At this point, Chu Lushan tapped his own head with a finger and said with a fake smile, "Hutou City has Liu Jinu. He will defend the city well. Everyone, other than our two legs, we still have the four legs of our warhorses to help us run. Don't go down a single path. In the end, right now, we and the Northern Mang army are just staring at each other in the area of Hutou City and Huaiyang Pass. Both sides are scheming and scheming against each other, and the only thing left to do is to see whose Dao arts are more unexpected. "
Although there was no clear conclusion on the matter of Hutou City's reinforcements, after Chu Lushan spoke, the generals present had no more objections. After that, Chu Lushan accompanied Hsu Fengnian for a stroll around the Governor-General Manor. Chu Lushan sighed softly and said, "What a pity. We tried to be clever but ended up making a fool of ourselves."
Hsu Fengnian laughed softly and said, "Perhaps this is what they mean by 'Man proposes but God disposes'. Just treat it as me shooting myself in the foot."
Chu Lushan shook his head with a regretful expression. When Hsu Fengnian gave the military order to Liuya and Fuling, Wei Liang's rash pursuit and Beimang's ambush were all within the Governor-General Manor's expectations. In reality, once Wei Liang's cavalry fell into a desperate situation, they would only last for an hour at most before a long-distance Qingyuan cavalry would join the battle and wipe out Beimang's bait cavalry and subsequent ambushes in one go. However, the sudden appearance of a small Governor-General with a sense of danger and the courage to fight to the death destroyed all their plans. Hsu Fengnian and the Governor-General Manor had no choice but to suffer in silence. This kind of opportunity was like a lost opportunity. Beimang must have thought that Beiliang wouldn't "repeat the same mistake" and charge into the ambush. Beiliang also lost a great opportunity to set up a trap for Beimang.
Chu Lushan suddenly laughed, "The Ministry of War in the capital finally remembered to ask us about Beimang's attack."
Xu Fengnian sneered, "Just ignore them. If those guys at the border of the Ministry of War dared to go to Gourd Mouth of Youzhou Province or come to Huaiyang Pass, I wouldn't stop them from watching the battle. Now that they've f * cked off, there's no such thing as lying down and enjoying a good life."
Chu Lushan nodded, taking a bit of joy in his misfortune. "That mad dog Yuan is now in a difficult situation. Wang Jingchong and Great Ru Shiwei, these two generals, have given him a great victory with both hands. Right now, the entire court is looking down on Northern Mang's military strength with disdain. Yuan Tingshan has also become Ji Province's General as he wished. I reckon that Gu Jiantang really wants to hack this son-in-law who only cares about his own promotion to death. The more 'vulnerable' Northern Mang's easternmost battlefront is, the more difficult it will be for our Great General Gu to obtain money, provisions, and weapons from the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of War. When the two Liao brothers said that they wanted to build a six-thousand-man Modao Infantry Formation, the Minister of Revenue didn't say anything, but the Assistant Minister gave a straightforward answer, 'I have a life, but I don't have any money'. "
Hsu Fengnian sighed, "Looking back now, when Yuan Guo was promoted from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Revenue, which was in charge of the imperial court's purse, it seemed that he was favored by the Emperor, but in fact, he was not. Zhao Zhuan's real trusted subordinates were the Ministry of Rites, followed by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War. The Ministry of Revenue was only slightly higher than the Ministry of Punishments and the Ministry of Works. When it rains, it pours. Later, Yuan Guo made another mistake when he stood on the side in the small imperial court meeting. The only suspense was whether he or Lu Baijie of the Ministry of War would leave the six ministries earlier. "
Chu Lushan sneered, "In the end, it's because the new Emperor doesn't trust Gu Lu's disciples from the bottom of his heart. When he changed the Liyang edition, he was testing Yuan Guo and the others. Isn't there a rumor that he's going to set up Jiedushi Deputy Governors in the vassal territories? I reckon that Lu Baijie and Yuan Guo will both have to get out of Tai 'an City. One will go to Nanjiang to disgust the King of Yan, and the other will go to a newly established vassal. "
Hsu Fengnian nodded, "There will definitely be someone in Nanjiang. Most likely, it will be Tangxi Sword Immortal, who disappointed Zhao Zhuan greatly and didn't see him as one of his own. Yuan Guo will be relatively better. He will probably go to the King of Han, who has always been at odds with Zhao Zhuan. If his performance is good, Yuan Guo will have a chance to return to the center of the imperial court. Lu Baijie, on the other hand, will definitely have the fate of moving around in the local areas for the rest of his life. Moreover, without the Minister of War, there is bound to be a series of promotions and changes. The imperial court will also be able to appease some of the local generals, killing two birds with one stone. After all, the posthumous title is only given after death, but the official position in the Ministry of War is real."
Chu Lushan sneered, "Apart from the chaos in the imperial court when the Zhao family of Liyang was in a remote corner, there hasn't been such a dazzling upheaval in many years."
Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said, "Actually, it's not quite the same. The chaos now is only seen as a mess by the common people. In fact, there is order amidst the chaos. The officials in the capital all know what to do."
Chu Lushan nodded and said, "That's why Qi Yanglong still has some skills. No wonder he's the old guy that Zhao Dun used to replace Bi Yan."
Hsu Fengnian chuckled softly and said, "Zhao Zhuan is willing to put Tantanon in an important position. This proves that this young emperor who is busy using his butt to warm up the dragon throne hasn't lost his mind."
Chu Lushan and Hsu Fengnian had unwittingly walked to the corridor of the yamen where Yu Luandao had once worked. The two of them stood under the eaves, one with his fingers crossed and the other with his hands tucked into his sleeves. These two most important figures in Beiliang standing side by side like this looked rather comical.
