Chapter 656: It is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice
Chapter 656: It’s hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.
Wang Wangzhou knew that Chai Yan would not join the camp, so he had no choice but to apologize to Liu Hongxuan.
When Chai Yan and the others intended to leave Nanying, Liu Hongxuan suddenly turned around and shouted to the people behind him: "Here comes, set up tents outside the camp immediately!"
"Here!" The two soldiers behind him immediately agreed, turned around and ran into the camp.
Wang Wangzhou was shocked and said: "Liu Xiaowei, what are you..."
Chai Yan and Yuan also looked at Liu Hongxuan with surprise.
Liu Hongxuan glanced at Wang Wangzhou with a smile, walked towards Chai Yan and Yuan Yuan, and said: "Secretary Chai, Mrs. Chai, if we talk outside the camp, we are not breaking the rules of the army, don't you think so?"
"
"Yes! That's so right! Hahaha..."
Chai Yan nodded immediately and laughed.
Everyone around him also laughed.
It only took about a quarter of an hour for the soldiers in the camp to set up a tent in the open space outside the camp gate.
Liu Hongxuan invited Chai Yan and the others to sit down in the tent, and soldiers immediately brought tea.
When he learned that the three of them were going to Ganquan County, Liu Hongxuan said: "You three, it's getting dark now. How about we rest here for one night and continue our journey tomorrow morning?"
Wang Wangzhou couldn't make the decision in this matter, so he turned to Chai Yan and asked for his opinion.
Chai Yan turned around and asked Yuan: "Madam, what do you mean?"
Yuan Yuan said in a soft voice: "You decide, I will listen to you."
Chai Yan nodded, looked at Liu Hongxuan and said, "Thank you so much, Lieutenant Liu. It also saves us the trouble of finding our dormitory ourselves."
Liu Hongxuan immediately waved his hand and said with a smile: "Sir Chai, you don't have to be polite. You have helped catch so many bandits. This is all Liu can do. It's not worth mentioning!"
After that, Liu Hongxuan called the soldiers outside the tent and ordered him to go to the kitchen immediately to prepare dinner and feed the horses.
While waiting for dinner, Chai Yan brought the topic to the issue of suppressing the bandits...
When the topic of suppressing the bandits was mentioned, Liu Hongxuan's face showed helplessness and depression. He told Chai Yan and the others that it was not difficult to suppress the bandits, but the troops in the south camp were simply insufficient. Except for the troops who had to stay behind, they could not leave the camp.
There were only more than two hundred people who suppressed the bandits.
Chai Yan expressed his confusion and asked in surprise: "Liu Xiaowei, why do you have so few troops?"
"Alas! It's hard to put it into words..." Liu Hongxuan shook his head and sighed.
Chai Yan couldn't help but ask: "Liu Lieutenant, are the four camps of the Yaozhou Guard Camp, southeast, northwest and northwest all in the same situation now?"
Liu Hongxuan paused and couldn't help but glance at Wang Wangzhou.
Wang Wangzhou immediately nodded and said: "Liu Xiaowei just said it doesn't matter!"
Liu Hongxuan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and lowered his voice and said: "To be honest with Director Chai, the four Yaozhou battalions are currently insufficient in strength. Except for the North Camp, which is directly under General Jiang, which is slightly better, our other three battalions are all
It’s a tight situation...”
The General Jiang mentioned by Liu Hongxuan was none other than Jiang Yongshuang, the top general of the Fourth Battalion of the Yaozhou Guard Camp.
"Is it so difficult to recruit soldiers?" Chai Yan was very confused.
"Alas!" Liu Hongxuan sighed again: "It's difficult! First, the military pay is too low; secondly, with such a small military pay, you have to fight tooth and nail to suppress the bandits. How many people are willing? So, are you willing to join the army?
There are very few people..."
"Liu Xiaowei, can you apply to the imperial court for an increase in military pay?" Chai Yan asked.
Liu Hongxuan suddenly became anxious, and his voice suddenly became louder: "Apply! Why haven't you applied? General Jiang has asked the Ministry of Accounts for many times for money, but the Ministry of Accounts always says that there is no money, so he has to wait.
For a while... Well, from last year to now, I haven't seen a penny..."
After Liu Hongxuan finished complaining, he suddenly lost his temper and said: "Sir Chai, if you are in Liu's position, you will understand that you have no money in your pocket. What do you want us to use to recruit soldiers and suppress bandits...
..."
Speaking of this, Liu Hongxuan sighed again and shook his head. He felt stuffy in his chest and couldn't exert any energy.
