After the Rong people retreated from Zhili, the army began to withdraw to Huya Pass, leaving behind heavy soldiers, and the coalition forces in the pass could not help for a while.

Inside the castle of Kyoto, Yunbi and a group of local forces who had come to support gathered in the dusty Imperial Palace to discuss post-war matters.

Yun Bi sat on a seat under the dragon chair, looking at the people below with a sinking face.

Gu Chong sat in his seat with his eyes closed, only two guards stood behind him, seemingly uninterested in everything.

Jizhou Governor Fu Xia Ming seemed a little restless, and from time to time threw a hint of pleading glances at Yun Bi, and the Jizhou generals beside him also held their arms and had a cold attitude.

And Xiao Jiu had a light and breezy attitude, gently sipped the tea sent by his subordinates, and waited quietly for Yun Bi's arrangement.

All forces have their own careful thoughts, but at this time, outside the retreat of the Rong clan, everyone has a common enemy, so naturally they can't tear their faces now.

I saw Yun Bi cough lightly, adjust his tone, and began to make arrangements.

Because Huya Pass is still in the hands of the Rong clan, no matter what Yun Bi is now, he has to woo all forces.

Although the Yuzhou rebel army represented by Gu Chong and Yun Bi were hostile sides before, the central court where Yun Bi was located had recognized its unique status before the war, and they could not do anything with the other party.

Although Jizhou is known as the largest state in the world, it is now a fragmented situation, even if Xia Ming wants to move closer to Yun Bi in the forbidden army at this time, those warlords under him will not agree.

Only Xiao Jiu alone mastered Yangcheng in the north, and he was even more of a wordless existence in his subordinate army, so he naturally became the object of Yun Bi's desire to win over.

Over time, Yun Bi announced that he had agreed to a temporary pact with the various factions, under which each side would send troops to defend against the Rong and that there would be no conflict in between.

After everyone left, Xiao Jiu was left alone, only Yun Bi and Xiao Jiu.

"Why did Lord Yun leave me alone?"

In the empty hall, Xiao Jiu looked at Yun Bi and asked, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

Regarding Yun Bi's next words, Xiao Jiu had already expected in his heart, it was nothing more than that he would stretch out his hand to Wanzhou or Xuzhou after the Rong clan retreated.

"I heard that Li Dazai is now in Yangcheng, I don't know how it is lately?"

Yun Bi didn't talk about business directly, but greeted Xiao Jiu's father-in-law euphemistically, and Xiao Jiu responded naturally politely.

After the two talked for a while, the distance between the two sides was slightly closer, and they were no longer like cold strangers like before.

The two chatted leisurely in the palace for a while, and Yun Bi seemed to ask inadvertently, "I wonder what Lord Xiao thinks of the situation in the north?" ”

When Xiao Jiu heard this, he knew that the business was coming, and immediately showed a hint of thought, "What did Master Yun say about Wanzhou or Xuzhou?" ”

Yun Bi smiled slightly when he heard this, and continued: "Lord Xiao is a smart person, but Wanzhou is close to Huya Pass, if we are forced to unite with the Rong clan, everything will be out of our control." ”

Listening to Yun Bi's answer, Xiao Jiu frowned slightly, not very cold to Yun Bi's words.

This time, he led his soldiers to support Kyoto purely to defend against the Rong tribe, and if the Rong tribe was like no one in the north, his Yangcheng County would also be affected.

But if Yun Bi uses troops against Xuzhou, it will be the princes of Guannei attacking and merging with each other, and Xiao Jiu does not want to mix with these.

Now that Xiao Jiu's many reforms in Yangcheng County have been implemented, his strength will only get stronger and stronger as time goes by, and there is no need to wade into this troubled water.

Unlike other careerists, what Xiao Jiu needs now is a stable northern border, and a time for peaceful development.

Seeing Xiao Jiu's contemplative look, Yun Bi didn't urge, just quietly waited for the other party's decision on the side.

As time passed, Xiao Jiu finally let out a sigh and asked, "What can I get?" ”

Seeing that Xiao Jiu did not refuse, Yun Bi secretly said in his heart that there was a play, but he still showed an indifferent posture.

"I can give your caravan to trade in the north without additional taxes, and with my support you can move through the north unhindered."

"I have soldiers in my hands, you have money in my hands, it is only a matter of time before I recover Great Xia, and I have also found the crown prince left by the previous emperor."

Xiao Jiu mentioned by Yun Bi earlier was expected, after all, except for Lu Yaoliang, who had left Qingzhou in the entire northern border, had been lying on his stomach and not moving, all places were basically in a state of fragmentation.

Under the command of Yun Bi, there is a Great Xia forbidden army left over from the previous dynasty, which can be said to be the strongest force both nominally and in strength.

If he joins forces with Xiao Jiu, he can completely defeat the rest of the separatist forces in the north, of course, this is the premise of not considering the Rong clan.

As for the prince that Yun Bi said later, the corners of Xiao Jiu's eyes twitched slightly after hearing it.

Prince? Isn't it in your own Yangcheng County?

Observing the subtle changes in the expression on Xiao Jiu's face, Yun Bi thought that the other party was not interested in what he said, and just as he wanted to say a few more words, he heard Xiao Jiu speak first.

