Zhang Bohu's words obviously poked Wen Huanzhang's sore spot. This veteran, who is close to the age of sixties, can only be secretly angry with Emperor Chu's mediocrity, and extremely disgusted with the struggle for power and profit in the court, but he has to get involved helplessly.

The situation that Emperor Chu and the ruling faction headed by Minister Tan Chongyuan most want to see is that Xia and Chu maintain the status quo and fight each other in a small fight. If Wen Huanzhang fights too hard, he is worried that the military will be difficult to suppress. If he blindly insists on not fighting, he will be attacked for supporting his troops and doing nothing. If you fail, you are afraid that the good life of the big guys will not be guaranteed.

In short, it will not allow you to take too big a step, eat too much, and not let you starve to death, so that you will hang half-dead.

Wen Huanzhang also knew in his heart that Zhang Bohu's identity and scheming were not so pure, but he was finally a person who could really plan for himself. waved his hand weakly and said, "Then according to the words of the military advisor, prepare to fight again!" ”

On June 15, Emperor Zhao Qi received the first battle report from the Xiangyang front. After reading it carefully, he happily praised: "Yang Zhi, Yang Zhi, I really didn't misread you!" ”

Yang Zhiyan's three strategies for raising money are in full swing, and Zhang Qian, a scholar of Zaifu University in charge of the household department, happens to be also playing in the imperial study. Then he gave a generous and feeless sycophant and said: "The emperor knows people and is good at his duties, and he sees thousands of miles, Yang Hou must have won a big victory!" Weichen would like to congratulate the emperor! ”

It's good that Zhang Qian didn't speak, but he didn't die, and the emperor brought the topic back to him: "Zhang Qing just talked about it for a long time, and it was nothing more than telling me." It's too difficult and slow to raise money! If there is no difficulty, how can I let you, a scholar, personally supervise it? It doesn't matter if Zhang Qing can't bear this burden. I ordered a cabinet minister to supervise it. ”

Raising money is not necessarily that difficult, and it is a fat and oily beauty. Sometimes he complained in front of the emperor. It is tantamount to showing merit in disguise. Zhang Qian was originally promoted to the cabinet in the position of the head of the household, and his ability was not bad, but he was both scheming and had a strong desire for power. Wang Yunong, a scholar of Shoufu University, has been reading countless people in the sea for a long time, and since the first day the emperor promoted him to the cabinet, he has not liked this person very much.

Zhang Qian couldn't help but secretly scolded himself for being cheap, and he couldn't admit that he was incompetent in front of the emperor when he was killed: "Your Majesty, although there are difficulties in raising money, Weichen must do his best." Live up to your hopes! ”

"That's good." Now Zhao Qi's wrist control of the courtiers is becoming more and more mature and old, and he advised: "Zhang Qing, not to mention that the treasury is waiting for the rice to be cooked, you also know what kind of temper Yang Zhi has, if the war ahead is delayed, I am afraid that I will not be the only one who will be embarrassed at that time." ”

Where does Zhang Qian dare to reply? resignedly, and was already in a cold sweat.

After Zhang Qian left, Zhao Qi couldn't help but pick up the battle report again and read it with unfinished interest.

Jin Zishan said curiously: "Your Majesty." Our army was defeated in the first two battles, lost troops and lost generals, and also lost Suizhou City. In order to revive the morale of the army, Yang Hou will press the whole army in the first battle, and he will also strive to win. Victory is expected, and the results are bound to be limited. Why is the emperor so happy? ”

Zhao Qi said with great interest: "It's not surprising to win, what really makes people feel high-spirited is the process of winning!" I dare to say. Except for Yang Zhi in my Great Xia, I can't fight such a wonderful battle as any general! ”

"Look. You see! …… Yang Zhi personally led 10,000 troops, and Shen Chong and Wei Feiyang each led 5,000 troops to take charge of the two wings. On the 10th of June, the army marched in the rain. Yang Zhi planted a flag on the road and swore to win. ”

