Liu Jun and Xie Hong both looked at each other.

After a long while, Xie Hongcai said quietly: "I knew, I knew that this Xiao Erlang was a troublemaker. Sure enough, as soon as he made a move, it was earth-shattering. I am afraid that at this moment, the entire south will be affected by this big stone he threw.

Are you confused?"

Liu Jun felt the same and nodded repeatedly.

Everyone thought that the royal family of Zhao and Song had been taken over by the Liao people.

In the Song Dynasty, there is no heir.

Moreover, looking at the approach of the Liao people, it is obvious that they first want to plunge the remaining half of the Song Dynasty into chaos.

Kings, generals, and ministers would rather be kind!

In the past, there was an emperor who suppressed us, and everyone was a scholar. The Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Rewards and Etiquette were as comprehensive as a mountain. If you wanted to rebel, you would naturally be kept in obedience. If you wanted to rebel, the eating guy would naturally do the same.

Can't keep it.

We only need to look at Cui Ang, Liu Yu, and Liu Quanyi. When the emperor fell, they betrayed and were criticized by people and their reputations were ruined.

But now, the emperor is gone!

Then if I get up and do something new, wouldn't it be a rebellion?

I resist foreign aggression!

I am seeking revenge for the royal family of Zhao and Song.

Of course, once revenge is successful and the Tartars are driven out, I will naturally become the new co-owner of the world.

Are there few people who think this way?

I'm afraid it's a lot.

Just look at when Tokyo was besieged, the ministers from all over the south screamed "Happy Truth". Judging from what they said, they were not able to step on the five-color auspicious clouds and ride on the mist to rescue the king, but they put it into action.

When climbing up, it was even slower than a turtle.

Of course, some people inside are really incompetent, have no strength, and are helpless, but there are others who are not necessarily so.

People like Cui Ang, Liu Yu, Liu Quanyi, etc. are notorious, but they also actually got a crown and put it on their head.

From now on, if I can wear a crown without being infamous, it will be a huge leap for the family!

It can only be said that Xiao Chuo has a very clear understanding of people's hearts.

A small act of buying a horse bone for a thousand gold, and making the prince a prince, made the hearts of all the ambitious people in the world jump lively.

However, there are only so many bowls of porridge, and there are so many people who want to shovel it into their mouths.

To whom?

You guys have a fight with yourselves first, and whoever wins will naturally be his.

This move is very poisonous.

Even though everyone knew that this bowl of delicious soup was mixed with the highly poisonous Hedinghong, they still couldn't help but want to grab it and drink it.

What if the poison doesn’t kill me?

The Liao Kingdom now needs a buffer and time to stabilize internally.

Even though the Liao Kingdom has now destroyed Zhao and Song and arrested the entire royal family of Zhao and Song, when this most dangerous enemy collapses, the contradictions that were previously covered up will immediately be exposed.

Without strong external pressure, if internal problems are not handled well, it will cause chaos.

In addition, now that Ye Lujun is dead, Xiao Chuo has to face a lot of problems.

Therefore, she could only try her best to provoke civil strife in the north and south of Zhao and Song Dynasty, and then she would sit in Zhongjing and control people like Liu Yu and Cui Ang to fight.

After spending several years like this, until she had completely dealt with the internal affairs of the Liao Kingdom and stabilized the situation, she would be able to come back to her senses and take down the entire Zhao and Song Dynasties single-mindedly.

But no one thought that Xiao Erlang actually hid Zhao An.

Of course, you can also find a fake one.

But the persuasiveness of fake and real ones is completely different.

Depending on the situation, and then thinking about the previous friendship between the Xiao family and King Jing, I am afraid that this person is real.

"Bo Ying, you said that when Xiao Erlang came out of Yunnan and Guizhou, did he ever think that Tokyo would not be saved at all, and that the officials and the Supreme Emperor would have no time to save him. This is the moment he has been waiting for?" Liu Jun said softly.

"God knows!" Xie Hong shook his head: "But it is obvious that Xiao Erlang has already walked in front of everyone. When Zhao An officially appears, all the roads in the south, no matter what they think, can only gather under his banner.

Come on, everyone has no choice at all.”

"Maybe some people will make a noise. Not everyone is willing to hand over the initiative to Xiao Erlang!" Liu Jun said.

"Then it all depends on Xiao Erlang's thunderbolt methods!" Xie Hong said with a smile: "This man is not a Bodhisattva. Think about how many people have died at his hands since he arrived in the southeast? Even Dali

All the royal family were killed by him."

