The afterglow of the twilight sun is faintly sprinkled down, and Jinling City is still very lively. The street is full of liquor shops and teahouses, and it is the best time to make a living, and there are many small vendors in the surrounding open spaces who are ready to do evening business. The street is bustling, pedestrians are continuous, there are people who are carrying burdens and hurrying, there are people who are driving cars to pull goods, and there are many men and women who stop to enjoy the scenery of the Qinhuai River.

At this time, Li Yuan's mansion was already closed, and there were even more soldiers patrolling back and forth, which meant that no one should approach. Entering the mansion, candles have been lit under the eaves of the bright pavilions, and the noise is continuous.

The day after tomorrow, Li Yuan specially asked Liu Jiangsheng and Xu Kuangheng to go to Beiyuan and Tianyin Mountain respectively, and invited Luo Erhu, Ebony Special Service and the commander of the Wei Shengjun in Beijing to the mansion.

The three brothers entered the backyard first, and after chatting with the Liu family for half an hour, they hurriedly came out to greet the guests. Wang Jingyao played the role of a housekeeper today, and together with her younger brother Wang Jingguo, she also ran her legs, leading a group of maidservants to run back and forth to spread the word.

Li Yuan had already changed into a royal purple robe, sat on the main seat with a smile, and when he saw that the time was almost up, he got up and shouted, "Everyone! ”

Seeing Li Yuan speak, everyone at the table hurriedly stopped the hustle and bustle and looked at Li Yuan in unison.

"Ben Yu Hou took the liberty to invite you to the house, one is to share the friendship with you, and the other is to toast the western expedition in the future! It's a rare gathering tonight! Please don't be restricted, you must eat and drink well, and go home happy! But don't be greedy and hurt yourself, otherwise you will miss the major event of the expedition, and this is a ruthless military law! ”

"I thanked my brother first!" Eating at the banquet, Luo Erhu was the most excited one, Xu was holding back in Tianyin Mountain for a few days, and took the lead and shouted that he would come out.

This big black man snorted, which made everyone relax and replied in unison: "Xie Yuhou!" ”

Then, just looking at Li Yuan waving to open the table, Wang Jingyao hurriedly instructed the maids to start busy, and in a moment they presented delicious wine and delicacies.

Almost all of the people who went to the banquet today were military generals, and it was rare to take off their uniforms, and their hearts were full of joy. Except for a few of his own brothers, the rest of the people were Li Yuan's subordinates. Although it was inevitable that he couldn't let go of his hands and feet at first, Li Yuan took the initiative to take Luo Erhu and Liu Jiangsheng to greet him warmly, and while these generals stood up to thank him, they also spontaneously had a good impression of the new boss. The banquet can shorten the distance between people, and soon the banquet becomes a sea of joy, with cups and cups intertwined, constantly mixed with laughter.

"Bang!" Suddenly, a wine jug was touched on the table, Wang Jingyao hurriedly picked it up and put it away, and then ordered the maid to wipe the wine that poured out.

Li Yuanzheng was chatting with the ebony special service, and glanced at Wang Jingyao when he heard the sound, obviously her face was still a little nervous, so she smiled and said, "Sister Yao, don't be busy, sit down and eat together for a while?" ”

Wang Jingyao showed a shy smile and said, "No need, how dare you spoil Li Lang's good interest?" Keep eating well, this is all the work that our ladies should do, let's eat later! Then he hurried to another table, inspected it, and beckoned the maid to go to the kitchen to urge the food.

Seeing that the ebony agent glanced at Wang Jingyao mysteriously, and nodded at Li Yuan, Li Yuan smiled helplessly at the moment: "Why, it's still our Han women who are virtuous!" Keep drinking! ”

"Haha! Yu Hou Yanfu is not shallow! However, my Uighur women are also first-class! Although he is a little bigger, he is also diligent in his hands and feet, and he can ride horses and shoot arrows! The Ebony agent patted his chest proudly.

Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh, and then said heartily: "It turns out that Brother Ebony is so big!" If our brother hits the Khitan one day, how about I find you a Khitan woman?! ”

Then he pretended to whisper mysteriously: "Don't worry, my sister-in-law will not know when the time comes!" ”

The ebony agent was stunned for a while and didn't reply, and then finished the wine in the cup, and only then did he say stupidly: "It's okay to be small......"

"Haha!" Li Yuan had already heard Luo Erhu mention that the ebony agent was in Tianyin Mountain, as long as his wife was mentioned, this seven-foot man looked frightened, and it seemed that what he said was true.

