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

Chapter 314 The Development of the Yebushou Organization
The first battle lasted for two or three hours before it ended.

The casualties of the Liao army are currently unknown, but Wei Yuan paid the price of two thousand people.

If it weren't for the formation of three to five people in a team, I'm afraid the casualties would have increased.

This battle also produced good results for Wei Yuan.

A soldier named "Zhang San" climbed up to the top of the city wall.

Although he was killed by the Liao army as soon as he reached the top of the city wall, he was still considered the first to climb.

Wei Yuan gave his family a hundred acres of fertile land and a thousand gold coins.

After some inquiries, he also learned Zhang San's exact hometown, which was Tanglin, Daizhou.

When the battle of Daizhou ended, Wei Yuan and others followed Zhang Fu back to the capital, bringing with them many soldiers from Daizhou.

This man named Zhang San was from Chen Daniu's command.

Whether it was the Danglu Army or the Daizhou soldiers who had followed Chen Daniu before, they all had a very obvious style when marching and fighting.

That means risking your life!

Even if they are killed by the enemy and are about to die, they will use the last means at the last moment of their lives to exchange their lives for others. Even if they cannot do so, they will still do it.

It's like Zhang San, who, after climbing up to the top of the city wall, was surrounded by the Liao army, but when he was dying, he still used the sharp blade in his hand to slash at an enemy soldier in front of him.

After this battle, Wei Yuan praised Chen Daniu's generals generously.
"Hu Ben means brave."

From then on, the Huben Army led by Chen Daniu was called the "Volunteer Army" by his comrades in the army.

After counting the casualties, Wei Yuan and others began to discuss matters in the tent.

After this first battle, they roughly estimated the defense situation of Xiangzhou.

If they only rely on numbers, they will need to sacrifice at least 200,000 to 300,000 people to have a chance of taking Xiangzhou.

The cost of doing this is too high.

Because Wei Yuan not only wanted to recover his homeland, but also wanted to take the opportunity to annihilate the main force of the Liao army.

If they killed one thousand enemies but lost eight hundred of their own men, it would mean that the Great Zhou would be without its main forces for a considerable period of time.

How can we even talk about going north to attack the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?

The significance of this first battle, in addition to testing the enemy's strength, is also important, which is to find out the shortcomings of the coordination between the armies and which army fights more bravely.

This means that in the first battle, Wei Yuan did not single out any army to attack the city, but instead selected several teams from the Danglu Army, the Southern Army, and the army from Daming Prefecture to fight.

After the training in Tangyin, the shortcomings in cooperation between the various armies were not so obvious.

"General Wei, why don't you let me lead the troops to attack the city tomorrow!"

Suddenly, Chen Daniu slowly stood up and volunteered.

During the first siege, Wei Yuan sent out tens of thousands of people, but due to the enemy's volley of arrows, only a handful of people climbed to the top of the city.

The casualties were considerable.

In the first battle, they were testing the enemy, and so was they.

Neither side has revealed their true strength and trump cards.

Under such circumstances, how could Wei Yuan allow his trusted and beloved general to join the war?
"Don't worry, there are still many tough battles for you to fight!"

After hearing these words, Chen Daniu's eyes, which had been shining brightly, suddenly dimmed a lot, and he muttered with dissatisfaction:
"Even Zhao Yuan can command 200,000 soldiers. Why can't I?"

Hearing this, Wei Yuan glared at him fiercely and said, "If you dare to make noise again, you will be sent to guard Bianjing."

Chen Daniu suddenly panicked.

Guarding Bian Jing sounds good, but doesn't that mean there is still no war to fight?

"General Wei, I dare not do it anymore!"

Chen Daniu clasped his fists.

Seeing this, all the soldiers started to laugh subconsciously.

The General Chen in front of him was a man with a hot temper and was fearless.

Anyone in the army who dares to offend him will suffer.

But even such a hot-tempered person was like a child in front of General Wei. After being scolded, he dared not talk back to his "elder".

I'm afraid that only General Wei can control his temper.

Although Chen Daniu has a hot temper, everyone thinks there is nothing wrong with it.

Because they all know Chen Daniu's strength.

Charge into battle and take the heads of enemy generals in the midst of thousands of troops. In the entire army of the Great Zhou, apart from Wei Yuan, only Chen Daniu has this ability.

Before this, Chen Daniu's martial arts skills were not as good as Yang Huairen's.

But after a long period of time, even Yang Huairen said that he and Chen Daniu were on par with each other.

Even if they met in a life-and-death battle on the battlefield, he would still not be able to defeat Chen Daniu.

Even Wei Yuan could not help but marvel at Chen Daniu's rapid progress in martial arts.

