Deng She's move to give the flag was deliberate.

First, giving flags to meritorious soldiers and troops will help enhance their sense of honor. When a soldier has a sense of honor, he will naturally be brave in battle. And, with a sense of honor, there will be a sense of belonging to the unit to which the individual belongs. With a sense of belonging, you can also further strengthen cohesion. Whether it is a sense of honor or cohesion, it will be of great help to the combat effectiveness and loyalty of the army.

Second, before the official reward, a few flags were given, which was equivalent to pointing out the focus of the merit to Wen Huaguo and Monk Li. At the very least, the names of the generals who got the banner will definitely appear on the list of meritorious deeds and rewards, and they will be relatively high.

The New Year is coming, and after giving the flag, Yan Zhixi and Luo Lilang presented seven or eight plans to celebrate the New Year. This is what Dun She has explained before. Everyone discussed it and chose a few of them, which was decided. After talking nonsense, Deng She saw that it was not early in the sky outside the hall, it was almost noon. He looked around and asked, "Is there anything else?" ”

Yan Zhixi came out and said: "The minister still has one matter, and he needs to ask the lord to decide." ”

"What?"

"About Haidong reinforcements. Now, the war in Shandong has come to an end, and the troops of Wen Pingzhang and Marshal Zhang have also withdrawn from various battlefields one after another and come to Yidu. Yidu was only besieged by Chahan, and there was grain stored in the city, but there was not much left. Now outside the city with Zhao Zuocheng's troops, a total of 20,000 or 30,000 troops, it will be fine in a short period of time, if it takes a long time, I am afraid that the supply will be a little difficult. ”

There is not much food in Yidu City, and tens of thousands of people eat, drink, and Lazar, which costs a lot at the end of the day. Although Yan Zhixi has been appointed as the provincial secretary of the left and right departments, as long as Wu Henian is less than a day, the work of the Yidu prefect will have to be handled by him temporarily. So, he asked the question.

For the reinforcements from Haidong, Deng She had ideas.

In this great battle, not only did the local civilian officials suffer many casualties, but the Shandong army suffered heavy losses. The most serious places, such as Laizhou, are located in the fiercely contested areas between the enemy and us, and have experienced fierce battles many times, and the original garrison can be said to be one out of ten. Another example is Tai'an, although Chen Ru's head is fierce, there are many casualties. Another example is Jinan, where more than 10,000 people in Liu Qi's department died or rebelled, and there are very few left.

Before Chahan came, in order to seek stability and win over local powerful factions such as Liu Qi and Chen Yutou, Deng She did not move most of the military system, except for the reorganization of part of Wang Shicheng's lineage and the formation of a government. Since the losses of the army are very large, it can be said that the system from top to bottom has been broken. He wanted to take the opportunity to simply adapt all of his brains.

However, adaptation is easier said than done.

Although the losses of the Shandong army were very large, the miscellaneous places were added together, and there were almost more than 20,000 people left. Deng She didn't plan to leave them all, he was only going to leave those who were strong in this battle, and those who were not able to fight would be withdrawn all. This requires enough manpower to select and screen, and at the same time, there must be enough troops to supervise and control. Moreover, the reorganization and surrender of the army does not mean that it can be accomplished, and during this period, there must always be an army at the local level to take over the defense.

Where did these manpower and army come from? Only from reinforcements. Therefore, the Haidong reinforcements still can't leave for the time being. It's just that what Yan Zhixi said is indeed a problem. Military rations are not easy to solve.

Deng She pondered for a long time and asked, "How long is there enough grain in the city?" ”

"Before Chahan left, he looted most of the grain in the counties and townships outside the city. The food stored in the city was not only to supply the army, but also to follow the orders of the lord, and to provide for the people. At the current rate of consumption, it can last for a month at most. ”

"What if it is gathered from somewhere else?"

Yan Zhixi only cares about Yidu, and he doesn't know about other places. Luo Lilang came out and said: "To the east of Jinan and Tai'an, except for Yidu, almost all the cities have been invaded by the Yuan army. The remaining number of warehouses in various places, the statistical results have been reported. The southeast coast has long been a heavy land for tuntian, and the government and the people are rich, and the situation is the best, but it is only enough for its local needs, and I am afraid that there is no way to support Yidu. ”

"And what's your opinion?"

What opinions can Yan Zhixi, Luo Lilang and others have? It is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice. Although they had slightly guessed Deng She's intentions, they were also helpless.

