Chapter 118 The Confucian Sage roars!
"Da da da!"

The sound of hurried footsteps, accompanied by the sound of figures flashing through the air, continued to sound from the Tingchao Pavilion.

The vast Beiliang Palace had changed from its usual tranquility, and the entire palace was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

In fact, this atmosphere exists not only in the Beiliang Palace, but in the entire Beiliang Four States.

Most of the troops began to mobilize from the less important cities and passes and gathered to the two most important states of Youliang.

Especially in the base camp Liangzhou, Chen Zhibao, the small butcher who had been guarding the border, suddenly returned with his Iron Pagoda, which shocked a large group of people.

Among the 300,000 troops of Beiliang, the best in terms of combat effectiveness is of course the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry commanded by Xu Xiao himself, which was a world-famous military soul unit many years ago.

But after the Great Snow Dragon Riders, the entire Beiliang has never been able to determine who is the strongest.

Groups like the Baiyu Light Cavalry who have always been Xu Xiao's personal soldiers, the Longxiang Weixiong and other armies named after his children, and the infantry led by Yan Wenluan who are said to be as strong as the Great Halberd Soldiers of Western Chu in the past, all have the potential to compete.

Among them, the Iron Pagoda was originally inconspicuous. This unit was formed when Xu Xiao started his career. However, Xu Xiao's conditions were not strong at that time, which resulted in the unit not even having complete armor, so its combat effectiveness has never been outstanding.

It was not until they moved to Beiliang and their strength increased greatly that Xu Xiao equipped the entire army with armor and weapons, making this heavy armored cavalry completely formed.

Afterwards, it was handed over to Chen Zhibao, so in today's Beiliang, the Iron Pagoda troops are also extremely dazzling, and there are signs that they will become the first cavalry after the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry.

This heavily armored cavalry that had been guarding the border suddenly entered Liangzhou on a large scale, which naturally made many people smell an unusual atmosphere.

At this time, on the top floor of Tingchao Pavilion, Xu Xiao was sitting on a chair with a solemn expression on his face.

There was no trace of an old man's twilight years on his body anymore. His back was straight and murderous aura emanated from his body, as if it had turned into substance and enveloped the surroundings.

Although he was not wearing armor and did not speak, the terrifying murderous aura alone was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"What's the situation?" Xu Xiao asked in a cold voice. His few short words sounded like the clash of swords and guns on a battlefield.

"The two countries have indeed joined forces. Murong Baoding left Orange Province and headed east to attack Baichuan City. Zhongliang led his troops from Nanjing City to move south from Jinxi. In addition, Liyang also sent troops northwards and has surrounded Baichuan City on three sides."

"Now Shirakawa City has become a turtle in a jar." Li Yishan spoke slowly.

Xu Xiao showed no expression, obviously having anticipated this kind of situation. He just continued to ask calmly, "Who is commanding the troops in Liyang?"

"Zhao Sui, the King of Jiaodong." When saying this name, Li Yishan's eyes showed a strange look.

"Good job Zhao Dun, he is still playing tricks at this time, he deserves to be the one who stood out from the battle for the throne." Xu Xiao laughed coldly.

Li Yishan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

Among the major vassal kings of Liyang, King Zhao Sui of Jiaodong has the closest relationship with Xu Xiao and has been suppressed by the imperial court for many years.

It seems that his fiefdom is in Liaozhou Jiaodong, but compared with other vassal kings in Liyang, his strength is only average.

Now Zhao Dun asked the King of Jiaodong to lead the troops to fight. It seemed that he valued him, but it was obvious that he wanted to drag Beiliang into the water.

"If we win, the imperial court will naturally enjoy the fruits of the battle. If anything unexpected happens, the emperor can also put the blame on Beiliang. After all, everyone knows that the King of Jiaodong is close to Beiliang. No matter what, Zhao Dun will remain invincible." Li Yishan sneered.

"That sounds like a good plan, so let's just wait and see the results." Xu Xiao waved his hand.

"Did Gao Changsheng take any action?" Xu Xiao raised his eyes again.

Li Yishan shook his head: "It has been surrounded by a large army, and the boiling water room cannot be sneaked into, but from the situation, Gao Changsheng seems to be planning to defend Baichuan to the death."

