Anqing, military camp.

Xu Zhaojie, who was dressed in military uniform, looked at the sand table in front of him expressionlessly. No one knew what the famous Zhou Zhenyuan Marquis and current Anqing patrol envoy was thinking in his mind at this time...

············

And right next to Xu Zhaojie, one after another the messengers were reporting various information to him!

"I'm reporting to your lord, the Huai Army's vanguard force of 10,000 people has been engaged in a fierce battle with the Qi Army at Sansheng Mountain, thirty miles west of Langya. The current battle situation is fierce and the Huai Army is not progressing smoothly despite its numerical advantage!"

"Your Excellency, we have found out that Huainan Governor Feng Keqin has arrived at Huaiyuan Prefecture to supervise the battle, and the main force of 80,000 Huai Army troops has assembled in Huaiyuan Prefecture!"

"I would like to inform you that Youyan envoy Huang Wenze and his party have concluded their meeting with Qilu Economic and Strategic Envoy Cao Changping three days ago. The outcome of the talks between the two parties is still unknown!"

"Sir, there is news from Licheng that Cao Changping sent troops from Licheng two days ago and gathered 30,000 troops to go to Langya!"

"I would like to inform you, sir, that our army has recruited 12,000 new soldiers, but the weapons and cotton armor firearms allocated to the soldiers are not enough!"

···············

···············

After hearing the news about his side, Xu Zhaojie reacted and gave a deep command to his subordinate Zhang Chong:

"Recruit all the craftsmen in Anqing to build weapons, armor and firearms day and night from now on. We must make up the difference within two months!"

"In addition, the training of new recruits must also be kept up, and extraordinary measures can be taken when necessary!"

After Xu Zhaojie finished speaking, a trace of hesitation flashed in Zhang Chong's eyes. He was a little confused as to whether the extraordinary means in his understanding were the same as the extraordinary means in Xu Zhaojie's words!

Just when he was about to ask, he met Xu Zhaojie's eyes and felt the coldness in Xu Zhaojie's eyes. He wisely swallowed what he wanted to ask and bowed and said:

"yes!"

Glancing at Zhang Chong, Xu Zhaojie said lightly:

"Don't be afraid of casualties. It's not a big deal if one hundred and eighty people die, but you must remember that rewards and punishments are clear!"

Zhang Chong was really surprised when he said this. He knew Xu Zhaojie's style. He originally thought that the casualty indicator given by Xu Zhaojie for this training was only twenty or thirty people. He did not expect that Xu Zhaojie would be so ruthless now and directly increase the casualty indicator.

Several times...

The fact that he said it was no big deal so easily showed that in Xu Zhaojie's heart, the lives of his soldiers were as worthless as trash. Thinking of this, Zhang Chong was not only a little sad, but also felt a little pity for the future fate of these new soldiers.

Whether you are a general or a soldier serving under Xu Zhaojie, you need to be extra careful, otherwise you may offend Xu Zhaojie at some point and lose your life!

Although he thought so in his heart, under Xu Zhaojie's gaze, Zhang Chong still agreed without changing his expression:

"I will obey your orders! I know what to do!"

After receiving Zhang Chong's affirmative answer, Xu Zhaojie turned his attention to the sand table again, and waved slightly to indicate that Zhang Chong could leave. Seeing this, Zhang Chong bowed to Xu Zhaojie, and then hurriedly left to prepare Xu Zhaojie to hand it over to him.

this arduous task.

Shortly after Zhang Chong left, another soldier walked up to Xu Zhaojie and reported:

"Sir, Fang He, the special envoy of Cao Changping, the Qilu patrol envoy, is here. He wants to see you now..."

Listening to the soldiers' words, Xu Zhaojie's eyes flashed with light and he faintly ordered:

"Take him to the tent, I'll be there in a minute!"

"yes!"

After burning the incense, Fang He, who came from Licheng, paced back and forth anxiously in the camp, anxiously waiting for Xu Zhaojie to come to see him. He came secretly on Cao Changping's order to discuss with Xu Zhaojie a joint attack on Feng Keqin.

The matter, the matter should have been an urgent matter, but unexpectedly Xu Zhaojie seemed to be so careless. In this entire time, Xu Zhaojie was nowhere to be seen.

Since he became the patrol envoy of Anqing, Xu Zhaojie appeared to follow Feng Keqin's lead, but in fact since he got rid of Li Sandao and Feng Keqin's thorn in Anqing actually controlled Anqing, Xu Zhaojie

They hooked up with Cao Changping. The two secretly had an affair and conspired to discuss how to work with Feng Keqin to swallow up the extremely wealthy Huainan under Feng Keqin's command.

