The autumn wind is bleak and the weather is cool, and the grass and trees shake and fall into frost.

The geographical location of the imperial capital is slightly northerly, and in this late autumn season, the cold is even stronger, and Ping'an City is not as lively as in the past.

Of course, there are two places where there are still a lot of people, the Lingyuan Taoist Temple ten miles outside Ping'an City, and the Drunken Dream Building in the central street of Ping'an City.

After lunch, Tao Li walked on the street with his hands in his sleeves, and when he passed by Zuimenglou, he saw several acquaintances, Qian Yuyu, the son of the boss of the household department Shangshu Qian, Liu Man, the grandson of the Marquis of Nanping, and Wu Lan, the youngest son of the imperial history of the Supervision Yuan. The Seventh Prince, Yao Saizhi.

"Little Hou Ye, let's play together!" The Seventh Prince was lying on the window on the second floor of the Drunken Dream Building, rubbing a few dice in one hand and a girl in the other, shouting at Tao Li.

Tao Li arched his hand at the Seventh Prince, shook his head, pointed in the direction of the Sui Mansion, and smiled apologetically.

"Remember to say hello to Lord Sui for me!" The Seventh Prince understood what Tao Li meant, waved his hand and said.

Tao Li nodded lightly and continued to walk forward.

"Whew! What the hell, when his brother dies in the hands of those demon cubs like his father, I see what he's still doing! Qian Yu said arrogantly.

Liu Man was about to get angry when he heard this, but the Seventh Prince had already slapped Qian Yuyu in the face, and left with the beauty in his arms after leaving a cold sentence.

"Those who stain the battlefield with blood, don't be ashamed!"

The Sui Mansion is on Qingzhu Street, and it is not very magnificent and decent. Compared with the mansions of dignitaries and dignitaries in the imperial capital, it is much inferior.

There are not so many servants and maids in the Sui Mansion, a housekeeper, a few maidservants, and a few housekeepers, that's all. In Lord Sui's own words, it is to do it yourself, and you have enough food and clothing.

"Little Marquis, the master is waiting for you in the study." The housekeeper of the Sui Mansion said after introducing Tao Li to the door.

Tao Li thanked the housekeeper and walked towards the study, in the study, Sui Jianzhi sat on the couch by the window, there was a small square table on the couch, a plate of peanuts on the table, a small charcoal stove was placed next to the peanuts, and a small pot was set on the charcoal stove.

The slowly rising wine smell spread to Tao Li's nose, making him very intoxicated, and a smile appeared on his face, this cold late autumn, there is nothing more comfortable than drinking a sip of hot rice wine.

Sui Jianzhi beckoned Tao Li to sit down, Tao Li was not polite, after all, there were no outsiders, and there was no need to be too polite between the two, and besides, in the near future, these two people might have another layer of relationship.

The two sat opposite each other, Tao Li stared at the rice wine in the pot and asked Sui Jianzhi, "Master, why didn't you see Xiaoying?" ”

Sui Jianzhi couldn't help but feel a little funny when he saw Tao Li's greedy appearance, stroked his slightly white beard, and replied: "Xiaoying went to the Lingyuan Temple with her mother to pray for blessings, and she will be back later." ”

Hearing the word prayer, Tao Li's expression became a little gloomy, and he remembered the scene above the court in the morning, and his face looked even more lonely.

Sui Jianzhi saw the change in Tao Li's expression, lifted the warm rice wine, poured a bowl for Tao Li first, and then poured himself full, without speaking, looking out the window.

A few thin bamboos in the yard are still tall and verdant in this late autumn season, not even a single dead leaf, compared with the surrounding scenery, more and more eye-catching, deeply loved by the owner.

"Boom, boom." After a few thunders, a light rain fell in the sky.

"Xiao Li, what do you think of the Holy Lord today?" Sui Jianzhi turned his head and suddenly asked Tao Li.

"There is nothing else to speak of but mediocrity and incompetence!" Tao Li opened his mouth without thinking.

Sui Jianzhi put down the bowl in his hand, wanted to scold Tao Li a few words, but was reluctant, sighed, and said slowly:

"Don't say this to anyone in the future, you'll lose your head, you're also a soldier in the army, not a small official, why are you still so ignorant? If someone hears your words, and then reaches the ears of the saints, even your brother Ning Anhou may not be able to protect you. ”

"Hehe, I'm not thinking about it, and there's no one else here!" Tao Li smiled awkwardly. While smiling, he toasted Sui Jianzhi with a bowl in both hands, trying to cover up the mistake he had just made.

Sui Jianzhi didn't say anything more, picked up the bowl and took a sip of wine, closed his eyes and savored it.

"Our saint is not as simple as it seems on the surface!" Sui Jianzhi said softly, and without waiting for Tao Li to ask, he continued: "Your brother hasn't come back for a long time, right?" ”

"Well, my brother has never come back since he went home for the Chinese New Year the year before last, and he just sent him a letter a few days ago, and he should be about to reply!"

"Yes, the rest of the city has always been the top priority, and it's normal that your brother can't come back, but he suffered that kid, and he entered the army to fight in the north and south before he was high.

After your father left, he worked hard and became the martial marquis that all the soldiers thought about, but the position of the martial marquis is not only an honor, but also a responsibility, and those demon cubs are not easy to deal with! ”

Thinking of his father, Tao Li drank all the wine in the bowl, and unconsciously resented that he was born late. If he had been born ten years earlier, he would have been able to share some of the burden with his father and brother side by side.

