December 11, Anzhou, Fangcheng. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the morning, Li Zixiong invited Yuan An and Kong Yingda to the study to meet in the name of discussing opportunities.

Yuan and Kong hurriedly arrived, only to see Xiao Yi, Li Min, and Li Anqi already sitting. Yuan and Kong were both surprised when they saw Li Anqi.

Yuan An knew Li Anqi, and knew that Li Anqi had secretly arrived in Anzhou as the secret envoy of the King of Qi, but he was too busy in the past two days, and Li Anqi couldn't show his face, so even if the two had the idea of meeting and talking, it was difficult to get their wish. And Kong Yingda and Li Anqi are both leaders of the younger generation of Confucianism in Shandong, not only acquaintance, but also irreversible friends, these years because Kong Yingda devoted himself to Yang Xuangan's door, soaring and soaring, and Li Anqi was affected by his father Li Baiyao and disappeared in the official career, the two of them have been separated from each other since then, and the world is far away, and the news has been cut off, and the sudden reunion at this moment is really a surprise.

The three of them greeted each other warmly, and Yuan and Kong also guessed the purpose of Li Zixiong's invitation, that is, as the situation develops rapidly in a predictable direction, the relationship between the alliance and the king of Qi must be adjusted in time, but how to adjust and which direction to adjust, of course, the core members of the alliance have to discuss it, and the reason why Li Anqi was able to attend it was not because he was the secret envoy of the king of Qi, but because he was the son of Li Baiyao, the liaison between the alliance and the king of Qi, and more importantly, he was Li Pingyuan's nephew. This makes their father and son closely linked to the interests of the alliance, just imagine that at the critical moment, even the king of Qi tried his best to win over their father and son, not to mention the alliance, it is natural to firmly "tie" their father and son to the ship of the alliance.

After sitting down, Li Zixiong got straight to the point and went straight to the point.

The original plan for the development of the Sai has achieved initial results, and the results of the expedition far exceeded the original expectations, not only recovering Anzhou, but also sweeping the northeast, which greatly shortened the time for the alliance to "gain a foothold" outside the Sai, and entered the development stage at an unbelievable speed, and the speed of development alone depends on the alliance itself is certainly not good, just like the expedition out of the fortress needs strong support from the Great Wall, the development of the alliance outside the Sai also needs the help of external forces, however, in order to prevent the tiger from being a disaster, it is necessary to adjust the strategy, It is impossible to allow the alliance to grow and grow so much that it will not be able to bring disaster upon itself.

The contradiction is here, and the solution is also very simple, two ways, one is that the alliance continues to conquer foreign countries and nourish the war with war, which is the bottom line that Li Fengyun insisted on, to participate in the third eastern expedition to Goguryeo in exchange for the autonomy of Anzhou and the Northeast, but the disadvantage is that the risk is too great, and the slightest carelessness may lead to failure or even the annihilation of the whole army, so that the success falls short, and the good situation instantly comes to naught; Since the Holy Lord and the Central Committee intend to set up several forces such as King Qi, Li Hun, Li Zixiong and Li Fengyun as opposites, then everyone simply tear off the "fig leaf", openly form an alliance, form a group, and unite with the outside world, so that several forces can learn from each other's strengths and complement each other's weaknesses and develop together, but the disadvantage is that the enemy is outnumbered, and the target of the crowd is that once the opponent attacks it, there is a danger of annihilation.

However, carefully weighing the pros and cons and choosing the lesser of two evils, the second option is clearly more beneficial to the alliance. After returning to Middle Earth, he worked hand in hand with King Qi and Li Hun to use the huge political resources of King Qi and Longxi Chengji Li to develop and grow in northern Xinjiang. They can use this precious time to stabilize the situation in Anju and Northeast China, strengthen their own strength, and make adequate preparations for the Civil War.

Li Zixiong's tendency is obvious, he does not support the alliance to participate in the Third Eastern Crusade, even if he makes greater concessions in the return negotiations, or even sacrifices part of the autonomy, it is acceptable, after all, the alliance soldiers are too tired and can no longer continue, and the Turks who have just joined are not trustworthy with the Donghu races such as Xi and Khitan, and the alliance has a stable foothold outside the Saiwai, and there is a serious lack of grain and grass weapons, and its own vital points are firmly controlled by Middle Earth. It is necessary to keep quiet and accumulate strength, rather than dragging a tired and scarred body, and fighting with all the strength to fight against the water.