And now the developments in Qilu, Anqing, and Huainan are all within their plans!

Another time for a cup of tea passed, and just when Fang He couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to leave the tent to ask when Xu Zhaojie appeared, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the tent. Hearing the footsteps, he looked at him with a smile on his face.

The eager Fang He looked stunned for a moment, then immediately calmed down and sat upright on the stool, pretending not to be in a hurry...

·

Just a second after Fang He finished this series of actions, the camp door was pushed open and Xu Zhaojie walked in with a smile on his face. He said with a hint of apology in his words:

"The military affairs are busy and Mr. Fang has been kept waiting for a long time!"

Although he was very dissatisfied with Xu Zhaojie for making him wait for such a long time, Fang He still suppressed the anger in his heart out of courtesy, stood up and raised his hands to Xu Zhaojie and said:

"Your Majesty, your words are serious. It's nothing to wait for your military affairs!"

Listening to Fang He's answer, Xu Zhaojie nodded with a smile and said:

"Mr. Fang, you came here this time to bring me some news, right?"

When Fang He heard this, he did not hide anything and said in a deep voice:

"The thief Liu Guodong has been ambushed and executed at the foot of Guyang City! All five thousand of his soldiers have also been wiped out!"

After Fang He finished speaking, Xu Zhaojie was silent for a few seconds, then sighed and said:

"Liu Guodong is a thief who cheats and cheats, and deserves death for his double-dealing. It's a pity that we, the five thousand good men of the Anqing Army..."

Hearing this, Fang He bowed to Xu Zhaojie again, pretending to be a little moved and said:

"Master Xu, your love for the soldiers is truly admirable. My Lord Commander also knows that you are kind-hearted, so I specially told you to treat the brothers who captured the Anqing Army well until this battle is over."

Your Excellency will definitely return them to Zhao Li and send them out of the country in perfect condition!"

Liu Guodong thought that the secret exchange between him and Feng Keqin was so seamless that no one could notice it. However, he did not know that there is no airtight wall in this world. Xu Zhaojie had already noticed his disobedience and sent his

What you do is in your eyes.

If he hadn't been worried that having already poisoned Li Sandao had aroused Feng Keqin's vigilance, and doing Liu Guodong again would easily anger Feng Keqin completely, how could Xu Zhaojie tolerate Liu Guodong living to this day?

Sending Liu Guodong to Guyang County was a trap set up by Xu Zhaojie. On the one hand, it was to confuse Feng Keqin and make him strengthen his confidence and stop doubting whether the Anqing Army would participate in the war. On the other hand, he was also using Cao Changping to kill Liu Guodong.

Although Fang He said nicely about returning the jade to Zhao intact and sending it out of the country as gifts, Xu Zhaojie was naturally able to hear the implication of Fang He's words. The thousands of Anqing soldiers under Zhao Guodong's command had probably become hostages in Cao Changping's hands.

If I do what they say, I may be able to get back these thousands of surrendered soldiers, but if I don't do what they say, I'm afraid it's like a meat bun beating a dog, and there will be no return...

·········

Thinking of this, a fleeting look of contempt flashed through the depths of Xu Zhaojie's eyes. He wanted to be obedient and let them manipulate him with the help of thousands of surrendered soldiers. This was really underestimating Xu Zhaojie!

Although he thought so in his heart, Xu Zhaojie still maintained a smile on the surface and said:

"With Brother Cao's words, I feel relieved!"

After the guests and hosts sat down and exchanged greetings, Fang He couldn't wait to speak first and said:

"Mr. Xu Hou, you should know by now that the main force of the 80,000 Huai army led by Feng Keqin has arrived at Huaiyuan City. Our army is under a lot of pressure on the frontal battlefield. So, Mr. Xu Hou, what do you think your army is doing?"

At that time, we can attack the Huai army from the rear as agreed!"

Listening to Fang He's words, Xu Zhaojie said without thinking with his eyes slightly narrowed:

"Our Anqing army has now begun to sign off the young men in the territory. However, after losing 5,000 old soldiers under Liu Guodong's command, our Anqing army only has more than 30,000 people who can fight. Even so, among these 30,000 people

Nearly half of them have just joined the army, and many of them are not equipped with weapons and armor, so how can they undertake the task of attacking from the rear?"

