After the banquet that day, Chu Shuijun asked the accompanying Gonggongmai witches to deliberately walk around the Xiang clan's territory, trying to see if they could lure Ji Rui and other Zhu Rongmai witches to the Xiang clan's territory to kill someone with a borrowed knife.
plan.
At the same time, after Xiang Bin, the leader of the Xiang clan, ordered people to bring Lord Chu Shui and his party to his residence, he sent someone to summon the warrior "Xiang Piao (qian)" from his tribe to tell him the whole story.
The latter, and ordered the latter to lead the warriors in the tribe to search for the "political enemy" in Chu Shuijun's mouth.
However, Xiang Bin also had a keen eye. He really wanted to know who the "other envoy from Chu" was, so he asked Xiang Chai to try to capture as many people alive as possible and come back for questioning. After all, it was not the first time he met Chu Shuijun.
I trust the latter very much - what if the other envoy team from the Chu State is the real envoy sent by the Chu State to the Ba State?
Xiangcai nodded and took the order and left.
On the other side, Mi Rui and other witches from Zhu Rongmai have also led Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu through "Yufu" and entered the Dianjiang area in detail.
During this period, they also encountered people from the Xiang clan and hunting warriors. The former just looked at them from a distance - after all, Zhang Qigong, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu and the people under their command were obviously dressed differently from the locals.
, and the latter, those warriors of the Xiang clan, stared at them with alert and wary eyes.
Seeing Mi Rui take the initiative to negotiate with the soldiers of the Xiang clan, Zhang Qigong asked Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu in a low voice: "Zhang looks at these Ba soldiers as if they want to attack us, but they have some scruples..."
Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu originally did not intend to disclose any information to Zhang Qigong, but it seemed that such a trivial matter did not matter, so he nodded and said: "Yes, if it were not for them, these Ba soldiers would attack us immediately... This area
People on this land are very repulsive to outsiders."
"Is it because of her identity as a miko?"
"Hmm... The country of Ba is similar to our Da Chu. They also believe in ghosts and gods, and witches are rumored to be the ones who communicate with ghosts and gods. The locals generally believe that harming witches will cause the anger of ghosts and gods... This is one aspect."
"What about the other side?" Zhang Qigong asked curiously.
I saw a strange smile on Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu's face: "On the other hand, the witch is far more powerful than ordinary men. Let's not talk about others, just talk about Amei. She can easily kill this group of Xiangshi soldiers.
...Therefore, if it is not necessary, no matter which clan the Ba people belong to, they will not provoke the witch without any reason."
"That's it." Zhang Qigong suddenly realized.
At this time, Mi Rui had finished communicating with the warriors of the Xiang clan in the distance. After returning to Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, she said: "These warriors allow us to cross the border, but they require you to donate part of your property.
"At this point, she explained again to Zhang Qigong, who frowned: "This is the rule for outsiders."
Zhang Qigong glanced at Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu and saw that the latter shrugged. He realized that this was inevitable, so he asked his black crows to get a small bag of gold beads. Knowing that the Ba people liked gold, Zhang Qigong
Before coming to Bashu, I specially went to the Ministry of Household Affairs to approve several boxes of gold beads as gifts to win over and bribe the Ba people in the future.
Compared with the pearls presented by Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu's side, the group of Ba soldiers were very happy after discovering that what Zhang Qigong and his party presented turned out to be "US dollars (gold)". Even if they didn't understand the language, Zhang Qigong could feel it.
The other party's impression of him becomes very good.
Seeing this, Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu muttered to the side: "Master Zhang, don't you understand the principle of not revealing your wealth? You know that the Ba people like gold, but you still do what they like. Maybe these Ba people will use it after they return."
As soon as this matter is mentioned, more Xiangshi warriors will come at night to kill people and seize gold... Do you think the Ba people are kind people?"
Only then did Zhang Qigong understand why Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu only took out a bag of pearls, but he didn't care.
In his opinion, if the Ba people's greed for gold is really so strong, then things will be simple. After all, he still has boxes and boxes of gold in the camp of the Nanyang Jie tribe. As long as he sacrifices this thing
, how could the Ba people kill him?
