Li Danqing had a sound sleep this time, and it could be regarded as the most comfortable sleep he had in the past half month.
After waking up, the sky became brighter. When Prince Li looked out of the sky, he was afraid that it had already passed Chen hour.
He secretly wondered why Zhou Qiushen didn't wake him up today, after all, the old housekeeper would wake him up on time in the past.
Li Danqing was muttering in his heart, but he still sat up immediately. After washing up in the room, he stretched and opened the door.
Their residences are located in the atrium of the Crown Prince's Mansion, next to Crown Prince Li's study, and opposite to everyone's residence.
At this time in the past, you could probably see people playing and making noise in the wing room opposite, and even if not, you could hear some laughter, but today the atrium is surprisingly deserted, except for the sound of the late autumn wind.
, and no sound was heard.
"Where have all these people gone?" Li Danqing murmured in his heart. With this thought, he walked towards the outer courtyard and opened the door. The outer courtyard was still deserted and there was no sign of anyone.
"It's strange. These guys swore yesterday that they would live and die with me, and live and die together with me. Why are they all missing today and just running away?" Prince Li said this.
But at this moment, the door to the side was suddenly pushed open, and it was Xue Yunzheng who came out with a bowl of rice porridge. When he saw Li Danqing, he grinned and said, "You are awake, come and eat."
As he spoke, he placed the bowl in his hand on the stone table next to the pavilion, quickly found chopsticks from the side, brought a bowl of hot steamed buns and put them aside, and then looked at them with a smile.
Li Danqing is wearing a warm expression.
But when he looked at Prince Li, Prince Li stared at him with a strange expression.
"What's wrong?" Xue Yun felt a little uncomfortable when he saw him and asked at that time.
"So what Yan Zhen said is indeed correct!" Li Danqing exclaimed as if he had discovered something extraordinary.
It was probably because Li Shizi's performance was so startled that Xue Yun was startled. He rolled his eyes at Li Danqing angrily and asked, "Is there something wrong with you? What did Yan Zhen say?"
"
"What else can you say? That you covet my prince's beauty and have been plotting against my prince since you joined Dafeng Academy!" Li Danqing said with a serious face.
Xue Yun, who originally thought that Prince Li would say something extraordinary, felt dizzy when he heard this. He said: "As expected, those who are close to vermillion are red and those who are close to ink are black."
"Yan Zhen is becoming more and more out of shape every day, and you are more and more fond of talking nonsense every day. You two are really a good match."
Saying this, Xue Yun did not forget to give a thumbs up to Prince Li as a compliment.
However, Li Danqing seemed unable to hear the ridicule in Xue Yun's mouth, and continued seriously: "Then how do you explain that today the people in this mansion are empty, but you stay here and prepare such a treat for me?
Food on the table means being courteous without having anything to do. If you are either cheating or stealing, I think you are up to no good!"
Xue Yun rolled his eyes: "They all went to help in the army. You have been very tired these days, so no one called you. I am also responsible for taking care of the property in the courtyard, so I left late. If you go again
If you sleep a little longer, I might as well go out."
"Besides, you don't take a pee and look at yourself. My Ningxiu is a thousand times more beautiful than yours. I don't want to let such a good girl go. I covet you as a big man. Are you sick or am I sick?"
Li Danqing was speechless for a moment. He tilted his head and thought for a while. He probably couldn't find any words to refute the other party, so he could only say angrily: "That's right."
Immediately, he breathed a long sigh of relief and seemed relieved. He sat down at the stone table in the pavilion and started eating.
Xue Yun looked at Li Danqing funny, found a wine bottle from somewhere, sat aside and took a sip, and then said: "After so many things, you haven't changed at all, you are still the same indifferent appearance as before.
.”
Li Danqing took a sip of porridge and glanced at Xue Yun, who had a sigh on his face, and said, "Aren't you still the same as before, like to put on an act?"
Xue Yun did not show any anger at Li Danqing's ridicule. He grinned and said, "I used to pretend, but now I am really worried."
"Worried? What are you worried about? Are you afraid of death!?" Li Danqing seemed to have discovered a new world. He suddenly became interested and came over.
