C34 Balancing Wu Huan's Backhand

At this ugly time of the day, the forty thousand charging troops quietly left the Ji County. In order to let the news of the army go out later, Gongsun Zan even ordered the city gates to be sealed for half a day. The army did not pass through the sun to go to Liucheng, but chose a very concealed route, which was to take a detour through the southern foothills of the Great Freshness and Subtlety Mountain, and rush straight to Liucheng after soaking in water. This route happened to pass through the encampment of Wuhuan of Liaoxi, so Gongsun Zan did not inform Kurna beforehand.

Kurna walked over and pulled Gongsun Xu's hand and smiled affectionately: "Why is the young duke here all of a sudden? If you say it in advance, I can go and welcome you. "

Although Liu Tie said this, his heart was pounding. If there wasn't something important enough, how could Gongsun Xu have quietly come to see him? Qiu Liju had just died. Could it be that his heart was shocked and he immediately understood the purpose of Gongsun Xu's visit. A hint of flattery appeared in his smile: If he could destroy Wuhuan of Liaoxi in one go, then according to Marquis Jin's way of doing things, Liaodong Wu Huan would definitely be able to get a big share.

"This is the festival, Academy Officer, Yan Rou." Gongsun Xu introduced Yan Rou, then directly stated his purpose after taking his seat: "My father ordered the attack on Liucheng, please send troops from the King to help."

Kurna agreed. He rubbed his hands and asked with a smile, "May I ask how many soldiers and horses did the marquis send?"

"My White Horse Camp's four thousand cavalrymen and eleven thousand soldiers are in the vanguard. I, prefectural governor (Single Channel), will lead twenty thousand soldiers to lead the central army. Gongsun Xu did not hide anything.

"Good!" This battle shall be won! " Kurna clapped his hands and said while pondering: "Liucheng is not strong, the city walls are not even 3 meters tall, and it only has a radius of 20 miles. Originally, there were about 35,000 people in the city, but Na Li and Lou Ban had taken more than 10,000 with them. Now, there were at most 20,000 soldiers defending the city. I have more than twelve thousand men under my command, leaving four thousand behind to guard the home. I will lead the other eight thousand and follow the young duke to kill his way to Liucheng! I wonder what the young duke will do?

"Very good!" Gongsun Xu knew the situation of Liaodong Wu Huan like the back of his hand and knew that the eight thousand men that Kurna mentioned were the limit of the army. He nodded and smiled, "After this battle, all the captives will belong to the King."

"Thank you, young duke!" Kurna was overjoyed. He raised his palm and said loudly, "This battle will be very effective. I will not take anything other than captives!"

Kurna was defeated several times by Gongsun Zan and Qiu Liju, and suffered heavy losses. The Liaodong Wu Huan was currently the weakest amongst the three great tribes, and the main reason for this was because he was lacking in men. There was no suspense at all in defeating the Liucheng. When the time came, they could at least obtain a few thousand captives. To Kurna, his troops were more important than any gold or silver treasure.

"Then it's a deal." Gongsun Xu nodded, cupped his hands and smiled, "I congratulate the King in advance for increasing the number of his men."

"Thank you!" Kurna cupped his hands in return, not daring to be the least bit negligent, "Young Marquis, when will I send the troops?"

"At tomorrow's time, the King will lead the warriors under his command to the stables 50 miles to the northeast. After meeting up with the army of the Youzhou, they will head straight for the Liucheng!"

"Good!" I will instruct Chou to gather for dinner when the time is right, and we will set off on time when the time is right! " Kurna happily agreed and completely placed himself in a subordinate's position. He respectfully asked, "Does the Junior Marquis have any other orders?"

Gongsun Xu pondered for a moment and said, "Bring five thousand sheep."

Kurna was stunned: "More than 40,000 soldiers and horses, 5,000 heads is definitely not enough! It would be better to bring twenty thousand of them. "

Gongsun Xu smiled and said, "That's enough. It's just backup anyway."

"Since the young duke has spoken, then let's take five thousand." When Kurna heard the two words' reserve ', he thought that these sheep were only used as a toothpick so he didn't insist and smiled: "Little Marquis, come here and enjoy your meal. I'll get someone to prepare the feast, I hope you can show me some appreciation."

