In the dead of the night, a majestic group of horses quietly galloped out of the north gate of Liangzhou City. Among them were the eight hundred white horse followers who had followed the new Prince Yi, the hundred or so swordsmen of the Wu family who had just arrived at Liangzhou, and a dozen or so Qi cultivators from the Guanyin Sect of the South Sea. The leader of the group was the current leader of Beiliang, Hsu Fengnian, Wu Liuding and Cui Hua, the pair of sword attendants, Tantai Pingjing, the head of the Qi cultivators in the south, and the sickly old swordsman with white eyebrows, Sui Xiegu. However, the one who rode alongside Hsu Fengnian was not the aforementioned people. It was Xu Beizhi, who was supposed to be in charge of government affairs in Lingzhou. Hsu Fengnian did not care about Ju Zi's sudden arrival. He was more than happy. During the day, there were some hidden rumors from Mount Qing Liang. It was said that when the Provincial Governor came to the residence, the Prince personally carried the basin. When the Provincial Governor washed his face, the Prince even smiled. This confused the people in the residence. Should they say that the Prince was courteous, or should they say that Xu Beizhi, the young governor of the border, was too popular? Anyway, the northern barbarian, Xu Beizhi, as the grandson of the King of the Northern Courtyard, Xu Huainan, had a sensitive identity. However, he was able to rise up the ranks in Beiliang. Outsiders could only see the flowers in the fog.
Xu Beizhi brought a piece of terrible news. He thought that the remnants of Western Shu, led by the crown prince, Su Su, had caused Beiliang's plans to go down the drain. They even helped the King of Shu, Chen Zhibao, become more arrogant. In Xu Beizhi's words, it was like Beiliang had finally fattened up a watchdog. Not only would he not be able to eat meat, but he would also not be able to guard Beiliang's gate. He might even bite back in the future. Hsu Fengnian was rather calm about this. When he first found Su Su and This Old Man's son, Zhao Dingxiu, in a small town in Beimang, he did not have much hope after interacting with him. Firstly, Su Su was too lazy. If he was in Jianghu, he might do his best. However, if he was asked to go to the temple and scheme, he believed that Su Su would not hesitate if he could quit. Relying on this kid to revive Western Shu was more disappointing than relying on him, His Royal Highness, to carry the flag for Beiliang. It was simply hopeless. Furthermore, Zhao Dingxiu was half an Imperial Tutor. As long as he could revive his country, it did not matter who helped him. The relationship between Beiliang and Hsu Fengnian was not enough for Zhao Dingxiu to disregard the big picture and wrestle with Chen Zhibao. When all was said and done, the emperor of the Zhao Clan had sent Zhao Kai to the Western Regions with the intention of cutting off the connection between Beiliang and Shu Zhao before forming a huge arc encirclement with the three Western Regions. Unfortunately, he was intercepted by Hsu Fengnian and failed at the Iron Gate. However, when Chen Zhibao entered Shu and was conferred the title of King, he inherited the strategic plan of the Northwest. Although Hsu Fengnian took advantage of this opportunity to win over the Sixth Jewel Master and started to infiltrate the Western Regions, Chen Zhibao quickly returned the favor and sat in Western Shu while looking at Southern Zhao. It could be said that both sides won and lost in this battle. However, to Great Peace City, which was watching from the other side, it was a win for them. Without Shu Zhao, which could allow Beiliang to retreat, Beiliang was equivalent to an extended strategic location. Even if the battle was tight, they could only fight to the death until the Xu family's accumulated resources in Xu Xiao's hands were exhausted.
However, if he only wanted to make Hsu Fengnian angry, Xu Beizhi wouldn't have personally come to Mount Qing Liang. The Lingzhou Provincial Governor's urgent 'audience' came with a draft regarding the reform of the Beiliang's military. Previously, Hsu Fengnian listened to Chen Xiliang's suggestion and carried out a series of sweeping and decisive actions to clean up the accumulated abuses in the Beiliang army. A large number of captains and miscellaneous generals who were as numerous as the hairs on an ox were all fired. This made the originally unremarkable position of captains in the three provinces of Liang, Youling, and Lingzhou become a powerful martial arts club that was only second to the three generals of a province. Then, he took back a large number of miscellaneous generals who were originally meant for the meritorious officials to retire at home. This shook the foundation of many of the general families in Beiliang. After the older generation of generals withdrew from the border, the titles that they wanted to pass down to their descendants as family heirlooms were swept into the trash basket of history. Most of the family's descendants had never personally accomplished anything. This created an invisible gap, because the firewood for a family's torch was taken away.
Xu Beizhi said that in times of peace, whether Mount Qing Liang robbed the rich to help the poor or even killed the goose that laid the golden eggs, it wouldn't affect the Xu family's position in Beiliang. However, right now, they were at a critical juncture where Beimang's million-strong army was pressing down on the border. Whether or not the general families were willing to contribute, they had to fight for it.
After leaving Liangzhou, Hsu Fengnian didn't interrupt from beginning to end. It was always Xu Beizhi who spoke tirelessly about the pros and cons. Hsu Fengnian wasn't someone who couldn't listen to opinions, but he was indeed a bit troubled. To be more precise, he had difficulties that he couldn't speak of.
If it had been anyone else who brought up this matter, Hsu Fengnian would have accepted it without hesitation. However, since it was Xu Beizhi who brought it up, Hsu Fengnian had to think carefully.
Xu Beizhi didn't mind Hsu Fengnian's silence. He continued to talk about the general framework of Beiliang's army in his mind. "The border army doesn't need to draw legs on a snake. Just follow the old rules and do things. The local officers, both old and new, are also clear about their duties. However, right now, Beiliang needs more people who are willing to fight on the battlefield. In the Battle of Liang Mang, Beiliang was slightly better than Beimang in terms of leading soldiers. In terms of bravery, Beiliang had the upper hand. However, the more this is the case, the more we can't lose too much to Beiliang in terms of tenacity. Our Beiliang can't win ten battles or dozens of battles only to lose everything because of one big battle! "
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