Xi Mucheng set off for Chu on June 18.

According to Lin Feng's arrangement, Xi Mucheng, under the protection of two special soldiers, marched west along the Huai River, first reached Guangzhou (now Huangchuan, Xinyang, Henan), then went south to Ezhou, and then transferred to Chu by boat, and went straight to Tanzhou. They traveled rapidly along the way, observed all the way, and took into account the deployment of the enemy and us on both sides of the Huai River, the morale of the soldiers on both sides, and the lives of the people along the way.

On the evening of July 2, Xi Mucheng rushed to Tanzhou City, issued a certificate stamped with the Great Seal of the Shouzhou Thorn History, and secretly asked to meet Li Congqian, the king of Ji stationed in Chu, and Liu Rengan, the envoy of Wuchang Jiedu.

In the study room of King Ji's Mansion, Xi Mucheng briefly talked about the major events after Lin Feng left Chu and the various changes being carried out in Shouzhou, which attracted Li Congqian and Liu Renzhen to admire and admire.

Xi Mucheng simply replied to Li Congqian's two gossip questions, quickly grabbed the conversation, solemnly expounded Lin Feng's overall plan for the future war, and asked for their opinions.

Li Congqian turned his head directly to look at Liu Renzhen.

Liu Ren was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "The overall plan is grand and exquisite, my Wuchang army and the new army of Tanzhou have been broken during this time, and at least 30,000 troops can be sent north to attack Shenzhou (now Xinyang, Henan)!" However, I am really worried that once the enemy army moves south, will Xiaoxiao Shouzhou be able to block the full force of the north? There must be a huge disparity in the number of troops! ”

Xie Lu Xie Liu reminded. Lord Lin has been secretly arranging and preparing all kinds of hospitality gifts for the enemy. As for the troops, this is the main reason why the villain rushed to Chu this time. Xi Mucheng replied in a deep voice.

Li Congqian slapped the table and said loudly: "Say it!" Mr. Lin wants to say how many soldiers he wants! I personally led the troops over and fought side by side with Mr. Lin, watching our brothers capture that Guo Wei before the battle! ”

Xi Mucheng and Liu Renzhen were startled, and Xi Mucheng hurriedly bowed down and said, "How dare His Royal Highness King Laoji." ”

Liu Renzhen also persuaded: "Chu is extremely important, you must not leave King Ji for a while, please Your Highness be calm and not impatient." ”

Li Congqian slapped the table with hatred, and said stupidly: "Alas, I know that it is the most unlucky thing for Lu Dao to be this auspicious king!" At the beginning, I followed Mr. Lin as a small soldier, and I was 10,000 times happier than this! With that, he sat down heavily and sighed.

When Li Congqian's mood gradually calmed down, Xi Mucheng solemnly stated the main purpose of this trip: to borrow troops from the ethnic minorities in Chu.

Looking at the surprised eyes of Liu Renzhen and Li Congqian, Xi Mucheng talked about the preferential conditions offered by Emperor Li Jing, and talked about Lin Feng's military strategy, and finally explained: "Lord Lin is adhering to the will of the Holy God, and at the same time, I want to show my Tang Dynasty's eclectic and broad-minded mind that treats all nationalities equally. ”

Liu Renzhen pondered, as long as this matter can be successful, it can also weaken the barbarian force openly, of course, it is a good way, and nodded in support.

Li Congqian began to worry about his teacher coming at this time, and proposed to combine the 3,000 barbarian criminal soldiers in Tanzhou, 5,000 recruits, and 2,000 elite Wuchang troops into 10,000 people to support Lin Feng at that time.

Xi Mucheng knelt down on behalf of Lin Feng on the spot to thank him, and then discussed with the two bigwigs on the spot the recent training of these 10,000 troops, the time control of deployment, precautions, etc., and did not pause, and left directly.

On the evening of 5 July, Xi Mucheng and his entourage rushed to the Tiger Roaring Gorge of Baihu Mountain in Chenzhou (now Yuanling County, Huaihua, Hunan) and met Panlong, the patriarch of the Tujia family.

When Xi Mucheng explained the conditions, and specifically pointed out that this was an important opportunity for the Chenzhou Tujia family to go out of the mountains to win prestige, Panlong, who had already been tied to the chariot by Lin Feng, did not hesitate, and quickly convened the elders of the clan for urgent discussion, and finally decided that the whole clan was young and strong, with more than seven thousand people, plus the six hundred Tujia elites in the Tanzhou City Sin Word Camp, and made up a whole number, known as eight thousand.

Xi Mucheng also admired Panlong's decisiveness very much, sat down and gave him a good analysis of Lin Feng's huge strategy to gain prestige overseas, and sincerely admired Panlong for seizing the key opportunity for the prosperity of the clan.

The one-armed general Pan Long was also excited, and decided on the spot to personally lead the troops to strengthen the training from now on, and then he would lead the troops on an expedition, and agreed with Xi Mucheng on the time, method and agreed on the code before sending Xi Mucheng out of the mountain.

Xi Mucheng, who had won successive battles, set off again and went north to Xizhou. However, as soon as they crossed Youshui, they were arrested by the patrolling Tujia soldiers and rushed to Xizhou half-escorted and half-sent. Xi Mucheng was completely the same as a person who had nothing to do, his face was calm, he ate when he should eat, and slept when he should sleep, which calmly allowed the two special soldiers who accompanied him to completely obey this elegant scholar.

