After returning to the camp, the casualties of the Dong Jiajun who robbed the camp tonight were counted, 18 people were killed, 560 were wounded, and three soldiers were missing. However, it is very worthwhile to exchange for a large battalion of Qi army grain and grass at such a price.

The next day, the important incident of Dong Jiajun's night attack on the Qi army's camp and burning the Qi army's grain and grass spread in Ezhou City.

This was the only victory in the middle of the Yangtze River defense line since last year, and although the scale of the battle was not large, the ministers who were in charge of the city of Ezhou were deeply aware that this was an excellent opportunity to boost morale. Therefore, whether it was for the purpose of soliciting merit from the imperial court or for the purpose of stabilizing the hearts and minds of the people in Ezhou City, this night raid and robbery camp battle was immediately grandly and even exaggeratedly publicized.

In the afternoon of the same day, Ezhou City sent people to Xingou and ordered Dong Hao and others to return to Ezhou City immediately. Although the visitor did not tell the reason for going to Ezhou City, it was not difficult for Dong Hao to guess that Zhai Xuan and Zhai Dagong wanted to reward himself. So, after receiving the order, he took Zhou Bo, Wang Wenshou and several other subordinates, and quickly went to Ezhou City.

Ezhou City is only more than 20 miles away from Xingou, when a group of people arrived at the city, it happened to be evening, and now because the Qi army invaded the border, the city gate is naturally all-weather martial law.

After entering the city, Dong Hao and his entourage came directly to the current Ezhou City Governor's Mansion. Since Zhai Xuan and Li Hui's two groups of people gathered in Ezhou City, this Zhizhou office has naturally become the headquarters of these two big men with heavy troops, and those officials from Jingnan Road will also come here every day to serve their officials. It's just that the war is in chaos right now. Civil officials who have no real power are just putting on a show and supporting the façade.

The entrance of the Zhizhou Mansion. A guard had already gone in to report that Dong Hao was coming.

Zhai Xuan and his group of officials after receiving the report. Immediately came to the gate of the government to greet Dong Hao.

Zhai Xuan was wearing a soft robe and casual clothes, and his body looked slightly fat, although he was over half a hundred years old, his complexion looked very tough. When he walked out of the gate of the mansion, he always had a hearty smile on his face, and when he walked to the bottom of the steps, he couldn't help but greet Dong Hao: "Dong Zixian is really the general in the world, and 50,000 Qi troops are pressing the border. There was no fear at all, and a surprise attack robbed the Qi army's grain and grass camp, a great victory, a great victory. ”

Most of the officials who followed Zhai Xuan were civil officials who fled south from Henan Prefecture, and some were local officials in Ezhou City who supported Zhai Xuan. After Zhai Xuan spoke, they followed behind and praised Dong Hao's exploits, although they were all clichés, but they also made the atmosphere of the scene lively.

"Zhai Xianggong is too elevated to the last general. At the end of last night, he will be able to get it, not alone. If it weren't for the last general's front camp preparing to give advice to Zhou Bo, I'm afraid that he might not be able to succeed easily. Dong Hao said with a modest smile.

"Zhou Bo?" Zhai Xuan's face pondered slightly.

"Oh, Xianggong Zhai, this is Zhou Bo Zhou Chengjie, who just invested in a certain account seven days ago. Dong Hao gave way and introduced Zhou Bo, who was standing behind him, to Zhai Xuan.

Zhou Bo was a little grateful to Dong Hao in his heart, of course, he was not grateful to Dong Hao for promoting him to Zhai Xuan, but to Dong Hao for not bluntly saying that he was a defeated general in Xiangyang. Because as a subordinate, the first impression is very important when meeting the boss. He took a step forward and saluted Zhai Xuan with a fist: "The last general, Zhou Bo, has seen Zhai Xianggong." ”

"A few days ago, the daughter of Qin Lang, the envoy of the Guanghua Army, and the son of Xu Yuanzhi, the observation envoy of Junzhou, were the ones who escorted Zhou Bo Zhou's little brother?" Zhai Xuan asked with a little surprise while looking at Zhou Bo carefully. He still paid attention to what happened a few days ago, but those festival envoys and observation envoys didn't seem to pay attention to Zhou Bo's kindness, and just rewarded some money and silver and sent it away.

"Zhai Xianggong, it is this Zhou Chengjie. Dong Hao said on the side.

"Oh, Brother Zhou is really very human, not only brave and powerful, but also outstanding. Zhai Xuan smiled, but a hint of displeasure flashed on his face.

"Zhai Xianggong has won the award, and the last general is just a coincidence and took some luck. Last night's plan to rob the camp, if it were not for Dong Shuai's courage and timing, I am afraid that it might not be able to be completely successful. "Zhou Bo is not a person who is greedy for merit, since Dong Hao exalts himself so much, of course this credit must be shared with Dong Hao. In this way, not only will both parties be happy, but Dong Hao will also think that he is very good at being a person.

After listening to Zhou Bo's words, Dong Hao showed a knowing smile, he didn't want to explain anything, but nodded to Zhou Bo meaningfully, which was a kind of gratitude.

