PS: Recently, idlers have been busy with work, which has affected the update, and I hope that book friends will bear with me. It's rare to have enough time today, so I present a 5,000-word chapter, which is considered to be compensation for the abnormal update a few days ago, and I hope that book friends will continue to support idlers.

Xu Shao'an's words were somewhat unexpected by Chai Rong, and he thought that Xu Shao'an wanted to emphasize how strong the Zhou army was, how weak the Liao army was, how afraid of war, and the clichés that the people of Youyun hoped that Wang Shi would recover the rivers and mountains, such as a long drought and Ganlin, and was ready to wait for the other party's voice to fall, and then use three or two sentences to perfunctory the other party's curiosity suddenly aroused, and decided to step down and listen to the other party's words - although Chai Rong was at this time because the strength of the enemy and us was declining and the other was rising, the logistics supply of his own army was not effective, and a number of civil and military generals asked to withdraw their troops and stop their troops, and has already started to retreat. However, as a brilliant and ambitious Ming monarch, if there was a glimmer of hope, Chai Rong was still very reluctant to let himself give up halfway in the most critical step of the grand goal of dominating the world, the Northern Expedition.

Therefore, Chai Rong didn't pay attention to the discussions of the civil ministers and military generals in the tent after hearing this, but stared at Xu Shaoan and asked: "I don't know what magic method Aiqing can make my Northern Expedition army increase the military strength without worrying about the future?" ”

Seeing Chai Rong's question, the civil and military ministers who had turned their heads and ears despite the loss of honor in front of the monarch also quieted down, and turned their eyes to Xu Shao'an one by one, waiting for the close minister of the Son of Heaven, who had the most firm attitude in supporting the Northern Expedition in the Great Zhou court and often came up with some unexpected methods, to burst out again with amazing words.

Xu Shao'an, who had already made up his mind, was not affected by the performance of the ministers in the slightest, and he said to Chai Rong: "Qi Bixia, the minister's method is actually not a magic method at all, but it is just to fulfill the promise of the brothers who were the ministers and ministers to Bixia." ”

"Fulfill the promise of Aiqing and Aiqing's brother to me?" Chai Rong was a little puzzled when he heard this. He first looked at the civil and military ministers on the left and right, and saw that everyone answered him with very confused eyes, so he turned his gaze back to Xu Shao'an, waiting for the other party to give him an explanation.

Seeing this, Xu Shaoan hurriedly replied: "Before the Northern Expedition, the ministers and their brothers once asked Bixia for instructions, expressing their willingness to serve the dogs and horses of my Great Zhou Northern Expedition, supplying the army with their own grain and straw, and assisting the army with their own private soldiers. At that time, Bixia was sympathetic to the ministers and others, and did not want the children of Youyun to be harmed, but agreed that the ministers' brothers would provide food and grass for the army. After receiving Bixia's holy decree, the minister's brothers made full preparations and hoarded a large amount of grain and grass to be used to reward the three armies when the king arrived. Later, due to the momentum of our Northern Expedition army, the Liao army was invincible, and the army's grain route was unimpeded, so that Bixia had no worries. As a result, the Northern Expeditionary Army did not need the minister's brothers to provide grain and grass, and the matter was put on hold.

Now, due to the Liao army's sneak attack on the rear army and the threat of the grain route, our Northern Expedition army is facing the difficulty of food shortage. Although the distance from the 'Liangyuan' where the minister's brothers lived, to the camp of our Northern Expedition army and the county town of Gu'an to the camp is about the same, and it is about fifty miles. However, the Liao army was always staring at the section of the road from Baoxingzhuang to Gu'an City, and its partial divisions were also attacking back and forth on this road, and the area between Baoxingzhuang and 'Liangyuan', or the large area north of Baoxingzhuang to Youzhou City, was not only not heavily guarded, but even fewer horses and scouts were dispatched. It is much safer and easier to transport grain from this direction than from Gu'an City. ”

