In the night, candles as thick as a baby's arm were lit in the meeting hall of the mansion, illuminating the spacious hall as bright as day.
The generals and generals in the hall were gathered together, possessing a kind of invisible brilliance, which complemented the brilliance of the lanterns in the hall.
The commander-in-chief of the Northern Liang Cavalry, Yuan Zuozong, and Great Ancestor Gu, Chen Yunchui, were the two deputy commander-in-chief of the infantry troops stationed in Liangzhou. There was also Yang Shenxing, a deputy military governor who had truly integrated into the Northern Liang Border Army. Le Dian, who had previously been the deputy general of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry as the deputy general of Youzhou, was now in charge of a heavy cavalry. There were also Cao Xiaojiao, Hong Xinjia, and the others who specially came from Youzhou, as well as a large number of generals and captains who were temporarily summoned to North Jiebei City, such as Lingzhou's deputy commander Wang Zhi and Huang Xiaokuai, the two Tongguan captains who guarded the east gate of Liangzhou, Lingzhou's Fengqiu captains Zhu Boyu, Beiguo captains Ren Chunyun, and Jiao Wuyi who replaced Huang Xiaokuai as the Pearl captains. Many generals gathered together to discuss how to defend North Jiebei City.
Among them, Hong Xinjia, who built the Gourd Wu Fort's beacon system single-handedly, actually did not have a high rank, but at this time, together with the young Lord and the two deputy commanders of the border army, they were all listening attentively to the details of defending the city.
A large number of green robed counselors were present to listen.
Madman Hong Shuwen was undoubtedly the fastest promoted legendary figure in the White Horse Righteousness. At a young age, he was already the commander of a provincial cavalry army under Lingzhou's general Han Laoshan. This time, he followed the two deputy commanders to North Jiebei City outside the pass. This valiant warrior who had followed His Royal Highness to the Central Plains Jianghu and rushed to the Iron Gate Pass of the Western Region to kill Prince Zhao Kai of Liyang was not present in the hall. Instead, he stood at the gate with his saber in his arms and closed his eyes to rest. His aura was cold, like a merciless door god, who would draw his saber at anyone who disagreed with him.
Liangzhou's provincial governor Bai Yu, Liangzhou's Chancellor Wang, and Southern Border's grandmaster Cheng Baishuang walked over together. After the three of them met, they hit it off and chatted happily. Chancellor Wang then sneakily took out a few pots of Green Ant Wine that he had kept for a long time and pulled the two scholars to drink together. An hour ago, after the counselor informed him that there would be a meeting in the main hall tonight, Chancellor Wang, who was in a good mood, felt a bit embarrassed. If he staggered into the heavily guarded main hall with the smell of alcohol all over his body, it would be inappropriate. Besides, Chancellor Wang didn't have that kind of courage. He was already so old, so no matter how thick his skin was, he really couldn't endure the sharp gazes of those crude generals. Chancellor Wang clearly knew who was the soft persimmon in this North Jiebei City. It was not Li Gongde or Yang Shenxing, this kind of old fox, nor was it Bai Yu, this kind of gentleman. It was not even that group of hot-blooded military counselors. It was obviously the young king. Even if the old gentleman did not keep his mouth shut and leaked the story of how he came out by leaning on the wall, wasn't it all loud thunder but small raindrops? He was only defeated by the young king who flew into a rage out of humiliation on the chessboard.
Other than that, Chancellor Wang did not dare to show the slightest strange indulgence of a famous scholar. The reason was very simple. The old gentleman knew that the civil and military leaders of Beiliang would never fall for this trick, and the old gentleman himself was not good at it. Therefore, Chancellor Wang only dared to pull the two people to the entrance of the meeting hall after using all his strength to disperse most of the wine smell.
As a result, the door god at the entrance did not stop the distinguished and elegant Mr. White Lotus, but he stopped Chancellor Wang and Cheng Baishuang. Bai Yu, as the little Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Mansion on Mount Longhu in the ancestral court of Taoism in the past, also vividly carried forward the style of sacrificing friends rather than oneself. He turned a deaf ear to the old gentleman's request for help behind him. After striding over the threshold, he only turned his head and cast a helpless look. Chancellor Wang had originally promised Cheng Baishuang that they could enter the meeting hall hand in hand, but his old face suddenly became bleak. He first gave Cheng Baishuang a heroic smile, indicating that she could rest assured that he would take care of everything. Then he turned around and whispered to the young general, saying that His Highness trusted this grandmaster of Southern Border very much and that Cheng Baishuang was a person with a strong character, so she would definitely not cause any trouble, let alone leak military secrets. Hong Shuwen held his knife with both hands and completely ignored him with a straight face. No matter how the old gentleman lowered his head to flatter him, he just blocked the door and refused to let him pass.
Chancellor Wang who was talking until his mouth was sore could only act shamelessly. He didn't care about being a scholar anymore and glared at him, "Hong Shuwen! Do you believe that the king will not let me enter the meeting hall if I cry out my grievances at the top of my lungs? "
Lunatic Hong who was impervious to everything was still indifferent and sneered, "Old man, just shout. When the time comes, as long as the king agrees personally, I will make way. Otherwise, based on your ridiculous smell of alcohol, I would have really gone all out with you today! "
The old gentleman glared at him like a bull's eyes. Hong Shuwen said lazily, "What? You're not convinced? Chancellor Wang wants to bully me just because you're older than me? "
The old man almost spat out a mouthful of blood on the body of this shameless young general. The old man was indeed a person who learned real knowledge from reading books. He lowered his voice and stretched out a finger.
