Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 190 I’m here to apologize with Tong Daban!

In Jiande City, the grand court meeting of the Yongle Dynasty was actually not large in scale, it could even be said to be a bit small. There were actually not many civil and military officials left in the entire court.

Fang La still wore the golden flat crown, the ochre-yellow dragon robe, the jasper belt, the white jade scepter, and the worry-free shoes. These were the rules for the emperor, but the emperor in Tokyo never wore them on a daily basis.

Fang La also looked painful. He never expected that his son Fang Tianding would die in Hangzhou city.

Then Fang La's attendants looked over and said, "We have lost our crown prince, and the country has lost its heir apparent. Whose fault is this?"

Everyone looked up when they heard this, most of them were a little surprised, because the Archbishop had never spoken like this in the past, so it was indeed a little strange today.

Right Prime Minister Zu Shiyuan came to answer: "It is the crime of war!"

Fang La waved his hand and said, "It's not the fault of the war, it's the fault of the people. The original plan was to have 300,000 troops to firmly defend the city, and when the government troops attacked the city, another 200,000 troops would attack the government troops under the city. This was a sure win. Why did we fail? It's the fault of the people!"

Everyone understood that the Archbishop was blaming everyone: Lou Minzhong, Shi Bao, Li Tianrun, and Si Xingfang.

No one answered.

Then Fang La continued, "If we win this battle against the Song army, we can take advantage of the victory and leave. You can still be rich and powerful. If we lose this battle again, your country will be destroyed and your family will be ruined. You will all go to hell with me!"

Everyone understood what the Archbishop meant to encourage everyone to fight hard.

The Holy Archbishop continued, "Why did we fail before? Each army and each unit fought on their own, each with their own agenda, and their hearts were not on the same page. How can we win now? Only by working together and putting life and death aside can we win!"

This statement does make some sense, and everyone nodded after hearing it. They all more or less knew where the problem of the Yongle Kingdom lay...

Since the Archbishop also knows the crux of the problem, this time, let's work together to fight one last time. The situation has come to this point. If we win, we will win a big victory, but if we lose, we will all perish. How can we not fight hard?

Zu Shiyuan was the first to stand up: "Saint Lord, in the past, brothers followed you and faced death, and it is the same today!"

Now that the Holy Archbishop has arrived, let's fight to the death. A few months ago, everyone fought for their lives from Qingxi Jiande, and now, they are back here to fight for their lives again.

Du Wei, the Grand Commandant of the Imperial Army and General of the Cavalry, immediately expressed his opinion: "We will live and die with Jiande City!"

Everyone stood up and said, "This time we must fight to the death!"

Fang La obviously still had some people's support, so he said, "Su Wu killed my prince. Whoever kills Su Wu this time, I will make him king!"

Zu Shiyuan replied: "Don't worry, Lord. If anyone encounters Su Wu in battle, they will rush forward bravely and kill him!"

"Very good!" Fang La nodded, and after encouraging the morale, he frowned and asked Zu Shiyuan: "Prime Minister, do you have any plan to defeat the enemy?"

Zu Shiyuan also frowned. Morale was boosted, but the current war situation was really dangerous. Letters asking for help from all over the country came in like snowflakes. Be it Yuezhou, Wuzhou, and even Chuzhou and Quzhou, all were asking for help.

Only Shezhou in the rear was relatively stable for the time being.

Zu Shiyuan said slowly: "Su Wu relied on his big ships to open up the Zhejiang waterway. The army is gathering at the foot of Wulong Ridge. Wulong Ridge has also fallen into his hands. He will reach Jiande City soon. Now, inside the city..."

Zu Shiyuan looked around and said, "There are only 40,000 to 50,000 people in Jiande City now, but fortunately, most of these 40,000 to 50,000 people are trusted people, many of whom were the first to follow the Holy Lord in the uprising. With everyone working together, it won't be difficult to defend the city."

This is true. Those who are still close to Fang La are all Fang La’s confidants. The four marshals or the privy councilors are all shareholders.

They were able to mobilize the troops faster than Fang La, and of course, those people were also capable and good at fighting.

Therefore, Fang La also put these people on the front line and kept his confidants by his side.

The current situation is that the shareholders are unreliable and we can only rely on ourselves.

On the contrary, most of these 40,000 to 50,000 people are locals from Muzhou and Shezhou.

Therefore, everyone still had some fighting spirit, even Fang La still felt that he could fight.

Du Wei also said: "Don't worry, Lord, I will live and die with the city of Jiande."

