Shicheng, the camp of the Chu army.

"The ministers pay a visit to the king."

In the tent, Li Xiong, who hurried from the city to meet the new monarch, greeted Lu Yuan very respectfully.

Lu Yuan sat on the top, looking at each other with sharp eyes.

For this hero who stirred up Xichuan and Dachang and the country, he has always heard of his name, but for various reasons, he couldn't meet in the end.

At this time, I finally saw it, and I finally knew what this war maniac was like.

Well, his face is heroic and heroic, his body is tall and strong, and he is nearly two meters tall in front of him, giving people a great sense of oppression.

This kind of bearing is indeed the appearance of a leader, no wonder it can attract so many people to follow, and cause two big chaos in succession. ’

Lu Yuan thought so secretly in his heart, and then looked at the deferential posture of the person in front of him, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a smile, and he raised his hand slightly and said, "Get up." ”

"King Xie."

Listening to this voice, Li Xiong below also got up.

Then by standing up, he finally had some room to look at the new gentleman he recognized in front of him.

The first impression is that I am young.

The unexpected face, the breath of youth, and the vitality of life like a teenager, Li Xiong couldn't help but be stunned when he saw it.

Since he broke through the innate and had enough power to protect himself, Lu Yuan did not continue to rely on makeup to disguise his age.

And after the immortal method he cultivated, and this fact had been exposed, he directly restored his appearance as a young man.

The external excuse is naturally that he has cultivated immortal arts and rejuvenated himself.

And this excuse did not arouse the suspicion of many people.

After all, immortality and eternal youth are the world's impression of immortals.

Even between the six great veins, there are actually a lot of secret techniques that can rejuvenate the face, which can make people maintain a youthful appearance, which is not unusual.

On the contrary, Lu Yuan's true face is so young, which makes outsiders, especially Danding Dao, a little more confirmed.

That was the age at which he cultivated the Immortal Law, and it was really very early, long before he got the Taiping Dao Book, it didn't start in the past two years at all, which further proved the fact that he didn't practice the Taiping Dao Book.

This incident is also a surprise.

It's just that Lu Yuan doesn't know about this for the time being.

And Li Xiong in front of him is even more unaware of these secrets.

At this time, after looking at the young and excessive Lu Yuan, especially the terrifying power that could be clearly felt under the young appearance of the other party, the shock in his heart, and the infinite fear and awe born after the shock, were simply incomprehensible.

It's not innate, it's never innate. ’

Li Xiong roared filial piety in his heart.

Although because of his background, his vision is not too broad, but he has been the emperor of Xishu for several years, and it is impossible to get nothing, and there will be no less knowledge.

Now that he sees Lu Yuan, he can naturally clearly distinguish that the other party is definitely not an ordinary congenital, or not a simple congenital.

In Lu Yuan's body, Li Xiong felt the unprecedented pressure and threat in his life.

Of all the innate he'd seen before, none of them could give him this.

Above the innate level, the second realm?

He couldn't help but think of this realm that he had been trying to seek, but had never been able to touch the edge.

Immediately, it was even greater shock and fear.

How old is the other party?

At the age of early thirties, is it already a congenital second realm?

Faced with such a genius-like, no, it should be said that he could overwhelm a lifetime, Li Xiong couldn't help but feel fear.

For this kind of character, he really can't raise the heart to fight against it.

Some of the original unwilling delusions, after seeing me at this time, were also instantly dispersed and completely dead.

Lu Yuan couldn't guess the constant fluctuation of Li Xiong's inner thoughts, but through the changes in his expression and breath, he could also understand the huge shock in the other party's heart.

He couldn't help but laugh at this.

The reason why he exposed the aura on his body at this time was to use his absolute strength to deter this hero, who had already caused two major chaos and turned Xichuan and Dachang and the country upside down.

Now it seems that even if this hand did not complete the work, it has achieved a lot of results. ’

Thinking like this, Lu Yuan smiled even more on his face, and then looked at the other party and said: "Since you have surrendered, then you are my minister of Great Chu, in the future, you only need to take orders with your heart, serve Lonely, and have endless wealth and wealth in the world." ”

Li Xiong bowed his head slightly: "The minister knows, and he will definitely live up to the king's grace." ”

"Well, it's good to know that." Lu Yuan snorted, and then did not continue to knock on the newly attached minister, but asked: "I led the troops to come for the first time, fought with the Yi people for a while, and forced them to retreat, which can be regarded as relieving the siege of Shicheng."

