another letter, but this one was addressed to his disciple Zhou Qing.
The content of the letter was also very simple, asking Zhou Qing to temporarily put down the military affairs of Fangling and Xicheng, hand over the affairs there to his deputy Chu Wei, and then rush to Xiangyang City quickly.
Now that Lu Yuan has made the proposal to exchange territory, it is foreseeable that Lu Yuan's territory will expand again.
At this time, faced with the extra six mansions and two defense directions, he needed to consider guarding manpower.
Among them, Lan Cai'er is watching in the Xisanfu area of Xiangyang County, so there is no need to worry for the time being.
But there is no one to guard the Dongsan Prefecture of Xichuan County.
For this place, Lu Yuan's favorite candidate was naturally his disciple Zhou Qing.
However, the strength of this eldest disciple is still too weak, and so far it is only first-class, to the extent that he has opened up two strange sutras.
This level of strength is not enough to defend Xichuan.
Therefore, Lu Yuan planned to train his disciple well, but the other party broke through as early as possible and was promoted to the innate grandmaster.
