Chapter 466: Just be a bit cowardly!

Li Yun smiled. He looked up at Zhou Chang and said, “Mr. Zhou, come and sit down and talk. Sit down and talk.”

He pointed to the chair opposite him. Zhou Chang hesitated for a moment, but still sat opposite Li Yun. Then he looked at Li Yun and said, “Envoy Li, if you think about it, our two families don’t have any deep hatred. Now that the turmoil in the court has finally been settled, all places need to recuperate. My father can’t bear to see people suffer. How about we both stop fighting?”

Li Yun lowered his head, raised his head and drank the shake in the bowl, then wiped his mouth and continued, “Mr. Zhou, this battle in Jiangbei doesn’t seem to be caused by me. Last year, when I met your family member Zhou Gui, he made a one-year agreement with me on behalf of General Zhou. It was agreed that within a year, I would occupy Luzhou and Yangzhou, and the rest of Huainan Road would be given to your Pinglu Army.”

“Now, there are still two or three months left in this year, and your army can’t wait to surround my Yangzhou.”

In this matter, the Pinglu Army was indeed in the wrong, but when marching, fighting, and building a base, it is naturally impossible to keep one’s word on everything, so these things are not surprising.

After all, Li Yun’s taking of Luzhou was actually a breach of contract.

Before coming, Zhou Gui had already taught Zhou Chang how to respond to this. This young master Zhou said without hesitation: “Didn’t you do the same when you attacked Luzhou? If there is any breach of trust, it was you who broke it first.”

Li Yun looked calm: “If that’s the case, what’s the point of Mr. Zhou coming to negotiate with me today? Anyway, even if the deal is successful, both of us may breach the contract at any time.”

Zhou Chang said in a deep voice: “After the Huainan Road is divided equally, it is natural that each side will station troops there. If there is any violation of the contract in the future, it will depend on our own ability.”

Li Yun touched his chin and asked, “Mr. Zhou, can you tell me how to divide it equally?”

“Your Excellency is in the south, and our Qingzhou is in the north, so Huainan Road is of course divided into north and south.”

He looked at Li Yun and asked, “Sir, do you have a map of Huainan Road?”

Li Yun stood up, put his hands behind his back and said, “Mr. Zhou, come with me to my study. There is a map hanging there.”

He walked in front with his hands behind his back. Zhou Chang stood up and subconsciously followed him with his hands hanging down. After walking for more than ten steps, Zhou Chang suddenly came to his senses, looked down at his hands, and then looked up at Li Yun who was walking in front with his hands behind his back.

He didn’t know when it started, but this Jiangdong Recruiting Envoy, who was the same age as him or even younger than him, had already developed some of the same aura as his father Zhou Xu.

This kind of momentum, or this kind of temperament, made Zhou Chang subconsciously behave like a subordinate and get along with Li Yun.

You know, even two years ago, Zhou Chang didn’t take Li Yun seriously at all, but now, when the two of them are together…

This Mr. Zhou seemed to have been left far behind by Li Yun.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the study room. In the study room, a map was hung high. Zhou Chang was attracted by the map at a glance. He stared at the map for a long time before he could not help but ask, “Where did you get this map, Li Shijun? It is so detailed?”

“Where did you get it?”

Li Yun glanced at him and said calmly: “Who in this world can give me something like this?”

This was just a detailed topographic map without any military markings on it. It was a map used for actual warfare, so Li Yun certainly would not show it to him.

However, this kind of detailed map is not afraid of being seen by others. Even a person with a good memory cannot go back and draw a map after looking at it several times.

Zhou Chang looked at it for a long time before he walked to the map, pointed at several prefectures and counties on the map, and said, “Sir, Anzhou, Qizhou, Huangzhou, Shuzhou, Luzhou, Hezhou, Chuzhou, and Yangzhou.”

“They can all be allocated to the envoys.”

He looked at Li Yun and said, “This is already more than half of the Huainan Road. We in Qingzhou sincerely want to make peace with the envoy and give him enough face.”

Li Yun’s eyes also fell on the map. After reading the prefectures and counties he mentioned, he couldn’t help but smile: “Father and son, you are really smart. It turns out that this is the way to divide it equally.”

The Huainan Road is generally a long strip that is long from east to west and short from north to south. Zhou Chang’s method of dividing the Huainan Road is to divide it from north to south, that is, to cut this long strip into two narrower strips.

Li Yun occupied the southern half of this long strip, and the Pinglu Army occupied the northern half.

But in this way, not only will Li Yun not be able to reach the Huai River, but the cost of maintaining the defense line will also rise sharply.

Master Zhou blinked his eyes, looked at Li Yun, and said with a smile: “Your Excellency is not satisfied? If you are not satisfied, we can discuss it in detail.”

“Stop rambling.”