However, although the Yi people retreated, they still stationed troops outside the city, with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, which should not be underestimated.

To defeat and repel it, these soldiers and horses close to the lonely city are still insufficient.

How many soldiers do you have left in the city? And how many can pull out a fight? ”

Since ten days ago, Lu Yuan led his army to surprise attack the Great Changhe Army outside the city and broke through the opponent's eastern camp in one fell swoop.

In the past few days, the two sides have been fighting each other.

Therefore, there are no more battles with more than 10,000 people, but other small-scale exchanges of dozens or hundreds of people have never stopped.

Relying on these small-scale battles, Lu Yuan also expanded the camp in his hands step by step, and slowly drove the opposite Dachanghe army completely from the east, relieving the other party's siege and control of Shicheng.

And he himself was also stationed in the east of the city, and he was a horn with Shicheng, and finally gained a firm foothold.

But even so, those Yi people are still outnumbered.

Tens of thousands, and possibly even as many as 200,000 Yi people, are still firmly distributed in the three directions of the north, west, and south of the city, encircling the boundaries of dozens of miles around the stone city.

If you want to defeat and drive back all the enemies in these three directions, after continuous battles in Lu Yuan's hands, there are only more than 50,000 soldiers and horses left, which is simply unrealistic.

The difference between three or four times the number of people is not so simple, and it can be erased by quality.

Not to mention those Yi people, since they found out that the Chu people had arrived, and they were not opponents in the field.

has never taken the initiative to come out, and the frontal confrontation is in formation.

Instead, he has been cowering in the camp and playing the trick of sticking.

There are two congenitals on the opposite side, and there are a large number of first- and second-rate warriors in the army, supplemented by an army that is too numerous to count.

In the face of such defensive forces, even if Lu Yuan personally attacked several times, he was unable to make many breakthroughs on the three fronts.

The other party can't beat him, so he can't easily solve the other party.

The armies on both sides fell into a cruel and boring confrontation and attrition.

Things were just as expected, and this war against the Great Cho and Kingdom became such a stalemate and turned into a bad war.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan also expected this situation in his heart.

Not only did it reserve a huge military budget of more than 10 million taels of silver, but it also invited the three kingdoms of Su, Song, and Xichuan to participate in the joint vertical and join the war together.

With these reserves, coupled with the combined efforts of the four countries, it is enough to fight a long war with these southwestern Yi people for more than ten years.

But it's one thing to be ready for a protracted war.

But in this long war, it is another thing to consume your elite forbidden army on a meaningless front line.

In the past few days, Lu Yuan, who had already lost four or five thousand people, soon felt a little painful.

Looking at the elite soldiers he had worked hard for several years, he was wasted in such a place that was purely just a waste of life, of course Lu Yuan was reluctant.

But in the battlefield battle, sacrifice is inevitable.

If you don't send troops, go to uproot the Yiren's camps one by one, and consume the opponent's soldiers and horses, how can you achieve this victory?

Therefore the dead are to die, and so is sacrifice.

However, it is debatable who will die and sacrifice that group of people.

So today, Lu Yuan urgently recruited Li Xiong and asked him to come to the camp to ask the right one.

After I listened to his question, Li Xiong's heart tightened slightly, as a warlord instinct, he naturally knew what the other party meant by asking.

It's nothing more than wanting to use his soldiers and horses as cannon fodder and miscellaneous cards to be consumed on the battlefield.

In this way, you can not only save yourself from losses, but also eliminate dissidents and strengthen your rule, which is really the best of both worlds.

But Lu Yuan is beautiful, and Li Xiong is miserable.

Without the soldiers and horses at hand, the only bargaining chip he had to negotiate the conditions was his own strength as an innate grandmaster.

No one wants to do such self-debilitating things.

He had the heart to push it over, but as soon as he looked at Lu Yuan's calm gaze, his heart couldn't help but tremble, and he instantly remembered the strength of the innate second realm opposite, as well as the huge Chu State behind him.

