Hearing Li Xu's request, Lai Hu'er couldn't help but feel sorry. The reason why he is willing to come to the home of a junior today for a banquet, and repeatedly praise the courage of the host during the banquet, is that he takes a fancy to the future development prospects of the other party and wants to bring the relationship between them closer, so that his family and children and grandchildren can have more help when they need it in the future.

Judging from the other party's current status and circumstances, this is really a kindness in the snow, and others can't dream of it. Unexpectedly, Li Xu not only didn't know how to be grateful, but also took the opportunity to make such an unreasonable request.

Although the Great Sui Dynasty couldn't help but have short blades and armor, how could the things in the ordinary market be as fine as those that were uniformly supervised by the emperor when he was alive? In recent years, the national strength has been weakening, so the Ministry of War has been very tight in the management of armor and staffs, and there are records of more than 100 corpses entering and leaving. If a military general gives away a weapon without permission, he will definitely be impeached by the official. That is the important weapon of the state, so that the generals can give it to each other privately?

Lai Hu'er had the heart to refuse this unreasonable request, but Fang Cai's words were too full, just after patting his chest, the other party put his hand out, and immediately shrank his head, it was inevitable that he couldn't get off the stage.

"Isn't this very embarrassing for the old general? If that's the case, then the junior said a drunken word! Li Xu saw that Laihu'er was speechless for a long time, smiled, and raised his glass to apologize.

Laihu'er's hesitation made him wonder, Xuzi clearly remembered that when the Xiongwu camp went to Liaodong to pick up Yuwenshu, Yuwenshi easily got thousands of long lances and tens of thousands of war horses. Although Laihu'er's power in the army is not as strong as Yuwenshu's, his own horsemanship is always bigger than Yuwenshi and face! How can you be so irresponsible?

"It's not difficult to say this, but there are too many relationships involved, and it's too complicated!" Laihu'er put down the wine cup and replied solemnly. He is an old and sophisticated person, and if you think about it carefully, you can understand why Xuzi, who has always been serious, suddenly became so incomprehensible. "I won't hide it from you, if Li Lang brings it to the current heroic camp, and he says that hundreds of sets of armor and blades are to rearm tens of thousands of soldiers, the old man can also do this master. But the Xiongwu battalion is a government soldier, but the county soldier belongs to the local ......"

"So, it's really abrupt. Don't blame the general, General Li Lang and I are also worried about the current situation, and I didn't expect that there would be such a relationship for a while! Zhang Xutuo was full of expectations, but when he heard what Lai Hu'er said, he quickly took the responsibility on himself.

The bad idea of asking for armor was proposed by him to Xuzi, and Qi County did not have enough good craftsmen and materials, so it was indeed impossible to build the equipment of 20,000 soldiers. And the imperial court refused to allocate it to the locality, so he couldn't force it, so he made this decision.

"What are those birdmen doing in the military department? was supposed to contribute to the country, but forced you and me to take precautions in private! Hi! Feng Ciming, the deputy head of the water division, pretended to be angry, and put the wine glass on the table, and there was a bang.

The best option at this point is to change the subject. Everyone took advantage of the alcohol to scold the civilian officials of the military department, which was not a big mistake, and it also avoided the embarrassment of both the guest and the host.

Li Xu couldn't appreciate the kindness of the old general, stood up, poured himself a glass of wine, and said with a red face: "It's the juniors who didn't think about it and caused trouble to you!" Deserve to be punished, deserve to be punished! With that, he poured himself another big cup. At this moment, his heart was full of apologies. I originally wanted to do my best for the place, but who knew that his strength was so weak that he couldn't even ask for a little benefit.

Seeing Li Xu's sincere apology, Laihu'er and the others were also very bored. Today, everyone was drinking to the fullest, but they actually stirred up the situation for something that has nothing to do with personal interests! After a deep groan, the old general said tentatively: "This time this cross-sea expedition, Ben Shuai captured a batch of Goguryeo armor staffs, although some are broken, they can be used to repair it." It's just that Cui Junsu's eyes have been staring at it all the time......."

"Master Cui and several civilian officials accompanying the army have been invited by Pei Taishou to go mountaineering to enjoy the autumn, and as soon as the interest of these scholars in drinking comes up, they will definitely not care about anything!" Zhang Xutuo heard that Hu'er was revealing his tone, and immediately followed closely.

