What happened next made Tian Guidao a little surprised, and Li Dayu, who had been disgraced by a slap, didn't get angry, but got up from the ground and patted the dust on his body nonchalantly, "You win, I'm willing to bet and lose." Say, what do you want me to do? ”

"Get dressed and come over for a drink." Xue Shao said.

Li Dayu was stunned, "That's it?" ”

"Of course." Xue Shao smiled, "I said, I'm here to deliver wine to the prince." ”

"Okay, drink!" Li Dayu strode into the room without saying a word.

Tian Guidao stepped forward and whispered to Xue Shao: "Xue Shangshu, although this prince of the Xi clan is a little rude and rude, he is quite straightforward. ”

Xue Shao said: "The grassland people in the north regard the competition as very important, and at the same time, they can afford to win and lose. If I had asked him to wipe his neck with a knife just now, he would have not hesitated. ”

Tian Guidao was slightly stunned, and nodded thoughtfully, "Xue Shangshu doesn't have an ordinary understanding of the grassland people!" ”

"As Si Bincheng, don't you know about the grassland people?" Xue Shao asked rhetorically.

Tian Guidao smiled bitterly and whispered: "The grassland people that Xia Guan came into contact with in Sibin Temple are either noble envoys or khan chieftains. They have never shown similar qualities like Li Dayu. ”

"It makes sense." Xue Shao smiled, "Come on, Tian Sibin." Try my new wine. ”

"Xiaguan, it's better to be respectful than to obey your orders."

The servants brought by Xue Shao opened the two wooden barrels, scooped out the golden beer with a large spoon and poured it into the sea bowl, and then took the ice cubes and added them to the ice.

Li Dayu, Tian Guidao and the others were all very surprised, and stared intently.

"Two, I'll do it first as a respect." Xue Shao picked up a big bowl of beer and drank it violently.

The slightly bitter and cold beer falls down the throat into the belly, and then a stream of hot steam spits out of the throat, boundless refreshing and pleasant, indescribable!

"Cool-" Xue Shao couldn't help but yell, he really hadn't drunk beer like this for many years. The beer brewed this time was brewed after many failures, and although the taste is still a little different from those craft beers of later generations, it is also quite difficult.

Li Dayu was originally a wine lover, and when he saw Xue Shao drinking so much, he couldn't hold it anymore, so he immediately took the sea bowl and drank it fiercely. As a result of drinking too quickly, a lot of alcohol spilled onto his chest. As soon as he finished drinking, he tore open his throat and let out a long whistle, and shouted like a loud voice, "Cool! ”

"Again!!"

Tian Guidao and a Confucian were almost stupid when they saw them drinking wine as water like this, so they took the bowl and tasted it and tried it, the taste was very strange, both bitter and sweet but not as spicy as ordinary wine, the important thing is that it is not easy to drink something cold in the hot summer. So he let go of his reserve and took two sips. The cold beer fell into his stomach, Tian Guidao opened his mouth and took a long breath, feeling that the heat and dryness all over his body dissipated with this breath of turbidity, and he felt a burst of coolness from head to toe - what a "pleasure" can be described!

If it weren't for the cultivation and reserve of scholars, Tian Guidao really wanted to shout "cool" like Xue Shao and Li Dayu!

"Divine wine, divine wine!!" Li Dayu drank three bowls and shouted, "This is the divine wine of the Central Plains, it must be!" - Come on, come again! ”

Several servants were very busy, constantly pouring wine and adding ice cubes to Xue Shao, Li Dayu and others. There was a lot of wine spilled in the room, but Tian Guidao, who has always paid great attention to etiquette, couldn't care about it. This wine is not something that can be drunk if you want to, and he also rolled up his sleeves and began to drink bowl after bowl. Soon, the official robe was wet.

Linlang, who was standing outside, couldn't help but lick her lips when she saw the man in the room drinking so happily. The two sisters unanimously made up their minds: when they got home, the first thing they did was to run to the wine room to carry a barrel of wine and hide in the room to drink! - Yes, be sure to add more ice!

Soon, a barrel of wine actually bottomed out.

Xue Shao was a little dumbfounded, although the degree of this wine is low, but is the belly of the three of us a little too big?

