Seeing that Wang Yi, a good friend he hadn't seen for almost half a year, was standing outside the door, Shang Cheng was both surprised and happy. He has a lot of friends, but they are generally several identities, like Huo Shiqi, who is his elder; For example, Lu Ji, Guo Biao and Zhen Qian are his colleagues; There are also Sun Zhongshan, Wen Mu, and Ximen Sheng, who are still his subordinates. Some of these people were one or twenty years older than him, such as Di Xu, who treated this old man who often turned his face and didn't recognize people with the same respect as he did for Uncle Seventeen; Others were much younger than him, like Shi Hetian Xiaowu, whom he treated as if they were his own brothers; There are also people who are not much older than him, such as Shao Chuan and Zheng Qi, but because they haven't read many books, their horizons and thoughts are not broad and sharp enough, and there are very few topics that everyone can talk about when they sit together, except for discussing the matter of training troops and fighting wars, they are eating and drinking. He was very close to them. However, each other's knowledge and experience are too far apart, and it is difficult to reach a consensus on some long-term and profound issues. Sometimes not only can he not resonate ideologically, but he also needs to explain and teach repeatedly, and spitting and saying dry may not necessarily work, and it does teach him to be very angry. Only Wang Yi, who is close to him in age, is knowledgeable and insightful, and spent more than a year traveling along the Sui-Tang Grand Canal to Hangzhou when he was a teenager. Even when they weren't working together, they kept in touch by letter. Earlier last year, he also asked Wang Yi to help him get a relationship to see if he could find a position as a military commander in the Liyuan camp.

He shook Wang Yi's hand a little excitedly and asked, "When did you come back?" ”

Wang Yi was not very accustomed to Shang Cheng's enthusiasm, but he still shook hands with Shang Cheng. The deep friendship of his friends made him a little excited. "It's been three days since I came back," he said. ”

"Why didn't you tell me when you came back?"

Wang Yi smiled and did not answer.

Shang Cheng kindly let him into the room, let him sit down by the small desk, and immediately asked someone to boil the best pot of tea. There is only bitter tea in the study, and Wang Yi must not be used to drinking this thing.

Wang Yi did not stop his busyness, he sat in the chair and looked at the study, and saw that the large bookcase was covered with tribute paper, and there were many words written on it. He knew that Shang Cheng's hobby was calligraphy, and he liked to write a few strokes when he was idle and bored. When he went to Yanshan at the beginning of the year, he also brought Shang Cheng two authentic paintings of the Tang Dynasty calligrapher Sun Guoting. However, his own knowledge of calligraphy is quite limited, and he can only distinguish between good and bad; He could see that Shang Cheng's calligraphy skills should actually be very good, but he couldn't say how good it was. He saw Shang Cheng dragging a chair and sitting down next to the small desk, so he smiled and teased: "Are you practicing your ugly words again?" ”

Shang Cheng raised his head and smiled, and said, "Isn't this boring?" I was ordered to go back to Beijing to recuperate, if I didn't recuperate at home but went out to run around, where would Zhang Xiangguo put their faces? ”

Wang Yi restrained his smile and said, "Zida, I came here today to apologize to you. When someone in front of me recommended Zhu Xu to go to Yanshan, my two uncles and elders also said a few words......" He stopped as he spoke. He was hard to put into words. Before coming to see Shang Cheng, he repeatedly typed the draft, racking his brains to explain this matter to his face, so as to eliminate the hatred in Shang Cheng's heart and the possible estrangement. But in front of Shang Cheng, he felt that those manuscripts were all; It's superfluous to even speak......

Shang Cheng listened intently to his words. Who first instructed the recommendation of the order, and who took the lead in recommending, and who opened his mouth to second, he could guess seventeen or eighteen without asking. The two uncles and elders mentioned by Wang Yi, he also met in the Prime Minister's Office, were all old generals who had received the great favor of Wang Yi's father and ancestors. When he saw that Wang Yi had stopped talking for a long time, he said, "The matter has passed, what are you still doing with this?" In front of his friends, he didn't say anything polite like being willing not to be angry.

Wang Yi stood up suddenly: "Zida, I'm really sorry!" As he spoke, he was about to bow to Shang Cheng.

