Inside Wushan Pass.

After Lu Yuan led his troops into the city, he immediately ordered people to receive the prisoners in the city.

I don't know if it was deliberate on the part of the defenders of the Sekinai this time, or if they were really afraid of his prestige. This time out of the pass to surrender, more than 30,000 defenders in the pass, the choice of surrender party is Lu Yuan.

Because of this, he was able to lead his troops into the city without the knowledge of Guan Ming on the other side.

And for this great opportunity, Lu Yuan will naturally not be polite.

There are more than 30,000 elite soldiers in the city, which is a powerful force. If you count the 20,000 captives who were previously outside the city of Yuzhongfu.

So since this surprise attack, he has collected 50,000 elite soldiers, which can be said to have greatly enriched his strength.

Of course, we can't forget that after a series of battles, the nearly 10,000 righteous troops and the remaining more than 30,000 people's bravery, the two together are also a not weak force.

After entering Xichuan, although dozens of battles were fought before and after, the 30,000 soldiers and horses in Lu Yuan's hands not only did not decrease, but nearly 100,000 more in his hands.

Such a brilliant achievement can be called a great victory.

After sending people to collect the defenders in the city and master the treasury of the city, Lu Yuan asked people to open the east gate of the city and send people out to spread the news and tell Shangguan Ming and others about Wushan Guan Kefu.

So after waiting for more than an hour, Shangguan Ming also took Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan to lead the vanguard troops and hurriedly entered the official city.

After several people met, Shangguan Ming looked at Lu Yuan, his face was slightly ugly: "The king of Changsha has really made a great contribution to his surprise attack on Xichuan this time. ”

This time, he led his troops to attack Wushan Pass, but the troops were stationed outside the pass, wasting time and having no success.

But at this time, the enemy, who had been pestering him for several months, suddenly surrendered to Lu Yuan.

Tens of thousands of Zhou soldiers in the city cheapened the other party for nothing, which made Shangguan Ming very unwilling.

For those Zhou soldiers who were captured, not only Lu Yuan, but also the imperial court was also very greedy.

After all, the imperial court has been fighting every year, and the original elite soldiers have lost hundreds of thousands one after another, and now, there are only more than 200,000 elite soldiers left in the entire imperial court.

This amount, to be honest, simply cannot meet the normal needs of the imperial court.

But if you rely purely on your own training, with the four counties of Jiangdong that are now in the hands of the imperial court, in the case of excessive consumption of a large number of high-quality soldiers, it will take five or six years to let those young generations grow up, so that they can have the spare strength to replenish.

Therefore, at this time, if a group of elites can be recruited from the Zhou people and directly added to their own army, it will also be a very good thing for the imperial court.

It's a pity that this time Lu Yuan took the lead and snatched the person. ’

Shangguan Ming glanced at Lu Yuan, quite worried in his heart.

The other party is already quite heavy in soldiers and horses, with more than 100,000 strong soldiers. Now that they have received the elite of the Zhou people one after another, the soldiers and horses have further expanded, and I am afraid it will be even more difficult to control in the future.

Alas, why is the great cause of the court's henchmen so difficult?

In the heart of this Marquis of Wu Cheng, he couldn't stop lamenting.

However, compared to Shangguan Ming's worries, Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan next to him were simply happy.

Wushan Pass is one gram, Xichuan County is restored, and the feudal territory that the imperial court originally promised them has finally been taken back.

At this time, as soon as the imperial edict arrives, they and Lu Yuan will be settled, and then the two of them can officially establish a state in the land of Xichuan.

How can you not be happy with such a good thing?

Therefore, for Lu Yuan, the great hero who recovered Xichuan, these two grandmasters are different from Shangguan Yun's slightly yin and yang praise, and they are sincere congratulations.

"This time, the king of Changsha rushed thousands of miles and defeated the Zhou and Shu thieves in a row, and the mighty soldiers were really admirable. After it spreads, it will definitely make the world awe-inspiring. ”

"Yes, a lone army went deep behind enemy lines, and one person overcame the whole county, such courage is enough to be called a military god in the world."

The two did not hesitate to say anything, and praised Lu Yuan desperately.

Listening to these good words, Lu Yuan naturally smiled too, and said that he praised it again and again, but he didn't dare, and he was extremely happy to have a good relationship with Jihui and Qiao Kangquan.

After the two of them, they will be his neighbors, and even in the rear, if they have a good relationship with them, then their rear will be peaceful.

