Zhang Shen waved his hand: "Listen to me." Quduan's troops are now far away in Ningzhou, and how many steps are there between Shaanxi and Yanyan? Why bother looking for the near and far? Besides, I have no relationship with Qu Duan, but I am my own family with you, both public and private, so I have no reason to hand over the defense of Sanzhou to him, right? ”

Xu Wei turned his wine glass and was speechless for a while. It is good to be able to obtain the Sanzhou Defense Zone, but it is not that it means to seize territory, but once the Shaanxi and Hua Jinglu Pacification Division takes over the three prefectures of Zhangfang, Dun, and Dan, they can justifiably expand the size of the army and ask for money, food, and equipment. Moreover, geographically speaking, if the Jin army came from Hedong, in addition to Shaanxi, these three important places would be counted. Even if they don't expand their staff, the directors of the two divisions will not agree.

Zhang Shen saw Xu Wei like this, but he was moved, and pouted again: "There is another layer of meaning, I believe Ziang also understands." If I hand over the defense of the three states to the person surnamed Qu, will I still have good fruit to eat in the future? I'll leave it to you, but I'm relieved. You suggest to the two directors that you ask for the three states, first guard for my brother and me, and you just have to ask the two directors for the money, food and equipment, and when this limelight passes, then Lao Ziang will take care of the three states for his brother and get the three states back......"

Hey, you are good at calculating, should I come forward to ask Li Xuanfu He Shaobao for Sanzhou, or will I guard it for you first, and then I will speak for you to help get it back? Is there such a cheap thing in the world? Are you really supposed to be a bare-assed kid and be your gunman? If I take the initiative to ask for it, not only will I become angry with Qu Duan, but I will also cause dissatisfaction with several other handsomes. Oh, you Xu Wei is amazing, you just got to the top of the hand, and you want to take over Shaanxi? That's okay, you're so powerful, when Jin Jun comes, you drive it back by yourself, we don't care!

Damn, they are still like brothers, regardless of each other, you are clearly asking me to carry the black pot for you! When a shield! When I don't know how to die, I think I've taken advantage of you! You deserve to be cleaned up!

With a smile, Xu Wei said: "It's not that my brother doesn't want to help, it's just that after I go back from Chang'an, I am ready to fight Tongguan." Zhang Jingluo also knew that Lou Su went to Henan Mansion to occupy Luoyang, maybe he would kill from Tongguan into Guanzhong. At this time, if I divide my troops to take over the defense of the three states, I really can't do it. ”

Zhang Shen was in a hurry at that time, dragged a chair and sat next to him, and explained: "As long as you take over, you can expand the army!" In this part of Shaanxi, the defense area is a fart, and it is true to have soldiers in hand! This homeless people all over the land, why are you still afraid that you won't be able to recruit people to eat? As soon as the troops are pulled up, they can reach out to the two divisions to ask for money, food and equipment, you have a background in Tokyo, can the two divisions still give it to you? ”

Xu Wei still didn't say anything, Zhang Shen frowned when he saw this, this kid is a tricky person, and he doesn't get in oil and salt! After thinking about it, he suddenly smiled and said, "Of course, I can't let you help in vain." In addition to asking the two divisions for equipment and food, my brother also has his own intentions, and he will not treat you badly. ”

"Zhang Jingluo is out of sight, brother doesn't mean this. It's just that, as you must have heard, Qu Duan and I used to have some friction and had a bad time. The commander ordered him to take over the defense, and if I intervene in it, I am afraid of attracting jealousy. He is the ruler of the six roads, and he is also my chief, and when he conflicts with him, my brother doesn't have the guts. Xu Wei said embarrassedly.

Zhang Shen laughed secretly in his heart, you are here and pretending to be with me, are you afraid of Quduan? It's not that we haven't heard of the Hezhongfu incident, didn't Qu Duan attack the rebel army that withdrew from Pingyang and recruited thousands of people? You turned around and led the troops into Hezhong Mansion, not to mention taking all the people away, not even leaving any equipment behind, and arresting Zhang Zhongyan, the henchman of Quduan. In the end, he raised the signboard of "Hedong Recruiting Deputy Envoys", and made Qu Duan suffer a dumb loss, will you be afraid of him?

Although he understood that this was the case, he couldn't say that Xu Jiu was very slippery, and if he didn't take a few steps back, he would not come to this puddle of water. That's it, who told me to ask for help, I have to put down the shelf. Wait for this period to pass, Lao Tzu ...... A punch slammed on the table, Zhang Dashuai said loudly: "Okay! I don't want my brother to be embarrassed, I'll figure out a way for the two directors, you just have to wait for the order, you can take advantage of the cheap, and I'll carry the black pot, how about it? ”

"Haha, I'm laughing!" Xu Wei laughed. He really thinks it's funny, he didn't treat Zhang Shen as a fool, but Zhang Shen treated him like a doll, and "You take advantage, I carry the black pot", does Zhang Shen believe it?

