The three captains of the Iron Guard and the four captains of the Imperial Guards lived in this row. After the three Iron Guard Captains reported to Xie Shence that the surrounding environment was normal, Xie Shence went to bed early.

The next day, Xie Shence woke up early.

It seems that the weather in the northwest is still colder than that in Jindu, and Xie Shence is in an excellent state of mind after getting up.

Later, Jiang Qi sent someone to take the two brothers to the camp in Beicheng. Say it's a visit. The two brothers soon arrived at the Peking University Camp campus.

This is the first time Xie Shence has seen a Modao army formation of nearly 10,000 people.

Eight thousand shirtless Mo knife hands covered with black armor and black scarves were evenly scattered on the campus grounds. The black pressure was overwhelming, the blue blade shone with a cold light in the early morning sun, and as the order flag on the corner tower changed, the Mo knife hands repeated over and over again the simple stabbing out - back knife - and then stabbing out the action, accompanied by the earth-shattering roar of the Mo knife hand: "Kill!" Ooh! Kill ......"

Xie Shence and Xie Shenwei stood behind Jiang getting up, with solemn expressions. Looking at the Mo Dao hand who exhaled a large cloud of white gas but was covered in sweat, Xie Shence's heart was surging, the world is strong, and it is so strong.

There was no noise in the entire school yard except for the roar, footsteps, and the collision of iron armor.

Xie Shence suddenly felt that it was quiet here, and he could hear the sound of the rammed earth falling from the sweat of the Mo knife hand in the front row. It was quiet for him inside.

Xie Shence couldn't help but think of the scene of cutting the waves in the Qiantang River.

A thousand Mo knife hands, lined up in two rows, standing waist-deep in the water, facing the early morning sun, wearing armor and holding knives, cutting waves on the bank of the Qiantang River. Every wave that came over seemed to be an impact of the enemy's cavalry, and every time the Mo swordsman slashed out, he had to strive to be fast and accurate. The blade must not be disrupted by the wave, otherwise it will hurt its companions, and the blade must not be stagnant, otherwise it will backshock and hurt itself. After Xie Shence was thirteen years old, he practiced cutting waves by the river with Wang Kui and the young children of Huaiyang Dao, and personally experienced the feeling of being swept away by the huge force of the big waves, and understood how great and terrible the pressure of the Modao army formation was when fighting against the continuous impact of heavy horses like ocean waves.

In the face of such pressure, the only thing to do is to be as strong as a reef, even if you are afraid of being tired.

Xie Shence misses the feeling of being scared to death and tired to death at that time.

He couldn't help but think of King Li Yan. King Li Yan used to be the youngest Modao captain in the Northwest Modao Army. Later, he survived the Qin and Jin Wars, but he was transferred to Huaiyang and became a Mo Dao instructor.

Xie Shence felt that it was a pity, such an excellent soldier could not go to the battlefield, where would his pride be? Where will his soul go?

Jiang Qi turned around and said to Xie Shence: "Li Zhenling is your instructor?" ”

Xie Shence didn't react, and subconsciously said, "Who?" ”

Then he understood, nodded and replied: "Back to Jiang Shuai, yes, he taught me the knife for ten years." ”

King Li Yan's real name is Li Zhenyang.

Jiang Qi showed nostalgia on his face, "Back then, he was my captain. The youngest Wu Commander of the Northwest Modao. Later, when I was in Hangu Pass, I was the captain of the army, he was my captain, and he was still the youngest captain of Modao in the northwest. ”

Xie Shence's heart was shocked.

Jiang Qi was a survivor of the Five Thousand Mo Swords back then, and earlier that year, he was still a small soldier under King Li Yan. Twenty years have passed, and the commander of the year has become the pillar of the Great Jin military, and the young lieutenant has become an unknown instructor in the beautiful city of Chuzhou.

Creation makes people?

"Wu Changhe...... What is happening now? Jiang Qi's voice was a little hoarse.

Now 20 years later, the deputy marshal of the Northwest Army still remembers the commander who blocked the sword for him back then.

