Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 211 Killing Xiangguan
In Liyang County, Xiang Zhuang is having a drink with Bai Lixian and Wu She in Xingyuan.

But this time what I drink is no longer bland water wine, but real shochu. After performing missions in the primeval forest, he stayed for several months. Xiang Zhuang couldn't stand his addiction to alcohol, so he learned to brew shochu with wild fruits.

The principle of brewing shochu is actually very simple. It is to ferment the whole grains first, and then put them into a still to steam. The alcohol is steamed out, cooled and collected. It is a high-grade shochu. The slightly difficult part in the middle is the production of the still. , but this is not a problem for Gong Shuche, a master craftsman.

As early as a few months ago, the large-scale distiller designed by Xiang Zhuang and processed by the bus was completed. Up to now, hundreds of altars of shochu have been brewed. Tens of thousands of stones of grain looted from Guanzhong, Now there are about [-] stones left, and Xiang Zhuang plans to brew all of them into shochu, then hide them, and take them out from time to time to reward meritorious soldiers.

Like papermaking and printing technologies, Xiang Zhuang does not intend to disclose the brewing process, at least before the unification of Chu, he will never allow other princes to master these technologies. To use the terminology of later generations, this is a patent. Well, it will definitely bring Da Chu a steady stream of financial resources and taxes.

Moreover, brewing technology is different from papermaking and printing techniques. Once papermaking and printing techniques are leaked, the other princes from all walks of life will also master these two technologies. However, it is beneficial, but once the brewing technology is leaked, it is likely to cause disaster!

The reason is simple, alcohol is addictive, especially the mellow liquor!
Once the technology of brewing shochu spreads on a large scale, and once the nobles all over the world become addicted to alcohol, they will find ways to forcibly confiscate grain to brew shochu. However, the grain production in this era is extremely low. If they make shochu, then the remaining food will not be enough to eat, which may even lead to famine.

Therefore, Xiang Zhuang does not intend to disclose the technology of brewing shochu to the public, at least not now.

When Bailixian and Wu She entered the table, Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, and his own soldiers came in with wine utensils. He first put a custom-made small wine glass on the low table in front of the three of them, and then put it inside. He poured half a cup of shochu, and just after the crystal clear wine was poured into the cup, a seductive mellow fragrance has already permeated.

Wu She couldn't help but twirled his two nostrils, and praised: "It's fragrant, it's really fragrant."

Bai Lixian also nodded in agreement, and praised: "Yes, just smelling the aroma of this wine, I'm already drunk."

Wu She had been at odds with Bai Lixian from the very beginning. Many times, when Bai Lixian said one thing, Wu She would say another without reason. However, when it came to judging shochu, the two people's opinions were rarely realized. In order to unify, Xiang Zhuang would invite them to drink from time to time because of this discovery, in order to ease the relationship between the two.

Not to mention, after a few drinks, the relationship between the two has been greatly eased.

Xiang Zhuang smiled slightly, raised the glass of wine and said to the two of them, "Come on, let's drink this wine first."

Wu She held up the wine glass in front of him, respected Xiang Zhuang from a distance, then covered his face with his sleeve and drank the shochu in the wine glass, then smacked his lips, and praised endlessly: "Good wine, really good wine, not only Smelling the fragrance, drinking it is even more powerful! After drinking the wine, it feels like a fire is burning in the stomach, and the chill on the body immediately dissipates without a trace!"

Bai Lixian didn't drink it like Wu She did, but swallowed it in small sips, and then savored the mellow fragrance in the wine with his tongue. Obviously, Wu She enjoyed the wine brought by the wine even more. Bai Lixian paid more attention to the supreme taste enjoyment brought by shochu.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, the topic of the three returned to business.

Wu She drank the shochu in the wine glass again, smashed his mouth again, and said: "General, count the time, General Xiang Tuo should return to Wuzhong County now, and I don't know Wuzhong What kind of reaction will the major aristocratic families in the world have after receiving the thread-bound book presented by the general?"

Bai Lixian said firmly: "That goes without saying, of course I was overjoyed!"

After saying this, Bai Lixian said in a more emphatic tone: "This is a great gift!"

Wu She nodded, and asked Bailixian directly: "General Xiang Tuo has made it clear that he is willing to support the general. If more than a dozen old families in Wuzhong and Xiang He are also willing to support the general, then Xiang Guan will not be able to win. What a big wave is coming, so next, can we just cross the river and return to Wuzhong?"

Bai Lixian smiled slightly, and continued: "If there are no accidents, we will be able to cross the river in a few days."

As soon as the words fell, Jin Xiang suddenly entered the room boldly and reported loudly: "General, there is someone outside Xingyuan who wants to see you and claims to be your nephew."

"Clan nephew?" Xiang Zhuang was stunned.

"Come whatever you say, most likely Ling Yin has arrived." Bai Lixian said happily.

"Xiang He?!" Xiang Zhuang immediately stood up and told Jin Xiang, "Jin Xiang, invite him in quickly."

"Here!" Jin Xiang took the order to go, and within a short time, he led a young man into the Xingyuan hall. The young man was fair and gentle, about 30 years old, but Xiang Zhuang He didn't know each other, because when he crossed over, the Battle of Gaixia had already started, but Xiang He was not in Xiang Yu's army.

