Shooard County.

Three years ago, when Zhao Langjiang passed by Xiangjian County, he was still a penniless swordsman. It was also here that he and Yang Xiaoxiao met again.

Three years later, when I came here again, Yiren had left, and Zhao Tianci, who was in his infancy, was one year old.

Because he took care of Zhao Tianci, Zhao Langjiang was not fast to travel west. It was easy for him to eat and drink. Zhao Tianci was too young to eat. Along the way, he could only cook some rice porridge and meat paste for him to eat. His son was growing up and he didn't see any weight. However, Zhao Langjiang, who had never taken care of his children, suffered a serious crime.

In order to improve his son's food, he tried hard and even bought a sheep to feed milk. However, on the way two days ago, he met three thieves and had the idea of ​​playing the sheep. Zhao Langjiang politely sent them to the King of Hell to play mahjong with him, but the sheep was frightened and could not produce milk.

So he decided to go to Xiangjian County to buy sheep. If he was lucky, he might be able to buy a cow. When he arrived at the city gate, the big bow standing at Xiangjian County that was exempt from the city gate tax had been removed, and the guards at the door were obviously much more alert.

Now is a chaotic world, and anyone who is suspicious must be careful.

Zhao Langjiang's burly figure quickly attracted the attention of the city gate officials.

"Stop, where are you from and where are you going? What are you doing when you come to Xiangjian County?"

Zhao Langjiang didn't want to cause trouble and said, "Come from the capital and go to Yinyang." He pointed to Zhao Tianci in his arms, "I want to go into the city to buy a sheep and breastfeed the child."

When the officers and soldiers heard that it was from the capital, they said, "There are probably not many people who can come out alive."

"Good luck, escape."

The officers and soldiers noticed his box at the moment, "What is this?"

Zhao Langjiang felt something was wrong. He killed Zhu Liye, changed the number of people and put it on. He was exempted from many interrogations along the way because he rarely entered the city, but he forgot about this matter today. If they found out, it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.

But he decided to tell the truth, "a head."

"Head?" The officers and soldiers were full of vigilance.

Zhao Langjiang said, "My enemy's head, this person killed my whole family and destroyed my whole family. I will take him back to Yinyang to pay tribute to my ancestors."

The officers and soldiers said "Oh", opened the box and checked it, and saw Zhu Liye's head in the box. Even the Ming Emperor was the first emperor, anyone who looked at it was a crime of deceiving the king, but now it is just a spoil.

"Your enemy?"

Zhao Langjiang nodded.

The officers and soldiers spat at the ground.

He asked Zhao Langjiang a few more questions and said to wait here. Someone came to ask questions later. Zhao Langjiang was a little alert. The officer and soldier said, "Nothing else, come from the east and want to find out the news. Now the war is in chaos and the news is flying all over the sky, and it won't delay you for too long."

Zhao Langjiang suddenly realized in his heart.

This place is far from the capital. After Zhu Liye's death, the court fell into chaos and the forces of various parties were divided. The news came from there. I don't know how many moves he left, but it was mostly distorted. It is not surprising that the other party had such an idea when he came to the capital.

After a moment, a man in a robe walked out.

"General Zhao!"

When Zhao Langjiang saw that this person was Ye Erlang from the Ye family. He was the commander of the Huobain of the Western Army. During the battle of Hengduan Mountain, he led 300 crossbowmen to block the Western Chu army on Shuangfeng Mountain for a day and a night, and bought enough time for the Western Army to retreat.

He didn't expect that he would meet again here today.

"General Ye!"

Ye Erlang went forward to salute, and Zhao Langjiang replied. He said wonderly, "How come you have to echo Jianjun? Are you no longer expeditioning the Western Army?"

Ye Erlang sighed, "The Ming Dynasty is gone, where are there any Western Expeditions?"

"Where are their people?"

Ye Erlang said, "The news of Your Majesty's death came. The King of Shu, King of Yu, and King of Long all proclaimed themselves emperors and issued an edict to the Western Army, demanding to submit to them. The army was disagreeable and mutiny started. The new governor was unable to convince the public and was killed by his subordinates. Seeing that the food was about to be cut off, I saw that the situation was not good, so I led the Erlang of the Ye family back to Xiangjian County."

“What’s going on now?”

Ye Erlang said, "The 100,000 Western Army was divided into several groups to fight each other. Some of them were relieved of their troops and returned to their fields, and some of them were short of food. Finally, they surrendered to the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Currently, General Su Zhengyuan, who is only Hulukou, is still holding on."

Zhao Langjiang and Su Zhengyuan are neighbors, and they have a lot of dealing with each other, especially because he controls the border between Western Chu and Ming Dynasty, and often interacts with him on weekdays.

Su Zhengyuan had an advantage. He was not good at fighting, but his methods of making money were first-rate. Last year, he saw the war between the two countries quelling and the grain trade was worth a lot of money. He ordered all the troops in Hulukou to reclaim land and farm, which was originally a military camp area. In this way, in this extraordinary period, they escaped a disaster.

However, the emperor is dead, what's the point of staying there?

After talking about the military affairs, Zhao Langjiang asked about the situation in Yinyang City. Ye Erlang wanted to speak but stopped. Zhao Langjiang felt something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"

Ye Erlang thought for a moment, then he said, "The general is afraid that something happened in Yinyang."

Zhao Langjiang was shocked, "What's the situation?"

Ye Erlang said, "I heard that there is a new owner of the Guifan Tower in Yinyang City. It seems to be named Li Changzheng. A few months ago, when he heard that His Majesty had passed away, he led Guifan Tower from the underground to the ground and took Yinyang City for himself."

"What?"

Zhao Langjiang's heart was filled with huge waves.

Li Changzheng is not dead yet?