“…… On June 11, he engaged the Chu army at a distance of 160 miles from Xiangyang. Yang Zhi was so bold that he didn't care about the strength of the two armies at all, and ordered our army of 20,000 against 50,000 Chu troops! Hehe, outlaw, that guy is definitely an outlaw! ”

"That's not all, Yang Zhi didn't wear armor, he hit the military captain to protect the handsome flag, and hid in the pikemen array. Without waiting for our army to finish firing two rounds of heavy crossbows and five rounds of bows and arrows, he rushed to the front of the Chu army in the first place, shot and killed Zhang Can, the fierce general of Southern Chu, and personally cut off the head of the enemy general and cut down the flag of the Chu army! Our army then followed up and defeated the Chu army in one fell swoop. At the cost of more than 5,000 casualties, more than 23,000 enemies were killed! Go into battle in person, kill the general and capture the flag, happy! It's fun! ”

Jin Zishan sighed: "Yang Hou had this feat when he fought in the desert in his early years, and he didn't expect it to reappear now. Taking the head of the general in the formation of ten thousand armies is like probing the bag and taking things, it is true! Yang Hou's move is of course extremely dangerous, but the prestige of the commander of the unified army is unshakable! ”

Zhao Qi burst into foul language on a whim, and after calming down, he said awe-inspiringly: "Yang Zhi is a smart person!" He is old and young, and he is forced to take such a risk. He knew that when he was in charge of the expedition to Chu, not only did he have no bottom in his heart, but there were also constant disputes between the DPRK and China. He needs such a wonderful battle to dispel my worries and let the controversy between the DPRK and China gradually stop. In this way, between me and his monarchs and ministers, the two sides are suitable. ”

"Commanding an army of hundreds of thousands seems to be imposing, but what I handed over to him is actually a ragtag army. There are Xiangyang Border Army, Zhongzhou Reinforcements, Forbidden Army Reinforcements, Vulnerable Sailors, and Ye Chuang's Division, each with its own small abacus, and no one obeys anyone. Therefore, Yang Zhi was promoted for the first time after his arrival, and he began to integrate it, ordering Shen Chong, Wei Feiyang, and Chen Zhun to form a heavy army group. Blindly relying on blunt military orders is difficult to convince the public. I can't afford it, and he can't afford to wait. The first battle is the most effective choice! ”

Jin Zishan was silent for a moment and said, "The emperor is sage." The slave thought that Yang Hou deserved to be praised for his meritorious service in the first battle. ”

Zhao Qi shook his head and said: "Yang Zhi has always attached great importance to reality, and he is not famous. Acting stoically and resolutely, and having the wisdom to respond to emergencies. will be outside, and the king's order will not be affected. After that, I will not give him any will unless I have to. What I have to do is to make sure that he is not cold and distracted, so that he can feel at ease and dedicated, and that is enough. ”

"Lao Jin, this battle report has not changed a word, it is contained in the newspaper of the palace, and it is clearly distributed to the world. You personally passed on my message to all the important ministers one by one: From now on, all matters played by Yang Zhi do not need to be submitted to the imperial review, and they will be handled as soon as possible. Those who dare to pass the buck and procrastinate will be punished as dereliction of duty! ”

"Slaves obey!" After Kaneko received the decree, he didn't seem to be busy leaving. After a little hesitation, he plucked up the courage to ask: "Your Majesty, this is actually giving Yang Hou the right to be arbitrary, why not be a decent and glamorous favor?" Also, the promotion, appointment and dismissal of the generals under Yang Hou ....... ”

Zhao Qi suddenly interrupted with a cold gaze: "Haven't you heard of the truth of grace? The express decree to give Yang Zhilin the right to arbitrarily is tantamount to trapping me, do you dare to say that there will be no trouble when you take it back in the future? With such a tacit understanding, Yang Zhi is convenient, and I can take it back at any time, so everyone can worry! ”

"If Yang Zhi has the final say on Zuo's promotion, appointment and dismissal, who do you think these people will be grateful to? Who will still remember my kindness? Yang Zhi is to let a small soldier lead an army of 100,000, and I can ignore it, but the title of official and knight must come from my will! ”

Jin Zishan has long realized that the new emperor seems to be gentle, but in fact it is more difficult to serve than the first emperor. He has been in the palace for nearly 20 years, and he is familiar with the rules of the palace, so he was not as talkative as he is today. But he thanked the first emperor for appreciating and cultivating the grace, and bore the responsibility of the first emperor's deathbed orphan, he thought that he had no selfish intentions, and he didn't want the new emperor to be so deep! When he got out of the imperial study, he couldn't help but sigh with a complicated expression.

