The southern expedition of the state of Chu is in full swing of preparations.

In this southern expedition, it is estimated that 60,000 forbidden troops and 100,000 vassal troops will be mobilized.

With so many soldiers and horses, the monthly consumption of grain alone exceeded 100,000 stones. If you count the people who transported grain, it is hundreds of thousands of stones.

Such a large-scale transfer of grain and grass materials, as well as the transfer of personnel, of course, cannot be covered.

Therefore, when these various signs were exposed and summarized by those who were well-intentioned, the surrounding major forces immediately came to a conclusion.

That is, after fighting the Battle of Hanzhong, the State of Chu was not ready to stop, but planned to start a new war.

And the scale of this war is not small, involving the transfer of hundreds of thousands of people, which is almost equivalent to a national war.

After the news spread to the surrounding area, it immediately aroused the attention and nervousness of many people.

Especially those small countries in Lingnan.

Because according to the existing signs, the soldiers and horses used by the Chu State are probably about ten or two hundred thousand.

This little bit of men and horses could not defeat the two counties of Xiangyang and Nanyang of the Zhou State in the north of the Yangtze River, and the garrisons of these two counties had more than 200,000 people. If you count the people, you can easily get four or five hundred thousand people.

With such a strong strength, with the soldiers and horses of the Chu State at this stage, unless the country goes north, it will definitely not be able to defeat it.

Therefore, Zhou Guo was naturally excluded from the target.

The same is true of Ningguo in the east.

The territory bordering Ningguo and Chu State has two counties, Xiangyang and Yuzhang.

Among them, Xiangyang County is located in the north of the Yangtze River, and there are three prefectures. After these years of successive increase in troops, Ningguo has lived with about 100,000 soldiers and horses, and about 50,000 sailors are also stationed in Xiakou Water Village.

Not to mention Yuzhang County.

Within the camp of Yuzhang Peng Li, 250,000 soldiers and 50,000 sailors were stationed. On the border with the state of Chu, there were also about 100,000 soldiers stationed.

The above two counties have 550,000 soldiers and horses, but if they are just defensive, they may not be able to beat this hard bone if they fight the entire Chu State.

Therefore, Ning Guo cannot be the target of Chu State.

And so the problem comes.

The Zhou State in the north is not the target, the Ning State in the east is not the target, and the vassal state of the Chu State is in the west.

Moreover, compared with the major surrounding forces, a few small countries in Lingnan are indeed the best targets.

The domestic political situation in the South China Sea is corrupt, Wen Tian is martial, the military has been abandoned for a long time, and the whole country cannot find a few people who can fight a war, and there is a lack of innate masters.

The national strength of the Su State is weak, although it has an innate grandmaster and a strong army, it cannot last for a long time, and it cannot be the opponent of the Chu State.

As for the Song Kingdom?

A small, remote and barren country is not expected to have a climate.

After synthesizing all the information, everyone in the outside world had to admit that if the Chu State wanted to expand externally, the Three Kingdoms of Lingnan were indeed the best targets.

And if these three kingdoms are taken, the state of Chu will be able to expand its territory for thousands of miles in an instant, with millions more people under its rule, and completely have a national strength comparable to that of Ning.

With such a big temptation in front of him, anyone who changes it can't help but be tempted, and it is logical that the Chu State wants to attack Lingnan.

But Chu Guo has a good calculation.

The rest of the three Lingnan countries who were taken as prey felt uncomfortable.

……

Yulin City.

As the county governor of Yulin County, and now the capital of the Soviet State, this city should have been magnificent, rich and prosperous.

In fact, as early as 10 years ago, the city was indeed thriving.

At that time, there were more than 400,000 households and a population of more than 2 million in the entire Yulin County, which was barely a solid household registration.

As a county governor, Yulin is known as a city with 50,000 households and 300,000 people, making it a big city in Lingnan second only to Nanhai City.

Time has passed.

In just ten years, Yulin County has experienced countless military disasters and man-made disasters, such as the rebellion of the Seven Provinces, the Battle of Zhengyi, and the rebellion of the Tonghai Yi people.

After a round of rounds, Yulin County, which was originally well-to-do, has become a withered and dilapidated livelihood, and the people are poor.

Affected by this, Yulin City, as the county and national capital, also slowly declined.

Not only did a large number of people lose their population, but the population fell to less than 100,000, and the rest of the people in the city were also discolored, numb, and could not see any life.

