Li Fazhu wanted to unite the various vassal states to suppress Yue Pengju and others; but the generals of the various vassal states present were not fools.
Although the Fire Girl and the Jade Girl are famous and skilled in martial arts, they are not leading generals after all. They can only be regarded as assistants and naturally have no decision-making power.
The leading general of Li Maozhen's hunting team was Shi Hu, and he was the only one who had the authority to decide whether to agree to the alliance proposed by Li Fazhu.
However, Shi Hu in his previous life was known for his narrow-mindedness, brutality, cunning and ruthlessness; in this life, he still did not change his previous character, so how could he allow Master Li to order him around based on just a few words
Besides, Li Maozhen's territory is located between Gyeonggi Province and Longyou Province; his sphere of influence is adjacent to those of Wang Chongying and Zhang Huaishen.
From a strategic perspective, Wang Chongying and Zhang Huaishen are Li Maozhen's number one enemies.
As everyone knows, among the local vassal states, the most powerful supporter of Prince Shou is Zhu Li; once Shi Hu agrees to join forces with Li Fazhu and take the initiative to attack the supporters of Prince Shou, he will inevitably offend Zhu Li, the powerful vassal.
Once Li Maozhen became an enemy of Zhu Li, if Zhu Li wholeheartedly supported Wang Chongying and Zhang Huaishen, Li Maozhen would inevitably be attacked from all sides; you must know that at this time Li Maozhen had just gained a foothold in Fengxiang, and his power was not as great as recorded in later generations.
As a person trusted by Li Maozhen, how could Shi Hu dare to make enemies with Heshuo without his lord's consent
Seeing that Master Li was trying his best to seduce Huo and Yu, Shi Hu, who had a leopard head and a steel beard, immediately looked over with an unfriendly look and warned him bluntly: "You guys with the surname Li, fight your own battles, but don't bring up the supporters of Prince Ji or Prince Shou."
"Shi has been ordered to do his best in the hunting competition, but he dare not offend his friends in Heshuo."
"You are so tempting Shi's deputy generals, don't you want us to be your thugs? Humph, I advise you to stop thinking crookedly, otherwise, don't blame Shi for being rude."
Shi Hu spoke in a stern voice and did not give Li Fazhu any face at all. He also hinted that this old man had bad intentions in his words.
Even Master Li himself couldn't help but twitch his eyes and secretly resentful when he heard these words, let alone Li Kuangba and Shen Guang.
Li Fazhu was thick-skinned and treacherous, and he could appear calm and composed on the surface; but Li Kuangba and Shen Guang, who followed him, were naturally not as cunning as him. Upon hearing what he said, Shen Guang immediately shouted angrily at Shi Hu, "Bastard, it's ok for you to be unworthy of being a part of the conspiracy, but you actually dare to be so presumptuous."
"Is there anything wrong with what General Li said?"
"Since we are supporters of Prince Ji, we must work together to deal with Prince Shou's supporters."
"Only by defeating the enemy can we protect His Royal Highness Prince Ji and win the first battle. This is such an obvious truth, as a general, don't you understand it?"
I have to say, what Shen Guang said makes a lot of sense.
But in this world, there are many things that make sense, but there are not necessarily many people who can stand on the side of reason and do things.
The most common phenomenon is the old saying "help your relatives but not others". This is a real-life example.
The warlords gathered together and each took sides. On the one hand, they were forced by the situation; on the other hand, they were also pursuing interests.
Take Li Maozhen for example. He obtained the position of Jiedushi in an ignominious way.
At that time, Li Xuan was visiting Fengxiang, and Zhu Mei and Zhang Huaishen came to attack. Li Maozhen defeated Zhang Huaishen, forced Zhu Mei to leave, and used the general situation to force Li Xuan, the tyrant, to take the position of Fengxiang Jiedushi.
To put it bluntly, he was a person who took advantage of others' misfortunes to get to the top, so he was naturally annoying. As a result, not only did the court officials dislike him, but even the eunuchs ignored him.
As the saying goes, it is easier to get things done if you have someone in the court. However, Li Maozhen has no foundation in the court.
