"Chang'an Yuxing pledged 400,000 yuan in silver!"

"Horses, sheep and cattle pledged 300,000 yuan!"

......

"Spice Gem Bank pledged 800,000 yuan!"

There was an exclamation from the audience, and Lin Jingwan's sweet and lovely voice said, "Thank you, Master Zhou!" ”

At the rally to collect funds for the crusade against the Sultan of Roma, Chang'an Protector Han Gong Li Chan, Chang'an Ling Zhou Longxi, and Tuanlian envoy Chen Chong all sat in the first row, all three of them had solemn faces, and when Zhou Shanren of the spice and gemstone company pledged to be the first in the audience, the three of them stood up at the same time to thank Zhou Shanren. Zhou Shanren smiled and bowed his hands to the four directions, as if the twenty-four spice and gemstone stores did not donate 800,000 yuan, but earned 800,000 yuan.

"Xiangshixing has wanted to fight this battle for a long time," Zhou Longxi picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said in a low voice, "The second son of Bowang Hou Lifu's Yajiaoxing has taken the big food business road in the past few years, and he has made a lot of money, and other people's families have no connections in Dashi, and there is no way to be red." However, this Sultan of Rum is too ignorant of the Sultan of Rum, not only annexing our allies in Dashi, but also cutting off trade routes, imposing heavy taxes three times as much as before, and it is said that the treasure of Dashi is lost by a single tooth and horn, and now the one who hates the Sultan of Rom the most is the Marquis of Bowang. Zhou Longxi and Zhou Shanren are from the same sect, and they are worried that others will mistakenly think that Xiangshixing is going to be in the limelight, his voice is very low, and it just so happens that Li Chan and Chen Chong can hear it. After explaining, Zhou Longxi snorted, and said unfinished: "Even such an arrogant person as Yelu Dashi doesn't dare to detain our goods." ”

"Fundraising is just a drop in the bucket," Li Chan frowned, "The sergeant in the river plus the regimental training, mobilized 800,000 yuan, and the cost was tens of millions, it seems that the imperial court is going to have a large amount of national debt, and if you can't take out the mineral deposits and land of Dashi to bid for financing in the future, it will be difficult to fill this empty account." Now it seems that the conquest of the Sultan of Rûm, the full force of manpower and material resources in the river is not enough. In addition, I am afraid that the other expenses of the imperial court will have to be borne by us and Shuzhong. There is also the situation in the east, fortunately, the Song Dynasty has just won a big victory, otherwise, it ......" Li Chan sighed and said slowly, "And according to General Xu's general strategy, stability is stable, but it is too costly to consume national strength." With the regimental training as an iron bucket and the elite soldiers as an iron hammer, one by one the Great Food Princes who followed the Sultan of Rom were leveled. The Inquisition and the military government worked together to distinguish between the good and the bad, and those who did not submit to them were killed, those who were not inferior were relocated to their people, and those who were subservient could provide food and straw to our army. After cutting off its branches and leaves, build a beacon to block the hot sand sea to prevent it from flowing. In the end, he used a large army to penetrate deep into the territory, steadily attacked, burned villages, destroyed water sources, pressed the tribes that had submitted to the Sultan of Rûm to the sea, and finally completely uprooted their power. ”

At this time, Shangguan Boyu pledged to donate 200,000 yuan in silver, temporarily ranking first among the wealthy businessmen, after Lin Jingwan reported the number, the three of them stood up together and thanked Shangguan Boyu, and Shangguan Boyu returned the courtesy, and this set of etiquette was very familiar. After Li Chan sat down, Zhou Longxi asked in a low voice: "Han Gong, I heard that the five governments intend to give the Han family in Liaodong a prince, so that they can help contain the Liao, but is it true?" ”

"After the Han army moved north, Yelu Dashi couldn't take them for a while, and the main force of the Liao army turned south, giving them a chance to breathe, and their strength has expanded a lot in the past two years. The Khitans are wolves that can't be fed, and although the southern invasion has suffered setbacks, they still have to eat people when they are relieved. If the Han army helps to contain it, the situation in the Kwantung region will be better," Li Chan said in a low voice, "We can't fight another big battle until the war in the west is over." Now the children of each family are going to the river to join the army, this thousands of miles away, not only will not help, but will disrupt the military government's decision, Your Highness, I think we should recruit a support for the Western Army in Chang'an to stabilize this group of people. Chen nodded heavily, but did not speak.

"It is said that on the other side of the hot sand sea, the winter climate is more suitable for the use of troops." Zhou Longxi frowned and said, "It's best to take advantage of the winter to fight a few battles quickly, so as not to delay the spring ploughing in the river," According to the usual practice, if the Hezhong side fights, it is a last resort, and Guanzhong and Shuzhong will only increase the wealth and grain to supply the imperial court, and will not directly send troops to help. On the contrary, the Anbei Military Division was willing to recruit cavalry to assist in the battle between Guanzhong and Hezhong.

"Your Highness, if you crusade against the Roma Turks again, will Your Majesty go to the river to take control?"

"It's not clear yet." Chen Zhong frowned, "Let's wait for the government order to come down and see." ”

After the news that the imperial court will send troops on a large scale, the government order of the Protectorate will come down soon, and if you don't take precautions, I am afraid that you will be in a hurry at that time. Therefore, Chen Chong, Li Chan, and Zhou Longxi have been busy preparing for each other. Throughout the rally, the trio talked in low voices, exchanging messages and views on the situation. After the fundraiser was over, Chen Chong said goodbye to Li Chan and Zhou Longxi, and returned to the regimental training embassy to finish official business.

