Li Boxen also walked over and took a closer look at the picture.
He had also seen maps in the army, but only a small area near Wuliang City. The larger and more detailed map is definitely a secret. Even if he had been the commander, he had only seen the northern border of the Sui Kingdom. But the map in front of him was extremely detailed, marking the entire terrain of Li State. Although the Sui Kingdom in the east is only marked in outline, the state capital is also marked.
Li Bochen took a few glances and felt that although the proportions here and there might be a little wrong, they should be about the same. He thought about it, stretched out his hand and said, "We are here."
The whole country of Li is actually like a fat waning moon. Linxi is on the back side of the moon, and Mengjiatun is at the end of a hook above. To the south of Mengjiatun is Hou City and to the east is Xuantu City. Further east of Xuantu City, there is a mountain range running from north to south, which separates Li and Sui. This mountain range is noted on the map as the Qianshan Mountain Range. There is a large river between the Qianshan Mountains. Li Boxen knew that it was the southward section of the Qianjiang River in the Beiyuan. It was called the Lanjiang River and was also the natural boundary between Li and Sui.
Then he pointed to the mountains to the east and said, "Sui Wu Jiu's people should be here."
The Qianshan Mountains, the Siheng Mountains and the Dangtu Mountains form a "D" character. The upper horizontal line is very thick and is composed of the Dangtu Mountains and the Siheng Mountains.
When Sui Wujiu led his army to retreat from Wuliang City in the Dangtu Mountains into the Siheng Mountains, it was actually very close to Li Jing. What Li Boxen was pointing to was the junction of Qianshan Mountain and Sihengshan Mountain, and he expected Sui Wujiu to be there.
Chang Xiu said: "It should be. Sui Buxiu said that they are thinking of crossing the Lanjiang River."
Li Bochen thought for a while and said: "Grandpa, look, is it because of this - our place is actually surrounded by Houcheng in the south and Xuantu City in the east. It is more than forty miles away from Houcheng and Xuantu City is more than 200 miles away. If Sui Wujiu is to go to capture Hou City, he should first pass through Xuantu City after coming out of the mountains. His soldiers are hungry and tired, and Xuantu City knows that they have entered Li Territory, so it also The walls must be strong and the wilderness clear.”
"Xuantu City sent a thousand soldiers to intercept us in the north. They probably don't have enough troops there. But Sui Wujiu is caught between those thousand soldiers and Xuantu City. If I lead these soldiers, They should be told to rest and replenish supplies. Otherwise, if they go around Xuantu City and wait until they are near us, the thousand soldiers of Xuantu City will be able to attack them with ease, and their situation will be very bad. Therefore, I will take advantage of Xuantu City. Tu's defense is empty, so go attack Qiu Feng first. I heard that Sui Wujiu is in the Dongxuan realm, and Xuantu is not as big as Hou City, so it shouldn't be difficult to capture it."
"In this way, they will help us destroy the Xuantu in the east first, so that we will be less of a threat. But what if Sui Wujiu occupies that place and won't leave?" Li Bochen frowned and said, " Grandpa, if you call him Zhanhou City, you probably want them to guard the south for us - if the Sui army in the south wants to attack us, they have to get through Sui Wujiu's pass first. But if they take Xuan Tu Once the city is captured, we have to guard the gate for them."
Chang Xiu said: "Okay, you are right. But I am not worried about Sui Wujiu capturing Xuantu. This is because this map only shows the terrain, but there are many other things not on it."
"Xuantu is located near Qianshan. The terrain nearby is dangerous and the land is barren. The people there hardly make a living by farming, but rely on hunting in the forest. Sui Wujiu had great ambitions and would definitely expand his power in the future, but Xuantu was not enough. To support it. But there are thousands of hectares of fertile land near Houcheng. If people can live and work in peace and contentment, it will not be a problem to raise tens of thousands of soldiers. If he wants to settle in a corner of Xuantu, but in the future Houcheng is captured by us, it will be regrettable. .”
Li Bochen frowned and thought for a while, then said: "Grandpa, why do you think he will definitely let us go? Compared with Xuantu and Houcheng, our place is the easiest to deal with. Speaking of the land, it is actually very fertile. What will happen later? Relying on the mountains, attacking and retreating will not be a problem.”
Chang Xiu smiled and said: "Firstly, because Sui Wujiu came to attack us, it became an attack on the Li family, and it lost the law in Li territory. Li Shengyi would not ignore it for the sake of his orthodoxy. Whether he was happy or not, We have to send troops to attack him. Sui Wujiu should want to get this level. So before he enters the country, we have to ask Li Shengyi for a seal."
