A large camp outside the city of Qiuzi.

In the hot weather of the desert, the soldiers of the battalion were training.

The soldiers were already sweating like rain, and some of the soldiers had collapsed from heat stroke due to physical exhaustion, but the generals still had a straight face and no intention of shouting to stop.

Gu Houye's death order, the drill was rain or shine, and the knife falling from the sky had to finish the day's drill process.

The soldiers were very tired, but there was nothing unconvinced. Because Gu Qing and all the generals were practicing like ordinary soldiers, no one in the whole army from the commander to the soldiers below was lazy, Gu Houye's lips were white from practice, and there were already signs of heat stroke, but he still didn't stop, although his movements were clumsy and slow, but every item was completed meticulously.

With such a coach who accompanies the soldiers in practice, who will have complaints? I just hate myself for not being angry.

Pei Zhounan was also on the sidelines of the school field, watching Gu Qing's figure running and climbing on the school field from a distance, and a trace of complexity flashed in his eyes.

"Master Hou used to practice with the soldiers every day like this?" Pei Zhounan asked Han Jiedao behind him.

Han Jie didn't want to pay much attention to him, but after all, Pei Zhounan's existence was a threat to Hou Ye, and he couldn't lose his manners and cause trouble for Hou Ye, so he said coldly: "Yes, Hou Ye practices every day." This is also one of the reasons why the officers and men of the Anxi Army are all serving the Hou Ye. ”

Pei Zhounan's eyes flashed, and he said softly: "Is there any other reason?" ”

"Yes, reward and punish the faults, be impartial, love the generals, share weal and woe, there is no injustice in the Anxi army, this is the reason why the robes all respect the Hou Ye."

Pei Zhounan thought thoughtfully, smiled slightly, and didn't speak again.

Gu Qing, who was sweating like rain, finished all the processes and staggered back, and Han Jie hurriedly stepped forward to help.

Gu Qing waved his hand and fell to the sand, and then he was scalded by the hot sand on the ground and screamed, and the whole person bounced on the spot.

Han Jie and his guards brought a Hu bed, set up a parasol next to the Hu bed, and handed Gu Qing a bag of cold water, Gu Qing poured half of his stomach with water, and then fell weakly on the Hu bed.

"No, I'm dying......" Gu Qing sighed, and then raised his eyes to see Pei Zhounan who was smiling and silent, so Gu Qing pointed at Pei Zhounan and said with a dying breath: "If I die, kill him and bury him for me......"

Pei Zhounan's smile froze, and he was shocked and angry: "Master Hou, ...... you"

"Hey, just kidding, don't take it seriously." Gu Qing showed a weak smile: "Pei Yushi doesn't have to be too serious in life, everything doesn't have to be too serious, I heard that Pei Yushi was also a famous and unruly figure when he was in Chang'an, why did he come to Anxi but have a straight face all day long?" Is it because the wine here is not good or the girl is not good-looking? ”

Pei Zhounan said coldly: "Pei has the emperor's order in his body, which is naturally different from when he was in Chang'an. ”

Gu Qing said weakly: "Just wait until I get a better breath and then quarrel with you......"

With his eyes closed, he hummed tiredly, and after lying on the bed for a long time, Gu Qing's face was a little ruddy.

Pei Zhounan saw that Gu Qing's face was better, and couldn't help but ask: "Hou Ye's subordinate heard that you have set aside three thousand Mo sword battalions and five thousand divine marksman battalions in the Anxi army, why is this?" ”

Gu Qing still closed his eyes and said lightly: "In the event of a war, the joint attack and defense of multiple arms can receive the greatest results, doesn't Pei Yushi understand?" ”

"Xia Guan has never heard that the sharpshooter battalion needs 5,000 people, not to mention how to find 5,000 people who are good at shooting in the tens of thousands of troops, even if they are found, how to deploy the 5,000-person marksmanship battalion in the war, how to attack and defend, has Hou Ye thought about it?"

Gu Qing opened his eyes and glanced at him, and said, "Pei Yushi wants to discuss the matter of the military family with me?" ”

Pei Zhounan said for a moment: "The lower officials don't dare, it's just that the deployment of the Anxi Army is something that should be asked within the lower officials' duties, and the lower officials don't understand what Hou Ye did, so they can only ask, otherwise they can't explain to the Son of Heaven in Chang'an." ”

"You don't have to explain, I will personally write a note to explain to Your Majesty." Gu Qing relieved his breath and recovered a little, looked at Pei Zhounan and said with a smile: "Pei Yushi, you just keep an eye on me, as long as I don't do anything rebellious, you won't bother with anything else." ”

Pei Zhounan's face changed, then he suddenly smiled, bowed down and said, "Since the Hou Ye said so, the lower officials should obey." ”

Gu Qing also smiled, and the two looked at each other and smiled, each with their own thoughts in their smiles.

…………

Under the golden slanting sun of the desert, the three thousand Mo knife hands were bare-chested, wielding a heavy and long Mo knife vigorously.

A Mo knife is more than 20 catties, and it is not a problem for ordinary men to lift it up and dance a few times, but the difficulty is that it has to be waved continuously for half an hour or even an hour, and no one is allowed to stop, if there is a violation, it will be dealt with by military law, and the difficulty is not ordinarily high.

Therefore, the generals of the Tang Dynasty all know that the Mo knife hand is an invincible and powerful soldier on the battlefield, but from the Zhenguan year to the present, the Mo knife hand is very rare, because it is too difficult to recruit, and there are too few people who meet the conditions of the Mo knife hand.

At this moment, Gu Qing was squatting on the sand beside the school field, watching the three thousand Mo knife hands who had just been recruited waving the Mo knife clumsily and slowly, changing their posture one by one under the order of the general.

