The earth began to gradually spread green veil, the jungle slowly turned goose yellow, and the air became moist under the spring breeze, and spring in the northwest finally came. On a hill next to Dingxi City, a small pavilion has been newly built on the mountain, in which you can overlook the valley and have an unobstructed view of the surrounding scenery.

This is Xu Ping's new people to build, and now Dingxi City is becoming more and more prosperous, not only businessmen gather, but even nearby scholars also have many gathered here. This small northwest city is located deep in the mountains, abandoned for nearly 200 years, and there is no place to visit. A place must always have its own character, and the blind yellow sand desert will always make the people of the Central Plains feel strange and give rise to a feeling of a foreign country.

On this day, Xu Ping called Li Zhang and asked Tan Hu to bring wine and meat to the mountain to watch the scenery together. When they arrived at the pavilion, the two sat down opposite each other, Tan Hu served the food, poured the wine, and dispersed with the guards.

Xu Ping said to Tan Hu: "This is the northwest, so naturally cattle and sheep are indispensable. Set up a pot on the side, and cook some meat, and we will eat two pieces, and you and the guards will use some wine and meat. ”

Tan Hu agreed, took the guards to set up the pot, and picked up some dry wood around. The meat was brought by them to make rations for the road.

Xu Ping turned around, raised his glass and said, "Brother, I have been in the northwest for a year, I am tired a lot, and I drink a glass of wine." ”

The two are playmates who grew up together in private, and they have always been brothers, but after a long time in the army, Li Zhang has become more and more unaccustomed to it. With the rise of Xu Ping's status and the promotion of his official position, Li Zhang became more and more restrained.

After drinking the wine, Li Zhang said: "Jingluo, in the past few days, after Zhuoluo City fled back to Lingzhou, Hao thief let people build a southern courtyard in Tiandu Mountain, imitating the Khitan production as his palace. By autumn, nine times out of ten, the battle would be in Tiandu Mountain. ”

Xu Ping said with a smile: "Today, our brothers drink alcohol and don't talk about business. Tired all year round, there are always some idle days. ”

Li Zhang nodded in agreement, and suddenly, he didn't know what he should talk about when he stopped talking about business.

After drinking another glass of wine, Xu Ping asked Li Zhang: "After a year in Qinzhou, do you miss home?" ”

Li Zhang said embarrassedly: "When my brother said it, I suddenly felt that I was thinking about it. ”

"I'm homesick, so I'll prepare for the next few months, and I'll go back to the capital after the autumn."

Listening to Xu Ping's words, Li Zhang was stunned: "Why did my brother suddenly let me go back to Beijing?" Isn't it because I've been doing things hard lately? ”

Xu Ping shook his head: "Of course not, with your identity, you came to the northwest to be in charge of the opportunity, worked day and night, and never slacked off in official affairs, which is commendable." I don't want you to go back, our brothers have joined forces to make a great contribution in the northwest, how much is it good? It's just that the wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it, and if you don't return to Beijing, I'm afraid that it will be a big disaster in the northwest. Originally, I wanted to let the prison army Wang Kai return to Beijing, but after thinking about it, I was not at ease. You are your own brother, you go back, I can sit here. ”

Li Zhang was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Brother, you have to be careful, you just won a big victory a few days ago, and now is when you are in the limelight, how can you think of disaster?" If something really happens, let's figure it out together! ”

"Drink, drink." Xu Ping raised his glass, drank another glass of wine with Li Zhang, and shook his head with a smile. "Of course, there is no misfortune for me at this time, but if people have no foresight, they will have near-term worries. Since the rebellion of the Hao thieves, although this dynasty has had many small victories, on the whole, there are still many times when they lose their teachers and land. The only two big victories were fought by me with the Qinzhou army. The wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it; Walk above men, and the crowd will not. Now that we have just won a big victory, it is natural that we will be applauded both inside and outside, but after some time, it is inevitable that some people will rumor and slander. This is human nature, and it cannot be avoided. We changed the military system in Qinzhou and organized the army, and I don't know how many people's jobs have been ruined. With the momentum of two big victories, the imperial court will inevitably intend to implement the Qinzhou military system in other places, and there will be many people who will be offended. ”

Li Zhang nodded silently, he naturally had already seen the clues of the matter, but he knew that Xu Ping knew it in his heart, so he didn't say it. The Privy Council deliberately promoted the military system of Qinzhou to several other routes, but was fiercely opposed by the Sanya and the generals of the forbidden army in various places. Qinzhou's military reform can go smoothly because the strength of the forbidden army here is weak, and the two largest armies, Sang Yi and Gao Daquan, are Xu Ping's old department, and there is no resistance, but how can other places?

The core of Qinzhou's military system is to strengthen the institutional control of the army, and at the same time greatly weaken the power of the commander-in-chief. This matter is simple to say, but if it is really to be implemented, I don't know how many generals' interests have been moved. At this time, the culture was that military attachés could love money, but the power to collect money was deprived of where the money came from? If you don't have money, why do you want to be a soldier?