When he was in Jinling, Li Qingcheng realized Qingcheng's sword, and Zhao Langjiang once borrowed his sword intention to kill Gui Fan Tower Master. How could this happen again now?

"Ghost Fanlou occupied Yinyang City, drove out the people from the City Lord's Mansion, and controlled the trade channel. In the past few months, the business road between Xiangjian County and Yinyang City has been cut off. I heard that the King of Shu sent people to negotiate with them and asked them to surrender."

Zhao Langjiang asked, "When did this happen?"

"Two months ago."

Ye Erlang sighed, "It's just that Li Changzheng is waiting for the price now. It seems that some things have not been negotiated yet. They are waiting for the offer from King Yu. Once Yinyang City surrenders to King Shu, our Xiangjian County will probably have to choose the side to stand."

Zhao Langjiang's heart skipped a beat.

If he was still in Yinyang, he would definitely not give Li Changzheng such an opportunity. But I don’t know what Qingluan, Chai Gongwang, Li Bufan and others are doing now.

He decided to rush to the morning of tomorrow and first go to Yinyang to explore the wind.

He devoted a lot of effort to Yinyang City. Now it is time to be in trouble and he will never allow outsiders to cause damage.

No matter who it is, if you want to make trouble, you have to ask the golden knife in his hand first.

The two chatted for a while, and Zhao Langjiang noticed that when he entered the city, the guards at the door were obviously divided into two camps, so he asked, "Where are you, I am a little awkward to the gatekeeper."

Ye Erlang said, "It's not the Che family's business."

The Ye family and the Che family, the two prominent families in the Xiangjian County, have been fighting for hundreds of years. However, in recent years, the Ye family has obviously overtaken the Che family. Has there been another change during this period?

Ye Erlang said again, "It's true that the special envoys of King Shu and King Yu are in our Xiangjian County. They come to persuade us to surrender."

After Zhu Liye's death, the world was in chaos.

But if the strongest ones are still the King of Shu and King Yu, one occupying the country of Tianfu in Shu, the other occupying the Central Plains, and there are local forces supporting them, controlling their troops and horses, and having food, so they have a great say in the battle for the world.

In troubled times, if you have milk, you are the mother.

Whoever gives the best conditions will be with whom.

condition?

There are only two things, one is the title of official position and the other is the economic support. These local separatist forces were initially very scattered and loose, and finally they also eat big fish and small fish and shrimps. They merged into the city like snakes, just like the chaotic war between the seventy-two countries five hundred years ago.

For small local forces, Shu King and Yu King, there is no chance of negotiation, and they will send troops to seize it directly.

For medium-sized forces, we should use emotions and reason to move them. If we use profits, we should be able to reach a negotiation. If we cannot reach an agreement, we will start a fight directly.

As for the Yinyang City, the Western Army, which has become a climate-based force, is long and if the journey is long, and if the troops are really sent to fight and mobilize the troops, it may not be worth the loss in the end, so you have to use diplomatic means.

First, they will seek the support of the other party, and then give the conditions for surrender. Of course, their surrender is only nominal, at least in a consistent manner in the external direction. If they are asked to help fight, the price will be fine.

In a sense, these forces are like goods waiting to be sold, and they are no different from those of the Kiln Sisters who stand on the street.

Of course, if one side develops strong enough to conquer the other side, that's another matter.

Medium forces like Xiangjian County are now facing the encirclement of King Shu and King Yu. No matter which side they choose, they will eventually directly affect Yinyang City.

Because this is the only way to the Central Plains to Yinyang City, and it is an important distribution center for Yinyang Business Road. Gui Fanlou has not given a clear reply because of this.

They were waiting for the movements of Arrow County.

After understanding this, Zhao Langjiang probably figured out the situation. He asked, "What are you thinking about it?"

Ye Erlang said, "The current trend is unclear. Our Ye family advocates independence from the two kings. At least before the two kings decide the winner, they will not make choices. However, the King of Shu and King of Yu do not think so. If the negotiations cannot be reached, a war is likely to start, because taking Xiangjian County will have the opportunity to take Yinyang City."

Zhao Langjiang snorted coldly, "I think it's pretty."

Ye Erlang said again, "The King of Shu and King Yu have no results on our side, so they went to negotiate with the Che family. Our head has repented now, but the other party ignored us, and instead made it very passive." He sighed, "The Che family has been suppressed too much in recent years, and I am afraid that they will take revenge on us after they take power."

Zhao Langjiang suddenly had an idea and asked, "Can you arrange to meet your family?"

Ye Erlang was stunned and said, "I'll make arrangements."

That night, Ye Erlang arranged a residence for Zhao Langjiang and sent someone to deliver food. He was considerate and brought milk and rice porridge to Zhao Tianci.

After several months of running around, Zhao Tianci was able to sleep peacefully, thus rescuing Zhao Langjiang's torture to coax his baby to sleep every night.

After talking with Ye Erro today, he had plans in his mind.

Now the world is in chaos, but it won’t take long and soon it will become a competition among several major forces.

King Shu is one, King Yu is one, and although King Long is more dependent on blood than the two, he is weaker and young, and looks slightly inferior. King Ning, who is far away in Jiangnan, is the most orthodox with the team of Jinling accompanying the capital, but his shortcomings are also obvious, that is, there is no danger to defend. If he can tie up the money tree of the Li family in Jinling, he will also have the ability to compete with the two kings.

And the focus now is on Xiangjian County.

In the past, Xiangjian County was just a trade road. Now, when the Ming Dynasty was in chaos, it became the only channel connecting the Central Plains and the Western Xinjiang, and its military significance was far greater than economic interests.

Therefore, King Shu and King Yu are trying their best to win over this place.
To be continued...