Mi Rui and other witches from Zhu Rongmai were those warriors of the Xiang clan who did not dare to provoke them. Therefore, when Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu both donated some property, the warriors of the Xiang clan could do whatever they wanted.
They moved on.
A few days later, the group arrived at Dianjiang, the capital of the Xiang clan.
Fortunately, they probably didn't want to provoke witches like Mi Rui, so the Xiang clan didn't come with the intention of killing people and grabbing gold as Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu said. They just met a few groups of the Xiang clan.
They were just warriors, but after donating a certain amount of jewels, most of these Xiang clan warriors left with satisfaction.
Even some of them who were greedy gave up their thoughts of murder and robbery because they saw Mirui and other witches with these strangers.
It has to be said that for people like Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu who are so arrogant, it is certainly impossible not to be noticed by the warriors under Xiang Bin.
So, Xiang Cai immediately brought hundreds of soldiers and waited for Mi Rui and his party in the east of Dianjiang City.
No, not long after, Xiangcai, Mi Rui, Zhang Qigong, and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu met each other conveniently.
At that time, both Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu instinctively felt that something was wrong. After all, the Xiangshi warriors they encountered before, whether on patrol or hunting, would only have a group of no more than thirty people. But today they bumped into the Xiangshi warriors.
, but there were hundreds of people.
"The witch opposite you, the outsider next to you, is the envoy of Chu State?"
After leading his army to intercept the enemy, Xiangchao asked Mi Rui and others in the language of Ba.
Mi Rui translated the meaning of Xiangcha to Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu. Zhang Qigong frowned and glanced at Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu inexplicably. Seeing the latter's blank expression, Zhang Qigong's brows suddenly furrowed.
Got deeper.
After a while, Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu also understood. He also guessed that Lord Chu Shui must have revealed his identity to the Xiang clan.
However, without knowing what the other party wanted, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu still said loudly: "Yes, I am the envoy of Dachu, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu!"
Ji Rui translated Xiong Hu's words into Ba dialect and shouted to Xiang Chai opposite.
After listening to Mi Rui's words, Xiangcha was surprised at first, and then overjoyed.
Why? Because Xiong Hu, Lord Pingyu, who governed the entire western Chu state for King Xiong Tuo of Chu, was the most well-known Chu person in the Ba Kingdom.
People in Ba may not know who the prime minister of Chu is and who the Three Pillars are, but they definitely don’t know Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu. After all, it was Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu who was responsible for the transactions between Chu and Ba over the years—
-It's just that the main target of the transaction is the Ba family, not the Xiang family.
No, Xiangcai immediately said: "Your distinguished envoy from Chu State, my name is Xiangcai. I am here to welcome your distinguished envoy to my capital of the Xiang clan on the order of the clan leader. Please come with me."
After Mi Rui's translation, Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu learned of Xiangcha's intention. He frowned and thought for a moment, but in the end he politely declined.
Come to think of it, Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu is not stupid: Lord Chu Shui inexplicably revealed the whereabouts of his Xiong Hu to the Xiang clan, and Xiang Hu came with hundreds of Xiang clan warriors to 'greet' him.
There is something obviously fishy in this.
Sure enough, after repeatedly 'inviting' Xiong Hu to Dianjiang failed, Xiangchao immediately turned his back, pointed at Mi Rui and shouted: "Catch them! Except for the man named Xiong Hu, if the others resist, they will all be killed."
die!"
His words not only shocked Mi Rui and other witches, but also shocked the Xiang clan warriors under his command.
A soldier nearby may remind in surprise: "General, there is a witch on the other side..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Xiang Pao glared and shouted: "Kill all those who resist!"
On the other side, Mi Rui also heard Xiangchao's shouting, with a look of surprise on her face, and said to Zhang Qigong and Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu: "Be careful, they are going to attack us."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hundreds of Xiang clan warriors under Xiang Chai's command began to kill Mi Rui, Zhang Qigong, Xiong Hu and others.
Seeing this, Ji Rui and other witches were also a little confused. After all, they had passed through the tribal territory of the Xiang clan countless times, but the Xiang clan's warriors had never attacked them. At most, they just treated them as if they did not exist.
