At the beginning of April, the royal palace of Huiji City.

King Yue was in a very good mood, and he held his grandson, who was more than a year old, to enjoy the flowers in the court. Not far away, Frost was leaning on the stone pillars of the pavilion, staring blankly at the blooming peach blossoms of a tree.

"Sister." Ina leaned gently against Frost's side.

Frost came back to her senses and looked at Ina quietly, with a gentle smile on her face, "Huh? What's wrong? ”

"Sister...... Ina frowned and said in a low voice, "The general should be coming back soon, right?" ”

"Hmm." Frost nodded slightly.

"I don't know how long the general can stay when he comes back this time, he hasn't lived at home much in the past two years. I...... My thing...... He never mentioned it again......"

"This time the general comes back, you can talk to him well, you have been with him for so many years, you must have a name."

"I'm afraid, I think the general has changed, although the former general was not smiling, but when I am with him, I will feel very safe. But since that time...... After that once, he changed, he became scary. ”

Shuang Di didn't say anything, just looked at King Yue and the baby boy in swaddling clothes.

At this time, the guards came to report, "Your Majesty! The general returned triumphantly and is now waiting outside the palace. ”

King Yue's face was overjoyed, "Oh? The general came back so soon. Haha, good! It just so happens that his wife and children are here, isn't it beautiful to enjoy the flowers and drink together as a family? Take him straight here. ”

"Whoa!"

After a while, with the sound of metal grinding, Ji Zheng strode into the garden, he was dressed in military uniform, wearing a heavy sword at his waist, and his black iron armor was still stained with dried blood.

Ji Zheng came to King Yue, knelt down and saluted: "Report to the king!" This time, the minister led 10,000 soldiers to attack the state of Wu, beheaded a total of 30,000, and captured three cities, but the state of Wu guarded the main road with heavy troops, and our army could not attack it repeatedly, and finally failed to attack the hinterland. ”

Ji Zheng's loud and loud voice startled the child, the child cried, and King Yue hurriedly shook the swaddling clothes to tease the child. But the child still cried non-stop, and King Yue had no choice but to hand the child into the arms of Shuangdi. Shuang Di took the child and gently ** the child's face, the child immediately stopped crying, stared at his mother with wide eyes, and let out a crisp laugh.

King Yue motioned for Ji Zheng to sit down, "The general has worked hard. Two years ago, the Huangchi Alliance, our country took advantage of the situation to attack Gusu, since then, our country and Wu officially declared war, two years of countless battles, the general commander of the army endlessly, is really the first hero of my country! ”

Ji Zheng hurriedly saluted, "The king has won the prize!" ”

"But ......" King Yue asked with a little doubt, "30,000 beheadings in this battle?" The general only has 10,000 troops, how can he kill so many people? Could it be that the state of Wu has weakened to such a point? ”

"In this battle, our army killed 5,000 soldiers of Wu and 25,000 people. During the war, all the people of Wu were soldiers, and there were countless soldiers in the countryside. At first, our army was often attacked by the people, so the ministers had to take precautions, but whenever they passed through the villages, they would not survive. ”

"Oh, I see."

"The state of Wu is indeed declining day by day, and it has long lost the strong strength of previous years, but there are three thousand nails in the broken ship, and its overall strength is still not to be underestimated, and it is difficult to destroy the state of Wu overnight, and the current war must still be aimed at weakening, so even the people can't let it go."

King Yue frowned slightly, "It's not a good thing to kill like this, but the general is leading the army outside, how to act, the widow should not interfere too much, and please think about it." ”

"Thank you, King! It's just that he failed to attack the hinterland, and the minister is still ashamed. ”

King Yue waved his hand and said with a smile: "The general has said that the current battle intention is weakened, and it is already very remarkable to be able to achieve such a record, so why should the general be ashamed?" Hehe, it's rare to have a family reunion today, military affairs and state affairs are put aside first, you are fighting all day long, you should always enjoy the joy of family. ”

Ji Zheng nodded reluctantly, he got up and walked to Frost's side, and took the child from Frost's arms. Who knew that Ji Zheng had just hugged the child, and the child was crying again, Ji Zheng coaxed him impatiently, but instead of stopping, the crying became even louder.

Ji Zheng was helpless, and stuffed the child to Shuang Tu again.

"Good, don't cry, don't cry." Frosty softly coaxed the child, but the crying gradually stopped, and the child turned his head and fell asleep in Frosty's arms.

Ji Zheng shook his head helplessly, and then sat back opposite King Yue.

"You haven't been at home for a long time, the child must be afraid of you, stay for a while this time, don't leave in a hurry."

"King, recently, the sentinels have reported one after another that the barbarians in the south of our country are in turmoil, and the ministers plan to suppress it tomorrow."