Gongsun Xu bowed and smiled, "Great King, I am really hungry now. "If so, sorry to bother you."

"The young duke is too polite!" Someone come! "

A warrior walked in quickly and bowed, "My King, please give your instructions."

Kurna waved his hand and said, "Tell them to hurry up!"

"Yes, my lord."

In less than an incense's time, a large bowl of stewed beef and roast lamb were served. A portion was placed in front of each of them.

Kurna brought out a jar of wine from the corner of the tent. Just as he opened the lid, there was a commotion outside. He asked in annoyance, "What's the matter?"

"Reporting to the King, Captain Ku Le has started a dispute with the Chinese caravan."

Yan Rou had barely spoken a word when she entered the room. She then said softly, "My lord, let me go out and take a look."

Gongsun Xu shook his head and signaled for Kurna to deal with this matter.

Kurna was shocked and quickly shouted, "Tell Ku Le to come and see me!"

After a while, the tent was suddenly thrown open and Ku Le angrily walked in. Seeing the scene inside the tent, he was surprised for a moment, then quickly withdrew his disobedient voice and saluted Kurna — — he was not stupid, since these two Chinese could sit and drink with his uncle, they were obviously not ordinary merchants.

Kurna asked in dissatisfaction, "Ku Le, what are you arguing about outside? Can't you see that I'm entertaining our distinguished guests? "

Esteemed guest? Ku Le looked at Gongsun Xu and Yan Rou, unable to figure out their identity. However, he still cupped his hands and apologized.

Yan Rou cupped her hands and smiled, "This is our fault. We originally agreed to sell the goods to Captain Ku Le as soon as we arrived, but who would have thought that after chatting happily with the King, we even forgot about it. Please forgive me, Mr. Ku Le. "

Seeing Yan Rou's amiable attitude, Ku Le gave her a reasonable explanation. The anger in his heart vanished like smoke in thin air. He waved his hand and said, "No worries. Just remember to sell the item to me later."

Kurna frowned and asked: "What is it?"

Ku Le scratched his head and felt embarrassed to ask.

Gongsun Xu tried to smooth things over as he smiled, "Just give some worthless things to Captain Wu Tie later."

"Thank you very much, sir." Ku Le was overjoyed and quickly cupped his hands in thanks.

"You only know how to mess around all day!" Kurna glared at Ku Le, looked at Gongsun Xu and said, "This is the young duke of Marquis Jin' manor. Hurry up and greet him!"

Ku Le was greatly shocked as he muttered, "I understand now why the young duke has become a guest merchant!" Saying so, he quickly touched his chest and bowed towards Gongsun Xu. He asked excitedly, "Young Marquis, are we going to war?"

Gongsun Xu nodded his head: "Brother Ku Le is right, tomorrow morning, the King will send out his troops, and accompany my Youzhou's army to attack Liucheng."

"That arrogant bastard, he should have died a long time ago!" Ku Le clenched his fist and said excitedly, "As long as the young Marquis gives the order, I will be the first to rush into Liucheng and behead someone!"

"Brother Ku Le, a true tiger general!" Gongsun Xu gave a thumbs up, and suddenly smiled: "A good man should be able to accomplish great things. Brother Wu Tie, do you want to go to the Youzhou military to gain some experience?"

"Of course I'm willing! "Thank you for your appreciation, young duke!" Ku Le happily bowed and agreed, he did not notice the trace of depression in Kurna's eyes.

The military strength of Wu Huan was the same as the Xianbei People. Normally, whoever commanded the tribes would command them. Because of this, even though Ku Le was called the Captain, he only had one thousand five hundred men under his command. There was no other way to quickly increase his strength besides plundering.

It was just that there were very few people on the outside and Liaodong Wu Huan was very weak. Ku Le could not rob others even if he wanted to, which was why he was so excited when he heard that they were going to fight Liucheng. If they bet on the powerful Youzhou, they would have a lot more opportunities to fight, and the corresponding chance to get captives and money and food would also increase a lot.