"Secondly, even if Sui Wujiu really risked the disapproval of the world, Bo Chen, you have the luck of Beichen. Sui Wujiu's Dongxuan realm should not be underestimated, but you can canonize a spiritual god and use it to The power of mountains and rivers will control him. He understands this and will not ask for trouble."
"Canonize a spiritual god of the land" - Li Bochen's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He had wanted to know these things for a long time, but he had been unable to find a way. When Chang Xiu said this at this time, did he mean that he understood the key to it?
It must be! He used to be the young minister of Taichang Temple and often dealt with the royal family. Naturally, he should know a lot!
But he thought about it and didn't express his eagerness. Although we are getting along more harmoniously at this time, it is not easy to just ask for it.
Then he just said: "What grandpa said makes sense. However, Sui Wu Jiu has captured Hou City and is now in power. What should we do?"
Chang Xiu sighed: "In fact, there is no way to do this. Bo Chen, the situation in Li and the land is intertwined. The five countries each have their own agendas and restrain each other. This is why Li Shengyi became the climate. This is because Gao Xin is not enough. After eating Li Di alone, he created Li Shengyi and created a foreign trouble for the five kingdoms in Li territory."
"But here, there can only be one Li Shengyi - you have the luck of Beichen, and we will grow and develop in the future. Once you become a little bit popular, Gao Xin will either instigate you to fight with Li Shengyi, or he will wipe you out. Therefore, we must not Don't let Sui Wujiu enter the situation - with such a force in the Li realm, it will become muddy water. Sui Wujiu has no foundation in the Li realm. Even if his power becomes stronger in the future, he will always return to the Sui realm - then, at least The Sui people have to deal with him first, not us."
Chang Xiu thought for a while and said: "So for a long time, the stronger Sui Wujiu is, the safer we will be. Our presence is the legal principle for him to stay in Li Realm. His presence is our growing barrier. "
Li Bochen felt that he was not stupid, but it took him a while to digest this. He couldn't help but thought to himself that he still needed help from others. In the past, just thinking about the relationship with Li Shengyi made me dizzy and undecided. But my grandfather was able to identify the Five Kingdoms, Linxi Lord, Sui Wujiu and other forces in the Li Kingdom one by one, and even used the contradictions between them to find a dangerous balance for himself. He deserves to have lived for more than a hundred years. Years of human spirit.
Such insights come not just from bright minds but from many years of experience. Having him help me in the future will really save me a lot of worry.
He nodded: "Grandpa makes sense. Then, what does this matter have to do with asking for a seal from Li Shengyi?"
Chang Xiu said: "Li Shengyi has established himself as king. If we want to ask for a title for you, we should invite a duke - although Sui Wujiu also established himself, the Sui King is still there. His name is not justified, and he is just a Chebei It’s just a duke. If we cooperate in the future, it will be easier to get along with you since you are both a duke."
Another smile: "But I think Li Shengyi will not give up this title. Maybe he will make you a Marquis. As for what kind of Marquis... If he makes you a Marquis of Wuwei, it means that he also knows our intentions and is willing to cooperate with us. We’ll be fine for now.”
Wuwei Hou? It must be the title of my grandfather whom I have never met. Although Li Bochen always thought that he was a person who was indifferent to fame and wealth, after hearing these three words, his heart still couldn't help but jump. A few months ago, he was still a young general. If he really became a king, he would still be happy in his heart.
But he also knew that if that really happened, he would be involved in the overall situation of the world. From now on, he could only move forward, and if he retreated, he would die.
He thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "Okay, grandpa, I listen to you."
Chang Xiu narrowed his eyes and smiled, saying, "I'm just giving you advice."
At this time, he called himself a minister again, but he was much more cordial than when he called himself the king before. Li Bochen felt a little more comfortable in his heart and said, "Grandpa, and - Zhu Houzhen is dead?"
Chang Xiu said: "Qiu Wu, tell me."
Chang Qiuwu had been standing aside. After listening to Chang Xiu's words, he saluted Li Boxen and said, "Yes. Lord, I went to Jinghu Mountain to see it myself that day."
He changed his mind really quickly. But Li Boxen felt that even calling himself "Jun Hou" was much better than calling him "Kingdom Lord" or "Cousin Grandpa".
He asked: "Have you seen his body?"
"I didn't see the body, but I saw a left arm with blood. I checked the injury on the left arm - it should have been cut off when Zhu Hou was exerting his strength. As for Zhu Hou, I have seen him perform martial arts. In fact, It can be regarded as the pinnacle of Qi-nurturing realm, almost reaching the dragon-tiger realm. If he had been prepared and had time to strike, even I wouldn't have been able to cut off his arm with one blow. But there were no traces of fighting or fighting in his room, which shows the assassin's skill. Probably scary high.”
