Shang Cheng looked at the young man who saluted him a little confusedly. He didn't know the man, and he didn't know why he asked him to stay.

The young man asked politely, "Excuse me, my lord, you came to Beijing from Yanshan, right?" ”

Shang Cheng stared cautiously at the young man in front of him with a modest expression. This man took the liberty of coming up to disturb him, but his words and demeanor were not muddy, they were concise and clear, and did not give the impression that there was anything abrupt and reckless in his actions. In particular, this person's gestures reveal a very familiar and unique capable energy in the military. He nodded thoughtfully and said, "We are from Yanshan. ”

The young man made another long gesture, and asked in a more polite whisper: "Ask the adults again, is it a matter of respect?" ”

“…… I am. ”

Although he was wearing civilian clothes, the young man still gave a military salute to Shang Cheng and said in a low voice: "Governor General, my general is invited." ”

Shang Cheng had already guessed that this young man was most likely an officer. However, he just thought that this was the young general in Yanshanwei's army who went to Beijing on official business, and unfortunately bumped into him here, so he stepped forward to see; I didn't expect this to be someone else's guard. But there are only a few generals in Beijing he is familiar with, and now Guo Biao is in Yanshan, Ran Linde is idle in his own Zhuangzi outside the city, and Wang Yi's Guogong Mansion is also in the outer city, but he has a very good relationship with himself, and it is impossible for friends to put on such a pomp when they meet...... After thinking about it, there was an answer: who else can send someone to invite him, except for Xiao Jian, who is about to take command of the Southern Expedition?

Thinking of General Xiao, he was a little emotional. Without Xiao Jian's appreciation and promotion when he was in Moganzhai, there would be no Yanshan, his later fake position, and he would not have had the opportunity to lead a guard alone and show his strength on the big stage of competing with foreign captives. Out of gratitude, when he went to Beijing to resume his post at the beginning of last winter, he visited the old general twice; Sadly, he didn't get to see anyone twice. The first time was because General Xiao went to the imperial city to teach the princes the art of war, and the other time was because the old general was afraid of the wind and cold and could not meet guests. He understood that what he said was just an excuse, but in fact, the old general didn't want to see him. As for why the old general didn't want to see him, he thought it was because he didn't accept the deputy marshal of the Southern Expedition, which made the old man angry. It wasn't until some time ago when the imperial court rewarded the three armies of Yanshan that he really understood the truth: he was a person with no background, so he could only take a fake position; He has no background, so Xiao Jian wants to dissociate himself from him to avoid suspicion......

He thought as he and Duan Si followed the young man towards the gate of Ganlu Ancient Temple.

Like all the beautiful scenery in the bustling places, the front gate of the temple is also bustling and lively. Ganlu Temple is a thousand-year-old temple, the willow embankment is the famous scenery of Shangjing, the green water on the Luohe River crosses the waves and the light boat comes and goes, the yellow wall at the foot of the dam on the embankment is green and green, the Sanskrit sound is swirling between the swinging of the branches and leaves, it originally attracts the visitors to be confused and intoxicated and forget to return. In addition, the tall and humble ancient and lush strange tree "Huai Bao Li" in front of the mountain gate is the birthplace of the Daughter's Festival, so the couples who come to pray under the tree for the festival and ask for their children, the young girl who wishes to have a good couple and a good son-in-law, and the foreign travelers and merchants who come to visit the scenery, plus the merchants who have set up a tent on the side of the avenue in front of the mountain gate early, and the vendors who push the cart to carry the burden and sell snacks and snacks, tens of thousands of people, squeezed the small open space in front of the mountain gate. From time to time, the sound of rhythmic striking of cymbals and bowls came from the depths of the temple, and the sound of monks chanting scriptures like a song, mixed with the sound of tourists gossiping, the sound of people soliciting customers, the sound of vendors shouting, and the shouts of looking for people...... There was a lot of noise.

"The fried fruits of the old German characters are fragrant and crispy one by one!"

"Newly spicy pickled melon seeds; Newly spicy pickled melon seeds. ”

"Three daughters, three daughters, where are you?"

“…… Om, Shuri, Maha Shuri, Shuri, Sabhaha......"

