Pei Ren was basically a little jealous of Li Xu becoming his top boss, and seeing that the other party did not hesitate to defile himself in order to justify himself, the little evil fire in his heart did not fade. Thinking about some of his recent experiences, he sighed, lowered his eyelids, and turned his head back to the map.

Zheng Bo saw that Pei Renji had retracted his momentum first, and he also let out a low "hum", removing his knife-like gaze from the other party's face. Li Xu knew that he couldn't resolve the knot between Pei and Zheng with just a few words, and he knew that Zheng Bo, the county guard of Xiangcheng, was the core of the county soldiers from all walks of life, so he didn't continue to dwell on this matter. He smiled and turned the conversation back to the battle situation in front of him.

"Everyone just said that they didn't want to fight with Wagang, but they weren't afraid of them. The crux of the matter is that there are traitors in power, and the court is unfair, but is it? He still had a smile on his face, as if he was chatting and complaining with a group of old friends, and he didn't think he was discussing military affairs involving tens of thousands of lives and deaths with everyone.

"The last general did not dare to criticize the government. But the soldiers are all motherless children, which is also well known! County Lieutenant Zhou Ying stood up and replied loudly.

"The ancient emperor is not hungry soldiers, but the brothers have been hungry for almost half a year!" Zhaowu Lieutenant Huang Qiao added loudly.

The generals said a word, and summed up several reasons for their reluctance to fight. In the final analysis, they are afraid that they will be abandoned by the court if they lose their soldiers, and they don't even have the face to explain to their hometown fathers.

"What the court did before, I can't control!" After everyone had explained the reason, Li Xu nodded and continued to ask: "But if I promise you, in the future, the grain and grass and military salaries of the county soldiers will be the same as the government soldiers, the equipment will be given the same as the government soldiers, the battle damage will be supplemented like the government soldiers, and the meritorious soldiers can be promoted like the government soldiers, are you willing to go with me to meet the Wagang heroes?" ”

"Of course you do! Who likes to huddle in the city with infamy behind their backs, watching the thieves come and go as if they were in a no-man's land! As soon as his words fell, Zhou Ying was the first to stand up and make a statement.

"The problem is that the general can be sure that he will get money and food for us. At that time, the Eastern Capital promised General Zhang countless supplies, but he always delayed on the grounds that the roads were not quiet. Until the old general died......" Zheng Bo didn't believe that Li Xu was more capable than Zhang Xutuo, so he responded cautiously.

He deliberately kept his voice low, but everyone in the audience could hear it clearly. This time, Pei Renji didn't get up to raise the bar with him, because he didn't get any money and food for the children of Qi County under his command, and he didn't get a penny after taking over. The old acquaintances of the Eastern Capital were willing to seek official positions for him, but their distrustful attitude towards the county soldiers was the same as when Zhang Xutuo was in office, and he did not change his opinion in the slightest because the leader of the soldiers was now surnamed Pei.

Li Xu glanced around, and saw a mixture of longing and disappointment on everyone's faces. Knowing that he was approaching his intended goal, he nodded, smiled and gave an affirmative answer.

"On the way I came, the passage southeast of Xingyang has been opened, as long as everyone works harder, we can recapture the entire Tongji Canal. Let the money and grain handed over to the imperial court by the counties be continuously sent from Caishui and Tongji Canal. In the holy decree given to me by His Majesty, he approved my authority to transfer materials from various counties in Henan. Therefore, after the canal is opened, we will use the arrears of money and grain from the counties to meet the supplies of the brothers first, and then send them to the eastern capital! ”

This is one of the purposes of his vigorous campaign near Yongqiu and Kaifeng. On the way to Xingyang to take up his post, he found that although the war was spreading in all directions, the treasury of many places was still full of officials. Since the officials did not dare and refused to use some of it to help the people, there was no reason for them to be corrupted when it should be transported to the imperial court. Therefore, restoring the passage connecting the imperial court and the local government became the first goal of Xuzi's army. As long as he firmly grasps the control of the canal, he will not worry about the lack of food and clothing for the soldiers under his command like the children of Qi County.

After listening to Li Xu's words, the generals were stunned for a moment, and then exploded with a "boom". They didn't expect the new coach to be so bold that he even dared to intercept the materials sent to the Eastern Capital. But after thinking about it, it has not been a day or two since the connection between the eastern counties of Henan and Luoyang has been cut off, and Li Xu cannot take the initiative to provoke an incident by doing so. Besides, even if the Eastern Capital is dissatisfied, General Li's golden sword was given by the emperor, and no matter how arrogant the people around King Yue are, they dare not challenge the authority of the emperor and the emperor.

"Yes, anyway, Dongdu said that if the road is not quiet, there is no way to send us money and food. Again, we can't send it to him! Zhou Ying was afraid that the world would not be chaotic, so he shouted loudly.

"If we hadn't opened the canal, we wouldn't have been able to fish for anything in the Eastern Capital. This time, the adults can finally get some of it! Zhaowu Lieutenant Huang Qiao stroked his beard and smiled, as if he had seen the money and grain transported to Guancheng.