You must know that in the past when he was in Dafengyuan, Xue Yun stole the limelight from him. If he could get something bad to happen to the other party, it would satisfy Prince Li's bad taste a little bit.
Xue Yun glanced at Li Danqing and asked, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"It's not that I'm not afraid, it's just that I have to do what the old man asked me to do for him. Otherwise, if he beats me up at the foot of the spring, I won't be able to bear it." Li Danqing shrugged his shoulders and said bitterly.
.
Xue Yun said, "You are always like this. You obviously want to do it yourself, but you always like to use others as an excuse. Is it difficult to openly admit that you are a person who cares about the country and the people?"
After hearing this, Li Danqing thought for a while and said, "It's really difficult."
"That bastard Ji Qi killed my old man, and now I'm defending the country for him. To be honest, I feel quite awkward about this." Li Danqing said seriously.
Xue Yun was stunned for a moment, but he had never thought of this. He frowned and thought about it, and then nodded in agreement: "It's really awkward."
"But why do you have to do it if it's so awkward? Is it because of Master Ji?"
"If we say that Lord Xiwen, Xia Siming, and even Yanzhen Song Tong'er are not much worse than Master Ji, are they worthy of risking their lives for a flower?"
"Although my prince likes beautiful girls, he has not yet come to the point where he wants to be beautiful.
It is not the behavior of a gentleman to go to the point of losing sex and life. This prince is soft-hearted. Look at the refugees outside Wuyang City. They have no clothes to cover their bodies and no food to eat. They are not even remotely human. The old man cannot see this scene. This
I don't care if I follow him at all. What's more, the 400,000 White Wolf Army who died at Longwuguan are the old man's darling and treasure. He is closer to them than my own son. This revenge must be avenged.
Right? So, I have to do all this based on emotion and reason." Li Danqing shook his head and said with a wry smile.
After saying this, he paused again, suddenly looked at Xue Yun, raised his eyebrows and said: "It's you, you are here to get involved in something, why don't you take Ning Xiu and get out of here quickly, and stay here to hinder my son?"
Now, wouldn't it be nice to go back to Qilongshan, close the door, and have a bunch of fat babies with Ning Xiu?"
Faced with Li Danqing's teasing, Xue Yun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Even if I are willing to do this, I'm afraid Xiu'er won't agree with his temper."
"I'm afraid of death, but I'm even more afraid of being looked down upon by her."
Li Danqing actually heard what Xue Yun said at this moment. It no longer meant the ridicule before, but it was sincere. He suddenly became interested, stuffed the bun in his hand into his mouth, and immediately asked: "
This is very strange.”
"You said that in the past, when you were in Yingshui County, Youyun had an army of 400,000, and we only had tens of thousands in our hands. You never said you were afraid. But now, you look indecisive."
Xue Yun was stunned, and then he thought about it seriously, and then said: "At that time, I was alone. Although I had some affection with Xiu'er, we hadn't reached that point yet. For the first half of my life, I wanted to find out who was involved in the Palace of Eternal Life.
The truth is, I wanted to avenge my parents, but later I found out the way to the Palace of Eternal Life, and the imperial court cleared it up. I thought I had avenged a great revenge, and I had no worries, but I felt free and easy."
"Now that I'm married to Xiu'er, and I've spent some time in Qilongshan where the harps and the music are as close as each other, there are suddenly more things that I can't bear to part with, so I'm suddenly afraid of death."
"I thought that if I die, I will never see that face again. I can't practice with her, eat with her, and watch her by the bedside..."
Xue Yun said very melancholy, but when Li Danqing heard this, he quickly stretched out his hand to stop him.
"Ahem. That's enough. If we continue talking, it would be inappropriate for children..." Li Danqing said this.
Xue Yun didn't take it seriously. He raised his head and took another sip of wine, and then handed the wine bottle to Li Danqing.
Li Danqing waved his hand and said: "There are a lot of things to do today. I, the prince, must stay awake."
Xue Yun was also free and easy, and without much persuasion, he just asked: "What about you? There are many beautiful girls in your Crown Prince's residence? Aren't you afraid that if you die, you won't be able to see them? Are you willing to do so?"
"Of course I'm reluctant, but this battle can save more beautiful girls, so why isn't it cost-effective?" Li Danqing said calmly.
