Dongfang Shuo has become a man of the year in Qiuzi Country.

When he was an envoy to Wusun, when he passed through Qiuzi, he attracted the attention of many people with his flamboyant style, and the rumor even reached the ears of King Qiuzi. Now that he is in Qiuzi, he immediately caused a whirlwind, and everyone was proud to see this giant from the Great Han.

Height is only an external characteristic of Dongfang Shuo, erudition is the real characteristic of Dongfang Shuo, unlike those old masters, Dongfang Shuo is not only knowledgeable, but also able to speak, humorous, absolutely the center of the party. Wherever he appears, there will never be a cold scene.

King Qiuzi likes Dongfang Shuo very much, and invites Dongfang Shuo to a banquet twice in three days to listen to him brag.

The turtles are rich, and the style of drinking and feasting among the nobles is very strong. When winter came, they didn't have much to do, and most of the time was spent holding banquets. Qiuci's music, singing and dancing are famous, and it is inseparable from Qiuci's people's enthusiasm for drinking and feasting.

Dongfang Shuo is like a fish in water. Taking advantage of the opportunity to drink with the King of Qiuci, he constantly instilled in the King of Qiuci the concept that the Han Dynasty was not only powerful, but also rich. An alliance with the Xiongnu can only be exploited by the Xiongnu as a slave, and an alliance with the Han Dynasty will not occur, which is more beneficial to Qiuzi.

However, the results are not very good.

King Qiuci had long heard of the wealth of the Han Dynasty, and the most powerful merchants were either from Dawan and Anxi, west of the Green Mountains, or from the Han people from the east. But he didn't believe in the strength of the Han Dynasty. In the eyes of King Qiuzi, the Han Dynasty, like them, was under the rule of the Huns, and even if it was strong, it was not much stronger.

Not to mention. Recently. Liang Xiao in order to attack Daban. He also borrowed a thousand people from Qiuzi. If it weren't for Li Danghu and others, who had just attacked Daban, by their side, reminding King Qiuci from time to time of the existence of Liang Xiao, who had become a legend, King Qiuci might have regarded Dongfang Shuo as a liar and blasted him out.

Dongfang Shuo was a little helpless. At this time, he received a reply from Liang Xiao.

After reading Liang Xiao's letter, Dongfang Shuo thought about it for a long time and sent someone to invite Li Danghu over.

"Captain Liang decided to stick to Daban and wait for an opportunity to break the enemy. The Right Virtuous King has reached the south of the Tianshan Mountains. There are about 40,000 people. He left behind about five or six thousand people in Daban, and more than thirty thousand people went south. According to the calculation of time, it should be almost to the area of Weisu and Yuli by now. ”

Li Danghu frowned. "Weisu and Yuli are both small countries, and they can't stop the Huns."

"Yes, they are all small countries, so their national strength is not enough to support the Xiongnu army to besiege Daban for a long time." Dongfang Shuo kneaded his fingers. "Weisu and Yuli are closer to Dasaka, but Qiuzi is farther away. I estimate that unless it is absolutely necessary, King Youxian will not easily go west. He hoped that the Qiuzi people would surrender without a fight and take the initiative to send all kinds of supplies he needed. Or even send troops to help. ”

"It's not impossible." Li Danghu's melancholy is even stronger. "The Qiuzi people were originally subservient to the Xiongnu, and they were indulged in pleasure. There is no force. The servant Du Wei sent a messenger to get what he wanted, and the tens of thousands of troops of the Right Virtuous King were approaching the city, and they could not have the will to resist at all. ”

Dongfang Shuo smiled bitterly. He knows all these things that Li Danghu said. Qiuzi does have strength, but they don't want to fight, and would rather spend money to buy peace. In front of the army led by King Youxian, it is simply wishful thinking to expect them to summon up the courage to fight the Huns. As soon as he thought of this, he couldn't help but want to scold Liang Xiao, but in front of Li Danghu, he had to defend Liang Xiao with all his might.

"This is also the reason why Liang Duwei wants to fight. Only by defeating the Huns in front of the eyes of the Qiuci people can the Qiuci people realize who is the real strongest, and only then can they snatch the countries south of the Tianshan Mountains from the hands of the Huns. ”

Dongfang Shuo looked at Li Danghu and said, "Dawan and Yue's are both big countries and can be allies, but it is difficult to become a vassal country. Hunting arrogant and Aliusu are all heroes, and it is impossible for them to submit to the commander, and the strength of other small countries is limited, and they are not enough to influence the situation south of the Tianshan Mountains, only Qiuzi has strength and weakness. If you can control the turtles, it will be enough to stand with the hunting arrogance and Aliusu. ”

Li Danghu nodded silently. He understood what Dongfang Shuo meant, but it didn't solve the problem at hand. How to make the Qiuzi people cheer up, fight the Huns, and create opportunities for Liang Xiao is the biggest difficulty he has encountered at present.

"Jose has a fighting heart, but his strength is limited, and he is not enough to influence King Guizi." Li Danghu told Jose about the situation. Jose is one of the main fighting factions in the king of Guizi, but they are in a weak position and have a limited voice. Moreover, it is also very practical that Qiuzi's strength is not as good as that of the Xiongnu, and in this case, even Jose has little confidence.

Liang Xiao sent Li Danghu to return to China with Jose, hoping that he could help Jose train soldiers and stick to Qiuzi. But at present, it is possible to train soldiers, and it will be difficult to prompt the king of Qiuci to declare war on the Xiongnu.