The guards turned a blind eye to the noise around them, and drove through the crowd with ease, leading Shang Cheng straight to an inconspicuous tent on the edge of the willow forest far from the stone road, and stopped and said to Shang Cheng: "The general and the three generals Cheng, Tu, and Wu are inside. Then he whispered to the shed: "General, Governor Yan has arrived!" ”

Shang Cheng stood outside the shed, facing the blazing white and dazzling sun, and couldn't see who was in the shed at all, so he saw a person at the table in the middle of the table standing up first, and said angrily: "Zida is here?" Why don't you say it sooner, you all go with me to greet it! "Listening to the voice, it is Yiguo Gong, Shangzhu Guo, the former head of the Liyuan camp and the incoming head of Jiazhou Xingyuan Xiao Jian Xiao Zigu.

Where can Shang Cheng let him come out to greet him? Walked two steps into the shed, hugged his fist on his right knee to his forehead, and made a big salute in the army before Xiao Jian helped him: "Yanshan will enter Shangcheng and meet General Xiao!" ”

Xiao Jian didn't expect him to make such a heavy salute, so he was stunned and quickly pulled him up, took one of his hands, and let him sit next to him at the main table in the middle of the shed. The person who had been sitting in that seat was seated again at the bottom.

Xiao Jian poured him a cup of tea and soup with his own hands, handed it to him, and asked him: "There was a lot of noise when patrolling the street to arrest people just now, Zhixian went out to take a look, and came back and said that he saw you in a trance and was about to be arrested, and I also said that he was confused by the sun and was half of the naïve It is really you." As he spoke, he pointed to the person who had given up his seat to Shang Cheng.

Only then did Shang Cheng see clearly that it turned out that the person was Sima Tuda of the Right Shenwei Army of the Liyuan Battalion. The other two people sitting at the table had also seen them when they were in Mogan, one was Sima Governor of the Right Shenwei Army, and the other was Sima Yiyi of the Right Hussar Army, and it was estimated that it was Cheng Wu that Xiao Jian's guards said, but the two generals had never spoken to them, so they were not familiar with each other. They are all colleagues in the army, and they have comradeship, this can't be slow! He immediately stood up and smiled at the three of them.

He couldn't be greeted by Xiao Jian, and of course Cheng Tuwu and the three of them couldn't accept his salute, so they hurriedly stood up with him and returned the salute.

Xiao Jianle said happily: "It's all sitting, it's all sitting." Athletes in the military, where are there so many troublesome etiquette. It's not in the army, so you'd better be casual. ”

Shang Cheng sat down according to his words, carried a pot to fill Xiao Jian's cup with tea soup, and asked him jokingly: "Today is the day of Daughter's Day, your old man came here, maybe you want to catch a good son-in-law for your granddaughter from the embankment?" He knew that the big families in Beijing had always had the custom of grabbing a new branch jinshi to go home to be a son-in-law, and he also knew that Xiao Jian also had a little granddaughter who was not allowed to be married, so he used this matter as a topic with the old general.

Xiao Jian stroked the pale beard under his chin, raised his face and smiled, and said: "Guo Biao praised you twice in the letter to me that you Shangzida is sitting in the south of Yanshui and planning thousands of miles away, and I still have a little doubt. When I saw it today, I was faithful! One by one, it is true that as you said, I came with my little granddaughter. Right now, my little granddaughter is holding a red silk and burning incense and praying under the old tree over there, trying to ask for a good husband for herself......"

Shang Cheng and the three generals also laughed. Tu Da joked: "The youngest girl in my family is not yet five years old this year, and before dawn this morning, she noisily went to hang silk on the tree, and said that she would find a good son-in-law for herself. The crowd laughed together. Shang Cheng asked him, "Then did she go?" Tuda said, "Go." My eldest daughter-in-law wanted to ask for another daughter, and when the two of them came to pray for the big tree mother, they took her along the way. Or the red silk that her brother-in-law hugged her and let her wrap around the tree. ”

The crowd laughed even louder.

After a few more words of gossip, Xiao Jian asked Shang Cheng: "You didn't stay in Yanshan, why did you come to the capital?" I only went to the military department the day before yesterday, and I didn't hear that you were asked to go to Beijing to resume your job. He frowned and asked with concern, "Is it because the battle was not fought well some time ago, and the court is only looking for you now?" ”

Shang Cheng smiled and shook his head.

"Are you worried that the Turks will come to retaliate, so you went to the capital to ask for reinforcements?" Xiao Jian asked again.

Shang Cheng nodded and said, "Originally, we had this idea. However, I heard from the real squire who went to Yanshan on a business trip from the military department that the imperial court's troops were also tight, and he could not send troops to Yanshan for the time being......"