After a moment of silence, Xu Wei finally nodded and said, "Well, Zhang Jingluo is my father's old department, not an outsider." If you are in trouble, if I don't help, people will laugh at me Xu Jiu for being unkind. In this way, as soon as I go back, I will prepare for this matter, and as soon as the two divisions give the order, I will immediately send troops to take over the defense. ”

"Happy!" Zhang Shen praised against his will, "It really has the style of Ling Zun back then!" It is worthy of being a tiger of the gate! Come on, let's have a drink! ”

"Drink one!" Xu Wei took the initiative this time, lifted the wine jug and filled it to the other party, and the two clinked glasses and poured them down.

"Come on, go and call those fans to me, sing a song, dance, help the wine, today I want to get drunk with my virtuous brother!" Zhang Shen shouted.

Xu Wei smiled and said nothing, after the three states of Nafang, Dun, and Dan were broken by the Jin army, they were looted and seriously damaged. If anyone takes over the defense, the first thing to do is to put the city in order. If the Jin army sends reinforcements from Hedong, I am afraid that these three places will face another attack, which is simply a steamed bun that has just come out of the pot, and whoever picks it up will have his hand. And it's "hot", and you can't shake it off. You are smart and know that there will be no scum left in your hands when you enter the curved end, so let me hold the hot steamed buns for you, and eat them yourself when they are cold.

After this meal, Zhang Shen personally sent Xu Wei downstairs and expressed his gratitude repeatedly. And promised that after returning to Yan'an, he would definitely send his heart and not let the little brother Bai help. After Xu Wei said a few polite words, he said goodbye and left.

That night, he took Ma Kuo and went to Dongfu to visit Li Gang. Unexpectedly, I found out that Li Xuanfu happened to go out to inspect farming in the past few days, and was not in Chang'an. The two sighed, Xuanfu Xianggong was really working, and as soon as the war stopped, they were in a hurry to go out to have a look. Although this person does not understand military affairs, he is definitely a good minister, a capable minister, and a cadre minister, whether he is the prime minister in the court or in the Xuanfu locality.

Beginning the next day, presided over by He Guan, everyone discussed the military situation in the preparation department. It is mainly discussed about the intention of Lou Su who invaded Henan Province. Qu Duan believed that Lou Su wanted to get in touch with the Eastern Route Army on the battlefield in the Central Plains and conspire to capture Tokyo. But Xu Wei didn't dare to agree, he put forward the judgment that Lou Su was guarding Tongguan and entrenched in Luoyang, wanting to use it as a base and wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then make a comeback. As early as the end of the month, or as late as the beginning of the next month, there will be movement.

Qu Duan retorted on the spot, and he concluded that Lou Su would not dare to covet Shaanxi anymore on the grounds that the Jin army had suffered heavy losses in Yaozhou and Dingrong, and that its soldiers, equipment, and grain and grass had suffered a lot of losses.

Although the generals present did not support or oppose it on both sides, they were still more inclined to Quduan's opinion in their hearts. Although the Jin army claims to be more than 200,000, it is estimated that it is only about 100,000, and Yaozhou will not talk about it for a while, especially the battle of Dingrong. The Jin army ambushed the corpses for more than 20 miles, and countless people were pushed into Weishui and drowned, if it were not for the lack of cavalry advantage of the three-way army, Lou Su would have been defeated even worse. This battle can be said to have hurt the Jin army and frightened, and the other party did not dare to rashly attack the Guanzhong area where strong troops were gathered. Zijin Tiger's concerns may be a bit worrying, or he may be deliberately alarmist and create panic in order to achieve his goal of expanding his strength. Because his defense area is entering the entrance to the Guanzhong Plain, if the Jin army wants to make a comeback, the two divisions will inevitably increase the strength of the Shaanxi and Hua Jingluo pacification divisions first. The beneficiary is naturally Xu Jiu, the new marshal.

He Guan finally broke a "gourd case", he ordered the Xu family brothers to be careful, and on the other hand, he asked Qu Duan to clean up the mess in Huanqing as soon as possible, and then take over the defense of Sanzhou under Zhang Shen. It is equivalent to fighting another war and rectifying the wind.

