Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan

Most of the merchants rescued by Wei Yuan have left Daizhou.

After a short rest, Shi Jian came to the military camp to express his gratitude to Wei Yuan.

Outside the military camp, in an inn.

Shi Jian prepared fine wine and entertained Wei Yuan warmly.

Because it was wartime and he was a pioneer, he had to lead by example, so he never drank.

Shi Jian wasn't surprised. After all, Wei Yuan's coming was already giving him face.

"Leader Shi Gang, there is something I don't understand. Your Cao Gang has always been in the water transport business. Why did you go to Xixia?"

Wei Yuan replaced the wine with tea, took a sip and asked curiously.

The Cao Gang is engaged in water transportation business. When did going to Xixia get involved?

Shi Jian sighed: "Last year, before the battle at Yanmen Pass ended, some merchants from Xixia came to Lianghuai, saying they wanted to do some business with the power of our Cao Gang."

"We have never had contact with Xixia merchants before, and we thought that if this line is opened, it will definitely be beneficial to our Cao Gang in the future."

"After I made my first business deal with them, I took people out again to find out the truth. General Wei knew everything that happened next."

Before Xixia decided to use force against the Great Zhou Dynasty, the two countries had been trading with each other, so there were often merchants traveling between the two countries.

"What kind of business is it?" Wei Yuan asked curiously.

Shi Jian lowered his voice and said: "Military horse!"

Military horse? !

Hearing this, Wei Yuan immediately frowned, "Buying and selling military horses is a capital crime!"

Shi Jian said bluntly: "We naturally know that we have already said hello to the official of Ma Zhengsi. If this line can be determined, all the military horses purchased by our Cao Gang will be confiscated."

Wei Yuan asked in confusion: "What good does this do to you?"

Shi Jian responded: "Our Cao Gang is said to be merchants, but this is a bit far-fetched. They are all friends who have lost their lives and come to join us."

"Going to Xixia to buy horses will help heroes like you, General Wei, who guard the border;"

"Secondly, it is also to please the government. Otherwise, our Cao Gang may be in disaster one day."

Wei Yuan asked again: "Even if we really buy military horses, how can we get out of Xixia City Pass?"

Shi Jian said: "Secretly we are buying horses, but in fact, we are in the business of buying wine. However, sending so much wine to Lianghuai at one time requires a large number of horses to transport goods."

"And this horse seller is very capable in Xixia. As for who he is, we don't know who he is."

Wei Yuan said earnestly: "It is still too dangerous to do this kind of business, and each time we transport goods, we can only transport about a hundred military horses, which is useless."

Shi Jian nodded, "What General Wei said makes sense. No matter what, I still want to thank General Wei for your help."

"You are a general of the armed forces. Being able to sit in the same place as me, a Jianghu man, is a great honor for Shi."

"From now on, if General Wei is dispatched, my Cao Gang will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

As he spoke, he knelt down on one knee.

Seeing this, Wei Yuan quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "Master Shi Gang made a serious statement. You are all chivalrous men. It is Wei's honor to make friends with you."

Shi Jian immediately said: "General Wei has defeated us."

After seeing off the Cao Gang and his party.

Wei Yuan suddenly thought of the military horse business.

Worried that the Xixia military and political authorities would be aware of it, they could only transport hundreds or hundreds of military horses at a time.

And these so-called military horses may not be raised by the Xixia royal family.

Or they are horse breeds raised by civilians according to the method of raising military horses.

But no matter which possibility it is, if you catch this line.

If there is even a chance to make it big.

Arming a battalion of soldiers at once doesn’t seem to be a problem, right?

Thinking of this, Wei Yuan quickly shook his head and said to himself: "This idea is too dangerous!"

At the moment, he doesn't have the foundation to do anything.

Some time passed.

The new year is approaching.

In Daizhou, it has been snowing for half a month.

The snow outside Yanmen Pass was so thick that it seemed like it could bury a large living person.

When it doesn't snow, neither Xixia nor Liao can conquer Yanmen.

Not to mention snow.

Therefore, during this period, the officers and soldiers of Dazhou were relatively comfortable.

The merchants who were originally rescued by them also had money and strength to contribute after returning to their hometowns.

It supported Daizhou with a lot of food, including some meat.

There was also some money and food that Yeli Yuqiu promised to give them in exchange for his brother's body.

Plus the food and salary allocated by the imperial court.

Letting the officers and soldiers of the three armed forces have a good year is not a problem.

now.

Inside the big tent.

Zhang Fu had just finished counting the food and wages allocated by the court, and couldn't help but laugh heartily and said:

"Although our Prime Minister Han doesn't like war, he never deducts food and salary when he goes on an expedition."