"Anything else? Anything else? I beg you, a little more! Li Dayu begged Xue Shao with a bowl in disregard of the image of the prince, like a flower child.

Xue Shao laughed, "Not for the time being." ”

Li Dayu swallowed his saliva, "Then do I still have a chance to drink this kind of divine wine again?" ”

"Yes. Three days later, the mountain hunting ground. Xue Shao said with a smile, "This wine already has a name - Taiping wine." ”

"Taiping wine?" Li Dayu began to look Xue Shao up and down curiously, "I know that there is one in the Tang Dynasty, Her Royal Highness the famous Princess Taiping. Excuse me, does she have anything to do with this wine? ”

Of course, Tian Guidao knew without asking, so he started laughing. Because until now, Li Dayu didn't even know Xue Shao's identity, and he didn't even ask.

"Princess Taiping, it's my wife." Xue Shao smiled and said, "This wine was named by her personally." ”

"Huh?" Li Dayu rolled his eyes, his expression was a little dull, and he muttered, "So, you are-Xue Yuma?" ”

"Hmm." Xue Shao nodded.

"I ......" Li Dayu opened his eyes wide and stared at Xue Shao, Xue Shao was really worried that he would burst out with a "".

"Wait for me—I'll be right back!" Suddenly, Li Dayu grabbed the door and fled.

Xue Shao laughed, "His Royal Highness the Prince seems to be a little kidney-deficient!" ”

Tian Guidao smiled bitterly, "Xiaguan also please leave for a moment." ”

"Go, go!" Xue Shao sat down with a straight smile, "My kidneys are good, so I don't have to go." ”

Tian Guidao also left in a hurry and went straight to the latrine. Xue Shao immediately asked the servant to fetch a night pot and filled the pot with a happy urine.

"Oh my God, suffocate me!"

No matter how low the degree of beer is, it can be intoxicating if you drink too much. Moreover, the alcohol content of the Tang Dynasty was not high, and for people like Tian Guidao and Li Dayu, who had not drunk high-grade liquor, it was basically impossible to drink so much beer without getting drunk.

So Tian Guidao was drunk directly on the aisle and was carried away by the servants of Sibin Temple to rest. Li Dayu's alcohol consumption was much better, but he also came back with his support for the wall. But before he could sit down when he walked into the room, he immediately ran back to the latrine and threw up.

"It's a pity, it's a pity!" Li Dayu shouted remorse, "Such a divine wine, I vomited it all after drinking it!" ”

Xue Shao asked the servant to get the decanting soup. Now that the wine has been drunk, it is time to talk about it.

Although Li Dayu was drunk, he knew quite well in his heart that Xue Shao was who he was, and of course he would not visit in private just to have a drink.

So later, the two sat together very tacitly. Li Dayu no longer clamored to drink, but honestly drank a big bowl of sobering soup.

"Your Royal Highness, a lot!" Xue Shao said with a smile.

"Xue Yuma, please don't call me His Royal Highness the Prince, I can't afford it." Li Dayu's attitude has become very humble, he stood up and bowed to Xue Shao's chest and bowed on one knee, "When my father was leaving, I told him in every way, if you see Xue Juma in the gods, you must respectfully and humbly thank you for your grace." My Xi clan has been able to survive to this day, because it completely depends on the kindness of Xue Yuma! ”

"The prince is serious, please get up." Xue Shao hurriedly helped him up and said with a smile: "Back then, I was in Dujin Mountain, and I was a fledgling with a sharp edge, and there must have been a lot of offending Ling Zun." If he doesn't hold grudges against me, I'm already satisfied. How dare you bear the prince's gift? ”

"Nope. Our Xi tribe was forced by Wen Fu to fight with them at that time, so we had to follow them to raise an army. Therefore, we are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the grace of Xue Yuma's reconstruction. "Li Dayu changed his debauchery at the beginning, and said in a positive way, "At the same time, we also respect Xue Juma from the bottom of our hearts. Because you are a warrior who conquers the grasslands, and you are the god of war who eclipses the wolf totem! ”

"It's overrated." Xue Shao smiled indifferently, "Prince, please take a seat." I want to talk to you about something important. ”

"Xue Juma has something to do, although he orders, our Xi clan is absolutely the only one who is the head of the Tang Dynasty, and absolutely obeys Xue Juma's orders!" Li Dayu said it categorically.

