On the terrace on the bank of the Kezhou River, an old Confucian in plain robes knelt down, raised his hands to the sky, and dropped two white shells.
"lucky--"
"It is auspicious to report to the leader of the alliance. The twenty-third of the plum month is the auspicious day of the zodiac."
Downstairs, Zuo Shiren led a group of allies, looked at the hexagrams, and smiled.
"Brother Xu, it will only take a few days. Our world alliance is ready to go."
"The leader of the Left Alliance is so talented and strategic. If you come to Cangzhou Demon Queen, she will definitely be frightened when she hears the news about our alliance." Before Xu Mu could say anything, a leader of a small force beside him started to criticize her.
"Don't underestimate the enemy." Zuo Shiren frowned. This appearance shocked the little leader and he hurriedly shut up.
"Brother Xu, what do you think?"
"Since we have counted the auspicious day, let's go on the expedition." Xu Mu said calmly. The army gathered in the south of the Yangtze River and remained motionless. The consumption of food and grass alone was enough to make Zuo Shiren feel distressed. What's more, if things go on like this, military morale will inevitably change.
According to Xu Mu's estimation, this war should be a protracted one. In addition, the war is not just in Jiangnan.
"Okay." Zuo Shiren clenched his fists, "In that case, I will send out an appeal against the thief tomorrow. Let the loyal and righteous people in the world fight against the Demon Queen together!"
"Let's fight against the Demon Queen together!" Following Zuo Shiren's voice, many allies under the tower also roared angrily.
Xu Mu did not follow the shouting. He raised his head, looked at the river in front of him, and fell into deep thought again.
…
"The Demon Queen of Cangzhou is doing the wrong thing! Killing Zhongliang and forcing Emperor Ji to death. This is the outrage of both humans and gods! Today, we and the rest of the world will unite to defeat the Demon Queen together in the hope of bringing peace to the common people! Take the sun and the moon as a mirror, and take the heaven and earth as our heart. ! I will not retreat until I slay the demon queen!"
"In the first town, King Dongling Ren, leader Zuo Shiren, leads 70,000 troops!"
Zuo Shiren stood up calmly on the balcony, clasped his fists and faced around, receiving a burst of cheering applause.
"A certain Zuo Shiren is willing to take it as his own duty to save the people of the world. In this crusade against the Demon Queen, he must do his best to kill the traitors and save the people!"
There were also many common people on the river bank, watching carefully. When they heard the excitement, they followed the soldiers and clapped their hands and shouted together.
"In the second town, the king of Yuzhou in the inner city sent General Chang Wei with 20,000 cavalry to join the alliance!"
Chang Wei stood up unaccustomedly, looked around, and then turned his gaze to Xu Mu as if asking for help. Xu Mu smiled and showed an encouraging look.
"Young man Chang Wei, I am leading my troops to join the alliance this time. I am willing to work with you to conquer Cangzhou and capture the Demon Queen alive!"
Perhaps because he still hadn't finished his sentence, Chang Wei licked his mouth and added another sentence.
"You're messing with my mother! You made me anxious, so I untied my pants and made the whole Cangzhou crazy!"
Xu Mu, who was originally comfortable listening, only heard this last sentence, and his mouth twitched. As expected, Chang Wei learned a lot of unscrupulous words from his young master.
The atmosphere all around suddenly became weird.
"Okay, okay!" Only Si Hu, who was excited when he heard what his old friend said, cheered and applauded.
"Ahem..." The old scholar on the balcony cleared his voice twice, then calmed down and continued to speak.
"In the third town, Xu Mu, the king of Western Shu, led 60,000 troops to fight against the national calamity!"
As soon as Old Confucian's voice fell, before the allies could applaud, the people who were originally surrounding the shore started cheering.
You know, these are not the people of Western Shu. But many of them have heard of the benevolent government of the King of Shu. Nowadays, in the six states of Western Shu, the people have food and clothing, which makes many ordinary people yearn for it.
Ordinary people in troubled times want nothing more than a bowl of hot rice and warm clothes.
Even Xu Mu could not have expected that even after leaving Xishu, his name would have spread out.