And Shangguan Ming looked at this scene, and his already worried heart suddenly became even more blocked.

In order not to let himself hold back his blood, he had to change the topic and said: "This time the king of Changsha has recovered Xichuan, and he has indeed made great contributions to the coalition army. It's just that I don't know where Li Xiong and Yuwen Chong are now? ”

Hearing the inquiry, Lu Yuan had no choice but to put down the conversation with the two neighbors, shook his head and said, "I don't know this." Previously, Li Xiong led his army to fight with me, but he never showed up the whole time.

Later, I broke through his men and horses, and his men were on the right and left, and he had already abandoned his army and fled before he could meet me.

When he arrived at Wushan Pass, Yuwen Chong was the same.

It is expected that these two thieves may have fled back to Zhou and ran to Xiangyang, right? ”

Lu Yuan said with some uncertainty.

And hearing his words, Shangguan Ming, Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan looked at each other, all with different expressions.

Just as Lu Yuan thought before, after he achieved the achievement of allowing the Innate Grandmaster to flee without a fight, his own weight had already improved compared to the past.

That's what happened to all three of them.

While being surprised in my heart, I couldn't help but pay more attention to the king of Changsha in front of me.

Shangguan Ming laughed twice, held back the shock in his heart, and said with regret: "It's a pity that these two thieves escaped at this time." If they are allowed to flee back to the Zhou Kingdom, they will have to face two more innate grandmasters in the future, and Xiangyang is afraid that it will be even more difficult to fight. ”

The holy monk Jihui next to him said: "This is also impossible, who would have expected that these two people would be so cowardly and flee before fighting." ”

Qiao Kang nodded and said, "If an innate grandmaster wants to escape, if he wants to stop it, it is indeed extremely difficult, even impossible. ”

Lu Yuan smiled, ignoring the implicit accusation in Shangguan Ming's words, and just asked: "My surprise attack on Xichuan this time took two months, and I lost contact with the outside world for a long time.

What's going on in Xiangyang now?

I remember that when I left, the reinforcements of the Zhou people were already coming, and Wu'an Hou could still hold on? ”

For the coalition forces, the real main battlefield has to be Xiangyang.

If there is a fiasco, then no matter how big Lu Yuan's victory is in Hanzhong County and Xichuan County, it will only be a castle in the air.

As soon as the Zhou army arrived, the two counties would be lost in an instant.

Therefore, he was particularly concerned about the battle situation in Xiangyang.

Hearing his words, Shangguan Ming and the three of them looked a little strange, like happy and worried, looking very complicated.

In the end, Shangguan Ming said: "Actually, over there in Xiangyang, well, the Zhou reinforcements have arrived, and 100,000 soldiers and horses have come, one congenital." It's just that there was no fight over there. ”

"There was no fight."

When Lu Yuan heard this, he was very surprised: "What's going on?" ”

Shangguan Ming's tone was complicated: "Does the King of Changsha still remember that the imperial court ceded the land of the three prefectures of Guangling County and negotiated peace with the Liang State in exchange for them sending troops to threaten the Zhou State?" ”

When Lu Yuan heard Liang Guo, his heart moved, and he already had some guesses, and replied, "Remember." At the end of the sixth year of Hongdao, the imperial court and the Liang State reached a reconciliation, and the land of the three prefectures of Guangling County was exchanged for the Liang State sending 200,000 troops to attack the Nanyang Mansion of the Zhou State. ”

Shangguan Ming nodded and said: "Now that more than a year has passed, the Liang State has finally sent troops, and at this time, 200,000 troops have been transferred to Jiangxia County to threaten the flank of Nanyang in Xiangyang.

Deterred by this, although the Zhou people increased their troops to 200,000 on the front line of Xiangyang, they still did not dare to move troops in the face of the enemy's back.

Similarly, there are Liang people stationed on the flanks of Wu'anhou, and they dare not use troops easily.

Therefore, the two sides are in a stalemate near Xiangyang, and they have not fought much so far. ”

Originally, the Liang soldiers arrived to help the Northern Expedition of the Yue Kingdom.

But now, seeing the great victory of the Northern Expedition of the Yue Kingdom, it not only broke the 200,000 soldiers and horses of the Zhou people, but also beheaded the two congenital pillar countries of the other party. At this time, it was even more so, and the situation was very good.

In this case, the 200,000 troops of the Liang State are entrenched nearby, whether they are here to help the Yue State or the Zhou State is worth pondering.

