Outside the eastern city of Xiangyang, the 6,000 town army was ready to go, and Yue Fei stood under the guard, his face was as heavy as water, and his face was solemn.

"Yue Shuai rest assured, as long as I, Zhang Xian, still have a breath of air, I will never let the Xia people seek Xiangyang." Zhang Xian, the commander of the Beiwei battalion, said in a low voice, he paused, and hesitated a little, "Xiangyang is already a dangerous place, and it seems that it is not appropriate for the young general to stay here." "Except for Yue Yun, Yue Fei's other children are all in Xiangzhou's hometown, and they are raised by his wife Liu and the old woman. After the Liao soldiers invaded the south, the life and death of Mrs. Yue, the Liu family and the children of the Yue family were unknown. And Yue Fei is very strict with himself, and he has never taken a concubine. Fortunately, Yue Yun has the legacy of his father, bravely fighting in battle regardless of life and death, and usually treats his comrades calmly and kindly. Xiangyang is the place of the four wars, and the Zhenguo army does not have many troops left, Zhang Xian is worried that if something happens to Yue Yun, the Zhenguo army will lose the young marshal, and the generals will be unruly and unruly, and they will not obey each other.

Yue Fei's eyes were complicated, looking at Yue Yun who was standing with the soldiers in the distance, his young face was vaguely the same as when he was a teenager. Yue Fei put his hand on Zhang Xian's shoulder: "Zhang Tong is the pillar of the Great Song Dynasty, and he can still stay in Xiangyang." Yue Yun is just a mere head, why can't he stay in Xiangyang? Zhang Xian still had to be persuaded, and when he saw that the handsome man shook his head, his expression was unshakable, so he could only keep his mouth shut. Yue Fei said in a low voice: "Now the Xia army is stationed in the west of the city, and we are stationed in the east of the city. The Xia State has captured Luoyang, Wu Jie is not an easy person, he saw that we were left behind with few soldiers and horses, and after the army withdrew, the Xia army might want to forcibly occupy Xiangyang. ”

"The last will understand." Zhang Xian looked into the distance, and a Xia State flag officer cavalry immediately waited. In Xiangyang, the Xia State garrisoned the west of the city, and the Song State garrisoned the east of the city, and the two sides were at a standout, and no one could help anyone. The military situation was urgent, so Wu Jie and Yue Fei agreed that the two sides would join forces with nearly 30,000 elites to go south along the Han River first, and then attack the Liao army. "Xiangyang is the southeast barrier of my Great Song Dynasty, and Dong Mou's liver and brain are smeared on the ground, and he vows to protect Xiangyang from loss." Before he could show his heart, Yue Fei slowly shook his head and motioned for him to listen to him.

"The Liao Kingdom invaded our Central Plains in the south, killing and injuring more than a million, and enslaving my people of the Great Song Dynasty. Henan and Hebei, everywhere beacon fires, my Song Dynasty heroes rose up, swore to fight with the Liao thieves to the end, not to mention the millions. I have been contacting Henan Haojie, inspiring loyalty, and meeting to restore the old rivers and mountains. You know it. ”

"The last will know." Zhang Xian replied in a low voice, Yue Fei nodded, and continued: "Only two thousand soldiers and horses are left in Xiangyang, so that Wu Jie can rest assured that they will go south together." I sent Liang Xing to contact the Henan Righteous Army, and a few days ago I sent back the news that Liang Xing recruited nearly 50,000 righteous troops, plus the old and young people in the village, and they will go south to eat in the near future. When the time comes, you will choose the elite for me, and the cunning and repeated people will be killed as soon as possible, and the loyal and strong will be recruited as soldiers, and the armor and equipment in the arsenal of Xiangyang will be issued to them, and the thin ones will be in Tuntian near Xiangyang. Xiangyang is not only the barrier of the southeast, but also the foundation of the Northern Expedition in the future. "Yue Fei is a Shen Hu, and Liang Xing recruited the rebels, and he didn't inform Zhang Xian until this time.

The rebel army in the north is uneven, but those who can hold on are all heroes who are not afraid of death, 50,000 people are weak and strong, and they can always get 10,000 or 20,000 elite soldiers, and the rest are issued with blades and farm tools to order them to camp in the fields, and they can also be armed at any time. Zhang Xian is not a brave man's fighting general, he can be civil and martial, Yue Fei will recruit elite soldiers, and the heavy task of camping and cultivating fields will be entrusted to him. Moreover, Xiangyang is a front-line fortress against Liao, and it is conceivable that as long as the Zhenguo Army lays a foundation here, the attached righteous army will be endless.