At this time, in the depressed Yulin City, the streets were sparsely populated, and there were not many pedestrians in sight, and occasionally one or two people walked by, and they looked thin and weak, and they couldn't lift up any strength.

However, in the teahouses on both sides, many men with big shoulders and round waists and red ears were drinking and chatting, laughing loudly one by one, and their voices were like thunder.

The passers-by walking at the door, smelling the fragrance coming from the wine shop and the noisy sound inside, couldn't help but stop one or two steps, sniffed the fragrance of the wine twice, and took a look at it enviously, and then reluctantly left.

In this impoverished Soviet country, the people who can feast in the wine shop, except for those dignitaries and dignitaries, are naturally only the soldiers in the Excalibur Army.

The Soviet Union is poor, with a household registration of only one million, and even if there are two counties, it can't afford to raise too many soldiers and horses.

After experiencing the rebellion of the seven local governments before, Su Xuange learned a lesson, did not continue to levy and extort violently, and reduced some swaying taxes.

In the end, although the taxes collected are still heavy, the people below can still live.

However, as a result, domestic income has been greatly reduced, and it is difficult to maintain the previous number of 150,000 soldiers and horses.

Therefore, in order to maintain combat strength, Su Xuange reduced the originally redundant soldiers and horses to 50,000 people, and canceled the establishment of county soldiers.

Among these 50,000 people, except for the 28,000 soldiers who were in the prefecture and county, the remaining 22,000 people were reorganized into a forbidden army and given the military name Shenjian as soldiers and horses directly under the central government.

The Divine Sword Army is an elite soldier and horse selected by Su Xuange after the repeated battles of the Su State and taught some rough and shallow swordsmanship of the original Jiuchuan Sword School.

Because of learning the swordsmanship of the Jiuchuan Sword School, all the soldiers in the Divine Sword Army have one or two good swordsmanship.

Although more than ninety percent of the people are not in the stream, even if they are placed on the rivers and lakes, they can be called good players, and they can be regarded as elite.

This group of divine sword troops trained in Jianghu swordsmanship is the reliance that the Soviet State now relies on to suppress the whole country and compete with foreign countries.

Gathering the strength of the whole country to support 20,000 people, many soldiers of the Divine Sword Army naturally had a good life.

The generous monthly salary and New Year's festival rewards not only allow them to easily feed the whole family, but also come out from time to time in the tea house of the wine shop, open a small stove here, and enjoy themselves.

Therefore, every day on this wine and food street in the city, you can see a large number of rough men dressed as martial artists coming in and out, constituting the main consumer force here.

Today, it was noon, and the shops on both sides were quickly filled.

Countless Excalibur sergeants crowded into the restaurant, laughing loudly and boasting to each other.

Xiao Er, who was busy and sweating profusely, ran back and forth, delivering wine and food to these uncles in the store, and was scolded by those martial artists from time to time, and then scared to accompany a smile.

In today's world, force is respected.

In the face of these warriors with knives and guns, the common people did not dare to offend in the slightest, for fear of provoking the other party's dissatisfaction, so they directly raised their knives and cut themselves.

Those who did not believe in this truth in the past are now three feet tall on their graves.

The past is vivid, and future generations must not be cautious.

Just when the atmosphere was thick, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves on the street outside, but I saw a knight dressed in black armor, wearing green feathers on his head, and a red flag on his back, while shouting and driving away pedestrians, while flying towards the depths of the city.

This scene suddenly staged on the downtown streets, and it made chickens and dogs jump at once, causing a burst of exclamations.

This huge movement immediately attracted the people in the teahouses and restaurants on both sides, and they couldn't help but look over.

Waiting for the flying horse to walk away, someone in the inn retracted his gaze and sighed: "Feiyu passed the book, and the blood flag opened the way, could it be that something big happened somewhere?" ”

Someone next to him responded: "The first few battles were either local rebellions, or large armies going out, or strong enemies attacking. Now that the king is lightly servitude, taxes are reduced and reduced, and the people in the country are stable, no one thinks of rebelling.

And I waited for the monthly holiday as usual, and I never heard any rumors, nor did I let the assembly, and I didn't think about going on the expedition.

