Since the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion decided to defend Shuzhou and block the two roads south of the Yangtze River, there were as many as 40,000 or 50,000 Song troops gathered in Shuzhou. However, most of them are volunteers from prefectures and counties, including those who have been in forced labor all year round, and those who have been in camp for less than a month. Even so, the army that can really fight in a column and confront the Liao army head-on is mainly based on the headquarters of the three armies of Zhenguo, Baoyi, and Henghai, with about 20,000 people. Other state and county volunteers can only be used as a supplement. Otherwise, once the Liao army breaks through a certain camp, and then penetrates with cavalry in depth, plunders the countryside, and even shakes the whole line, the overall situation will be in danger. Because of this, the Zhenguo Army has been asking the Baoyi Army to take over the forward camps. It was agreed to take over the barracks, and the knot between the two armies was slightly resolved.

Zhao Xingde asked: "Shicai Yue said in secret, the military department has a decision to pass it to the front of the army, can you tell me the details?" ”

Yue Fei said: "I was about to discuss with General Zhao," he took out an official letter from the Ministry of War and handed it to Zhao Xingdedao, "This is the policy that Lord Cao of the Ministry of War presided over and drafted, and the Prime Minister sent it after printing." The soldiers and horses near my Shuzhou and the Liao army fought against each other for a long time, and after their food was exhausted, they attacked it. His face sank like water, but a trace of dissatisfaction flashed on the face of Zhang Xian, who was standing beside him.

Zhao Xingde took the official letter, looked at it, and couldn't help frowning slightly. He sighed and put down the letter.

"What does General Zhao think?" Yue Fei asked.

Zhao Xingde was silent for a while, and said for a moment: "The army is gathered in Shuzhou, and it is one and the same as one. Late is volatile. ”

Yue Fei listened and nodded sympathetically, his brows furrowed slightly. Zhao Xingde put it mildly, but the actual situation was that the three Song armies gathered near Shuzhou were not subordinate to each other. The Zhenguo Army and the Baoyi Army are both from Ezhou, and they are still in harmony with each other, and there are also undercurrents surging underneath. Han Shizhong and Zhao Xingde have a very close personal relationship, but each is their master. Since Hou Huanyin of Jingdong Road lost in the competition for the fake phase, he is still instructing the literati under him to slander Chen Dong and Zhao Xingde. The matter of public discussion and recommendation makes the contradiction between Ezhou and Jingdong known to the world, and if Yelu Dashi does not use it, it will be a hell. In addition, there are more than 100,000 troops in Xiangyang in the upper reaches, and the army goes down the Han River and arrives in Ezhou. Today's situation is extremely variable, unless the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion has a very high ability to solve all kinds of internal and external difficulties, and create a stable situation for the decisive battle of the army out of nothing, Zhao Xingde will have some confidence in the decisive battle. However, judging from Zhao Xingde's understanding of his colleagues in the Zhuli Society, as well as the situation before the military department disregarded the taboo and remotely controlled the army, he was also very skeptical that the internal situation of the Song people would remain stable in the future. The longer the Song army and the Liao army confronted each other in Shuzhou, I am afraid that the Liao army will not be able to collapse when its food is exhausted, and there will be a big chaos within the Song people.

"So," Yue Fei pondered, "General Zhao thinks that when taking advantage of the situation to fight a decisive battle, it must not be delayed?" ”

"Exactly." Zhao Xingde affirmed.

"That's good," Yue Fei showed a smile on his face, nodded approvingly, "Yue also has this intention, since this is the case, Yue will send a letter to General Han, and the three merchants will fight a battle, first break the enemy of Shuzhou, and then take advantage of the situation to attack Jiangning, and take all the land of Jianghuai." ZTE's situation can be regarded as formed. Zhao Xingde glanced at Zhang Xian, and Zhang Xian also looked relieved. Obviously, Yue Fei had discussed with the number one general of the Zhenguo Army in advance, and was determined to seize the time to defeat the Liao army in front of him, and deter the younger generation with a big victory. Contrary to the policy of the Ministry of War, persuading Zhao Xingde and Han Shizhong to work together is the key to the smooth implementation of the decisive battle. With the consent of Zhao Xingde, the commander of the Baoyi Army, the plan was half successful.

"That," Zhao Xingde muttered, "the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Military Department ...... there."

"Yue is a privy secret, and this matter of soldiers will be told to the prime minister at the meeting." Yue Fei said proudly, his tone revealing a strong sense of confidence. Zhao Xingde nodded, and arched his hand: "When Privy Yue is on the table, Zhao is willing to sign it, and Privy Yue had better inform General Han." If the three are combined with the above table, it will also allow the prime minister and the military department to understand the hearts of the frontier soldiers a little. ”

Yue Fei was stunned for a moment, looked at Zhao Xingde for a moment, and said with a slight smile: "This is very good." "There used to be a lot of estrangement and suspicion between the two, but after this, it seems to have melted a lot. Even Zhang Xian next to him looked at Zhao Xingde, and his eyes were a lot more kind.

After the discussion, Zhao Xingde took his leave and went back, and began to arrange for the Baoyi Right Army Luo Xian Ten Divisions to take over the garrison of the Zhenguo Army's Tabai Camp. The volunteer barracks in various prefectures and counties were camped next to the Baoyi Army. As far as the state and county volunteers are concerned, since they have come to join forces to resist Liao, they must be attached to a certain army.