"Your Majesty has promised the power of the general, and the general will naturally transfer the grain and grass of the Henan counties!" Bae In-ki's gloomy face also looked much brighter, and he smiled and said. "But I'm afraid there are two things that are not quite right. First, what if the counties still refuse to hand over the money and grain on the grounds that the roads are not secure? Second, we currently control the west bank of the canal, but the Wagang army may cut the river from the east bank at any time, how should we deal with it? ”

"There is only one way, to force it with soldiers!" Li Xu didn't think about it and replied loudly. "If the counties refuse to send money and food, I will send troops to escort them themselves. Wagang thieves dare to block the road and rob, we are officers and soldiers, are we really afraid of this group of bandits? ”

"yes, let's have a fight with them. You can't keep being stuck in the neck by thieves! ”

"Fight, dare to rob the food in our rice bowls, are the weapons in our hands used to see?!"

The generals listened excitedly and shouted nonsense. Almost forgetting that just a quarter of an hour earlier, they had also announced that their morale was low and that they would not be able to go out of the city to fight the Wagang army.

"But before going to war, at least some supplies must be replenished to the ministries. Otherwise, the morale is still low, and there may not be a chance of victory against the Shangwagang army! Bae Renji pondered for a moment and added.

"I will ask Yu Junshou to open the Guancheng warehouse and allocate grain from the warehouse to you first. According to the actual number of people, make up for two months' needs first! Li Xu had been prepared for this question, smiled, and gave everyone a very satisfactory answer.

"If only you had come a few months earlier!" Pei Renji nodded, and there was no regret in his words. There are so many officials and soldiers in Xingyang County, and no one thought that they would have the courage to use the official warehouse left behind from the time of the first emperor to meet military needs. As a result, hundreds of thousands of stone stores in Luokoucang were cheap for the Wagang army. If everyone had known about this outcome, it would have been better to risk it.

"Yes, the general came a few months earlier, and it is estimated that Chai Xiaohe, the county commander of Gongxian County, will not be cornered, so that he will surrender to the Wagang army." Zheng Bo sighed and took over Pei Renji's words for the first time.

The bad news that Gongxian and Luokoucang were taken by the Wagang army came on the third day after Li Xu entered Guancheng. According to the rumors, at that time, Xu Thief Maogong was ready to withdraw the army, but the two people, Chai Xiaohe, the commander of Gongxian County, and Zheng Ting, the superintendent of the imperial history, could not withstand the huge pressure of the reinforcements being wiped out halfway, and surrendered the city in order to protect themselves. The Wagang army loaded all the grain in the Luokou warehouse into a truck and transported it into the Baihua Valley with the help of the hungry people and the common people. In order to have something to eat, a large number of hungry people took the initiative to join the thieves, which made the number of Wagang troops in Baihua Valley rise to more than 100,000 at once, plus the weapons and armor "gifted" by Liu Changgong, the prestige was greatly boosted.

"The same thing, I don't think it will happen again in the future!" Li Xu intercepted the words of the two and said very confidently. He needs to maintain the atmosphere in front of him, and he can't let the mistakes that have already taken place continue to build up morale. With only 4,000 cavalry in his hands, he could not defeat the Wagang army. In his eyes, all county soldiers can become good helpers, depending on how the generals use them.

"The last general is willing to lead his soldiers and horses to clean up the remnants of the bandits on both sides of the canal!" Huyalang, who had been listening to the discussion of everyone on the side, saw that Li Xu had won the support of everyone, and stood up and took the initiative to ask for help. Previously, he only admired Li Xu's bravery, but now he was glad that the imperial court sent such a brave and resourceful general to preside over the overall situation at a critical moment. If nothing else, Wang Wei can be sure that the rabble in Wagang is by no means the opponent of General Li in front of him.

"The last general is willing to fight side by side with Lord Wang!" Zheng Bo, who had given Li Xu countless problems, was also satisfied, stood up, and bowed his hands solemnly.

"The last general is willing to walk with Lord Wang!"

"The last general wishes only the general to look at the horse!" The generals saw that Zheng Bo had already expressed his position, and they also expressed their willingness to accept Li Xu's dispatch.

"In this way, the last general will return to the tiger prison, and all the county soldiers will come out of the customs!" Bae Renji was unwilling to be reconciled, and promised with a smile.

"Everyone, don't be bored, how to send troops, when to send troops, we will have to discuss it later!" After winning the initial hearts of the generals, Li Xu was not in a hurry and immediately went to fight with the Wagang army, smiled and said.

"What kind of discussion, I'll listen to the adult's arrangement!" Zheng Bo said the same thing he had said again, but the expression on his face was almost world-different from before.

"Yes, whatever the adults say, let's do it, without ambiguity!" The generals once again affirmed their willingness to obey Li Xu's attitude.

"Everyone trusts Li so much, thank you very much." Li Xu smiled and bowed his hands very gracefully. "But before I get this assignment, what do I have to ask the guys?"

"If the general has anything to say, just ask. As long as the brethren know, they will not hide it! The generals stood solemnly and responded violently.

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