Then the ebony special service looked around, got up and poured wine for Li Yuanman, and then leaned in and whispered: "Commander, this expedition is bound to be a big war!" But I need Tianyin Mountain—"

Li Yuan immediately raised his hand to stop, shook his head and said in a deep voice: "No, the training time of the army of Tianyin Mountain is too short, and I am afraid it will not play a big role." And now is the time, so you must not show up, or you will bring great disaster!" Be sure to follow my military orders, all sergeants continue to train strictly, and do not take half a step out of Tianyin Mountain! This time, the two tigers will go out with me, and everything will be Brother Lao Wumu! As for the necessary food and money, I have ordered Mr. Xu to arrange it in the mountains. ”

Hearing this, the Ebony agent nodded and replied solemnly, "Obey the commander's orders." ”

"Okay, don't be so restrained, since you're here for a banquet tonight, just relax and relax!"

At this time, Liu Jiangsheng also came over with a smile, since he went to Beiyuan for reorganization, Li Yuan rarely met with him, and directly pulled him to sit down next to him. Then he simply poured two glasses of wine neatly, and said with emotion: "Jiang Sheng, you and my brother haven't seen each other for many days, no matter what, I have to drink a few glasses tonight!" Don't say more, it's still the same sentence, you will always be my dearest brother! This time we will go to the battlefield together, and I hope that you and my brother will make great contributions! ”

"Brother Yuan, I'm different from you, I don't know how to say those confidant words. But Brother Yuan, no matter where you go, I Liu Jiangsheng will follow you forever if I don't say a word! I still say the same thing, Brother Yuan, I believe you. Saying that, Liu Jiangsheng punched Li Yuan in the chest.

It's not that Li Yuan is sentimental, it's just that when he saw Liu Jiangsheng's sincere and honest smiling face, and listened to the eternal "Brother Yuan, I believe you" that has never changed since he was a child, his eyes blurred.

The affection is no longer something that words can express, the two brothers look at each other and smile, clink glasses together, and drink it all.

......

Late at night, the full house has long since dispersed, and only the moonlight is left in the courtyard.

Li Yuan sat alone in the study, drinking tea to relieve hangover, while thinking quietly.

Today, through several generals of the Weisheng Army at the banquet, he has roughly figured out the current foundation of this army, and has also solved some doubts.

The leader of the Wei Shengjun, the commander of the army, made Li Jinquan a Tuyuhun person, and successively served Li Siyuan of the Later Tang Dynasty and Shi Jingjiao of the Later Jin Dynasty, and only five years ago did he have to lead the army south to attach himself to the Southern Tang Dynasty. As with the way he treated those generals in the past, Emperor Li Jing was both surprised and jealous of his arrival.

First appointed him as the military envoy of Weisheng, so that the army he brought was organized into the right wing of the Weisheng Army, and finally he also sealed a loyal military festival envoy, planning to pass through the north, and then let him lead the right wing to garrison in Shouzhou on the border. What is ridiculous is that the jurisdiction of the Zhongwu Army is far away in Xuzhou in the Central Plains, which is just a false title, and the so-called "Proposed Passage to the North" is just an excuse to limit him to the border of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, the army controlled by Li Jinquan was only the right wing of the Weisheng Army, which was actually still the soldiers and horses he brought back from the north, but the supply of money and food was allocated by the imperial court, and the people's hearts were temporarily stabilized. But Li Jinquan could only bite the bullet and be trapped in a corner of Shouzhou, which is also the reason why Li Yuan failed to meet his so-called "boss" after taking office.

The ten armies on the left side of the Weisheng Army, more than 20,000 people, all of whom were all Jianghuai children, were all stationed around Jinling, and originally only obeyed the orders of Li Chengyu, the deputy commander of Weisheng, who was also in Jinling. And Li Chengyu has been transferred two months ago, and the deputy commander is temporarily vacant, and now Li Yuan has served as the Marquis of Duyu, that is to say, this army will only obey Li Yuan's orders since then, and will follow Li Yuan to conquer Chu the day after tomorrow.

The generals of the Wei Shengjun who were invited to the banquet tonight in Beijing were naturally all Jianghuai disciples of the left chamber, and Li Yuan also saw many familiar faces, such as Chai Kewu, who was transferred from the Dianzhi Army with Liu Jiangsheng, and Fan Renyu, who met the original control crane army on the Beiyuan campus before, and many veterans who participated in the war to destroy Fujian.

But the most basic thing in an army is the soldiers, when Beiyuan reorganized the forbidden army, Li Yuan saw the elite soldiers drawn from the Crane Control Army, and naturally saw some undisciplined and sloppy soldiers, which were really uneven. The overall improvement of the quality of soldiers is by no means something that can be honed in just 10 days and a half months.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan was overjoyed, but at the same time, he faintly felt a trace of worry.