Fu Song

Chapter 58 The Victory and the Loss

Seeing that Zhang Chao chased away the girl who made the tea, Xiao Ding felt more and more that this conversation was no small matter.Although he was a little surprised, he was not afraid.Immediately, he put those tea sets in front of him and said, "I will make tea with the captain."

Although I have been in the army for many years, I am more accustomed to drinking a large bowl of wine and eating meat, and I often use a helmet to drink water. I tilt my neck and drink happily, but after all, I am a son of Guijie, and these basic etiquettes have been learned since childhood. passed.

Zhang Chao nodded, looking at Xiao Ding, although his technique was a little unfamiliar, but he was brewing tea with an excellent grasp of the rhythm, pondering in his heart how to speak.

After one opening, two openings, three openings, Xiao Ding picked up the teapot and quickly filled the small cup with tea.

Good luck today.

"Master, please!" Pushing Xiaozhan in front of Zhang Chao.

Holding the tea cup, Zhang Chao said softly, "I read your memorial today."

Xiao Ding nodded. This memorial is mainly about military affairs. It is not unusual for Zhang Chao to be the prefect of the court and to be consulted by the official family.

"Do you know that with your memorial, one of the second-rank officials fell from the stage, and the other wanted to declare Ma to pay her respects?" Zhang Chao turned the cup and chuckled: "The careers of several high-ranking officials , but a great turning point has taken place!"

Xiao Ding did not change: "The final commander is just stating some of his own insights. This is also the result of His Majesty's inquiries about the northern border, and the final commander has to say. As for the changes in the DPRK, it is not that the final commander will be in control of a district. able to influence.”

Seeing Xiao Ding's calm expression, Zhang Chao couldn't help but nod his head. This child is indeed rare. When he heard such news, he was not moved, neither panicked nor satisfied, as if he had only done something trivial. little things.

Or for him, it really is.But for Zhang Kuo, Ma Xing, Li Guang and the others, this was not the case.

The official career of the frustrated Zhang Kuo is basically over.

And Ma Xing jumped to become the Shaanxi Luan Envoy, overcame the biggest hurdle for him, and since then stepped into the true inner circle of the Song Dynasty.

Not to mention Li Guang, how honorable is Xuan Ma to worship the prime minister?

Ma Xing has always been the main fighting faction, but that's all.

But Li Guang is the main peace faction, but because of the memorial of a war main faction like Xiao Ding, he was declared to be the prime minister, and I don't know what to think.

To be the ruler of the two governments is the peak that the tens of millions of officials of the Song Dynasty could never reach in their lifetime.

"His Majesty has made up his mind. We must first solve the problem of the army in Shaanxi and Gansu." Zhang Chao said: "And this determination comes from your three-way attacking Liaoning strategy."

"First pacify the backyard, then rearrange the armament, and the whole country will attack Liaoning, then there is a chance of winning!" Xiao Ding said earnestly.

Zhang Chao said with a smile: "As a military general, although I have already been appointed to the position of Taiwei, and there is no way to go up, I also look forward to the day when I will be able to attack Liao in my lifetime, and this day will naturally come sooner. The better, if this is the case, maybe I can catch up with this battle and get the position of the main commander all the way, once I succeed, it will be a famous thing in history."

"With Taiwei's qualifications, if you start a war, you will naturally be the leader of the road." Xiao Ding also had to admit that this veteran who has been in the army for decades is indeed qualified to compete for the position of the leader of the road.From the bottom of his heart, he also hopes that such an experienced veteran will control the situation, rather than a certain civil servant as the coach.

At the time of the Guangrui Army, if it wasn't for the support of King Jing Zhao Zhe, those officials who liked to talk about soldiers could really ruin a good situation.

Seeing that Zhang Chao drank the tea in the cup, Xiao Ding poured another cup and handed it over.

"Changqing, do you really think that apart from the Northern Army, other troops in the mainland are vulnerable to a battle?" Zhang Chao asked suddenly.

Here comes the point.

Xiao Ding was silent for a moment, then said, "Captain, do you think that the troops who have not known swordsmanship for decades are capable of fighting?"

"I have received the grace of the Holy Spirit to lead the Fourth Army, rectify the armament, train the soldiers, and dare not slack off for a day!" Zhang Chao put down the teacup and said indifferently.

"Tianwei, training alone will not be able to train an army that can really fight." Xiao Ding sat up straight, "Not to mention the ever-changing forms on the battlefield, the atmosphere on the battlefield is definitely not the same. The training can be imitated. Once, I met with the infantry under my command and the Liao army on a narrow road. At that time, I immediately ordered the whole army to form an army formation to face each other, and the Liao people were hundreds of horses, taking turns to launch a tentative charge against us. "

"This is a tactic used by the Liao people." Zhang Chao said: "Once the position is unstable, they will immediately take advantage of the gap, but as long as they can hold their position and stabilize, they will have to return without success."

