The three countries of Su, Song and Xichuan each received news and expressed their willingness to join the United Vertical Alliance.
The arrival of this great news also made Lu Yuan let go of his last worry.
This time, the four countries united and dispatched a total of 270,000 troops, including four innate masters.
This kind of strength is not much weaker than the last Northern Expedition before the demise of Dai Viet.
With this strength, if they attack the southwestern barbarians, even if the other three major barbarian states join forces, they will be at best evenly matched.
There is no obvious strength gap between the two sides.
As for Chu State, after this period of preparations, armies from all parties have gathered on the border with Da Changhe State, and all materials have been collected.
All preparations are made and a war can be launched at any time.
However, Lu Yuan still did not order an immediate attack.
Because he is waiting for a reply.
As for Li Xiong, Li Shou has been back for almost a month, but no news has come back.
Lu Yuan still valued this former emperor of Western Shu, who was now the tycoon who had caused chaos in Dachang and the country.
If we can really conquer the opponent and make him use him, he will immediately have an additional innate and tens of thousands of soldiers, which will be of great help to the great cause of conquering the southwestern barbarians.
Therefore, regarding the other party's attitude and whether Li Xiong could accept his conditions, Lu Yuan still wanted to wait and see if he could get a response in the end.
Fortunately, the wait didn't last long.
Nearly a month and a half after returning, Li Shou, who had left earlier, came to Lu Yuan again with Li Xiong's attitude.
"I have met the King of Chu."
More than a month after leaving, when Li Shou met Lu Yuan again, he was very tired and desolate.
"Get flat."
In the marching tent, Lu Yuan looked at Li Shou who was saluting below, looked at him slightly, and then asked: "You are here again, but Li Shou has already answered."
Li Shou nodded heavily: "Back to the King of Chu, my brother did have an answer. My brother agreed to all the requests made by the king before. From now on, I am willing to be a vassal state of Chu and guard the Nongdong land for Chu for generations.
I just asked the king to send troops as soon as possible. The offensive of the Great Chowa Kingdom is becoming increasingly fierce, and my brother really can't hold on anymore. "
At the end of the sentence, Li Shou, who had already stood up, knelt down again, knocked his old head on the ground, and begged loudly, his attitude was extremely humble.
Don't blame him for that.
In fact, in the past two months, the situation in Wuman Kingdom has been too bad.
Since Li Shou's last mission, after digesting the results of the last great victory and integrating domestic forces, Dachangheguo launched a fierce offensive again.
With Li Chuan, the innate master of the Great Chowa Kingdom as the commander, and the great wizard of the Great Shrine as the priest, the two commanded the 200,000 tribesmen assembled in the country. They set out from Zhedong City and continued to take advantage of the victory to attack the Wuman Kingdom.
Li Xiong led his troops to stop the attack at Qujiechuan, hoping to stop the enemy west of the Sichuan River at the place where they defeated the Allied Forces of the Great Chowa Kingdom last time.
However, both sides have set up camps and have not started fighting yet.
The great witch priest of the shrine came to the battle in person, and in the name of the great god Chili, called on the people of the Chili tribe on the other side of the river to abandon the darkness and join the light, and stop being deceived by foreigners and killing each other with their own tribe.
…
Otherwise, everyone who abandons Chi Li will be cursed by the great god after death and will not be able to return to the great god.
As soon as this mental attack was launched, the effect was immediately impressive.
The many soldiers of the Wuman Kingdom on the other side of the river were not very loyal to Li Xiong, and some even resented this outsider for putting the Wuman Kingdom into this situation.
It was only because of the strength of the other party that I had to submit.
At this time, the great leader and the country were able to bring order to the chaos, with an army of 200,000 pressing down on the territory, and even the priests of the shrine personally persuading them.
The soldiers in the Wuman camp on the other side of the river were instantly shaken.
Immediately, several soldiers in the phalanx began to commotion, and some even directly announced that they were going to fight anyway and turned against their companions next to them.
Seeing the mutiny of the army, Li Xiong of course immediately sent people to suppress it.
But before he could stabilize his army's morale, Dacho Wakuni, who was crossing the opposite side, seized the opportunity and immediately sent his elite across the river to attack.
Li Chuan and the high priest of the shrine immediately took action to restrain Li Xiong so that he had no time to care.
The army has no fighting spirit, internal strife is everywhere, the enemy is attacking, and it is too busy to take care of itself.
Under this situation, the strength of the army led by Li Xiong was not as good as the opponent's, and it could not withstand anything.