Du Wei was a very powerful person. In the story, he helped Fang Jie kill Qin Ming, the Thunderbolt. Sun Erniang and Yu Baosi also died at his hands.

Fang La suddenly said excitedly: "Kill Su Wu. We must kill Su Wu in this battle. This is not only to avenge my prince, but also because Su Wu is my great enemy, your great enemy. In this battle, we must not only win, but also kill Su Wu in battle. If Su Wu is not dead, he will surely come back in the future. Once Su Wu is dead, we will recover Hangzhou, conquer Jiangning, and march to Bianjing. There will be no rivals!"

Du Wei also thought it made sense, so he just bowed and said, "I will kill Su Wu at the foot of the city!"

All the generals stood up and said, "Kill Su Wu!"

Zu Shiyuan was inexplicably excited. With such military morale, they could really be used.

But the Saint also stood up excitedly: "Then I'll leave it to you. If we win this battle, the position of the Four Great Marshals will definitely be one of you!"

How could everyone not be excited? They looked at each other, just to see who had made the greater contribution.

Fang La stood up and said, "I am in Qingxi, waiting for your victory news."

As he spoke, Fang La walked out of the house, followed by his nephew Fang Jie.

However, when these words and actions were uttered, everyone in the room was stunned.

Du Wei hurried to look at Zu Shiyuan, who was also stunned for a moment, then took a few steps forward and said, "Holy Lord, Holy Lord..."

Fang La stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"

Zu Shiyuan was speechless for a moment. After a pause, he said, "Does the Holy Lord have any other instructions?"

Fang La heard this and replied, "There is a final plan. When the Song army attacks the city, I will send Fang Jie to lead troops from Qingxi to support us. It will also be a strategy of attacking from both sides. We will definitely defeat the Song army at the gates of Jiande!"

"Then..." Zu Shiyuan really had something to say, but he couldn't say it. Knowing Fang La's character, he didn't dare, nor did he want to say more.

"Okay, everyone, defend the city well! No need to see me off, city defense is the most important thing." With that, Fang La walked away again.

Zu Shiyuan stopped and watched Fang La go away, and couldn't help but sigh.

Turning around to look at the people in the room, they were in high spirits just now, but now they couldn't help but let out a sigh of disappointment.

Du Wei came out and sighed.

Zu Shiyuan and Du Wei looked at each other. They knew what was going on. They both thought that the Holy Duke came here to stay in Jiande with the soldiers and defend the city with all their heart.

It turned out not to be...

Jiande is a strong city with tall walls, soldiers and people, and countless food and grass. Qingxi is just a small county town with low walls and few people...

Why not focus on Jiande and retreat to Qingxi?
I can’t figure it out, I can’t understand…

In fact, I can understand that recently, those gold, silver and valuables have been transported to Qingxi in batches, and I even heard that they are being transported to Bangyuan Cave...

On the one hand, they say that we should be united, but on the other hand, they do these things. What are they doing?
I just want to ask all the officials in this room, are they all stupid?
Who is really stupid?

It's all unspoken.

The Archbishop's carriage had already left for the West City and really returned to Qingxi. Everyone could see it.

I just want to ask, from a geographical strategic point of view, what is the difference between Qingxi and Jiande? They are only a few dozen miles apart.

Zu Shiyuan really didn't understand what was going on in this saint's head, but at the same time he felt that it was not unexpected and he was not the type of a heroic leader!

I can't help but sigh again...

Du Wei also looked at him and slowly shook his head.

"Report!!!" Ling Bing's excited shouts were right in front of him.

"Speak!" Zu Shiyuan frowned.

"In the east of the city, we have spotted the cavalry of the government army."

Zu Shiyuan simply turned around and shouted, "Follow me to the city wall to take a look!"

The crowd rushed to the east city tower and looked out from afar. It really came so soon that they thought it would take a whole day.

Unexpectedly, the light cavalry of the government army had already appeared in the distance. There were not many people, two or three thousand, but there were five or six thousand horses.

The horse was running, and although the roar was far away, it was still stirring in the air, rumbling, like muffled thunder in the sky.

Du Wei said: "It came so quickly!"

Zu Shiyuan said, "Most of the elite troops of the government army came from the north, and even their horses are from the north. As the temperature is about to rise in spring, the government army must fight quickly and decisively. If it really takes three to five months, how can these people and horses withstand the midsummer in the south..."

Du Wei heard something and asked, "Didn't the Prime Minister say that as long as we hold out for three to five months, the government troops will surely be exhausted?"

Zu Shiyuan nodded: "Where can you find soldiers who can march for months without getting tired? But... three to five months is difficult!"