Luo Lilang said: "The war has just passed, and people's hearts are home. It's almost the New Year, we want to celebrate the New Year, and the soldiers also want to celebrate the New Year. There is not enough food in the city. The minister thought that if the lord had no other arrangements, it would be better to send them back to Haidong first. Sneaking a glance at Deng She's expression, he said, "Of course, Chahan has only retreated, and the original garrisons in various places have suffered a lot of losses, and the local area cannot be defended without a strong army." If the lord is worried about this, all the reinforcements don't have to be repatriated. Leave a little less, and no matter how tight the city is, it can probably still hold on until the beginning of spring. ”

Yan Zhixi's opinion was the same as his, and he also said: "What Luo Lang said is very true. ”

He is the prefect of Yidu, and what he considers is not only the problem of food, but also the problem of local security. After a pause, he continued: "The current garrison of the reinforcements was originally the original camp of Chahan, and the closest place to Yidu was only ten miles away. The army of tens of thousands of people has just come down from the battlefield, and the murderous spirit is in full swing, and it is not a matter if it is too close to the city. No matter how strict the military discipline of Wen Pingzhang and Marshal Zhang is, those who are worried about the ministers will inevitably have disputes between the army and the people sooner or later.

"Now that the policy is top, the minister also thinks that it is better to send some reinforcements away first."

"Even if some of them are repatriated, the grain stocks in the city can only last until the beginning of spring? What happens after the beginning of spring? Luo Langzhong, do you have any countermeasures? ”

"The minister has written an excerpt and is about to present it to the lord for viewing. There are only two countermeasures, either to ask for grain from Haidong or to buy grain from Jiangnan. ”

"Mr. Hong, what do you think about this?"

"South Korea was harassed by the Japanese invaders, and the former Goryeo Dynasty had long since emptied its treasury. Since last year, there have been major wars in Liaodong and Korea. To this day, Liaoxi and Liaoyang are still in a wartime state. Expecting to ask for food from Haidong is difficult to do. "When it comes to important military matters, Hong Jixun is doing his best. He put aside the dissatisfaction of the right talent for the time being, calmly analyzed the current situation of Haidong's grain reserves, and then said: "If you want to overcome this difficulty, the only way to survive this is to buy grain from Jiangnan. ”

Hong Jixun's analysis is good, Haidong's grain storage is only enough for self-sufficiency, and it is obviously unrealistic to expect it to support Yidu. Deng She frowned and said, "Buy grain from Jiangnan? ”

Ji Zongzhou also frowned when he heard this, and said: "Now all the roads in Jining are in the hands of Chahan, which is equivalent to cutting off our connection with Jianghuai by land,......。 ”

"Not bad. If you want to buy grain from Jiangnan, you can only take the sea route. ”

Among the heroes in the south of the Yangtze River, there are only three people near the sea. One is Chen Youding in Fujian, one is Fang Guozhen in Taizhou, and one is Zhang Shicheng in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In other words, that is to say, if you want to go to Jiangnan by sea to buy grain, you can only deal with these three people. And these three people have one thing in common, that is, they all accept Meng Yuan's official position. Or loyal to Meng Yuan, such as Chen Youding in Fujian. or nominally has been reduced, such as Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen.

Ji Zongzhou said: "Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen, I just sent an envoy to my Yidu a while ago, expressing my willingness to be on good terms with the main bus. Moreover, the minister also heard that as early as when the lord had only been in Pyongyang, the two of them had also sent envoys to ask for a visit to the lord. It can be seen that although they nominally descended to Yuan, they actually shared the same bed and dreamed of Meng Yuan. Now that I'm short of food, I should be fine if I ask them for a favor, right? ”

Hong Jixun shook his head and said, "No." ”

Ji Zongzhou asked, "Why?" ”

"Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen are good friends with me, and whatever they want is just business. If I go to buy grain today, it has nothing to do with businessmen and has nothing to do with the foundation of the militaristic state. Zhang and Fang have already lowered their yuan, although they and Meng Yuan are indeed in the same bed, but they have a problem. Fang Guozhen is close to Fujian, and Zhang Shicheng is close to Henan. There is Chen Youding in Fujian, and Chahan in Henan. If the news comes out, will Chen Youding and Chahan put pressure on them? What would they do if it caused stress? It's hard to predict. ”

Yan Zhixi is an ambitious person, in troubled times, and wants to do something. Therefore, long before he took refuge in Deng She, he was very concerned about the general trend of the world and had a better understanding of the forces in various places.