"In any case, we have to try to gain time as much as possible, and if we can delay it for one day, we will have one more chance." Dongfang Shuo waved his hand. "You arrange it, I'm going to meet with Jose."

Li Danghu agreed.

――

Dongfang Shuo told Jose the news that the Huns had reached the south of the Tianshan Mountains. José's face turned pale.

"Really?"

"This is the news sent by Liang Duwei, it is absolutely true." Dongfang Shuo smiled, full of lightheartedness. "The general doesn't need to worry, the Huns are killing themselves, and they want to give the general a chance to make meritorious contributions."

Jose was suspicious. "Why do you say that, sir?"

Dongfang Shuo was not in a hurry, and raised his wine glass. "Let me first salute the general, and wish the general an additional officer."

José blinked and raised his glass. Dongfang Shuo gestured and drank it all. Jose took a shallow sip, put down his wine glass, and stared intently at Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo raised his eyelids and said with a smile: "The general has been on the battlefield for a long time and is one of the few famous generals in Qiuzi. I have a question for the general. ”

Jose didn't even dare to say it, but a smile bloomed on his face. Dongfang Shuo is the most popular celebrity in Qiuzi at the moment, and he can make Dongfang Shuo boast of a famous general, he is very face-saving.

"The Huns have been preparing for the westward expedition since the beginning of the year, and the 100,000 army has gone to Dawan, and now it is November, how many cattle and sheep do they need to consume?"

Jose pondered for a moment, and suddenly understood what Dongfang Shuo meant, and his face couldn't help but change. It seems that the Huns came for Daban. In fact, even if Liang Xiao did not occupy Daban, the Huns would still come. Because they have suffered a lot of losses this year, their vitality has been greatly damaged, and if they do not come to rob and extort the countries south of the Tianshan Mountains, it will be difficult for them to recover quickly.

Dongfang Shuo saw the change in Jose's face in his eyes, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and added another fire. "If Qiuzi raises the strength of a country, how long can he support the Huns?"

José's face was even more ugly. He hesitated for a moment: "However, the Huns are menacing, and we really can't deal with it." In case of anger to the Huns, they will most likely slaughter the city. ”

Dongfang Shuo smiled. "Little Dasaka, they can't take it, can they still capture Qiuzi? General, I'll settle the account for you. ”

Dongfang Shuo snapped his fingers and calculated an account for Jose. The total number of men and horses of the Right Xian King was around 40,000, and in order to prevent Liang Duwei from attacking his rear supplies, he left five or six thousand people to monitor Liang Duwei. In this way, there were only more than 30,000 people around him, which was only 10,000 more than the total strength of Qiuzi, and the advantage was not obvious, and it was not enough to attack the city at all.

From the Cheshi to Qiuzi, it was about 2,000 miles, and it took more than 20 days just to march. The siege of the city requires all kinds of siege equipment, and it will take more than ten days. Before conquering Qiuzi, they had to resort to raiding the countries along the way to replenish their provisions. And there are no big countries in this area except for Qiuzi, and they also need to be transferred from the Cheshi.

A supply line of two thousand miles, and tribes that have been bullied by them along the way, how many men and horses does King Youxian need to send to maintain the normal operation of this supply line, instead of sending winter food to those tribes?

In this way, how many people are left who can attack the city?

The combat effectiveness of the Huns is indeed very strong, but they are good at riding and shooting, not attacking and defending cities. There was a large fortified city in Qiuzi, and it was enough to defend it. Taking into account all factors, it was by no means easy for the Huns to capture Qiuci. They just look strong, but in fact they are strong on the outside, and they can only scare those who are cowardly.

Once the Huns could not capture the city, they faced a dilemma.

If the siege continues, they will have to endure a great deal of attrition. How many cattle and sheep does the 40,000 army eat every day? This is a very burdensome price, and it is really not optimistic about how long the Huns can support it.

If you retreat, the majesty of the Huns will be swept away, and if you want to be domineering in the future, what kind of servants will be set up here, one person and one horse, and the days of paying tribute to all countries with a piece of wood will be gone forever. At that time, how can the nations not remember the grace of the turtle?

"General, you must understand the pros and cons of this, right? I estimate that the Huns will not fail to take this issue into account, it is unlikely that they will send troops to come, but will only send people to intimidate. Before that, the general should have two to three days to make a decision. ”

José's eyes twinkled. He was completely seduced by the prospect that Dongfang Shuo had depicted. Since the Huns are strong on the outside and strong in the middle, there is a great chance of winning this battle, so why didn't he take this opportunity to make a contribution?

"Sir, I see." José suppressed the excitement in his heart. "I will give Mr. an answer as soon as possible."

"Then I'll sit back and wait for the general's good news." Dongfang Shuo laughed.

After sending Jose away, Dongfang Shuo immediately called Li Danghu and asked him to arrange for a few Lang officials to leave the city immediately. Do nothing else, specifically attack the envoys of the Huns, delay as much time as possible, and stimulate the right Xianwang. In order to achieve Liang Xiao's desired goal, it is necessary to let the Right Virtuous King attack the city of Qiuzi. The longer the siege, the greater the losses of the Huns.

Li Danghu understood and took the order.

Soon, seven Lang officials quietly went out of the city-

(To be continued.) )