"Jiang Xian has returned to Changyang." When receiving the information, Xu Mu felt deep in his heart. To be honest, he didn't have much hostility towards Jiang Xian, a female general who was a fierce general.
Instead, it was his father, Jiang Meng, who fought to death in Kezhou, which made him feel uncomfortable every time he thought about it.
"I heard about it too." Dongfang Jing said calmly, "When I came to pick him up that day, I deliberately let Ye Xiao disrupt Chang Sheng's welcome time in Changyang. Because of this, Jiang Xian's attitude when she returned to Chongqing was like this. , has aroused the disgust of many aristocratic family heads. They will only think that Jiang Xian is most likely to have defected to me, Xishu."
"Bo Lie, always victorious and wise as a torch."
"It doesn't matter, it's just a dormant time. After that, my lord and I stopped moving, and handed it over to Chang Sheng, asking him to help King Beiyu calm down Sha Rong's affairs first."
Xu Mu nodded.
Judging from the current situation, King Sha Rong was seriously injured. Even if he was cured, he would be temporarily trapped in Changyang, let alone taking over the Central Plains.
"My lord, there are still sheepherders." Dongfang Jing paused and continued, "I didn't believe it at first, but Ye Xiao's recent intelligence has proved that the sheepherders have not returned to Chongqing. The greater possibility is that there is no return to Chongqing. Died in Lizhou."
Xu Mu narrowed his eyes, "In other words, if he doesn't die, he will be hiding in our Western Shu, becoming a dormant wolf, ready to bite back."
"After the war, I asked Chen Zhong to check the people who cleaned the battlefield. There was no problem... Maybe the old sheepherder is not dead. As the lord said, he was dormant and hiding. Previously, he dispersed Beiyu Jiang. The soldiers were assigned to various places in Western Shu as hard labor. Now that I think about it, there is a possibility that sheepherders are among them."
"Bo Lie, I've asked Yin Hu to go check it out. Yin Hu has a calm temperament, and he can block the shepherd's tricks if he encounters them."
"Mr. Yin Hu is indeed my third schemer in Western Shu. With his help, things will get twice the result with half the effort. But my lord, you should know that on the other side of the South China Sea, I am also worried about Li Liu. After all, he is still young and may have insufficient experience. .”
"King Sha Rong has the Xie family in the north and Taoist disciple Mi in the south of the Yangtze River. I guess that this time he went to the Central Plains not just for the north. I don't know, but he also has internal helpers in the south."
While in the South China Sea, the third force that loomed large must have something to do with the Sha Rong people based on Xu Mu's guess. Therefore, before leaving Nanhai, he asked Li Liu, Zhao Dong, and Ruan Qiu to form a "Trident" to face adverse situations at any time.
But as Dongfang Jing said, deep down in his heart, he was somewhat worried. Although Li Liu is smart, he is still young.
"I only hope that Li Liu and Lizitang can suppress the power of the South China Sea and guard my backyard in Xishu."
The ship port of Cangwu Prefecture and the new official road leading to the Shu Road. If the South China Sea was lost, Xu Mu could not imagine what a disaster it would be for the Western Shu regime.
…
"Li Liu, whose courtesy name is Zitang, is the Prime Minister of Chuzhou in Western Shu. He has met the King of Hezhou."
In Hezhou, Nanhai, Li Liu, who was the guard of Xishu, accompanied by Ruan Qiu, was obviously looking for the king of the state, but secretly, he was actually investigating a third force.
"Ah, Commander Li, please come and take a seat." Wu Zhu, the king of Hezhou, squinted his eyes for a while and then hurriedly asked.
There were also many officials and generals around King Hezhou who raised their hands to greet him. Among them, there was a man with a strange face, who seemed to be suffering from xerosaccharide, and his face was a little peeling.
"Thank you." Li Liu didn't say anything, and he and Ruan Qiu took their seats together.
