As for the question of why he was so interested in coal, Xu Wei did not say anything to Yang Yan Ma Tai. And now there is not a single stroke of the eight characters, and it is not convenient to disclose. Coal, a good thing, and especially for him as a traverser, it has a special meaning. In the era in which he lived, the word "coal boss" represented flamboyant, high-profile, and most importantly, unimaginable wealth.

After discovering Zezhou's coal production, Xu Wei was not only excited, but also a little annoyed. In fact, there are millions of people in Tokyo, and every household burns coal, and none of them use dry firewood, but his mind is spent on fighting and training soldiers, and he does not notice these subtleties at all. After inspecting the mine under the leadership of Cao Da, he realized a problem, Hedong cannot be lost! At least a few of the coal-producing areas in the southeast of the river cannot be lost!

With that, a conundrum comes to the fore. This time, he was ordered to recruit Hedong, and the strategy of the imperial court was to fight a deterrent campaign. To put it bluntly, even if you win, you still have to withdraw to Dingrong in the end. Now, if Xu Wei wants to recapture the southeast of the river, or even hold on, Li Gang from Shaanxi will definitely strongly agree, but the Tokyo court does not know.

In the second half of the lunar month, approaching the end of the year, this year's weather is beautiful, unlike last year's cold and freezing can freeze people to death, and there is not even snow. Li Guan's subordinates heard news that a large army had recently entered Zhaode Mansion, and it was unknown whether it was a Jin army. But then, according to the leader of the Hedong Righteous Army guarding Pingyang Mansion, he sent someone to Zezhou to report to him that the "Dragon and Tiger King" of the Jin State had led an army to reinforce Li Rebellion, and he was currently in Zhaode City!

Dragon Tiger King? When Xu Wei heard this nickname, he always felt familiar. After thinking about it, I finally remembered it. Historically, in the Battle of Song Jin Yuncheng, Wushu was to take the Dragon and Tiger King, the Gaitian King and other generals, commanding more than 15,000 cavalry and more than 100,000 infantry, and launched a decisive battle with the Yuejia army. As a result, needless to say, it ended in a big defeat for the Jin army. In fact, the so-called "Dragon and Tiger King" is the nickname given by the Hedong Righteous Army to Wanyan Tuhe. Although Xu Wei had never fought against him, Xu Yuan and Xu Sheng were stationed in Gongxian at the beginning, and Mu Han sent the Tieqi as the striker, but he was beaten by the Xu brothers.

After Xu Wei received the news, he thought that the enemy and us would start a decisive battle in the area of Zhaode Mansion, so he immediately sent an order to give Rong and ordered Wu Lan to take charge of military affairs, and Zhang Xian immediately raised 7,000 troops to help. As a result, as soon as the messenger left, the rebels in Pingyang Province came with accurate news that the second batch of reinforcements from the Jin army had arrived.

At this time, Xu Wei couldn't help but be surprised, it seemed that the Jin people were bound to win the entire territory of Hedong. Otherwise, if my troops and horses come, how can the Jin army be like a great enemy? After thinking about it, he decided that it was better to be careful. Although the Hujie army has won several battles, there is still a gap compared with the Jurchen army, and the enemy should not be underestimated. Then he urgently reported to Jingzhao and asked for troops to be sent to help. At the same time, he couldn't help but be interested in the leader of the rebel army in Pingyang Mansion, and he didn't know where the sacredness was that he could spy on the military situation of Zhaode Mansion one after another? I set up a special battalion and trained carefully, but I didn't have such great ability.

Unexpectedly, the answer was quickly answered.

On the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month, the Hujie army was reorganized, and as soon as the Dingrong reinforcements arrived, they would kill Zhaode Mansion. On this day, Xu Wei was inspecting the troops, and a soldier came to report that the leader of the Pingyang Righteous Army had come to pay a visit in person. Now, it's outside the big camp. He is the head of the righteous army, but all the kings of Hedong should think that he is respected. But Xu Wei, the leader of Pingyang Mansion, guessed that he was not an ordinary person, so he went to greet him in person.