However, Xiang Ta recognized Xiang Zhuang, and immediately bowed to the ground and said in a loud voice: "Master Dang County, Xiang Ta, refer to the general!"

Hearing that Xiang He claimed to be the head of Dang County, the corners of Bailixian and Wu She's mouths burst into a slight smile at the same time, thinking that Xiang He was indeed a smart man, not only came to Liyang to meet Xiang Zhuang in person, but also did not claim to be Ling Yin, because the Ling Yin of the Chu State is actually the prime minister, and the prime minister is the prime minister for the country's military and political affairs, and his authority is still above the general.

"Zi Yi, get up quickly." Xiang Zhuang hurried forward to help Xiang Ta up.

Xiang Ta, the word Yi, but when addressing him formally, he needs to add the word Zi in front, such as Xiang borrow, Zi Yu, when elders or friends call him, they have to call him Zi Yu.

After the chatter, Xiang Ta immediately got to the point and said: "Uncle, the elders in Jiangdong are looking forward to your army crossing the river as soon as possible and restoring Dachu as soon as possible. My nephew is here to represent the more than 200 million people in the two counties of Jiangdong." The common people and all the old Chu clans, I implore you, the old man, to lead the commander across the river as soon as possible."

"Oh, uncle why don't you want to cross the river as soon as possible? It's just that you really don't want to kill each other." Xiang Zhuang is really not used to being called uncle by Xiang Ta. In terms of age, Xiang Zhuang is only 26, younger than Xiang Ta How old is he, but in terms of seniority, Xiang He is seriously Xiang Zhuang's nephew and nephew.

Xiang He said: "Uncle is worried about Xiang Guan?"

Xiang Zhuang nodded, and said: "Xiang Guan has nearly [-] troops and the support of clans from more than a dozen counties in the south of Kuaiji County. If Uncle Wei crosses the river rashly, he may conflict with him. Uncle Wei is not afraid He, the tens of thousands of mobs just relying on the crown, really don't pay attention to him as an uncle, but if this war breaks out, it will be Jiangdong's elders who will suffer."

Xiang He said: "Uncle, don't worry, my nephew has already thought of a countermeasure."

"Oh?" Xiang Zhuang's heart moved slightly, and he said, "Zi Yi, tell me."

Xiang He said: "Uncle, for the current plan, the only way to ensure the peace of Jiangdong is to eradicate Xiang Guan by means of thunder! Although Xiang Guan has nearly [-] troops, they are all clan children who have been improvised. They can be called mobs. As long as Xiang Guan Once Guan dies, these [-] clan disciples will immediately fall into a leaderless situation, and they will collapse without fighting!"

"You mean to kill Xiang Guan? Will the clans in all counties join forces?"

"Absolutely not. Xiang Guan's power is mainly in the dozens of counties in the south of Kuaiji, and the clan with the surname Lu is the head. However, the clans in these dozens of counties are not monolithic. There are also conflicts of interest among them. As long as they can be killed by thunder Xiang Guan, if you can win over some of the clans, you can quickly control the situation."

Xiang Zhuang said: "You mean, as long as Xiang Guan can be killed with lightning, the situation will not get out of control?"

"Yes." Xiang Guan nodded, and said again, "Xiang Guan is an idiot, nothing to worry about, but his clan brother Lu Yuan is a difficult person, so how to kill Xiang Guan has to be calculated carefully. If you act carelessly and let Xiang Guan escape, there will probably be a scuffle in the dozen or so counties south of Zeji County."

Xiang Zhuang was silent, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

So far, Xiang Tuo and Xiang He have expressed their attitudes one after another, and the time to cross the river is finally ripe, but before the army crosses the river, there is one more thing to do first, and that is to kill Xiang Guan!Including Xiang Ta, Xiang Tuo and others, most people think that Xiang Zhuang will only attack Xiang Guan after the army crosses the river, but Xiang Zhuang wants to do the opposite.

All of this was actually planned by Wei Liao, long before Huanchu, Jibu, Zhonglimei, and Yu Ziqi brought Jiangdong to borrow veterans to return to their hometowns. All of this was already determined. These more than 1000 veterans are elites. The elite in the army, at the critical moment, is worth [-] elite soldiers!Using them to hunt Xiangguan can be said to be like killing a chicken with a bull's knife.

Moreover, there were more than a thousand of these veterans when they crossed the river. As for now, there are probably tens of thousands of them, right?
Of course, Wei Liao is not sure who will be the final hunted target, maybe Xiang Guan, Xiang Ta, or Xiang Tuo, but now, it is undoubtedly Xiang Guan, which is very important to Xiang Zhuang. Speaking, it can be said to be the best result, because Xiang Tuo has the talent of a general, and Xiang Ta has the talent of a prime minister, but Xiang Guan is an idiot.

Seeing that Xiang Zhuang was silent, Xiang Ta said again: "Uncle, do you think we sent five thousand elite soldiers across the river?"

"The 5000-horse battle is too big, Xiang Guan can't be unaware." Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, and said, "However, the men who deal with Xiang Guan have already crossed the river. After you return to Wuzhong, Ziyi, you can Go find Gao Chu."

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PS: Good news, the network cable will be pulled up in the afternoon, and I will write a chapter quickly to repay everyone's support for Swordsman during this difficult period!Brothers, the swordsman is back, really back, starting tomorrow, three consecutive shifts will break out until all the missing chapters are made up, hahaha...

(End of this chapter)