Yang Zhi is not as evil as the emperor imagined, at most it can only be said that some of the two have the same ideas.

Yang Zhi has never had the idea of dominating the military power in his hands. If you want, I'm not going to do it! If Zhao Qiruo knew the true thoughts of Yang Zhi's heart, he might be so angry that he vomited blood: Everything I did was to finish things as soon as possible and leave.

Restore the morale of the army, establish the authority of the commander, and win the first battle without defeat, and any commander will do this. Otherwise, why would you fight with others? And make an eggplant!

The formation of three heavy army groups armed to the teeth and the reorganization of the naval division is to use them conveniently. The rest of the ministries only need to be moved. How easy is it to integrate the whole army? I'll stay for two or three years at most, and that's your emperor and his successor.

There is only one section that cannot be sloppy, and there is absolutely no shortage of grain, salary, silver, and military spending. This Great Xia is not my family, why should I pay out of my own pocket to fight for you? As much as you give, you can fight whatever kind of war, and everything is easy to say if you have money.

The emperor's immediate, arbitrary power and the so-called benevolence, which the emperor highly valued, would be a joke if it reached Yang Zhi's ears.

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the fighter plane is fleeting, is it possible that I still have to send someone to Chang'an to ask for instructions before fighting? It is an iron law in the army that meritorious service must be rewarded, and there must be punishment for mistakes, and clear rewards and punishments are the iron laws in the army, and the capable and the mediocre are the only laws that motivate soldiers to use their lives. After a war to destroy the country, there have been countless battles of all sizes, and there will undoubtedly be hundreds of generals who have been promoted, appointed, and dismissed. The emperor does not approve? All right! As long as you can guarantee that there will be no mutiny in the army, that will do.

The first battle was won, and the morale was greatly boosted. The officers and men of the whole army looked at Yang Zhi with awe like a god. However, for more than a month after the first battle, Yang Zhi was silent. The generals did not dare to rush the battle, so they had to wait patiently.

In the second battle, 10,000 troops were dispatched, equipped with 100 artillery pieces, and 500 sergeants. It is equipped with 200 heavy crossbows and 2,000 sergeants. There were 3,000 archers, 2,000 pikemen, 2,000 swordsmen, and 500 muskets. -- This is the promise that Yang Zhi gave to Chen Zhun during the first account promotion meeting.

This kind of firepower configuration, looking at the armies of the countries of the world, should be the first time in the world. Although Chen Zhun did not dare to slack off, Yang Zhi also had to be cautious. It is still a trivial matter to spend a lot of money to build, but the important thing is that it must become a sharp blade for Xia Jun. After the firearms and equipment are in place, the operation and training of the sergeants, and the coordination and coordination of all branches of the armed forces, there is no room for error in every link.

Sergeants of this era, although their cultural quality is generally not high, their greatest advantage is obedience. Artillery, heavy crossbows, bows and arrows, spears, knives, firearms, in addition to bows and arrows, are all equipment that can only be configured by elite sergeants of the Xia Army.

Being obedient is never the same as being stupid. The guy in his hand is good, and the chances of saving his life have undoubtedly increased. The envious gaze of the rest of the soldiers like hungry wolves staring at the barbecue made them feel extremely good about themselves. Whoever doesn't practice with his heart is lacking in eyes!

After a month of hard work in the scorching summer season, until July 15, Yang Zhi finally handed down the commander's order: Chen Zhun will lead the army to battle tomorrow! (To be continued.) )