"Hey." King Yue waved his hand and said: "It's just some barbarians in the south making trouble, why do you need to go there in person for such a trivial matter?" Just let the other generals take the lead. ”

"But......" Ji Zheng just wanted to refute, but when he saw King Yue's displeasure, he could only keep his mouth shut.

In the evening, Ji Zheng's family left the palace and returned to the General's Palace. Along the way, Ji Zheng and Frost Di didn't say a word, and when they returned to the mansion, Frost went straight back to the master bedroom with the child in her arms, and Ji Zheng picked up Ina and went to the small room on the west side.

After a cloud and rain, Ji Zheng lay on the bed to rest. Ina didn't enjoy the warmth after the lingering as she did in the past, but turned her back to Ji Zheng.

She was sad in her heart, and she couldn't help but burst into tears when she thought of the marriage that Ji Zheng had promised her. She thought that such a heartbreaking cry could win Ji Zheng's pity, but she didn't expect Ji Zheng to ignore it at all, he just got up and dressed after resting for a while.

Ina wrapped a silk quilt around her chest, slowly sat up, and looked at Ji Zheng with mournful eyes, she wanted to open her mouth to say something, but she felt inexplicably afraid. She hoped that Ji Zheng could hug her, give her a kiss, or sit down and talk, even if she didn't mention marriage, it was better than leaving silently like this.

However, until he got dressed, Ji Zheng never looked back at her. In the end, Ji Zheng opened the door and walked straight out of the room, leaving Ina alone in tears.

At night, Ji Zheng was alone in the cabinet reading the military book. At this time, the guards came to report that a guest had been invited. Ji Zheng nodded and promised, and ordered the guards to bring guests to the cabinet to narrate.

Not long after, a little old man with a goatee came to the cabinet, and this person was Bo Yao's henchman, Han Ledger. He nodded and bowed, and saluted Ji Zheng: "Han Mou meets the general." ”

Ji Zheng motioned for the little old man to sit down and asked, "Old Han, how is Dazai-sama doing lately?" ”

"Thanks to the general, Dazai-sama has been doing well lately, but it's just ...... Well, it's just that the affairs of the government are still very annoying to adults. ”

"What's the trouble?"

"Hey, it's not that Zhang Xun. He works against adults every day, and he doesn't let go of that little military spending. Tell me, Dazai-sama has worked hard, and it's all for the country. In a country, there are so many things, big and small, all of which must be taken care of by Dazai-sama. He knows how to dance with swords and swords all day long, and he doesn't know how much it costs to govern the country......"

Han didn't finish speaking, but was interrupted by Ji Zheng's high-five. Seeing a guard enter, Ji Zheng gave a look, and the guard took out a brocade book and handed it to Han's account room, and then turned to leave.

Han took the brocade book, opened it, and found that it was a gift list, the category on the gift list was quite rich, not to mention it was worth 30,000 taels of gold, he had followed Bo Yao for 30 years, and had seen countless gift lists, but such a big one was still rare.

"This ...... That's a big deal! ”

"It's a little meaning, please ask Han Lao to bring the gift back tomorrow and hand it over to Dazai-sama."

"Thank you! Thank you, General! Han hurriedly saluted.

"Hehe, just now Han Lao said that Zhang Xun often works against Dazai-sama?"

"Isn't it?! This Zhang Xun is really hateful! ”

Ji Zheng sneered: "I also have some personal grudges with Zhang Xun, and if Dazai-sama can impeach Zhang Xun, General Ben will also be deeply grateful." ”

Hearing this, Han Shufang suddenly put away his sneer, revealing a gloomy face, "As long as the general cooperates, Zhang Xun can be easily impeached and removed from the horse with a simple move." But keeping Zhang Xun is a scourge after all, hehe, what if it's not just impeachment? If you want to get rid of him, I wonder if the general agrees? ”

Ji Zheng paused for a moment and sneered: "It couldn't be better." ”

The next morning, the Gusu Palace.

After the Huangchi Alliance, Wu Wangfu experienced the biggest gap in his life, and the death of his beloved son made him feel like a dead heart, at this time, he was holding his cheeks with one hand and half lifting his eyelids, allowing the two in the palace to quarrel wantonly.

"Zhang Xun, what do you know?! Now that the finances and taxes are tight, and the treasury is empty, you still have to ask the king for military expenses?! Where can you let me go and get you money! Bo Yao pointed at Zhang Xun and scolded angrily.

