Hello Chang’an

“If I win the bet, Coach Xiao will agree to my request, how about it?”

Hearing Chang Suining's words, Xiao Min subconsciously wanted to say, "If Mrs. Chang is of any use to Xiao, just say it as she says it, without making a bet." But when the words came to his lips, he still said it smoothly. Following the girl's words, he smiled and asked, "I wonder what Madam Chang wants?"

Chang Suining thought for a while and said, "I haven't thought about it yet, can I wait until I do?"

Xiao Min nodded readily. A little girl who always acted in a measured manner could make any tricky demands as she asked.

Chang Kuo on the side sighed in his heart - young, still too young.

Coach Xiao, who was "too young" in Chang Kuo's eyes, smiled and asked, "What if Mrs. Chang loses the bet?"

"Similarly." Chang Suining said with a smile: "In addition to official duties, I also agree to Coach Xiao's request."

Xiao Min couldn't help but ask: "Ms. Chang is not afraid of Xiao's excessive demands?"

When he asked this question, looking at the father and daughter looking at him with smiles, Xiao Min was the first to realize the redundancy of this sentence: "..."

If he really dares to make random demands, the person he should be afraid of is probably himself.

Many times, a person's safety and dignity have a lot to do with one's own sense of boundaries...

The girl's answer gave him a lot of dignity: "Since I dare to make a bet with General Xiao, I believe that General Xiao is a person with principles and bottom line."

"Ms. Chang is so complimentary..." Xiao Min bitterly crossed out the option "If I win the bet, I might as well try to ask Mrs. Chang to teach His Highness the First Prince the marksmanship skills" in his heart...

After all, this request was too greedy and had no bottom line... He couldn't be ashamed of the little girl's praise for him.

Alas, having a good image can sometimes be a problem.

Regardless, even General Chang has difficulty understanding the essence of it, and presumably he doesn't have the ability.

General Xiao comforted himself, and then stepped back with a good attitude and asked the next best thing: "If Xiao wins the bet, can I ask Mrs. Chang to give me some pointers on sword skills?"

In the competition on New Year's Eve, Mrs. Chang showed not only her superb marksmanship, but also her sword skills that were really eye-catching.

The way of martial arts has always respected the strong. Facing such martial arts wizards, Xiao Min has no physical baggage to speak of.

Chang Suining nodded: "Of course you can."

Xiao Min was very happy and sighed with a smile: "Even if it is to improve his sword skills, Xiao will have to burn incense secretly to beg Xu Zhengye not to change his route to Luoyang!"

After a few jokes, they continued to discuss various serious matters.

After Xiao Min left, he went to inquire about the repair of the warship.

The deputy general named Dong, who had always followed him since he took over as commander, couldn't help but ask: "Why did the commander suddenly prepare so many warships? Is he planning to attack Xu Zhengye by water?"

Xiao Min was noncommittal: "Just be prepared."

Vice General Dong then asked: "Coach, when will we send troops to take the initiative to attack? The brothers below are all looking forward to a head-on fight with Xu Zhengye and retaking Yangzhou as soon as possible!"

Xiao Min nodded: "Yes, morale has increased greatly now. It can be seen that Mrs. Chang has practiced well and is worthy of the position of head coach."

Vice General Dong was silent for a moment.

Xiao Min then said: "The matter of sending troops to attack Xu depends on General Chang's wishes. There is no rush."

Vice General Dong looked puzzled: "But now that morale has improved, it is obviously a good time to attack Xu... Doesn't it give Xu Zhengye and others a chance to breathe and strengthen?"

Xiao Min's tone was cautious: "General Chang Da and General Ning Yuan have repeatedly said that both Yangzhou and Jiangning have natural barriers, which are always easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we take the initiative to attack, there will be huge casualties... Therefore, this matter needs to be considered in the long term."

Vice General Dong worriedly said: "But the imperial court is eager to regain Yangzhou. If this great opportunity is missed and the imperial court is dissatisfied and suspicious, I am afraid that the saint will still blame you, the coach..."

"Let's talk about it then." Xiao Min sighed, seemingly helpless.

At this moment, a soldier came to report, and Xiao Min continued to go about his business. Vice General Dong stood where he was, saluting Xiao Min and sending him away.

After Xiao Min took a few steps, a vigilant thought flashed in his eyes.

…

On the other side, Yuan Xiang, Chang Ren, Lao Kang and others came to Chang Kuo's tent one after another.

The people were all found by Chang Suining.

"I wonder what the lady's orders are?" Chang Ren took the lead and asked for instructions.

Chang Sui Ning just put down the pen of writing a reply. She had too many replies to write, so she could only squeeze in time to reply.

At this moment, she looked at Yuanxiang Changren and others and said, "I need you to find some people from nearby states and counties for me."