Yuan An's expression was cold, and he questioned unceremoniously, "Duke Ming, why do we believe in King Qi?" Believe in Gong Gong? ”

Li Zixiong frowned slightly and was very dissatisfied with Yuan An's questioning, and was particularly angry at his provocation of his authority, but there was no way, since the beginning of the fortress, Li Fengyun and the grassroots heroes of the alliance have charged forward, invincible, and established supreme merit at the same time, but also established an unshakable prestige in the alliance, especially the Turks and Donghu have always judged heroes by success or failure, they were defeated in the hands of Li Fengyun, of course, they respected Li Fengyun as the leader of the alliance, so Li Fengyun's strength skyrocketed, The number of the army that can command and is willing to serve the foreign captives is as high as tens of thousands, and it is still increasing, coupled with the grassroots heroes of the alliance who were originally loyal to Li Fengyun, now Li Fengyun's strength is too strong, he has overridden the forces of all parties in the alliance, and absolutely controls the discourse of the alliance, Li Zixiong is no longer difficult to match, but is not his opponent at all. Yuan An is Li Fengyun's spokesperson, Yuan An's questioning is actually Li Fengyun's questioning, even if Li Zixiong is very dissatisfied, he can't break out publicly.

"We have an appointment with King Qi first." Li Min took the initiative to reply on behalf of his father, "At the beginning of the battlefield in the Eastern Capital, although we did not have a clear agreement with Gong Yu, the tacit understanding is obvious to all. ”

This is a fact, Li Fengyun has an agreement with the King of Qi, and Li Zixiong, Han Shige and other nobles in distress also have an agreement with the King of Qi, and this is the root cause of the contradictions within the alliance now. The agreement between Li Fengyun and the King of Qi is to go north to seek common development and seek the future of the alliance, while the agreement between Li Zixiong and other fallen nobles and the King of Qi is to use the power of the King of Qi to "see the light of day" and make a comeback, and to seek the future of the personal family, there is a world of difference between the two. So when Yuan An heard this, his face suddenly sank, and his tone became even sharper.

"You have an agreement with the King of Qi, you have a tacit understanding with the Duke of Qi, you believe in the King of Qi, you believe in the Duke of Yun, this is understandable, but I must solemnly tell you, why do we believe in the King of Qi? Believe in Gong Gong? ”

As soon as these words came out, the contradictions between the two sides were openly clarified, and the atmosphere in the study was tense for a moment.

Li Zixiong, Li Min and his son had gloomy faces; Yuan An's eyes were blazing and aggressive, like a fierce beast that chooses people and devours them; Xiao Yi and Kong Yingda looked solemn and didn't say a word; Li Anqi's eyes and nose looked at his heart, as if an old monk had settled down and turned a deaf ear.

"If we are determined to win the autonomy of Anzhou and Northeast China by participating in the Third Eastern Crusade, then what kind of agreement should we reach between us and the King of Qi and Li Hun?"

Li Zixiong made a decisive compromise. The king of Qi is not credible, and Li Hun, the Duke of Yuguo, is even less trustworthy. The reason why the King of Qi secretly cooperated with the alliance was to fight to the death politically, to find a glimmer of hope to seize the imperial throne from a desperate situation, and Li Hun and the King of Qi were people in the same boat, their current goal was to survive and develop, that is, to reverse their fate with the help of the victory of the Civil War, as for the alliance, in their eyes it was a "tool" to achieve this goal, they could share weal and bene, but it was impossible to share prosperity.

In this regard, Li Fengyun, Yuan An and others saw it clearly, so they adhered to their own principles, firmly controlled their own destiny, and walked their own path. You can follow me, we will seek the future together, but I will never go with you, at your mercy, to be your stepping stone.

The alliance sacrificed autonomy in exchange for respite, and it seemed that the four forces of King Qi, Li Hun, Li Zixiong and Li Fengyun had benefited from it and were hugging together, but in fact, it was the three forces of King Qi, Li Hun and Li Zixiong who took advantage of it, and they all effortlessly got the martial arts of opening up the territory and feasting on it, while Li Fengyun and his subordinates, who really bled and sweated on the battlefield of opening up the territory, only drank a mouthful of soup in the end. This kind of loss-making business, will Li Fengyun do it? He would rather be trapped outside the Fortress, or even simply do nothing, "selling" himself in the desert, and be a little khan of one side, than being a fish on the chopping board and letting Middle-earth slaughter at will.