Du Wei waved his hand and said, "I don't think it's difficult. There is plenty of food and grass in the city. The walls of Jiande are high and strong. It's no problem to hold on for three to five months!"

"Then you didn't see the siege of Hangzhou..." Zu Shiyuan didn't dare to be optimistic or lucky.

"Hangzhou is a big city and difficult to defend, but Muzhou is different." Du Wei continued to say so, and even said: "We have quite a few soldiers, many of them are elite and brave, maybe we can go out of the city to attack!"

Zu Shiyuan waved his hands: "Let's wait and see how the battle develops..."

Outside the city, we could see cavalry circling the city to observe the situation. There were thousands of horses and the movement was quite loud.

Du Wei also said: "The Song army relies on the advantage of the cavalry. If there is no cavalry, we will go out of the city to fight."

Zu Shiyuan didn't say much, but Du Wei was not stupid. He knew that the government army's cavalry was very powerful and he would not be able to gain any advantage if he went out of the city.

Su Wu really came, riding a fast horse. Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and he came to investigate in person first.

After circling the city, he frowned, stopped his horse on a hillside, looked at Jiande City, and said, "This city is really hard to attack. I thought it was too simple before."

Wu Yong and Xu Guanzhong were standing beside him. Wu Yong replied, "I was just overthinking it."

"In terms of strategy and tactics, this method is not bad. Muzhou is Jiande. If we take Jiande, the other places will be a piece of cake. Muzhou is also the lair of the bandit army. This time, we should come!"

Su Wu also approved of Wu Yong's plan.

Xu Guanzhong said, "I'm afraid the siege will last for a while..."

Su Wu nodded, "When things need to be done, they should be done quickly; when things need to be done slowly, they will be smoother. This is the old way, we should dig and build on a large scale. Now that the waterways are unobstructed, and the people, money, food, and materials are flowing freely, this is our advantage. We should make full use of this advantage. If we wait a little longer, maybe we can even wait for Wang Bing to come, which is even better!"

Xu Guanzhong was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "I'm afraid the general is anxious... If the general is not anxious, this matter will not be difficult."

Su Wu knew what Xu Guanzhong was worried about, so he said, "But we can't just sit there and wait!"

Xu Guanzhong asked: "General, what other plans do you have?"

Su Wu looked at Xu Guanzhong and said, "Mr. Xu, why don't you make some plans first?"

Xu Guanzhong nodded, frowned and thought slowly. There was no rush, so he said in no hurry. The scenery on the top of the slope was really nice.

After thinking for a while, Xu Guanzhong spoke: "Since the waterway is unobstructed and leads to Qingxi, the two places are only a few dozen miles away..."

Su Wu smiled and said, "You hit the nail on the head, Mr. Xu, please continue..."

"Then I will speak frankly. Since we can send troops here, why can't we send troops to Qingxi? We just need to wait for General Liu's army to arrive. Since we have to besiege the city for a while, why not...besiege both Jiande and Qingxi!"

Xu Guanzhong spoke in a sonorous voice.

Su Wu nodded slowly: "The two places are only a few dozen miles apart. We have 7,000 light and heavy cavalry, who can come and go like the wind. We also have unobstructed waterways. It is not a bad idea to attack the two cities as one. If we can break through Qingxi first, it will be even more interesting..."

As Su Wu spoke, he began to laugh.

Xu Guanzhong also smiled and said: "General, you have already made a plan, but you still ask me, haha..."

"How can the wisdom of one person compare to the wisdom of two people? It is safer to discuss in this way." Su Wu said this intentionally in order to further root an idea in everyone's hearts.

That is military democracy, where everyone can express their own opinions, consider the overall situation, form habits and reduce mistakes.

It is also about training, cultivating everyone's overall perspective, and the feeling of commanding large-scale battles and large-scale military operations. Everything is learned by doing...

Xu Guanzhong then asked again: "General, if we besiege the two cities together, then there is Shezhou to the west. I heard that there is also a strong bandit group in Shezhou, led by Fang La's uncle Fang Hu. This Fang Hu is ordinary, but the generals under his command are said to be very good at fighting. One is called Wang Yin and the other is called Pang Wanchun. I heard that they are both brave."

Su Wu also frowned when he heard this. These two people were really difficult to deal with. Wang Yin was Fang La's Minister of War, and just from his official position one could tell that this man was very powerful.

In the story, Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo both died at his hands, as did Li Hu and Shi Yong.