A light flashed in Xiao Jian's eyes, and then it darkened again, staring at the teacup in his hand faintly, and he paused for a moment before asking again: "You already know about the Southern Expedition?" ”

"Yes."

"There are no reinforcements to send from the imperial court, what are you still doing in the capital?"

Shang Cheng laughed twice: "I came to the prime ministers to cry poor." If people don't give it to me, they have to give me a few money, right? He tilted his head as he spoke, and whispered, "I plan to go back to the grassland in August." "He's not afraid of news leaking out of here. Except for Xiao Jian and the three senior officers of the Liyuan Forbidden Army, there was no one else under this tent; If you can't even trust these people, there will probably be no more trustworthy people in the world! But he still didn't reveal the detailed plan, only said, "I have this idea, but the number of troops on hand at the moment is a bit different." I was afraid that after the fight, I would have too many worries and would not be able to spread my hands and feet, so I wanted to discuss with the military department what a way to draw some troops from the place near Yanshan first, and not too many of them one by one, and a dozen or so battalions would be enough. I don't want to rely on them to fight, I just want to borrow them to maintain and suppress the place, so that I can transfer the guards up. He will not leave them, but will go back to whence he comes. ”

Xiao Jian knew that he was not telling the truth, and the details of the entire strategy were not revealed at all. But he wasn't angry. It's normal, he can understand it. In the army, the first thing is to keep secrets, and then to talk about other things. Besides, if Shang Cheng's strategy was reported to the Ministry of War and the Prime Minister's Office, the imperial court would naturally not be able to reply immediately, and it would inevitably have to discuss with them, veteran generals, and it would not be too late for him to know at that time.

He nodded approvingly, turned his head to Cheng Tuwu and the three of them, and said, "Do you see it?" Learn a little bit with Zida! Don't just open your throat and make noise when you have nothing to do, as if no one knows about your bad ideas. ”

The three generals nodded together.

In this way, Shang Cheng was a little embarrassed. He originally pretended to misunderstand Xiao Jian's distress for his little granddaughter, so he came to this Ganlu Temple, but when Xiao Jian said this, he couldn't hide it anymore, so he had to follow the old general's words and ask, "What?" General Tu, what else do you have that you can't get rid of? He asked knowingly. The withdrawal plan that the imperial court is debating, it is the Right Shenwei Army and the Right Hussar Army that will be abolished, so it is strange that Tu Da, who does not know where to be transferred to bring the water division, is not in a hurry to get angry. He estimated that it was probably because there had been new developments in the withdrawal case in the past few days, so Tu Da and the others would chase Xiao Jian for advice.

Speaking of the withdrawal case, Xiao Jian is also angry. Like the factions in the imperial court, there are also mountains in the army. Since the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, the two largest mountains in the army are Xiao Jian, the Duke of his Yiguo, and Yang Du, the Duke of the Auxiliary State. As for other small hills, such as the Poyang Marquis or the Yiguo Gong family, because of the lack of leaders who can carry the banner, they are not in a good climate. Originally, he had the highest prestige in the forbidden army and the guards, and his voice was also the loudest, but the northern expedition in the nineteenth year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty was defeated, and his prestige was also greatly hit. And this time, the withdrawal case made him even more angry: the two Liyuan forbidden troops he cut were all soldiers he brought out when he was in the army, and they were the children of the Xiao family......

He meditated for a long time before he realized that the four generals were looking at him silently. The three generals of the forbidden army were old men who had been with him for many years, and it didn't matter if he lost his mind in front of them for a while; But Shang is blind, although he is also a general promoted by himself, but that is a temporary strategy, is to borrow Shang Cheng's bravery to let him work hard to open the way for the army, neither to appreciate the favor nor to maintain the whole, this person is not a person made by his Xiao Jian nor a Xiao general, you can't be polite. He smiled dryly and said, "Look, people are like this when they get old, and they can get distracted when they talk......

Shang Cheng said understandingly: "You must be worried about state affairs day and night, so you don't have enough time to rest." ”

Xiao Jian shook his head and said, "Don't talk about this." He asked Shang Cheng, "If you want to ask for troops, why don't you let Guo Biao come back and talk to the military department?" He has a way in the capital, and there are people who are willing to listen to him, don't take it to heart, I'm not saying that your words don't carry enough weight. Guo Biao is the beloved son-in-law of the Marquis of Poyang, with Lao Taishan behind him, and the military department is smashing pots and selling iron, and he has to squeeze out a few more battalions of reinforcements. ”

Shang Cheng smiled: "Your words, how can I go to my heart? Besides, what you say is also true. Guo Biao wanted to come back, but I didn't let him come back. The southern expedition is imminent, and if he comes back this time, he can't be counted on if he wants to return to Yanshan. I still want to put him to good use, so I can't give him to you this time. ”

Xiao Jian raised his head again and laughed.