Chang Qiuwu said this and looked at Li Boxen.
Li Bochen shook his head: "Xiaoman, is she... really so talented?"
Then it shouldn't be difficult if she wanted to take her own life before.
Chang Qiuwu said: "Either he is highly skilled, or he is attacking with Taisu magic. Zhu Houben is a gangster, and he is not very knowledgeable. He did not expect that Taisu's magic method is also very common."
"But it's hard to say whether Zhu Hou is really dead. I think he is more likely to have escaped. But since he is no longer here, let's just say he is dead to prevent some people from being unsettled."
When he mentioned this, Li Bochen immediately said seriously: "Zhu Hou is weird."
Chang Xiu and Chang Qiuwu were stunned for a moment and said, "How do you say that?"
Li Boxen said: "I asked about him carefully on the way back. He should have been cruel and perverse in the past, and he had no ideas. But why did his temperament suddenly change when he arrived at Jinghu Mountain? I don't think so." It can be explained by "desiring big things". Grandpa, Brother Chang, I heard that there used to be a sect nearby called Leiyundong - could something happen to him there? "
"One more thing - I think the monster that Brother Chang and I killed that day was a tiger. At first, I thought it was because the luck in this place was empty, and some kind of wild animal's ghost collided with it. It's because of the fusion of luck that it can harm people. But I thought about it that day and couldn't imagine what kind of wild thing it looked like. But a few days ago, I figured it out."
Li Bochen said solemnly: "I have heard of a monster called a foot toad in the North Plains. It is said to have a human face and a spider body with dozens of pairs of legs. It seems to be exactly what that thing looks like. If it is true, what does it mean? Maybe a foot toad died in the mountains, and the Yin spirit just happened to merge with the luck!"
"Then, how did that thing come to the mountains here? Some mountain people said they had seen monsters in the mountains. Was the one they saw we killed, or was it a real monster? Besides, grandpa, during the national crisis, Did the tiger here go into battle? Is he dead?"
Chang Xiu was stunned for a while and then said: "As far as I know, the Five Kingdoms Army only attacked Hou City in the north. When they reached Hou City, there was no resistance. It was a city dedicated by the prefect. So the tiger here is there He probably hasn’t appeared since then.”
Li Bochen said: "That's what I'm worried about. If the tiger died recently - who killed him? The footed toad? I think one footed toad must not be enough, then, is there anything else? That day I saw a wound on the Zhou family, and a similar wound on the tiger - I guess there was something nearby that injured the tiger before. Could it be a monster?"
"Grandpa, we need to investigate this matter carefully. If the monsters in the mountains in northern Sui Dynasty got lost and fell behind, and happened to come to our side, that would be fine. The scary thing is that there are monsters that crossed the Dangtu Mountains and the Gorge in the north. Jiang, then we are in danger!"
Chang Xiu and Chang Qiuwu looked at each other. Chang Xiu took a few steps and said slowly: "It is indeed important to make sure it is as you expected. But... but..."
Li Bochen knew what he was hesitating about - he actually felt that it was unlikely for the monster to cross the Qianjiang River. The Qianjiang River is wide and deep, with fast currents. The subsequent section of Dangtu Mountain is thousands of meters high and is really not insurmountable by humans.
These two natural dangers may not be of concern to the masters of cultivation among monsters, Rakshasa, and Sumeru, but it is extremely difficult for a large army to pass through and go south. To turn the natural chasm into a thoroughfare, it is necessary to cut off the river and cause the mountain peaks to collapse.
This kind of thing may be possible by monks from the Six Nations in the Realm of Transforming Void and Resurrecting God, but it is not something that can be achieved in a short period of time. People from the Rakshasa and Xumi tribes think that they cannot practice magic in the eyes of the people of the Six Nations, but this is a misunderstanding - they can also practice, but what they can practice is the magic method of the demon country, which is spontaneous practice. For example, Li Qiuhu was born with the ability to make fire. When he reaches the realm of the demon kingdom and the realm of heavenly demons, it is said that he can turn a thousand miles around into a hell of fire.
This kind of ability is naturally beneficial when used to kill people, but it is useless when used to deal with the mighty forces of nature.
Moreover, the Tushan front line had just been lost for more than a month. Even if the Demonic Kingdom built artificial bridges and carved mountains, they would not be able to complete such a huge project.
Seeing that he was pondering for a long time, Li Bochen said: "The reason why I am worried is because I suspect that the Kongming Society may have some ambiguity with the Demon Kingdom. It is also because I saw a ghost tribe when I was in the Sui Kingdom."