"Haha, okay, you are all meritorious people, you can't be lazy, come and come, come with me. A certain family will personally report to the imperial court tomorrow for your meritorious deeds, and send it to Lin'an as soon as possible. Zhai Xuan said with a laugh, then stepped forward and grabbed Dong Hao's hand, and beckoned the group to enter the Zhizhou Mansion.

When passing by the front yard, Zhai Xuan deliberately pulled Dong Hao to walk a few steps faster, and opened a distance from Zhou Bo and the others behind him. He lowered his voice and asked with a bit of anger: "Zixian, what kind of good things have you done? I have to count the credit for the attack on the Qi army camp last night, it's better for you to lure out that little Jiupin Chengjie Lang Zhou Bo to get a piece of the pie, how can there be a fool like you in the world?"

Dong Hao was slightly stunned, and immediately understood what Zhai Xuan meant. At present, Zhai Xuan's foundation in Ezhou City is naturally not as good as Li Hui, so he has to think of ways to promote some of his subordinates to strengthen his power here.

Zhai Xuan is the Xuanfu envoy of Henan Mansion, but Henan Mansion has long been occupied by the puppet Qi State, and it is impossible for the imperial court to seal Zhai Xuan's other jurisdictions at present. Therefore, in Zhai Xuan's eyes, if you want to obtain a piece of political capital, the area around Ezhou is naturally a battleground.

Dong Hao sank and said: "Xianggong Zhai, the last general knows that this is your good intention, but last night's plan was really Zhou Bo's plan, if it wasn't for Zhou Chengjie's clever plan, I am afraid that the last general last night could only choose to retreat." What's more, since Zhou Chengjie is now my Dong Jiajun's person, it is also your Zhai Xianggong's person. As the saying goes, fertilizer and water do not flow into the fields of outsiders. Doesn't everyone have to share this affection?"

Zhai Xuan snorted coldly. Dong Hao has been with him for a year, and Zhou Bo has only been with Dong Jiajun for seven days, and he can't come to this guy in terms of seniority! But he can't say anything now, since Dong Hao has already said it, he has to be a favor.

"Since Zhou Bo is a martial artist and a strategic material, you have to take care of it, don't let down someone's heart for you. He sighed and explained solemnly.

On the front hall of the Zhizhou Mansion. Other officials in Ezhou have been waiting here for a long time, including some who fled to Ezhou after the fall of Xiangyang Prefecture. Because of the large number of officials, the seats in the front hall have been increased from one column to two columns.

After Zhai Xuan led Dong Hao, Zhou Bo and others in, he first made an introduction, and then ordered someone to add a few more seats for Dong Hao and the others to sit down.

"Li Xianggong, these are Dong Hao who attacked the Qi army camp yesterday night under the command of a certain family. Zhai Xuan introduced to Li Hui, who was sitting in the first seat, and when he said this, he deliberately accentuated the word "under the command of a certain family".

"Okay, good! General Dong, you have made a great contribution this time. Let me Ezhou military and civilian morale greatly increase. "Li Hui is slightly younger than Zhai Xuan, but he can calm down more than Zhai Xuan. Although he had already seen that Zhai Xuan was deliberately showing off, there was no wave on his face. He knew very well in his heart that if he was disdainful of Zhai Xuan at this time, he would make others think that he was small.

Dong Hao bowed his hand to Li Hui and said, "Li Xianggong is polite, the last general is just a fluke and a surprise attack, and he caught the Qi army off guard." In last night's battle, the results were very small, and the only thing to be thankful for was the looting and burning of the Qi army's grain and grass camp. ”

Li Hui laughed out loud and said, "General Dong is too modest. ”

At this time, Zhai Xuan interjected and said: "Dong Zixian burned down the Qi army's grain and grass camp this time, and the credit is quite high. I'm nominally a six-way player, but in reality there are only three-way formations. Since Dong Zixian has made meritorious service this time, he is willing to ensure that Dong Zixian is the commander of the fourth road of the Pingsheng Xiang Army, and Dong Zixian will re-recruit the soldiers and horses of the Pingsheng Fourth Carriage. ”

Although the Pingsheng Xiang Army is a descendant of Zhai Xuan's troops, even so, it is impossible for him to appoint a commander of the Xiangdu of the fourth rank with Li Hui, so he needs to be promoted together with Li Hui.

However, as soon as these words came out, no matter how deep Li Huicheng's mansion was, his face couldn't help but change color. Dong Hao is just a small deputy general, no matter how meritorious he is, it is impossible to even jump three levels and be promoted to a commanding envoy. The establishment of five armies under the jurisdiction of one compartment, even if the four compartments of Pingsheng collapsed in the battle of Henan Province, and it is only an empty establishment at present, but after Dong Hao takes over as the commander of the four compartments, he will definitely reorganize the men and horses of this compartment.

Once Pingsheng's army grew, Zhai Xuan's power in Ezhou also grew. How could Li Hui not know the truth of eliminating the other's strengths?

"Zhai Xianggong, although General Dong has made great contributions, but he has been promoted by three levels in a row, I'm afraid that something will be inappropriate, right?" Li Hui said slowly.