Later, he figured out the reason.

For example, whether it was him, Yang Huairen, Xu Changzhi, etc., they were all people with distractions and could not concentrate on practicing martial arts at all.

After all, they have a lot to deal with every day.

But Chen Daniu is different.

He had a simple mind. After the Battle of Bianjing, Chen Daniu did not see Qin Jianjia and felt a little disappointed. In addition, he had not practiced martial arts for several days due to the march.

On other days, Chen Daniu practiced martial arts alone until late at night. Sometimes when Wei Yuan saw him like this, he subconsciously thought that he was too arrogant.

This led to all the soldiers in the Danglu Hu Ben Army following suit.

Both the intensity and duration of training were far higher than those of other units of the Suppressing Enemy Army.

Under the subtle influence of Chen Daniu, the current Huben Army can be said to be the undisputed first fighting force of the Danglu Army.

At this time, in the big tent, Wei Yuan asked Shen Qing,
"What's Yelu Xinxian doing?"

The latter shook his head and said, "The people from the Imperial City Bureau have been investigating. If there is any unusual movement, they will report it at any time."

Wei Yuan said thoughtfully: "When we march and fight outside, we still have to rely on ourselves. It is not appropriate to rely solely on the Imperial City Department."

inappropriate?

Everyone was confused.

Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, whenever a war broke out with an enemy country, the people responsible for intelligence work, in addition to the military scouts, were the Imperial City Administration.

This has been the case for years, what's wrong with it?

Wei Yuan smiled but said nothing.

After the meeting was over, he left Shen Qing alone.
"Do you know why I asked you to contact the Imperial City Intelligence Department after my army left the capital?"

Shen Qing shook his head in confusion.

Wei Yuan explained: "Among us brothers, you are the only one who knows the importance of things and can judge the situation and make better use of the power of the Imperial City Bureau."

"But in the final analysis, the Imperial City Division does not belong to us, and the Imperial City Division does not know how to better coordinate with the soldiers at the front."

Having said this, he paused and became serious.

Afterwards, he told Shen Qing about the "no collection at night" incident.

The latter was shocked, "Marshal Wei created this organization, if the court knew about it."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "It's just you and me here, and now is the time to rest. We brothers, there's no need to be so formal." Shen Qing nodded, calmed down a little, and said seriously, "Brother, have you ever thought about this matter? Once some people with ulterior motives know about it, it will definitely bring you trouble?"

Whether it is the military or any official organization, if you want to create an intelligence-like agency, you must report to the court.

Only with the intervention of the government can this matter be justified.

Otherwise, it would be tantamount to rebellion!

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "I have said that this organization belongs only to us and cannot be known by the imperial court."

Shen Qing controlled his temper and continued to listen to him.

Not long after, Wei Yuan called the three people into the tent.

And these three people are Kou Zhuang, Chai Gong and Jiang Ji.

Now, after the secret development of the three people, the number of people in Yebushou's organization has exceeded a thousand.

Moreover, its work in gathering intelligence is no less than that of the long-established organization, the Imperial City Bureau.

"These three are all former guards of this commander. Jiang Ji is in charge of the Intelligence Department, Kou Zhuang is in charge of the Assassination Department, and Chai Gong is in charge of the Interrogation Department."

"Let the three of them give you a brief introduction to the current situation of Ye Bu Shou."

As Wei Yuan finished speaking.

The three of them spoke one after another:

"General Shen, the intelligence department led by me has gradually infiltrated Xiangzhou and the Liao army. Although the general is far away in Jiangnan, he is able to know the details of the war in the front. This is precisely because of the intelligence gathered by our department."

"The Assassination Division led by me has successfully assassinated seven generals under Yelu Xinxian. Everyone in the world has heard that it was done by the outlaws."

"The interrogation department I lead hasn't made any progress yet, but through my dedicated study, I have mastered many interrogation methods from past dynasties. I can say without hesitation that there is no mouth that I can't pry open!"

"."

When Shen Qing heard what the three said, he was stunned.

He originally thought that even if an organization was established, it would take a long time to grow and develop.

However, during the war, with the combined efforts of the three, they managed to transform Ye Bushu into what it is today.

It's true. Talent is to be feared.

Of course, without Wei Yuan’s prestige and support in Daizhou, they would not have been able to expand the Yebushou clan.

At this time, Wei Yuan looked at Shen Qing and said earnestly: "Among us brothers, apart from you, only Zhao Yuan knows about Ye Bushou's existence."

"Now, Zhaoyuan has to stay in Tangyi area, and it is difficult to command Yebushou."

"I intend that you will command all operations of Yebushou during the war."