"It's Boying who is more accurate." Liu Jun said: "By the way, when did Xie San go to Xiao Erlang? You had already taken a fancy to Xiao Erlang, so you sent Xie San to place bets in advance?"

"Xie San wants to call Old Master Cen Master!" Xie Hong said: "His first teacher was studying with Old Master Cui for several years. Wasn't Old Master Cen busy on the road in Guizhou in the past two years, so Xiao San ran to help Master Cui.

Now he is the counselor of military affairs in Futai Prefecture, Guizhou, and he is mainly responsible for some logistics matters. This guy is very smart, and he was recommended by Old Master Cui, so he can climb up the ranks relatively quickly."

Liu Jun nodded and Xie Hong said, "Boying, Boying, I have to be convinced by you."

Xie Hong laughed: "Good minister, how about the next battle?"

"Of course I will do my best!" Liu Jun said sternly: "If I only used eight of my strength before, leaving two to protect myself, now I have to use twelve. We have Xuzhou in our hands.

, in front of Xiao Erlang, it will immediately become popular. He wants to organize the south to fight against the north, and Xuzhou is the top priority that he cannot avoid! "

"To defend the river, you must defend the Huaihe River, and to defend the Huaihe River, you must defend Xuzhou." Xie Hong took a deep breath: "Brother, this is the cornerstone of our family's future prosperity. No matter how hard we risk our lives, we must take it down and hold it."

The two of them stopped talking, just cupped their hands with each other, and Liu Jun rode away with his whip.

Surabaya is the only natural river in the north that connects the north and south. The abundant water resources form a dense transportation network on the Jianghuai Plain. Xuzhou is located exactly at the center of this water network. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, northwest and east.

It is difficult to defend and attack.

As a springboard for the confrontation between the North and the South, no matter which side it is, it is natural to covet him. If you hold him, you can gain a strategic advantage.

It is precisely because of this that Xie Hong and Liu Jun planned to capture Xuzhou as a meeting gift for Xiao Erlang. As long as they could capture Xuzhou, their importance in the entire Southern Group would immediately rise in a straight line, and

He is no longer a mere local magistrate!

Of course, given the importance of Xuzhou, Liu Yu, the puppet king of Qi, naturally attached great importance to this point.

Even though he led the main force to Henan to assist in the war and besieged Tokyo at the request of his master, he did not forget to station a heavy force in Xuzhou, led by his nephew Liu Shu himself, to defend Xuzhou.

A total of 10,000 troops and horses were deployed to guard the strategic line of Xuzhou, Dangshan and Xiapi. In Liu Yu's opinion, this was more than enough.

After all, what they want now is Cheng Shao from Huainan East Road.

In Liu Yu's eyes, the Huainan East Road envoy Cheng Shao was not really a person capable of accomplishing great things.

Before setting off, Liu Yu also sent his own envoys all the way to Huainan East Road to persuade officials from various places to surrender, using threats and inducements.

Liu Yu knows very well that even though he is now the King of Qi and controls the entire Jingdong Road, this is just the beginning. I am afraid that he and Cui Ang will still have to fight!

Liu Quanyi no longer has to think about getting involved in the affairs of the Central Plains. He is now oppressed by the Western Army and can hardly breathe.

At some point Xiao Ding had the idea that without the help of the Liao army, Liu Quanyi would never have survived.

As for the Central Plains, it still depends on who can have the upper hand between himself and Cui Ang.

The Liao people handed over Tokyo and the surrounding areas to Cui Ang. Cui Ang used his identity to recruit a large number of the defeated Shangsi Army, which made his strength greatly increase in a short period of time.

He became Liu Yu's strong competitor.

However, I still have to gain some upper hand.

After the Liao people withdraw, he can flex his muscles. He starts from Xuzhou, captures Hefei, and then goes all the way south. If he can capture the important towns in the south of the Yangtze River and has enough money and food to supplement Cui Ang, he is nothing.

ah!

Talking about surrendering the Huainan East Road was just a casual move played by Liu Yu before leaving. He didn't care whether it succeeded or not.

Anyway, as long as he waits for his army to return, can those big cats and kittens on Huainan East Road be his opponents?

Liu Yu never dreamed that there would be someone on Huainan East Road who had eaten the courage of a bear and was plotting against him in Xuzhou.

The government troops on Huainan East Road do not appear to be strong as a whole. The troops in the south are generally weak, and it is usually difficult to defeat bandits.

But this only refers to the officers and soldiers.