Xue Shao's heart lit up slightly, this Li Dayu may be a little messy in terms of subsections, but in the face of major events, he has a firm attitude like a mirror - who can say that he is really a straw bag?

"I want to know, how many soldiers and horses can you Xi clan can recruit now?" Xue Shao said, "Of course, as a prince, you have every reason not to tell me such a big secret. I don't blame you either. ”

"Less than 10,000 riders." Li Dayu said without hesitation, sighed after speaking, and whispered: "Xue Yuma has always known that the Xi people are a people on horseback, and we take horses as our home, chasing water and grass, grazing and hunting for a living. A few years ago we had nearly 30,000 elite horsemen to form an elite cavalry force to protect our tribe and people. But the Turkic tribes launched three major steppe rebellions in a row, and we Xi people were forced to be involved. After the three wars, our sturdy men were three, and the losses of horses, cattle and sheep were even heavier. Now, we have to attach ourselves to the Khitan, otherwise we will be in danger of extinction at any time. ”

Xue Shao nodded, "As far as I know, none of the three grassland wars Khitan were directly involved. The other tribes were attritional in the war, but the Khitan retained its own strength and continued to grow. ”

"Yes." Li Dayu nodded, "The growth of the Khitan has made the Turkic Khanate feel uneasy. So this time, the Gulu Khan sent an army of 150,000 to conquer. Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty intervened to let the Gulu Khan withdraw his soldiers and horses. Otherwise, this time, our Xi tribe will face the danger of extinction together with the Khitan. ”

"One hundred and fifty thousand?" Xue Shao frowned, and the information received by the imperial court said that it was "100,000" and that it also said "200,000", so he asked, "Is this number accurate?" ”

"Just more, no less." Li Dayu said with certainty, "Last time, Mo Si led the elite troops of the Khanate in Yunzhou to join the wolf cavalry to fight with Xue Rengui, but he was greatly injured in a thousand miles, and later the Turks made peace with the Tang Dynasty. However, in the past year or two, the Turks have successively annexed the Servant Bone Department and the Tongluo Department in Mobei, and then united with the Hui Department to swallow up the Xue Yantuo Department, and obtained countless cattle, sheep and war horses. The men of the defeated tribes were all incorporated into the Attached Wolf Rider. Compared with before the Battle of Yunzhou, the strength of the elite army directly belonging to the Khan has doubled just by attaching the Wolf Cavalry. There must be more of the other String Controllers and Taka troops scattered among the different tribes, and I don't know much about those. ”

Xue Shao's brows furrowed deeply, until after the Battle of Yunzhou, the attention of the Tang Dynasty was almost entirely focused on internal strife, and the attention to the grassland was too low. If I hadn't heard Li Dayu talk about these situations today, I, the minister of the military state, wouldn't have known that the vitality of the Turks has been completely restored, and it is even stronger than before the Battle of Yunzhou!

"We don't know much about the Turkic situation." Li Dayu said, "Sun Wanrong, who came with me, is the commander of the Khitan tribe, and he often has the opportunity to have direct contact with such figures as the Turkic khans, masterminds, and commanders, and he must know more than I know. Xue Luma, you might as well ask him. ”

"Okay, I will." Xue Shao nodded and asked, "Then do you know what the current situation of the Khitan army is?" ”

"Not too clear." Li Dayu shook his head, "In recent years, the Khitan has not directly participated in any wars, and it has always been very mysterious. Even my father couldn't figure out how many soldiers and horses the Khitan had now. Thirty thousand? Fifty thousand? 80,000, 100,000? It seems like it's all possible! ”

Xue Shao took a deep breath, and there were already several tigers hidden on the side of our couch. And our country is still brewing a great change of dynasty. Cool officials are running rampant, the government and the opposition are in turmoil, the army is being reduced, and military spending is tight.

We are entangled in strife and internal strife, but the enemy is growing stronger and sharpening our knives.

- Crisis!

Xue Shao felt a great crisis!