Deng Chanyu was calculating.
Xiao Qiao entered and whispered, "Madam, the people from Xiqu have arrived."
"Xiqu?" Deng Chanyu was surprised. How could the people from Xiqu be here?
"Who are they?"
"He's the son of the Marquis of Xibei, Ji Fa." Xiao Qiao added, "They're accompanied by soldiers, several thousand in number, and they all look exhausted."
Deng Chanyu used her divine consciousness to look towards the direction of Sun He, who followed her six hundred li in pursuit and was injured by an arrow during the charge. Now, he is leading his troops to inventory the warehouse.
Eventually, the Deng family did not raise their flag of rebellion. Some insiders knew about the secret deal with Xiqu, while others did not. When conducting such secret transactions, it is still necessary to maintain a low profile.
She said, "Send a message saying that this place has been captured by us. I will go to see Ji Fa myself later."
Thirty miles outside the city.
Ji Fa, the future Zhou Wu Wang, was filled with anger as he smashed a jade cup.
These days, there's no shortage of land; it's the population that is lacking.
The Deng family lacks population, as does Xiqu.
Ji Chang's leniency was towards his subjects, after all.
He did not care about the Jinsha City thousands of miles away.
Ji Fa proposed entering Shu from the south of Qishan to claim territory, seize population and wealth, and compensate for the losses from the war. The entire Xiqu was supportive of the plan.
Through east and west, they gathered their strength and, while facing the attack of the Marquis of Beibei, Duke Songhu, could barely muster 5,000 troops for Ji Fa's southern expedition.
Ji Fa operated by day in hiding and night on the move, stealthily entering the Shu territory. With his troops so few, facing over ten thousand soldiers in Han Zhong and one hundred thousand slaves, he had no hope of winning. He spread rumors, which were not entirely rumors, that there was a great epidemic in the Southern Command of the merchants, which even sickened the defending soldiers.
The great temple priest of Shu was not a fool. He asked several southern dukes of the Yin Dynasty to confirm the truth of this rumor and only then led his army in a grand campaign. However, the result was that Deng Chanyu dealt him a crushing blow, annihilating him completely, and he is now on his knees.
Ji Fa received messages from the Deng family, learning that they had already named the cities. He was both angry and anxious. After a month of effort, he had accomplished nothing and the most crucial thing was that the path to enter Shu was now blocked.
To go to war with the Deng family now, turning the only ally into an enemy? That would be madness. Marquis Ji could have him tied up and handed over to the Deng family for their own disposal.
An hour later, he met Deng Chanyu alone at the great camp.
Ji Fa's face was radiant and cheerful, as if the anger from earlier had vanished: "Miss Deng, it has been a long time since we last met. Ji Fa thanks the Deng family on behalf of my father and my brother for their continuous aid over the past year."
Upon meeting, he bowed deeply, his expression extremely sincere.
Deng Chanyu had known Ji Fa, but they were not familiar with each other. At this time, she also spoke some flattering words: "Second son, your words are too heavy. The Marquis of Yin's behavior was tyrannical, he did not understand the hardships of those who govern the four directions. It was indeed a loss for the identity of the ruler of all under heaven. My father also had some dissatisfaction, but for the sake of our family business, we had to temporarily obey and follow orders. The Marquis of Xibei raising a flag of rebellion and performing righteousness is indeed an example for us."
Her words made Ji Fa feel much better. All the regional lords were watching, only Xiqu dared to loudly say "no," which earned Xiqu a lot of prestige. In the future, breaking through the Five Passes and marching to the gates of Chaoxia City to replace Yin with Zhou was easy, as long as they could withstand one wave after another of attacks from Yin Dynasty.
Deng Chanyu asked, "Second Young Master, what brings you here?"
Ji Fa had already prepared his response: "My father heard that there was a great epidemic in the Southern Command of the merchants, and worried that the Deng family might be harassed by those savages. Therefore, he sent me to lead the army to come to their aid at night."
"The Marquis of Xibei's benevolence and righteousness have made the Deng family grateful."