Xu Xiao shook his head and frowned.

Li Yishan spoke again: "Given the current situation, Gao Changsheng is already trapped in a jar. There is absolutely no possibility of a comeback."

"The Yuan army has already moved. The Sui Dynasty will definitely not allow them to threaten the border. In order to deal with Temujin, King Yang Lin will have to go out in person."

"In fact, even if Yang Lin was still in charge of Daxing, it would be too late to help. Not to mention that he is no longer here. The Great Sui Dynasty cannot send any reinforcements in a short time."

"As for Song Que, not to mention that he has a small number of troops, he may not necessarily fight for Gao Changsheng. Moreover, there are still a small number of cavalry left by Murong Baoding in Orange State. In addition, according to reconnaissance, Liyang Lu Shengxiang has also gone north, and his purpose should be to delay or even annihilate Song Que's troops."

Li Yishan spoke repeatedly, and the central meaning of all his words was one sentence: Gao Chang's life or death was determined.

Xu Xiao did not respond, but just stared at the map in front of him. However, no matter how he calculated and looked at it, the situation in Baichuan was a dead end.

Surrounded from several sides and with no reinforcements, there was no chance of a comeback, and even survival was extremely difficult.

But Xu Xiao's intuition kept telling him that things were not that simple.

"Your Majesty, now is the time for us to consider what to do."

"Once Gao Changsheng's army is destroyed, given the current emptiness of the southern part of the Sui Dynasty, it will be impossible to stop the coalition forces of the two countries."

"In addition, the Mongols and other surrounding ethnic groups may take action if they hear the news. The Great Sui Dynasty may even be divided up directly."

"Although Sui territory is far from Beiliang, we cannot fail to make preparations. The expansion of Beimang and Liyang's strength is not a good thing for us."

"And if this cooperation between the two sides becomes a habit, Beiliang will surely face a catastrophic disaster," Li Yishan said urgently.

In his eyes, Beiliang had to intervene this time no matter what. Even if it was not for a share of the pie, but simply to restrain Beimang Liyang, he couldn't just sit back and watch.

"Don't worry, where is Feng Nian? Ask the Boiling Water Room to urge him to return to Beiliang as soon as possible."

"The Boiling Water Room has contacted Jian Jiuhuang, and the two have already started to head back. I believe they will be able to enter Liangzhou in another seven or eight days."

Li Yishan answered, then raised his eyes and prepared to continue speaking.

But he was interrupted by Xu Xiao waving his hand.

"Beiliang, don't rush to act. The current situation is still unclear. It will be too late to act when everything is settled."

"As for Beimang Liyang, don't worry too much. Even if Gao Changsheng is really killed, what will happen?"

"How easy is it for two enemy countries to put aside their guard and hatred and cooperate wholeheartedly?"

"Besides, there are huge benefits ahead, and there is also Genghis Khan. I don't believe that Genghis Khan will be so generous as to sit back and watch the two countries take the biggest piece of fat."

Li Yishan thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Right now, I am still focusing on Gao Changsheng. I always feel that this person is not that simple. And given his personality, it stands to reason that he would not just sit there and wait for death. This is obviously inconsistent with the situation in Baichuan City."

"In this situation, no one can solve it, right?" Li Yishan was a little unconvinced.

Xu Xiao shook his head. He really couldn't explain it clearly.

"Continue to send more spies to closely monitor the situation in Jindong. This king needs to know everything that happens there."

"And now there are only three armies around Baichuan, although it is enough to complete the encirclement."

"But without one road, it can't be considered a true encirclement."

"This king wants to know where this last group of troops is, to see if we can deliver another blow to this almost unsolvable deadlock."

Li Yishan nodded, indicating that he understood.

Xu Xiao's eyes turned and fell back on the map.

The current situation is too complicated. Any change in any link will disrupt the entire situation. The impact will not only be on one city or one place, but will radiate to the entire Kyushu.

Even with Xu Xiao's lifetime experience of fighting, he was completely unable to foresee how the future would develop.

But he knew one thing, although Beiliang was not the center of the war, it would be difficult for it not to be affected.

There is no way not to be involved.

What he didn't know was how long Beiliang could maintain this situation of staying out of the war, and whether he would take the initiative or be dragged into the war passively.