On the evening of 7 July, the group rushed to Xizhou, where they immediately summoned more than a dozen of their cronies for a "triage."

Because it was built in the middle of the mountain, the main hall of Xizhou Thorn Mansion was slightly narrow, especially at this time it was close to dusk, and the hall was already a little dim, and there were already torches lit at the entrance. Xi Mucheng, dressed in snow-white Confucian clothes, stood in a group of Tujia officials with bare arms and chests and colorful clothes, and told the preferential conditions for the Tang Dynasty to borrow soldiers.

Not surprisingly, the whole scene immediately became a mess. The Chinese dialect and the Tujia language flew together, and the spit and the big steel knife danced wildly, and these people were eager to devour Xi Mucheng alive. According to the copper pillar agreement between Xizhou and Chu State, Chu State cannot recruit troops in Peng Shichou's jurisdiction, and all the officials in Peng Shichou's jurisdiction are appointed and dismissed by Peng Shichou, which is Xizhou's biggest self-confidence, although Chu and Tang have changed, but Datang has never mentioned this matter, and it can be regarded as a tacit acquiescence to this agreement, and now you are going to borrow troops with a mouth, isn't this to break the peace agreement between the two sides? !

Xi Muchengjun smiled as usual, his eyes were slightly closed, and he didn't pay attention to the noise around him.

"Shut it all up!" Peng Shichou, who was already sixty-nine years old, suddenly shouted, and the sound swept through the hall like rolling thunder, instantly destroying all the chaos.

Peng Shichou pointed at Xi Mucheng, and said in a somewhat stiff Chinese dialect: "Mr. Xi, although my brother's words are a little rough, but everything is true, we are all worried, I am afraid that Lin Feng's borrowing of troops is fake, and it is true that he will take the opportunity to weaken my Xizhou strength!" Besides, Han people have always spoken a lot, who knows if what you say is true or false? ”

Xi Mucheng flicked the folds of his clothes lightly on his chest, and bowed: "Master Peng, Ling Gongzi Peng Shihui must have sent a letter from the Tanzhou army, then Master Peng must know whether Peng Gongzi can move freely now, and my Datang has ever disdained him in the slightest?" I must also know what he thinks of my family, Lord Lin! ”

Peng Shihui, the former commander of Tanzhou's strong crossbow, was originally a hostage sent to Chu by Xizhou, and in Lin Feng's battle to attack Tanzhou, he was absorbed by Lin Feng along with Wu Hong and stayed in the Tanzhou army.

"This ......," Peng Shichou muttered. Of course, Peng Shihui had written a lot of letters, and he was full of admiration for Lin Feng and his subordinates. If it weren't for this emotional foundation, according to the agreement that "the military and civilians of Chu State cannot enter Xizhou at will", Xi Mucheng and the three of them were afraid that they would not be able to enter Xizhou City at all, and they would not be able to enter the Assassin's Mansion!

Xi Mucheng raised his voice and said loudly: "My Lord Lin, at the critical moment of life and death when Tanzhou City is surrounded by coiling dragons, he still tries his best to protect every rich businessman, every woman and child in Huang Zongwang's mansion, such a person is not credible, what kind of person can be trusted?!" Xi suggested that you Xizhou people can go out of the mountains to have a look, and inquire about the prestige and reputation of my Lord Lin in Tanzhou, Guiguan, Jinling, and Shouzhou, have you ever heard that Lord Lin's words don't count, and ask Lord Lin if he has ever harmed others and benefited himself? ! ”

No one in the hall spoke anymore, and they all stared at the young man who was talking.

"From Chudi, to Qingyuan, to Fuzhou, to Liao, and then to Jinzhou, has my Lord Lin ever owed any brothers and collaborators? Can anyone give an example, I, Xi, committed suicide by cutting my neck on the spot! Xi Mucheng turned his body slowly, looked at the silent group of officials in front of him, and said in an angry voice, "Chenzhou's coiling dragon, have you heard of it?" He besieged Lord Lin in Tanzhou City, leaving Lord Lin under siege, but Lord Lin could still forgive him and signed a Hanyi Equality Covenant with the Tujia family of Chenzhou as usual. Just three days ago, as soon as Panlong heard about the borrowed soldiers, he immediately gathered the young men of the whole clan to start training, and decided to send 8,000 elite soldiers to help Lord Lin at any time! ”

Whoa—all the people in the hall exclaimed in amazement, and looked at each other in disbelief.

"What kind of person is Panlong? He is a calculating man! He can besiege Lord Lin for some financial interests, so now, what kind of big interests can make such a person make a major choice? Xi Mucheng threw out a question, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall, and said loudly, "This is because even people like Panlong have already seen it!" With the Yihan Covenant in the Guiguan area there, my Lord Lin intends to take advantage of this war to enhance the status of the people of all ethnic groups and build a great country where all ethnic groups live together equally, unite and help each other, and sweep the world!

Lord Lin has always paid attention to fairness and justice in doing things, how hard you work, how much you will get in return! If the Tujia family in Chenzhou is famous all over the world, walks out of the mountains, and becomes the leader of the Tujia family in the world, what should you Xizhou Tujia do? Are you still struggling in the midst of these ten thousand mountains? ”

The scene was silent, and Peng Shichou's eyes flashed with thought.

At this moment, Xi Mucheng suddenly shouted: "Shoot!" ”