In the face of such power, Li Xiongshi couldn't afford to deceive, and he knew that he couldn't deceive the other party.

In the end, I had to sigh in my heart, and then replied with a little bitterness: "Back to the king, there are still more than 23,000 soldiers and horses in the city, including more than 2,000 wounded soldiers. In addition to the defenders of the city, 15,000 men can be sent to help in the battle. ”

"Fifteen thousand?"

Lu Yuan frowned slightly when he heard this number.

Although there are a lot of people at this point, how difficult the offensive and defensive battle of the camp is, even if there are 15,000 people, it will not last for a month, and it will be consumed.

However, Li Xiong's situation, he also knows a little bit about it, and knows that this should be the only strength that the other party has at hand.

No matter how hard I force myself, I can't force much.

So in the end, he could only nod and say, "Yes, you can transfer this group of people tomorrow and temporarily put them under my command." ”

Hearing this order, Li Xiong smiled bitterly in his heart, and sure enough, in the end, he still couldn't escape this step.

But he had no room for resistance, so he could only obey the order: "The minister obeys the order." ”

Seeing that Li Xiong did not resist, but obediently obeyed orders, Lu Yuan couldn't help but smile on his face. Then he comforted: "Li Qing and relax, I recruited your soldiers and horses today, just to destroy it."

If we can defeat the Yi people and collect all their land, then my Great Chu can collect thousands of miles of territory.

In this vast land, it is unrealistic to want to set up all the prefectures and counties.

In the end, it was necessary to divide it out, and let people defend the land for me.

As long as Li Qing can make enough contributions in this battle, he will help the story of the Northern Expedition of the former Vietnam, just like the Lone King and the King of Su in the past, and help me destroy this Great Changhe Kingdom.

Then such a great achievement, let alone just four countries.

Even if it is half a county, or even a county, what is the pity? ”

Lu Yuan, who has always liked to hit a stick and give a sweet date. At this time, after seizing the opponent's military power, a big pie was drawn in an instant.

A very tempting flatbread.

Really.

Hearing Lu Yuan's promise, and also taking out his own experience as an example, as Li Xiong, who had also experienced this thing, was instantly attracted.

Half a county, or even a county?

Thinking of this promise, Li Xiong's breath couldn't help but be a little shorter.

If he can really get such a territory, then as the lord of the land that owns thousands of miles, even if he nominally wants to submit to Lu Yuan, his identity, status and power in the world will not be much higher than now.

'At least, no matter what, it won't be worse than the two old things like Ji Hui Bald Donkey and Qiao Kangquan. ’

Thinking like this in his heart, he couldn't help but get hot, and hurriedly excited: "The king is benevolent, and the minister dares to die if he dares to die." We will definitely strive to be the first to eradicate these razors for the king and open up the southwest. ”

Seeing that the other party was mobilized, Lu Yuan couldn't help but smile and nodded: "With Li Qing here, you can be lonely and worry-free." ”

He said half sincerely, half expectantly.

The promise given this time, Lu Yuan was not fooling Li Xiong.

If you can really conquer the entire Great Changhe Kingdom this time, especially the people in it, they are all Yi people who are incompatible with the Dongyang people.

Then in the face of this vast two counties, it is larger than all the territories of Chu combined.

With the current strength of the Chu State, it is indeed impossible to eat.

Not to mention, if the territory is doubled, how many soldiers and horses will be arranged to guard it, and how many officials will be arranged to govern?

Let's just say that the Chiliyi people in the country who have been destroyed will really be willing to accept the rule of the Dongyi people who destroyed their country and broke their faith?

At that time, the rebellions and endless killings will never stop.

In this case, the larger the territory you occupy, the more troops and energy you will be involved, and the greater the cost of maintaining the rule of the occupied area.

In the end, I'm afraid that I really have to learn from the time when Qianyue destroyed the Jinghai Kingdom, in the territory of the Great Changhe Kingdom, there were 100,000 troops stationed there, and a congenital grandmaster was always maintained.

No, it could be worse.

