"Mr. Governor, Huaiyou has no intention to use troops to Shuzhou, and we have no reason to use troops to Shuzhou. Please rest assured that this is the case. Huaiyou is firmly obeying the imperial orders and cannot surpass his own authority."

Hou Chen was very enthusiastic and spoke in a passionate manner.

Duan Nian looked at this guy who was very talkative in disgust. The intention of a robber was covered in endless words. Why should he do this?

Do you really think that Shuzhou people are all fools?

But under the eaves, people have to bow their heads. Even though they know that the other party is coming from a promising situation and their appetite is probably not small, Duan Nian still has to bite the bullet and deal with the other party.

The lord is not allowed to come forward yet, otherwise there will be no room for maneuver once the showdown is revealed, so he, the marching Sima, can only come forward to mediate.

After talking for so long, he could already hear the hidden meaning in the other party's words.

It would be a bit far-fetched to push the excuse on the ant thief. Although there is indeed a single ant thief who has not crossed the river in the Tongyang area, what are the Huai You Army, the former Qingzhou Army, doing in the past few months? It looks completely unconscious.

At this time, he suddenly jumped out and wanted to send troops to clear out these ants thieves and recover their plundering gains in Shouzhou. This was obviously to keep the losses on Shuzhou.

Thinking of this, Duan Nian felt disgusting. These people from Huai Youjun really ignored their appearance and almost blatantly blackmailed them.

He kept saying that he wanted to use Shuzhou to clear the situation. The problem was that it was easy to hire a god and it was difficult to send it to the gods. Now that these people have swallowed Shouzhou, who dared to let it set foot in Shuzhou might become a fake Taoist attack on Guo.

However, this guy kept holding on to the ant thief and said that the ant thief had been staying in Shuzhou for several months, but the Shuzhou army had always stayed on the Anhui River line and was unable to drive the ant thief south. The Huaiyou Army was willing to pass by to help suppress the beast and recover some of the losses.

The question is, does the other party have such kindness? I am afraid that the purpose is to find an opportunity to make up for the losses?

A look of worry flashed across Duan Nian's fair round face, but soon he controlled his emotions. In front of these people, he could not reveal his emotions.

He also needs to understand the other party’s true intentions. Even if he can roughly know the other party’s intentions, he still needs to test the other party’s bottom line.

"Haha, Lord Hou is so serious. Our Shuzhou does not have such a thought. Lord Jiang is the Guangxu Shou Defensive and Guardian, and is also a close neighbor to our Shuzhou. If there is any need, we will ask the court and the Defense Guardian to support it. But for now, the situation in our Shuzhou is stable and there is no place to help."

Duan Nian tried to restrain the disgust on his face and make himself appear calmer and more peaceful.

He did not have much experience in dealing with such evil neighbors. Shuzhou has always remained neutral and was not involved in changes in the surrounding situation.

Whether it was the Du family annexed Qihuang, the wars in Jiangzhou across the river, or the changes in Xuanzhou in the southeast, Shuzhou was so impartial and maintained neutrality. Of course, it was also closely related to the fact that the Zhou family's fellow branch members had a great influence in the Wu Dynasty.

But now this situation has been gradually broken. At the moment, the Wu Kingdom is at a strife and civil strife is imminent. It is hard to say whether the Zhou family in Jiangdu can protect themselves. There is no energy to ask about Shuzhou, a fellow branch.

Under such circumstances, Duan Nian had to consider how to make the Zhou family in Shuzhou as much as possible to survive the upcoming waves.

The neighbor to the north looked aggressive, but Duan Nian was still not optimistic about the other party.

In name, it monopolized the three states, but in fact there were only two states. Shouzhou was said to have been attacked by him. In Duan Nian's view, such emerging vassals with no background, perhaps even if they were prospered or their demise suddenly, the ending may not be very good.

Although Shuzhou's military power is weak, it does not have to rely on the other party, and it is even more important to easily bind one's own destiny to it.

However, the posture the other party showed now made it difficult for Shuzhou to refuse. Duan Nian was not sure whether the other party was really provoking trouble, or just wanted to make a comeback?

Duan Nian thinks that the latter is the most likely, which is acceptable. The worst thing is that it is just a matter of how many things are.

But if it is the former, Duan Nian needs to consider how to deal with it.

"But the Zhuang Cruzi's army under the ant thief Han Ba's command is still entrenched in Tong'an Tongyang area. When Zhuang Cruzi's army attacked our Gushi last year, it formed a blood feud with our Huaiyou Army. Including our defense and guard commanders, all of which were injured in the hands of their three brothers. Some time ago, two merchants from our Qingzhou crossed the river and returned to Xizhou, they were also looted by the Zhuang Cruzi's ants in Tongyang area. They also reported to the Tong'an County Government, but there is still no news."

Hou Chen smiled like a fox, and a strange light flashed in his squinting eyes.