Tu Da and the three of them were all a little surprised. Shang Cheng's words, is there any reason not to say it first, it's just that he jokingly discussed with Xiao Jian about Guo Biao's whereabouts, and he has faintly put himself in a position equal to Xiao Jian, is this okay? Isn't this blind man so crazy that it seems a bit too much?!

Tu Da and Guo Biao have a deep personal friendship, they usually exchange letters, and the two sons and nephews also studied military affairs in the Yanshan Army, so they know more about Shang Cheng, seeing that the faces of the two colleagues showed a look of disgrief at the same time, and took the opportunity to pour tea for the two people, they glared at them fiercely: Don't look at what occasion this is now, do you dare to talk nonsense? No matter how blind the merchant is, it is also the first person since the founding of the Great Zhao Dynasty to sit on the admiral's seat before the age of forty; This person dared to fight with the Tuqi people in the north when the imperial court was in full swing preparing for the southern expedition, if he didn't have any real skills, would Zhang Pu's group of southbound factions tolerate him until now?

Xiao Jian saw the little movements of the three old subordinates, ignored them, and asked Shang Chengdao with a smile: "So, are you a little optimistic about the southern expedition?" ”

Shang Cheng also thought carefully about the matter of the Southern Expedition several times. But he never talked to anyone about the conclusions he had deduced. I don't want to talk about it today. Therefore, since he saw Xiao Jian just now, he did everything he could, but he didn't mention the southern expedition; He didn't want to say anything in the first place. However, when Xiao Jian asked about this matter at this moment, he couldn't help but answer cautiously.

He thought for a moment and said very seriously: "I'm afraid that in the end, the Southern Expedition will not only fail to win, but will also drag us into a big quagmire. ”

“…… Can you explain your reasoning? ”

"Let's not talk about the bureaucrats in the southwest, it's very troublesome. Nanzhao didn't say anything about the reckless military force, that was an obvious fact. Tubo is watching us fight with great anticipation, and there is no need to discuss what the idea is. I'll just say one thing: the meaning of the imperial court, or the meaning of the prime minister's office, is to let you fight quickly, right? Or do you want to fight one or several big wins? ”

Xiao Jian was really surprised this time. Prime Minister Gongfu, more bluntly, the right minister Zhang Pu, did ask him to do everything possible to achieve an exciting result in the southwest after rushing to Jiazhou to take office. But the Prime Minister's Office talked to him a few days ago, and the people who knew about it could be counted in two slaps, so how could a blind businessman inquire about it? He stared at Shang Cheng with burning eyes, as if he wanted to judge from the expression on Shang Cheng's face whether these words were casual nonsense or conclusions reached after careful consideration.

He didn't see anything. Shang Cheng still looked happy, and seemed to be indifferent to what he had just said. He was still in the mood to tilt his head to look at the tourists coming and going on the road outside, and smiled at a girl who ran over to look at him curiously, and scared them away......

After a long time, Xiao Jian asked, "Why do you think so?" I mean, a quick fix. ”

Shang Cheng restrained his smile, pondered for a moment, and said, "The southwest garrison is also good at fighting. In the face of Nanzhao's successive provocations, although they were powerless to fight back, they were still more than enough to protect themselves. This time, the prime minister's office was so generous, and the Liyuan forbidden army gave more than a dozen brigades of almost 30,000, and the scholar took the photo...... Ahem, according to that...... According to their thoughts, you have brought so many well-trained soldiers, not to mention pacifying the bureaucratic rebellion in the southwest, even if you destroy the Nanzhao easily, it is also a matter of course. ”

Xiao Jian stopped talking. In fact, as Shang Cheng said, Zhang Pu really felt that after having this army of 30,000 Li Yuan, he Xiao Jian should beat Nanzhao to the ground, and he would not dare to covet the north bank of the river for at least the next ten years; It is best to even level the southeast flank of Tibet and completely eliminate the hidden dangers of the southwest......

