Of the ten days for the alliance meeting, Xu Mu only took eight days to reach the Kezhou River bank. Behind, Ma Yi's navy of ten thousand men followed closely, carefully guarding the safety of the main ship.
"Let General Yuncheng set up camp on the river bank first." Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
This time, the seven seats were meeting in Kezhou, and they might meet a lot of strange people. Of course, it is not to mention that the Demon Queen will send out killers and dead soldiers.
"My lord, the head of the Huang family has come to greet the ship in person." General Pi walked back, cupped his hands and spoke.
"Very good."
Xu Mu raised his head and saw from a distance that Old Huang and only two or three people were waiting anxiously on the shore. He probably saw the building boat and waved in panic.
…
"I've met the King of Shu." Seeing Xu Mu again, Huang Daochong had a rare smile on his face. Although the separation didn't last long, for some reason, he was more willing to deal with Xu Mu than other power leaders.
"Master Huang, you are polite."
"When the King of Shu enters Kezhou, it would be a great joy for someone to come and greet the ship."
Look, this is the normal mentality to win over people. What's the matter of bringing rice into Shu, and even talking about governing the country with benevolence and love? Even Si Hu can't deceive him.
After Huang Daochong finished his greetings, he quickly dispersed the two or three people who followed him. He knew that Xu Mu should have something to ask. The recent incident between the Dongling Alliance and Zuo Shiren made him dizzy.
At that time, he was trying to get him to join the alliance. After all, he was given a large sum of money as payment for the alliance, and the matter was delayed.
"Master Huang, when Zuo Shiren came to Muyun State before, I told him that the Kezhou area does not need to join the alliance, it only needs to provide geographical advantages."
After joining the alliance, this nature is different, and it runs counter to the long-cherished wish of Lao Huang Baoquan's family. Xu Mu helped a little with a little effort.
"Oh, thank you King Shu." Huang Daochong was indeed overjoyed.
"I don't dare to take credit, but I just said it to reassure the Huang family." Xu Mu smiled.
"You're welcome, King Shu. When I came to Jiang'an earlier, guess what? I happened to find two five or six hundred-year-old wild ginseng trees on the way. I'll send them to King Shu later."
"Why is this so embarrassing? People who don't know better would think that this king is asking for a favor."
"No matter what they say, the relationship between my Huang family and Xi Shu is already as good as gold and is not afraid of fire."
"Then it would be disrespectful for me to refuse again."
God knows how many rare treasures Huang Daochong hid in order to win over others. The others are easy to say, but for something as life-threatening as old wild ginseng, the more the better.
"I know the King of Shu has something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it." After a while of fussing, Huang Daochong's expression gradually became serious.
"Master Huang, this is the first time for me, Xu Mu, to join this kind of alliance, and I feel a little nervous. Could you please tell me, Master Huang, the intelligence on these people?"
"Tell me everything you know."
Lao Huang is good at gathering intelligence and collecting Laoshan Ginseng.
Xu Mu asked someone to lay out a mat, and he and Huang Daochong sat on the ground.
"King Shu, I won't talk about Zuo Shiren. I guess you know more than me. In that case, I will start with the Tang family in Qingzhou."
"please."
Huang Daochong coughed twice and spoke seriously, "The head of the Tang family in Qingzhou, Tang Yiyuan, is over sixty years old. I have dealt with the Tang family in the past. In my impression, the head of the Tang family, Tang Yiyuan, has no great ambitions. , prefers drunken poetry and ink painting. I don’t know... why this time, he is so brave, actually using the Tang family’s two hundred years of heritage to claim the title of King Jianbing.”
"I'm still checking the details, but King Shu needs to be careful about one person."
"Tang Wuyuan?"
Huang Daochong was startled, "The King of Shu is right, it is this person."
Xu Mu frowned. Dongfang Jing's previous analysis also said that Tang Wuyuan was not simple.
"Tang Wuyuan was a versatile man in both civil and military affairs. Although he was a scribe, he left Qingzhou just after his age. He traveled all over the world to visit the masters of military art and wrote military books. At first, the young marquis wanted him to join the court, but Tang Wuyuan was I declined."
"Back then, the false emperor Yuan Song led the remaining troops to attack Qingzhou again. If Tang Wuyuan was really capable, how could he be defeated?"
"The person who commanded the Qingzhou Army was not Tang Wuyuan. I checked and found that he was not in Qingzhou at that time and had just rushed back some time ago. I estimate that the King of Shu should be able to see him during this alliance meeting."
"how old."
"Just over thirty, he is the youngest of the Tang family. In front of him, in addition to the head of the family, there are Tang Yuan and Tang Sanyuan. Tang Siyuan died of a serious illness a few years ago."
"What a casual name."
"The great roads are simplified. King Shu, the Tang family is not simple. There are thirty states in the world, Cangzhou is a great state of martial arts, and Qingzhou is a great state of scholars."
"I know this. Master Huang, tell me something else."
Immediately afterwards, Huang Daochong talked about Mi Taoist disciples, which was not much different from what Xu Mu knew. According to Xu Mu's expectation, it is very possible that such disunity in troubled times is covered with a layer of benevolence, just waiting for the time to turn against the world.
"There is nothing to say about the Shang Duo Guard Army. It is also done by a few Dongling families, and the business is not as good as mine in Kezhou. Previously, they wanted to reach out to get my business in Kezhou. King Shu didn't know, I got angry at that time, so I sent troops directly and smashed his eighteen porcelain carriages... Finally, Zuo Shiren came forward and I paid a sum of money."
"Without business, there is no money. Without money, many aristocratic families in Kezhou cannot survive."
"Understood." Xu Mu nodded.
"There are others, the Nine Tribes of Dongyue, those Shanyue tribes, who originally served Zuo Shiren. Like the Shang Duo Guards, they also came out alone and joined forces. The Shanyue people fought fiercely, especially in the mountains and forests. , Compared with the plain barbarian camp of the King of Shu, they are not willing to give in too much."
"The last one is the Salt Island Army."
"Are they also Zuo Shiren's men?" Xu Mu felt a little guilty in his heart. All this going around was done by Lao Zuo himself.
"This shouldn't be counted." Huang Daochong thought for a while and said, "Salt Island was originally a few islands outside Lingzhou. A few years ago, it was used to dry tribute salt for the Ji family. But as Emperor Ji moved three times, The royal family's dignity was lost, Zuo Shiren sent troops to Yandao, and after a battle, Yandao had no choice but to vassalize himself under Dongling."
"It's all like this. Yandao is still not counted as Dongling people?"
"It doesn't count. Pei Shang, the island owner of Yandao, has always been dissatisfied with Dongling. Of course, I found out these secretly. On the surface, Yandao still doesn't dare to make mistakes. That's why this time, he joined Dongling. Lingmeng."
"Master Huang, thank you for telling me."
"I told you earlier, I know everything about the King of Shu." Huang Daochong smiled, "This time in Kezhou, please rest assured, King of Shu, Huang Daochong will do his best to ensure the safety of the King of Shu."
Although there was Dongfang Jing's secret move step by step, Xu Mu was still somewhat moved when he heard what Lao Huang said.
Benefits are benefits, but Lao Huang has done a very good job.
"By the way, Master Huang, how many troops are there in the entire Dongling Alliance?"
"Except for the King of Shu's troops, there are only more than 80,000 people. Zuo Shiren's side alone has an army of 40,000, the Qingzhou Army has 20,000, and the remaining five small forces total more than 20,000."
Just listening to this, Xu Mu's expression turned a little helpless for a moment.
What a small alliance...
