Wei Ni

Chapter 83

In the open space in front of the New Army Office, the three of Xia Houhui sat in order of priority, without setting up a case.

Several torches were placed here and there, illuminating the open space in front of them.

Deng Ai, who was attracted by Gou Quan, saw him from a distance, and hurriedly walked ten steps away, bowed and bowed, "Ai has seen the two generals, Brother Wang."

With a stutter, he couldn't even speak a short sentence of greetings.

"Well, sit down."

Xia Houhui, who was on the main seat, was a little far away from the torch, so people couldn't see his demeanor clearly at this time, and his voice was also faint, without any emotion.The subordinate Zhang Li who was waiting at the side quickly picked up a reed seat and placed it in front of Deng Ai.

"Thank you, General."

After thanking him, Deng Aiyiyan sat upright, waiting to be questioned with a calm expression.

Before he was summoned, he was anxious and restless, but after he was summoned, he took it calmly.

Not only because the goal has been achieved, but also because he is very confident in his talent and learning, and feels that his own opinion on the selection of the site of Biwu is the right one.

Maybe it was a preconceived relationship, Cao Zuanfu felt displeased when he saw him.

However, with a body length of just over seven feet, he is not considered strong. He has a very ordinary appearance, a beard that is neither long nor dense, two very deep nasolabial folds, and densely packed fine lines on his eyebrows.

The so-called phase is born from the heart.

As soon as he glanced over, he knew that this person must be a stubborn person.

Moreover, it was recorded in the name book that he was over [-] years old, but he looked as old as those farmers who worked day and night, and it would not violate the harmony to say that he was already in his forties.Especially when Cao Zuan was more than three steps away from the seats where the two were sitting, Cao Zuan could still faintly smell a heavy sweat on his body.

However, Deng Ai's face is resolute and his eyes are very sharp, which is different from ordinary rural farmers.

This is also the second reason why Cao Zui doesn't like him.

As a pawn, don't you understand how to restrain your expression and maintain the minimum respect in front of the general?
Or is it that the general is not worthy of your respect? !

Cao Zui looked at it carefully, then snorted lightly, picked up the wine bag and drank slowly, treating Deng Ai as air.

But Xia Houhui is different.

He admired Deng Ai's neither humble nor overbearing demeanor.

In particular, he knows that Deng Ai came from a humble background and has already wasted many years, but he has not been smoothed by life and still has hope, so it is rare.

After all, those who achieve great things must have tenacity in their minds and must firmly believe in their own abilities.

Whether it is self-confidence or conceit, only when you believe in yourself can you persevere and strive to achieve your ambition.

"Let's talk about it, what's wrong with choosing the site for Biwu?"

After quietly looking around, Xia Houhui's questioning voice was still faint.

"only."

Hearing this, Deng Ai responded with a slight bow.

Then he tore off the bamboo slip that symbolized his identity as a soldier from his waist, and his body, which was sitting precariously, also leaned forward, propped up on the ground with his left hand, and drew on the soil with the other hand holding the bamboo slip.

He is drawing a map.

Shouchun City, Huaishui River, Shoushan Mountain, the military camp, the settlements of the Li and Shu towns on the north bank, and the garrison sites of [-] Shijia households on the south bank, etc., were outlined in sequence, with almost no pause, and not much different from the map in the army.

This also made Cao Zuan, who was quite contemptuous at first, put down his wine bag and waited with bated breath.

He was very sure that, as Deng Ai, it was impossible to have the opportunity to witness the map of the army, and now he was able to draw the mountains and rivers and landforms in this area, which shows that he has put in a lot of effort in his daily life.

Just the fact that he knows the topography and landforms in his chest is enough to prove that he is indeed different from ordinary people.

However, when Deng Ai finished drawing the map and pointed to the location where Xia Houhui chose to build the wall dock and explained the reason, Cao Zui became a little impatient.

I can also understand why Wang Qiao was so angry this afternoon.

Deng Ai's stuttering is very serious!

When speaking, I stuttered, and occasionally repeated a word six or seven times before I could get to the next words.

And it may be that he himself has realized this point. When he speaks, he always pauses three or four words at a time, which makes people feel very weird. If you don't listen attentively, you will easily miss the meaning.

The most important thing is, the way of speaking with such a few words jumping out one after another, coupled with his solemn expression, it seems that he is pointing out the country.

yes~
Cao Zuan's current feeling is that Deng Ai is pointing at him as a subordinate.

This feeling of being condescended by others is very uncomfortable.

Even though he has never made friends with family status in mind and never bullied people in the White House, it is a bit difficult to accept in terms of senses.

So ignorant of etiquette, is this the childish person who attracts attention?