The other person, Pang Wanchun, was even more amazing. He was nicknamed "Little Yang Youji" and had amazing archery skills. In the story, Shi Jin, Shi Xiu, Chen Da, Yang Chun, Li Zhong, Xue Yong, and Ou Peng were all killed in his army.

Pang Wanchun, that is the hero harvester.

How could Su Wu not know these two people? He just asked: "Are you afraid that they will come to help from Shezhou?"

Xu Guanzhong nodded: "Yes, our army doesn't have many soldiers and horses, only about 26,000 to 27,000 people. Even if we include the navy, it's only a little over 30,000. With the auxiliary troops, it's only about 40,000. We are already stretched to the limit in besieging two cities, and it will be difficult to deal with reinforcements..."

Su Wu thought slowly: "Qingxi is a small county town, 5,000 men are enough to besiege it. Twenty thousand men are also enough for Jiande City. Seven thousand cavalry can gallop back and forth. Although it is difficult, it can be handled."

"Well, we can handle it. Wang Yin and Pang Wanchun may be good at defending the city, but they can't defeat 7,000 cavalrymen in a field battle. I feel more at ease thinking about it. However, even with a lot of weapons and equipment, it will still be a heavy loss to attack the city..."

When Xu Guanzhong said this, he looked at Su Wu and realized that Su Wu knew the meaning of these words very well.

Su Wu said, "Then urge Wang Bing to quickly eliminate the enemies in Wuzhou. Let the father and son divide their forces, let Wang Xun quickly bring the elite troops to join forces in Muzhou, and let Wang Bing go to Chuzhou and Quzhou. Chuzhou and Quzhou are all scattered bandits, so there is no need to send too many soldiers."

"That should be the case!" Xu Guanzhong nodded repeatedly. This was what he meant.

After a few words, the plan was made. Su Wu had already struck directly into Fang La's heart. He just surrounded the two cities, waiting for Wang Xun to bring the soldiers from Wuzhou, fighting the reinforcements from Shezhou, and building siege equipment.

Finally, once the time is up, victory will be decided.

Now is the time...

Su Wu couldn't help but wonder, if he hadn't come, but the armies from the northwest and the capital had come, what would the war situation be like at this time?
In other words, what was the original situation of war in history?
In fact, it is not difficult to guess that Liu Yanqing made a fortune, but Liu Yanqing, Yao Pingzhong, Wang Yuan and others must have suffered heavy losses. Facing these trapped beasts, they fought one city after another, thinking about the money and food in the city, and at the same time, they were urged by the court and Tong Guan...

There is a comment that Fang La accelerated the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, but there is no clear logic behind it.

Now it is clear that Liu Yanqing, Wang Yuan, Yao Pingzhong and others made a fortune and returned with elite soldiers, but they lost a lot of them and are waiting to go to the Song-Liao battlefield again. The reason why Liu Yanqing performed so poorly may not only be his personal problem, but also because his subordinates are really weak...

Su Wu also knew that he might have changed many things. At least, several units of the Western Army did not suffer heavy losses in the areas of Jiangnan and Liangzhe, and were still able to reap the benefits they deserved.

I don’t know if this is good or bad…

It seems that the strength of the Northern Song Dynasty has been greatly enhanced. Will it cause trouble for Su Wu himself in the future?

Su Wu didn't know, but he was thinking, thinking a lot, even thinking about the future of Song and Liao, and Song and Jin.

I also wondered how to overthrow the Song Dynasty.
Or... in the end, will there really be a Chenqiao mutiny? Just soldiers marching into Bianjing?
It’s not impossible…

That requires waiting... waiting for many people to grow old... or you can just ignore it and not care about the feelings of those old men. At that moment, do you just do it?

Even though his thoughts were in a mess for a moment, Xu Guanzhong also noticed Su Wu's absent-mindedness at this moment and asked softly, "General, what's the problem?"

Su Wu smiled and said, "Countless difficulties!"

"Is the situation difficult now?" Xu Guanzhong asked again.

"It's not too difficult at the moment. Just follow the steps." Su Wu answered bluntly.

"That is the difficulty in the future, which is nothing more than power, official position, military commanders, and soldiers!" Although Xu Guanzhong could not guess it, he knew that everything revolved around these few cores.

Su Wu was really enlightened by him, and his mind became more open, but he asked again: "What about the scholars and officials?"

"Scholars and officials?" Xu Guanzhong was stunned for a moment, then slowly said, "Although I don't know how difficult it is for a general, among all the affairs in the world, scholars and officials are the most difficult to serve, but they are also the easiest to serve."

"Tell me about it..." Su Wu really needed to hear these words.