Therefore, it is most likely that there is a strong enemy to attack. ”

Someone was surprised: "A strong enemy is coming? Who ate the bear's heart and leopard gall and dared to come to fight my Su country? ”

"Yes, these Lingnan countries are the most prosperous in the martial arts of our Su country. Who is living impatient enough to dare to come to me for trouble? ”

"Maybe it's Dali. Ever since we occupied his Tonghai County, those Dali Yi people have been trying to get it back. I heard that they have been accumulating armor and training soldiers all these years, and if they want to fight, they are most likely. ”

"It could also be the Song Kingdom. The king of the Song Dynasty has always supported the Jinling Son of Heaven, and he still uses the name of the Jianwu era, which is not the same heart as the king of our own era name. It's not surprising that a thief like this is called. ”

"It's best to call the South China Sea, the South China Sea is rich, and the profiteers over there, I don't know how much silver they extorted from us in the past two years?

I waited for countless battles in Dali, and all the silver that I finally snatched back was earned by them.

Lao Tzu has long been unpleasant to see them, and has always wanted to go over there to grab it. ”

Everyone in the store talked about it, and when the last person mentioned the South China Sea Kingdom, they immediately burst into laughter.

For the South China Sea, which of the surrounding countries does not know, this is a fish belly, neither in the look, nor in use, a real soft persimmon.

Coupled with the fact that this place has a lot of wealth, it has long been very eye-catching.

Now that he has been opened, the people around him can't even guess what the big deal is, and they have joined in the belittling of the South China Sea country.

Many people even fantasize about how to make a windfall when they fight the South China Sea.

Soon an agreement can be reached, and at that time, in addition to robbing money, I will definitely rob a few girls to come back, so that it is not in vain to go to the South China Sea.

However, among the many words that laughed and belittled the South China Sea country, a not very harmonious voice was quickly inserted.

"Could it be the State of Chu?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere of laughter around them instantly froze.

Many people's voices were lowered, and they looked at the speaker with ugly faces, and their breath seemed to be a little frozen.

The object that was deliberately avoided by everyone was revealed at this time, so that this illusion could no longer be maintained.

It has never been a secret that the state of Chu wants to go south all these years.

Even under the deliberate guidance of Su Xuange, there will be a war between Su and Chu in the coming days, which has become the consensus of all Su people.

It's just that over the years, the state of Chu has become more and more powerful, and many people have begun to deliberately avoid this, unwilling to think about that desperate thing, and unwilling to face that suffocating enemy.

It's just blindly evading, after all, it's just a vain.

In the past few days, the state of Chu has been constantly mobilizing troops and horses, and it seems that the news of moving troops to the south has begun to spread in various parts of Lingnan.

It's just that not many people want to believe it.

At this time, when the matter came to an end, a dream was finally punctured.

However, the people below want to escape and are unwilling to face it.

However, the vested interests of the upper echelons, in the face of this war that is about to sweep the whole of Lingnan, are not willing to give up their interests like this.

The royal palace in the city.

Compared with the poverty in the outer city, in the palace that looked extraordinarily luxurious, Su Xuange read the letter that had just come from the north from the letter handed by the Feiyu messenger, and his face was completely ugly.

The content mentioned in the letter is simple, just one sentence.

The Chu people gathered heavy troops in Lingling, and the number reached 50,000, which seemed to have the intention of going south.

The area bordering the State of Chu and the State of Su, in addition to Qianzhong County, is Dongting County.

In Dongting County, the only border with the Soviet Union is Lingling Mansion, which is located on the southwestern border.

Previously, this prefecture had always been garrisoned only by local and county soldiers, and had never been stationed in the forbidden army.

But at this time, the state of Chu stationed 50,000 troops here, and what the purpose is, is already very clear.

The state of Chu has already begun to prepare for the southern expedition.

Su Xuange quickly realized this, and there was a burst of anger in his heart.

As for the threat of the Chu State, he had anticipated it since the establishment of the Ninghai State, and he had thought about changing it later, and even fought for hegemony and participated in the competition in the world.

But in the end, with a rebellion in the country, all efforts were wiped out.

Now Su Xuange has recognized that he is not the material for hegemony, and Su Guo does not have that background. The only thought now is to keep this inheritance and pass it on to his children and grandchildren.

"But why, why do you want to take it away from me even if you have a wish!"

Su Xuange pinched the letter, gritted his teeth, and was extremely angry in his heart.

thought that he had been busy for more than ten years, but as a result, the country of Su was not as good as when the country was first established. And Lu Yuan, who also started as a country, has now become the overlord of the six counties.