"I still have a question, since General Yun wants to recover Great Xia, why don't you enthrone the crown prince now to secure the unification of the world?"

After Xiao Jiu finished speaking, he crossed his arms and looked at Yun Bi, who was white and beardless, and quietly waited for his answer.

I saw Yun Bi let out a wry smile and shook his head slightly, "I naturally want to be a minister of Wang Zuo, but all parts of the world have declared autonomy, if you rashly correct the emperor, you will not be able to crusade against the ministers, it is better to wait for the situation to stabilize and completely calm the northern border before returning to the court." ”

"Besides, now that the crown prince is young, even if he ascends to the Great Unification, he has lost control of Great Xia."

Listening to Yun Bi's heartfelt words, Xiao Jiu was slightly moved.

In Xiao Jiu's heart, he had always felt that Yun Bi was probably a pedantic person, and he was surprised that he could see the situation so thoroughly.

Yun Bi was right, Great Xia had become a thing of the past, and the dragon vein had been cut off on the day Kyoto City was broken by the rebel army.

Now Yun Bi can still rely on the forbidden army in his hand to protect himself, but if he is attacked by a group, he will only quickly destroy himself.

Thinking about this, Xiao Jiu nodded in agreement, but he still had a grudge against Yun Bi for fooling himself with a non-existent prince.

I saw Xiao Jiu look at Yun Bi and said slowly, "General Yun's loyal and righteous people are obvious to all, although I, Xiao Jiu, am a puppet, I also admire the general. ”

"But I don't seem to have much capital in Yuzhou to fund the general's conquest of Xuzhou, it's better to cooperate in another way, my Lingshui caravan in the form of shares to jointly operate all business transactions in Kyoto, of which I only take fifty percent of the profits, and the rest are all used as military funds for the forbidden army, I don't know what the general wants?"

Listening to Xiao Jiu say this, Yun Bigang wanted to nod and agree, feeling that the conditions were all in his favor, but after thinking about it, he felt that something was wrong.

According to Xiao Jiu, although the two sides have reached a business alliance, Yun Bi will also get a lot of benefits from it, after all, the earning power of the Lingshui Chamber of Commerce is obvious to all.

But Xiao Jiu didn't mention military cooperation, especially the powerful firearms in Xiao Jiu's hands would definitely not be handed over to him easily.

In this way, does it mean that Xiao Jiu is not optimistic about his use of troops in Xuzhou?

Yun Bi sighed lightly without a trace, and nodded at Xiao Jiu, indicating that he had understood Xiao Jiu's thoughts.

After that, Xiao Jiu returned through Jizhou with the soldiers who came out of Yangcheng County.

After a war, many of the soldiers originally brought from Yuzhou were completely left on the battlefield of Zhili.

Now the number of people in the Xiao Zi camp is only about 30,000, and most of them are wounded, although this victory is a victory, it is also a tragic victory.

The combat effectiveness of the Rong clan outside the Guanwai far exceeded the expectations of everyone in the Guanwai, and their will to fight was far stronger than imagined.

And because they live in the bitter cold land outside the gate all the year round, those Rong soldiers have long exercised their fighting skills, and they are not at all comparable to the people who only know how to farm in the pass.

Looking at the ordinary soldiers who walked past him, Xiao Jiu had some indescribable emotions in his heart, but there was no expression on his face.

Judging from past experience, Xiao Jiu has gradually become accustomed to seeing life and death, and he is more accustomed to looking at problems from the perspective of a superior.

But the higher he stands, the greater the responsibility, his achievements today are all because of the support of his subordinates, without the people as a foundation, he may still be just a small mountain bandit on Hare Mountain.

In this troubled era where strength is king, if you want not to be eaten by others, the only way to do it is to kill the opponent.

It wasn't until after this battle of the Rong clan that something in Xiao Jiu's heart was deeply touched, and it made him realize the cruelty of reality.

Since taking Yangcheng County, Xiao Jiu has lost the caution he had when he was in Lingshui County, and has begun to be complacent.

A corner of peace, with the encounter.

I don't know when Xiao Jiu has lost his fighting spirit and has become a warlord.

But when the head is drunk, it is not too late to wake up, he Xiao Jiu wants to follow his people to have enough to eat, and he doesn't have to worry about being looted by the chaotic army at any time, and there is still a long way to go in the future.

Half a month later, Xiao Jiu led the army back to Yangcheng County.

After returning to Yangcheng County, Xiao Jiu did not return to his city lord's mansion as soon as possible, but went directly to the military camp and ordered the pension of the soldiers who died in battle and were killed or injured from the treasury.

Seeing the people who had lost their relatives trembling and taking away their share of the pension, Xiao Jiu felt very uncomfortable.

"In the future, their relatives and children will live in the best houses and enjoy the highest privileges."

As the sun set, Xiao Jiu didn't know whether to tell Li Hao beside him or to himself, and said in a hoarse voice to the figure in the distance.

When everything was done, Xiao Jiu planned to stay in the barracks at night and return home tomorrow, but when he turned around, he saw a familiar shadow, still holding a sleeping baby in his arms.

"I'm back."

Li Luoyao smiled slightly, looking at her husband who she hadn't seen for a long time, her eyes flashing.