Li Guo thought about it for a while, and a faint sneer appeared on his drunken red face.

Hmph, Zuo Liangyu's guy must have been under the heavy pressure of the Tang Army, and he couldn't hold on to himself, and now, he finally bowed his head to himself helplessly and asked for help.

This dog thing, since you sent it to the door yourself, then Lao Tzu is not good at squeezing you, it is simply a big fool.

Li Guo smashed his fist on the thigh, his mind had already made up his mind, and there was already a faint smile on his face.

The messenger sent by Zuo Mengeng is a deputy general under his command, named Wang Shuohua, this person has followed Zuo Mengeng for many years, is shrewd and cautious, and even won Zuo Menggeng's heart, so this time he went north to ask for help, Zuo Mengeng arranged for him to be the main envoy, and went to Kaifeng City, where Li Guo was.

Under the leadership of the servant, Wang Shuohua entered the living room of the mansion, and when he saw Li Guo sitting on his lap above, he knelt down in a hurry and said loudly: "Hao Hou, I am Wang Shuohua, the special envoy of Ning Nanhou of the Ming Dynasty, and this time, I am here, and I am here, on the order of Ning Nanhou, I urgently ask for help from your army!" Please also ask your army to see that the two countries are allied and dependent on each other, and quickly send reinforcements to help me Ningnanhou. ”

After hearing the words of the visitor, Li Guo smiled faintly and said, "Wait, where do you start with this?" You said that Ning Nanhou is in a critical situation now, but why? ”

Seeing that Li Guo deliberately pretended to be confused, Wang Shuohua secretly hated it in his heart, but he had to suppress the anxiety in his heart, and briefly recounted the invasion of the Tang Army to Li Guo.

"That's the case. Now the soldiers and horses of the second town of the Tang Army, sending troops from eastern Sichuan, attacking all the way east, poisoning western Hubei, can not be controlled, but it is rampant! Our left master was so worried that he had to transfer a large number of troops from the eastern defense line of the Tang Army to garrison the area in western Hubei for defense. As a result, the defense of the eastern side, especially the southern part of Henan, is quite empty and worrying. In order to prevent the Tang army in the east from taking the opportunity to sneak attack, the Marquis of Ningnan was helpless, so he sent a humble post to urgently come to your country to ask for reinforcements, and also asked your country to send reinforcements to the southern part of our Henan as soon as possible, so as not to take advantage of the Tang army. Now that the situation is so urgent, it is useless to say more, and I ask the Marquis to send troops as soon as possible to save the people trapped in fire and water. In the next place, thank you for Ning Nanhou. Wang Shuohua looked eager, and finished this long paragraph like a cannon.

Li Guo sighed, and his face deliberately showed sympathy and contemplation. He sighed softly, stood up, pretended to be worried, walked back and forth in the room for a few steps, and then said with a sad face: "Your Excellency, don't worry, now that you and I have become a brotherly alliance, we should share difficulties and help each other. It's just that the noble envoy doesn't know, now I am in Dashun, because of the long-term battle with Li Xiao's family on Xuanfu North Road, this army and food are actually very tense, and it is not easy to urgently dispatch troops. The mood of the envoy can be understood, but if you want to send reinforcements, this matter is very important, and it is necessary for the Marquis to report to my Emperor Dashun first, and then make a decision, before it is appropriate. ”

Hearing that Li Guo was still playing official at this moment, Wang Shuohua was very anxious, but he had to say with a smile on his face: "Haohou, what you said is so difficult, Ning Nanhou has actually thought about it a long time ago. Therefore, when the envoy came, the Marquis of Zhennan had told him that as long as the Marquis could send troops to assist in defending the southern part of Henan as soon as possible, the food and salary of the soldiers of your department would all be wrapped up in my Zhennanhou, and there would be no need for your army to spend a copper plate at all. In addition, if your army can hold the southern part of Henan and survive this imminent crisis, then Ning Nanhou will have another heavy reward......"

Li Guo laughed, waved his hand, interrupted Wang Shuohua's words, and signaled that he didn't need to say more.

Secretly proud in his heart, he deliberately said with a beard: "Well, the military situation is urgent, and it will be delayed by all difficulties, in fact, Ben Hou also knows it in his heart." It's just that Ben Hou also said the truth, although my Dashun soldiers, although they can immediately rush to the Ming Realm to help, but after all, they have entered a foreign country to fight, and their morale is not high, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to fight against the Tang army for a while. Therefore, Ben Hou thought that in order to motivate the soldiers and boost morale, he also hoped that the Hou of Zhennan would not hesitate to reward him, and when our army came to the aid, he would reward the soldiers of the whole army in advance, which was an appropriate move. ”

Wang Shuo saw that Li Guo was so greedy, and finally exposed his true face nakedly, and his heart suddenly sighed.

