As for what this army is called, Li Kui doesn't care at all. Even if he asked Da Song to spit fire and shoot the invincible battalion, it had nothing to do with him. He is not a military general, and he does not have to live in the barracks.

However, the name of the Praetorian Guard still surprised Li Kui.

Obviously, the emperor has a deep meaning, but Li Kui definitely doesn't have to worry that the emperor will keep the most elite army of the Great Song Dynasty by his side, in order to drive the expedition himself. There is absolutely no such possibility, because the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty did not have the guts.

Except for the two emperors who founded the country, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Kuangyi, none of the other emperors of the Great Song Dynasty went to the front.

The only emperor who has been to the front line is Zhenzong, speaking of this experience, he is a handful of tears and snot, it is too disturbing, how can there be a reason for the minister to deceive the emperor to the front line? And let him catch up.

That's right, Emperor Zhenzong was deceived by Wang Dan and Kou Zhun to the front line, and then didn't let him go......

If there were a different dynasty, I am afraid that these ministers would all have to die. But in the Great Song Dynasty, not only did they live well, but they were even promoted after the crisis was resolved.

Li Kui was worried about the problem of training and personnel: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that although the flintlock pistol is not yet equipped, the selection of soldiers, the selection of the main general, and how to train should be prepared. ”

"Han Deqin, do you have anyone to recommend?"

The Emperor also knew that the choice of the main commander was important, because it was a brand new army. Li Kui also once said that he didn't know how to train for brand-new weapons, and everything was moving forward in exploration.

Therefore, the emperor believed that the sooner the chief general was established, the more he could enter the training in advance and prepare for the next expansion of the firearms army in the Great Song Dynasty.

In this regard, neither the emperor, nor Zhang Dian nor Li Qingchen thought that Li Kui was suspected of monopolizing military power. After all, how to train this army in the end, we have to count on Li Kui.

But the choice will be exquisite.

According to the military system of the Great Song Dynasty, the military talisman came from the Privy Council, and the army was commanded by the front of the palace, the division of soldiers and horses, and the lord was appointed by the emperor. The generals selected here are the main generals who train the army on weekdays, not the main generals who go out on battle. still

The reason why Han Deqin proposed it was mainly because of the generals in the army, and the emperor did not know him. The Privy Council will not be contacted, and can only be recommended by Han Deqin, who commanded the envoy in front of the palace.

Han Deqin said, which one is better?

After hesitating, he spoke: "Hebei defense makes Gao Pingyang ......"

As soon as he finished speaking, he found that the emperor's face was not very natural, and Zhang Dian was even more angry. suddenly became nervous and scolded himself: Why are you so ignorant?

The people of the Gao family are cold, and they have to give them a head.

But there is no way, he accepted a generous gift from the Gao family, and he has to mention it. As for the displeasure of the emperor and the prime minister, this is not his problem. So he hurriedly changed his words: "Huainan is a little old, young and promising, and skilled in bowing and horses, I don't know how Your Majesty is?" ”

Emperor Zhao Xu looked at Li Kui hesitantly, and Li Kui didn't know him, so he had to ask Han Deqin: "Skilled in archers and horses, do you have the courage to kill generals and capture the flag?" After Li Kui finished speaking, in order to let Han Deqin get in touch with the misunderstanding, he explained: "Han Shuai, it's not that the lower officials deliberately make things difficult. Musketeers need courage, and courage in the army is given by the lord, you should know that. Once the musketeers are close to them, they have little to no self-defense. And they need to be in the midst of the enemy's charge, the formation is not chaotic, the filling is moderate, and the commander must have enough courage. ”

, with this ability, will this official position be rare?

The official position of the front secretary of the palace is very high, to what extent? Although Han Deqin's official position is lower than that of Li Qingchen and Zhang Dan, Yu Lu has a few hundred guan a month more. This is also something that can't be helped, if you take away the military power of Jiangmen, if you still deduct it, it really can't be justified.

Two recommended 'talents' were rejected one after another, and Han Deqin pondered that he could only choose a stunned young man.

"How about Cao Fang?"

"Can he do it?"

The Cao family didn't seem to be able to stand up to the scene, and a Cao Fang suddenly appeared, and even Li Kui couldn't remember what this guy was capable of.