In fact, Shang Cheng judged that the fundamental reason why the imperial court asked Xiao Jian to fight quickly was not the 30,000 Liyuan forbidden army. It has been almost two years since Zhang Pu re-entered the prime minister, and there were no large-scale natural disasters in the country last year, but the state treasury revenue did not rise but fell. He also has nothing to boast about militarily. He is the standard-bearer of the southward faction, and has always advocated the south first and then the north, so no matter how lively Yan Shanwei is in the north, no matter how prominent his record is, he has nothing to do; Not only that, the southwestern bureaucrats repeatedly rebelled, the Nanzhao frequently crossed the river to harass, and the envoys to Tibet returned in vain, and the Zhuhu of the Western Regions was also ready to move, and the skirmishes and frictions with the states of Longwei in the West continued to occur...... After two years of Xiangguo, he handed in such an examination paper, but he was afraid that Zhang Pu would not have the face to continue to stay in the prime minister's office. Therefore, Zhang Pu needs the southern expedition, and he needs the victory of the southern expedition to stabilize his position; Therefore, Zhang Pu needs Xiao Jian, and he needs Xiao Jian to achieve a victory worthy of boasting in a short period of time to ensure that he continues to implement his series of measures, so there are 30,000 Li Yuan elites and 30,000 life talismans......

At least he hadn't heard of a war where the decision-makers could win from the comfort of their offices. Whether it is a battle or a defense, whether it is a speed or a slowdown, all of which require the commander to make a judgment according to the changes in the situation temporarily, and they have the final say in this matter! If Zhang Pu in the Prime Minister's Mansion can win by patting his head, then what else does Xiao Jian have to do?

But now Xiao Jian also needs a big victory to regain his crumbling prestige and status. The two people who both wanted to fight a quick battle, under the complex geographical and climatic conditions in the southwest, fought against the clansmen who were familiar with the local environment and the Nanzhao people, at least Shang Cheng couldn't think of any reason why the Zhao army would inevitably win.

Therefore, he concluded that this time to conquer Nanzhao, if you are lucky, you will win a small victory, and if you are unlucky......

Count, you can't say this kind of frustration, you can't even think about it.

Of course, he didn't say any of that. It's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I can't say it! Whether it is Zhang Pu's selfishness or Xiao Jian's selfishness, it can't be said! He only vaguely advised the old general to go to the southwest, even his strength, and take his time; Ignore the voices in the Prime Minister's office, just think it's a fart......

After eating in a big wine shop in the evening, after Shang Cheng left, the two generals Cheng Wu were very puzzled and asked the old general, why were they so polite to the blind man?

Xiao Jian was still pondering the words that Shang Cheng had warned him before leaving, so he didn't solve the mystery in his heart for the two subordinates. However, Tu Da said that he had two sons and nephews who had been sent to Yanshan Wei to study military affairs in the spring, and although they couldn't bear to run back without learning anything in the end, they both said that Shang Blind was a general who could really fight, and some of Yan Shanwei's generals who followed him very early, and even said that Shang Blind would not only fight on foot and horse, but also in chariot and naval battles, and had sketched several samples of sea ships for them. Moreover, this person is not only able to fight and strategize, but also proficient in government affairs, so he not only has a high prestige in the Yanshan Guard, but also is very popular in the minds of Yanshan civil officials......

Cheng Wu didn't believe it. The reason is very simple: if the blind man is so powerful, why is he still a fake admiral now?

Tu Da can't talk about this.

However, Xiao Jian knew very well in his heart that Shang Cheng could not be a commander, in the final analysis, the reason was that he was a person who had no history. Shang Cheng's resume is clearly written, from the thirteenth to the seventeenth year of the Eastern Era, he was listed in the Ganlu Temple in Shangjing to participate in Zen, but there were hundreds of monks up and down the Ganlu Temple, and no one remembered that there was such a tall young monk in the temple. It is said that the prime minister's public office also secretly sent people to Jiazhou to find out, but those people turned over all the big temples and small temples in Jiazhou and even from Chengdu to Jianzhou, and still no one had seen this monk; No one has even heard of such a person......

At the beginning of last winter, when Shang Cheng came to Beijing to pay homage to him, he looked for excuses twice and disappeared, and the root cause was also here. He didn't want to have anything to do with this person who didn't know how to come from, and he didn't want his people to be forced to get involved in some right and wrong because of Shang Cheng. It's a pity that he still looked away, this blind man is too ......

This blind man is so capable! But this man does have real skills......