"It's just about interests. From ancient times on, whether it's reform or innovation, since Shang Yang, the only thing is that if you can make the interests bigger and bigger, then the reform and innovation will be successful. If you can't make the interests bigger and bigger, and just take the interests from a group of people, then the reform and innovation will definitely not be successful. General, maybe you are thinking about the reform and innovation, right?"

Xu Guanzhong spoke seriously, but he still asked this question at the end.

Su Wu also laughed. No matter how Xu Guanzhong guessed, he was still limited by the people of that era. He could not have guessed that Su Wu had made up his mind to overthrow the Song Dynasty at this moment.

Xu Guanzhong guessed the deepest and only thought that Su Wu's greatest ambition was to innovate or reform. In this matter, people in the Song Dynasty had inertial thinking. Whether it was Qingli or Wang Anshi, they had carried out several reforms and all ended in a mess.

Perhaps Xu Guanzhong was right. When it comes to reforms, those who can make the cake bigger will succeed, while those who cannot make the cake bigger and only think about redistributing the cake will inevitably fail.

This has been the case for thousands of years, both in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, without exception. However, Xu Guanzhong's words also inspired Su Wu. In this way of thinking, the literati and officials are actually easy to talk about. It's just about interests. If there is a new cake to share, then everything will be easy. If you only scrape off their cakes and give them to others, it will inevitably cause a huge backlash.

Of course, killing is an indispensable means.

It is just like when Zhao Kuangyin drove away the orphans and widows. As long as he divided up more of the cake, the Song Dynasty would not be unable to maintain its stability.

But Su Wu could never use Zhao Kuangyin's method again.

Su Wu smiled and said: "Mr. Xu has a far-sighted vision..."

Xu Guanzhong came and said, "It is the general who acts like this, not like others!"

"Huh?" Su Wu turned around to look.

Xu Guanzhong immediately said: "The general never cares about money, which shows his ambition."

Su Wu's heart tightened, and Xu Guanzhong saw something from this...

Su Wu felt a little guilty for a moment. Is it so easy to discover?

Feeling guilty, Su Wu went to see Wu Yong again.

Wu Yong immediately lowered his head in fear.

Su Wu did not let Wu Yong go, and said to him, "You also say something."

Wu Yong raised his head and said with a stiff face: "General, what Mr. Xu meant is... well... if you are a military general, from the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties to our Song Dynasty, it is normal for a military general to amass wealth. You should amass wealth for the public and for private use. If a general wants power, he should seek fame and reputation. The general... actually has the talent of poetry and writing, but he does not really go to the pile of civil servants to pay homage... so... the general has great ambitions!"

Su Wu realized that he might have done something "wrong". What was wrong? He did it too right, too perfectly.

This kind of image is fine when you are outside, but it is really not good in the army. It is even worse to behave like this in the capital.

Who could not see that Su Wu had great ambitions?

Su Wu also asked: "Then what should I do?"

When he asked the two people present, he looked at Wu Yong first. Su Wu felt that Wu Yong might be better at this kind of petty and despicable things.

Wu Yong responded immediately: "Write a letter immediately, bitterly expounding on Tan Zhen's evils, and have it presented to the emperor by the Privy Council."

"Starting a party struggle first is one way!" Su Wu understood that he had to be timid and could not really act like a "sage" and do everything right.

Wu Yong said again: "Looking for auspicious signs for the emperor!"

"Well, that's a good idea!" Su Wu nodded. However, this auspicious sign was really hard to obtain. Zhao Ji had seen many ordinary things.

Su Wu then asked: "What auspicious sign are we looking for?"

Xu Guanzhong replied: "At the moment, it is Fang La who is the best living. This is destiny!"

Su Wu nodded: "Okay, I want a living Fang La!"

Wu Yong said again: "General, since you can write lyrics and poems, why don't you come more often?"

"This..." Su Wu was somewhat embarrassed.

Xu Guanzhong immediately replied: "No problem, no problem. If you have no time, just write something occasionally. For the rest, we can write for you..."

"That's right. The general occasionally produces excellent works, and we can contribute some clumsy works to the general from time to time. When we have hundreds or thousands of articles, our name will spread throughout the world!" Wu Yong also nodded repeatedly.

In fact, the reason is very simple. No matter how great a writer is, not every one of his poems will be famous for all time. Excellent works only happen occasionally, but if you want to gain fame and reputation, you have to produce a stable output.

Stable output means instilling a concept in the literati time and time again: Su Wu is a "literati", Su Wu is a "scholar-official", Su Wu is one of us... everything can be discussed...