"Although the section of the road from 'Liangyuan' to Baoxingzhuang was not disturbed by the Liao army, the Liao army camp was stuck on the official road from Liangxiang to our army camp. Not to mention whether the brothers of Lord Xu Xiang can successfully transport the grain and grass from Liangxiang, and even if they can transport it out, how do they plan to pass through the camp of the 80,000 army of the Liao army and transport these military materials into the camp of our Northern Expeditionary army? Seeing that Xu Shaoan was using his eloquent mouth to persuade the Son of Heaven again, in order to achieve his goal of earning military merits and gaining appreciation through this battle, and then continuing to rise to the top and work hard, Zhang Yongde, who has always regarded him as a new star in the court and always lost no time in taking advantage of all opportunities to suppress it, asked with some disdain.

"It's not that hard." Xu Shaoan replied unhurriedly, "Although the Liao army has sent some scouts and scouts on the official road north of Baoxingzhuang, the number of them is limited, and it is not very haode to control such a large area. Second, in order to gain a foothold in Youzhou a few years ago, and not be robbed of their money and business by local corrupt officials and powerful bullies, the minister's brothers spent a lot of money to buy a few military generals and officials who ruled the 'Xiangding' from the Khitan government, as a support for the minister's brothers to keep the little family business they had earned with great difficulty. …,

At present, the minister's brother Wang Feng is leading his subordinate 'Xiangding' to garrison Liangxiang City to assist the local defenders in defending the city together. The minister Ke immediately repaired the book to him, and asked him to try to tell the county order of Liangxiang and hand over the errand of escorting grain and grass to the camp of the Liao army to himself. When Wang Feng led the Liao army grain transport team left Liangxiang, he went to a secret place, and joined the grain transport team of our army waiting there, and went south together generously. When they arrived at a place four or five miles away from the Liao army's camp, they were re-divided into two roads after confirming that there were no signs of the Liao army's horses and cavalry. One way to transport grain and grass to the Liao army, the other way into the mountains, take the mountain road to send grain and grass to our army camp. Although this method of transporting grain will be a little slow, it is very safe and will not be interfered by the Liao army's horse scouting and reconnaissance horses. ”

"Go south with the Liao army's grain transport team?" Zhang Yongde pursed his lips contemptuously again, "Aren't the brothers of Lord Xu Xiang afraid that those servants who were transferred to transport grain and grass will go back and talk nonsense?" ”

Xu Shaoan smiled slightly when he heard this, and said: "This is not afraid, because since the start of the war, the servants who transported grain and grass for the Liao army have all come from tenants and men under the subordinate brothers. ”

As Xu Shao'an said just now, although this method of transporting grain will be relatively slow in Zuihou Shilidi, it is the safest method. Therefore, after Xu Shaoan answered the question about confidentiality, many ministers of civil and military affairs showed their approval. Seeing that some ministers agreed with Xu Shao'an's point of view, and that this military discussion might end with Xu Shao'an's "turning the tide", Zhang Yongde asked again: "Now that our Northern Expedition army and the Liao army are in a standoff, I am afraid that it will be difficult to solve it for a while, and this war may drag on for several months. Although the brothers of the owner of the chamber have hoarded a large amount of grain and grass, there are now more than 70,000 people in my Northern Expeditionary army. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Yongde turned to the direction of Chai Rong, and Shi Liyu reported: "Bixia, in the opinion of Yichen, grain and grass are important, but if you want to continue the Northern Expedition, the plan for today should still be based on defeating the Liao army in front of you. Master Xu Xiang once said that he has a plan that can not only make our Northern Expedition army worry about food and grass, but also enhance the strength of our Northern Expedition army and defeat the Liao army. I don't know how he plans to enhance the strength of our Northern Expeditionary army, is it possible that he wants to capture Ding on the spot, increase the number of our army in a short period of time, and use the strength of the crowd to defeat the Liao army? -- Zhang Yongde secretly added the words "defeat the Liao army" that Xu Shao'an had never said at all, and planned to use this to give Xu Shao'an a trick, and once the Northern Expedition failed in the future, he would also give the other party Duo'an a crime.