Shang Cheng grabbed Wang Yi's two arms, and couldn't help but pull him back into the seat first, saying, "This matter has nothing to do with you, what do you apologize for?" ”

Wang Yi struggled in the chair, but Shang Cheng pressed his shoulders and couldn't break free. He ignored Shang Cheng's words, and said with a purple face: "The matter seems to have nothing to do with me, but in fact, it is because of me!" I don't know what he suddenly thought, his voice suddenly became hoarse, and the last few words were almost out of tune, obviously he was very excited.

Shang Chengleng paused for a moment and slowly let go of his hand. He could see that Wang Yi was in pain now. Alas, Wang Yi also lived too hard. He is the sixth grandson of the famous general Wang Zhen of Taizong, and the last generation of Yiguo Gong, who was born with the heavy burden of revitalizing the family. He probably never lived for himself. He and Wang Yi have been in contact for a long time, and they almost have nothing to talk about each other, he knows that Wang Yi is an ambitious person and has a lot of ability, but there is always no suitable opportunity for him to stretch his strengths; When he has the opportunity, he is often eager to express himself, and he is always unable to do things satisfactorily, which inevitably leaves people with a rough impression. This is also because he is too worried about the fate of his family, and he is too utilitarian in doing things one by one......

When Wang Yi's mood stabilized, he re-found the topic and asked him: "When I was still in Fangzhou, I heard that you fought a 'winning battle' in Lanzhen?" ”

Wang Yi's face turned red again. He lowered his gaze and waved his hand, saying, "Don't mention this." Bring it up to teach people to be sad. I don't even know what people are here for, so I don't care if I don't ask...... Anyway, this time I'm embarrassed! ”

Shang Cheng laughed. He had heard many people say that the Lanzhen garrison had beaten up the envoy of Dongwu, and the details were not clear, but he felt that this could not be Wang Yi's handiwork. Although Wang Yi is in a hurry, he is not a reckless person, and it is impossible not to tell whether the Dongwuyi people are coming to Koubian or want to do something else. Obviously, this is a disaster caused by the Lanzhen garrison, and Wang Yi is taking responsibility for his subordinates! Wang Yi was not this kind of courageous character earlier. It seems that in the first half year of going to Lanzhen in Rongzhou to do the history of thorns, Wang Yi gained a lot and learned a lot of things.

He looked at Wang Yi carefully. My friend is much thinner than in the past, and the fine skin and tender flesh that I have never seen the sun in the past have become a little rougher, but my face is much more ruddy, and my eyes are more calm. The biggest change is in the demeanor of the whole person. In the past, Wang Yi was like a long sword that had just been baked and had not yet opened, it seemed that the cold light shimmered was extremely lethal, but in fact, it was a glamorous appearance, it was okay to scare people, and no one dared to take it into battle to fight; The current Wang Yi is a bit sharp and hides the meaning of not revealing. It is estimated that the imperial court suddenly promoted him this time, that is, it valued this point. Let him go to Jiazhou to be a grain supervisor, not only to give him a chance to sharpen himself, but also to use this position to test whether he can be of great use.

He pondered whether to give Wang Yi a wake-up call, and Wang Yi said, "You probably know about my transfer to Jiazhou to camp, right?" ”

"Yes, I know. The military department told me. ”

"Don't you think it's strange, I fought in a confused battle in Lanzhen, saying that I won the battle, but in fact it was even worse than the losing battle, why did you still promote me and reuse it?"

"As the saying goes, you can't judge a hero by success or failure. This is especially true in the military. Who dares to say that they will not lose the battle? Besides, winning is not necessarily a good thing, and defeating is not necessarily a good thing, the key is to see whether the battle needs to be won or defeated. Shang Cheng said with a smile, "You fought Dongwulang in Lanzhen, whether you win or lose, and it doesn't matter whether the people from Dongwuyi are envoys or want to Koubian, it doesn't matter." The important thing is to look at what you do later. ”

Wang Yi held the lamp and said with a smile: "I understand the truth, where do you use you to say so much?" I just want to ask you, I was suddenly appreciated and promoted by the imperial court, don't you think it's strange? ”