"The general must be a Jinshi graduate." Xu Guanzhong said again.

"Yes, yes, yes. This time when I return to the capital...if I can make a speech to the emperor in person, and if the emperor asks me what reward I want, I just don't want a title, an official position, or a government office. I don't want anything. I just want to be a Jinshi. If I say this to him in person, the emperor will be kind and generous, and he will definitely not refuse!"

Wu Yong is really good at winning people's hearts.

Su Wu suddenly understood and nodded. If it wasn't for Wu Yong, he really wouldn't have thought of this. At least Su Wu himself couldn't have thought of it. He was still thinking about the fourth-rank general...

What is the difference between a fourth-rank general and a fifth-rank general? What is their practical significance?
It’s better to become a Jinshi!
I wonder how Liang Shicheng got the first-class Jinshi title? Didn't he ask for it on his own initiative?

Xu Guanzhong came again and said: "General, it can be done!"

Wu Yong was also excited: "There is a lot to be done!"

Seeing these two people singing the same tune, Su Wu's mind suddenly became extremely clear, as if the road was right under his feet.

"Please help me, both of you!" Su Wu bowed to both sides.

Xu Guanzhong immediately bowed and said: "A gentleman will die for his friend!"

Wu Yong even bowed deeply and said: "How dare I let you down!"

"Please write your memorials criticizing Tan Zhen!" Su Wu was afraid that he could not do this job well. This job also required learning, fighting against others, fighting against those smart people.

In the first lesson, we quote from classics, choose words and compose sentences, make our words flawless, and express things clearly, both explicitly and implicitly.

"Understood sir!" Xu Guanzhong and Wu Yong raised their hands and saluted.

"Go back!" Su Wu turned his horse's head and rode away. For a moment, his heart was excited, as if his whole body was filled with energy.

The memorial will be sent by a fast horse eight hundred miles away!
The letter was also sent to Wuzhou by express horse.

When Liu Yanqing arrived, a military meeting was held and they began to besiege the city, dig trenches, build chevaux de frise, and produce military equipment.

Liu Yanqing and Wang Yuan, together with a part of Lu Da's army, besieged Jiande.

Wu Song led 5,000 men downstream for dozens of miles to surround Qingxi.

Su Wu led the cavalry of Lin Chong, Shi Wengong and other troops, and the cavalry of the Western Army led by Han Shizhong, a total of 7,000 cavalry, to set up camp between Jiande and Qingxi cities, with scouts galloping back and forth every day.

Hu Yanzhuo led two thousand combat soldiers and one thousand auxiliary soldiers to guard Wulong Ridge.

Zhu Tong guarded the water fort, and the navy was only responsible for transportation up and down the Zhejiang waterway. They also patrolled the comings and goings and did not allow any non-official military ships to be launched.

Outside Fuyang City, Tan Zhen became furious again.

A lot of military equipment was also produced, but Fuyang City could not be captured. Deng Yuanjue and Shi Bao were really strong.

Tan Zhen gradually understood the problem very clearly, which was that the troops in the capital were too incompetent to use.

After the shouting and cursing in the big tent, Xin Xingzong was left alone and the two of them talked.

Tan Zhen said bluntly: "General Xin, I'm afraid that this siege will really depend on you."

Hearing this, Xin Xingzong could only frown. It was not that he was unwilling, he had tried and it was very difficult. If he really wanted to fight regardless of gains and losses, there were only so many soldiers in Xihe. After taking Fuyang, he would have to take Xincheng and Tonglu.

Even if all the Xihe soldiers were killed, where could they go?

Moreover, the morale of the Xihe soldiers is not high now. Why? How can the morale of the Xihe soldiers be high when they only see that the friendly forces are so miserable? People are emotional animals and they all have a comparative mind...

Xin Xingzong did not hide it: "My lord, you know, it's not that I didn't work hard, but... the friendly armies are all like this, and the morale of the soldiers under my command is also low..."

"How much money do you want?" Tan Zhen asked bluntly. He knew that there was no other choice but to give money, a lot of money, to get the Xihe soldiers to charge.

Xin Xingzong waved his hands repeatedly: "It's not how much money I want..."

Tan Zhen did not wait for Xin Xingzong to finish, and raised his hand to stop him: "There is no need to say these things, just ask, how much money can the Xihe soldiers fight for this?"

At this point, Xin Xingzong stopped being pretentious and thought seriously, and then answered: "It may be possible to try this time, but I'm afraid that after suffering heavy losses, it will be difficult to try the second and third time..."