Xie Shence said: "Instructor, he is very ...... Not bad. ”

Xie Shence saw the corners of Jiang Qi's mouth slightly upturned from the back.

Is King Li Yan really doing well?

Jiang Qi waved his hand and asked a few pro-soldiers to bring up three Mo knives, and said to Xie Shenwei and Xie Shence: "Tricks? ”

Xie Shenwei and Xie Shence took the Mo knife. The three of them were on the handsome platform built of bluestone, looking at Ling Qi, and doing the same action together with the Mo knife hand on the school field.

"Kill!"

"Wow!"

"Kill!"

......

Jiang Qi did not return to the Shuaifu, and the mission had its own long history of reception. Xie Shence and Xie Shenwei did not go back. Lunch was served in the barracks.

Very simple food, a bowl of radish pickles, a bowl of cabbage tofu, a pot of mutton soup, and a bowl of bacon. The bowl of bacon was specially ordered by Jiang Qi to add food in order to entertain the two brothers.

The coarse rice is very textured in the mouth, and Xie Shence and Xie Shenwei eat quickly,

Jiang Qi looked at the two brothers and said, "I am very satisfied that you can hold on for an hour." ”

Xie Shenwei continued to pick up rice and vegetables.

Xie Shence glanced at Jiang Qi and was about to speak, but when he saw that the fatty bacon in the big bowl was forked to the bottom by Xie Shenwei's chopsticks, he quickly moved his gaze back to the bacon, and pulled the last two pieces of bacon into his bowl without hesitation, and buried his head in eating.

Jiang Qi was stunned when he saw this, and then shook his head with a smile. I finished the last half bowl of rice with radish pickles.

Two bowls of coarse rice, eighty percent full. After Xie Shence finished eating, he drank a bowl of mutton soup with satisfaction, wiped his mouth, and said, "Should you eat more mutton in the winter in the army?" With Sichuan pepper as a material, it can keep out the cold and dehumidify. ”

Jiang Qi said lightly: "There are 200,000 border troops in the northwest, how can there be so many cattle and sheep. ”

Xie Shen Ceqi said: "How come, I remember that the statistics of the household department said that the Hetao Plain can supply 100,000 heads of military meat and sheep every year, and a bowl of mutton soup for each meal in the army can still be guaranteed." ”

Jiang Qi said: "100,000 heads? You're looking at the household documents of the eighth year of Taiping, right? ”

Taiping is the era name of the last emperor of the Great Chu Dynasty.

Satirize.

Xie Shence frowned.

"In the past ten years, the Hetao Plain has only begun large-scale animal husbandry and farming, and it has slowly recovered, and cattle and sheep can produce 70,000 heads of cattle and sheep every year, but they are only for military use, not for circulation. The people are allowed to raise themselves in order to keep up with the demand. ”

Xie Shence was surprised. Compared with the other two military towns, the conditions in the northwest are the most difficult. However, the hardship is also simple, as long as there is the approval of the government, an ox and a plow can live. In the past 10 years, the implementation of the military cantonment system in the northwest has not only enhanced the combat effectiveness of the army, but also greatly reduced the consumption of the state treasury, and to a great extent cooperated with the emperor's new policy of "streamlining the administration of the army," and the situation in the northwest has been much better than in previous years.

In fact, in today's Jindu, there are many people who are suggesting that the northwest Cao Yun be canceled, and the voice is getting stronger and stronger.

Jiang Qi is the military and political chief of the northwest, and he knows best what the northwest is like, so Xie Shence has no doubt about what he said.

So, here's the problem, Xie Shence saw a document last winter, which had a figure issued by the Ministry of Households, since the implementation of the military camp in the northwest, cattle and sheep have been self-sufficient, with an annual output of 100,000 heads.

But Jiang Qi told him at this time that it was only seventy percent of last year. And it's the best situation in recent years.

So, how did the extra 30,000 heads come about?

Jiang Qi said: "Although the supply of cattle and sheep in the army in winter is tight, it is not a shortage, so I and the marshal feel that this matter is not a big deal. ”

"This matter is not small, the deviation of the data of the household statistics is too outrageous, and the matter is not so simple." Xie Shence replied after being silent.