He chose to support Prince Ji Li Bao, in fact, just to ease the relationship with the eunuchs; as for whether he really supported Prince Ji, only God knows.
However, judging from Shi Hu's attitude, Li Maozhen, as a supporter of Li Bao, obviously had ulterior motives.
Under Shi Hu's ridicule, Li Fazhu looked solemn. He narrowed his eyes and a cold light flashed across Shi Hu's face. He then said indifferently, "If my guess is correct, this must be General Shi."
"So what?" Shi Hu obviously didn't have much good feelings towards the feminine and cunning person like Li Fazhu, although he himself was the same.
"Humph." Seeing that the other party admitted it directly, Master Li snorted and continued, "If I am not mistaken, General Shi should not be a Han Chinese, right?"
Before Shi Hu could finish his words and deny them, Li Fazhu immediately continued, "In the past, there was a general in Nanzhao named Duan Qiuqian. He was a hero, but unfortunately died in the battlefield. As a result, someone knew about it but kept it to himself, bribed the people in power, and impersonated Duan Qiuqian..."
Having said this, Master Li paused deliberately and glanced at Shi Hu's expression. Sure enough, when Shi Hu heard that his past was about to be exposed, his expression changed instantly.
Since he came to the Central Plains, no one else should have known that he pretended to be Duan Qiuqian and swindled people in Nanzhao. So how did this man named Li know about it? How did Shi Hu, in such a panic, still feel confused and puzzled
This matter is of no trivial matter; you must know that the current Nanzhao has long become the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
If his misdeeds were known to others, not only would his hard-earned reputation be ruined, but he might even be labeled a member of Nanzhao.
The stigma of being a remnant was wiped out completely by someone, so how could he not be afraid
Therefore, before Li Fazhu finished speaking, Shi Hu's attitude suddenly changed 180 degrees. He laughed dryly and said in a clear voice, "Ah, haha, it turns out to be General Li."
"Look at what happened. General Li has a far-sighted vision and takes the overall situation into consideration. He is truly a role model for our generation. I was blinded by greed and failed to appreciate the general's good intentions. I am truly guilty, guilty."
"Since we are supporters of Prince Ji, we should join hands and unite to deal with the supporters of Prince Shou. This will benefit the country and future generations. How can a man lose the greater good for the sake of a small matter?"
"I, Shi Hu, declare that in this hunting competition, the Jiangyou team led by General Li will be the allies of my Fengxiang team." Once his own life and death was involved, Shi Hu kicked Li Maozhen away in an instant and announced to everyone with great righteousness.
Isn't this a change of pace too fast
The other generals who were watching were immediately shocked.
Just now they saw the number one general under Li Maozhen mocking Li Fazhu, but with just one sentence, the general named Shi Hu immediately changed his tone.
What exactly happened
Could it be that General Shi Hu and Chief Duan Qian of Nanzhao had some shameful dealings
Naturally, everyone cannot figure this out; but if Zhu Li, Wen Lan, Yang Guang and others were here, they would instantly understand what is going on.
This Shi Hu was obviously the one who pretended to be Duan Qiuqian in Nanzhao.
At that time, in Xielong City, Chief Duan moved his mansion. This man was chopped back by Zhu Li's sword, but he did not die. He fled and finally joined Li Maozhen's army.
Now, his true colors have been seen through by Li Fazhu. Under the circumstances of being controlled by others, Shi Hu will of course beg for mercy.
Seeing that the other party suddenly changed his words, Li Fazhu looked at him with contempt and asked indifferently: "So, General Shi Hu agrees to join hands and fight against the Shou King's faction."
"Of course I agree. It's my duty." Although Shi Hu now wanted to punch Li Fazhu in the face, on the surface, he still patted his chest and nodded repeatedly.
"Since we are supporters of Prince Ji, it is only natural for us to join forces to deal with Prince Shou's supporters. A real man should not ignore the overall situation." Shi Hu said this with great righteousness, as if he was a man of great righteousness.
Seeing Shi Hu surrender, Li Fazhu sneered to himself and immediately said to the others: "Now my Jiangyou and Fengxiang factions are willing to join hands and attack Heshuo together. I wonder what you generals, especially those who support His Royal Highness Prince Ji, think?"