While Xu Xiao and Li Yishan were discussing the battlefield situation in Beiliang, a meeting was also taking place in Beidi City far to the north.

"Your Majesty, the armies from the north and west have already arrived. Li Yang has not lagged behind. Gao Changsheng has been surrounded in Baichuan City. His destruction is inevitable."

The speaker was Li Mibi, the chief of Beimang's secret agents, the man who founded and ran the Spider Web, and known as the shadow prime minister.

He is also the second most important strategist in Beimang besides Taiping Ling.

And in front of him, sitting on the dragon throne was naturally the Queen of Beimang.

"It's as expected." The Queen of Northern Mang said calmly. "Gao Changsheng is indeed a genius, but he is too arrogant in both his actions and his military operations. He dared to march straight into Northern Mang right after arriving in Lingnan. He thinks my empire is the same as Goguryeo."

The Empress sneered softly: "But it's better this way. Without Gao Changsheng's cooperation, this game would not be so easy to form."

"Pass the order down, and have all the generals act according to the plan. First annihilate Gao Changsheng's troops, and then advance with all our strength."

Li Mibi bowed and responded: "I will arrange it right away."

"Your Majesty is wise and brave, and now you have the help of God. After destroying Gao Changsheng's army, you can march straight in and invade the Sui Dynasty."

"With the military strength of Li Yang, they will not be able to defeat our country. By then, our Beimang will become a powerful country in the Nine Continents, and Your Majesty will dominate the world."

Although these were flattering words, they were obviously not exaggerated. Given the current situation, Li Mi Bi's words might indeed become a reality.

"Haha, annexing the Sui Dynasty is indeed a great temptation, but it's a pity that I don't want to do that." The empress changed her tone and directly expressed her refusal.

"Your Majesty?" Li Mibi looked puzzled for a moment.

"Li Qing, don't be blinded by the pie in front of you. Although the pie is delicious, it may contain poison."

"Do you think Temujin would be so kind as to give the greatest benefit to our country and wholeheartedly help our Northern Mang to become stronger?"

Li Mibi shook his head instinctively. Everyone knew that Temujin was cruel and tyrannical. He was just a wolf looking for food everywhere. How could he be so kind?

"Humph, even if the Great Sui lost a group of Gao Changsheng, the country's military strength is still strong. Our army may be able to erode some of them, but it is definitely not that easy to swallow them up as a whole."

"And if we continue to advance, it is very likely that Yang Lin will retreat. Then our army will face the main force of the Sui army, or even the brave and powerful army."

"But Temujin could sit back and watch us fight the Sui army, and even reap the benefits."

After hearing this, Li Mibi suddenly reacted, with cold sweat on his forehead: "I am guilty and almost fell into Temujin's trap. May I ask Your Majesty, what should our country do next?"

"It doesn't matter. Greed is the fundamental desire of human beings."

"As for how to do it, it's very simple. After the troops enter the Great Sui Dynasty, they will advance very quickly at first, but they only need to occupy a part of the land. After that, let Li Yang go on a rampage."

"As for our army, we will lure Li Yang into the Great Sui Dynasty with an all-out plundering posture, and then quickly turn around and cooperate with the main force left in the country to march south with all our strength."

"Originally, I wanted to wait until Xu Xiao died of old age before taking action, but now that I have been given this opportunity, I will naturally not miss it."

"Attack with all our strength, swallow up Liyang with the force of thunder, and then turn back to observe the situation of the Sui Dynasty."

"Your Majesty is wise." Li Mibi bowed down in submission.

At this time, in another direction, in a certain camp, several people were talking about the same topic.

"Great Khan, Gao Changsheng is surrounded and will be destroyed in the blink of an eye. By then, I'm afraid that Li Yang from the Northern Mang will also enter the Great Sui Dynasty at the same time."

"But old man Yang Lin has brought a large number of troops to Yumen Pass. This is a tough nut to crack. If we set up this trap, won't it benefit those two countries in the end?"

"Haha, Chi Lao Wen, you still underestimated the Khan's plan. If the two countries' troops enter the Sui Dynasty, the entire south will be destroyed in an instant. How can Yang Lin just sit back and watch?"