Xue Yun also knew that if one out of ten words from this guy's mouth was true, it would be a big deal.
He didn't say much, just smiled faintly, drank the wine in his hand, and then stood up.
He glanced at Li Danqing, who had already eaten and drank enough, and said: "In that case, let's go. Do a good job today, and you can save more girls. This is a big deal, and you can't be careless."
When Prince Li heard this, he was not particular about it. He stretched out his hand to wipe his mouth, stood up, and said with a smile: "It makes sense, it's time to set off."
Seeing this, Xue Yun was about to follow Li Danqing, but something suddenly sounded and he asked again: "By the way, there is one thing that I have always found strange."
"Didn't Longwu Pass claim that there were 600,000 White Wolf Army soldiers back then? This time, it was said that all the White Wolf Army soldiers were killed, but where did the remaining 200,000 people go?"
Li Danqing blinked, looked at Fang Yan and said, "Weren't they separated by the imperial court and organized into various military departments? This matter is not a secret."
"When we were in Youyun, the White Wolf Army that came from all over the country for reinforcements didn't number more than 200,000. They seemed to be just retired veterans." Xue Yun said with a frown.
"So what?" Li Danqing asked with a smile.
Xue Yun looked at Li Danqing with a smile on his face and seemed to have thought of something, but he didn't point it out. He just waved his hand and said, "Nothing."
…
When Li Danqing and Xue Yun arrived at the military camp, the scene in the military camp made Prince Li, who was accustomed to seeing the world, a little dazed for a moment.
In the open space in front of the military camp tent, all kinds of materials were piled up like mountains.
Rice, grain, ordnance and other weapons.
At the entrance of the military camp, there were even more people standing with all kinds of things. Gongsun Zhi led a group of soldiers there to count the goods. Liu Yanzhen, Song Tonger and others were also helping to take care of the goods.
Hundreds of people are busy working together, but it still feels a bit overwhelmed.
At the same time, on the other side, Zhou Qiushen and Lu Shude were also counting the supplies piled up in the mountain in the military camp, and at the same time commanding the soldiers in the army to collect these supplies and return them to the warehouse, they were also very busy.
Seeing Li Danqing's arrival, Gongsun Zhi hurriedly put down the man he was holding, walked over, looked at Li Danqing with excitement and said: "Your Majesty! You're here! The people who came to raise funds today are so extraordinary.
There are countless crucian carp in the river!"
"The amount of supplies we have received is quite large. I'm afraid we need to deploy another thousand soldiers to keep up with the progress."
Li Danqing saw that this man was really happy at this moment. He smiled and said: "If necessary, just deploy it. Although the running-in of the troops is important, we are indeed short of food and grass supplies now. We can take over more supplies."
Good thing."
"By the way, do you have statistics on how many supplies you have obtained?"
Gongsun hurriedly responded when he heard the words. The amount was a bit huge, and with the different types, it would take time to count. However, the large donation has been roughly calculated: "The total amount of silver is 270,000 taels, and the total amount of rice and grain is 46,000 shi.
As for ordnance, there are more than 3,000 weapons, but a weapons shop has taken over an order for a batch of arrows from me. The price is cheap, so it is half donation and half purchase. There are also a lot of various medicinal herbs, but I still have it.
We won’t have time to make statistics in the future.”
Li Danqing was also a little surprised. He never expected to receive such a huge amount of donations in such a short period of time.
He nodded secretly, but then said: "The amount of these donations is indeed huge, but there is still a big gap in the supplies we need. In terms of food and grass, an army of 200,000 will consume 4,000 shi a day.
The donation of more than 40,000 stones sounds like a large amount, but in fact, it is only about ten days of consumption. Moreover, we have to recruit troops, and the consumption of food and grass will be even greater. We still have to start from all aspects. Over at Longxiang Mansion
Have you contacted me?"
Gongsun Zhi nodded repeatedly, and after hearing Li Danqing's inquiry, he hurriedly responded: "I went to see Palace Master Xiahou early in the morning. Palace Master Xiahou guaranteed that there would be no mistakes in the supply of food and grass."
"Longxiang Mansion has enough food and grass, so I can trust Xiahou Boyang." Li Danqing was quite satisfied with this answer.
