The plan has been decided, on the second day of the battle of Baoxingzhuang, early in the morning of the fourth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar in the ninth year of the calendar (the sixth year of Xiande), Xu Shaoan and Cheng Fei led more than 100 personal guards from the camp of the "South Route Army" and went to the camp of the Later Zhou Army in the south. Behind them were nearly 4,000 soldiers and horses led by Tang Chao and Wang Feng to cover and respond. At the same time, after Qian Yuanshan and Mutel made the necessary handover with Yang Xin, who came overnight to escort the prisoners, they also led the main force of the cavalry regiment and the artillery regiment of the "Flying Dragon Army", as well as the first regiment of the "Flying Dragon Army", the first regiment and the third regiment of the "Security Army", which had been equipped with horses, to set up camp and set up camp, all the way to the north, and slaughtered to the front line of the Great Wall.

While the people were discussing how to deal with it and who should come forward to deal with the relationship with Chai Rong and the Later Zhou court, an emergency imperial meeting was also being held in the imperial tent of the main camp of the Later Zhou army a few miles away. However, contrary to the heated discussions and speeches of the brothers of the crossing team, the imperial meetings of the Later Zhou court were spent in silence most of the time. As a result, the atmosphere in the tent became more and more depressing, and the participants became more and more reluctant to speak.

Seeing that everyone was reluctant to speak, Zhang Yongde, who had always been at odds with the "Qingyuan" brothers and regarded them as his strong competitors in the future, felt that he could not lose such an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the "Qingyuan" brothers and completely destroy the positive, excellent, and loyal image that the other party had established in Chai Rong's mind. Therefore, after organizing his own language, Zhang Yongde went out and played: "Bixia, Xu Shaoan and his brothers have deceived the king and plotted against the king this time, and they must not be spared. The minister thought that the imperial court should immediately raise troops and exterminate the 'Qingyuan' brothers and their private soldiers in one fell swoop. In this way, the majesty of Bixia and the law of the court can be demonstrated. ”

Perhaps it was Zhang Yongde's words that hit Chai Rong's mind, Chai Rong, who had been bowing his head and contemplating silently, suddenly raised his head at this time, and a cold light flashed in his eyes, obviously he had already moved to kill. This situation made Zhao Kuangyin, who was standing behind Zhang Yongde, shocked and secretly screamed.

From the bottom of his heart, Zhao Kuangyin was also quite dissatisfied with what Xu Shaoan and the "Qingyuan" brothers did. In his opinion, Xu Shao'an, or the "Qingyuan" brothers, did a very excessive job this time, not only did they secretly raise private soldiers that far exceeded the number of people they reported to the imperial court, and equipped weapons that were far more beneficial than the firearms dedicated to the imperial court, but Xu Shaoan also deceived the official family with false words, and lied that the "Qingyuan" brothers were willing to use their own private soldiers to join forces with the imperial army, obey the dispatch of the imperial court, and jointly defeat the Khitans. He was willing to raise food and grass for the imperial army for ten days, and used this as an excuse to "escape" from the Zhou army camp in order to avoid the punishment that the imperial court might punish him after learning the truth.

It's just that dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction, and Zhao Kuangyin is still very clear about the current situation facing the Zhou army, the contrast between the strength of himself and the "Qingyuan" brothers, and the attitude that the "Qingyuan" brothers may adopt towards the court and the official family. On the one hand, the private soldiers under the "Qingyuan" brothers were able to annihilate the 70,000-strong Khitan army in one fell swoop in less than 20,000 men in less than two hours, while their own losses were almost negligible -- according to the investigation of the Zhou army's horses, the casualties of the private soldiers under the "Qingyuan" brothers in this battle were probably not even 1,000, and the so-called "security army" with weak equipment and combat effectiveness was the mainstay, and the casualties of its main force, the "Flying Dragon Army," may be less than 100. However, the results they achieved were to kill more than 30,000 people and capture more than 30,000 people, which is rare in ancient and modern times. In the face of such a strong opponent, Zhao Kuangyin did not think that the current Zhou army had the strength to compete with him. If you really want to go to war, I am afraid that these 80,000 Zhou troops will be the second in the Youyun Liao army.