"The last general understands!" Zhang Xian suppressed his excitement and replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, Dashuai!" ”

"Good!" Yue Fei nodded. Xiangyang is a must-take place for the Northern Expedition, and although Zhang Xian was only told at this time, he was convinced of Zhang Xian's ability. At this time, a personal soldier rode over to ask for instructions, Yue Fei nodded, looked back at the elite soldiers who swallowed thousands of miles, raised his horsewhip, and shouted: "Send troops!" ”

The banner was ordered, and the six thousand elites moved when they heard the order, and the Zhenguo Army had already tempered an amazing evil spirit after several blood and fire. Stationed in the camp in Xiangyang City, the soldiers were in the camp for nothing, as if there was no garrison. The people were both in awe and awe, and on the day the army set out, although many people crowded outside the city gate to watch, they were infected by the army, and tens of thousands of people did not make a loud noise, quietly watching the army disappear into the eastern sky.

............

In the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion, Cao Liangshi stepped into the threshold with his left foot, and said anxiously: "Luoyang has fallen!" He stared at Chen Dong, who was full of doubts, and said loudly again: "Cao Xi has dedicated Luoyang to the Xia Kingdom!" ”

"What?" Chen Dong was shocked and angry, and stood up, "It's not the Liao Kingdom, it's the Xia Kingdom?" ”

"Exactly!" Cao Liangshi didn't have time to catch his breath, and said in one breath, "Shaoyang, the Northern Expedition is urgent." The Liao State is not of our race, it is perverse, although the north has temporarily fallen, we will be able to recover sooner or later. But since the Xia State occupied Luoyang, it was like the three eastern counties of Qin. If you don't go on a quick northern expedition, when the Xia Kingdom recovers, the army will march east to collect the land and the people, Henan, Hedong, Hebei, half of the rivers and mountains, and then not owned by the Great Song Dynasty! Cao Liangshi crossed his hands on his waist regardless of the image, and the foam flew onto the opposite face, and Chen Dong didn't care about wiping it, but doubted: "Is it too hasty to go on such a northern expedition?" What should I do over there? He let out a long sigh and said slowly, "The wind and rain are shaking, Da Song can't afford to lose anymore, and he can't afford to mess up!" ”

Chen Dong's words calmed Cao Liangshi down a little, he paced back and forth for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Cao Di, you should be able to move." The title of Xia State is not lightly given, and even the founding lords and generals such as Xin Xiao and Li Zhang have only one founding title passed down from generation to generation. Now Cao Xi was named the Marquis of Dongning for his dedication to the city, and in his place, it is impossible for the Cao family to compare with Xin Xiao and Li Zhang, and there is no title anyway. With Cao Di's great ambitions, he lost the root of Xijing, and then went to the Xia Kingdom, he didn't even have a hereditary lord, could he be willing? ”

"But...... Cao Di was scheming and calculating, and regarded military power as more important than life, for fear of losing his strength. ”

"Unless he's blind." Cao Liangshi sneered, "If the Northern Expedition is not early, the Xia State will send troops to slowly collect Hedong, Henan, Hebei, and two-thirds of the world into the bag." At that time, even Guanzhong will not spend a single soldier to conquer the south from the north, and we will not be able to resist. Cao Di should know that now is the last fight. Otherwise, my Great Song Dynasty will fall, and his Cao family will be buried sooner or later. "Cao Di controls more than half of the current military power. Before coming to see Chen Dong, Cao Liangshi had repeatedly considered how to persuade Cao Di, "Zhao Yuanzhi has prepared for the Northern Expedition, Cao Di is afraid of losing his strength, he only needs to command the army and follow behind Zhao Yuanzhi, he has been in charge for more than ten years, and he won't even have the courage to do so." ”

"Yuan Zhi?" It's okay not to mention Zhao Xingde, Chen Dong frowned, "He is from the Xia Kingdom, don't you know?" ”

Cao Liangshi's eyes were a little complicated, and he sighed: "Yuan Zhizhi is really difficult. After a moment of silence, he took out a scroll of folds from his arms and handed it to Chen Dong, "This was given to me when Yuan Zhi discussed the Northern Expedition with me before Luoyang returned to the Xia Kingdom. Chen Dong picked up the fold and unfolded it. Ezhou to "respect the Son of Heaven does not obey the order" as the number, although temporarily serve Zhao Qi, but Zhuzhou County, all departments, Yue, Han and Zhao Zhujun folded, all sent to the Prime Minister's Mansion first, Chen Dong first approved the use of the Prime Minister's seal, and then the scribe transcribed a copy and sent it to the emperor to read. Zhao Qitong's disagreement does not hinder the overall situation. As for Cao Di's affairs in the army, he did not report to Zhao Qi, nor did he tell Chen Dong, so he only sent people to the military department every day to urge food and wages.