"Miss Deng, you are saying too much, too much."
guessing the purpose of Ji Fa's arrival, Deng Chanyu did not want to make things too difficult.
"In gratitude for the righteousness of the Marquis of Xibei, the Deng family is willing to present gold worth one thousand liang, silver worth three thousand liang, and copper worth seven thousand liang."
"Absolutely not, absolutely not! If I were to take them back, my father and elder brother would surely scold me for it."
"How can it be impossible? Your army has traveled thousands of miles and some losses are inevitable. A small gift is nothing."
After a few rounds of persuasion, Ji Fa accepted the silver and gold.
Xiqu is currently short of everything. Taking the silver and gold back and trading them with the Xiyong people to the west for warhorses and furs is also a good choice.
After the transaction was completed, the atmosphere improved significantly.
Ji Fa had no post-Qin maps in his hand and lacked knowledge of names like Shu and Shen Tu. The Deng family's occupation of Hanzhong had indeed blocked the road to Shu, but at the same time, Xiqu's southern region was completely free from enemies. The troops in the southern line could be transferred to the eastern line to resist the main force from Chaoxia City.
Ji Fa led his troops back to Xiqu that day, and on the way back, he also sent out scouts to investigate the nearby roads.
The reality is that in the future, Zhuge Liang would always start from Hanzhong and head northwest towards Qishan to attack Lngyu. That was indeed a helpless move, as this path had mountains and rivers, and was the easiest to walk.
There are mountainous and narrow roads nearby in Hanzhong, but they are as difficult to traverse as a primordial forest, with their rugged terrain. It's easy to get lost, not just for thousands or tens of thousands of troops, but even for a few dozen people.
Ji Fa returned to Xiqu with a large amount of silver and gold and presented them to his eldest brother, Binyao. Only then did he come to report to his father, Ji Chang.
"Deng family occupied the new cities built by those savages? That's also good news. Our southern line is completely safe." Ji Chang was still fiddling with the divination grass he used for divination. He seemed not to mind Ji Fa's return with no success, encouraging him and indicating that he could go down to rest.
Ji Fa did not leave; instead, he handed a scroll of bamboo strips to the Marquis of Xibei.
Ji Chang unfolded the bamboo strip and examined it carefully before thinking for a moment: "Moving Mountains Project?! Was this given to you by Miss Deng?"
"That's right, Father. The Deng family also said that they would provide some war prisoners for us when they conquer Jinsha City, helping us to implement this plan."
Ji Chang looked at the bamboo scroll again. At first glance, it seemed absurd, but upon careful thought, there was a bit of feasibility to it.
Deng Chanyu knew that in the original timeline, there was a military campaign by the Yin Dynasty with thirty-six roads to Xiqu. The throne of Zhao, Zhihuanwagou, had sent thirty-six waves of Zhang Guifang, Wen Zhen, and Deng Jiugong in this campaign. The last road was probably Kong Xuan.
Now that Kong Xuan has no intention of serving the Yin Dynasty, it's not clear whether there will be another thirty-six road campaign. However, Xiqu is much weaker than in the original timeline. To say that Xiqu can withstand ten waves of attacks already shows the unity of the people. She came up with an idea for Xiqu: the Moving Mountains Plan!
At this time, all tribes build cities and use them as their own countries. Xiqu, Nancun, and Chaoxia are all densely populated cities with numerous inhabitants. This gradually affects the surrounding areas.
Xiqu City is located at the foot of Qishan, with its city facing the attacks of the Yin Dynasty's army.
When they arrive, they attack the main city. It's a small battle every three days and a big battle every five days. To have survived that in the original timeline was truly divine protection.
Now, no divine intervention has occurred, and we are relying solely on the city walls and the blood and flesh of Xiqu's citizens to resist the Yin Dynasty's army. This is a significant loss.
Deng Chanyu suggested that they move the Qishan behind them to the front, moving the entire mountain eastward to become a barrier between them and the Yin Dynasty's army. Xiqu City would then be slightly further away from the battlefield, allowing their citizens to farm, graze, and forge weapons in the rear. This plan was called the Moving Mountains Project!