After only fighting for an hour, they were completely defeated.
Seeing that nothing could be done, Li Xiong had no choice but to withdraw from the battle group and escape from the siege of two powerful enemies.
He led a group of remnants and fled back in defeat.
When Changjuncheng, who had fled to the rear, took inventory, he found that there were only 50,000 of the 90,000 soldiers and horses left.
Forty thousand people were lost in Qu Yanchuan.
However, the fighting between the two armies was not fierce at that time. It is estimated that only a few thousand of the 40,000 people died in the battle.
The rest probably either surrendered or fled.
But no matter what, there is no doubt that Li Xiong will be defeated in this battle.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that after Dachangheguo won a great victory in Qu Yanchuan, he continued to lead his troops westward. Only two days later, they attacked Changjuncheng.
At this time, Li Xiong had just gathered the remaining soldiers, but he had not yet had time to reorganize and stabilize the morale of the army?
At this time, the enemy army is coming again. How can they stop it?
After holding on to the city for more than ten days, they finally could not withstand the opponent's fierce attack. At the same time, the army in the city mutinied again, beheaded the trusted generals sent by Li Xiong, and opened the door to let people into the city.
As a result, the city was not defended for a few days, and Li Xiong had to lead the remaining soldiers to flee again.
This escape lasted more than three hundred miles, and they fled back to Shicheng, the capital of Wuman Kingdom.
After returning to the country, Li Xiong, who was slightly relieved, counted his troops again, and found that there were only more than 20,000 men left at this time.
Six months ago, he had an army of 160,000 to 70,000 soldiers.
Thinking that in just six months, he had lost consecutive battles, not only lost thousands of miles of ground, but also lost several years of victory in one fell swoop.
At this time, even the Wuman Kingdom, which was originally regarded as the treasure in the pocket, could not be saved and was about to be beaten to the capital.
Under these successive blows, Li Xiong, who was originally ambitious and thought of swallowing up the entire Dachanghe Kingdom and reestablishing the foundation of the Shu Kingdom, could not help but feel sad and suffered a great blow.
The original heroic spirit had almost disappeared due to successive failures.
So when Li Shou came back with Chu's conditions, he conveyed them to Li Xiong exactly as they were.
…
This Xishu hero could no longer maintain his pride and chose to lower his head under Lu Yuan's almost harsh conditions.
no way.
A few years ago, I went through a lot of trouble in Xichuan. In the end, after two years of failure, I was beaten and ran away in embarrassment. Not only was the country lost, but the Qiang people were also abandoned. They could only flee with a hundred of their confidants and come to this barbarian land.
After finally getting here, after establishing a foothold, he continued his efforts and worked hard, gradually infiltrating and emptying the Wuman Kingdom's court and taking control of the country's army.
Then he launched a rebellion, hoping to unify the entire Dachanghe Kingdom and create a new foundation.
As a result, it was also a miserable two years. His army of more than 100,000 people was completely defeated, and thousands of miles of territory were also lost.
At this time, with the loss of troops and territory, only more than 20,000 soldiers and horses and a stone city were left in hand. Of the hundreds of confidants who were originally brought, only about forty people were left after successive defeats.
Even with this last bit of possessions, I don’t know how long I can keep it?
Under such reality and under such a blow, how could Li Xiong still have the mind to make troubles and the confidence to negotiate.
And seriously.
He suffered too many blows, and he had some doubts in his heart. Did he really not have the ability to start a business?
Under this kind of mentality, Li Xiong didn't want to bother anymore.
Now that Da Chu is willing to accept him, he should take advantage of the fact that he still has some wealth to sell himself a future.
If you want to go to Shikoku, just go to Shikoku.
After all, it is the territory of two and a half provinces. If you pick it up, it will have a population of two to three hundred thousand people and an area of nearly a thousand miles.
After more than ten years of hard work, it is not bad to finally have this foundation.
It's better than being defeated and then turning into a lost dog again, losing everything and running away in embarrassment, right?
So in the end, Li Xiong had already accepted his fate, even though he knew that the conditions he signed were humiliating and inconsistent with his status as a master.
But in the end I chose to agree.
Then he arranged for Li Shou to continue coming to Chu State, anxious to ask for help.
"Now my brother has taken stock of the remnant soldiers, and has strengthened the country's strength. Finally, he gathered 40,000 troops and stood firm in Shicheng. However, the Chili people are coming fiercely, and the hearts of the people in the city are also unstable. Even if my brother sticks to it, he will not be able to hold on for long.