As for what other tones are contained in the drinking ceremony, both the guest and the host are tacitly aware. With Pei Caozhi's ability to do things, if he wanted Cui Junsu and other saints to turn a blind eye to what happened next in Qi County, there were countless good methods available. At least, those who enjoy autumn today can get a rich pen when they come down the mountain, although everyone may not have written a word on the mountain!

"Well, when the army pulls out the camp the day after tomorrow, I will put down the burdens that have been captured and leave them to you Qi County to deal with. There are also some damaged weapons and armor, if Zhang Tongshou and Li Lang don't dislike it, they will take it together, temporarily store it in the hands of the two of you, and return it when the court needs it! Seeing that Qi County had done things well, Laihu'er nodded and made a final decision.

"Thank you for coming to the old general!" Zhang Xutuo, Li Xu, and Luo Shixin raised their glasses again to thank the generous guests.

The guest and the host laughed at the same time and drank the wine in their glasses. Li Xu took the opportunity to order someone to bring three "thin gifts", which was regarded as a celebration of the triumph of the three deceased. Lai Hu'er didn't look at it, and directly handed it over to the guards behind him to collect.

Taking advantage of the wine, Laihu'er asked about Li Xu's situation after he arrived in Qi County. Zhang Xutuo truthfully described the process of several fierce battles after Xuzi's arrival. He doesn't like to add oil and vinegar when he speaks, but there is a sense of reality in the plainness. The three distinguished guests here were all military generals, and when they heard the general situation of the enemy and us at that time, they could guess what the scene was like. When they heard that Li Xu, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin and Dugu Lin dared to attack 100,000 traitors with only 1,000 cavalry, they were greatly impressed by the courage of the four.

"That Dugu Governor, but the brother of Dugu Xin, the general of the Zhu Kingdom?" Feng Ciming asked in surprise when he heard Zhang Xutuo mention a name he was familiar with.

"Exactly, when he volunteered to join the army, I was still born with his delicate face, and I almost didn't drive him away!" Zhang Xutuo replied with a smile, "And Luo Shixin, who was almost kicked out of the camp by me." Fortunately, the two of them are stubborn, and they were not told by me that they had no confidence! ”

That was a few years ago, when the bandits were just emerging into the wilderness like sparkling flames. The counties were ordered to reorganize the county soldiers, and Zhang Xutuo also posted a notice to recruit heroes with the mentality of trying it out. As a result, on the first day, a personable boy came, dressed brightly and spoke unruly. Zhang Xutuo was unwilling to accept it, and tested him with the art of war and martial arts. Unexpectedly, the other party was both civil and military, not only answered all the questions well, but also immediately fought with Qin Shubao for a full twenty faces. Zhang Xutuo was overjoyed and held a banquet to celebrate, thinking that his good luck was over, but the next day a fourteen-year-old little hairy child came to join the army.

With the experience of the first day, the old general did not dare to treat him slowly, but only smiled and persuaded him to go home on the grounds of his young age. The little hairy boy refused, saying that his surname was Luo Mingshixin, and he was skilled enough in martial arts to be a general. Seeing that he was interesting, Zhang Xutuo ordered someone to bring two stone locks, one heavy and one light, for him to carry, and he could enlist in the army if he could carry any of them around the school yard for half a circle. Luo Shixin lifted the fifty catties and thirty catties of stone locks used by the training soldiers at the same time, and played a whole circle on the school field as a double hammer.

"Sure enough, it's a hero out of a teenager! Even if the old man is twenty years younger, he doesn't have such strength! Laihu'er commented with a smile. Then he looked at Li Xu and asked, "When Li Lang joined the army, he was not even ten years old, right?" ”

"The junior is more than ten months older than Captain Luo! It was already fifteen that year. He and Dugu Governor are both younger than the juniors, but their abilities are much higher than the juniors! Li Xu smiled and replied very modestly.

"Don't say that, if you talk about the ability to use soldiers and the art of riding and archery, the two of us together may not be able to match one of you!" Luo Shixin heard that Li Xu was so humble, and hurriedly denied it. When Xu Zi first arrived in Qi County, several of their local generals did have the idea of competing with him. Everyone is young and famous, and it is inevitable that they will not be convinced by each other. But after several battles side by side, this competitive spirit slowly turned into mutual admiration. Everyone has their own strengths, and it is impossible for everyone to be better than others. Being able to see the strengths of others and learn from each other is what makes a real strong person.