"King of Shu, how about we enter Shu!" Although they were far away, some people also asked excitedly.
"I, Xu Mu, sweep the couch to welcome you." Xu Mu cupped his fists and said. Deep down in his heart, he was already in a state of turmoil. The performance of these people vaguely proved one thing.
Follow the path of the people instead of relying on aristocratic families. There is no problem with this path.
"The King of Shu is mighty!"
…
Near the balcony, many allies, including Zuo Shiren, all had smiling expressions. But Xu Mu understood that these people should have some complicated thoughts in their hearts.
"In the fourth town, Long Ziyun from Gaotang Prefecture has led three thousand elite spearmen to help in the battle!"
…
The appeal against thieves and the oath of loyalty finally gave the allied forces in the battle a little more fighting spirit and murderous intent.
"Brother Xu, this is the map."
Zuo Shiren looked serious and laid out a map with still wet ink in front of Xu Mu.
"Brother Xu, please take a look. This map is a bit more detailed than the previous one. I spent a lot of thought and invited a lot of veteran hunters in the mountains to help draw it."
"Leader Zuo, please worry."
Xu Mu stared intently, followed the spread out map, and looked at it carefully. Zuo Shiren had already marked several locations of Chen Bing on the map.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Mu spoke.
"Leader Zuo, the important matter has not yet been decided. We have left a hidden mark for Chen Bing. If the enemy's spies discover it, our army's layout will be exposed."
"Brother Xu, don't worry. I carry this map day and night, and it is protected by experts. Even if some martial slave comes to fight for it, he will die in front of me."
"Caution comes first."
Xu Mu nodded and focused his attention on the map again. Regarding the attack on Cangzhou, it will inevitably be a siege. The nearly 200,000 troops of the Tianxia Alliance will be divided into four major roads, putting Cangzhou into a situation of siege.
"I'm worried that Tang Wuyuan will come to Qingzhou to help. So, this place -"
Zuo Shiren raised his hand and pointed to the valley east of Kezhou on the map.
"We only need three to five thousand men and horses left. Relying on the favorable geographical location, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if Tang Wuyuan comes to save us, he will be able to hold off for a long time."
"Is Yuan Songruo coming to help?"
"Yuan Song?" Zuo Shiren smiled, "Brother Xu, could it be that he has forgotten that this old fake emperor is eager to fight with the snipe and the clam so that he can reap the benefits of being a fisherman."
"The greatest advantage of a fisherman is to kill the snipe and the clam at the same time while both sides suffer."
Listening, Zuo Shiren fell into deep thought.
"If Brother Xu insists on this, then he should leave another force. Brother Xu... might as well finish it all at once, what reinforcements does the Demon Queen have?"
"On the Kezhou River bank, 20,000 troops were left openly and another 30,000 secretly, for a total of 50,000 troops to guard the camp."
Zuo Shiren frowned, "I don't know what Brother Xu is worried about. But fifty thousand troops is already a lot."
Xu Mu shook his head, "If the base camp in Kezhou is lost, the navy on the river will not be able to go back, and things will change. Therefore, Cangzhou has solved the siege. Over time, the besieging Allied forces will inevitably fall into defeat. .”
"There is some truth..." Zuo Shiren raised his head and looked at Xu Mu seriously.
"I have been dealing with you for a long time. I naturally know what kind of person you are. This time, you and I have invested almost everything in attacking Cangzhou, and there is no room for sloppiness."
"I, Zuo Shiren, don't worry about trusting you, Xu Mu."
"The Kezhou base camp has 50,000 troops left. And on the front line, I will let the civilians wear robes and armor and act as soldiers in the encirclement. In this way, at least under the eyes of the Demon Queen, the strength of the troops will be waited."
"Of course, Zuo Shiren has a reputation for benevolence in the world, so he will not let people die in vain."
Xu Mu smiled.
Even if he didn't mention 50,000 men and horses to guard the base camp, Zuo Shiren would still be able to use this method to make up for the numbers. Dongling's military strength was already in danger during the last attack.
"Brother Xu, let's look at this round!"
…