Feeling the shirk in Xu Zhaojie's words, Fang He still wanted to try harder and said:

"Our army can contain the enemy's army head-on and induce them to send troops to attack Langya. Mr. Xu Hou, you can lead your troops to take advantage of the opportunity and cut off the connection between Feng Keqin's troops and Huaiyuan City. In this way, the enemy's food route will be blocked.

It will definitely make people panic and self-defeating..."

Regarding Fang He's complaint, Xu Zhaojie still shook his head and declined, saying:

"Mr. Fang, your idea is very good, but our Anqing army has few generals. Not only does it lack weapons and armor, but it also needs to be strengthened. Many of them are farmers who have just put down their hoes. They are not yet equipped to fight, so they still need to strengthen their training."

Please give me some time, Mr. Fang. When I have trained my troops and horses, I will definitely follow Mr. Fang’s plan and take advantage of the opportunity to intercept Feng Keqin’s food route!”

Faced with Xu Zhaojie's rejection, Fang He still refused to give up and wanted to persuade Xu Zhaojie to join the war as soon as possible. However, Xu Zhaojie also insisted that Qingshan would not relax. He always insisted that the Anqing Army did not have the ability to fight on a large scale and asked Qilu for mercy.

Some days.

Since both sides were very determined and refused to give in, the talks reached a deadlock for a while. The two sides broke up unhappy and returned to Licheng to return their orders to Cao Changping.

Fang He has been away for half a time, but Xu Zhaojie is still sitting in his seat, with a gloomy and ugly face!

Fang He insisted that the Anqing Army send troops first. If nothing else, this should be Cao Changping's request. The two sides seemed to be arguing about when the Anqing Army would send troops, but if you look beyond the appearance to see the essence, you will realize that this is

It's actually a question of trust...

At present, Feng Keqin has assembled an army of 80,000 in Huaiyuan City. These 80,000 people eat, drink, and eat a lot of money every day. Although Feng Keqin has sufficient treasury in Huainan, he will not fight this war into a protracted war.

, tug of war, so the Huai army's offensive against Langya is imminent.

This is also the reason why Xu Zhaojie repeatedly declined Fang He's request. Although he is now sitting with Cao Changping, in Xu Zhaojie's heart, he does not regard Cao Changping as his ally, and what he really wants is not to be with Cao Changping.

Defeat Feng Keqin together!

Xu Zhaojie's real purpose is to have Cao Changping and Feng Keqin fight to the death in Langya and both sides will be hurt, so that he can reap the benefits and take advantage of the situation to take control of Huainan!

Although Xu Zhaojie's abacus was very good, it was obvious that Cao Changping was not an easy person to sit in the position of Qilu's envoy. He had long been aware of Xu Zhaojie's misconceptions, so he specifically asked the Anqing Army to join the war as soon as possible without giving any advice.

Xu Zhaojie’s opportunity to reap the benefits!

Faced with this situation, Xu Zhaojie had no good solution. There was only one dragging trick that could be used. Anyway, Feng Keqin was about to attack Qilu, not his Anqing, but he had to be careful. Beware of Cao Changping breaking the jar and smashing it.

The conspiracy between them was told to Feng Keqin, and he was dragged into the water...

If his plan comes true this time, he can take advantage of the situation to take control of Huainan and become the overlord of one party. He can use the world as a chess game and the Central Plains as a battlefield with Ye Mingsheng to calculate the grievances between the two sides. But if he loses, then he can

What he foresees is that Feng Keqin will definitely not let him go next, and Cao Changping will definitely attack from the north in order to ensure that not all of them fall into Feng Keqin's hands.

The strength of these two men's soldiers and horses was far superior to his own. If they were to fight against each other again, Xu Zhaojie would definitely have no choice but to be defeated and die!

Thinking of this, Xu Zhaojie couldn't help but clenched his fists tightly, and his eyes became more determined. He would never allow this to happen. He still wanted to save his life and cut off the head of Ye Mingsheng, a thief with his own hands!

After pondering for a while, Xu Zhaojie brought his counselor Feng Tai over and whispered in his ear. Listening to Xu Zhaojie's words, Feng Tai's expression suddenly became uncertain. When Xu Zhaojie finished speaking, he said incredulously:

"Master Hou, is this okay?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhaojie waved his big hand and ordered in a deep voice:

"Do as I say! Don't worry about the rest!"

Seeing what Xu Zhaojie said, Feng Tai, as his subordinate, could only accept the order and say yes. Looking at Feng Tai's leaving figure, Xu Zhaojie's eyes narrowed. Since Cao Changping had noticed his intention, he had to insure himself from the top.
Chapter completed!