After all, the reason why Liang Guo made peace with Yue Guo was to see that the Zhou people were powerful and had the potential to swallow the south of the Yangtze River, so they chose to join forces with Yue Guo to jointly contain the Zhou people.

But at this time, I saw that Zhou Ren was beaten down. Even Xiangyang County has to be lost, and Yue Guo seems to have the posture to stand up.

So according to the principle of who is strong and who fights whom, at this time, the weaker the Zhou, the stronger, then it is not impossible for the Liang people to fight the country.

Therefore, the sudden arrival of Liang Bing at this time became a force outside the field, and suddenly the Northern Expedition situation, which was gradually becoming clear, became elusive again.

Now the Zhou Kingdom and the Yue Kingdom are exhausted. Both sides have done their best and have not had too many forces to spare.

On the contrary, on the side of Liang Guo, at this time, he was out of the way, so that he could dispatch hundreds of thousands of troops at any time.

In the face of such a force, whether it is Zhou Guo or Yue Guo, who can have no scruples in their hearts?

Both countries were afraid that their side would fight to the death, and in the end it would become a snipe and a clam fight, so that Liang Guozhi would benefit Weng.

Therefore, in order to avoid this situation, the two sides can only stalemate if they know that it is not good to consume it.

Lu Yuan also knew this truth, so after listening to Shangguan Ming talk about the current situation, he said: "So this Northern Expedition can't be fought in the end?" ”

Shangguan Ming nodded: "That's true." At this time, the imperial court has already begun to discuss whether to negotiate peace with the Zhou people? On the side of Zhou Guo, according to the information we know, it seems that there is also the idea of peace.

Our two countries fought each other, and the battlefield decided the winner, and we were convinced if we were defeated.

But if the Liang people are allowed to pick up the cheap, then no one will accept it.

Therefore, this Northern Expedition is estimated to be unable to be fought, and in the end, the final outcome can only be determined at the negotiation table. ”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan didn't know what to say for a while.

He really didn't expect that such a huge Northern Expedition, which affected the four counties, would end in such a tigerly way.

After thinking about it, he could only say: "In that case, our army still has to rush to Xiangyang?" There is also Hanzhong County, I have conquered the county seat, and the Zhou people will go south at any time, and they will also ask someone to guard it. ”

Lu Yuan didn't forget that the territory of Hanzhong County was to be exchanged with Jihui and Qiao Kangquan in exchange for the territory of Xichuan County.

Therefore, regardless of whether the Northern Expedition ended in peace talks.

But the territory of Hanzhong County, how can he also defend it.

And when Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan heard this, they also looked at it with concern.

Whether the territory of Hanzhong County can be held is also a vital interest for the two of them, so they naturally can't help but care.

Facing the eyes of the three of them, Shangguan knew that he couldn't shirk the past, but he couldn't do anything about this matter, so he could only say: "I don't know how to decide this matter, and I have to ask Wu Anhou before I can make any more plans." ”

Seeing that the other party had moved Wu'anhou out, Lu Yuan couldn't force him to ask any more, so he had to nod and say, "Since this is the case, then let's quickly send an envoy to the Xiangyang camp and ask Wu'anhou what he meant." ”

"Yes, it's time to ask Wu Anhou."

"And the imperial court, let people ask too. Now that Xichuan has been restored, then the edict of the feudal country that we are waiting for, as well as the place where the feudal country is located, must be confirmed as soon as possible. ”

Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan also urged at this time.

Seeing that the three pioneers of Lu Yuan, Yan Wangqiu, and Su Xuange are now called lonely, majestic. The two of them have long been very hot.

Previously, Xichuan County confiscated it back, and the imperial court could not settle it.

But at this time, the territory has been snatched back by Lu Yuan, so the feudal country that the court originally promised should have a settlement, right?

In the face of these urgings, Shangguan Ming had no choice but to say: "I will send an envoy to Xiangyang and the imperial court later, so you don't have to worry." ”

Seeing him say this, the three of them let him go.

After that, several people talked again, and Shangguan Ming and the three of them turned around and went out of the city.

Now that Wushan Pass has been conquered by Lu Yuan, there are not too many troops stationed in the city, so Shangguan Ming is not easy to lead the troops into the city, so he has to continue to squat in the camp outside the city.

It's just that after a few people left, not long after, it was night, and Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan quietly returned to the city and found Lu Yuan.