"A few of them are about the same, but I'm an old bone who doesn't have any skills, and I'm still shy and don't leave in the position of Tongshou!" Zhang Xutuo said with a smile. The young people under his command can respect and love each other, making him a very dignified person in front of the guests.

"Lord Tongshou is too modest! There is a way to recommend the sage to be virtuous, and the master can not only dig out so many talents in the world, but also know how to make good use of them, how can he be a person who does nothing? Laihu'er smiled and raised the lamp at Zhang Xutuo.

"Yes, there are so many good generals under the command of Lord Tongshou, why worry about the bandits!" Zhou Shaoji also smiled and persuaded him.

"If there is only one Qi County, I will not worry. Your Majesty allowed the soldiers of Qi County to cross the border to attack thieves, but in all directions, there is no county without bandits! At the mention of banditry, Zhang Xutuo shook his head slightly, and the expression on his face was a little helpless.

Several of the guests were from the Eastern Capital, and they had heard a little about the local bandits, but they didn't expect it to be so fierce that it worried Zhang Xutuo, a famous general. Putting down the wine cup and asking carefully, Zhang Xutuo snapped his fingers and showed the strength of Wang Bo, Huo Xiaohan, Lu Xingxing, Shuai Rentai, Zuo Xiaoyou and other thieves. There are more than 100,000 people under the command of any one of these giant bandits, and there has been a faint tendency to collude with each other recently. As a result, it is difficult for the county soldiers to take care of both the end and the end, and if they attack any of them, they have to beware of someone taking the opportunity to attack their lair.

"What's even more powerful is the Wagang Army, although there are not many people, their combat effectiveness is very strong!" Luo Shixin added loudly on the side.

"Isn't there only more than 10,000 people in the Wagang Army?" The old general Feng Ciming asked in surprise. He had heard of this team with the name of a righteous thief. The whistle horse is active in Dongjun, which is not far from Luoyang, and often sends troops to rob the official ships that transport supplies to the eastern capital on the Yongji Canal.

"According to the general of the end, although there are many bandits in various places at present, they are all rabble. As long as the court is willing to suppress it with all its heart, it will be wiped out sooner or later. Only the Wagang Army, with strict military discipline and neat orders, may be a fierce opponent of our generation in the future! Li Xu saw that everyone was talking lively, and he also put down the wine cup and joined the discussion.

"Li Lang will respect the Wagang Army so much, could it be that he has already fought with the thief army?" Lai Hu'er didn't expect that there was a thief army that even Li Xu admired, and his eyes widened and asked.

"We fought at the foot of Mount Tai more than two months ago, when we had 1,000 cavalry, including 200 heavy armor. The Wagang army had 4,000 foot soldiers and more than 100 light cavalry. Li Xu nodded and replied very solemnly. He hoped that his words would attract the attention of Lai'er and the others, and that he would truthfully report the situation to the imperial court. With Xu Maogong's ability, if the imperial court takes it lightly and sends a mediocre talent who can't fight to deal with him, I'm afraid it will be in vain to send armor and equipment to the Wagang army.

"The result?" Old General Feng Ciming asked with concern. "If you once led a thousand cavalry to break the thieves and 100,000, against the 4,000-kilowatt gang army, will you lose?"

He couldn't believe this inference, if this was the case, the imperial court really needed to send heavy troops to deal with it. Dongping is only more than 300 miles away from Luoyang, and if the Wagang army plots wrong, it can be killed under the eastern capital overnight.

"It ended in a tie." Li Xu shook his head and sighed lightly. "Our army lost nearly four hundred cavalry, killing the enemy, and the number of kills is estimated to be the same!"

With 400 cavalry, only 400 infantry soldiers were exchanged for the opponent's 400 foot soldiers, and this result was actually a big defeat. Moreover, there are four famous generals in this group of cavalry: Li Xu, Luo Shixin, Qin Shubao and Dugu Lin. It is not clear how Dugu Lin's ability came to protect Hu'er and the others, but Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao were both personally ordered by His Majesty to paint portraits and hand them over to the ministers.

Thinking of this, several guests invariably asked, "Who is the leader of the other party?" Will Li Lang know? ”

"There are a few good players, one is called Cheng Zhijie, and his martial arts are not under Governor Qin. One person is called Shan Xiongxin, and he has a tie with me! Without waiting for Li Xu to speak, Luo Shixin replied first. But neither is the best of the two. Dispatch in the center, the guy who controls the overall situation is called Xu Maogong, he has a good command, a rigorous use of soldiers, a ruthless and vicious person, and dares to use any trick in order to achieve his goal! ”

Is Xu Maogong such a person? Li Xu raised his head and saw Luo Shixin's indignant face. He understood that Luo Shixin was avenging his grievances, smiled, and took a big sip of wine.

