It's actually an acquaintance.

Li Mu, the young protector of the Western Xinjiang Metropolitan Protectorate, the deputy governor of the Pingxi Army, and Ma Shuo's former boss, can barely be regarded as a friend.

"Li Mu, deputy governor of the Pingxi Army of the Western Xinjiang Metropolitan Protectorate, meets with the Captain of the Horse, the General of the Auxiliary Qin, the Yumen County Guard, and the Lord of the Shaoshang Horse!" At this meeting, Li Mu's attitude was different from any in the past.

Before, although he was very enthusiastic about calling Ma Shuo brothers and sisters every time, in his bones, Li Mu still had a sense of wanting to win over Ma Shuo, and there was a sense of superiority.

However, this time, Li Mu completely put Ma Shuo in a position at least equal to them, and his attitude was very respectful, directly commensurate with his official position and title, and there was a feeling that his subordinates were visiting his superiors.

Although, from the bottom of his heart, Li Mu didn't want to do this. However, he had to do it again, because this time he came with Li Lingwei's order. Because of Xianyang's canonization of Ma Shuo and Yang Yi's initiative to take refuge, Li Lingwei, the protector of Western Xinjiang, felt great pressure.

At the same time, at this time, the Western Xinjiang Protectorate also encountered a lot of trouble. Troubles, both from within and from outside. First of all, of course, it comes from within.

Previously, Li Mu and Ma Shuo cooperated to take Guyang County, which naturally increased Li Lingwei's influence a lot, temporarily suppressing the influence of the other two factions. However, as the situation changed, especially Ma Shuo's canonization, those two factions began to become dishonest.

Because Ma Shuo's enthronement is equivalent to directly cutting off a large piece of the territory of the descendants controlled by Li Lingwei, whether it is the territory or the people and horses, they have shrunk a lot at once, and the impact is naturally great.

Huangsha City, a half of Guyang County, was nominally on Li Lingwei's side before. However, the situation has become completely different, Ma Shuo is equivalent to independence, and it is justifiably independent, and at the same time has nominal control over them.

Inside and out, the situation Li Lingwei faced suddenly became embarrassing. He didn't want to follow Yang Yi's example of joining Ma Shuo, but he didn't want to face Ma Shuo head-on, because once this happened, the Western Xinjiang Protectorate would be facing three enemies, or even four enemies. At the same time, he is likely to be threatened from within. Whether it is Guo Zongyu or Zheng Lun, it is not a fuel-efficient lamp.

I believe that as long as there is enough interest temptation, these two guys will definitely turn against Li Lingwei without hesitation, and it is even possible to tie up Li Lingwei and sell it directly. Internal restlessness, external unrest, internal worries and external troubles, this is Li Lingwei's predicament.

Relatively speaking, on the contrary, it is Ma Shuo's side, although the territory is not large, but once he occupies the righteousness, he was canonized by Xianyang, and everything is justified. Plus, there's no mess inside him.

Yang Yi was able to personally bring the rest of the Yumen Army over, and handed over all the military power without hesitation, so naturally he would not have any crooked thoughts.

Li Mu called Ma Shuo by his official title, but did not mention the identity of the Pingxi Army marching history that had been granted to him before. Obviously, at this time, Li Mu knew very well in his heart that if he talked about the identity of the history of the Pingxi Army's march, not only could it not play a positive role, but it would be a bad thing.

However, in the face of Li Mu's seriousness, Ma Shuo did not put on a stand, but continued to call each other brothers. Of course, there is a politeness between the two sides, and it is impossible to return to the state of the past.

After some greetings, Li Mu didn't beat around the bush anymore, and directly said his intentions, he got the authorization of his father Li Lingwei to negotiate the alliance with Ma Shuo. The two sides formed an alliance, and even Li Lingwei could openly respect Ma Shuo, the auxiliary Qin general.

Of course, this alliance is mainly a military alliance. The two sides dispatched their men together, first took the other forces around them, and divided the two sides equally after laying down the territory. As for the two sides, the principle of peaceful coexistence has always been adhered to.

Li Lingwei's meaning is obvious, that is, he can recognize Ma Shuo's official identity, but he will never hand over the existing territory. Not only that, but the two parties will also be equal in the future, and he can help Ma Shuo expand his territory, and at the same time, he can also ensure that he profits.

In Li Lingwei's view, this is a good thing for both parties, and Ma Shuo has no reason to disagree. Of course, in this case, Li Lingwei naturally would not tell Ma Shuo about his internal worries, otherwise he would lose the opportunity to negotiate.

It's just that Li Lingwei didn't know that Ma Shuo had already known the situation on his side through the ubiquitous hidden guards. Of course, Li Mu did not mention the internal affairs of the Western Xinjiang Protectorate, and Ma Shuo would not take the initiative to mention it. However, Ma Shuo did not immediately agree to Li Mu's alliance proposal.

"Master Ma, my father sent me over this time, and prepared a congratulatory gift for the adults, and please smile at it!" Seeing that Ma Shuo didn't agree immediately, Li Mu hesitated for a while, but still took out a gift list.

The things on this gift list were naturally prepared by Li Lingwei in advance before Li Mu set off. It's just that Li Mu was a clever guy at the beginning, he thought that Ma Shuo would remember the old relationship and happily agree to his alliance proposal. If that's the case, you'll be able to save a lot of money.

It's just that this gift can't be left in the end, because Ma Shuo has already mastered Li Mu's every move clearly through his behavior. In fact, Ma Shuo also felt a little funny about Li Mu's small action.

is a good Li Mu, but suddenly has a little more childish temperament.

The gift prepared by Li Lingwei did take a lot of thought, and it was ruthless. First of all, there are 2,000 war horses, you must know that the number of war horses in Li Lingwei's own hands is only more than 20,000, and he has saved it over the years.

20,000 taels of silver, 100,000 catties of ore, and half of Guyang County. This half of Guyang County is the half that Li Mu took away when the two sides cooperated before, and now, in order to win over Ma Shuo, Li Lingwei simply took out this half again.

In fact, for Li Lingwei, half of Guyang County without the mining area is somewhat chicken, tasteless and a pity to abandon it. Now, as a bargaining chip, it can be regarded as playing a role.

In addition to these gifts, Li Lingwei also promised that in the subsequent cooperation process, Ma Shuo would enjoy three priority opportunities to select the loot. It's only three times, but the benefits are huge.

Therefore, speaking of which, the gift that Li Lingwei took out this time was indeed not light.

It's just that after Ma Shuo took the gift list in his hand, he still didn't express his position immediately.

Because, Ma Shuo is waiting for the arrival of a key person.