Xu Shaoan didn't care about the "mystery" in Zhang Yongde's words, but shook his head and said, "Of course not. Xiaguan's reference to increasing the strength of the Northern Expedition army means that Xiaguan and his brothers once again implored Bixia to agree, and let the private soldiers under our brothers come to help in the battle, and strive to defeat Xiao Siwen's troops and occupy Youzhou City before the Liao army reinforcements arrived. ”

"Hundreds of private soldiers can help anything, and they dare to speak up in front of the officials." Han Lingkun, who participated in the military discussion, muttered disapprovingly

Because the tent was relatively quiet at this time, although Han Lingkun's words were not loud, they were still heard by the ministers of civil and military affairs present. Those ministers who don't know the truth naturally have the same idea as Han Lingkun, but those ministers who know the strength of Xu Shaoan and his group of brothers secretly sigh that this Han Lingkun can only fight, but he doesn't know anything about many things in the court, and this time he is afraid that he will be deflated in front of Xu Shaoan.

Sure enough, as soon as Han Lingkun's voice fell, Xu Shao'an had already answered: "What Lord Han said is extremely true, if there are only hundreds of private soldiers, it will naturally be useless. The reason why Zai Xia asked Bixia for advice was because Zai Xia and Zaixia's brothers had private soldiers under 5,000 people, and more than half of them were equipped with firearms similar to those of the 'Shenji Army'. If we can fight the enemy together with our Northern Expeditionary Army, we can make up for the casualties caused by the attack on the rear army of the 'Shenji Army', and let our army regain the upper hand. ”

Hearing that Xu Shaoan and his brothers had 5,000 private soldiers, and half of them were equipped with firearms, Han Lingkun was choked by the other party's words, and at the same time, he couldn't help but be impressed by this class of so-called "soil buns" who came from overseas and had not been taken seriously by himself, and put away his contempt. …,

Xu Shaoan mentioned the five thousand private soldiers under the "Qingyuan" brothers, and Chai Rong's heart moved. If it is said that before the Northern Expedition, Chai Rong did not accept the "Qingyuan" brothers to help his Northern Expedition with private soldiers out of consideration of limiting the prestige of the Youyun region, then in the face of the Northern Expedition that is now in a stalemate, he is not willing to withdraw his troops in his heart, but he has already begun to be tempted by the 5,000 men and horses, especially the more than 2,000 soldiers equipped with firearms. But before he figured out what kind of benefits Xu Shaoan and his group of brothers wanted to use this private army to exchange for himself, he would not easily agree to the other party's request.

Different from Chai Rong's cautious thoughts, Zhang Yongde, who has been looking for various opportunities to weaken Xu Shao'an and weaken the "Qingyuan" brothers, is much more decisive than his eldest brother, and he asked through Xu Shao'an's words: "Xu Xiang and his brothers are so loyal to the court, Zhang is very admired. It's just that the battle of the Northern Expedition can be called a national war, and tens of thousands of troops on both sides are fighting against each other, and what is important is orderly scheduling and coordination. The commander-in-chief should command his subordinate subordinates like an arm, and there must be no fetters or obstacles. Although the private soldiers under the 'Qingyuan' brothers are fierce, after all, they are only your family members and thugs, and in their eyes, they are bound to have only masters, no court, and no son of heaven; It is bound to only obey the orders of your brothers and other brothers, and put aside the orders of the commander-in-chief. In that case, it would be better to let them stay out of the way than to summon them to the army and bring hidden worries to the Northern Expeditionary Army. ”