He also specified the conditions in detail: "There must be market servants, large and small merchants, as well as literati, magistrates and gentry, and even more, beggars and homeless people, and people who have become homeless due to the war."

"Girl, how can I find a way?" Chang Ren asked, "Are we still following the old rules?"

Xi'er looked at her girl hesitantly. It sounded like there were a lot of people, and her sacks might not be enough. Can she go to the public account and get some from the military camp warehouse?

"...No need this time." Chang Suining corrected: "You have to ask for it."

Chang Ren and others responded.

"One more thing you need to pay attention to when selecting..." Chang Suining thought for a while and added: "Among all people, if there are people who are extremely mean-spirited or talkative..."

Yuanxiang and others listened very carefully - couldn't they be such people?

"The more people who meet these conditions, the better." Chang Sui Ning said.

"...?" Everyone reacted for a moment, and then they all responded "Yes" in unison.

Chang Suining also explained in detail some other matters that needed attention, and Chang Ren and others just went down to arrange the matter.

After leaving the camp, he was as studious as Yuan Xiang and asked Chang Ren with a tone of asking for advice: "...Brother Ren, what is the 'old rule' you mentioned just now?"

"Oh, that." Chang Ren said very privately: "Knock him unconscious and put him in a sack and carry him back."

Yuanxiang: "...That's it."

I learned it again.

…

Not long ago, news spread quickly that Xu Zhengye summoned various troops and horses to Yangzhou.

There are many rumors that Xu Zhengye's move was to gather all the soldiers and horses to attack Huainan Road with all his strength. Moreover, it has been recruiting troops non-stop, and now it has gathered more than 200,000 soldiers and horses. This move is made with the intention of winning.

The news spread throughout the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, and the bureaucrats and people in Huainan Road were even more panic-stricken.

Xiao Min came back from outside and found Chang Kuo and his daughter. As soon as he mentioned this matter, he heard Chang Sui Ning, who was writing something at the desk, said: "Commander Xiao, don't worry. Although it is true that Xu Zhengye gathered troops, there are other opinions It’s all just rumors.”

Xiao Min: "But what if it's true..." "No." Chang Sui Ning said without stopping, "Because I was the one who spread this rumor."

"?" Xiao Min: "Why did Mrs. Chang do this?"

"To scare myself." Chang Suining paused in his writing, as if he was considering it, but felt dissatisfied, so he crossed out a line of words.

Xiao Min: ...spread rumors to scare yourself?

He never questioned Mrs. Chang's mental state. Out of this trust, he thought along this seemingly absurd line of thought - what are the benefits of doing this?

For a moment, Xiao Min's eyes lit up.

"Xiao understands!"

Chang Kuo was nearby and saw clearly.

His Highness hides half of what he does and says, not to be mysterious, but to cultivate Xiao Min's acumen in dealing with the war situation.

His Highness has always been very patient when it comes to talents that can be made. In the past, the reason why everyone in the Xuance Mansion was united and loyal and courageous was because the people they served not only loved talents, but also had the heart to create talents.

Genius is born, talent is taught. Talents for the former have always been few and far between, but with determination, talents for the latter can be found in abundance.

Seeing that Xiao Min understood, Chang Sui Ning said: "Then Coach Lao Xiao ordered people to set up defenses at various strategic points and make full defense preparations."

Xiao Min nodded seriously, and after confirming a few things with Chang Kuo, he stepped up to arrange the matter.

Chang Suining's move was to give the impression that he was frightened by the rumors that Xu Zhengye was attacking Huainan Road with all his strength, so that Xu Zhengye believed that all their army forces would be deployed everywhere to defend Huainan Road.

In this way, Huainan Road is like a copper wall and an iron wall.

But the completion of this copper wall and iron wall will surely disperse their 170,000 troops to various places. Such a well-known formation will also attract everyone's attention to Huainan Road.

At this time, if Xu Zhengye raises his troops to attack Luoyang, he can truly catch the imperial army off guard.

Xiao Min, who had figured out the key to this, couldn't help but sigh in his heart - Mrs. Chang really went to great lengths to allow Xu Zhengye to go to Luoyang with peace of mind.

His sword skills...is there any hope?

…

The war situation in Jiangnan is a top priority in the eyes of the imperial court. If there is any news, it will always be reported back to the capital as quickly as possible.

The news that Xu Zhengye had gathered troops to attack Huainan Road with all his strength naturally spread quickly to both the government and the public.

In the court hall, there were countless voices blaming Xiao Min and Chang Kuo.

In the opinion of many people, it was because they used their troops poorly and missed the opportunity to take the initiative to attack that Xu Zhengye once again gathered more troops and made the situation critical again.