If the king does not send reinforcements, I am afraid that Shicheng will be lost in less than a month.
When the Wuman capital is lost, the entire Lingdong land will be lost.
The country of Ojowa will also regain its homeland and reintegrate the country. It will not be easy to fight again. "
With a bit of tears, Li Shou told Li Xiong's current hardship and once again expressed his request for help.
And Lu Yuan couldn't help but be shocked after hearing what he said.
Although Li Xiong probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long after knowing that the Divine Palace was involved, defeat would be a matter of time.
But he never expected it.
It had only been two or three months before Li Xiong was beaten to his old lair and was about to be destroyed.
That's hundreds of thousands of troops and thousands of miles of territory.
There are so many people, even if there are hundreds of thousands of pigs, if Dacho Wakuni wants to catch them, he can't catch them all so quickly, right?
…
Moreover, even if we travel across a territory of several thousand miles, it would take a month, right?
With so many soldiers and horses, and such a large territory, how could they be defeated so quickly?
'This Li Xiong is really a guy who can't stand up to the wall. No wonder Xichuan was lost so quickly. In the end, he didn't even dare to see my face, so he abandoned the army and ran away.
With such little ability, I really don’t know how he became an innate grandmaster. ,
Lu Yuan secretly cursed trash in his heart, but this was not the time to blame this guy.
Li Shou said it right.
If Shicheng and the Wuman Kingdom are lost, then if he wants to invade the Dachanghe Kingdom, what he will face is the Wuman Kingdom's more than 200,000 troops led by Li Chuan.
For this army that had just put down the rebellion and had extremely high morale.
Even if their quality in all aspects is very poor, many of them are even equivalent to militiamen and rural warriors, and there are only a few who are truly elite.
But in this situation, it would be extremely difficult or even impossible for Lu Yuan to defeat the opponent and enter the country of Ojowa.
So now, before Li Xiong is completely defeated, it is his last chance to lead troops into the country of Dachowa.
Only by relying on the stronghold of Shicheng can we manage the stable rear area of Wuman Kingdom.
Only then could the Chu State rely on this to gradually encroach on the Great Changhe State.
Therefore, after realizing the seriousness of the matter and facing Li Shou's plea, Lu Yuan immediately said: "I will send troops immediately to march into Da Changhe Kingdom and rescue Shicheng."
After that, he asked people to raise drums to gather generals, mobilize soldiers and horses, and start to mobilize the army.
In July of the fourth year of Shenwu, Lu Yuan led his army out of camp, led the three armies of 60,000 troops, and officially crossed the border and entered the country of Da Changhe.
On the same day, two waves of messengers went to Wuling Mansion and Lingling Mansion respectively, sending orders to Lan Zhaoyun and Li Liang to march at the same time.
Thousands of years later, after the Dongyang people touched the borders of the southwestern barbarians, these descendants of the Three Emperors finally began their war of conquest against the barbarians.
A battle that will go down in history begins.
…
Stone City.
Flags cover the sky, and dark clouds press over the city.
Countless camps stretched outside the city and into the mountains.
Since the arrival of the counter-rebellion army from the Great Chowa Kingdom, the army has expanded to more than 200,000 people, spread out on this somewhat narrow plain, and immediately crowded the place.
Compared with the army camp that stretches for more than a hundred miles, the city in front of it, which is less than ten miles in size, looks majestic enough.
But facing the densely packed army outside, he seemed as humble and fragile as a pebble in front of a torrent.
It was as if it was about to collapse at any moment under this thunderous strike.
And in fact, it is indeed the case.
The vast sound of horns sounded, and the unique war drums of the Chili tribe thundered. Tens of thousands of warriors holding swords, listening to the horns behind them, and accompanied by the rumble of drums, roared towards the city in front.
These brave Chili people want to destroy the last rebel city in front of them and take back the land belonging to the Chili people again.
At the same time, he killed the foreigners in the city and used their heads to warn the world and declare the Chili people's inviolability and bravery.
The defenders on the city wall looked at the tide of warriors below, their faces showing fear and paleness.
…
They really don't have much intention to resist these people of their own tribe and those who have the same beliefs as themselves.
However, seeing the generals walking around with a sullen expression, even drawing out their swords and looking at several people who wanted to escape, the defenders' hearts trembled.
Although these are all foreigners.