"Since Shuzhou is unable to resolve the ant thief rebellion in the state, we believe that the Huaiyou Army has the obligation to help neighbors solve such thieves that bring harm to neighbors. Lord Duan, what do you think?"

Duan Nian felt bitter in her mouth.

The number of ant thieves entrenched near Tongyang is not large, with only three or four thousand people. However, on the one hand, these ant thieves built a complex and solid fort based on the special geographical environment near Tongyang, and at the same time, they closely connect with the bandits on the river through Tongyang Wharf, which has become a heart disease in Shuzhou.

The Shuzhou army launched two attacks, but were both resisted by the ant thieves through the fort system on one side, and moved to their rear through water routes, causing heavy losses to the Shuzhou army, so the Shuzhou army had to rely on the Anhui River to station.

Now the Shuzhou army only hopes that these ants thieves can leave Shuzhou as soon as possible. After all, their main force has entered Xuanzhou, which has a wider territory, and their purpose will not be to Xuanzhou, but to be the richer Runzhou, Changzhou and Huzhou.

Taking a deep breath, Duan Nian shook his head: "Sorry, Lord Hou, I need to remind you that your defense and guard commander is only Guangxu Shou's defense and guard commander. His defense area only includes Guangxu Shou's three states, not our Shuzhou. Our Shuzhou has the power to solve our own problems by ourselves and no one else needs to make trouble. In addition, our Shuzhou also signed an alliance with Wu State. If we really need help, we believe that Wu State can also send troops to assist us."

This was Duan Nian's toughest response, but in Hou Chen's ears, he could hear the hidden weakness of this Sima Neili of Shuzhou.

In fact, the other party has admitted that the Shuzhou army alone cannot expel the ant thief, which is an opportunity.

In fact, Hou Chen, well, the Huai You Army represented by Hou Chen had no intention of overtaking the Shuzhou Army to expel the ant thief, and he did not get this authorization. The reason for this was just to intimidate the false statements before the conditions were issued.

"Mr. Duan, the words are heavy, and the words are heavy. We are just asking for opinions from Shuzhou. Before we get the consent of Shuzhou, our army in Huoshan will certainly not be able to cross the prefecture. My family's defense and guard envoys were also appointed by the court, and we cannot surpass the imperial decree." Hou Chen said seriously: "However, Lord. Duan, we do not think that the current Wu Kingdom still has the energy to inquire about such trivial matters. I believe you should know better than us. How big is the alliance with Wu Kingdom now? I am afraid that Master Duan and the governor know it. I even want to remind you that maybe Wu has risen, and Shuzhou may not be able to avoid being involved."

Duan Nian's face became even more ugly. Of course, he knew what the Lord's family depended on. Once Wu land was in chaos, the danger would be much greater than that of a few thousand ant thieves. He looked at the other party: "Mr. Hou, tell me, what do you Huaiyou mean?"

"It's very simple. We Huaiyou have nothing else to do. We hope to form an alliance with Shuzhou." Hou Chen said word by word: "We Huaiyou can replace Wu and become the most reliable ally of Shuzhou!"

************************************************

It was already ten days later when Hou Chen and Zhang Ji returned to Wenzhou.

The defense and guard commander and the chief of the Changshi were not in Xuzhou, but it was not important to Hou Chen and the others. They only needed to march directly to Sima Cui Shang.

After the showdown with Duan Nian, he was fiercely opposed by Duan Nian, but Hou Chen introduced Duan Nian in an orderly manner the information possessed by Wuwentang, which made Duan Nian and the Zhou family behind Duan Nian feel terrified.

The harsh situation in the Wu State was beyond their expectations, and this was not Hou Chen's alarmist statement. In fact, Zhou and the others also had their fine works and spies in Wu, and even had their connections in the Wu State. They could easily verify what Hou Chen said.

The fierce confrontation between the two of the two, the sword and the spear of the conflict of interests is very serious, but for Hou Chen, this is all a trivial matter.

The key is that Shuzhou was timid and agreed to sign a covenant with Huaiyou in accordance with the alliance signed with Wu. Huaiyou replaced Wu as the protector of Shuzhou, and as the protector, he would naturally gain a series of privileges and interests.

For example, Shuzhou has basically agreed to donate money and grain to Huaiyou, and will also provide some Shuzhou's specialties. In special circumstances, Shuzhou is also willing to provide some support, including civilians and the army, but at most no more than one army in terms of military support.

Of course, as an ally, Huaiyou will do its best to protect the security of Shuzhou from any outsiders. At the same time, Huaiyou will not send troops into Shuzhou without Shuzhou's consent, but Shuzhou requires to ensure compliance.

It should be said that this alliance is relatively equal. After all, Huaiyou's military power is far greater than Shuzhou. Especially in the face of changes in Wu, Shuzhou is very likely to be involved. With Huaiyou's guarantee, Shuzhou's safety can be greatly guaranteed.
Chapter completed!