After Xu Wei went back, he talked to Ma Zichong about this matter. The latter believes that Qu Duan's assertion that Jin Jun will not come again does not mean that he does not have keen judgment, if it is about ability, Qu Shiyin still has it, but when he says this, there must be a hidden secret. As for He Guan's "unhappiness", it is better to understand, this is a last resort. He may also know that Xu Wei is right, but now is a great opportunity for him to unify his military power, and he can't be diverted by the threat of the Jin army. Now that King Huanqing seems to have been dismissed from his post and escorted to Yousi to ask for guilt, and then when Qu Duan took over the three states of Yanyan, Zhang Shen will be half dead. As long as you can successfully win these two ways, the rest will be a matter of course.

Xu Yuan of Jingyuan, although he has been in the northwest border, his family background determines that he can only choose to support the two divisions in the end. And because of his background, it is impossible for the two divisions to touch him. In this way, Qin Feng Zhao pointed, Xihe Wang Yi, and there was no room for turnaround. Thanks to the invasion of the Jin Army, the domineering and domineering that the Western Army has cultivated for more than 100 years will be wiped out under He Shaobao's heavy blow.

But whether He Guan's plan can succeed depends on two factors. First of all, he must take down Yan Yan Jingluo to appease Zhang Shen, and secondly, he has to see if Jin Jun can help. If Xu Wei is unfortunately said, it will be the end of the month as early as the end, or the beginning of next month at the latest, and the Jin army will make a comeback, and things will be variable again.

In view of this, Ma Kuo suggested to Xu Wei, since the above has this attitude, you should simply expand the army, take Tongguan, hold the pontoon bridge, and block these two entrances. This is in Xu Wei's arms, a few years ago, when something happened, Lao Tzu called an excited, ran to shout, and offered advice, but the old man put a hot face on people's cold buttocks. Now that I'm learning to be good, you can do whatever you want, I just have to recruit troops, expand my strength, and take care of my own duties. Otherwise, why should I eat radishes salty and worry about it? Not in his position, not in his politics! Love is so neat!

Twenty-sixth, after the discussion of the preparation division, the generals returned to the defense area. Ma Kuo thought that this time he would come for nothing, but before leaving, Xu Wei found out that Li Gang had returned to Chang'an, so he led him to meet him.

In Xu Wei's impression, Ma Kuo is a very arrogant person, because he has some friendship with him, so he is quite polite. But I don't have much contact with other people. But when he went to see Li Gang this time, Ma Kuo was actually dressed neatly, wearing a five-grade vermilion official robe, a black veil on his head, and a gold belt tied around his waist, which can be regarded as a full dress, which shows the degree of importance he attaches to it.

The two rode to the East Mansion, although the guards saw that both of them were wearing vermilion official robes and gold belts, but who was not a high-ranking official in and out of this Xuanfu Division? A brick can knock down three or five. Therefore, he stepped forward to block the way, and asked politely, "Dare to ask where the two chiefs came from?" ”

Ma Kuo glanced at him and asked, "You don't know the Purple Golden Tiger?" ”

The guard's face changed, he glanced at Xu Wei a few times, and hurriedly clenched his fists and said, "I've seen Xu Dashuai." ”

"Can the Prime Minister Xuanfu be in the mansion?" Xu Wei asked directly.

"Back to Xu Jingluo, I returned yesterday, and I was in the house at this time, and the villain went to report to the chief." With that, the guard turned and ran in. The rest secretly looked at Xu Wei from time to time to catch a glimpse of the demeanor of the youngest handsome minister in the six roads of Shaanxi.

Seeing this, Ma Kuo smiled and said: "Your three words 'Purple Gold Tiger' have become a living signboard, and the passage is unimpeded." ”

"Are you deliberately disgusting me or what? With my brother's talents, Xuanfu will inevitably be reused, and over time, it will be above me. Xu Wei also smiled. What he said was not to boast, with Ma Kuan's talent, as long as Li Gang uses him, he will definitely have a bright future.

After a while, the guards ran out quickly, and saluted from afar: "Xuan Xiangjun's will, please Xu Jingluo enter the mansion to meet." ”

When Xu Wei heard this, he stepped into the mansion with Ma Kuo, and when he saw that he had bypassed the wall, he saw Li Gang in a purple official uniform, who was not wearing a black veil, and walked quickly to meet him. The two stepped forward to salute together, saying "Meet the Minister Xuanfu".

Li Gang grabbed Xu Wei's right hand, and he didn't know where to start for a while. Since the Purple Gold Tiger recruited Hedong last year, they have not seen each other again. When Shaanxi was in crisis, he still believed that Xu Wei would definitely live up to his trust. Facts have proved that Xu Jiu is a trustworthy subordinate, and when the news of Dingrong's victory came, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Xu Wei raised his head, his expression changed slightly. I haven't seen him for a few months, but Li Xuanfu seems to be much older. Although Li Gang is not like many civil servants in the court, he was born dignified and lofty, so he has his own majestic temperament. But now, he described it as haggard, his beard was half white, and even his eye sockets were sunken. If it weren't for this official robe, it would be no different from an old peasant.