In order to strengthen institutional control, it will inevitably lead to the institutionalization of a large number of affairs in the military, so that in the past, a few public officials could manage the affairs of the army, and the commander-in-chief could not read big characters. When a large number of scholars enter the army, it is inevitable that the existing officers and men in the army will learn to read and write, and the boundaries between civil and military affairs will gradually blur. Since Taizong was in power and advocated civil rule, civil officials gradually excluded military attachés from major national political affairs, and the blurring of civil and military boundaries will inevitably change this trend. Some of the civilian officials will cater to this policy, and in addition to state affairs, they will also take military power from the military generals. However, the vast majority of the people will fiercely oppose it, and it is the basic policy at this time not to let the military generals interfere in the government, and the military power will be wrested from the military hands, and at the same time, the political power will also let out some of them.

If the military system of Qinzhou continues, it will inevitably offend the civilian and military generals at the same time. Xu Ping's consecutive victories are okay, others have no way to take him, but if there is a little setback, I don't know what big trouble will happen. Even if he doesn't cause trouble, these constraints will have a significant impact on Xu Ping's strategic decision-making. A vicious circle, in the end, I am afraid that there will be no good ending.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Qinzhou military system has subverted the current military culture, and it is not a certain person or a certain group of people who offend, but a large part of the ruling class. Just as the imperial examination opened the way for the low-level Han scholars to advance, the military reform in Qinzhou will also open the way for the promotion of military merit at the bottom, and the world of the forbidden army will be greatly impacted.

This is a radical change in military culture, how can it be easy? When the country was first founded, Song Taizu also said that he wanted to let the world's martial artists study, but the result was just talking, and he didn't even turn up half of the waves.

After pondering for a long time, Li Zhang asked Xu Ping: "What does my brother want me to do?" Although I have been in charge of Jiyisi for more than a year, the affairs of the DPRK and China are not clear, so let me go back to the DPRK, I am afraid that it will be difficult to take on the important task. ”

"You don't need to go through the affairs of the DPRK and China, and you can compare to those old ministers who have been in the officialdom for decades? You only need to be familiar with the affairs of the army, and you can put these affairs in front of everyone, and you must believe in the princes of the DPRK and China in what to do. In the next few months, you will have to participate in all the deliberations of the Counsellor Military Division, and you don't need to come up with any ideas or decisions, just learn how to do things. Go to the Privy Council after the autumn and move our tent there! ”

Xu Ping originally wanted Wang Kai to do this, he was the great-grandson of the founding general Wang Quanbin, but because Wang Quanbin was greedy and murderous after he pacified Shu, he provoked a popular uprising, so he was demoted, and their family did not become a generational relative like the Cao family. Wang Kai was arrested for ravaging the Mintian when Kou Zhun knew the Yongxing Army. Wang Kai is disciplined in governing the army, he is not greedy for money, he treats soldiers well, and he is Xu Ping's good helper in Qinzhou. But his power in the court is too weak, and without the support of others, it is difficult to help Xu Ping, who is far away in the northwest. After thinking about it, Xu Ping still decided to let Li Zhang return to the court and put the decision-making mechanism and process of the Qinzhou operation in the court. Afraid that people will be secretly slandered, Xu Ping has no great ability to stop this, so he can only put things on the bright side, and if he loses, he is helpless, and no one can complain.

This was an era of drastic changes, and a large number of children from poor families entered the officialdom through the imperial examination and became the backbone of the government. As long as Xu Ping is really doing the right thing, there is no need to worry about no one to support him, just like he did in the third division.

Lu Yijian is already dying, even if he spreads his henchmen, he can no longer make waves in the court, not to mention that in fact, he and Xu Ping are now supporting each other and using each other, Gong because of his own status. What really poses a threat to Xu Ping is those generations of generals in the Sanya, and the identity of Li Zhang's cousin Zhao Zhen happens to be the nemesis of those people.

Li Zhang nodded silently, after a year of polishing in Qinzhou, he is no longer the little officer who has been held by Zhao Zhen's side. He may not be familiar with the affairs of the court, but when it comes to military affairs, he can be regarded as an understanding person when he returns to the capital.

Xu Ping raised his wine glass and drank it all, stood up, and went to the pavilion to look at the surrounding mountains. How easy is it for a person to change an era? If you want to really make a career, you can't rely on personal struggle alone, after all, you still have to change the trend of the times and lead a group of people to move forward with you.

This is an era of changing people's minds, and all kinds of talents are emerging in an endless stream, as long as you really do it right, you don't need to worry about not finding fellow travelers. Needless to say, Xu Ping, the later Wang Anshi can set off monstrous waves. Now Xu Ping has made enough feats to prove himself, and he no longer needs to beg others to understand him. Now as long as he shows what Qinzhou has done to the people of the world, how these battles were won and how the exploits were obtained, there will naturally be others behind him.

After entering the officialdom, who doesn't want to be promoted? Who doesn't want to make a difference? Xu Ping pointed out a clear path to others, and some people broke their heads and squeezed on this road, even if there were obstacles, even if there were twists and turns, the momentum of this vast soup was unstoppable.

Perhaps, this battle of Zhuoluo City, which Xu Ping didn't want to fight, was far more meaningful than he imagined.