Chu Lushan gently exhaled and watched the mist slowly dissipate in front of his eyes. He said, "The Youzhou cavalry has produced Yu Luandao, and Xiaguang City has produced Liu Haojian who has repeatedly performed meritorious deeds. Now, Liangzhou at least has a Qifu Dragon Pass. This is a good thing. I'm just waiting to see which of the hundred thousand refugees in Liuzhou will emerge first. And that Hong Yu seems to be pretty good. His temperament is a bit like Huangfu Xi's. This kind of person is born for chaotic times. "
Hsu Fengnian helplessly said, "Beimang also has people like Zhong Tan. In the future, they will also gradually surface in the general trend."
Chu Lushan was just about to speak when a Commandant of the White Horse Guard suddenly strode into the courtyard, his expression somewhat strange. He cupped his fists and said, "Your Highness, Protector-General, there's someone requesting an audience. He claims to be Guangling Circuit's Kou Jianghuai."
Even Hsu Fengnian and Chu Lushan couldn't help but look at each other in dismay.
What kind of play was this?
Chu Lushan smiled and asked, "Are we going to welcome him with open arms, or are we going to ignore this famous general of West Chu?"
Hsu Fengnian said to the White Horse Guard, "Bring him over."
Very quickly, a tall and sturdy young man appeared in their field of vision. This also seemed to be tantamount to brazenly barging into the field of vision of the entire Beiliang Frontier Army.
Kou Jianghuai, who had entered Beiliang Circuit alone, didn't carry a sword or saber. He also didn't have the scholarly air of a scholar, and he wasn't even as refined as many scholars who traveled to Liangliang. Instead, he seemed more like a local scholar of Beiliang. He looked like the kind of person who had read the sages and could ride a horse to kill enemies.
Kou Jianghuai shot a glance at the Protector-General, who was indeed difficult to not notice. Then, he stared at Hsu Fengnian and got straight to the point. "Hsu Fengnian, I, Kou Jianghuai, can serve Beiliang, but I have a condition. If there comes a day when I have to bring ten thousand Beiliang cavalry to Guangling Circuit, you don't have to worry about what I have to do. Kou Jianghuai is confident that I can match up to ten thousand cavalry."
Chu Lushan laughed and said, "Even those courtesans in the brothels raise their own statuses, but they aren't as thick-skinned as you, Kou Jianghuai. If you, Kou Jianghuai, were at Guangling Circuit, I would be able to accept twenty or thirty thousand cavalry, let alone ten thousand. But here, where do you get the confidence to be worth ten thousand Beiliang cavalry? What, is it from fighting Zhao Yi and Song Li? Is it because of the 'outstanding' fighting strength of their cavalry? Are they worthy of carrying the shoes of my Beiliang cavalry? "
Kou Jianghuai's face was ashen. He was still staring at the Northwestern Vassal King, who was younger than him.
Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said, "If you want to use the Beiliang cavalry to break the situation, I won't agree."
Kou Jianghuai had a mocking smile on his face. "I didn't expect that the most powerful Vassal King in the Liyang Dynasty would only have this much courage. You, Hsu Fengnian, don't know that the more Guangling Circuit makes the Liyang imperial court suffer, the more the Zhao Dynasty will rely on your Northwestern Xu family? When the time comes, as long as you, Hsu Fengnian, are willing to lend me some troops, let's see if the imperial court will dare to use the two issues of censorship and transportation to make things difficult for Beiliang. To say the least, even if I borrow troops, I won't openly use the Beiliang cavalry's banner. To say the least, wouldn't it be more advantageous for Beiliang to change the imperial surname from Zhao to Jiang? Whether it's the Princess, Cao Changqing, or me, Kou Jianghuai, we're all destined not to be the Zhao Dynasty of Liyang. Not only will we not be a burden to Beiliang … "
Hsu Fengnian said calmly, "To be honest, I've thought about this in private when I was bored. I'll grit my teeth and give you twenty to thirty thousand cavalry, and you'll take down the Guangling Circuit. But if you want to help West Chu fight for the world, not to mention twenty to thirty thousand, even fifty thousand or a hundred thousand would be a drop in the bucket. Do you really think that Western Shu's Chen Zhibao and Liao's Gu Jiantang are just two wooden stakes? Do you really think that the hundreds of thousands of elite border troops in Nanjiang are just there to watch a play? When the time comes, don't even talk about waiting for your Jiang surname to become the emperor and then fully supporting the northwest, I'm afraid that Beimang would already be marching south. Kou Jianghuai, you said that my vision is not big, and I don't deny it. But your vision is even smaller. "
Hsu Fengnian held back his laughter and said, "Moreover, your clumsy persuasion, especially this method of not giving up until you've shocked people to death, really isn't very clever. When I, Hsu Fengnian, roamed Jianghu in the past, I pretended to be a fortune teller and pretended to be a ghost. Every time, I could at least swindle some copper coins. As for you, don't even talk about ten thousand cavalry, you can't even bring one out of Beiliang."
Chu Lushan laughed uncontrollably.
Kou Jianghuai didn't show any anger from embarrassment. On the contrary, he looked somewhat regretful and relieved. This young man stood silently in the courtyard, appearing somewhat lonely and bleak.
Hsu Fengnian walked down the steps and asked, "Do you know why Cao Changqing didn't let you lead the troops?"
Kou Jianghuai said in an indifferent tone, "He felt that I was only a talented general, not a talented commander. He felt that I should be able to see the distant Tai 'an City and not the gains and losses of the Guangling Circuit."
This time it was Hsu Fengnian's turn to be surprised. He asked curiously, "Then what were you thinking?"
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