Thinking secretly in his heart, Cao Zuan turned his head slightly, and stole a glance at Xia Houhui who was above him.

But found that Xia Houhui's expression was indifferent, and he was listening intently with one hand twisting his beard, without any dissatisfaction.

in contrast.

He seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit, occasionally even slightly nodding his head.

Indeed, Xia Houhui has gained a lot at this time.

In his original idea, he chose the location of Biwu at the northern foot of Shoushan Mountain, and built it along the mountains.

After all, Jiangdong is dominated by naval forces, and building against the mountains can avoid attacks from the Huai River, and the mountains are the best barriers, which can reduce the area to be attacked and make defense easier.

Moreover, he chose the place where the distance between Huaishui River and Shoushan Mountain is the narrowest.

The reason is that the open space outside the wall dock is narrow, and it can also prevent the incoming enemy from spreading out the various troops and horses with superior force and continuously attacking fortified positions in the way of wheel battle.

But now after listening to Deng Ai's detailed analysis, he realizes that many of his ideas are "fascinated by the authorities".

First, Deng Ai concluded that it was impossible for Jiangdong to send sailors to Shoushan along the Huai River.

The Huai River has to pass through Xuzhou before entering the sea!

Although Jiangdong occupies the southern part of Guangling County in Xuzhou, and there is also a waterway entering the Huai River, how could they risk being blocked and intercepted along the coast by soldiers and horses from Qingxu going south to attack a new army of 2000 people?
Taking a step back, even if Jiangdong really came from the Huai River in the future, it would definitely be a war involving an army of [-], and the new army would definitely be called back to defend Shouchun City, and it is impossible to stay on the wall outside the city. Sitting in the dock waiting to be destroyed.

In this way, there is no need to build the wall dock in a place far away from water sources and where it is not easy to drill wells, so that there is no need to worry about water shortages during defense.

The two are because Deng Ai thought that building against the mountain would be more dangerous.

Everyone in the world thinks that there are only elite naval forces in Jiangdong, but they forget that the states and counties controlled by Thief Wu are all mountains, and their soldiers are also good at climbing mountains.

And Shoushan Mountain is really not steep.

If Biwu is placed at the foot of Shoushan Mountain, there is a high possibility of being attacked by Wu soldiers from the mountain.

In this way, building against the mountain does not reduce the area being attacked, so it is unnecessary.

The third is that Deng Ai felt that the site should not be located in the narrowest place between Shoushan and Huai River.

The function of Biwu is not only to allow soldiers to rely on to defend, but also to protect the scholars and Li Shu who lived on both sides of the Huai River when a war broke out.However, the place Xia Houhui chose was too far away from the villages where Li and Shu lived together and the villages of Shijia.

In the rush, not all the Li Shu and the scholars' women and children had enough time to run for refuge.

Therefore, his suggestion is to choose the location of Biwu on the banks of the Huai River, in the middle of the open space where Lishu and Shijia lived.

In this way, Li Shu and scholars, women and children can calmly escape the flames of war.

And there will be no danger of lack of water.

The most important thing is that building against the water can divert Huaihe water to repair the moat, and when the war lasts for a long time, ferries can be used to transfer women and children in the dock to reduce the loss of food and fodder.

The last layer of consideration is to bring a little utilitarian heart.

Deng Ai felt that if it was built near the water, Biwu would also become an outpost for soldiers and scholars from the two prefectures of Yan and Henan to help Huainan in disguise, such as covering nurses and soldiers crossing the river and serving as a transfer station for grain and fodder transportation.Based on such considerations, maybe General Zhengdong Manchong will send other sergeants and allocate more materials to assist in the construction.

It also gave the new army more time to practice martial arts.

"General, this is what Ai thinks."

Deng Ai, who took a long time to finish the narration, let out a long sigh of relief. After saluting again, he sat upright and waited for Xia Houhui's decision.

Xia Houhui, who had listened patiently, also quietly let out a sigh of relief.

It is indeed a kind of torture to listen carefully to a long speech by a person with a serious stutter.

For example, because Cao Zuan didn't like Deng Ai, and because he didn't care about the construction of the wall dock, he had long been impatient and took Wang Qiao away from the banquet.

"Well, Shi Zai has quite a good opinion."

Nodding slightly, Xia Houhui applauded, then drooped his eyelids and smeared his beard in deep thought.

He has already approved Deng Ai's suggestion of choosing a site for the wall dock in his heart.

What I'm thinking about now is, what position is more appropriate to place Deng Ai, such as not causing Cao Zui's dissatisfaction and not violating the system of military transfers.

And Deng Ai also waited quietly.

When Cao Zuan left, he knew that he would not be punished for committing a crime.