Gongsun Xu smiled and said, "If that's the case, then Brother Wu Tie, please just become Academy Officer under my account. You won't be wronged, will you?"

Ku Le opened his mouth wide and laughed: "How would I feel wronged? Being able to become Academy Officer is already very satisfying. " He bowed again, "This subordinate thanks the young duke for his guidance!"

"Haha, we will be family in the future, there's no need to be so polite." Gongsun Xu held up Ku Le, pointed at Yan Rou and said, "This is Jianhan Academy Officer, Yan Rou. The two of you should get closer to each other in the future."

Yan Rou stood up and bowed to Ku Le with her hands cupped together. Their words sounded extremely intimate.

Kurna forced a smile on his face, but he was furious in his heart. Usually, Liaodong Wu Huan would follow Gongsun Zan in the war, but once the war ended, his subordinates would still be his. If Ku Le went under Gongsun Xu's account, the main team he brought away would naturally become Gongsun Zan's underlings.

Moreover, if he thought deeper about it, if Ku Le relied on the Youzhou's military to become stronger in the future, would he come back to fight for the throne of Liaodong, King Wu Huan? His son, Ku Si, was only ten years old right now. How could he compete against Ku Le, who was in his prime? However, this matter was brought up by Gongsun Xu. He clearly knew that Gongsun Xu had ulterior motives, how could he dare to oppose?

"Brother Yan and I are friends at first sight. We would like to invite him over to drink a few bowls of wine. Young duke, uncle Wang, the two of you take your time to eat and drink. " Ku Le and Yan Rou chatted for a while and dragged him out of the tent. It seemed that they wanted to get the silk as soon as possible.

After the two of them sat down, Kurna's mood became a lot gloomier and he forced a smile as he tried to persuade them to drink again.

Gongsun Xu took his expression into consideration. He slowly finished half a bowl of wine and asked with a smile, "The King's son is ten years old, right?"

"Ku Si has just turned ten years old." Kurna nodded his head in surprise. A sense of vigilance quickly rose in his heart. He put down the wine bowl with a clang and asked in a muffled voice, "Little Marquis Lord, what do you mean?"

"My father is planning to set up a private school in the house of the Marquis. It will be taught to scholars by master teachers, and they will all be the sons of officials. People of appropriate age, such as Guan Chang Shi, Zou Cheng Cheng, and Tian Zhou Mu, will all be admitted to the academy. Does the King intend for Young Master to go there to study? " After Gongsun Xu said this, he lowered his head and used a knife to slowly slice the mutton. It seemed that he didn't care whether Kurna agreed or not.

Kurna sighed in his heart. He wanted Ku Si to be the proton of the Ji County! Gongsun Zan had always been very domineering and forceful. However, he had never brought up this request. It seemed like it must have been Gongsun Xu's idea! Even Qiu Liju had died under his schemes. Originally, he thought that he was just spreading rumors, but he never thought that after meeting him for a while, he would find the rumors to be true, and that he was even more difficult to deal with than Gongsun Zan!

The question is, can you refuse?

Of course not! If he refused, he would lose Gongsun Zanfuzi's trust. Without the Youzhou's Army as a powerful backer, Liaodong Wu Huan would be quickly swallowed by the Xianbei People or Wu Yan of the Right North Plains. Furthermore, Ku Le was about to go under Gongsun Xu. If Gongsun Xu was willing to support Ku Le, what should he do? Forget it! Even if Ku Si went to the Ji County, with a few of the noble sons as his schoolmates, he would be able to sit in a more stable position in the future!

Now that he has thought it through, Kurna smiled and cupped his hands: "The young duke has good intentions, how can I refuse? "How about this, when the army leaves tomorrow, I will send someone to send Ku Si to the Ji County. In the future, I will ask the young duke to take good care of my son!"

Gongsun Xu put down his knife and laughed out loud, "King, don't worry. Prince Ku Si will definitely be very happy in Ji County and will definitely learn a lot of good skills. In the future, Liaodong Wu Huan will definitely be even more powerful in his hands."

After getting Gongsun Xu's clear promise, Kurna heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. He quickly picked up the wine bowl and toasted Gongsun Xu.