But the Liu family in Bozhou and the Xie family in Suzhou rely on more than just local officers and soldiers.

As a powerful local family, the villagers, guardians, and even tenants they placed in various manors are what they really rely on.

A native is a soldier, a father and a son are a soldier, and a brother is a soldier.

When these armies formed based on clans have sufficient supplies of food, grass, pay, and ordnance, the combat effectiveness they can exert is quite terrifying.

In the past, whether the Liu family or the Xie family, no matter how powerful they were, they could only hide it. In a peaceful dynasty, if you do these things, the court will do it to you.

It is true that the officers and soldiers around you can't defeat you, but when things get serious and the court mobilizes a large army, you are no match.

Therefore, no matter how strong they are, in peacetime, they can only carefully hide their tails.

But now that troubled times have arrived, they immediately smell something that can excite them.

Isn’t the patience and accumulation of generations just for the sake of being able to take a chance one day?

If we don’t fight now, when will we wait?

When Li Chengbin walked out of Liu Shu's house, his face was red, he was swaying, his mouth was open, and the smell of alcohol in his mouth almost made the guard who led the horse over drunk.

"Let's go and patrol the city with me!" He got on his horse drunkenly, not forgetting to turn around and wave goodbye to Liu Shu's housekeeper who sent him out.

Today is Liu Shu's 40th birthday. Officials from all over Xuzhou City are here to wish Liu Shu a birthday.

Liu Yu was granted the title of King of Qi by the Liao people. Naturally, Liu Shu also rose to the top and was granted the title of Marquis Xiao. Xiao County, not far from Xuzhou, was now Liu Shu's fief.

With the destruction of Tokyo and the fall of Zhao and Song Dynasty, Liu Yu also suddenly became very popular. Some local powerful people who were still waiting to see which direction the wind would take, at this time, came forward in a swarm, and the flattery was loud.

In the past, these people who were unwilling to provide money, food, and people were hidden and swarmed, but now they swooped on them like flies smelling stinky shit. The Liao people couldn't get along with them, but now they can find someone beside Liu Yu.

What a great location.

Now that the Song Dynasty is gone, they have to plan for their own future and the future of their family, right?

Therefore, on Liu Shu's birthday, almost all the famous people in Xuzhou gathered together, and it was extremely lively. It was already the second watch, but the entire Liu Mansion was still brightly lit and full of silk and bamboo.

Li Chengbin, who was stumbling around, turned the corner and immediately sat up straighter. He glanced behind him, took a water bag handed to him by the guard next to him, raised his neck and took a sip, then lifted the water bag and drank from the shower.

The drunkenness in his face and body was immediately dispelled by four or five points.

"How are you preparing?" he asked in a low voice.

"The South City Gate is already under our control."

"They haven't come yet?"

"The appointment is for the third watch! There is still half a watch!" the soldier whispered: "There will be no mistakes."

Li Chengbin nodded, turned back again, looked at the place in the distance that was half-lit with light, and sneered: "How can I, an upright man from the Song Dynasty, bend his knees and humiliate the Liao people, let alone the Liao people's dogs?"

Li Chengbin, a very brave general in the Hedong Road Forbidden Army.

Liu Yu surrendered to the Liao people and became king. Naturally, he relied on his troops. Therefore, even a distant camp commander like Li Chengbin was promoted a few levels and is now a serious commander. Of course,

, there are still as many soldiers and horses as before, it is just a war camp.

Five hundred men, no more and no less, guard a city gate.

After going up to the city tower, I looked up at the dark outside of the city. I couldn't see any anxious emotions on the surface, but I was really anxious inside.

If you want to attack Xuzhou hard, it will be very difficult to conquer with the thousands of defenders and abundant supplies in Xuzhou City. The only way to break the city is to cooperate from the inside and outside.

Even if the inside should be combined with the outside, the timing must be right.

Li Chengbin knew very well that today was the last and best chance.

At the banquet today, Li Shu made it very clear that the Liao people were about to retreat, and his uncle Liu Yu was about to return.

The first thing after returning is to rely on Xuzhou to launch an attack on Huainan East Road. The first step is to capture Luzhou and then comprehensively attack the Huaihe River Basin.

Once Liu Yu comes back, it will be difficult to capture Xuzhou again.

As for the importance of Xuzhou, Li Chengbin, as a general, naturally knew it clearly.

"Commander!" A low voice came from beside him, "Here he comes!"

Li Chengbin was refreshed. In the darkness, an orange-red incense head slowly drew circles one after another in the night sky.
Chapter completed!