However, if the alliance participates in the Third Eastern Crusade in exchange for the autonomy of Anzhou and the Northeast, the Holy Lord and the Central Commander have to compromise and have to pay a huge price, then someone must come out to take responsibility, the first to bear the brunt is Li Hun, the deputy lieutenant of Andong who is responsible for passing through Anzhou and the Northeast did not complete the task, and of course he will be punished, followed by the King of Qi, in order to prevent the King of Qi from sitting big with the help of the power of the Alliance, the Holy Lord and the Central Governor will definitely find ways to contain the King of Qi, such as recalling him back to the palace or the Eastern Capital, Or order it to go to Dingxiang, Yulin, and Wuyuan to patrol the border, and temporarily cut off the connection between it and the alliance, so that the alliance will lose the "help" of King Qi and Li Hun, and have to fight alone, and the consequences will be equally worrying.

However, Yuan An's answer was very resolute, "You can't live if you do it yourself." ”

Before the chief manager left the fortress, he clearly told the king of Qi that as long as the alliance was based on the outside of the fortress, it could form a tripartite echo with the king of Qi and the Flying Fox garrison inside and outside the Great Wall, and the king of Qi could take this opportunity to quickly control Yanbei, and then face Youzhou in the east, enter Daibei in the west, and resist the eastern capital according to the northern frontier, but what is the result? As a result, the king of Qi retreated, and at the critical moment, he did not take advantage of our excellent opportunity to recover Anzhou, unite with the Flying Fox Garrison to seize control of Yanbei, and join forces with us to coerce the emperor to compromise, and exchange the return of Anzhou for huge benefits, but actively cooperated with the palace and coerced the Flying Fox Garrison to leave the customs immediately, resulting in an instant subversion of the good situation, which not only pushed us into a passive predicament, but also cut off his own development path. ”

Li Zixiong, Li Min father and son looked at each other and smiled bitterly. This is precisely the reason why Li Zixiong made a decisive compromise.

As Yuan An said, King Qi's forward-looking and indecisive attitude did bury a great opportunity for the rapid rise of northern Xinjiang. If the King of Qi keeps his promise, abides by the agreement, and follows Li Fengyun's plan, unites the Flying Fox Legion to control Yanbei, and forms a left-right attack on Youzhou, the Holy Lord and the center are forced to compromise in the current predicament of internal and external troubles, and must compromise in exchange for the stability of Northern Xinjiang by conceding political interests, otherwise the civil war will break out, the Northern Xinjiang will be in chaos, the Civil War will break out in advance, and the desert will roar down, and the Great Wall will be in danger. Therefore, in Li Fengyun's plan, it is always the best policy for the three parties to form an echoing trend, but whether this strategy can be realized is the key to the king of Qi, and if the king of Qi does not cooperate, everything will be in vain.

Now the king of Qi did not cooperate, as a result, the king of Qi not only fell into passivity, not only pushed Li Hun, the right-hand man who supported him, into the abyss, and pushed the Flying Fox legion that pinned his hopes on him into a desperate situation, but also pushed the alliance that was fighting hard outside the Cyprus into a predicament, and had to risk failure to participate in the Third Eastern Crusade in exchange for autonomy, and he didn't know if he could succeed.

Such a person who can't be supported, in this unfavorable situation, the alliance continues to give him high hopes, and continues to form in-depth alliances and cooperate with him, which is purely looking for death.

"Could it be...... The chief manager wants to give up King Qi? Li Min cautiously probed.

"The Governor's exact words are, maintain the status quo and not hold out hope." Yuan An glanced at Li Anqi and continued, "Our main purpose is to control our own destiny. ”

Li Zixiong thought for a moment, slowly bowed his head, and asked, "What about Gong Gong?" ”

"As long as we actually control Anju and the northeast, the Andong Governor's Mansion will have the meaning of existence." Yuan An said, "The chief manager said that the Anton Governor's Mansion is an indispensable transit inside and outside the Great Wall. ”

Li Zixiong was able to penetrate it at a glance, and praised with a smile, "Good plan." If we can pull Gong Gong over, our grain and grass crisis will be half solved. ”

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