"…Since Li Yi was executed, the 170,000-strong army has only defended but not attacked. I wonder what General Xiao and General Chang want to do?"

The minister who asked the question emphasized the words "General Chang" with particular emphasis, apparently thinking that these were Chang Kuo's claims.

After saying this, there were more doubts.

As a result, some people began to vaguely speculate that Chang Kuo's delay in holding back his troops might have given birth to "Li Yi's heart."

"General Chang is loyal and will not do anything disobedient!" The majestic voice of the Holy Emperor said: "I believe in him."

At this juncture, there must be no news that the king is suspicious of the generals, otherwise it will only make the situation more difficult.

The emperor's protection temporarily subsided most of the voices of doubt, but the voices of dissatisfaction could not be suppressed no matter what.

This dissatisfaction stems from insecurity.

If Xu Zhengye really gathers 200,000 soldiers and horses to attack Huainan Road, can Chang Kuo and the others really stop him because they only know how to defend blindly and have no flexibility in their attitude towards the enemy?

The Holy Emperor is not as convinced of Chang Kuo as he appears.

At her suggestion, a minister who had a close relationship with Xiao Min rushed to send a secret letter to Jiangnan. The letter urged Xiao Min to respond as soon as possible. If he continued to stand still, disaster would be imminent. In addition, he also secretly inquired whether Chang Kuo's heart was different.

The court hall was extremely anxious due to the war situation in Jiangnan and the chaos that had arisen in various places. Even the morning court was held on the Lantern Festival.

In fact, they had not had much rest since the winter of last year. Even when the twelfth lunar month was approaching the end of the year, the Yamen could not seal the annual rest as in previous years. Even on the day before New Year's Eve, the palace was still in the early morning.

The officials were exhausted and nervous and did not dare to relax at all.

Taifu Chu is also very busy, but his busyness revolves around the upcoming spring.

In consideration of his old age, the Holy Emperor temporarily exempted Taifu Chu from attending the morning court, so that he could prepare for the imperial examination in the Ministry of Rites with peace of mind. Of course, there was another consideration. The old Taifu had been really fond of quarreling with others recently, and he didn't like anything he heard. , often in the morning because of this.

Wei Shuyi felt that this old lady was most likely suffering from anxiety before the imperial examination, so he suggested that someone go back to the Ministry of Ceremonies to calm down.

I don’t know whether Taifu Chu is cold or not, but everyone from the Minister of Etiquette to the eunuchs in Sasou can’t calm down at all. They are trembling all day long, facing the question "Which foot should I use to enter the door of the Ministry of Etiquette first today, so as not to cause trouble for Taifu?" I wish I could figure this out in advance.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the tense atmosphere was relieved a lot, because Taifu Chu only stayed in the Ministry of Rites for half a day before going back to his hometown.

To be precise, he went back to his hometown, changed out of his official uniform, and went to Dayun Temple to offer incense.

Recently, everyone in the Chu family can see that the Taifu is a little enthusiastic about offering incense.

There is probably no way to go to the Imperial College to find Qiao Jijiu and fish - the scientific examination is about to take place. A mature examiner knows how to take the initiative to avoid suspicion with the candidates in the Imperial College.

Fishing failed, so I went to Dayun Temple to watch cranes and talk about Buddhism to relieve my mood.

Regarding this, the Chu family's evaluation was that Qiao Jijiu was relieved, Buddha... no, Abbot Wujue was in trouble.

Wujue has indeed had some headaches from this recently, but today is an exception.

He knew very well that the reason why the old lady came to him was just to ask for letters.

He has repeatedly promised that if there is a letter, he will send it secretly to the Taifu's house, but the old Taifu refuses to believe him and always comes to ask questions in person.

Fortunately, he had the letter in his hand today and was not panicking.

Avoiding some untrustworthy monks, Wujue handed the letter to Master Chu.

Taifu Chu was slightly shocked and quietly put it into his sleeves without any change on his face.

In order not to appear strange, just like the previous times, he remained patient and played two games of chess with Wu Jue before leaving Dayun Temple.

After getting into the carriage, he took out the letter hidden in his sleeve and wanted to open it, but stopped.

After he got the painting last time, he couldn't wait to open it and look at it as soon as he got into the carriage.

But at this moment, even though he was more eager than before, his fingers seemed to be frozen for no reason, and he did not dare to open it easily for a while.

I was in such a stalemate for a long time, until I returned to the house, locked myself in the study, and slowly sat in the sandalwood armchair behind the desk. The old and wrinkled but clean and slender hands just slowly and tremblingly Pulled out the letter paper.

Thank you miya2022 for the 10,000 reward, thank you! Thank you all for your monthly votes, and thank you to Yunara, I Am Sister, Mi Wei Dian Dian and other book friends for their rewards!

Good night, lovely everyone~