Hearing this, Wei Yuan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Shouldn't this be a matter of duty?

When is it worth taking it out alone to show off?

If more food and salary were allocated, then he would be worthy of praise.

Although it is very difficult for the court at the moment, it will definitely take a lot of effort to collect enough food and salary for the expedition.

However, as the New Year approaches and the twelfth lunar month of winter approaches, aren’t the soldiers guarding the border working hard?

"This wild beggar never broke his promise and gave us the money and food he was supposed to receive. This matter is worthy of surprise."

Gu Yankai spoke slowly.

Wei Yuan smiled and said: "I'm afraid that Li Yuanhao made a special decree and agreed to this in order to win over Ye Li Yu Beg. Otherwise, Ye Li Yu Beg will not dare to give us money and food no matter how many heads he has during the war. "

"It's just that Li Yuanhao failed to calculate that Yang Shousu killed Ye Li Wangrong with poison. Some traces can still be found on the corpse."

Zhang Fu said with a smile: "The matter has come to this, and the wild profiteer has no intention of going south anymore."

Gu Yankai frowned and said, "I have no intention of going south, but it's not a big deal if I stay on."

"I heard that there was a famine in Xixia last year, and the situation was worse than ours. Where did they get the money and food from? Look at this situation, it will take us a few years to make the officials compromise."

Xixia did not want to be a vassal anymore, so it wanted to fight this battle. As for how much territory it would conquer from the Zhou Dynasty, Li Yuanhao never thought about it.

He was thinking about wasting Dazhou from the beginning.

Because he knows that Dazhou's financial situation is not optimistic now.

In other words, whoever withdraws his troops first or initiates negotiations will lose.

"The grain donated by the Liao Kingdom to Xixia? Or is the famine in Xixia not as serious as we thought?"

Wei Yuan spoke tentatively.

Zhang Fu shook his head, "Li Yuanhao has managed Xixia very well over the years. I am afraid he has stored a lot of food just waiting for this battle."

"Besides, that's not our concern. Whether to fight or make peace, I'll leave it to the princes in the court to decide."

“We just have to do our part.”

Even today's capital of military commanders has difficulty deciding whether to continue fighting or to seek opportunities for negotiation.

It can only show that the power of civil servants is getting stronger and stronger.

When Zhang Fu and others were young.

There are still many people in the Zhou Dynasty who want to join the army and make contributions.

But what about today?

Anyone in the family who has some foundation hopes that their children can study and take the imperial examination.

Including Gu Yankai thought so too.

Otherwise, he had already made up his mind to get Gu Tingye into the army, so why bother letting him study?

But Zhang Fu thought clearly.

The method used by the Duke of Qi will not work.

He himself is a distinguished noble, how could the civil servants be willing that a descendant of a distinguished noble could one day be in charge of the central government?

Therefore, his three sons are now struggling in the capital camp, but they love their children and do not want them to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.

Wei Yuan is an exception. He has a background in killing enemies and making meritorious deeds. Zhang Fu trusts his ability, so whenever he goes out to fight, Wei Yuan must be placed in front of the battle.

Besides, Wei Yuan is not Zhang Fu's son. If he wants to get ahead in this life, he can only kill his enemies with blood.

A count is not enough for him.

——

Jiayou's second year, late December.

The Xixia army retreated a hundred miles.

The Liao army stood still.

After this incident reached the ears of Xixia leader Li Yuanhao, he immediately became furious.

"Ye Li Yu Qi did not want to attack the city and seize the territory, but actually retreated. What did he want to do? Is he afraid?!"

Since Yang Shousu's death, Zhang Yuan has become Li Yuanhao's number one adviser.

Now, Li Yuanhao can more or less listen to what Zhang Yuan said.

"Your Majesty, it has been snowing heavily for almost a whole month inside and outside Yanmen Pass. It is difficult to even walk, let alone march. It is really impossible to attack the city."

Li Yuanhao said coldly: "I know! I am asking again why he retreated!"

"We can't attack the city, can the Zhou army get out?"

Zhang Yuan frowned and said, "Your Majesty, is there something fishy about returning the body of Yeli Wangrong?"

"I heard that on the day the body was returned, Zhou General Wei Yuan had a brief negotiation with Ye Li Yuqi."

"Although in the end, Ye Liyu and Qiu drew their swords against each other, Wei Yuan withdrew his troops in time, but what if it was all a show?"

Li Yuanhao frowned deeply, "Wei Yuan? This is Wei Yuan again! How can a mere general have three heads and six arms?"

"I don't care what he does when he encounters a beggar. After the spring begins, he must give me a good result!"

"I want him to bring Wei Yuan's head!"