Speaking of Cao Fang, the second generation of the capital knows each other. This young man is not very old, and he is powerful, quite like his ancestor Cao Bin, who fights in the streets, and never says to retreat. Even if he loses, he will let others go first, and he will be behind. The nickname was given: 'General Highness!' ’

If you ask him how he is doing, Han Deqin can't tell why. But the character is absolutely good, nothing to say.

Emperor Zhao Xu asked, "Have you ever served in the army?" ”

"The deputy envoy of the northern Hebei Jiedu can be regarded as having been in the army for many years."

"How's your temperament?"

"Loyalty."

Cao Fang, the son of Xungui, the descendant of the Cao family, such a talent, not to mention anything else, there is absolutely no problem with loyalty.

The main general was selected, and Li Kui was also relieved.

Following.

Ruan Xiaowu hurriedly ran to Li Kui's study, and said to Li Kui with a strange face: "Young master, someone is looking for you outside the door." ”

"Who!"

"This is his prayer."

"Cao Fang?"

Counting it, it's only been a day, and this guy is very well-informed. Li Kui got up and said to Ruan Xiaowu: "Take it to the front hall, and I'll come later." ”

Not long after, Li Kui met Cao Fang at home, and after the meeting, the expressions of the two became strange. Li Kui saw that the other party's face was familiar, and he didn't remember where he had seen it. And Cao Fang is embarrassed and a little afraid. He secretly said in his heart that it was not good, and said with an embarrassed face: "Young general Cao Fang, I have seen Master Li." ”

Cao Fang is in his twenties, burly in appearance, and looks powerful and powerful. In order to see Li Kui, he also took great pains to put on the family heirloom armor, which looked like a spirit. However, on this hot day, the armor was heavy, and the shirt was wrapped, it was stuffy and hot, and his forehead was already wet and sweaty.

"We know each other?"

Li Kui asked tentatively, after all, the other party looked familiar.

Cao Fang immediately shook his head and said, "I don't know." ”

"No, did you take the lead in scolding the official on the street that day?" Li Kui remembered that not long after he accepted the pretty branches, a fool ran over with someone and shouted what to say: the hatred of taking the concubine. Looking at the face, isn't it this Cao Fang?

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding!" Cao Fang was so frightened that he almost knelt down for Li Kui, how did he know that one day Li Kui just glanced at him and remembered his appearance. For this meeting, Cao Fang also specially wore ancestral armor, the purpose was to distinguish it from the appearance of that day.

Li Kui snorted coldly: "Looking at you like this, I don't want to be a general who has been in the army for several years. ”

"It's true." Cao Fang said embarrassedly: "Adults don't know, the junior general was a five-rank military general when he was ten years old. ”

!

Li Kuigang wanted to kick over the food case and went crazy. Suddenly it came to me that it was really possible. This person's surname is Cao, and he should be a member of the Cao family. Since Emperor Yingzong, the Cao family has been favored by the royal family, and the saints have been more prosperous. The descendants of the family have all been made high-ranking officials. There are many reasons, Yingzong Zhao Shu was the successor to Emperor Renzong's clan, and he recognized Renzong as his father and Empress Cao as his mother-in-law.

Coupled with the Empress Dowager Xuanren Gao, who is still the niece of Empress Cao, the grace of the Cao family is even greater.

The ten-year-old bear child became a five-rank military general, which only a relative like the Cao family can do.

Li Kui asked, "What is the relationship between you and Your Majesty?" ”

"O courtier!"

"And?"

"My mother's aunt is Your Majesty's imperial grandmother."

"So, we're still relatives." Li Kui thinks about everything.

"Han Shuai recommended you, what is your relationship with him?"

"It's my uncle."

Li Kui bowed his head and said: "I don't care about the things you offended the official that day." ”

"My lord, the young general is here today to apologize!" After speaking, Cao Fang shouted to the outside: "Lift it up." ”

The slave brought up with a congratulatory gift, full of ten loads of gifts, gold, silver, jewelry, coral agate, and everything. In an instant, even the hall shone brightly.

Li Kui said with satisfaction: "For the sake of you still knowing etiquette, this matter is over." However, as the chief general of the Praetorian Guard, this official should test you for some military methods, right? ”

"It should be, it should be." Cao Fang's heart lifted up again, and the hanging heart was unstable.

Li Kuinu asked Ruan Xiaowu to go outside: "Little Wu, try this General Cao's skills." ”

After a while, the courtyard heard Ruan Xiaowu's roar and Cao Fang's screams.

"Convincing or not?"

"Come again!"

"Oops, you don't have the ability to slap your face."

