Horse on the World

608 Ransomware
Youzhou.

More than two consecutive years of wars have caused Youzhou, an extremely prosperous city, to wither down. The achievements of several generations of Xiao's management have been exhausted in this war, and people's livelihood is extremely poor. Although the war is over, the whole city is still alive. In the midst of military officers and curfew, the huge city is plunged into darkness after nightfall. In this age, even lamp oil has become a scarce thing.When night fell, Youzhou City crouched quietly like a monster in the darkness.

Compared with Yanzhou, Youzhou was not directly devastated by the flames of war, but in order to deal with this war, the Xiao family gathered all the forces that could be gathered. During the war, a large number of refugees from Yanzhou flooded into this city, making it The endurance has also reached the limit.

In response to the sharply deteriorating law and order and the possible outbreak of refugee riots, Youzhou has been implementing a curfew, and the whole city falls into dead silence when night falls.

But today, in Youzhou City, among the younger brothers of the Xiao family, the lights are brightly lit, and the whole street is illuminated by bright red lanterns. The war is finally over. He breathed a sigh of relief, and the sharp sword hanging high above his head was finally shrunk back.

But to Xiao Yuanshan, the end of the war was only the end of the first half. In his own home court, there was still a guy who was no less a threat to Luoyang, and that was the Dingzhou army, Lu Dalin's Master Lu.It took even more trouble to send away the wolf that came in from the back door for the tiger that had beaten the front door.

The Dingzhou army was invited by himself. In order to resist Luoyang, he had no choice but to do it. But now that everything is over, Master Lu has no intention of leaving. Tens of thousands of troops are stationed in various key places in Youyan. It's called defense, but Xiao Yuanshan knows that Li Qing's greedy heart has never given up on annexing the land of Youyan.

In the outer hall, You Yan's civil and military officials were entertaining the mid- and senior-level officers of Master Lu. It was very lively, fist-fighting and wine-cups. At this moment, they were friends, brothers, and comrades-in-arms who shared life and death on the battlefield, but They all understand that if today is missed, maybe the place where the two sides meet again will be the battlefield, and it will be a life-and-death contest.

There is wine today and drunk today, cherishing everything in front of you may be a portrayal of the common mood of these soldiers.Many people were already drunk.

The difference from the outside hall is that in an elegant small hall inside, Xiao Yuanshan, Lu Dalin, and Xiao Weiran are sitting opposite each other, and the atmosphere is much more serious.

There was wine and food on the table, but no one moved.For them, eating is secondary, what is important is what this meeting will bring to both parties.

"General Lu, thank you very much for leading your troops into Youyan this time and helping me tide over the difficulties. Now that the fighting has stopped, Xiao feels boundless in his heart when he thinks that he will part with General Lu!" Xiao Yuanshan held up his wine glass.At this time, he felt infinite emotion in his heart. Once upon a time, Lu Dalin was still a member of his subordinates. In his actions to liquidate Li Qing, it was because of his defection that he fell short and was expelled from Dingzhou. He said that a large part of his own failures should be entrusted to the person in front of him.

Time has passed, and Xiao Yuanshan's original hatred has faded a lot. These years of experience have made him more mature. There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. , let him experience it vividly.

However, Lu Dalin did not pick up his wine glass, and a smile appeared on his face, "General Xiao, why is the war going to stop? According to my opinion, the war between the three giants of the Central Plains has indeed stopped, and it is very likely that it will be a long time. You won’t fight again within a certain period of time, but your Youyan probably won’t be like this? If I’m right, Tianqi will attack you soon.”

After a pause, he said: "General Xiao, it will not be easy for us to drive Xiang Ping out of Youyu, and out of Xiegu. I'm afraid we will continue to cooperate in the future!"

Xiao Weiran's face changed slightly, and he said: "General Lu, whether Tianqi does something to us or not, I believe that we, Youyan, can get through it safely. We are grateful for your army's previous charitable deeds, but for the rest, let us Handle it yourself!"

Lu Dalin smiled hesitantly, picked up the wine glass, took a sip, but ignored him.

Xiao Yuanshan smiled, stretched out his hand to press Xiao Weiran who was about to stand up, and said softly: "General Lu, don't tell lies in front of real people, we have known each other for a long time, let alone go around talking Trouble, my generation of soldiers, let’s open the window and tell the truth. What do you want to withdraw from Youyan? Or what does Li Qing want? Tell me clearly, I will definitely not allow the Dingzhou army to stay in I am from the land of Youyan."

Lu Dalin glanced at the other party, "General Xiao, don't you regret it?"

"Never!" Xiao Yuanshan said resolutely.

"Well, let me tell the truth. When I led my troops close to Youyan, it was just when my Princess Qingcheng of Dingzhou launched a coup. This is not a big secret, and there is no need to hide it. At that time, I did not According to the order of Marshal Li, I did it without permission. Later, General Xiao asked me for help, and I did not report to the Marshal, so I led the army into Youyan. Of course, I also saw the impact of my army leaving Youyan on the overall situation of Dingzhou Very helpful, General Xiao, you know, it is very taboo for me to act without orders like this, especially since I am not a direct descendant of Marshal Li, of course you know the pros and cons of this!"