The Henghai Navy is almost all composed of people from other places in Jingdong, the soldiers are tall and large, the camp is full of Jingdong accents, and they chew green onion burritos every day, which is like a foreign country for Jingxiang people. Under the influence of the local plot, the volunteers in the states and counties hardly considered defecting to the Heng Navy. The military discipline of the Zhenguo Army is strict, and the recruitment of people and horses is carefully selected, and if they join the Zhenguo Army, they will have to fight a tough battle, and the restrictions are too strict, and most of the state and county volunteers cannot stand this strictness. And the Baoyi Army has a bit of a taste of the more the merrier. As a result, many volunteer battalions were gathered under the banner of the Baoyi Army, and in just a few days, the Baoyi Left and Right Army rapidly expanded to about 10,000 people.

According to the imperial decree, before the state and county volunteer battalions joined the army, the commander-in-chief could reorganize the establishment of each battalion and even replace the command and control of one battalion for the convenience of the battle. However, Zhao Xingde retained the establishment of the volunteer battalions in various states and counties, and with the affection of his fellow villagers, he could share the same hatred for the enemy and not abandon his subordinates in the battalion. Zhao Xingde also showed his tolerance as much as possible for the command of each battalion, retained all official positions, and encouraged them to kill the enemy for the country.

Today's Baoyi left and right army flags are full of miscellaneous battalions with state and county names. The situation of each battalion is very different, some battalion soldiers were captured when they were strong, only a few days after putting down the hoe handle, there are many people who can't even hold the knife steadily, and some people are planning to run home every day to farm. Some battalions are brave and brave recruited by the state and county, some are courageous, and their martial arts are not weak. There are also battalions that are the original box army, up to the battalion commander, down to the soldiers, all like businessmen are extremely smooth. Each battalion not only has different military orders and uniforms, but also has different channels for solving the problem of food and salary, some need to supply food from the Quartermaster Office, and some need to supply food from the Honshu County, but receive rewards from the Quartermaster Office.

In the north and south of Jinghu Lake, and the east and west roads in the south of the Yangtze River, the local sound is not only different from the north, but also extremely common for ten miles with different sounds. Among the battalions under the Baoyi Army, some of the dialect differences are so different that they are unbelievable. Even the soldiers of different battalions could not understand each other's words. In the end, it was Zhao Xingde's literacy book written in Ezhou that played a role, and this booklet unified about 100 sentences of military orders into the Central Plains Zhengyin, and then used the method of exegesis and annotation, word by word, by Mr. Teach, to teach the officers and soldiers of each battalion, and combined with the command of banners, gongs and drums, which solved the problem of unifying the orders of the various departments. After that, the pretext in the Baoyi Army could not understand the military orders, and the matter of disobeying the dispatch of the superior officers disappeared.

Back in the camp, Zhao Xingde had just taken off his iron helmet, and before he could send someone to invite Luo Xianshi, Du Fujiao said: "General, it's the turn of the Raozhou camp today." ”

"Hmm," Zhao Xingde nodded, "Is it time for dinner?" He touched his head and turned his head back and forth.

Speaking with several pounds of iron helmet on his head, Zhao Xingde felt that his neck was a little stalked. But Yue Fei is very serious. Every time Zhao Xingde went to see the privy envoy, he wore a heavy iron helmet, at least wearing soft armor, no different from other generals, and he did not regard himself as a celebrity at all. On the contrary, the privy envoy Yue Fei, when he was not wearing military uniforms, often wore wide robes and scarves, like a Confucian general. The misalignment of the two people's outfits was also laughed at in the barracks, and after Zhao Xingde heard about it, he was still at ease and did not think it was strange at all.

"In that case, let's go." Zhao Xingde changed into a gauze hat and said with a smile, "Don't miss the Raozhou camp for dinner." Ding Zhuang in the state and county eats food as a soldier, doesn't he have a round belly every day? ”

The so-called soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass go first. Before fighting, you must have a full meal of war food, and you will not be a hungry ghost when you die. In the ranks, the sky and the earth are big, and they are not as big as the belly. It is not surprising that the army is hungry and rebels. Zhao Xingde took charge of the Baoyi Army and collected the volunteers of the state and county, so he set up a rule to visit a camp every day and eat this evening snack with the soldiers. There are vegetables to eat, and there is porridge to drink. What the soldiers in the battalion ate, he ate. However, Zhao Xingde took the Huotou Army of the Tooth Barracks with him, and gave each soldier in the battalion a steamed bun with meat as a reward for the commander. Therefore, both in glory and in practice, the battalions looked forward to the commanders coming to their camps to eat, and some soldiers counted the days with their fingers, and the day in the camp was often like a festival.

"Raozhou battalion. Zhang Jiurong. Zhao Xingde recalled the situation of the battalion as he walked. The emaciated dignity of Zhang Jiurong, the battalion commander, came to mind. In the command of dozens of battalions under the command of the Baoyi Army, the image of Zhang Jiurong, a thin scholar, left a deep impression on Zhao Xingde. But this man is an honest and good man. Zhao Xingde even taught him a few Tai Chi moves, allowing him to practice in the morning and evening to strengthen his body.

In a large open space in the Raozhou camp, hundreds of soldiers sat on the ground around large and small pots. The big guy stared at the middle of the camp. The Huotou Army of the Tooth Barracks, who had arrived in advance, had already boiled a pot of water, and a large piece of pork that was half fat and half boiled rose and fell in the pot, and the smell of meat was bursting, almost hooking out people's souls, and they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

"I heard that there is meat to eat every day in the Ya Barracks." Xu Qiqi said enviously, he licked his lips.

"Scared," Ma Yuanyi said, "You have to have the ability to eat meat if you have to risk your life." The eldest brother in the tooth barracks, which one is not a strong man who fights as big as a fist and fights in turns. ”