Hong Shuwen sized him up from the corner of his eyes and his face was filled with disdain.
The old man reluctantly stretched out two fingers as though he was parting with something precious.
Hong Shuwen muttered to himself, "Scholars are just not straightforward."
The old man took a deep breath and stretched out a palm to slap the arm of this young man heavily. He said with a face filled with grief, "I only have this much. Killing people is just a matter of time! Hong Shuwen, give me a straightforward answer! "
Hong Shuwen raised his eyebrows and shifted his feet to make way for him. He said with a smile, "After the meeting ends, I will personally go over to your side to get the wine. Five pots of Green Ant, if you dare to miss even one pot, I will tear down your etiquette wing. It's only a few steps away anyway. Also, remember, don't get too close. Just stand at the edge of the room with Counsellor. "
The grief-stricken old man didn't even try to bargain and hurriedly crossed the threshold. He didn't forget to turn his head and whisper to Cheng Baishuang, "Old Cheng, it's a cool breeze and bright moon outside, the scenery is pleasant. I won't accompany you."
When Chancellor Wang was about seven to eight steps away from the door of the meeting hall, he suddenly turned around and pointed at Hong Shuwen. His face was filled with the expression of a petty person who had achieved success, mixed with the action of rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
Hong Shuwen immediately realized that the five pots of Green Ant wine that he had agreed on earlier were definitely wasted. He raised his leg and made a kicking action.
Chancellor Wang hooked his finger, looking like he was asking for a beating. However, when the old man saw that Hong Shuwen was about to barge into the meeting hall with a sneer, he immediately slipped away.
Hong Shuwen wasn't surprised. He turned around and continued to hug his knife with his eyes closed.
It was an eye-opener for Cheng Baishuang.
A Mr. White Lotus who spoke elegantly and was proud of himself, a Right Chancellor of Shangyin Academy who almost dominated the literary world in his early years. How could he be so shameless when he came to Beiliang?
Cheng Baishuang, who cultivated both civil and martial arts and had profound attainments in both, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. However, he didn't get angry and didn't leave in shame. Instead, he stood outside the door of the meeting hall and looked inside. He asked softly, "May I ask this general, can I stand here and listen to the meeting inside the room?"
Hong Shuwen didn't open his eyes and said in a bad mood, "Since the prince allowed you to walk around the residence as you wish, then as long as you don't cross the threshold tonight, it doesn't matter if you stand outside the door and listen. Even if you lie down and lie down, I won't stop you."
Cheng Baishuang, who almost had the aura of a Confucian sage, dismissed it with a smile.
Previously, when he was drinking and chatting with Chancellor Bai Yu, Cheng Baishuang heard a lot of interesting anecdotes. The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener listened attentively.
Bai Yu said that the young prince would occasionally leave the study room on the right side of the signing room and go to the room on the left side of the signing room, which was called the "vegetable garden" by North Jieyu City. That was the "headquarters" of the military counselor. Because these young people with different backgrounds didn't have any official rank, they only wore the green robes of Confucian scholars. When they gathered together, it looked like a green vegetable garden. Moreover, these people were the students of Beiliang. Whether they were born in Beiliang or scholars from other places, they all took root and grew up in North Jieyu City. From time to time, Hsu Fengnian would go there to sit, regardless of day or night. There were no long speeches. He just chatted with those scholars who were mostly of the same age. Most of them were trivial matters. At most, they talked about writing articles and learning. On the contrary, they rarely talked about the important matters of the country. The word "peace" was used to govern the country, and the war at the border was not mentioned much. Once, Mr. White Lotus had nothing to do, so he joined in. That night, a King of Beiliang and a provincial governor of Liangzhou were surrounded by dozens of scholars in green robes. They were talking and laughing.
When a military counselor said that he was willing to go to the battlefield and kill the enemy without hesitation, the young prince didn't refuse or approve. He just looked around and saw the young faces of the scholars. Only then did he tell the impassioned scholar that the scholar was the one behind the scenes. He was willing to give advice for the country's affairs. He was willing to speak out for the country's affairs. He was willing to fight to the death for the border army. This was a great contribution that no one could forget. Besides, if you scholars were willing to die, it would be a good thing. But I, Hsu Fengnian, would never advocate this. From Xu Xiao to me, we have always believed that the Beiliang cavalry was guarding the border. Since they were outside the border, with cold sabers on their waists and horses on their waists, it was natural for them to die on the battlefield when they couldn't retreat. As for the scholars who were not good at archery and horse fighting, it was enough to have the heart. Beiliang didn't want to, and shouldn't ask you scholars to sacrifice your lives. It could even be said that it was understandable that scholars who had never experienced the smoke of war were afraid of death and cherished their lives. Scholars in the study and warriors on the battlefield each had their own duties. The former used the tip of the pen to write righteous words to express their feelings, while the latter wore armor to defend against the enemy. You do your job, and I do mine, so that I have a clear conscience. As for the ordinary people who lived in the streets and alleys, they shouldn't be expected to come to the border to kill the enemy. They should live a peaceful life.
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