Facing Li Fazhu's questioning, the other generals were still in a state of shock and doubt; they had just witnessed with their own eyes what it meant to have someone's face change faster than the weather, and they couldn't help but be full of doubts.
Seeing the surprised and doubtful expressions of the crowd, Li Fazhu couldn't help but look at a thin general, who was none other than the Hedong general Li Cunxiao.
Although Li Cunxiao is arrogant, it does not mean that he is stupid. The reason why Li Keyong chose to support Prince Ji was naturally related to his personal grudge; it has nothing to do with whether or not to join forces with others.
In history, Li Keyong's number one enemy was Zhu Wen, who is now Zhu Quanzhong of Henan.
Although in this time and space, Li Keyong's archenemy had one more person, and this extra person was naturally Zhu Li; but it still could not change Li Keyong's determination to kill Zhu Quanzhong as soon as possible.
As Li Keyong's biggest enemies, whether it was Zhu Li or Zhu Wen, the Flying Crows under Li Keyong's command could not help but investigate their private movements with all their might.
According to the investigation of the Flying Crows, Zhu Quanzhong was actually in cahoots with the Prime Minister Cui Yin. How could Li Keyong not interfere and target them
No matter what, Cui Yin was a court official, and in the overall situation, he was on the side of Yang Sigong, and Yang Sigong was the most powerful supporter of Shou Wang Li Jie in the court.
Isn’t there a saying that goes, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”
Regardless of whether this statement was right or wrong, Li Keyong believed it anyway. He decisively stood against Zhu Quanzhong and strongly supported Prince Ji Li Bao to take the throne. This was his blow to Zhu Quanzhong.
As Li Keyong's most trusted general, Li Cunxiao could not have been unaware of his adoptive father's target. If he joined Li Fazhu's camp at this time, they would deal with Prince Shou's supporters together.
In this way, he could certainly use the power of the heroes to deal with Zhu Quanzhong; of course, he would also create many powerful enemies for Li Keyong for no reason.
The most troublesome ones among them are naturally Wang Chucun, Wang Rong, Zhu Xuan and others.
Hedong now has Zhuli in the north, which stretches as far as the mountain and dominates Heshuo, making it difficult to shake. According to their strategy, they naturally have to take Hebei first and then You and Shuo.
There are four vassal states entrenched in Hebei, namely Le Yanzhen, Wang Rong, Wang Chucun and Zhu Xuanfang. If Li Cunxiao joins Li Fazhu's alliance now, he will offend Wang Chucun, Wang Rong and Zhu Xuan at once.
Would Li Keyong be afraid of these three people
Of course not, but if they offended these three people at once, it would increase the difficulty of conquering Hebei for no reason; this is a situation that the Hedong side absolutely does not want to see.
As Li Keyong's most admired
As Li Cunxiao was Li Fazhu's most trusted general, he naturally would not rashly agree to Li Fazhu's proposal of an alliance.
But if he doesn't want to join, will Master Li give up
Obviously not. Li Fazhu's hesitant gaze suddenly stopped on him, and he said with a cupped hand, "This must be the most powerful general in Hedong, Li Cunxiao, General Li."
Li Cunxiao did not comment or say anything when he heard this, but just glanced at him in confusion.
Now that he had found his target, Master Li would not give up easily. He certainly did not take Li Cunxiao's arrogance to heart and continued, "Everyone says that Heshuo Zhu Li is the best general in the world; but in my opinion, the best general in the world must be General Cunxiao!"
"Humph, Zhu Li's title as the world's number one general is just an empty reputation."
"Those who claim that Zhu Li is the best general in the world, have they forgotten that in the past at the Weishui Bridge, General Cunxiao rode his horse and beat Zhu Li so hard that he fell into the water and fled, narrowly escaping death."
"Even with Zhu Li's current reputation, he is no match for the general. If the general is not the best in the world, what qualifications does Zhu Li have to be the best?"
I have to say that Master Li is really insidious. Zhu Li never thought about the title of the best general in the world. When did he claim to be the best in the world
For no reason, Zhu Li was given the title of the best general in the world, which was obviously intended to highlight Li Cunxiao's greatness.