"Let me tell you this first!" Tan Zhen was already extremely anxious. He really had no other choice. He couldn't just go back to Beijing without accomplishing anything.

You have to go back with some dignity so that you can meet people.

This time, Tan Zhen knew that he had lost completely and totally to Tong Guan.

Tan Zhen has never been a stupid person, it's just that people have different levels of knowledge. Now, he has made progress and understood a lot.

So, we must save our face. If we save our face, we will have a second chance.

Tong Guan is going to die eventually. He is sixty-seven years old and won’t live long.

Xin Xingzong really spoke: "I have less than 5,000 men under my command, but the troops from the northwest have all gained a lot. Forty strings of cash per person, I can buy their bravery! Eighty strings of cash per person, I will buy their death!"

Xin Xingzong didn't have a big appetite to begin with, but now, it's not that Xin Xingzong's appetite has grown, but the comparison with the people who came from the Northwest. In the past, rewarding soldiers in the Northwest, five or ten strings of cash was not considered a small amount of money, but this time, it was really worldly.

Tan Zhen frowned and calculated: "Forty strings per person, that's 200,000 strings. Eighty strings per person, that's... 400,000 strings."

Xin Xingzong nodded.

Tan Zhen immediately scolded: "Su Wu is a pig and a dog, raising such a price in the army!"

Tan Zhen was right to scold him. If Su Wu had not raised the price so much, how could he have won the hearts of the people in the army? How could he have let everyone say that he was so righteous?
How could this battle be fought so smoothly?

In the future, Su Wu would certainly raise the price. Perhaps when the time really came to decide the outcome, Su Wu would even offer five hundred strings of cash for a Jurchen head!
Just having a Jurchen head can make you a small wealthy family, with good fields and a big house, and your children can go to school and take exams!

Tan Zhen scolded Su Wu, but Xin Xingzong did not respond. The price was like this now. If he gave it, he would do it. If he didn't give it, it was hard to say. It was not something Xin Xingzong could decide...

There is a difference though. Su Wu can be rewarded after winning, but Tan Zhen can only be rewarded before the war starts!
Why? Because Su Wu's reputation had already been established, which was secondary, but also because the soldiers had great confidence in Su Wu's victory and had very good expectations for the future.

But for Tan Zhen, there is really no expectation for the future, so he can only give it first. This is the normal mode of rewarding the army in the Song Dynasty...

Tan Zhen also understood Xin Xingzong's intention. If he gave him 40 strings of cash, he could fight bravely, but he was not guaranteed to win. If he gave him 80 strings of cash, he was guaranteed to win!

The remaining question was where Tan Zhen could get the eighty strings of cash for each person, a total of four hundred thousand strings of cash.

Tan Zhen stood up, paced back and forth, thought about it, and said, "Wait for me for two days, I will go to Hangzhou!"

Xin Xingzong bowed and said, "I will just wait for you to come back!"

As he said this, Tan Zhen went out, took several hundred riders with him, mounted his horses and rode away.

Who are you going to Hangzhou to find?
Since I started looking for Tong Guan, I have been helpless.

After running for most of the day, they arrived in Hangzhou city. At the gate of Hangzhou government office, Tan Zhen went there with a visiting card and waited.

Inside the government office, Tong Guan looked at the visiting card sent by Cheng Hao and smiled slightly: "This guy is really making progress..."

Cheng Hao said, "He was much more polite outside the door."

Tong Guan replied: "It is because of this courtesy that he has improved so quickly. After all, he came from the palace and is really flexible. At first, he might have been flattered by those gentlemen, but now he has really come down to earth."

"I don't know why he came to see the Prime Minister?" Cheng Hao asked.

"What's the matter? There's no fun in guessing. Isn't it just those things? Let him in." Tong Guan waved his hand.

Cheng Hao went out to bring people.

Tan Zhen came in politely, bowed deeply, and clasped his hands at a 90-degree angle, saying, "Younger generation, I am honored to meet you, Mr. Tong."

Tong Guan was stunned. This was the language of the palace, not the language of officialdom.

"Sit aside..." Tong Guan waved his hand and said to Cheng Hao, "Bring me some tea..."

Cheng Hao went about his business.

"What's the matter?" Tong Guan looked calm.

Tan Zhen raised his buttocks again and bowed again: "I am here to apologize to Tong Daban!"

"Where did this come from?" Tong Guan seemed confused.

Tan Zhen knelt down on his knees and prostrated himself, saying, "I, the younger generation, do not know how high the heaven is and how deep the earth is. This is a great sin!"