Before he reached the gate of the camp, he saw more than a dozen of them standing outside with their horses, and the first one in front was a little kind-hearted, as if he had seen it somewhere. When he got closer, Xu Wei's eyes couldn't help but light up, isn't this Ma Kuo? He raised troops in Wuma Cottage, why did he get here? The leader of the Pingyang Rebels, could it be him?

After walking a few steps quickly, Lao Yuan clasped his fists and shouted: "Brother Zichong!" At that end, Ma Kuo obviously saw him too, and returned the salute with a smile with a fist.

"Wuma Mountain is goodbye, brother, I heard that Gao Rebellion invaded Hebei, and I was very worried about my brother. I sent people to search for him several times, but I found nothing, and I didn't want to, Brother Zichong was in Pingyang. Xu Wei stepped forward to hold Ma Kuo's hand and smiled affectionately. The last time I saw Ma Kuo, he called himself a lowly position, but now he is also a five-rank official, so he naturally follows the rules of the army and is commensurate with Brother Paoze.

Ma Kuo snorted: "Oh, don't be three days, you should be impressed." You are now the commander of Dingrong, the deputy envoy of recruitment, and the head of the righteous army, should I give a salute to Manager Xu? ”

Xu Wei pretended to be angry: "Brother Zichong, isn't this a slap in the face of my brother?" ”

Ma Kuo laughed and patted his hands: "Joke, joke." ”

At that moment, Xu Wei led Ma Kuo and his party into the account, and it was the time of the meal, and it was estimated that the other party was also empty. He ordered the leader of the gang to prepare a few good dishes, and asked Yang Yan Ma Tai to accompany him to entertain the Pingyang Righteous Army. Hujie was originally strictly forbidden to drink alcohol during the war, but in order to implement Ma Kuo, Xu Wei broke the drinking ring, and Yang Yan and Ma Tai were happy. On a cold day, the big tent set up a fire to roast the whole sheep, and the man prepared a few authentic Hebei dishes with wine, and ate them to the fullest. The life of the rebels was not easy, because except for Ma Kuo, the others were just like Hanako, and they were directly grabbed by hand.

Although he controlled the amount of alcohol, Xu Wei was already flushed from drinking, either because he was happy or because of something else. At this time, he picked up another glass of wine and said to Ma Kuo: "Come, Brother Zichong, I will toast you." Li Jun attacked Pingyang several times, but all of them returned with a feather, thanks to the good command of the virtuous brother. ”

Ma Kuo seemed to be a little drunk, and picked up the wine glass with one hand and said, "Li Jun is just a group of bandits and bandits, not worth mentioning. ”

Both of them drank to their heart's content, and Xu Wei asked him how he got to Hedong. Only then did I learn that since Gao Shiyou was stationed in Zhending, with the cooperation of the Jin army, he swept the surrounding area. Wuma Mountain bore the brunt of the attack, and after the neighboring cottages either surrendered or were defeated, Ma Kuo had no choice but to lead the remnants to fight in Hedong. On the way, several robbers from troubled places were broken, and they took the opportunity to collect men and horses, and now they have pulled up more than 10,000 people. Li Zhi's expansion in Hedong caused a fierce resistance from the rebels, and during the Battle of Pingyang, Ma Kuo led his troops to arrive. Because of his special status, he was promoted as the leader of the Pingyang Rebels and commanded in a unified manner. After learning that the Hujie army had recovered Zezhou, he sent someone to contact him.

After hearing this, Xu Wei lifted the wine jug, stepped forward to fill it for the leaders in turn, held the cup in both hands and said: "This cup, I respect you, not for anything else, only for your determination to resist gold, unswervingly!" I, Xu Jiu, admire! In a panic, several leaders hurriedly got up, saying that they couldn't afford it.