In that case, maybe his father wouldn't have died in that demon chasing battle, or maybe he was now a battalion commander in a military camp outside the Heavenly Trench Mountain or on the northern border! Or maybe he was buried with his father eight years ago in the forest of steles outside the city of rest.

Since people grow and hate water, they grow up.

Everyone in the world says that their Tao family has two martial arts, but who can really feel the pain and pain?

Sui Jianzhi didn't speak, just poured all the remaining wine in the pot to Tao Li, and then added the wine in the jar to the pot. Throw a few shredded ginger into it.

Seeing that Tao Li was silent, Sui Jianzhi took the lead in breaking the deadlock and asked, "Xiao Li, tell me why the Dingbei Army has suffered such a fiasco this time?" ”

"First, there has been no war in the north for decades, and the soldiers will be more or less slack, and their combat strength will decline.

Second, we all underestimate the ambitions of the Northern Yuan, they have been hiding for more than ten years, and the sudden dispatch of troops is something that no one can imagine.

Third, the so-called all-pervasive "autumn cicada" intelligence work is not in place, and the enemy is in the dark.

Fourth, the iron cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, 150,000 light cavalry, plus 50,000 heavy cavalry, the soldiers are invincible.

And our Central Plains has lacked war horses since ancient times, and the cavalry's requirements for horses are extraordinary. Beiyuan has a natural source of war horses, but I Xuanping does not.

This is also the fundamental reason why the previous generations of monarchs worked hard to govern the country, and the military and the people were united, and in the end it was just the fundamental reason why the Northern Yuan Dynasty became a vassal. It is impossible to eradicate the scourge completely.

In the past, when our Xuanping army was at its peak, we poured out all the horses of the whole country, and the cavalry was only worth 200,000. Nearly eighty percent of the demon battle was consumed, and most of the rest stayed in the city of rest.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of War, the Dingbei Army in Beidingcheng only has 20,000 war horses, and in fact, there are only more than 10,000 that can really be used, and most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled.

Although we lost this time, if you think about it, it is reasonable. Tao Li drank wine and analyzed. Justified.

Sui Jianzhi nodded, looked at Tao Li with appreciative eyes, and said, "That's right, it seems that the past two years have not been in vain in the military department!" ”

Tao Li picked up two peanuts and put them in his mouth, the corners of his mouth rose, and he was satisfied, as if it was not easy to get praise from his master.

"Master, you also know that all the troops in our Xuanping are controlled by the Governor's Office, and the military department is to put it bluntly, that is, a person who is engaged in logistics, and I usually have nothing to do there, and I just work blindly all day long."

"Well, the military department has really wronged your talents, the war in the north has started, you have to be ready!"

Hearing this, Tao Li's eyes lit up all of a sudden, as if being able to go to the front line was something that he had dreamed of.

"Thank you, Master." Tao Li hurriedly collapsed and bowed his hand to thank him.

"Don't come to this set between you and me, your father and I have known each other since childhood, like brothers, but I am from Wen, he is from Wu, he wants me to take more care of you when he leaves, so many years, I also treat you as a son, and between you and Xiaoying, I don't need to say more, so, there is no outsider, it doesn't have to be like this." Sui Jianzhi waved his hand and said.

Tao Li continued to return to the couch, poured the warm wine for Sui Jianzhi first, and then filled himself up.

"Master, in the morning, in the court, why didn't the governor of the capital say that, he is the boss of the military, and he doesn't stand up to say a word.

There is also the Prime Minister, as a civil leader, he does not restrain his subordinates, and what annoys me the most is those people in the Inspectorate, who are the first to jump out and accuse others of not being the first to do something, lest the world be chaotic. ”

Sui Jianzhi lifted the small pot and used the other end of the chopsticks to stir the charcoal fire, and replied: "We have Shangshutai in Xuanpingwen, there is the Governor's Mansion in Wu, plus the Inspectorate, and the three parties restrain each other, which is what the Holy Lord likes to see."

But now that the war is raging, the military is destined to become bigger, Boss Qian's personal dissatisfaction must be unhappy, if the governor comes out to speak again, Li Zifang is bound to stand up, this extraordinary period, the two bigwigs are opposite, and the influence is too great. ”

These intestinal tracts are what Tao Li knows the most, and he dislikes the most, and his biggest dream is to go to the rest of the city to cut down a few more demon cubs.

"Master, you said that in the face of the hundreds of thousands of iron horses of the Northern Yuan, do we have hope?"

Sui Jianzhi was silent, and after a while, he said slowly: "It's difficult, but it's not impossible, there are still available soldiers at the moment, the Xuanjia Army of Liaodong Province, the Guanzhong Army of the First Pass, and the Zhulu Army of Gyeonggi, it depends on how the Shengshang and the Governor's Mansion decide." ”

"Most of the governors of the Guanzhong Army may not be able to use it, after all, the demon clan has frequently invaded the territory in the past two years, and the western battlefield is not optimistic, and the first pass, as the second line of defense, is extremely important. Although the Zhulu Army is the army of the king, it may be difficult to resist the Northern Yuan Iron Cavalry with only 100,000 Xuanjia Army and 150,000 Zhulu Army! ”

Outside the house, the drizzle continued, and the charcoal fire inside the house was beating.

The sound of the wind, the sound of the rain, the sound of words, the sound of the ear, family affairs, national affairs, world affairs, everything is concerned.

"Oops! The wine is boiled! ”