"Besides, our Yuan army is not approaching Yumen Pass yet. Yang Lin will most likely not stay here any longer. He will only lead his army south to deal with those two families. What do you think the situation will be like then?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Several people below bowed at the same time.

But soon someone raised another question: "If Yang Lin goes south, will the two countries not fight hard, but choose to retreat?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the camp fell into silence.

Indeed, if the two countries withdraw their troops, the situation will return to what it was before. Although it will not benefit others, in the overall situation, won't it be a useless effort?

Hearing this, Temujin threw his head back and laughed, interrupting the silence in the room:
"Human greed is always difficult to control. For both countries, the Sui Dynasty is a huge piece of fat meat."

"From common sense, both countries will inevitably be tempted by it."

"But sometimes it's like this, a piece of extremely delicious meat is placed in front of you, and people can't help but eat it."

"But if the meat is too big, they will be afraid to move forward, especially since it is me, Temujin, who is handing it to them."

"Whether it's Liyang or Beimang, there's no shortage of smart people. They may indeed be able to see the danger. Even if they can't, they will be able to react when Yang Lin goes south."

"But, Ben Khan has already prepared another piece of delicious meat for them."

For a moment, all eyes turned to Temujin's face.

"Liyang and Beimang have been fighting for many years, and the land of Liyang has long become Beimang's obsession."

"Now that Liyang's troops are being mobilized one after another, the originally airtight border has already shown flaws, and they will only get bigger."

"In this situation, there is no need to guess what choice the Queen of Northern Mang will make."

Beimang would invade Liyang. Everyone understood Temujin's meaning, but at the same time, more doubts emerged. After all, this matter seemed to have nothing to do with the territory of the Sui Dynasty.

"Hahaha." Temujin raised his head and laughed three times.

"Remember, our purpose as wolves is just to eat meat. It doesn't matter where the meat comes from or what kind of meat it is."

"For us, the Song Dynasty is meat, the Sui Dynasty is meat, so why isn't the Northern Mang also meat?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes lit up.

And Temujin's voice continued: "Whether the Northern Mang invades Liyang or not, the troops have been mobilized repeatedly, and the northern region has become empty."

"Li Yang's situation relative to them is no different from their situation facing us."

"What the Khan means is..." Everyone's eyes lit up.

"That's right. After Gao Changsheng is destroyed and the situation changes, our army can change its route and directly attack Beimang, heading south all the way and swallowing up the two countries of Beimang and Liyang in one gulp."

"By then, our territory will be connected to the two countries, and we will have completely surrounded the Song Dynasty twice, and the Sui Dynasty will also be covered by our northern and southern tentacles."

"And through the west of Liyang, we can also respond to the north and besiege Ming from two directions."

"By that time, there will be no country in the entire western part of Jiuzhou that can stop our Mongol cavalry. It will only be a matter of time before the western part is unified and our army marches into Jiuzhou."

There was no sound in the camp, and it was obvious that everyone was frightened by this huge strategy.

Just as the two emperors in the north and the south were planning the war according to their own ideas.

In the northeast of Jinxi and Jindong states, a group of cavalry were galloping towards the south in the desert.

On a city to their right, several figures were watching the cavalry.

"Sir, there are only a few thousand people. This should be the Beimang army that surrounded Gao Changsheng."

"Maybe originally, but now the encirclement is complete, they should be heading to Lingnan to seize the pass and completely cut off Gao Changsheng's last chance of survival." An old man spoke on the city wall.

"Humph, passing by our city so brazenly without hiding at all, Beimang is too arrogant."

Hearing this, the old man couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Among the galloping cavalry below, a fat figure turned his head and glanced at the city, with a hint of disdain and contempt in his eyes.

The old man on the city wall trembled instantly: "Do you really think I am nothing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's originally hunched body suddenly became upright.

A vast aura spread out like a surging river.

Between heaven and earth, the sound of golden swords exploded, and a vast sound rolled down like thunder:

"Golden swords and iron horses, fierce as a tiger!"

"boom!"

The whole world began to roar at this moment, as if in agreement, and as if together they were angry for the old man.

"Ru, Confucian saint?"

A terrified roar was heard from the cavalry ranks.

(End of this chapter)