After eating, Xu Wei ordered Yang Yan to take the other leaders to observe the military camp, and he himself sat down with Ma Kuoyi. Both of them seemed to be a little drunk, and after sitting down, they were all in the world. After a while, the soldiers brought hot soup. Xu Wei personally served a bowl for him and sent it to his hand, and said with a smile: "The conditions are limited for marching and fighting, there is no tea, drink a bowl of haggis soup, warm and warm." ”

Ma Kuo took it, didn't drink it first, and sniffed it, the unique smell of mutton made him nod again and again, and only after drinking half a bowl did he put it down. He let out a long sigh of relief and sighed: "For so long, only today can be regarded as An Ansheng's meal." ”

Xu Wei smiled but did not speak. Who is to blame? You are obviously a military minister of the imperial court, but you would rather be in the company of recklessness than re-appoint. However, Ma Kuo is a talented person with extraordinary wisdom and insight, and he must have his own ideas.

"Let's get down to business. Coming today, I just want to know, how many soldiers and horses did the imperial court send to Hedong? After a moment, Ma Kuo asked.

Xu Wei raised a finger and looked suspicious at Ma Kuan's face: "Just your army?" So how many people did you bring? ”

"Less than 10,000." Xu Wei said with a smile.

Ma Kuo was speechless for a while, stared at Xu Wei for a long time, and after confirming that he was not joking, he sighed: "Don't fight, don't fight." Now in Zhaode City, the Jin army alone is afraid that there are 10,000 or 20,000, and you have less than 10,000 horse infantry troops, how to deal with it? ”

"Tokyo means to give the Jurchens and Li Yi a little deterrence, and the significance of this war warning is greater than reality." Xu Wei said frankly.

Ma Kuo shook his head: "Although the imperial court is unable to recover the two rivers, at least the southeast border of this river cannot be lost." The three prefectures of Xie, Jiang, and Ze, as well as the prefecture in Hezhong, are all mountainous and watery, which is not conducive to the gallop of the Jurchen horse army. The city was strong enough to be defended. In addition, there is a lot of produce here, and the coal is supplied to the nearby prefectures and Tokyo. If the Jurchens and Li were allowed to take possession, what would they know besides spoiling? ”

This is exactly what Xu Wei is thinking in his heart, in the past few days, he has been thinking about how to defeat the enemy in front of him, and at the same time, he is thinking about how to move Li Gang and even the imperial court to recover the southeast border of Hedong? Now Ma Kuo mentioned that he intended to ask for advice, but he didn't say it clearly, so he said: "Brother also has this intention, but he has no choice, as a military minister, he doesn't dare to say more." ”

Ma Kuo didn't know the reason, nodded slightly, and the two fell into silence. After a long time, Ma Kuo said in a deep voice: "You might as well say this to Xuanfu Xianggong." After pausing for a moment, as if thinking, he continued, "The Jurchens used traitors to invade the two rivers, and their greatest purpose was to build a barrier between the Song and Jin, so that they could have a chance to recuperate and prepare for their future return. The two rivers are lost, and Shaanxi is the lifeblood of the Great Song Dynasty. The Jurchens must also understand this truth, so it can be expected that in the next few years, if Li Yi gains a firm foothold in Hedong, he will always invade the west. If Shaanxi wants to enrich the people and strengthen the army, it also needs to recuperate and develop. Similarly, such a barrier is also needed, that is, one province and three prefectures in the southeast of the river. ”

Xu Wei listened very carefully, and did not immediately express his position. There is no doubt that both the emperor and the ministers understood the importance of Shaanxi. And once Li Zhi sits down, he will invade Shaanxi, and the imperial court will not have an opinion to curb the momentum of his expansion, otherwise he will not agree to invite Hedong. Since the recovery of three states and one government is conducive to defending Shaanxi, and these places are easy to defend, is the imperial court not moved?