"Remember, this matter concerns the life and property of our brothers, and must not be known to others."

The "others" here also refer to those who are closest to Shen Qing.

Originally, Wei Yuan wanted to hand over the Yebushou organization to Lin Zhaoyuan because he absolutely trusted Lin Zhaoyuan.

But later he discovered that Lin Zhaoyuan was interested in the battlefield and was unwilling to be the head of an intelligence organization.

Although Shen Qing and Lin Zhaoyuan both aspire to be on the battlefield, Shen Qing is the one who knows best what to do and when.

In wartime, it would be most appropriate for him to temporarily dispatch Yebushou's men.

After hearing Wei Yuan's voice, Shen Qing expressed his opinion without hesitation:

"Please rest assured, brother. I will do my best."

"I will never tell anyone about Ye Bushou. If I break this oath, I will die a miserable death!"

Let’s put brotherhood aside.

If he had any hesitation, Shen Qing would firmly believe that he would not see the sun tomorrow.

In fact, he is extremely loyal to Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan patted Shen Qing on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"Ye Bu Shou is one of our trump cards. I just said that this organization concerns the lives and property of my brothers. It's not just that the existence of this organization is unknown to the court."

Hearing this, Shen Qing was suddenly shocked.

Who else in the world can make Big Brother feel terrified? Who else could it be?
As early as two days ago, Wei Yuan reported the summary of the recent battles to the emperor.

The next day, in the capital, in the imperial palace.

Zhao Xi ordered General Zhu to tell the story of the recovery of Wu'an, Handan and other places. The officials were greatly encouraged and praised Wei Yuan generously.
"As expected of you, you are the disciple of Duke Ying. It has only been a short time, but you have already recovered so much lost territory. I believe it won't take long before you can drive the Liao army out."

"I think that within a year at most, our Great Zhou will usher in peace again!"

"How great is my loyal and brave Marquis! After this battle, my Great Zhou will enjoy ten years of peace!"

"."

Some of them were actually praising Wei Yuan.

There are also some people who seem to be praising Wei Yuan, but are actually praising the new emperor Zhao Xi.

The war isn't over yet, but people are already praising peace. Isn't that flattering Zhao Xi?

But they never expected that even when they were praising Zhao Xi, they didn't hit the mark.

Did Zhao Xi just want to drive the Liao army out of the country? Did he just want to maintain peace for more than ten years?
The more Zhao Xi listened to the officials' discussions, the heavier his heart felt.

He was thinking, if he told them that this time he ordered Wei Yuan to command all the troops in the world in order to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in one go, what would they think?

What would they think if they knew that this battle would not just last one or two years but might last six or seven years?
After a pause, Zhao Xi looked at the new Minister of Revenue, Li Nangong, and asked:
"Are the grain and fodder collected from various places in Jiangnan on the way?"

Ever since Ouyang Yongshu was driven out of Beijing by Wen Yanbo, this position has always been held by Wen Yanbo concurrently.

With Wen Yanbo's resignation, the position of Minister of Revenue has remained vacant.

After Zhao Zhen died and Zhao Xi ascended the throne, many officials submitted petitions requesting that Ouyang Yongshu be reinstated.

However, as the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers.

Zhao Xi would definitely not let Ouyang Yongshu serve as the Minister of Revenue again.

As for Lord Li Nan, he did not have any outstanding performance in terms of political achievements. The only thing that made Zhao Xi feel recognized was that Lord Li Nan was a very honest person. He would do whatever he was asked to do without any hesitation.

Such people find it easier to use.

"Your Majesty, the supplies from Jiangnan will arrive in Bianjing in seven days at most."

Li Nangong responded slowly.

Zhao Xi nodded and said, "After the food arrives, send it to the army as soon as possible. If anyone dares to embezzle this batch of food, I will kill his entire clan!"

Although he was still young, he showed extreme decisiveness in killing people, which made all the officials worried.

They liked the emperor in front of them very much. He was a very obedient monarch.

At this time, in the Mansion of the Loyal and Brave Marquis.

After Wei Yuan led his troops to war, the entire marquisate regained its former prosperity.

The families of both military heroes and civil officials often came to the marquis's mansion to present visiting cards or invitations.

Because they all knew very well that Wei Yuan's current status was second only to one person and above ten thousand people.

If it were the old Zhang Guifen, she would have ignored those people.

But ever since Wei Yuan was dismissed from his post by the previous emperor, Zhang Guifen had come to realize that in order to prevent the Marquisate from making enemies in the future, he had to take some people's faces into consideration.

After all, this is the capital city, and the powerful and wealthy have already established a complex network of relationships in this city.

(End of this chapter)