"Great witch, what should I do?"
A miko asked in a panic.
Mi Rui frowned and thought for a moment, then whispered: "Try to be as merciful as possible and knock them unconscious... After all, this is the territory of the Xiang clan."
The witches nodded and assumed a serious attitude of waiting.
At this moment, an ax crossed the gap between the two witches and flew towards the oncoming Xiangshi warriors. Only a scream was heard, and a Xiangshi warrior was immediately hacked to death by the flying axe.
.
"..."
Mi Rui and the other witches turned their heads in astonishment. Immediately, they heard a loud shout: "Your Grandpa Ghost has been holding back the anger in his heart for a long time. It's time to use you brats to vent the anger!"
After saying that, Ghost, the leader of the black crows, rushed out. Under the astonished gazes of Mi Rui and other witches, he killed among the Xiangshi warriors. He raised his fist and knocked down one of the Xiangshi warriors with one punch.
At the same time, the soldier grabbed the weapon in the opponent's hand with his left hand, pinched the opponent's neck with his right hand and threw it out after swinging it for a full circle. With a clicking sound like a bone breaking, several Xiangshi warriors
Was knocked to the ground.
"You guys, kill!"
Following the ghost's roar, the remaining approximately twenty Black Crows rushed out with ferocious smiles, using daggers, daggers, sleeve arrows and other weapons to cleanly kill the Xiang clan warriors one after another.
"well--"
Seeing these careless guys transforming into ferocious murderers one by one, Zhang Qigong sighed tiredly.
He heard clearly what Mi Rui had just said. At that time, he secretly praised her: As expected of Sir Mi Rui, she is really prudent in her work.
Unexpectedly, before he finished boasting, the ghost under his hand flew out with an axe.
Shaking his head secretly, he waved his hand to signal the Jie warriors behind him to come forward and kill the enemy. Zhang Qigong apologized to Mi Rui with an embarrassed look on his face: "I'm sorry for not being strict with you, Sir Mi Rui... That's the end of the matter."
, the only option is to kill the opponent."
Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu looked funny, but he also knew that this was not the time to laugh. He sent out his subordinates as personal guards and asked them to assist the black crows. He said to Mi Rui: "Amei, this
Xiangchai obviously led his troops to block us and others. I'm afraid it's Chu Shuijun's trick, so I'll kill them first and then move on."
It was rare for him to agree with Zhang Qigong. After all, they were both in the same boat at the moment. If the boat capsized, he, Xiong Hu, would not be able to gain much.
Mi Rui and the witches looked at each other, feeling helpless. Originally, they did not want to do unnecessary killings - after all, the Xiang clan was still a Ba people, and most of the witches were Ba people because they "worshiped ghosts and gods".
Sacrificial (abandoned) baby girl.
But things have come to this, and there is nothing they can do.
With the combined efforts of about a hundred people from all directions including the witches, black crows, Jie clan warriors, and Xiong Hu guards, the hundreds of warriors from the Xiang clan were killed and retreated steadily.
It's no wonder that Mi Rui, Zhang Qigong, and Xiong Hu's men are not weak. What's more important is that the witches know how to use medicine powder to assist themselves, and the weapons held by the Black Crows, Jie warriors, and Xiong Hu's soldiers,
Especially the sleeve arrows of the Black Crows and the crossbows of Xiong Hu's personal soldiers, which were forged by the Wei Kingdom, and their lethality is not ordinary.
Seeing that hundreds of people on his own side were being defeated by just over a hundred people on the other side, Xiangchai was furious. He picked up a big knife made of an unknown metal and rushed over with a loud scream.
The ghost was happy to see that he was hunting, and abandoned the soldiers in his eyes. He picked up the ax and faced Xiang Cai. The first blow of the ax killed the Baguo horse under Xiang Cai's crotch, and then suppressed Xian Cai and swung the ax crazily.
.
At first he was able to resist the fight, but after a while, he gradually found that his arms were sore, his mouth was numb, and his physical strength was gradually exhausted.
Seeing the ghost raising his ax to strike again, he shouted: "Stop, I..."