Zhang Yongde's words clearly meant that the private soldiers under the "Qingyuan" brothers lacked discipline and could not cooperate with the Zhou army, but what he secretly wanted to express was that he was worried that the "Qingyuan" private soldiers only had Xu Shaoan and other masters in their hearts, and did not serve as today's son and the imperial court. When the time comes, not obeying the military orders of the subordinate commanders will be detrimental to the war. In a sense, Zhang Yongde's words were about Xu Shaoan's army. If the other party chooses to hand over power, then the "Qingyuan" brothers, who have lost their private soldiers, will inevitably lose their strength. If the other party chooses not to hand over power, then the "Qingyuan" brothers, who have such a powerful private army, will inevitably arouse Chai Rong's suspicions. Whichever of these two situations occurs, it will be beneficial for Zhang Yongde.

With Xu Shaoan's ingenuity and years of court experience, he naturally understood the true purpose of Zhang Yongde's words. However, at this time, he once again proposed to use the private soldiers under the "Qingyuan" brothers to help occupy the occupation, and the main purpose was to use this good news as bait to keep the Zhou army in place for a few days, so as to buy time for the Southern Route Army to realize its tactical intentions. In a sense, he now hopes that Zhang Yongde will come out and say the above words, so that he can pave the way for his next remarks, so that they will not appear too sudden to arouse Chai Rong's suspicions. Therefore, as soon as Zhang Yongde finished speaking, Xu Shaoan immediately "got off the donkey" and said very simply: "What the inspector said is very reasonable. After leading the troops for many years, he naturally understands the truth that military orders are like mountains. However, please rest assured that although these private soldiers of our brothers are not official soldiers, they have been trained by the next few brothers who have served in the army overseas, and the words 'obey military orders' are still kept in mind. ”

Speaking of this, Xu Shao'an paused slightly, turned to Chai Rong and said, "The minister hereby assures Bixia that no matter which general Bixia puts our brothers' private soldiers under the command of, they will order and prohibit it, and there will never be a situation of disobedience to the orders of the superiors. ”

Xu Shao'an said this, Chai Rong finally decided to test the other party's sincerity, he said: "Xu Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers can do this, I am very pleased. He repelled the Khitans and recovered the sixteen states of Youyun, and Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers naturally made great contributions to the imperial court. When the time comes, I will give a great reward. ”

Speaking of this, Chai Rong paused slightly, peeked at Xu Shao'an's expression, and saw that although the other party was calm, his face still showed joy, and he seemed to be very satisfied with Chai Rong's promise, so he thought that he had seen through Xu Shao'an and the brothers' desire to use this time to help the court in exchange for high-ranking officials, so he then comforted: "As for the five thousand private soldiers of your brothers, I just borrowed them this time. When the war in the clouds subsides, I will return them to you. After all, you and other families have a big business, and some families are still indispensable. ”

Xu Shao'an couldn't help but be happy when he heard Chai Rong's words and agreed to let his so-called private soldiers help him in the war, and hurriedly knelt down and saluted: "Bixia is very kind to the ministers and the ministers' brothers, and the ministers and the ministers' brothers should be even if they are full of liver and brains." This time, he used private soldiers to help the war, firstly, to repay Bixia's kindness, and secondly, to let the people of Youyun live a peaceful life, and there was no idea of asking for merit and reward. Moreover, compared with entering the court as officials and fighting abroad, our brothers are more willing to enjoy peace of mind without official bodies. Doing business, when the brothers are idle, they get together to chat, drink, talk about some strange things in the world, and being comfortable is the life that our brothers like to live. …,

As for the 5,000 private soldiers, they were originally trained to cooperate with the imperial army and deal with the Khitans. The day when the war in Youyun subsided and the imperial court's Northern Expedition won a complete victory was the time when this private army completed its mission and returned to the field. Even if there are some family care homes needed to protect their own property, their number of one or two hundred is enough, where is there any need for so many. Not to mention anything else, just raising these 5,000 private soldiers is not a small amount of money and food every month. Spending huge sums of money all year round to maintain a private army that is useless to oneself is by no means what a good businessman would do. ”

