By the time Chen Yucheng escorted the prisoners of war back to Xuanwu Pass, the news of the fall of Xuanwu Pass had already spread. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Ouyang Shuo, who was also inspecting Shaozhou County, sent a special letter to the General Military Affairs Administration to give Chen Yucheng a special commendation.

Taking Xuanwu Pass, the Leopard Tao Army was not satisfied, and the two major armies made an aggressive move at the same time, and they could attack the Weiwu Pass on the side of Guilin County and the new Guiping Pass at any time.

With the assistance of the P1 artillery, it was only a matter of time before the two passes fell.

…………

[Northern Sichuan City-State] and [Southern Shonan City-State] got the news, so they were not so calm.

Shanhai City has just won the [Lingnan City-State] with a blitzkrieg, and the momentum is flourishing, and the troops are sharp. The two city-states were trembling as neighbors of Shanhai City, fearing that one day, the flames of war would burn into their territory.

It's just that Shanhai City clearly wants to solve the [Yunnan City-State] first, so that they can get a little respite. But at this sensitive moment, Shanhai City suddenly took the Xuanwu Pass, which was really shocking.

The lords of the two city-states once again came together to discuss countermeasures.

"What is the purpose of Shanhai City, is it necessary to play another game, is their real purpose to target our two major city-states?" The lords were terrified.

"No way. With the current strength of Shanhai City, it is impossible to declare war on the two major city-states at the same time. ”

"So, what if Shanhai City's target is one of us?"

“……”

The scene fell silent in an instant, and the lords looked at each other.

The lords of the two city-states looked at each other with some indescribable meaning in their eyes.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became delicate.

As the saying goes: Dead friends are not dead and poor, if Shanhai City really chooses one of the two, they naturally hope that Shanhai City chooses to target each other, not themselves.

The lord of the [Northern Sichuan City-State] was even more frightened.

After all, the Second Legion attacked the coalition forces under their command.

At this moment, someone stood up and said categorically: "Impossible, Shanhai City will never start a war against us at this time. ”

"How so?"

When the lords saw it, they saw that it was Zhang Liang who was speaking, and they didn't dare to slack off, so they humbly asked for advice. Zhang Liangzhi can be seen, but they have seen it, and they are all impressed.

At this point, the two city-states really need exciting news.

"Because the time is wrong, the place is wrong, and the tactics are even wrong." Zhang Liang said three things in a row.

"Let's start with timing. At this time, it was the time when Shanhai City was reorganizing its army, and the three new legions had not yet taken shape. Isn't it stupid to rush to declare war at such a time? It is completely inconsistent with the style of Shanhai City. ”

"Let's talk about the location. After taking the [Lingnan City-State], the army of Shanhai City could directly attack the southern province of Hunan from Shaozhou County, or attack the northern province of Sichuan from Kunming County. In this way, why bother thanklessly and choose such an intermediate location as Guilin County to startle the snakes? ! ”

"In the end, it's the art of war. Throughout the previous battles of Shanhai City, each major battle was a coordinated operation of various group armies, and this time it was only the second army of the Leopard Tao Army that attacked. Even the First Army did not cooperate with the Second Army and attacked Guiping Pass. If they were going to attack us, they wouldn't. ”

"What's even more bizarre is that the Second Army did not take advantage of the victory to pursue and took the mighty pass in one fell swoop. In other words, the opponent has the weapon to attack the fortress, but it stops. Isn't that surprising? ”

Zhang Liang looked around at the lords and said firmly: "Therefore, Shanhai City will never go to war at this time. ”

As soon as the words fell, the lords applauded unconsciously, and their expressions were excited, as if they had suddenly let go of the burden in their hearts, and they relaxed their hearts and swept away the previous haze.

"That's right, that's true!"

"That's right, it must be that, Sir couldn't be more right!"

The lords did not hesitate to offer their beautiful words and sincere expressions.

This kind of feeling is really understandable.

When the news of the fall of Xuanwuguan came, which lord here did not panic and felt that the future was bleak one by one?!

Only after they really experienced the war did they truly feel how much fear they had for Shanhai City in their hearts. Before they knew it, Shanhai City had become a big mountain, overwhelming them.

The lord, who had come to his senses a little, earnestly consulted Zhang Liang again and asked, "Sir, since Shanhai City has no intention of starting a war, what is their purpose in taking Xuanwu Pass this time?" ”

Zhang Liang's expression was complicated, and he said: "If my expectations are good, the other party should want to take back Guilin County." ”

“……”

The lords found that they could not refute it.

A year ago, when they took Guilin County, they were not without pride. Who would have thought that in just one year, Shanhai City has become so powerful.

The originally wonderful Guilin County suddenly became a hot potato.

"So, give it back to them?" A lord asked cautiously.

"What else! Now that we are mortal enemies, isn't it a shame to go back with our eyes open? Zhang Liang hadn't said anything yet, but some lords had already raised objections.