Starting from Jiaozhou, he went eastward, first to Cangwu Prefecture and then to Hezhou. Not to mention Cangwu Prefecture, even the king of the prefecture was supported by Zhao Di.
In the dense forest and coast of the ship port, under Xu Mu's instructions, Zhao Di had previously concealed the secrets in the name of garrison.
Of course, in order to cover up, Li Liu walked around the ship port. Just like my lord said, the matter at the ship port is a serious matter, so we have to be cautious.
"Commander Li is coming to Hezhou this time, but the King of Shu has something to do?" Wu Zhu narrowed his eyes and asked. Behind him, the strange general standing quietly lowered his eyes and looked at Li Liu.
"Nothing." Li Liu smiled, "The King of Hezhou also knows that my master asked me to stay in the five states of the South China Sea as an envoy to Shu. But you see, there are no wars and no pirates in the five states of the South China Sea. I really had nothing to do, so I left Jiaozhou City and took a walk."
"Ah, that's fine. It's better to take some time off and read thousands of books than to travel a thousand miles." Wu Zhu laughed, looking quite like an affable elder.
Li Liu calmly followed and smiled apologetically, "When I arrived in Cangwu Prefecture, the state king Lin Song presented a box of pearls. He told me that the pearls from the five states in the South China Sea must be the best in Cangwu Prefecture. I don't believe it after all. It’s also very close, so why not come to Hezhou to have a look.”
The words were not straightforward, but Wu Zhu rolled his eyes and understood them all at once. He stood up with a smile and clapped his hands. Not long after, two graceful waitresses, each carrying a box of pearls, walked in gracefully.
"I really deserve to die. If I had known that Commander Li liked the pearl, I should have had it presented to me earlier."
"The King of Hezhou is joking, joking." Li Liu opened his eyes wide, stood up slowly, and looked straight at the pearl in the box.
After a long while, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"I heard... the pearl divers in Hezhou are the best, and they dare to go hundreds of meters into the sea to get pearls. Now that I look at it, the clam pearls I got are indeed worthy of their reputation!"
"If Commander Li likes it, why don't you take it away and treat me as Wu Zhu's filial piety to Xi Shu——"
"Please take it away, King Hezhou." Li Liu's expression suddenly changed. Before he could finish his sentence, he cupped his hands and said, "By the way, King Hezhou, I just remembered that I have something to do when I return to the post house. I'll visit another day."
"This -" Wu Zhu was a little confused and wanted to send more beads, but Li Liu's figure had already left the palace and left.
…
"Brother Li, why did you do this just now?" After leaving the palace and returning to the post house, Ruan Qiu, who was accompanying him, looked confused.
"If I took it on the spot, the King of Hezhou and his staff would definitely doubt me. After all, in Xishu, except for Huang Zhizhou, there are very few dogs who are greedy for power and money."
"Then Brother Li, why are you talking about pearl fishing..." As a simple Haiyue native, Ruan Qiu felt like his brain was going to burn.
"It's just trying to take advantage of others." Li Liu smiled, "Just wait, Ruan Qiu. It won't be long before the King of Hezhou will personally send the pearls. At that time, I will accept them after declining for two or three times." , you can get acquainted with him and find out more things."
"Brother Li is suspicious. Is there a problem in Hezhou?"
Li Liu lowered his brows, "The two states to the east of Jiaozhou, of course Cangwu State, are unlikely to have problems. In this case, only Hezhou is left."
"Why the east? There are five states in the South China Sea. For example, there are about two states southwest of Jiaozhou." Ruan Qiu felt as if his hair was on fire.
Li Liu still spoke calmly.
"Throughout the ages, there have been mentions of strange anecdotes along the coast. In the southeastern sea, there are strange tribes who wear hair and drink blood. They look like ghosts but are not ghosts. In this huge Central Plains, we are the only ones left in Xishu and Beiyu. Whether it is my lord or Beiyu. The king is the one who attacks foreigners the most. Then, there is only one possibility left. The third force really comes from the sea, and it can only come from the direction of southeastern sea."