Referring to the increasingly fierce banditry in the local area, Zhang Xutuo took the opportunity to propose that the team of Qi County to send congratulatory gifts to His Majesty should return to the Eastern Capital with the sailors. Compared to what Li Xu asked for, this little favor was already a gesture. There is no reason for Lai Hu'er to be entangled in small things after giving the other party a great favor, so he smiled and responded together.

So the hospitable hosts raised their glasses again and thanked them for their righteousness. The guests also raised their glasses in return to thank the hosts for their kindness. For the Great Sui, for the emperor, for the conquest of Liao, for the early suppression of the bandits, and the restoration of peace in the world, as long as you want to drink, everyone can find enough reasons. Until everyone's eyes are blurred and their steps are unsteady.

That night, Li Xu didn't know how much wine he drank. He found that he was starting to get drunk again, and his usual ineffective speech was very clear when he was drunk, and he could interject a few words smoothly no matter what the other party said, and he could get a lot of laughter. "Actually, that's not bad!" He admonished himself secretly. Life is like this, and when you carefully hide your edge, it will easily not show its fangs at you.

When someone gives you a smile, try to smile at each other. Even if there are still many inexplicable grievances and grievances between each other at the previous moment, it is safer to look forward than backward at this time and at that time.

During the chat, he found that he had indeed lived too comfortably for half a year, and he didn't know that so many interesting things had happened outside.

In March this year, when he led his troops to Beihai, Tang Bi, the handsome wind thief, established Li Hongzhi as the Son of Heaven, with 100,000 people, and proclaimed himself the King of Tang. At the beginning of April, Yulin Taishou Cheng Ji Dong Chun broke the Pengcheng thieves and beheaded nearly 10,000 people. In May, General Qu Tutong broke the Yan'an thief Liu Jia's theory and defeated the tens of thousands of Hu soldiers and horses attracted by Liu Jia'an.

The Great Sui Dynasty continued its glory, although it seems to have faded somewhat. In addition to the news of the victory that these generals talked about, Xuzi also heard about the marriage between the Li family and the Chai family. The wedding took place last winter, when he came to Licheng to take up his post. "The Chai family and the Li family are both famous families in the Great Sui, and on the day of the wedding, there were more than 2,000 guests who went to watch the ceremony, and the whole Chang'an was a sensation." Zhou Shaoji once attended the wedding of his good friend Chai Shao in person, and when he mentioned the grand wedding that day, he still looked envious.

Li Xu, who was toasting everyone, staggered a step, drunk and worried. "Congratulations for the Great Sui Kingdom!" Raising his head, he gave everyone a happy smile.

"Congratulations for the Great Sui Kingdom!" Everyone raised their wines accordingly. Soon forgot what was being talked about.

When the guests were sent out after drinking, Laihu'er turned around and walked to Xuzi's side, patted Xuzi on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Boy, you can always be impressive!" ”

"Really? Thank you for the compliment! Li Xu smiled back, with a frank face.

Two days later, the sailor and the gift-giving team of Qi County returned west at the same time, and Xuzi took over the abandoned camp of the army with 5,000 soldiers. There were a batch of captured baggage from Goguryeo and a batch of damaged armor rods that the chief of the sailors, Lai Hu'er, and the chief Shi Cui Junsu, who had jointly decided to leave for Qi County to deal with on their behalf. Xuzi ordered a rough inventory, and there were about 3,000 complete sets of thick armor for the government soldiers, more than 5,000 sets of leather armor for the Goguryeo people, more than 5,000 shields, and more than 2,000 long lances for infantry.

The combat effectiveness of the county soldiers was immediately raised to a higher level. In September, Huo Xiaohan committed a wolf evil, Li Xu and Luo Shixin led 5,000 troops to cross the border to attack him, breaking his army and capturing more than 15,000 people.

In October, Qin Shubao broke through Lu Xingxing and captured nearly 10,000 enemies.

In November, just when everyone was rejoicing about the strength of the county soldiers, there was bad news from the Eastern Capital. The old general Feng Ciming took the initiative to ask Ying to go to Dongjun to quell the rebellion, but he was defeated and died. The 20,000 elite soldiers under his command were all wiped out.

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