On the other hand, although Xu Shao'an "fled from the Zhou army camp in fear of crime", judging from the current situation, it seems that the "Qingyuan" brothers did not intend to be enemies of the Zhou army, or rather did not intend to take the initiative to become enemies of the Zhou army -- this can be seen from the fact that the "Qingyuan" private soldiers were very cautious when they pursued the Liao army that fled to the south, and stopped moving forward when they were close to the left of the Zhou army's vanguard camp, and let the Zhou army deal with the Liao army's rout. No matter how the situation develops in the future, at least for now, the Zhou army and the "Qingyuan" private soldiers are still friends and not enemies, and the two sides can still live in peace for the time being. If the imperial court had acted because of Xu Shao'an's bullying of the monarch, then this fragile state of peace might collapse immediately, and it would likely have been replaced by a war between the two sides. When the time comes, it will be said that Xu Shaoan will be arrested and questioned, and I am afraid that the 80,000 Zhou army, including everyone in the current account, will be able to return to Kaifeng alive. …,

As soon as he thought of this, Zhao Kuangyin didn't wait for Chai Rong to make a clear statement about Zhang Yongde's words, and hurriedly went out to play: "Bixia, the minister thinks that it is not clear whether the 'Qingyuan' brothers are friends or enemies at present, whether their secret private soldiers are plotting against the law or helping the court is still inconclusive, and whether Lord Xu is going to 'abscond in fear of crime' or to raise food and grass for our army is also between the two. Now that the 'Qingyuan' brothers have defeated the Liao army, and there is no obvious backlash, and the military order made by Lord Xu is also a promise to raise ten days of military rations for the army within two days, and hand over the 'Qingyuan' private soldiers to the imperial court, the current time limit has not yet arrived, if Bixia orders to punish Lord Xu at this time and exterminate the 'Qingyuan' private soldiers, I am afraid that it will not be able to convince the 'Qingyuan' brothers, nor can it convince the hearts of the people of Youyun. The minister thinks that for today's plan, it is the best policy to respond to all changes with the same and brake with static. ”

"This ......" On the one hand, there is some truth in what Zhao Kuangyin said, and on the other hand, Chai Rong is also a little jealous of the strength of the "Qingyuan" private soldiers, so after listening to Zhao Kuangyin's statement, Chai Rong, who was originally a little moved by what Zhang Yongde said, began to hesitate again.

Seeing that the official's mind was a little shaken, Zhang Yongde secretly scolded Zhao Kuangyin in his heart for working against him everywhere and shielding the "Qingyuan" brothers from time to time, and at the same time grabbed Bai Dao: "Bullying the monarch and secretly storing private soldiers, isn't this a rebellion?" According to what Lord Zhao said, is it possible to wait until the 'Qingyuan' brothers wave their troops to attack, can it be regarded as a plot of misdeeds and ill-intentioned? Lord Zhao shielded and protected the 'Qingyuan' brothers like this, could it be that he secretly communicated with them? ”

Zhang Yongde's words can be called heart-wrenching, although Chai Rong is a Ming monarch, but when he encounters this kind of statement that may threaten his throne, he has to turn a few more corners in his head. Zhao Kuangyin naturally understands this, but he also understands that he must not be angry at this time, otherwise, not only will he be more and more black, but he will also shift the direction of the meeting from Xu Shaoan and the "Qingyuan" brothers to himself. Once he reached that point, he might have to withdraw from the discussion in order to avoid suspicion, and the initiative of the military discussion was handed over to Zhang Yongde. When the time comes, not only will all his previous efforts be in vain, but it will also greatly affect his status in the heart of today's son, which will definitely outweigh the losses.

Therefore, when Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he immediately argued: "Bixia Mingjian, the minister has always been loyal to Bixia and the court, and he can be expressed every day. The reason why the minister disagreed with Lord Zhang's suggestion was entirely for the sake of Bixia and the imperial court.