When he said this, his words stopped, because the ghost muttered, "Who the hell do you care?" and hit Xiangchao's neck with an axe.
Immediately, blood spurted out from Xiangcha's neck, and the ghost's whole body was red.
With another blow of the ax, the ghost chopped off Xiang Cao's head, holding the leader in his hands and glaring, intimidating the pale-faced Xiang clan warriors around him.
Seeing that warriors like Xiang Chao were killed by You Gui, a tall and rough man, the warriors of the Xiang clan lost their fighting spirit and fled in panic, leaving the bodies of their companions behind.
During this period, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu saw with his own eyes the scene of the ghosts fighting each other, and said with emotion: "What a warrior!"
After saying that, he frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Qigong and asked: "Why do you have to kill the opponent? I think the warrior named Ghost is clearly capable of capturing the opponent alive."
"Yeah, why?!"
Zhang Qigong stared at Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu for two breaths, and then blew out a breath of helplessness from his nose.
At this time, the ghost was running to Zhang Qigong with Xiangqi's head in his hands with a face of joy, he chuckled and said: "Lord Captain, I... no, killing the enemy's leader under a humble position is also a great achievement, right?"
?”
"Fuck you! Thanks to you, our group has completely developed a grudge against the Xiang clan. In a few days, a large number of Xiang clan soldiers will come to surround us and kill us... How dare you come to claim credit?"
?!』
Zhang Qigong stared at the ghost and cursed in his heart, but finally endured it, frowned and smelled the smell of blood all over the ghost's body, and sighed: "Go to the nearby stream to wash away the blood on your body."
After that, he walked towards Mi Rui and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu.
While his men were cleaning up the battlefield, Zhang Qigong, Mi Rui, and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu discussed countermeasures.
"These people are here for you."
During the discussion, Zhang Qigong clarified the matter very straightforwardly: "If Zhang's prediction is correct, Chu Shuijun must have reached a tacit understanding with the Xiang clan, and they want to use the sword to kill people, and use the hands of the Xiang clan to kill people."
You eradicate...and that Xiang Chao wants to capture him alive, it must be because the leader of the Xiang clan wants to see who can bring him more benefits, you or Lord Chu Shui."
Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu was not stupid himself, not to mention that Zhang Qigong had stated the matter so straightforwardly. He clenched his fists, a trace of anger appeared on his face, turned around and summoned a soldier, and ordered:
: "Su Zun, take a few people to Xiying immediately and ask "Xiying Lord" to find a way to recruit 100,000 troops and station them in "Wu County"!"
"A demonstration?"
Zhang Qigong glanced at Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, then turned to Mi Rui and said: "Master Mi Rui, I believe that Lord Chu Shui has already liaised with the Xiang clan at this time. There are only a hundred of us, so we are definitely no match for the Xiang clan.
, I think we cannot stay here for a long time... There is no need to rush into killing Mr. Chu Shui."
Xi Rui glanced at the corpses scattered all over the place. Although her witch sisters were not killed this time, two Jie warriors and five of Xiong Hu's personal soldiers were lost. The rest were also more or less with...
Injury.
She nodded helplessly.
After thinking about it, she also understood that once Chu Shuijun and the Xiang clan united, the power of the witches alone would not be enough to compete with the powerful Xiang clan.
From the side, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu also heard Zhang Qigong's words, came over and said to Mi Rui: "My sister, now that things have come to a point, the only choice is to go to Jiangzhou."
"Hmm." Although Mi Rui was a little reluctant, she finally nodded.
So, the group of people immediately set off, taking a secluded mountain road, trying to avoid the pursuit of the Xiang clan.
Half a day later, Xiang Cai's defeated soldiers fled back to Dianjiang and told Xiang Bin, the leader of the Xiang clan, what had happened.
When Xiang Bin learned that Xiang Cai, a warrior, had been killed, he was shocked and angry. He immediately ordered all the warriors of the Xiang clan in the territory to hunt down Mi Rui, Zhang Qigong, Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu and his party.