Zhang Xun smiled contemptuously, "Lord Dazai, five thousand taels of gold is nothing to you, but it is very important to the soldiers on the front line!" With this money, I was able to repair the ordnance, fortify the city, supply food and grass, and pay a minimum pension to the families of those who sacrificed their lives for the country. ”

"Hey." Bo Yao took a long breath and tried to appease Zhang Xun, "General Zhang, I know you need this money, but there is really no money in the treasury, can General Zhang hold off for a while, and when I want to find a way to raise funds, I estimate that I should be able to make up more than half by the end of the year." Hey, now that the country is in difficulty, we have to be poor in hard times, and I also ask General Zhang to be more considerate and considerate. ”

"Hmph, can you get half of it by the end of the year? Hehe, Dazai-sama is really good at living, but Dazai-sama can be innocent a little, and this money will be easy to handle. ”

Bo Yao was suddenly furious, he stretched out his fat fingers, pointed at Zhang Xun with a red face and a thick neck, and scolded: "Be bold Zhang Xun!" What do you mean! You make it clear to me! ”

"What do you mean?! Dazai-sama and a Gangu Su magnates, spend all day drinking, arrogant and lascivious, but I don't know how many soldiers have exchanged their flesh and blood for such comfort?! This time, the Vietnamese army attacked, and the soldiers defended the main road, bravely killed the enemy, and fought with their lives to block the Vietnamese army. There are also the people of Wu, they did their best to help the soldiers to defend their homes and defend the country, so that they were slaughtered by the Yue people, if it were not for their sacrifices, I am afraid that the Yue people would have stepped into the hinterland and turned Gusu into a scorched earth! Now, Dazai's mouth says that he has no money, but the cost of a potted plant in Dazai's house is worth a month's ration for the soldiers of the whole army! ”

"Zhang Xun! You are talking nonsense! Bloody mouth! ”

The two were arguing, but they saw King Wu suddenly tap a few cases with his hand and make a crisp sound, and then the sound became louder and louder, until Zhang Xun and Bo Yao stopped arguing, and King Wu stopped.

King Wu looked at the two of them with a smile, and then said to Zhang Xun: "General Zhang, you are ruthless in your speech today." ”

Zhang Xun said: "King! The border towns have been lost one after another, and the country is already in danger, what is there to talk about now?! Once the country is ruined and the family is destroyed, what is the use of keeping the big affection?! ”

"Okay, since General Zhang has said this, the widow will understand." King Wu raised his hand, pointed at Bo Yao and ordered: "Lord Dazai, within ten days, prepare five thousand taels of gold." ”

"But...... But the king! Where am I going to get this money? The treasury is really out of money. ”

Suddenly, King Wu was furious, he got up angrily, and hysterically pointed at Bo Yao and scolded: "You go steal!" Go grab it! You sold Dazaifu! It doesn't matter what method you use! Get the money out anyway! Hear no! ”

"Compliance...... Obey ......"

"Stand down!" King Wu rebuked angrily.

"Whoa."

The two were just about to leave the main hall, but they heard King Wu shouting behind them: "General Zhang, you stay for a while." ”

Zhang Xun stopped where he was, turned around and saluted King Wu. Bo Yao also froze for a moment, he shook Zhang Xun fiercely with his peripheral vision, and then left the hall directly.

Zhang Xun came to King Wu and asked, "What does the king command?" ”

King Wu's expression was serious, "General Zhang, please tell the widow truthfully, how is the military strength of the Yue Kingdom compared to the military strength of our country?" ”

"For the time being, it is on a par with our army."

"For the time being? What does that mean? ”

"The whole army of the country of Vietnam is well-equipped with iron weapons, which is far superior to our army. There is little difference between the tactics and drill training of the two armies, but the soldiers of the Vietnamese army are generally young, after all, they lack experience, and their combat strength is relatively weak at present, so on the whole, the combat strength of the Vietnamese army is not much different from that of our army. ”

"What about a year from now?"

"It will be slightly better than our army."

"What about three years from now?"

"It will be far superior to our army."

"Ten years from now?"

"Our army has no chance of winning."

King Wu sighed deeply, shook his head, and said, "How to strengthen the army?" ”

"A strong army should first strengthen the country, a strong country should first support the people, and supporting the people needs to stabilize the situation. However, the current internal and external troubles are already a predicament, if you want to prosper, how easy is it to talk about? ”

"Is there a way to break such a predicament?"

"At the moment, we urgently need a big victory, if we can enter the Huiji and force the Yue country to surrender, we can greatly damage the vitality of the Yue country, so as to boost the hearts of our people and create another ten years of peace and prosperity."

King Wu nodded, and then he was speechless for a long time, and finally he looked at Zhang Xun and said: "The ancestral foundation can't be destroyed in my hands no matter what, and I ask General Zhang to do his best!" ”

Zhang Xun took a deep breath and saluted, "Oh! ”