Jiang Qi was instantly alert. Xie Shence felt the murderous aura coming to his face.

"Jiang Shuai, why do you and your uncle think it's not a big deal?" Xie Shenwei's words diluted this murderous aura in a timely manner.

Jiang Qi thought for a while and said: "I know that many people in the DPRK have suggested that Your Majesty cancel the Northwest Cao Yun, although Your Majesty did not agree, but in fact, the Northwest Cao Yun has been reduced to three percent ten years ago. Whether this was planned or followed by the trend, I do not know. On the whole, the situation in the northwest is stable, and even if the imperial court only symbolizes some luck in the end, the northwest will not collapse. Therefore, Dashuai and I feel that this matter is not a big deal. ”

"Jiang Shuai, please write this matter down and report it to Kyoto."

The Kyoto that Xie Shence said was naturally not the emperor, but the old lady.

Jiang frowned slightly, "Didn't the handsome man tell the Taifu?" ”

Xie Shence thought for a while and said, "The data of the household department is from October, and I was in Kyoto more than 20 days ago, so I don't think my uncle told my grandfather." ”

Jiang got up and said, "I'm going to repair the book and the Taifu." ”

As he spoke, he got up and walked out of the tent. Xie Shence and Xie Shenwei also came out, and the three of them got on the horse, and under the support of more than ten Jiang Qi's personal soldiers, they rushed to the Shuai Mansion.

Jiang Qi went to the study of the Shuai Mansion to write papers. Xie Shence and Xie Shence waited for news in the Shuai Mansion Garden.

After letting the guards and maids go out, Xie Shence said to Xie Shenwei: "Northwest, there may be danger in the future." ”

Xie Shenwei said: "The most shameless thing is the civil official of the world. Sooner or later, they will reap the consequences. ”

Xie Shence was dumbfounded, did he scold all his family members?

The disparity between the statistics of the household department and the northwest is not explained by a simple statistical error.

Some people may say that the statistics of the household department also include the number of private captivity, which is deviated from the reality.

This seems to explain the past.

However, the number of sheep raised by the people is not counted in the official table, and the document of the Ministry of Household says that it is supplied by the military, and it is impossible for the people to raise sheep in the military supply, even if it is the Hu people. For the people also want to eat and drink. The Hu people may be able to ensure military supplies by annexing and plundering, but how can the Central Plains countries do this.

Military supplies are not supplied to civilian use, and civilian needs to be purchased by the army with money as military supplies, but the civilian population is not enough to eat, so how can it be sold to the military? Therefore, in the documents of the Ministry of Households, it is nonsense that the northwest can produce 100,000 heads of military livestock per year.

What's the point?

Xie felt a little ridiculous.

Let's put it this way, the Northwest Army guarded the northwest of the Great Jin Dynasty to deter strong enemies: Qin and Xianbei. If the Northwest Army collapsed, then the Great Jin would be completely exposed to the encirclement of the Four Kingdoms. Except for the eastern sea, which is the sea, it is enemy on all sides.

In this way, the Jin Kingdom is not far from the Death Kingdom. Because a country without depth can never survive for long in an environment where a strong enemy is fed.

It's not good to be in the Great Wei, it's not good to guard the natural danger of the Shu Kingdom, why should your Jin Kingdom survive in an environment full of enemies?

The northwest is a strong hand to contain the Qin State and the Xianbei people, without the northwest, the Jin State has no danger to defend.

Therefore, the importance of the northwest to the Great Jin can be imagined.

So, what does this document have to do with the life and death of the Great Jin?

There is a significant relationship.

Once the imperial court cuts off the northwest transportation, the northwest can only be self-sufficient, so once it encounters a disaster year, the northwest will be chaotic. Because the court can't come up with any money.

Once the northwest is in chaos, the two strong enemies will inevitably take advantage of the weakness, and it will be difficult to protect the northwest at that time. Don't count on the Northern Army, there are still 100,000 iron horsemen in Youzhou of Yan Kingdom in the north.

Xie Shence has always been afraid to speculate on people with the greatest malice, so if it is really as he thinks, there must be something wrong with the household.