After issuing this order, Xiang Bin also came to Chu Shuijun's residence, told Chu Shuijun about Xiang Piao's murder, and asked the latter: "Why didn't the envoy tell me that another soldier sent by your country
The messenger is Mr. Pingyu Xiong Hu?!"
Facing Xiang Bin's angry questioning, Chu Shuijun said with a smile: "Is there any difference whether you tell or not? Patriarch, you also know that Pingyujun Xiong Hu supports the Ba clan because his sister Mi
Rui is the leader of the witches of the Zhurong lineage who are closely related to the Ba family... Do you think Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu will support the Xiang family?"
After saying that, Chu Shuijun glanced at Xiang Bin who changed his expression, and said with a smile: "In my opinion, the top priority is to immediately send people to chase and eradicate this group of people before they can escape."
"..."
Xiang Bin stared at Chu Shuijun for a long time, and said in a leisurely manner: "I know you are using my Xiang clan, but it doesn't matter, as long as the envoy can really persuade the monarch of your country to help me defeat Ba clan and the rest.
Tribe, I will still treat the envoy as a guest, but if the envoy fails to fulfill the promise he made that day in the future, don’t blame me for being unfavorable to the envoy."
"Clan leader, don't worry." Chu Shuijun said without changing his expression: "If I can kill Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu and his party, I will be absolutely sure to persuade the monarch of our country."
"I will."
After taking a deep look at Lord Chu Shui, Xiang Lin said nothing, turned around and left Lord Chu Shui's residence.
That night while staying in the wilderness, Zhang Qigong took a piece of paper from the booklet he carried with him when others were not paying attention, and scrawled a few lines of words in his handwriting. He immediately summoned two Black Crows and told them: "You two
I immediately returned to Nanyang and waited there. Soon after, Beigong Wei Cheng will arrive in Nanyang. When he arrives, you two will give him this secret letter and ask him to do as I said."
"yes!"
The two black crows clasped their fists and walked away, immediately disappearing under the night.
Glancing at Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu, who was wrapped in a blanket and sleeping soundly not far away, Zhang Qigong raised an inexplicable smile at the corner of his mouth.
Judging from the current luck, Lord Chu Shui has chosen to support the Xiang clan, and Lord Pingyu, Xiong Hu, has most likely chosen to support the Ba clan. Since both parties can support one tribe, why can't Zhang Qigong succeed?
"To turn Ba County upside down is not enough to show my Zhang Qigong's wisdom and strategy. Look at me taking chestnuts from the fire and instigating Qin, Chu and Ba to kill each other, so that I, the Wei Dynasty, can reap the benefits!"
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Zhang Qigong's face that looked a little weird under the firelight.
At this moment, he suddenly heard a question coming from behind him: "Hey, where are your two men who call themselves the Black Crows going? I'm warning you..."
"Uh? Police, warning?"
Zhang Qigong glanced back and then noticed that Mi Rui had arrived behind him at some point.
Looking at Mi Rui's serious expression, Zhang Qigong was slightly frightened.
"She... noticed it? How could this... be so sharp? Wait a minute, Lady Mi Rui is the sister of Queen Mi. She is definitely not an ordinary woman. Maybe she really noticed it..."
Thinking of this, Zhang Qigong quickly explained: "Master Mi Rui, I will never dare to harm you or those close to you."
"...What is this guy talking about? I just want to warn him that the Bashan area is full of poisonous insects and beasts. Even if the people under his command are outstanding, they should not go around at night..."
Mi Rui glanced at Zhang Qigong inexplicably and didn't know how to answer the question.
However, from Zhang Qigong's perspective, he felt as if the woman in front of him was examining him, which made him feel slightly guilty.
"Forget it, what do I care about where his subordinates go?"
After looking Zhang Qigong up and down for a few times, Mi Rui nodded and said, "Then you... take care of yourself."
"..."
Zhang Qigong opened his mouth and nodded in surprise.
Looking at Mi Rui's leaving figure, Zhang Qigong felt relieved.
With his city and wisdom, he can barely hide it from the woman in the distance. He only hopes that when his deputy Bei Gongyu comes to the land of Bashu in a few days, he will not be exposed in front of this woman.