The jealousy and resentment in his heart almost made him red-eyed.

"Okay, since you don't leave me a way out, then I'm going to show you that this Lingnan land is not something that those southwestern barbarians can let you knead at will." ’

Su Xuange secretly gritted his teeth in his heart, and then immediately shouted to the attendant next to him: "Someone, quickly go and send the envoy of the Song Kingdom." ”

The threat of the Chu State, as well as the changes these days, is not only the Su State that has noticed it.

Even the Song State, which is located in the most difficult position in Yangzhou, has been keenly aware of the threat, and a few days ago, sent an envoy to reach a cooperation with the Su State.

Originally, Su Xuange still had doubts about cooperating with Song Guo.

After all, other countries may not know much about the strength and details of the Song Kingdom because of the distance.

As a state of the Soviet Union, which is close to the Song State, of course, it is impossible not to be unaware of the threat of the Song State.

This is a powerful country that is far stronger than the Soviet Union in terms of area, population, and military strength. In Song Guo's body, Su Xuange even saw the shadow of the former Changsha Kingdom.

In the same way, a county of 100,000 soldiers was raised, and the same was used to open up half of the county's territory through a combination of various countries.

In the same way, the domestic politics are clear, and the people are happy.

The same lord of the country is extremely strong, wise and powerful.

No matter how you look at it, the Song State is like a small version of the Chu State, or a former Chu State.

If the Song State is given time, it may develop for another ten years, and the other party will be able to reach the momentum of the current Chu State.

As Su Xuange, who had personally experienced the rise of the Chu State, how could he not feel threatened and jealous when he saw a new Chu State rising behind him?

This kind of jealousy even surpasses that of Chu.

Because although the state of Chu is close to the state of Su, it is still in the north of the Lingbei, and the mountains between the two countries are blocked, and it looks like they are far apart, in two worlds.

Therefore, the threat of Chu State, Su State was not so strong.

But between the Su State and the Song State, there is a smooth waterway, there is no mountain separation, the two countries are a horse Pingchuan, riding a fast horse only takes five days, you can go from Yulin City to Song Ping City.

The two countries are so close to each other, which shows how simple and easy it is to attack the Soviet Union from the Song State.

And so it is.

After perceiving the threat of the Song State, Su Xuange mobilized half of the Divine Sword Army all the year round and stationed it on the southern border of the Su State to prevent the Song State from going north.

With such a relationship, in the face of Song Guo's request for cooperation, he would of course be jealous.

Although the threat of Chu State is great, Su Xuange is also worried, it is easy to invite God and it is difficult to send God.

If the army of the Song State is put into the Su State, and after the Chu State is defeated, the other party will easily destroy itself, and it will be difficult to fight back at that time.

It was precisely because of this concern that he was slow to agree to the cooperation between the two countries.

But now......

As soon as I thought that the army of Chu was gathering, and the spearhead was already pointed at the Su State.

Now is no longer the time to worry about whether it will be annexed by the Song State in the future.

Instead, he didn't ask for help from the Song State, and he was about to be destroyed by the Chu State.

Because of this, Su Xuange completely let go of his worries and turned his head to the olive branch of the Song Kingdom.

Not only the Su and Song countries.

After more and more soldiers and horses of the Chu State were gathered, and the movements in all directions became bigger and bigger.

At the same time, the Nanhai Kingdom had already sent an envoy to Jinling and began to cry for help to himself, the titular suzerain.

Jinling's side also made frequent movements, not only sending envoys to the South China Sea in successive waves.

Even in Ningguo, a large number of soldiers and horses were gathered in Yuzhang, and many Wuhou were transferred to the Peng Li camp to review the soldiers and horses and familiarize themselves with the army.

Even the two kingdoms of Dali and Nanzhao in the southwest sensed the impending atmosphere and began to secretly gather troops.

The Liang State in the north also noticed that the wind was not in the right direction, and began to gather troops and horses in Jiangxia, but I don't know why.

That is, the State of Zhou, at this time, had just finished the spring plunder war with the Tibetan people, and the soldiers and horses had suffered serious losses, and they were secretly licking their wounds, powerless to take care of it, and did not do anything.

The rest of the surrounding areas followed closely because of the changes in the Chu State.

For a time, the entire south of the Yangtze River and the land of Yangzhou became stormy and depressing.

The clouds of war loom over all of us like a powder keg, waiting for the spark to ignite and then explode to all nations.