Because if Cao Zuan still wants to vent his anger on his friend and aide Wang Qiao, he should continue to sit here and wait for him to finish his narrative. Regardless of whether his words are reasonable or not, he will use the reason of "military regulations cannot be abolished" to suggest that Xia Houhui use military law.

However, he was not sure whether Xia Houhui would support him.

Xia Houhui is still very young.

And young people are very face-saving.

Especially the young people who came from powerful backgrounds and were favored by the emperor.

He just refuted Xia Houhui's choice of location to nothing, so it's hard to guarantee that Xia Houhui won't become angry from embarrassment when he feels that he has lost face.

After all, it is one thing to recognize and adopt his advice, but it is another thing to support him or not.

After a long silence.

Xia Houhui finally got up, came to Deng Ai, wiped the map on the ground lightly with his feet, and said in a different voice, "Scholar Zai is very talented and knowledgeable. It is a shame to serve as a small soldier. However, if there is no meritorious service in the army, you cannot be relocated." Now, when the new army is just being established, rewards and punishments must be clearly defined. How about this, I will entrust the construction of the wall dock to Shizai to dispatch. I am the supervisor (junquhou) of 500 people in the new army. And if you have other opinions in the future, whether it is related to military affairs or agricultural and mulberry matters, you can come to me directly to discuss in detail.”

"Thank you General for your support!"

Hearing this, Deng Ai, who stood respectfully by his side, had already got up earlier, bowed quickly to pay respects.

At this moment, his heart was inexplicably agitated.

Not only is he finally seeing the dawn of success after nearly 20 years of wasting, but also because Xia Houhui treats him differently.

Yes, different devices.

The new army had only 500 soldiers, and both scholars and Tuntian guests already had thousands of governors serving in the imperial court. Therefore, the position of [-] governors was the limit given by Xia Houhui within the scope of power.

Furthermore, Xiahou Huixu gave him the right to participate in the discussion.

That's the only way to promote a confidant.

With the difference between the emperor and Xiahouhui, if he becomes Xiahouhui's confidant, will he lack a stage to display his talents in the future?
Not anymore!
Deng Ai, who has never doubted his talent and learning, firmly believes that as long as he has the opportunity to display his talent and learning, it is inevitable to be named a marquis and general!
"Don't be in a hurry to thank me."

However, when Deng Ai's heart was agitated, Xia Houhui stretched out his hand to support him, and said, "There is still a prerequisite for this matter. Shi Zai, you have to apologize to Wang Zisong first."

Apologize?

Why should I apologize? !
My suggestion regarding the location of Biwu is the most appropriate~
And I didn't make any mistakes~
Wang Qiao was entrusted with the task of dispatching materials, but he couldn't see the disadvantages and spoke out. This shows that he is a mediocre ear.Although my words offended him, but my remonstrance also avoided his fault, he should thank me!
What is the reason for my apology?

Hearing this, Deng Ai was stunned for a moment, and his mind was full of thoughts.

But soon, he thought of his hard-won appreciation, and in order not to miss this opportunity, he felt that it was better to be reluctant to wrong himself.

Slightly bowing his head, he said, "Wei. I must"

But before he finished speaking, Xia Houhui interrupted him by raising his hand.

And as if he had seen through his mind, Xia Houhui looked into his eyes and said slowly, "Zi Song is a man who has a clear distinction between what he likes and what hates. If Shi Zai apologizes sincerely, he will definitely let go of his grudge; He is deeply ashamed, and he is in the same position as fire and water with you. And he is in charge of food, fodder and supplies. It is easy for Shizai to fail to repair the wall dock as scheduled. The knowledge of the world is knowledge, and the understanding of human feelings is the article. The talented people in the world are like Guo. There are many virtuous people among the crucian carp in the river, but there are very few people who come from a humble background and are famous all over the world! Therefore, Shi Zai should think clearly before going."

After saying that, he patted Deng Ai's shoulder lightly, turned and left without waiting for Deng Ai's answer.

Deng Ai was left in a daze on the spot with the pestle.

He didn't come back to his senses until his subordinate Gou Quan woke him up, indicating to him that this place was not a place for soldiers to stay for a long time.

Immediately, after saluting respectfully towards the military tent Xia Houhui entered, he turned around and strode away.

The direction is the Xinjun Mansion where Wang Qiao stayed overnight.

In my heart, I have been tasting the phrase "A clear understanding of the world is knowledge, and a sophistication of human feelings is an article".

Sometimes I feel that this sentence is incompatible with my own way of life, so I feel disdainful; sometimes I feel that I have been depressed in the first half of my life, and this sentence seems to be more than half right.

Hey~
This time, let me lower my posture and apologize.

In the future, let's talk about the future in the future.

With this in mind, Deng Ai quickened his pace towards the mansion.

(End of this chapter)