After a while, Xu Wei patted the case and praised: "In one sentence! Brother Zichong is far-sighted and admired. ”

"Be polite, the name of the Purple Gold Tiger is Weizhen Hedong, and the heroes of the two rivers mention you Xu Jiu, who doesn't applaud?" Ma Kuo also said.

Xu Wei also said a few words modestly, and said for a while, he always had a question, and he didn't vomit or be unhappy. Then he asked tentatively: "There is no one else here, my brother dares to ask, why did Brother Zichong abandon his official position and prefer to be the head of the righteous army?" ”

Ma Dang probably didn't expect him to ask this, and after a moment of silence, he sighed softly. Seeing this, Xu Wei knew that he might have something unspeakable, so he immediately smiled and said, "Count me too much." ”

On the second day after Ma Kuo and the others arrived, the fine people found out the emergency military situation. The Li Jin coalition army has left Zhaode Mansion and has come all the way to Zezhou, and has now reoccupied Gaoping County in the north of Zezhou, and the enemy army claims to have 80,000 horse infantry troops, shouting "Trap Hedong and capture Xu Wei".

Ma Kuo immediately resigned and returned to Pingyang, and before leaving, he promised that once Hujie engaged the enemy, he would send troops to attack Zhaode Mansion according to the situation, so that the Li Jin coalition army had worries. Xu Wei personally sent him off, and returned from the camp for more than ten miles. At the end of the month, Zhang Xian led 7,000 horses and infantry troops to Zezhou to join Xu Wei. On the same day, the enemy army forced into the five miles outside the city of Zezhou to peep, Xu Wei ordered Ma Tai to run the cavalry, not wanting the other party to be a serious Jurchen cavalry, the two sides fought for a while, Ma Tai expected to be defeated, and withdrew to the city.

In the blink of an eye, the New Year is approaching, and neither side has acted rashly. On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, Xu Wei understood the hard work of the soldiers, added wine and food to encourage, and counted the Spring Festival. There is no news from Shaanxi that if the enemy forces surround Zezhou City, there is no need to attack, because it only needs to be surrounded for a while, and Hujie will run out of food. In view of this, Xu Wei set up two camps on the left and right outside the city, and Yang Yan and Zhang Xian each had a village to take precautions.

Just after the first day of the new year, on the morning of the second day of the new year, the scout troops sent by Yang Yan encountered the enemy in the northwest direction of Zezhou. Yang Yan was furious and asked Xu Wei to fight. The latter agreed, and gave the horse army three hundred to strengthen his march.

Yang Yan was eager for revenge, and more than 3,000 people from the headquarters came out of the village, facing the 5,000 men led by Li Meng, the second son of Li Zhi, this stunned young man didn't think about lining up at all, and a military order went down. Three hundred cavalry charged, followed by foot soldiers. Li Jun obviously came prepared this time, Li Shan was frightened by the Hujie cavalry, and after returning home, he reported the battle to his father in detail. Therefore, Li Meng came as the vanguard of the Li army to prevent the impact of the Hujie cavalry. The cavalry failed to break through into the enemy's formation, and Yang Yan became more and more annoyed, and led the infantry to attack. The two armies met each other, and the battle was fierce, and later Li Meng was worried that Zezhou would send reinforcements, so he withdrew his troops.

On the third day of the first month, Li Meng came again, and most of the generals in the army thought that Yang Yan was too hasty and reckless in the battle yesterday, although he killed more than 700 enemies and captured more than 100 prisoners, he also lost more than 400 people. And the opponent is Li Jun, who is not yet the elite of the Jurchens, so it is recommended to let Zhang Xian fight. Xu Wei didn't know why, he ignored the crowd and still ordered Yang Yan to meet the enemy. He used to be a thousand, and he has a very clear reason. As long as the gambler plays a few times, he can roughly figure out the opponent's routine, and then he will play cards in a targeted manner. Now this Li Meng has come to challenge one after another, and he has not seen the main force of the enemy, I am afraid that he has ulterior motives.