"Your Highness." The crown princess Zhang came out to greet her, but her eyes were red and swollen.

"What's wrong?" Chen Zhong asked softly. During his service in Beizhou, Zhang served his parents and raised his children in Dunhuang without complaint. In addition to feeling guilty, after returning from Beizhou, Chen Zhong was also very fond of Zhang, and after dealing with the official duties of the regimental training envoy every day, most of them returned home to accompany his wife and children, and almost did not set foot in the Fengyue place in Chang'an. Therefore, for Chen Chong's virtue, both the academy and the Inquisition were very satisfied.

"Nothing." Zhang shook his head and said.

"Say it," Chen Chong shook her hands and said with a smile, "whatever the concubine wants, the lonely king will not allow it." ”

"Your Highness laughed," Zhang said coquettishly. She pushed away Chen Chong's hand, her face softened slightly, and when she saw her sad face, she choked up and said, "Bocheng, Bocheng is going to join the army in the river, can His Highness persuade him?" He had never fought. "When the Zhang family was not out of the cabinet, Zhang Bocheng was still a boy with drooping hair, and he followed his sister all day long. Zhang's also loves this young brother the most. Since marrying Chen Chong, the Zhang family has left the fiefdom of the state of Chu. In her impression, Zhang Bocheng is just a child who has just grown up.

"The glory of the founding prince is very great, and he has more responsibility than others. There are some things that you can't help but do. ”

A hint of apology appeared on Chen Chong's face, he held Zhang's shoulders and comforted: "Bocheng has already reported to me about joining the army. He's fine. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "After defeating Rus, the two provinces will be divided into eight founding princes. The territory of Dashi is thousands of miles, and if the system of subdivision is implemented, I am afraid that there will be more than a few feudal marquis. The fame of men is all on the field. ”

"Your Highness," Zhang choked up, "I heard that many families in Beizhou were martyred back then?" ”

"Yes," Chen nodded and sighed, his face turned resolute, and he said in a deep voice, "We are all from Beizhou." ”

Although the Murbo people were expelled from Beizhou that year, many of the princes' sons died in battle. And Beizhou's power in the Protectorate Mansion is almost as strong as Hezhong and Guanzhong. After the Liao invaded the south, the Murbo Khan had sent a secret envoy to make peace, although some ministers in the Xia Dynasty thought that the acceptance of the Murbo tribe could cut off the arms of the Liao, but the nobles and captains of the northern state were resolutely not allowed, and they must return blood for blood. The royal family of the Xia Kingdom had a very deep relationship with the nobles of Beizhou, and the crown princes of previous dynasties were also born in the Anbei Military Division, so the royal family also agreed with Beizhou's attitude on the issue of dealing with the Murbo tribe.

"The concubine understands." Zhang lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Your Highness doesn't have to worry. ”

Having said that, Chen Chong was still worried that she was too worried and hurt her body, so he ordered that the refreshments for dinner be arranged in the Yueyue Tower in the mansion, so that she could climb high and look far away and relieve her sorrows. The autonomous places of the chambers of commerce in Chang'an are very lively from morning to night. The stalls will never be closed on the fourth watch, and the fifth watch will be open for business again. Usually after nightfall, the gate of Chang'an is closed, and there is not much light in the city, but the outside of the city is brightly lit. However, tonight is different, not only outside the city, but also inside the city, some of which gather in the courtyards of the houses, and some of which walk through the streets and alleys.

After nightfall, although the city gates of Chang'an City were closed, there was no complete curfew in the city. In a courtyard near the city wall, temporarily hired servants shuttled back and forth, constantly delivering wine, meat, and refreshments to the courtyard. Hundreds of strong men with bows and knives have gathered here. In the smoke of the fire, some people stood quietly with solemn expressions, some people talked loudly to the side excitedly, and some people kept walking in through the door. In the middle of the crowd, someone stood on a bench and spoke impassionedly.

"20,000 soldiers died, a great shame since the founding of the dynasty!"

Zhang Bocheng clenched his fist with his right hand, waved it violently, and said loudly: "The Romans dare to do this, they must take revenge!" Let's go to the river and join the army! This roar was like igniting a powder keg, and countless people in the courtyard raised their swords and torches, shouting: "Join the army!" "Let's go to the river!" "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!" Torches flickered, swords flashed, and the shouts from the courtyard rang out far away, mingling with the shouts of the rest of the city.

"Normally it's quiet in the city," Zhang's face was puzzled, "what are they doing?" ”

"Discussing the matter of joining the army," Chen Zhong put down the clairvoyant mirror, his face calm, as if he had expected it a long time ago, "It seems that it is necessary to recruit reinforcements for the Western Army." ”

Since the founding of the Xia Kingdom, it has been expanding its territory to the west and north. However, there are many people in Guanzhong and little land, whether it is Houmen or civilians, if they want to be the eldest son in the family, if they want to get a large or small piece of land, they can only go to the river or northern Xinjiang to get it. Compared with the northern Xinjiang, where the armor is brittle in winter, more people prefer the climate and fertile land in the river. The Protectorate enshrined eight founding princes in Rus, and this time the imperial court decided to conquer the Rom Turks on a large scale, and the more land they acquired, the more vassals they had. As a result, many people decided to join the army in the river. Most of them are skilled in bows and horses, familiar with the rules of the army, and even have the rank of sergeant. Not only should you go by yourself, but also invite friends to go with you, so as not to be alone, and prepare for the future promotion in the army. However, fighting a war is not a child's play, and letting these people go all the way is a big trouble in the imperial court. It is not a bad idea to recruit a person to support the Western Army, not only to take precautions, but also to lock these people in the barracks.