Li Yun put his hands behind his back and walked to the map.

He was tall, half a head taller than Zhou Chang. Standing in front of him gave off a very oppressive vibe, and scared Master Zhou so much that he took a half step back.

Li Yun pointed at the map and said calmly, “Since it’s divided in half, then follow my way of dividing it. I want the six states of Yangzhou, Chuzhou, Haozhou, Chuzhou, Hezhou, and Luzhou. The rest of Huainan Road can be occupied by the Pinglu Army. I promise not to interfere anymore.”

This division method is to cut Jiangnan Road into two halves from east to west, with Li Yun occupying the eastern half. In this way, his north can directly reach the Huai River, and this part is basically the north of Jiangnan East Road. With the Huai River as a defense line in the north, he only needs to defend Haozhou, Luzhou, and his hometown Xuanzhou to defend the west of his territory, so that the entire Jiangdong, or the entire southeast, can immediately be stabilized and peaceful.

A country of its own.

Zhou Chang looked at the several states and counties pointed out by Li Yun on the map, and his expression suddenly turned unsightly.

Before he came, General Zhou Xu and his family member Zhou Gui had mentioned to him that in this negotiation, it would be best for Li Yun to accept the situation of division between the north and the south. If not, it would be best not to let Li Yun directly come into contact with the Huai River.

Master Zhou took a deep breath and whispered, “Envoy Li, our Pinglu army has not lost, nor can we fight anymore. This time I came to see you with the idea of ​​peace. If we can’t reach an agreement, we can still fight again.”

“Then let’s fight.”

Mr. Li smiled and said, “When two armies are fighting, envoys are not killed. I won’t make things difficult for Mr. Zhou. Please go back.”

“I have already occupied four of the six states I mentioned. Now I only have Haozhou and Hezhou left. Hezhou is squeezed in between Chuzhou and Luzhou, and the area is very small. I can take it down at any time.”

“Although Haozhou is a little more difficult.”

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and chuckled, “I’ll spend two or three years slowly grinding it out, and I’ll be able to do it.”

Master Zhou was anxious and whispered, “Sir, Chuzhou must be returned to our Pinglu Army. I can exchange it for Shuzhou!”

Li Yun shook his head calmly and said, “Mr. Zhou said we should divide it equally. Huainan Dao has a total of fourteen states. I only want six, and the remaining eight will be given to you.”

“If you don’t agree to this, then there is nothing to discuss. Let’s just keep wasting time like this. Right now, your army… shouldn’t be able to do anything to me, right?”

“Although it is difficult for me to defeat your army, I have plenty of time and can continue to fight with you in Jiangbei. There are no strong enemies in my south.”

Li Yun smiled and said, “There is no threat to the Central Plains in the west for the time being. I can put most of my troops in Jiangbei and keep fighting with you. As for your army in the north…”

“Are there any strong enemies?”

Young Master Zhou gritted his teeth and said, “The Fanyang Army and my family have been friends for generations. Now General Xiao’s successor is my aunt!”

“There are no enemies to the north of my Pinglu Army!”

“That’s fine, that’s fine.”

Li Yun clapped his hands and said with a smile: “Anyway, both of our families now have a lot of new soldiers, so we can just put them in Jiangbei to continue training. It will benefit both of us, and the Jiangbei battlefield can be maintained forever.”

He looked at Zhou Chang and said with a smile: “I hope your aunt will be worth a fortune.”

“Oh no.”

He changed his tone and said with a smile: “It is worth states, and many states.”

Zhou Chang raised his head and looked at Li Yun, angrily saying: “Mr. Li, you are cursing!”

Li Yun frowned and asked in confusion: “When did I curse?”

Zhou Chang’s face turned red with anger, and he turned around and left Li Yun’s study. Li Yun put his hands behind his back, watched him leave, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

If this negotiation can be concluded, it will naturally be of great benefit to Li Yun. By being able to control the eastern half of Huainan Road, his “Jiangdong Kingdom” will actually be basically formed.

Even though it is still just a prototype and many places are not fully prepared, it can at least be said to be a country in the real sense.

In contrast, other Jiedushi could only be regarded as vassal states, not even military governments.

If the Pinglu Army did not agree, Li Yun would not only suffer heavy casualties, but would also have to spend a great deal of time to capture Haozhou and complete his territory.

Nowadays, in this era when all forces are thriving, nothing is more precious than time.

More importantly, Li Yun also knew that the imperial court and the three military governors must have sent people to keep an eye on the movements in Jiangbei in case their side suffered too much damage.

We may have to face more than just the Pinglu Army!
“Zhou Xu, ah Zhou Xu, just be a little scared.”

Li Yun murmured, “You’ve been a coward this time. When I succeed in the future, I’ll definitely remember your contribution.”

(End of this chapter)