"It's hard work." Xu Wei said softly.

Hearing this, Li Gang was also moved, and in the face of this subordinate whom he had always trusted and loved, he hissed: "If you talk about hard work, who can compare to your commanders who are fighting abroad?" Ziang rushed to the aid in time to promote the great victory of Dingrong, and the official was very pleased, very pleased! ”

From beginning to end, he didn't let go of Xu Wei's hand. It wasn't until the two of them were led to a side hall to serve tea that they let go. After taking his seat, Li Gang was very excited and inquired in detail about Xu Wei's conquest of Hedong and the battle of Dingrong. When he heard that he had now led the army back to Fuzhou to attack the defenders of Pingyang on both sides, defeated the enemy besieging the city, and crossed the Yellow River in time to rush to the aid of the Dingrong battlefield after the two armies combined, the supreme governor of Shaanxi patted his thigh and applauded! He also said that the great victory of Dingrong is a rare military feat in recent years, and it will surely spread all over the world!

The two of them have been familiar with each other during the Xuanhe years, and aside from the identities of their superiors and subordinates, they can be called friends who have forgotten their years. Therefore, as soon as they talked about it, they talked endlessly, and put the horses aside.

After a while, Xu Wei realized that he found a gap and said to Li Gang: "I came here today, first, to meet Prime Minister Xuan, and secondly, to recommend a great talent to Xianggong!" ”

Li Gang turned his attention to Ma Kuo at this time, and saw that he had a good appearance, and he was wearing a red robe, and he came with Xu Wei, so he asked, "Who is this?" ”

Xu Wei didn't answer, and looked at Ma Kuo, who got up and said, "Humble Ma Kuo, I've seen Xuanfu Xianggong." ”

"Ma Kuo? Could it be ......," Li Gang said suspiciously.

"The ancestral home is Di Dao, his father Ma Zheng, and he ran with his father between Song and Jin during the humble Xuanhe period." As soon as Ma Kuo's words came out, Xu Wei sweated for him. If he is an ordinary person, he must be secretive about this matter, but he is good, and he shakes it directly, and it is really not the usual path.

Li Gang bowed slightly, speechless for a while. The fact that the Ma family's father and son contributed to the Song-Jin Covenant is well known, and although he was in a foreign position at the time, he also heard about it. Moreover, when the three-way western army attacked Hedong, Xu Wei once said that Ma Kuo suggested using the righteous army first. As a result, I didn't listen to it, and I was a big failure, and I have always been haunted.

However, in recent years, both the government and the opposition have held one-sided opinions on Ma Kuo. That is, the alliance between Ma Zheng and Ma Kuo, father and son, is the root cause of the Jin army's southern invasion. Therefore, regarding these two people as the culprits, there are even calls for the imperial court to deal with them harshly.

Now Xu Wei personally brought him here, also known as recommending great talents, and being so respected by Zijin Tiger must be a good learner. As soon as he thought of this, he asked: "Do you want to know about the public opinion of the government and the opposition about your father and son?" ”

Ma Kuo's face did not change, and replied truthfully: "The humble position is very clear. ”

"In that case, why do you dare to show up? As far as I know, after the fall of Zhending, you abandoned your duties and entered the cottage, cutting off contact with the imperial court from then on. When you go to Chang'an today, aren't you afraid that I will punish you? Li Gang asked again.

Ma Kuo sighed and said with a wry smile: "Since the incident, many Chinese people have not forgiven, and they all regard Ma Kuo as the culprit and want to kill him quickly. Since he understands this truth and appears in front of Xuan Xiang, he naturally knows the consequences. ”

"Then why do you dare to come?" Li Gang accentuated his tone.

"In the past few years, he has been living in the rivers and lakes, marching in Wuma Mountain to form volunteers to resist Jin, and then transferred to Hedong, and began to join Xu Jingluo. With the support of the Xianggong, he gathered tens of thousands of troops in Zhaode Mansion to fight against Li Wei Jurchen. However, Zhaode was besieged by Li's army, and Shaanxi did not send a single soldier to help, so that the city was broken. At this time, the humble position suddenly realized, although the heart of serving the country is the same, but the way is worlds apart. Hearing that the prime minister announced that he was soothing Shaanxi, seeking talents in many ways, Ma Kuo was not able to do anything, and he was willing to risk life and death to come, which was to ask the prime minister to give him a chance to humble himself. ”