But all of them have great martial arts skills and are terrifyingly powerful. Especially the leaders of the foreign tribes are like gods, possessing the divine power bestowed by the gods from the Great Witch Festival of the Shrine.
Faced with such a force that is difficult for mortals to resist, no matter how reluctant they are, they cannot resist.
Thinking of the family members who were controlled in the city, out of fear and scruples, he finally had no choice but to grit his teeth, pick up the fallen rocks and bows and arrows in his hands, and launch an attack on the people of the same clan below the city.
But even so.
Under the powerful offensive outside the city, these counterattacks still seemed so weak and fragile.
The siege has been going on for more than half a month.
But no matter how many enemies the defenders in the city killed, or how high the piles of corpses were lying under the city, the people outside seemed to be unable to kill them all.
Compared to the Chili army, which had swelled to more than 200,000, the 30,000 to 40,000 defenders in the city were really like small pebbles under the waves. At most, they would be splashed by wind and waves, but they would eventually be submerged.
All Chili people firmly believe in this.
"These rebellions can't last long."
In the camp outside the city, on a high observation platform, Li Chuan, the high priest of the shrine, and others watched the ongoing siege in the distance, and finally couldn't help but come to this conclusion.
After fighting for more than half a month, they suffered heavy losses, including fifty or sixty thousand good men from the clan.
But the defenders in the city, even with the support of the city wall, didn't feel very comfortable.
With low morale, it was impossible to mount an effective resistance and defense. After more than ten days of fighting, more than 10,000 people also died.
Today, the number of defenders in the city is only a little over 20,000 at most, and their morale is even lower.
Especially yesterday.
While they were attacking the city, some defenders on the city wall made a commotion and wanted to resist and surrender.
Although under the suppression of the rebels in the city, it was quickly calmed down and there was not much trouble.
But the emergence of this phenomenon undoubtedly shows how unstable the military morale in the city is, and that the defenders in the city are not of the same mind as the foreigners.
It's just that now, due to the situation, I have to submit to the thieves.
But it doesn't matter. I believe that as long as there is more pressure from the outside, more Chili people will realize how sinful their behavior is, and then follow the guidance of the Chili God and make the right choice.
"Those foreigners are very powerful, especially their leaders, who are just like you and me."
After hearing Li Chuan's words, the great witch priest of the shrine also nodded. While agreeing with this point of view, he could not help but say in a cold voice: "These guys who blaspheme the great god Chi Li and want to usurp the inheritance of Chi Li's descendants are A divine enemy inspired by a great god.
This time when Stone City was conquered, those tribesmen who were bewitched and coerced were no more.
As long as they can repent and sincerely repent, their sins can be forgiven.
…
But those foreigners, those divine enemies, must not let any of them go.
Including the leader of the thieves, Li Xiong, they all must stay. I will use their blood to sacrifice to the great god to show the loyalty of our divine people. "
This time, under his own nose, he was deceived and almost usurped the power of the Chili clan.
This kind of shame and humiliation, such a serious mistake, made this great wizard feel so ashamed and angry.
Faced with this kind of shame, it can only be washed away with the blood of those divine enemies.
Therefore, for the murderous intent of foreigners like Li Xiong and others, the Great Witch Festival is definitely one of the strongest ones among the many people present.
When Li Chuan heard this, he also said with a stern expression: "Don't worry about the Great Witch Festival. I have already made arrangements and set up a dragnet outside the city. It is absolutely impossible for those foreigners to escape."
As a royal master who was almost usurped, the commander-in-chief of the army hated Li Xiong and the others no less than the Great Witch Sacrifice.
If he didn't kill all the foreigners, how could he vent his hatred.
How can we deter those ambitious people who are ready to take action?
How could the Li royal family have the majesty to rule the entire Chili clan?
Therefore, he must kill Li Xiong.
However, just as these elders were discussing with the highest level of the country, how to deal with the foreigners after the city was broken.
Suddenly, a large firework burst out in the distance.
I saw a mountain forest dozens of miles southwest, which was now wrapped in flames.
The fire was so intense that it enveloped the entire mountain in an instant.
"what happened?"
Li Chuan and Da Wuji looked at this scene, and their expressions changed instantly.
This sudden change made the two of them feel a little uneasy.
But before they could send people to investigate, they saw a horse flying from a distance, running up in a panic, and said with a look of fear on his face: "General, Great Witch Festival, there are enemies.
The southwest camp was attacked and enemies came to kill them. There are so many of them that I can’t even count them! "
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the venue instantly solidified.