Xu Shao'an's answer made Chai Rong feel a little surprised, but also felt a lot more at ease. For Chai Rong, a local tyrant like the "Qingyuan" brothers, who have prestige, skills, money, and things, is a feared existence, and if he is allowed to have a private army of thousands of people, then he will really not be at ease. However, the heart is steadfast, and the temptation that should be carried out must be completed, and it must not be given up halfway. Therefore, Chai Rong nodded approvingly, and said with some regret: "Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers are all talented people, and it's a pity that they can't come out to do things for the imperial court." But as the saying goes, everyone has their own ambitions, and you are so eager for fame and fortune, I am not easy to be strong. However, I have always had clear rewards and punishments. If the Northern Expedition is successful, you can not be an official, but the other rewards that should be given to you cannot be reduced slightly.

As for the 5,000 private soldiers, I don't think they need to be disbanded. After all, even if the clouds are recovered and the Khitans are driven away, the land of the sixteen states will also need to be guarded by soldiers. Instead of disbanding these veterans who have been training for many days and have experience in battle formations and then recruiting new soldiers, it is better to let them officially join the military and serve in the local army or the imperial forbidden army, which can be regarded as making the best use of their talents. ”

If Chai Rong's previous words can be regarded as conforming to the "wishes" of the "Qingyuan" brothers and giving the other party a promise that they would not be forced to enter the court as officials, then the next few words of his are actually defining the future belonging of the 5,000 private soldiers of the "Qingyuan" brothers -- that is, the officials and soldiers of the imperial court. At that time, no matter whether the "Qingyuan" brothers are reluctant or not, unless they raise the banner to rebel, these 5,000 people will no longer have anything to do with them.

If it were someone else, Chai Rong would have to leave the 5,000 people he had painstakingly trained with a few words so lightly, no matter what his reaction would be on the surface, he must be very unwilling and very angry in his heart. But Xu Shao'an's reaction when he heard Chai Rong say these words was that he was overjoyed - Chai Rong said this, which means that he has fully accepted the request of the "Qingyuan" brothers' private soldiers to help in the war, and it also means that he has decided to fight the Battle of Youyun and carry out the Northern Expedition to the end. If it weren't for the scruples that the current occasion was not suitable, Xu Shaoan would probably have jumped up from the ground and shouted, "This is done." However, although Xu Shaoan did not jump up from the ground, he was trying to control his expression, but he was unable to speak for a while - he was afraid that as soon as he spoke, he would destroy the calm expression he had managed to maintain.

Xu Shaoan knelt there without saying a word, but Zhang Yongde next to him had a wrong understanding, thinking that Xu Shaoan was hesitating how to answer what the official had just said - only rewarding property, not rewarding official positions, and recruiting private soldiers for the use of the imperial court, these are all good opportunities to weaken and attack the "Qingyuan" brothers, and Zhang Yongde will naturally not let it go. So, without waiting for Xu Shao'an to react, Zhang Yongde had already loudly echoed Chai Rong and said, "The saint is wise." ”

As soon as Zhang Yongde took the lead there, the other civil and military generals were naturally not far behind, and they also echoed one after another. At this time, even if Xu Shaoan really had any different opinions, it was impossible to say anything more - not to mention that Xu Shaoan had no opinions at all. Therefore, at the first day of the fourth lunar month in the sixth year of Xiande (the ninth year of the calendar), Chai Rong once again persuaded a group of civil ministers and military generals to continue the Northern Expedition. At the same time, Xu Shaoan also issued a military order to Chai Rong, promising the "Qingyuan" brothers to provide the army with the grain and grass they needed for ten days and 5,000 private soldiers within two days.

And after the end of the imperial military meeting, Xu Shaoan, who returned to his account, immediately sent a telegram to the committee with only four words - "Everything is going well."