Because the Jinghai Kingdom was originally a tributary state of Da Yue, although the main body was a country composed of South Vietnamese people, it was different from the Dongyang people. However, it has been influenced by Dayue, and in terms of cultural customs, it has become increasingly similar to that of Dongyang people.

Even because of the long-term tribute, they have a sense of identity with the Jinling Heavenly Son system of the Dongyang people, and they consider themselves to be the people of Wanghua.

Therefore, after Da Yue destroyed the Jinghai Kingdom, except for the first two years of blood transfusion from the imperial court, at the beginning of the third year, the output of this place was enough to meet the daily needs of the 50,000 troops under Xie Ning.

Therefore, it is easier to assimilate over there.

And in this southwest territory, this is a completely unexplored wild land.

There is no cultural influence of the Dongyang people, there is no county system, the social atmosphere is still retained at the tribal level, and there is even a very high theocratic belief.

This kind of land, which is completely different from Da Chu, wants to assimilate them, and wants to rule here, it is far more difficult than assimilating Jinghai Kingdom, I don't know how many times.

And if you can't assimilate and rule effectively, then until this territory is completely quiet, you won't be able to provide enough output and taxes to Dachu.

It was not even possible to provide rations for the army stationed here.

The state of Chu needs a steady stream of blood transfusions to this side, a steady stream of immigrants to this side, and this burden for more than ten years before it can obtain positive benefits.

In an environment where the situation is changing today and the war between various countries is becoming increasingly fierce, it is by no means a good thing for the Chu State to carry such a burden.

Even in the end, the occupied Dachanghe State may become a burden on the Chu State, become a flaw in the Chu State, and be seized by other countries and used as a means to defeat the Chu State.

Therefore, all kinds of worries and disadvantages finally contributed to Lu Yuan's decision, that is, this time to send troops to the Great Changhe Kingdom, even if it won a big victory, but the territory swallowed in the end could only be a county.

The territory of a county is only three to five thousand miles large. After the war, it is estimated that there will be only one million people, if not even a million.

This bit of territory, with the current strength of the Chu State, even if it is still a bit of a burden, it is within the scope of bearing.

It can be guaranteed that in the occupied zone, after leaving enough protective forces, there is still the strength to deal with the challenges of other countries, and it can still be swallowed.

But no more.

Therefore, in this conquest battle, if he can really conquer more than one county, Lu Yuan does not mind using the extra territory to reward meritorious heroes, or to trade with other allies.

Anyway, if you can't eat it yourself, you can reward Li Xiong, and you can also let this person stand in front of you, face the front line of the war, and become a buffer zone, helping Lu Yuan withstand the counterattack of those southwestern Yi people after the defeat of Dachanghe.

It can also let this person help sort out these territories that he can't control first, clean up those thorny people in the country, and make a step in advance for himself to take over these territories in the future.

This kind of best of both worlds, Lu Yuan will not refuse.

However, as for the governance of the Southwest Yi people, he has been preparing for several years, of course, he will not only have this means.

Therefore, after painting the cake, Lu Yuan looked at Li Xiong and continued: "If you want to destroy the Great Changhe Kingdom, it is still not enough to rely on this little soldier and horse, and you need more troops to help." Li Qing has been in this country for many years, working hard and has a deep foundation.

I intend to order Li Qing to be the chief of recruitment for my Great Chu Expedition Westward Battalion, and to be in charge of recruiting those warriors who are willing to serve my Great Chu in this southwestern land.

Is Li Qing willing to take over? ”

Hearing this appointment, Li Xiong was slightly stunned, not knowing what his intentions were.

Thinking in a hurry, I vaguely guessed something, but I didn't dare to confirm it.

However, the appointment has been made, and he has just eaten the painted pie, and he will not refuse this meritorious service, and immediately received the order: "The minister is ordered to serve the king." ”

Lu Yuan nodded slightly, and then immediately ordered: "Since Li Qing has taken over, then later, Gu will have a division, and the official seal and official uniform will be sent." Now, Li Qing will go back first and help Gu prepare things.

Send people to help recruit 50,000 Yi soldiers and horses in the old land of the barbarian country, as well as Huichuan and Langdong that have been fought in the past few days. ”

Lu Yuan said in an unquestionable tone.