As soon as he opened the fold, Chen Dong's face was different, and he said, "Huh": "Yuan Zhi wants the imperial court to send someone to supervise the army?" Increasing the number of military envoys? "Since ancient times, there have been many discords between the supervising army and the commander-in-chief. During the Taizu Dynasty, there was even a matter of the prison army forcing the general to death. When he was in Taixue, Chen Dong and others also specifically criticized the system of supervising the army. He looked down and said to himself: "Each soldier will nominate the escort envoy by himself, and from the bottom up, the military department will select the escort envoy step by step. The guards in the battalion are of the same quality as the commanders, but they are not allowed to interfere with the strategy of marching and fighting. The commander-in-chief shall not reward or punish the envoys of the guards. If the commander dies in battle, he will be succeeded by the escort of the same rank. The guards supervised the bad habits of the army, such as withholding, fraudulently receiving food and salary, and serving as soldiers, and educated the soldiers with the way of loyalty and righteousness. The commander of the army rewarded and punished unfairly, and the protector had the right to intervene. All the military envoys can go to the military department and the prime minister's mansion. ”

Reading this, Chen Dong couldn't help but gasp and sighed: "In vain, I will spend the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain." Yuan Zhi, what's the trouble! He is going to hand over the southeast camp to the imperial court cleanly! He immediately frowned and said suspiciously: "It's okay to say that the prison army alone has added layers of guards to make it system, which has not been done in the previous dynasty." Are these fierce generals in the southeast camp willing to give in? Even if it is Lu Mingyu and Luo Xianshi, Zhao Yuanzhi's confidants, I am afraid that they may not necessarily agree with this proposal. ”

"Yuan Zhi said that there is no need to worry about this matter, and he will handle it before sending troops." Cao Liangshi sighed and nodded, "If this matter can really be done, there will be restraint at all levels, and there will be no more rebel armies in the world." "The army protector makes the upper and lower as one, and it is obvious that there will be a lot of disagreement with the commander in the army, and the army protector does not care about the war, only manages the army, it is easier to get the hearts of the army, and under the layers of control, the commander wants to coerce the soldiers and horses to make chaos, which is even more difficult. He was originally a little wary of Zhao Xingde taking the opportunity of the Northern Expedition to support his own troops, and even disregarded the orders of foreign monarchs, and after entering Henan and Hebei, he simply coerced the Baoyi Army to surrender to the Xia State, but after Zhao Xingde took the initiative to ask for additional supervision and military envoys, these doubts almost dissipated.

"Those who are clear are self-purifying." Cao Liangshi said in a low voice, "It's just Yuan Zhi's intentions......" he sighed.

"Although it is a career that benefits the future." Chen Dong shook his head and sighed, "Yuan Zhi, what's his trouble? ”

Zhao Xingde was ready to hand over the military power "cleanly" and "thoroughly", but Chen Dong was not only not relieved, but felt a sour feeling of sympathy for the same disease. No matter what Zhao Xingde thinks, this move always gives people a sense of "avoiding suspicion" and "self-purification". Thinking of the intrigue between the DPRK and China, even Zhao Xingde, who is famous all over the world and has a good relationship with him, has to do this, and then thinks that after becoming the prime minister, the government and the opposition attacked one after another. Chen Dong stood up and looked out the window, the night outside was dark and dreary, and the noise of countless summer insects was upset. The darkness of the night covers up a lot of filth, and at the same time it hides a lot of innocence. Rumors and suspicions have ruined many aspiring ministers.

Facing the deep darkness of the night, Chen Dong took a long breath, spit out all the turbidity in his chest, and sighed: "When can we not be hindered everywhere, so that benevolent gentlemen like Yuan Zhi will no longer walk on thin ice, everyone can do things with peace of mind, and give the people of the Great Song Dynasty a peaceful world." ”