As soon as he gritted his teeth, he said in a deep voice: "In this case, then please report the reward amount, and the envoy should go back as soon as possible to ask for his life." ”

Li Guo stroked his hands and laughed, nodded again and again: "Okay, you are also a cheerful person, Ben Hou likes it very much!" Then Ben Hou said it bluntly, if you want to hold the southern part of Henan, I am afraid that there will be at least 60,000 troops, in addition to the regular money to give me food and salary equipment for the whole army, with five taels of silver per sergeant, Ben Hou wants 300,000 taels of silver, is it not too much? ”

Hearing Li Guo report such a number, Wang Shuo's face turned pale.

300,000 taels, which is equivalent to cutting a large piece of meat on Zuo Liangyu's body alive, but it emptied most of Zuo Liangyu's private savings for many years. If this number is returned to Zuo Liangyu, I am afraid that I will be scolded for being a bloody squirt.

Wang Shuohua looked sad, the muscles on his face were trembling slightly, he brushed away the cold sweat oozing from his forehead, squeezed out a smile with difficulty and said to Li Guo: "Haohou, how can this be made!" When you say this, you open your mouth to 300,000 taels of silver, which is really a small deal! Such a reward number is really too huge, if Ning Nanhou knew, he was afraid that he would break his little leg on the spot! It is indeed human nature for the Marquis to open up the silver, but it is ...... on the side of the Marquis of Ningnan."

"This matter is non-negotiable, there is no need to talk about it! You remember, if Ben Hou wants to send troops urgently, these 200,000 taels of silver must not be missing, and they must not be in arrears! Li Guo's face was cold, and he unceremoniously interrupted Wang Shuohua's words: "Forgive Benhou's ugly words ahead, you have to figure out that it is you who are here to beg us to do something, not the other way around, and our army is coming to beg you." How can you ask someone to do something, and still buckle the rope like this, and even shirk it repeatedly? What's more, now that the Tang Army's offensive is already very urgent and urgent, in addition to Dashun to help, where else can you ask for reinforcements, and what qualifications do you have to negotiate terms with Ben Hou again? Speaking of which, Ben Hou is still kind-hearted and unwilling to make things difficult for you, so he opened such a price that you can afford. Otherwise, Benhou will ask for another double price, and you can only grit your teeth and admit it. Your honor, what Ben Hou said, is this the truth? ”

Seeing that Li Guo finally revealed his true face as a hooligan, Wang Shuohua scolded bitterly in his heart, but he could only wipe the cold sweat that kept oozing from his forehead and said: "Alas, what Hao Hou said is indeed reasonable. In this case, the messenger immediately went back to his life. ”

Li Guo hummed, walked over with a smile again, patted Wang Shuohua's shoulder gently, and said pleasantly: "Don't be afraid, Ning Nanhou is not a fool, he knows the priorities and will not be angry with you." He knew that the most urgent thing now was to deal with Li Xiao's Tang Army. The opening fee of 300,000 silver, really speaking, is nothing compared to his defeat of the Tang army to hold the territory. If the land is gone, what is the use of having more silver? If this matter is done in the future, from the perspective of this Hou, then Ningnanhou will not only not punish you, but may take credit for you. ”

Wang Shuohua sighed in his heart, a wry smile appeared on his face, and he continued to say goodbye, and then the two guests and hosts exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Wang Shuohua left.

As soon as the envoy left, Li Guo immediately sent someone to the capital to report to Li Zicheng at an expedited speed of 800 miles.

In the letter, he proudly praised himself, saying that now he could send reinforcements to the south of Henan to help Zuo Liangyu of the Ming Dynasty. This time it was like giving it to me, not only was Zuo Liangyu responsible for all the food and salary, but he also got 200,000 taels of silver for the opening fee, which was a big advantage.

Moreover, Li Guo also mentioned in the letter that in addition to taking advantage of the danger of others and greatly reaping benefits in silver, the most important thing is to secretly eat all the land of the two prefectures in southern Henan in the name of assisting defense. Let these two places unconsciously become the land of Dashun country, this opportunity to oppose the guest must be firmly grasped and must not be lost.

Four days later, the messenger arrived in Beijing and handed Li Guo's letter to Li Zicheng, who was drinking and having fun in the back garden with Niu Jinxing, and couldn't help but be overjoyed after listening to the letter from the eunuch.