"What's so strange?" Shang Cheng poured tea soup into Wang Yi's cup again, took a sip of astringent cold bitter tea, and said, "Xiao Yang and the two old generals are getting older, even if they don't say it themselves, many times many things are a little powerless. The Marquis of Poyang, who was slightly younger than them, was not suitable for the post of commander for one reason or another; Strict and stubborn in planning and rigorous, but narrow-minded and not strong enough, it is difficult to convince the public. Counting down, there are still a few veterans who have come down from the battlefield, and with them in charge, they don't have to worry too much about it in the next five or ten years. But after them, and down there? ”

Wang Yi smiled and continued: "Count down, the first one is your Yixian Shangzida." But Yanshan has faintly become a series of people in the past two or three years, and you are both civil and military, although the merit is not obvious, but the merit is there, and no one can turn a blind eye. You have real skills, you have solid credit, and there is a large group of proud soldiers of Yan Shanwei standing behind you, after Xiao Yang, who can do anything to you? In order not to let Yanshan Yimai dominate the army in the future, you must find someone to come out and do it with you as soon as possible," he pointed his finger at his nose. "Look at it one by one, the person who was found by the imperial court to oppose you is me. I am a meritorious descendant, barely a little capable, and I have seen some means in the half a year of training in the northwest, and my personal relationship with you is also deep, and it will not make you feel chilled if I am suddenly promoted and reused......"

Shang Cheng laughed and took the words back: "Not only will I not be cold, but I am also very happy." But the imperial court is not very relieved that you are the Duke of Yiguo, and when you are put in the camp in Jiazhou, it will not arrange for you to directly participate in the military position, but teach you to go to the capital to supervise the grain road. The most important thing in the army's action is grain and grass, but when the army is revived, the grain supervisor must be the last. This is the most tedious and complicated errand of the grain road, tired and half-dead, and you can't please the invitation, that's what you should do; But if the grain delivery is slightly poor, there is no one who does not scold his mother from the head of the camp to the bottom of the big head soldiers. So that's where a person is tested the most. ”

Wang Yi nodded solemnly and said sincerely: "I came here today just to ask you about this matter. ”

Shang Cheng said: "There are not many places where I can help you. However, next year's southern expedition will most likely be a quick victory, and General Xiao is likely to mobilize heavy troops to quickly extinguish the rebellion of the bureaucrats and expel the forces of the Nanzhao State north of the Yangtze River. From this point of view, the amount of grain and grass hoarded in several important towns of Jiange Chengdu is not the most important thing, the key is how to deliver the grain from these places to the front-line troops in a timely manner. I can't say too specific, only a little immature suggestion. After you camp in Jiazhou, you must maintain close contact with the local state and county, recruit more people in various places, even if the salary is doubled and doubled, you must ensure that there are enough people to pack horses. You also have to be prepared, the southwest is mountainous, and the loss on the way to the Yangtze River will not be less than that from Beijing to Chengdu. ”

Wang Yi said with admiration: "My two elders have fought several times with Tibet in the southwest, and they also said the same. They said that it was because the supply of grain and grass was not available, so they did not dare to spread their hands and feet in several exchanges with Tibet. We didn't dare, and neither did Tubo, and in the end, each of them was suffocated by themselves. ”

"They were right. It is precisely because no one can get supplies in time in the fight that we and the Tibetans can maintain the current peaceful situation in the southwest and northwest. If we had solved the problem of the supply of grain and grass, or if Tibet had solved the problem, the war would have been basically one-sided. Shang Cheng added. He stood up and said, "Sit down, I'll tell them, let the stove make some good dishes in the evening, and we'll talk while we eat." You can also give me a good account of the situation in the northwest. ”

This time, Wang Yi stopped him: "Forget it, I have tasted your family's cooking skills when I was in Yanzhou, and it is delicious at all, but it can only be regarded as a cheating full." Now that you have arrived in the capital, I will invite you to go out for a meal today, and let you have a good knowledge and see what is the Central Plains scenery Shangjing wine and food! ”

Shang Cheng smiled and didn't insist anymore.

He didn't bring any guards, so he asked someone to lead a horse casually, and followed Wang Yi and the two of them to ride Shi Ran to the splendid and prosperous place of the outer city.