"Heh, if you don't pay it back, won't people take it themselves? When that time comes, the army of Shanhai City will enter Guilin County, what will we use to resist, will we really have to start a full-scale war with Shanhai City? A [Northern Sichuan City-State] lord retorted, his expression disdainful.

"If there is a war, it will start a war, can it still take our two city-states?"

"Hmph, it's easy to say, have you forgotten how the [Lingnan City-State] fell?"

……

The lords argued about this endlessly, and there was a lot of trouble.

However, Caiyun Zhinan, Ximen officials and other bigwigs did not make a clear statement, and Zhang Liang, as a strategist, had no right to speak at this time, and the whole scene was deadlocked.

In the end, it broke up unhappily.

************

Just when the two major city-states were in doubt and disagreed, on the 24th, Honglu Temple, the capital of southern Xinjiang, sent an envoy to the two city-states to bring the ultimatum of Ouyang Shuo, the king.

Ouyang Shuo proclaimed two major city-states:

A year ago, the two major city-states took advantage of the danger and took Guilin County by disgraceful means. After a year, Shanhai City is preparing to take back Guilin County, and hopes that the two major city-states will not make fearless resistance.

If the two city-states are willing to return Guilin County peacefully, then Shanhai City is not only not guilty of the past, but also willing to reconcile with the two city-states; It was even willing to open trade channels between the two city-states, allowing the caravans of the two city-states to carry out ocean trade through the maritime trade channels opened up by Shanhai City.

If they refuse to surrender Guilin County, the army of Shanhai City will resolutely defend the glory of the territory and forcibly take back Guilin County by force. No matter how big the price is, it will not hesitate.

Please also ask the two city-states not to doubt the determination of Shanhai City to defend the glory of the territory.

How to choose, I hope that the two major city-states will give Shanhai City an answer within three days.

……

This ultimatum is both soft and hard, and the radish stick is on together.

In the words of Caiyun Zhinan: "It's shameless! It is reasonable and legal for them to attack [Lingnan City-State], but it is a dishonorable means for us to take Guilin County? It just doesn't make sense. ”

Zhang Liang listened, but frowned. Doesn't this lord of his still understand that as a lord, especially a lord of the wilderness, "shamelessness" is also a virtue?

Shanhai City can realize that putting itself on the moral high ground at all times is a clever means.

It would be forgivable if ordinary people said this, but Caiyun Zhinan is a wilderness lord, doesn't it seem childish and ridiculous to say such things?

This move of Shanhai City is really clever.

As Zhang Liang predicted, Shanhai City had no intention of starting a war with the two major city-states. The previous military operation to occupy Xuanwu Pass was just to pave the way for the envoy group this time.

Its real purpose is to successfully recover Guilin County without bloodshed.

In this way, it not only washed away the shame of losing Guilin County, but also stabilized the northern border in one fell swoop, and swept away a time bomb for the next Yunnan war.

More importantly, it can also plant the irresistible seeds of Shanhai City in the hearts of the two major city-states, and establish a psychological advantage for attacking the two city-states in the future.

In this way, it can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

The current Shanhai City can be regarded as truly having the bearing and prototype of the wilderness overlord, and solving the problem no longer relies too much on force, but uses a combination of various means, and is extremely proficient.

In contrast, the two major city-states are still engaged in infighting, which is simply not enough to see.

Zhang Liang is more and more optimistic about Caiyun City and the prospects of [Xiangnan City-State]. It's just that since he is on this boat, he will not get off the boat easily.

If you want to sink, you will sink with the big ship.

As for the reconciliation and the opening of trade channels mentioned in the ultimatum, although Zhang Liang did not know it very clearly, he also knew that Shanhai City must have laid the groundwork in it, and it would never be as simple as it seemed on the surface.

It's just such a "bait" that is difficult for the lords of the two city-states to refuse.

If you are human, you will have an ostrich mentality, and the lord is naturally no exception. Not only can they reconcile with Shanhai City, live without fear or fear, but also carry out ocean trade, this temptation is difficult for them to refuse.

And so it is.

The first to be unbearable was the [Northern Sichuan City-State].

In the battle of Xuanwu Pass, the allied forces of the [Northern Sichuan City-State] lost more than 26,000 people.

It's distressing!

It's even more chilling.

In the face of the soldiers of Shanhai City, they had no confidence at all to hold Guilin County.

The interior of the [Northern Sichuan City-State] has long been captured by the Honglu Temple, and secretly many lords are already "good friends" of Shanhai City, and their hostility towards Shanhai City is limited.

Now that Shanhai City has taken the initiative to extend an olive branch on the bright side, how could they not accept it. Not to mention them, even a big lord like Simon Daguan is also hesitant.

The huge profits of ocean trade, few lords could refuse.

Under the impetus of the "well-intentioned people", and under the continuous lobbying of the envoys, the opinions within the [Northern Sichuan City-State] are slowly reaching a consensus, and they are willing to withdraw from Guilin County.

The situation is moving in the direction that Ouyang Shuo expects.