In this regard, Lu Yuan seemed to have expected it, and directly invited people to a prepared secret room.

After each sat down and served tea, Ji Hui said: "King of Changsha, the two poor monks are here to talk to the King of Changsha about the exchange of territory. ”

Qiao Kangquan next to him also said: "Yes, the things mentioned by the King of Changsha before have always been in our hearts. I just didn't have the opportunity to have a face-to-face interview. At this time, we finally met, and we can have a good talk with the king of Changsha. ”

Lu Yuan in front of him heard this, a smile appeared on his face, and then he spoke: "Two ......"

The night was silent, and the candles were dim.

In the secret room, the major events related to the future of Xichuan and Hanzhong counties were quickly confirmed in the mouths of the three people.

After midnight, Lu Yuan personally sent the two away, his face already full of smiles.

There was just a negotiation, and the three of them had already reached an agreement.

In addition to the original agreement, Lu Yuan could exchange the three prefectures of Xixiang, Baishi, and Nanjiang in Hanzhong County for the three prefectures of Wushan, Linjiang, and Yuzhong in Xichuan County.

On this basis, if there is still a surplus of the territory of Hanzhong County in the end, then he can continue to exchange territory with the two of them until the territory of Hanzhong County is exchanged.

The reason why Ji Hui and Qiao Kangquan were able to put forward this condition was mainly due to the exploration in the past few months since the Northern Expedition.

After sending spies into Xichuan without interruption, the two finally figured out what the situation was over there.

The household registration is withered, the people are poor and tired, the bandits are continuous, and the poverty is extremely poor......

In short, any word that describes a bad place can be used in Xichuan County.

For such a place, if the two can like it, then there will be ghosts.

Before, because they didn't have a choice, even if they knew that Xichuan County was a pit, the two families were willing to spend decades to restore it again.

But now that there are people who are willing to exchange territory with them and have a better choice, they will naturally not be the wronged boss again.

So Lu Yuan and the two hit it off and reached a consensus in an instant.

"I just hope that after these two people accept Hanzhong County, they won't start to regret it and scold me secretly."

Lu Yuan looked at the direction where the two of them were going, thinking like this in his heart.

The reason why he said this was mainly because of the arrangements he had made in Hanzhong County before.

Two months ago, he left Lan Cai'er in Hanzhong County, and while presiding over the defense, he began to collect local money and grain, and relocate the people.

And this policy of looting money and grain and relocating the people is aimed at the entire territory of Hanzhong County, which naturally includes the three prefectures of Xixiang, Baishi, and Nanjiang.

Although this strategy has not been implemented for a long time, it is only two months.

But according to the latest news he received a few days ago, a month ago, almost 30,000 households had been relocated from Hanzhong County, and they had begun to be sent to the south of the Yangtze River in Dongting County.

According to the speed of those migrating people, these people should have arrived in the area of Guining Mansion at this time, and they will soon arrive at the boundary of Dongting County.

And this is the news from a month ago, and now it has been a month, and the work of relocating people there should be going more smoothly.

It is conservatively estimated that at this time, there should be 60,000 or 70,000 households in Hanzhong County that have been relocated.

And that's not the end of it.

After Lu Yuan captured the county seat of Hanzhong, he had checked the household registration atlas of this county, so he also knew that there were 582,103 households in the whole county of Hanzhong, about 3 million people.

And his goal is to move at least 200,000 households, or one million people.

Even if there is enough time, then move more people, the more the better, and never let the Zhou people stay.

Of course, although it is for the relocation of the whole county, Lu Yuan still takes special care of the three prefectures of Xixiang, Baishi, and Nanjiang, and does not go too far, and only moves up to one-third of the population.

No matter how you say it, it is also to be exchanged with people, but in the end, he can't make a deal, and he can't exchange it for territory, so he still pays attention to the appearance.

But in any case, the three prefectures of Xixiang, Baishi, and Nanjiang, compared with the original time, must have lost both population and wealth.

Therefore, Ji Hui and Qiao Kang will have opinions in their hearts, it is certain.

It's just that no matter how much you lose, these three prefectures are always better than the prefectures and counties of Xichuan County.

So it's not worrying that they don't agree to the exchange in the end.

After all, theoretically speaking, this transaction, even after Lu Yuan's black-box operation, the two of them are also the one who takes advantage.

Of course, Lu Yuan didn't suffer a loss.

In essence, this is a willing to fight, a willing to suffer.