Gu Qing had been watching for more than an hour, and the more he watched, the more desperate he became.

The 3,000 Mo swordsmen on the school field are praised for their praise with a sentence of "good and bad".

It's a rabble, most of the 3,000 people are thin and weak, take off their clothes and look at it, it's like a meat factory selling ribs, and they are not tall, with an average of less than 1.7 meters, wielding a Mo knife weighing more than 20 catties, like a group of monkeys shaking coconut trees, the picture is too sad, and it looks like it is about to lose the battle.

Li Siye also squatted beside Gu Qing, hanging his head in shame, looking like he was going to bury his head in the sand and suffocate to apologize.

"Master Hou, I'm sorry for you...... " Li Siye said with a look of shame.

Gu Qing sighed and said, "I said, whether it's good or bad, I'll fill the quota of three thousand people first, so I don't blame you for this, but ...... Why don't you pick a few people who look like you, whether you're strong or not, at least a little bit of meat, right? Look at the people you chose, all of them are yellow and thin, like refugees who have fled from the disaster in their hometown, what's the matter, they like to eat pork ribs stew? ”

Li Siye said aggrievedly: "People are all picked by the last general, the last general is really helpless, all the slightly stronger people in the Anxi army are here, it is too difficult to recruit Mo swordsmen, Hou Ye wants three thousand, and it is really difficult for the last general to do it." ”

"If you can't do it, you have to do it, none of the three thousand Mo swordsmen can be missing, this is a military order." Gu Qing glanced at him dissatisfiedly and said, "There is no suitable one in the Anxi army, wouldn't you think of another way?" ”

Li Siye was stunned: "Other way?" ”

"Liu Hongbo has recruited more than 5,000 unity soldiers, you go to the unity soldiers to have a look, don't show this disgusted expression, be careful I smoke you...... Although the unity soldiers are not considered regular troops, as long as they are physically fit and recruited for strict training, scrap iron can also be smelted into steel, and the army is a melting pot, and there is no scrap iron that cannot be melted. ”

Li Siye hesitated, but still nodded: "Yes, the last general will go to General Liu tomorrow to have a look." ”

Gu Qing suddenly showed a malicious smile, lowered his voice and said: "Also, there are several capital protectors adjacent to our Anxi army, you send someone to contact the feelings, they are all brother troops, everyone must have the spirit of friendship to help each other, and last time our Anxi army saw through the tricks of Tubo, and promptly reported to the envoys of Hexi and Longyou Jiedu, so that they could prepare in advance and avoid a military disaster, speaking of which, the two Jiedu envoys still owe our Anxi army a great favor......

Li Siye was stunned and said: "But I heard that last time Hexi Jiedu made Ge Shuhan and General Shen meet in Yangguan, Ge Shu Jieshuai gave a group of bandits to General Shen, and at that time he said that he could be regarded as returning the favor of our Anxi Army......

Gu Qing sneered: "This is called returning favors? It's really making people laugh off their big teeth, whoever kills that gang of bandits is the same, Li Siye, why are you so kind? Such a big favor, let go of a gang of bandits even if it is returned? Hehe, Ge Shuhan is planning to compare his face with me, and I haven't lost in this regard. ”

"Hou Ye means ......"

"What is the advantage of our Anxi Army?"

Li Siye thought for a while and said: "Elite and fierce, sacrifice life and forget death, there will be no greed for life, and the soldier has the heart to die......"

Gu Qing pouted: "Don't talk to me about these useless things, let me tell you, the biggest advantage of our Anxi Army is that it is rich, do you know if you are rich?" We don't rely on the money and food allocated by the imperial court, the dry food we eat is still solid, and the whole army still has a meal of meat to eat every once in a while, do you know what these represent? ”

Li Siye gradually understood: "Does it mean that we have money?" ”

"That's right, rich! Why do I want to expand the city and build a city in Qiuci, and why do I want to encourage business? Why did you want to make the city of Qiuzi prosperous with merchants and bazaars? It's all to make money, pay so much hard work, the emperor lives up to his wishes, and Qiuzi City also quickly gave us a return, and the money earned is fed back to our Anxi Army soldiers, so the Anxi Army has a reward for daily drills, so the soldiers can occasionally eat meat, and I still have the confidence to form a Modao battalion of 3,000 people, which is the biggest reason. ”

Li Siye nodded happily and convincingly, and sighed: "Master Hou is powerful, and the last general will be convinced." ”

"So, you send someone to visit several Jiedu envoys in Beiting, Hexi and Longyou, and ask them if they are short of money, food and weapons, I think they must be lacking, how can they live on the money and food allocated by the imperial court, how can they be as comfortable as us."

Li Siye was blessed to his heart, and said with a smile: "The last general understands, if they are short of money and food, we can make a deal with them, and exchange money, food or weapons for their able-bodied soldiers......"

Gu Qing said with a smile: "The son can be taught, not only the Mo swordsman, but also the five thousand divine marksman battalion recruited by Chang Zhong is also good and bad, you two can choose together." ”

Li Siye hesitated: "The exchange of soldiers between the two armies is a bit taboo, right?" If Chang'an knows about ......"

"It's okay, I will explain this matter to Chang'an, the strong enemies around the Tang Dynasty are only Tubo and Dashi, all of which must be faced by the Anxi army alone, Anxi can be described as the weight of the border town of the Tang Dynasty, just exchange a few thousand athletes, as long as you make it clear to Your Majesty, Your Majesty should know the stakes and will definitely agree."

"Since Your Majesty will agree, why should we exchange money and food? Isn't a decree enough? ”

Gu Qing sighed with a smile: "Doing what is ordered is to do the duty of a minister, and giving money and food is a matter of human sophistication." ”