"Stand up and speak. How can you, the governor of Liangzhe Road, be like this!" Tong Guan already smiled slightly.

"There is no governor of Liangzhe Road, only a young candidate in the palace. I bow my head again!" Then he kowtowed again.

Then Tong Guan sighed: "It's hard for people who come out of the palace. It's also hard in the palace. It's really not easy for you to survive in the palace. It's not easy... Take it seriously."

Only then did Tan Zhen slowly stand up and stand aside.

"Go ahead..." Tong Guan said with a smile. Cheng Hao's tea came and he drank it. The water temperature was just right, neither hot nor cold.

"I beg you to forgive my mistakes and leave me a way out. At this moment, I just want to return to Beijing safely. I thank you for your kindness. I will remember it and repay you one day." Tan Zhen asked for help with a sincere attitude.

"Hmm..." Tong Guan put down the teacup, tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers, and said, "You want to capture Fuyang, which is considered a success, and it is not considered a failure. You don't have money to reward the soldiers, right?"

"You are much wiser than me!" Tan Zhen just bowed and saluted.

"Logically speaking, I shouldn't allow you to do this!" Tong Guan remained calm.

Tan Zhen's heart tightened, and he just bent down again, almost resting his head on his knees.

But Tong Guan said: "But... it's not easy for you either. In terms of the military situation, you should have taken Fuyang. This is also a way to contain them. It will also prevent the soldiers in Xincheng and Tonglu from returning to Muzhou easily. This is also the overall situation..."

"My dear Otomo!" Tan Zhen did not stand up.

"How much?" Tong Guan asked.

"Four hundred thousand strings of cash!" Tan Zhen had no choice but to be sincere.

"Not much... You go back, go back to the army first, you will be there in two days." Tong Guan said this without really meaning to embarrass anyone.

Tan Zhen knelt down and knelt again, but at this moment, Tong Guan stood up and raised his hand to help him up: "No need, since I have given you the permission, go quickly."

Tan Zhen couldn't kneel down, thinking that Tong Guan was really strong and sturdy, so he bowed and crossed his hands and bowed again: "Thank you, my dear companion, thank you, Prime Minister!"

"Go away." Tong Guan waved his hand.

Tan Zhen bowed repeatedly and slowly retreated.

When Tan Zhen left the room and turned away, Cheng Hao could not help but ask, "Why did the Prime Minister really allow him to do this?"

Tong Guan was already smiling, and he was very happy in his heart. He was arrogant at first but respectful later, which made people feel comfortable. He also said: "The fall of Fuyang City is good for the overall situation and for Ziqing! This is the first reason."

Cheng Hao nodded slightly: "What about the second one?"

"Secondly, as long as I don't die, he will owe me this favor!" Tong Guan replied with a smile.

"Prime Minister, is there a third one?" Cheng Hao listened carefully.

"Third, he came to ask for money, and I gave it to him, didn't I? I didn't make it difficult for him, did I? I didn't neglect him, did I? If some gentleman in Bianjing City says that I favored some people over others at the front, or that I appointed people based on personal connections, then that would be a lie, right?"

"Oh..." Cheng Hao suddenly realized, and said: "Then Tan Zhen's achievements are few, and it is also because of his lack of talent, not the Prime Minister's fault. Tan Zhen himself should not say anything more critical in front of the emperor... In this way, it is even more obvious that he is incompetent, not the Prime Minister's difficulty!"

"You learn quickly..." Tong Guan said with a smile.

"The Prime Minister is wise!" Cheng Hao really felt like he had been enlightened.

Tong Guan waved his hands and said, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's that Tan Zhen was forced to this point by Ziqing. How could he not know what he would lose by begging like this? He is just using these losses to exchange for a chance in the future. It's not a loss..."

"Ah?" Cheng Hao tried hard to think about it, and after thinking it over, he asked, "Is it in exchange for a chance to fight again in the future?"

"Destroying Fuyang is a merit after all, and we can still save face in front of the emperor." Tong Guan nodded.

"Then he really got something in return. No wonder he came to ask for money. He must have known that he could get the money from the Prime Minister." Cheng Hao understood.

"Ziqing, you did a great job!" Tong Guan praised with a smile.

Cheng Hao also smiled proudly, thinking, this brother-in-law is really amazing...

(Brothers, I added a small paragraph at the end for free. It is still a 10,000-word chapter. I wrote it until 12 o'clock. This chapter is not finished yet. After posting it, I added a small paragraph immediately. I felt comfortable only after finishing the main content of this chapter...)
(End of this chapter)