Chai Yan and the other three were also silent. They didn't know what to say. If the Ministry of Revenue didn't allocate the money, there really wasn't anything they could do...
It’s hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice!
"Come, come, come, let's all drink tea and stop talking about these disturbing things!" Liu Hongxuan picked up the tea cup and started drinking.
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An hour later, the four of them finished dinner in the tent.
By now it was getting dark, the oil lamps were lit inside the tent, and several braziers at the entrance of the camp were also lit one after another.
Liu Hongxuan left the tent to arrange military affairs in the camp, while Wang Wangzhou went to take care of the horses. At this time, only Chai Yan and Yuan were left in the tent.
Yuan Yuan said softly: "This Lieutenant Liu is quite nice. You were so disrespectful just now, but he didn't even get angry. He even set up a tent in front of the camp gate..."
Chai Yan nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, I was surprised too. I thought he would lose his temper, haha..."
Yuanyuan suddenly straightened up his expression and said, "Don't do this next time. Don't offend others for such trivial matters. Not everyone is as generous as Colonel Liu!"
"Madam, I'm not happy when you say that. How can this be called a trivial matter? This is a big deal..."
Chai Yan suddenly became serious, as if he wanted to have a good fight with Yu Yuan.
"Okay, okay, I won't tell you this anymore, I have to go practice sword practice!"
Yuan has the habit of exercising in the morning and evening. He insists on it every day and is unbeatable.
With that said, Yuan Yuan picked up the black iron sword beside him and quickly walked out of the camp.
After a while, Chai Yan felt a little bored staying alone in the tent, so he wanted to go for a walk or something.
As soon as he left the camp, Chai Yan was stunned. Why were there so many soldiers standing at the gate of the camp?
What are they looking at?
Following the soldiers' gazes, Chai Yan immediately understood what was going on...
It turned out that these soldiers were watching the kites practicing their swords in the distance. Because they could not leave the camp gate without permission, they had to stand on the front line of the camp gate and watch.
Chai Yan walked towards Yuan Yuan with a smile. When he got closer, he stopped. While watching Yu Yuan practice his sword, he asked with a smile: "Madam, why are you starting to show off?"
Yuan Yuan kept making moves with the sword in his hand. He just glared at Chai Yan for a moment and then focused on his sword skills.
In a short time, the number of soldiers gathered at the entrance of the camp increased several times, and the scene suddenly became crowded and noisy.
The people standing behind were afraid that they would not be able to see, so some stood on tiptoes and some jumped up, scrambling to look out...
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, a majestic voice appeared behind the soldiers.
The soldiers fell silent instantly. No one dared to make a sound, let alone crowd forward.
Liu Hongxuan appeared at the back of the crowd. As soon as he finished handling military affairs and walked out of the camp, he noticed a loud noise at the entrance of the camp, so he came over with a frown.
"It's not over yet!" Liu Hongxuan said in a deep voice.
As soon as the sound came out, the soldiers at the camp gate dispersed like birds and beasts and ran into the camp in panic.
After all the soldiers dispersed, Liu Hongxuan walked to the gate of the camp.
As soon as he raised his eyes, Liu Hongxuan's eyes were also attracted by Yuan's figure practicing sword...
After watching for a while, Liu Hongxuan couldn't help but praise: "What a great swordsmanship!"
"Liu Lieutenant, are you feeling itchy? Hahaha..."
At this time, a playful voice appeared beside Liu Hongxuan.
Liu Hongxuan turned around and looked: "Brother Xiang..."
The person who asked Liu Hongxuan whether he was skilled was Xiang Da, who is currently the deputy general of the South Camp of the Yaozhou Guard Camp and Liu Hongxuan's deputy.
Xiang Da smiled and took two steps forward, standing side by side with Liu Hongxuan, and said: "Liu Xiaowei, you are also a master of swordsmanship, don't you want to compete with this female swordsman?"
Liu Hongxuan shook his head and smiled without saying a word.
Xiang Da knew that Liu Hongxuan must have such thoughts, so he said in an inciting tone: "Liu Lieutenant, this opportunity is rare..."
After saying that, Xiang Da stood quietly with his hands behind his hands, looking at the two laughing in the distance.
Liu Hongxuan hesitated for a while, and suddenly saw Chai Yan and Yuan Yuan going back to the camp. He hurriedly stepped out and said loudly: "You two, please stay..."
Seeing Liu Hongxuan walking out, Xiang Da couldn't help but laugh and thought to himself: After all, I still can't help it!