Xiao Yuanshan looked at the other party with a calm expression on his face, but he was scolding in his heart, what does it mean not to follow Li Qing's order? Judging from the entire strategic layout of Dingzhou this time, it was clearly planned long ago. Gu, defeated Xiang Ping, threatened Luoyang with soldiers, and forced Tian Qi not to take risks. To put it bluntly, he became an important chess piece for Li Qing to contain Tian Qi. At this time, Lu Dalin said so, nothing more than to prepare for the next lion to open his mouth. It's just foreshadowing.

"So, if I don't get enough benefits this time to go back to satisfy the commander in chief, my life will be difficult!" Lu Dalin said with a smile, but judging from his expression, there is a little bit of self-consciousness?
Xiao Weiran said: "General Lu, if Li Qing's life is not easy, why don't you come to Youyan? Our Xiao family will welcome you backwards!"

Lu Dalin laughed loudly, "Master Xiao really knows how to tell jokes!" The hidden meaning in his words is obvious, now that Li Qing's power in Dingzhou is booming, he is about to sweep all over the world, step on the world, and rule the Central Plains The imposing manner, but the Xiao family is fading away, and the face is still panting, a fool would abandon Dingzhou and vote for Youyan!
Xiao Weiran is also a very smart person, why didn't he understand what Lu Dalin meant, his face was flushed with anger, but he was speechless.

"What kind of benefits can make General Lu, oh, no, Li Qing and Marshal Li satisfied?" Xiao Yuanshan asked.

"General Xiao also knows that our Dingzhou rewards the soldiers very heavily, which makes the soldiers go forward bravely and never back down when fighting, because they have no worries, but this time we are doing it for you Xiao Combat, how can the commander-in-chief pay the bill for this war? Besides, we have assisted You Yan to fight for so long, and the soldiers have lost a lot. The money spent on armaments, war horses, and luggage has gone to sea.”

"We will pay for this part!" Xiao Yuanshan said decisively.

"The Dingzhou army has gained something every time it fights. Not to mention a lot of money, it still makes a small profit. I don't want to break this rule by sending troops to Youyan this time!"

"I will also pay for all the military expenses, and the expenses for thanking Marshal Li for his help. General Lu, tell me the number!" Xiao Yuanshan remained calm.

"General Xiao is generous, I think my master Lu has tens of thousands of soldiers, all of them together, it will take a million taels of silver to stop this hole!"

As soon as Lu Dalin's words came out, Xiao Yuanshan gasped, and Xiao Weiran even jumped up, "Lu Dalin, are you blackmailing? Why don't you just lead your troops to grab it!"

Lu Dalin smiled and said: "Lord Xiao is joking again, even if I want to snatch it, what else can you snatch from Youyan?" This is almost a naked threat.

Xiao Yuanshan gathered himself together, "General Lu, since you know the Youyan now, even if you go to grab it, you won't get anything, so why make things difficult for me, how do you ask me to get this million taels of silver?"

"Yes, most, I, Lu Dalin, is an old subordinate of General Xiao, and you are my old boss. I have to be considerate of you. If you can't get the money out, let's change the plan! You give me the Xiangshan Mansion, and this hundred I will decide not to take ten thousand taels of silver. Sigh, I took this burden because you are my old boss. Xiangshan Mansion, a place where no shit like a bird, is really poor enough. , it’s still a burden for you anyway, let’s give him to Dingzhou! With this prefecture, I think Marshal Li may recognize me by pinching his nose when he sees my old face.”

Xiangshan Mansion is bordered by Bingzhou. It is indeed poor, but it is a barrier for Youyan. Without him, Youyan almost opened her arms to Li Qing, and only shouted, come on, come on!Hearing Lu Dalin's words, not to mention Xiao Weiran, even Xiao Yuanshan, who is so calm, couldn't control a few songs, jumped up and slapped the old fox across the face.

It is easy to ask God, but it is difficult to send God away!Xiao Yuanshan suppressed the angry flames forcefully, "General Lu, you know this is impossible, I'd better give the money, can you see it in terms of our past friendship, less."

"Don't give it to the Xiangshan Mansion!" Lu Dalin said slowly: "Actually, I don't want that poor place either, yes, if it's less, let's have less. Anyway, you are me, and also Marshal Li's former boss, right?" , 90, one-buy price, no less, otherwise I will return to Dingzhou, and Marshal Li will definitely show me!"

"90, I'll give it!" Xiao Yuanshan almost burst out these words from between his teeth.

"Okay, refreshing!" Lu Dalin laughed and held up his wine glass, "Cooperating with the old boss is refreshing. Come on, General Xiao, I respect you. After I withdraw this time, I will still be stationed in Bingzhou. If the old boss wants anything Where I help, I will never shy away from it!"

"Let's forget it, we can't afford you!" Xiao Weiran gritted his teeth and said.

Lu Dalin returned satisfied, looking at his wobbly back, Xiao Weiran said bitterly: "Yuan Shan, he is blackmailing, how can we agree to him?"

Xiao Yuanshan looked sad, "Uncle, otherwise, what should we do? Lu Dalin is right, Tianqi is indeed going to attack us. At this moment, if there is still a wolf in our house, how can we deal with the tiger from outside? Send them away first."

"Kill them!" Xiao Weiran said bitterly.

Xiao Yuanshan looked at his somewhat irrational uncle, "How can we kill? Lu Dalin has [-] regular troops in our territory, plus various auxiliary arms, almost [-]. The Xiangshan Mansion is also controlled by them. Once they turn against each other, the Dingzhou Army will be killed immediately." In the meantime, they will rush in from Bingzhou, what do we have to resist, at this time, can we make enemies on both sides?"

(End of this chapter)