Everyone has weaknesses, and Li Cunxiao is no exception. His weakness is that he cannot withstand praise from others. Once others praise him, he becomes carried away and loses his mind.
Li Fazhu's horse's slapping was just like dry wood hitting a raging fire, which caught fire as soon as it touched Li Cunxiao. It instantly scratched Li Cunxiao's itch, making all the 180,000 pores on his body feel so comfortable that they were emitting a refreshing heat.
The first general of Hedong, who looked like a giant monkey, suddenly raised his head and pointed his nose at Li Fazhu, saying arrogantly: "Humph, Zhu Li is a piece of shit. If he hadn't fallen into the water, there would be no Heshuo in the world."
As soon as he spoke, his arrogance soared to the sky.
This is a person who looks down on others. Now that he is intimidated by Master Li, he naturally becomes extremely arrogant.
Looking around the world, there are probably not many people who dare to say "What a piece of shit Zhu Li is".
In terms of martial arts, Zhu Li had already entered the Tianxuan realm; in terms of power, who dared to say that as the leader of the most powerful clan in the world
Only people like Li Cunxiao and Li Kuangba, who believe that God is the most important and I am second best, would dare to speak so arrogantly.
It would have been fine if he hadn't said this, but once he said it, countless people in Heshuo became angry.
Yi Jiangnan was furious, his face was blue and purple, and he said coldly: "Who the hell are you? You are like a toad yawning, aren't you afraid of blowing yourself away? You are a piece of shit, how dare you be rude to my general? Are you worthy?"
"That's right, you don't even take a piss to look in the mirror. With your character, you dare to insult my general." A ghost guard was also very angry and immediately agreed.
"You bastard, aren't you afraid? My general will smash the shit out of you with one spear." The crowd was in turmoil, and all the Heshuo Ghost Guards were furious. Someone started cursing in an instant.
... ...
Facing the foul language and insults from the people of Heshuo, Li Cunxiao was so angry that his face turned blue. He suddenly grasped the Bi Yan Lao in his hand, as if he was about to charge forward.
However, before he could rush out, several sharp gazes shot towards him.
His eyes were cold, just like the look an executioner gives a condemned prisoner, full of indifference without a trace of warmth. As long as he dared to rush over, he would surely suffer a fatal blow from the owner of the eyes.
Along with the gaze, there were also several sharp auras that locked him tightly.
As a master of the Tianxuan realm, Li Cunxiao was not unfamiliar with this kind of Qi. The cultivation level of the weakest one among them was similar to his. How could he dare to act rashly
The owners of these auras were naturally Long Qie, Ji Bu, Li Tianfu, Zhe Silun, Yue Pengju and Yi Jiangnan. The six great Tianxuan locked onto one person at the same time. Even with Li Cunxiao's arrogance, he couldn't help but feel his heart wavering and trembling.
Since when have Tianxuan masters become so worthless? Six of them appear at a time. Is it possible for people to survive
Thinking about Hedong, there were only four people, even including the two new recruits. The other side suddenly had six people, how could he not be surprised.
If I rush out, I'll be fighting six people alone and will definitely die.
If he didn't rush out and teach those bastards a lesson, he really couldn't swallow this anger.
Besides, this was happening in front of everyone, and he had just spoken so confidently. If he didn't say anything, his reputation would be greatly damaged.
He couldn't afford to lose face, especially for a proud man like him.
In anger, Li Cunxiao coldly stared at Yue Pengju, Yi Jiangnan and the other six people, and said to Li Fazhu with gritted teeth: "General Li, once I join the alliance, can I join forces with everyone to attack the gang on the opposite side?"
"Of course. They are all supporters of Prince Shou. Once we, who support Prince Ji, unite, we will naturally deal with them." Upon hearing Li Cunxiao ask this, Li Fazhu was delighted and responded immediately.
Before Li Fazhu finished speaking, Li Cunxiao said with a sinister look on his face: "Okay, I will join General Li's alliance. I want to let those bastards know that I, Li Cunxiao, am not a coward who will be insulted by others!"