Many of the civil officials sitting in the hall also discussed, and they could all see that Zhai Xuan was deliberately taking the opportunity to expand his power. The local bureaucrats in Ezhou reacted the most violently, Zhai Xuan was just the Xuanfu envoy of Henan Prefecture, how could he be allowed to share power in Ezhou City?

"Li Xianggong, this is wrong. Now that the war has not ended, and our Song army has suffered a new defeat in Xiangyang Mansion, it is the time when we need to boost morale and boost the morale of the army. The exception of Dong Zixian was made to set an example, so that the soldiers of all the armies in Ezhou City could follow suit. Zhai Xuan deliberately took out the defeat of Xiangyang as a talking point, so that Li Hui would be embarrassed, and by the way, he could also win the local officials in Ezhou to vote for him.

Although Li Hui was the Xuanfu envoy of Jingnan Road, the Xuanfu envoy was not the highest administrative official along the way. Not all local officials in Ezhou support Li Hui, and more importantly, they want to keep Ezhou and prevent Ezhou from following in the footsteps of Xiangyang Prefecture.

"Zhai Xianggong, why do your words sound so hurtful? A certain person has been fighting in Xiangyang for several months, there is a shortage of food and grass inside, and there is no reinforcement outside, can the defeat of Xiangyang depend on the head of a certain family?" Li Hui's tone became colder and colder.

Zhai Xuan smiled and said, "Li Xianggong, you are serious, a certain family has never said that the defeat of Xiangyang is to blame on anyone. A certain family is just an analogy, and what we are talking about at the moment seems to have nothing to do with it, right? Li Xianggong, you think too much, right?"

"You!" Li Hui was furious.

Zhai Xuan's face gradually became proud, and he smiled coldly: You are too young to hold your breath so soon?

Li Hui took a deep breath and realized that he had been too intense just now. He secretly thought: Zhai Xuan's guy is too hateful, he is deliberately provoking me.

"Li Xianggong, Dong Zixian is my subordinate, no matter whether you want to promote Li Xianggong or not, Zhai will play it to the court. Zhai Xuan said solemnly.

"Zhai Xianggong, you have to be clear, this is Ezhou, you are only living in Ezhou, you don't have the right to recruit troops in Ezhou!" Li Hui said in an accentuated tone.

The Xiang army was a local army, although the Song Dynasty often incorporated displaced people, refugees, and convicts into the Xiang army, but the premise was that these sources of troops were located in their own defense areas. In the Song Dynasty, the only branch of the military that could recruit troops from all over the country was the forbidden army. At the moment, Zhai Xuan is just defeated and retreated to Ezhou, after all, he can't be the master here in Ezhou, and Li Hui is talking about this.

Zhai Xuan knew that Li Hui was deliberately making things difficult for himself, and now the Song Ting's troops on the front line were all private troops. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops in the imperial court had already been wiped out, and if it weren't for the generals who organized their own troops to resist the Jin State, I am afraid that the Song Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago. Although the Pingsheng Xiang Army is now the establishment of the Xiang Army, in the final analysis, it is still his Zhai Xuan's private army, and the reason why he hangs this name is nothing more than to fight for the pitiful salary of the imperial court.

"Li Xianggong, the enemy is still planning these things with a certain family?" Zhai Xuan said coldly.

"We are all favored by the imperial court, so naturally we should abide by the rules of the imperial court. Li Hui said without giving in at all.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the front hall changed, at first it was originally for Dong Hao's light work, but now it has suddenly become a quarrel between Li Hui and Zhai Xuan for interests. The civil officials who were still discussing closed their mouths at this time, and the smell of gunpowder in the whole hall became stronger and stronger.

At this time, a middle-aged man wearing a second-grade purple official uniform sitting on the side coughed lightly, and he slowly opened his mouth and said: "What are the two ministers doing?

Li Hui and Zhai Xuan are the most powerful people in Ezhou, and the two of them can not give face to any of the ministers present, but only this middle-aged man has to be polite.

"Qin Jiedu envoy Xianggong, you have misunderstood, a certain family didn't want to quarrel with Li Xianggong about anything, just asked for a credit for Dong Zixian. Zhai Xuan smiled indifferently and said.

At this time, Zhou Bo, who was sitting in the hall, was stunned, it turned out that this middle-aged man was Qin Lang, the envoy of the Guanghua Army? He couldn't help but feel a little unhappy, he was also the life-saving benefactor of Qin Lang's daughter, and this guy had never looked at himself since he entered the door. It seems that these fathers and gentlemen are really looking down on people in their bones, and sooner or later they will make a big career, let these grandiose fathers and gentlemen take a closer look.

Li Hui immediately restrained his anger and said with a smile: "Xianggong Qin, you and I are both officials of the imperial court, so naturally we must take the law and discipline of the imperial court first. Zhai Xianggong has already jumped three levels to promote Dong Hao, a certain family doesn't say anything, but he wants to expand the Pingshengxiang army in Ezhou, try to ask this day after Zhai Xianggong recovers Henan, where should these Ezhou soldiers go?" )