At this time, after listening to Hong Jixun's analysis, he agreed very much and said: "Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen are envoys to me, and as Mr. Hong said, they are to trade with me. Second, it must be because he saw that I was powerful, so he came to make friends first. And now, although our Haidong has retreated from a strong enemy and suffered heavy losses, Chahan has not lost his vitality. What will Zhang and Fang think? It's really hard to predict. ”

To put it bluntly, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen and Haidong are friends purely because of interests. In the first battle of Jingyidu, although Haidong won a crushing victory and made a name, it suffered heavy casualties, while Chahan's losses were not large. So, will they risk offending Chahan to accede to Haidong's request to buy grain?

It's really hard to say. But no matter whether it is easy to say or not, the two of them are Haidong's only hope now. Deng She thought to himself: "Whether it is successful or not, you always know when you do it." ”

He immediately made a decision and said, "Let's speculate here, after all, it's just speculation." Whether you can buy grain from Jiangnan or not, you can only know the answer by trying. Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen just sent a messenger a while ago, and the gifts are still exchanged, and we haven't returned the gift yet. Mr. Hong, I'll leave this matter to you. Take the opportunity to return the gift and mention the request. See what they have to say! ”

"This trip to Jiangsu and Zhejiang is related to the important task of buying grain, which is very ordinary. The messenger must be a man who can speak well. The minister did not dare to arbitrarily judge. May I ask my lord, who should I appoint? ”

Deng She looked down the hall, his eyes swept over everyone's faces one by one, he thought for a while, and said: "When I first came to Yidu that day, Shicheng invited me to a banquet, and Ziqiang fought with the crowd at the banquet, and one person refuted Yidu Yingjie to the point that he had nothing to say. Courageous and courageous, he can do this. ”

Self-improvement is Yang Xingjian's word. He was stunned for a moment, stepped out of the ranks, and said hesitantly: "The lord's decree, the minister does not dare to resign." It's just that....... He touched his ears, "Zhang and Fang are both the same males." The minister's current appearance, if he goes to a big country, I am afraid that it will damage the image of Haidong. ”

Yang Xingjian's appearance, with a white face and thick beard, is upright and solemn, which is still very good. It's just that on that day, Deng She attacked Yidu, and he was on the side, and accidentally half of his ear was shot off by a cold arrow, so now he is a little broken. This envoy to the enemy country not only requires the ability to speak well, but also because it represents the image of one's own country, so generally speaking, it is best to choose a dignified character. Otherwise, if you stand up and take a look, like Wu Henian, who looks like a shrimp maggot, it will inevitably make people laugh and lose their big teeth, isn't it self-humiliation?

Deng She smiled and said, "Yang Gong's appearance is already solemn. Although half of the ear is damaged today, it is damaged on the battlefield, so what's the matter? It also increases the heroic and killing atmosphere. It couldn't be better to go abroad. Let them also see what kind of people we Haidong men are! Guys, am I right? ”

Ji Zongzhou said: "In the Tang Dynasty, Li Changji had a poem: 'Please go to Lingyan Pavilion temporarily, if you are a scholar and a marquis?' 'Which scholar has been the Marquis of Ten Thousand Households?' Lord Yang can be literate and martial, but he is really my Haidong's 'scholar Wanhu Hou'. It is most suitable to go to an enemy country. ”

Deng She admires scholars who can write and martial arts the most, which has long been known to everyone in Haidong. Earlier, when he was attacking Yidu, Ju Sheng personally went into battle to kill the enemy as a scribe, thinking that he was in response, so he was praised by Deng She's "Confucian model". Ji Zong Zhouhua used the poems of his predecessors to praise Yang Xingjian, and at the same time, he slapped Deng She on the back. Yang Xingjian was still about to resign, Deng She laughed and said, "Self-improvement, you don't have to be humble." This envoy is none other than you. ”

Yang Xingjian had nothing to say and was ordered to retreat. Hong Jixun asked again: "Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen are two, and the envoy needs two people." Lord Yang is one, the other, who should I choose? ”

As early as when he was in Pyongyang, Haidong had a messenger with Zhang Shicheng, and that time, Luo Guoqi and Fang Fuzhen were sent. However, now that neither of them is in Yidu, he needs to choose another person. In fact, even if the two of them were in Yidu, Deng She didn't plan to send them again this time.

Why? Luo and Fang, their eloquence is ordinary. If it's an ordinary mission, it's enough. This time it was involved in the purchase of grain, but the ability of the two of them was a little insufficient.

Deng She pondered for a long time, and thought about the ministers of Yidu several times, Ji Zongzhou? Yan Zhixi? Ju Sheng? Luo Lilang? is similar to Luo and Fang, these people also have their own shortcomings. Courage alone, or eloquence is not enough. For a while, there was no one to choose from, and I couldn't help but hesitate.

Ji Zongzhou observed the words and said, "There is one person who recommends it. ”

"Who?"

"Fang Congzhe."