"The lieutenant said yes, but the difficulty lies in being able to hold on, be steady!" Xiao Ding narrowed his eyes and said, "When hundreds of cavalrymen at one time rush towards you with lightning speed. At that time, how many people can be stable? My soldiers are battle-hardened, but at that moment, many people's legs were shaking, and they were almost unable to hold their bows. But fortunately, we finally managed to It was holding on, the Liao people could not find a chance, and the cavalry of our Guangrui army also heard the news and came to help, and the Liao people retreated."

"How can you save others by yourself?" Zhang Chao looked at Xiao Ding coldly.

"It's not difficult to guess whether it's my guess. Just adjust the affiliation of one of the Fourth Army and go to the northern Xinjiang to fight a few battles with the Liao people." Xiao Ding was not afraid of the momentum of Zhang Chao on the opposite side, and he was tough and authentic. : "There is no need to fight against the Liao people's palace division army and Pi Shi army. As long as they can withstand the Liao people's army, then I, the Song Dynasty, can now attack Liao in a big way."

"How courageous!" Zhang Chao was furious.

Xiao Ding really looked down on the Fourth Army.

Xiao Ding puffed out his chest, unafraid.

He felt that he was telling the truth, even in the northern Xinjiang, apart from those generals' personal soldiers, he still looked down on other armies.As for those cavalry troops, forget it. It would be good to be able to help with the logistics of transporting food and grass during the war.

Zhang Chao took a few deep breaths and calmed down his emotions, "Do you think so alone, or does the northern border army think so?"

"Don't dare to lie to the lieutenant, most of the northern commanders think so." Xiao Ding said. "Sometimes we even joked that the upper four armies were all those expensive vases from noble families. They didn't work for them, and they would shatter into pieces with a little effort."

Zhang Chao felt that he was out of breath.If it wasn't for Xiao Ding sitting in front of him, Xiao Yu's son, or Xiao Ding's grandson, he would have picked up the teapot in front of him and smashed it in the face.

"But the foundation of the Fourth Army is good." Xiao Ding didn't care about the face of the other party at all, and continued: "The selected people are all tall and strong, and in terms of martial arts, they are also proficient. Years, it is bound to be reborn."

"Is this also the common thought of you northern generals?"

"No, this is my own idea." Xiao Ding shook his head and did not confess Xiao Cheng. In fact, Xiao Cheng told him this method. "The northern border generals don't want the mainland troops to pass, because they don't want to go either."

Zhang Chao's mind turned and he understood.Which of these frontier generals does not have huge interests in the frontier, once they are transferred, this income will be gone immediately.

The border generals don't want to leave, and why did these soldiers and horses of the Fourth Army ever want to leave the prosperous Bianliang?These soldiers were all recruited from Bianliang and the surrounding areas, and some of them were soldiers of the Fourth Army from generation to generation.

"The officials don't believe that the Fourth Army is as vulnerable as you said." Zhang Chao said coldly.

Xiao Ding was silent.

Many times, without putting the bloody truth in front of everyone, these people will never believe it.

"But you are a valiant general in the North, and you have made many meritorious deeds. Your words still carry some weight in His Majesty's heart." Zhang Chao said: "So the official family wants to verify it. It is planned that in ten days, you and your personal guards will, Come and have a contest with the Fourth Army, and see how good the Fourth Army is!"

Xiao Ding was a little moved, thought for a while and asked, "Grand Commander, how dare you ask me how to compete?"

"Riding, shooting, arrays, etc., how else do you want to compete?" Zhang Chao asked rhetorically.

Xiao Ding didn't even think about it, and said directly: "If this is the case, then you will simply admit defeat!"

"What? You just admit defeat? Xiao Ding, are you playing tricks on me? Or are you playing tricks on officials?" Zhang Chao said angrily.

"Tianwei, this kind of contest is meaningless!" Xiao Ding said: "The Fourth Army officers and soldiers are dealing with these things at a price all day long. When it comes to orderly queues and accurate bows and arrows, I want to believe that the Fourth Army will randomly pick some people out. , and they are better than us. What else is there to compare to?"

"What do you want to compare?" Zhang Chao asked.

"Since it is to verify the military strength of the upper four armies, and this is related to the national war between my Song Dynasty army and the Liao people, Xiao Ding does not dare to have the slightest slack in this kind of competition, so if the captain must compare, it is immediately Victory is decided, and life and death are also decided!" Xiao Ding said word by word.

Zhang Chao stood up abruptly: "Are you crazy?"

Xiao Ding lowered his head and looked at the patterns on the coffee table in front of him, but he said every word: "Commander, when I was in charge of the Guangrui Army, the Guangrui Army had [-] people, and today it's still [-]. There are [-] people, but [-] of them have changed their faces. These are veterans of a hundred battles, but they still fall on the battlefield. If I don't let the elites of the Fourth Army in the eyes of the captain, really Knowing what the battlefield is like, when they go to the battlefield and face off against the Liao people, they will miss big things. Not only will they miss the state affairs, but they will also miss their lives."

After saying this, Xiao Ding stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Please, the captain, reply to His Majesty for me. If we compare it, it is a decision of the outcome and the decision of life and death. With ten personal guards, I can face a hundred senior officers and soldiers. ."

Zhang Chao was shocked, angry and admiring, looking at Xiao Ding, he was speechless.

(End of this chapter)