"Convincing or not?"

"I don't accept it, and I won't accept it to death."

Although Li Kui didn't go to the yard to see, he finally felt that Cao Fang was definitely a dumbfounder. Only then did he interrupt the test: "Stop, you come in." ”

Cao Fang covered his mouth, his face was blue and purple, and he was embarrassed, and he was annoyed. I knew that there would be such a day, and that day would not have been out of the way.

Who would have thought that a dignified general would still be able to commit a crime at the hands of a civilian official.

"Tell me how to form this Praetorian Guard?"

The anger in Li Kui's heart disappeared, and his tone became kind.

Cao Fang cautiously asked Li Kui: "What do you mean?" ”

"You are the main general, and in the future, you will lead the troops to fight, and you will go out to charge and ask me what to do? Can I still do it for you? "Li Kui can see that Cao Fang has no experience at all. Just had a good background, and then asked: "Han Shuai recommended you, didn't he tell you that in this army, except for you as a main general, there are no deputy generals, Du Yuhou, generals, generals, generals, and soldiers." And you have to choose them all within ten days. ”

"This ...... The little second brother is in front of the palace, do you want him to deign to be a deputy general? "Ruan Xiaowu is a celebrity in the front division of the palace, and Cao Fang naturally knows some news.

Cao Fang asked with 120,000 caution.

Li Kui refused: "He is not suitable." ”

Ruan Xiaoer is of course suitable to be a military general, but Li Kui has to consider other factors. Ruan Xiaoer is a military general who came out as a slave of the Li Kui family, if he enters the Praetorian Guard, what does the emperor think?

The most taboo thing for the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is the collusion between civil officials and military generals, the relationship between Li Kui and Ruan Xiaoer was once that of master and servant, and Ruan Xiaoer was arranged to enter the Praetorian Guard, isn't it that the army around the emperor has been planted by Li Kui? Can this emperor still sleep?

Li Kui reminded Cao Fang: "Don't think about whether you are close to me. To tell you the truth, the closer you are to the official, the more useless you are. As a courtier, you should always avoid suspicion, right? ”

"If you want to recommend a lieutenant, you don't have to tell me right away. You can go back and find a suitable military general from the front of the palace to be your lieutenant. But this official has a requirement, the appearance must be dignified, the kind that is not close to people, can you do it? Don't take advantage of the useless goods, otherwise, you will be punished. ”

"Doesn't it matter if it's ugly? This is His Majesty's personal guard, according to the standards of the Fourth Army, the appearance should be Zhouzheng, more than five feet eight inches tall, and the net worth is innocent and ......" (a military man with a height of five feet and eight inches, and in later generations he was almost a man of one meter and eighty-five, which was the selection standard of the Fourth Army of the Song Dynasty)

"Bastard, I asked you to choose the lieutenant, not the best man. It doesn't matter if it's ugly, the key is that the martial arts are good, don't die, and it's best if you don't understand people. So that your lord will not be replaced. ”

Cao Fang thought about it, it was really like this, and hurriedly bowed down and said, "Some adults mention it." ”

Does Cao Fang dare to say the word 'no'?

He immediately nodded and said, "The last general will go to find it immediately." ”

Cao Fang left Li Kui's mansion in a fit of illness, returned to the front of the palace, and pondered the criteria for Li Kui's selection of generals, which must be dignified and unkind.

It's hard to find such people.

But then he thought of a workaround, looking for an ugly one with a crazy laugh. Immediately ordered his subordinates to recruit all the idle officials above the fifth grade of the front division of the palace, and he wanted to take the school examination one by one.

"No, this person is not majestic enough."

"No, this person has a handsome face, how can he be worthy of General Ben!"

"Silk ——, such an ugly face."

……

After seeing a lot of generals and schools, most of the day was consumed, but Cao Fang did not find a suitable candidate. A face appeared in front of Leng Buding, and he trembled in the official chair in fright.

Cao Fang suddenly became interested in the person who came, and asked him improperly: "Give the master a smile!" ”

Hmph –

I didn't expect the other party to have a good temper and didn't cooperate at all, isn't this a supreme official? Cao Fang suddenly stopped the other party, and said angrily: "Boy, you are tired of being crooked, but you know that this general can look up to you, this is your blessing." ”

These words made the men in the hall even more desperate in their hearts, and they were furious in their hearts: Lao Tzu is so ugly, he can't escape this catastrophe, God! You don't have long eyes!