But Gongsun Zhi continued at that time: "Although there is no big problem with food and grass,..."
"But there is a shortage of war horses in the army. Today's 200,000-strong army has less than 20,000 war horses. It would be fine if we defend the city, but if we want to have a head-on confrontation with the Liao people, the number of war horses is extremely important. As far as I know, the Liao people
The 800,000-man army is all equipped with high-quality war horses, and their mobility is far beyond what the additional troops can match. Moreover, if what Chu Pang said that day is true, and there really are such weird Yin soldiers, the mobility of the war horses will also be
It is an important guarantee for us to fight against those evil soldiers."
Li Danqing also understood that what the other party said was true. He nodded and said: "War horses are indeed expensive. The only war horse in the entire Wuyang Dynasty that can compete with the Liao people's Black Dragon Horse is the Chiyunqi from southern Xinjiang. However,
I heard that the Chiyun Cavalry is expensive, with each horse worth upwards of a hundred taels. I am afraid that the money in our hands is only enough to buy a few thousand horses. Compared with this, the gap is still huge."
"Yeah." After saying this, Gongsun Zhi's face became a little ugly.
"Not only the war horses, but also the price quoted by Daliangsi for some of the ordnance we ordered was extremely expensive. They have always colluded with Xiang Luowen and are the princelings of the Eight Classics here. Although the prince's actions yesterday shocked them, now
There are also people who support me, but they don’t dare to openly make mistakes, but they are in trouble because of the lack of silver. It is probably impossible to find help from them."
Li Danqing smiled and said: "We are not from the same group. It's good that they can just sit back and watch. It is absolutely impossible to ask for their help. But after all, they have become honest and I can't force them."
It’s too tight, let them do it, and we’ll think of a solution.”
"By the way, how's the recruitment process going?"
Of course Gongsun Zhi also understood this truth. He hurriedly added: "Several locations have been set up in Wuyang City, and there are also some participants, but I haven't had time to count how many people there are."
"Hmm..." Li Danqing nodded again. He was secretly calculating various events. The most urgent things facing the army now were nothing more than three things. The first was ordnance, the second was conscription, and the third was war horses.
Apart from conscription, the troubles of the other two are ultimately just one thing - lack of money.
Li Danqing probably never thought that he, who could spend tens of thousands of taels of silver in one night, would one day be in a dilemma where he would be stumped by such a penny.
And the more this happened, the more Prince Li could not help but secretly think, it would be great if Jin Liuxiang was here.
That girl's skills in this area are many times better than Li Danqing's. If she were here, I think she would be able to come up with some solutions to the current predicament.
"Dean!" At this moment, Song Tong'er and Liu Yanzhen suddenly walked over quickly.
Seeing the excited expressions on their faces, Li Danqing felt a little strange: "What's wrong?"
"Do you still remember what I told you yesterday? A shopkeeper from the Chamber of Commerce asked us about the supplies we are currently short of. I listed some for him, focusing on the number of war horses. He actually came with war horses today.
"Song Tong'er said with a red face, obviously extremely excited.
Li Danqing also smiled when he heard this: "Really? Take me to meet him."
Li Danqing did not think that the horses donated by the other party could meet the needs of the army. If he wanted to use cavalry to contain the Liao people, they would have at least 50,000 cavalry, but the current gap is still as huge as 30,000.
Calculated in this way, the difference is a full three million taels of silver. Even the Wuyang royal family cannot come up with this amount. Naturally, Li Danqing will not have too much hope for a chamber of commerce boss.
But after all, other people's wishes were there, so Li Danqing still had to meet him out of courtesy.
Liu Yanzhen and Song Tong'er nodded after hearing this and hurriedly led the way. Li Danqing followed them and asked casually: "By the way, how many horses does this shopkeeper bring?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yanzhen stretched out three fingers and gestured in front of Li Danqing.
"Three hundred? It's not bad. The shopkeeper is serious about it," Li Danqing said.
This is a full thirty thousand taels of silver, which is not a small amount. It is already the largest donation they have ever received.
But Liu Yanzhen frowned at this moment and said angrily: "What three hundred!"
"It's three thousand! And the shopkeeper said that this is just the first number, there are more than 10,000 war horses, which will be delivered one after another!"