"Grandma's! Okay, good! Li Guo did a good job, so he should knock Zuo Liangyu well. Li Zicheng looked proud: "Zuo Liangyu, how many brothers did you kill back then, but the door is clear in my heart!" I only sigh that creation makes people, and now we don't remember the past grudges, and in turn save this bastard, it is really the creation of this guy who cultivated in his previous life. Hum! I wanted to come to my Dashun army to help save this guy from the tiger's mouth, so I asked him for 200,000 taels of silver, in my opinion, this asking price is already greatly cheaper for him. ”

The prime minister next to him, Niu Jinxing, was also happy, he nodded again and again: "The emperor is right, now Zuo Liangyu is being attacked and forced by the Tang army, it can be said that his life is hanging by a thread, and he is in danger. However, in the opinion of the following, it is the biggest gain to be able to send troops to the south of Henan in such a justifiable name. ”

"Oh, yes, you see it that way. I think so, too. Hum! This opportunity to be delivered to the door, how can it be easily missed. Li Zicheng looked proud, and his tone was very happy: "In my opinion, as long as our Dashun army enters the south of Henan, then this land will naturally become a territory under my Dashun rule." In the future, if the Tang army is repulsed, let's just find a reason to continue to be stationed there, then Zuo Liangyu will never have the courage to say no to my Dashun, and he will definitely not dare to let us retreat to the north of Henan. Zuo Liangyu, my former rival of Dashun, can only pretend to be deaf and dumb and obediently acquiesce to reality. ”

"The emperor is right, and he sees it this way." Niu Jinxing's eyes lit up, and he further added: "If the Nanyang Mansion and Guide Mansion in the south of Henan fall into the hands of my Dashun, then the entire Henan region will be under the control of our army." If all of this Henan belongs to my Dashun, then the entire Central Plains belongs to me! The field of use of our army in the future will be greatly expanded. In the future, whether it is attacking Zuo Liangyu in the south and marching to Huguang, or attacking Li Xiao's Jiangnan region in the east, our army will advance and retreat freely, and there will be no worries. Such a good opportunity should indeed be well grasped. ”

Li Zicheng said hello repeatedly, and he was in a happy mood, so he loudly ordered Niu Jinxing: "Li Guo's request, I agreed." You give me an order to go down, and allow Li Guoqin to be the commander, and send 60,000 elite soldiers from northern Henan to the south, stationed in southern Henan, and concentrate on defending against the attack of the Tang army. Its northern Henan region is temporarily under the control of Tian Jianxiu. ”

"Yes, Wechen understands."

Li Zicheng's arrangements were set, and when Niu Jinxing immediately sent someone to convey the edict to Li Guo, that Wang Shuohua also happened to rush back to Wuchang and hurriedly returned to Zuo Liangyu.

"Then Li Guo, is that really what you said?"

After listening to Wang Shuo's report, Zuo Liangyu's face was very ugly, and he almost gritted his teeth and asked rhetorically.

"Ning Nanhou, what I said below, every sentence is true, I don't dare to deceive each other in half a sentence!" Wang Shuohua hurriedly said: "That Li Guo, relying on the fact that our army is coming to beg him now, he actually bites the 200,000 taels of silver, and no matter what he says, he will not let go, it is really hateful!" He is so arrogant, putting on a stinky face, as if he has eaten an adult, that is called an ugly face......"

"Okay, you don't have to say any more, let's step back first." Zuo Liangyu's face was red and white for a while, and he waved his hand in disgust, signaling that Wang Shuohua didn't need to say much. Wang Shuohua saw Zuo Liangyu's attitude, and immediately retired.

In a large room, there was a dead silence.

Zuo Liangyu sat on the chair, like a zombie. He did not call anyone to consult and deliberate, but by himself, after sitting alone for a long time, he paced back and forth in the room, and the click of his boots on the ground sounded inexplicably desolate.

Eventually, he stopped, his face full of helplessness, let out a long sigh, and made up his mind.

Zuo Liangyu is a smart person, and he knows that he has reached such an urgent moment of burning his eyebrows, and he no longer has any qualifications to negotiate with Li Guo. If they annoy the Dashun army, they don't send reinforcements, and the south of Henan will be lost, and they are afraid that they will regret it.

To put it mildly, even if Li Guo doubles the price now, Zuo Liangyu, who is eager to ask for someone, can only pinch his nose and admit it.

In this world, in the final analysis, only interests are the most reliable, and other feelings and credits are all empty talk.

Zuo Liangyu let out a long sigh, finally called back the messenger, and slowly passed the order: "The military situation is urgent, I will wait for someone to ask for something, and I can fight with them for something again." Alas, people are under the eaves and have to bow their heads. Ben Hou agreed, and according to Li Guo's advice, he gave them 200,000 taels of silver, and after they entered the southern part of Henan, he took out the silver from the treasury and gave it to them. In addition, their money and food in southern Henan should also be covered by Benhou, so that they don't have to worry too much about it, just fight against the Tang army wholeheartedly. You should quit your hard work, go to Kaifeng quickly, and return to Li Guo. ”

"Yes, under orders!"