Yes, Lord Xu did not tell the true intentions and strength of the 'Qingyuan' brothers to the official family before, but a 'Qingyuan' brother was in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and before the army of our imperial court waved the Northern Expedition, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun had always been occupied by the Khitans, and the 'Qingyuan' brothers secretly raised tens of thousands of private soldiers Even if they have a plan, their targets should be the Khitans rather than our Great Zhou court, which can be seen from today's 'Qingyuan' private soldiers storming the Khitan camp and defeating the Khitan army of 70,000. If the imperial court convicts Lord Xu and the 'Qingyuan' brothers with this article, they are afraid that it will be unreasonable.

Second, Xu Dazhong has been an official in the court for several years, and he has not returned to Youzhou during this period, and he is only the eighth among the 'Qingyuan' brothers, so the minister thinks that not only can he not influence what other brothers do in Youzhou, but is likely to be constrained and restrained by his brothers. Many of the words he said above the court and in front of Bixia may not be his original intention, but may just follow the meaning of his brothers. Chen firmly believes that Lord Xu's previous words of deception were just a last resort, and they were definitely not his true thoughts. If Bixia uses this article to convict Lord Xu, he is only afraid that he will not be in love. ”

"To deceive the king is to deceive the king, how can there be a last resort." Zhang Yongde retorted, "If you take what Lord Zhao said, if you have a hard time and a reason, you can deceive the king, then where is the majesty of the official family and where is the law of the court." ”

Seeing that Zhang Yongde was unreasonable, and insisted on biting Xu Shao'an's bullying of the king, and completely ignoring the predicament that Zhou Jun might face once the two sides fought against him, Zhao Kuangyin was also a little annoyed. He no longer entangled with Zhang Yongde on the question of whether Xu Shao'an was a bully, but turned the conversation around and asked: "Lord Zhang has always said that Xu Shao'an bullied the king, so the lower officials may ask Lord Zhang, what do you think should be done with Xu Shao'an?" ”

"According to the law of the imperial court, the crime of bullying the king should be beheaded." Seeing that Zhao Kuangyin seemed to have the intention of compromising and retreating, Zhang Yongde said a little proudly. …,

"Then the lower official will ask Lord Zhang again, how do you plan to arrest Xu Shao'an?" Zhao Kuangyin asked interlockingly.

As soon as Zhao Kuangyin asked this, Zhang Yongde, who was still a little proud just now, was immediately dumbfounded, because he had been thinking about how to suppress Xu Shao'an and suppress the "Qingyuan" brothers, and forgot that Xu Shao'an, who he regarded as a "thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh", was actually no longer in the camp of the Zhou army, but took the opportunity to raise food and grass for the Zhou army and flew away, and had already escaped the control of the Zhou court and returned to his brothers. Now if you want to arrest Xu Shao'an, the only way is to snatch him back from the hands of the "Qingyuan" brothers, and if you want to get Xu Shao'an back, the hurdle of the "Qingyuan" private soldiers must be excessive. Although Zhang Yongde is a villain who excludes dissidents, he is also a general who has fought for many years, and he has seen with his own eyes the strength of the "Qingyuan" private soldiers in the battle that has just ended. No matter how confident and arrogant he is, he doesn't think that his 80,000 men and horses will be able to defeat the "Qingyuan" brothers' private soldiers of less than 20,000 -- if they say victory, it is difficult to say whether the Liao army looks good or not.

Although he was speechless when asked by Zhao Kuangyin, in order to save some personal face, Zhang Yongde still wanted to argue with the other party a few more words. It's just that without waiting for him to speak, Chai Rong, who had been watching his two important ministers arguing, finally broke the silence, and he waved his hand in a bad mood to stop him: "This matter is very important, don't make a hasty decision, and let me think about it, and discuss it tomorrow." ”

After saying that, he got up and left his seat and walked to the back. Zhang Yongde, Zhao Kuangyin and other ministers of civil and military affairs didn't dare to say anything more when they saw this, so they had to be busy sending off the holy driver.