Chapter 28 Ordered to Deposit Food

The time is the seventh day of the first lunar month of the 36th year of Song Zhiping. Originally, for the people and even the government, the Lantern Festival is not over, but now there is no such thing as a New Year Festival inside and outside Yunzhou. Everyone is worried about the war ahead. They don't know how the battle with the barbarians is going, and those who have known the specific situation through channels are even more frightened. Because not long ago, there was news that the Xizhou soldiers were defeated and lost, and the Song army retreated back to Dingxi City.

The atmosphere in the Xuanzi camp stationed outside the city is even more solemn. Every soldier is no more relaxed than before, and his body is extremely tense. It seems that they will be sent to fight against the barbarians at any time. At this time, the fifth team, which has always been more like an army than other teams, seems to be very relaxed.

The emotions of the soldiers are mostly determined by their generals. Today's fifth team can be so calm, just because their team Xu Jinghong has no intention of being nervous at all. After these days of recuperation, the injuries he suffered that day have completely recovered, and more so, he has gained a lot from this match and serious injury.

It goes without saying that his position has not only been more consolidated in the team, but also the soldiers can almost be said to be ahead of him. Among these 500 people, he also became a strong man that no one dared to provoke. Xu Jinghong is not only good at martial arts, but also his men are willing to work hard, and even the defense has been deprived of power because of him. So far, it has not been released, which makes people unable to understand how profound Xu Jinghong's * is.

Because of this, the life of the fifth team has been even more free during this period. In addition to daily drills, they have no enemies in the camp, and their waists have completely hardened, which is also what Xu Jinghong hopes to see.

Another gain is in your own martial arts. After that life-and-death struggle with Yue Jinkui, Xu Jinghong has a deeper understanding of his fighting skills and knife skills. Although this understanding is very abstract, it can also make him make great progress in martial arts. In particular, he devoted himself to thinking during his recuperation and combined the skills of fighting with the swordsmanship he brought from that era, which also improved his swordsmanship to a certain extent.

However, this knife method is only the imagination in Xu Jinghong's mind and still needs actual verification, so after his body was slightly better, Xu Jinghong called his brother in the team to try a new knife method with himself. He knows too well that in this era, if he wants to live better and longer than others, he must constantly improve his skills.

After two days of attempts and improvements, Xu Jinghong has made greater progress today. The sword in his hand is like thunder and retreating like an abyss, giving great oppression to his two opponents. The opponent he faced was not an ordinary soldier, but an old dog and Tian Dahu, both of whom also had good martial arts skills.

With their respective roars, the three rushed together again. In a jingling sound, the two began to retreat, while Xu Jinghong approached step by step. Finally, the swords in their hands were light, and the three weapons in their hands were beaten out.

"Papa..." Suddenly, there was a sound of applause, and then Lou Guanhai came from the side: "Xu Team Zheng's martial arts are really good. No wonder he can take the top position in our camp. If it hadn't been for the sudden battle to the south, I think you could have won the first place for our Xuanzi camp this time.

"I've met Lord Dutong!" Seeing that Lou Guanhai was coming, Xu Jinghong didn't dare to hold it big. He immediately took the knife and saluted him. But he didn't say anything about his praise: "I don't know why Lord Dutong suddenly came to see the humble position?"

"Team Xu is indeed a cheerful person, and that person is not hiding. There is a big thing delivered to you here. Lou Guanhai looked at Xu Jinghong seriously: "This matter is related to the safety of my Yunzhou and southwest, so we must send trustworthy and capable people to deal with it. Both Governor Liu and I think it is best for you, Xu team, to go to do this matter."

"Oh? But is it about the invasion of the barbarians? Xu Jinghong immediately guessed something and asked bluntly.

"Yes, it's about the barbarians. You must have heard a lot of rumors of barbarians fighting with our army recently, right? Lou Guanhai motioned Xu Jinghong to follow him to a quiet place and said.

"Yes, I have heard a lot of rumors that we have lost the battle in front of us. But I don't know if this is true?"

"It's true that the Xizhou army was dedicated to meritorious service, and the opportunity was seized by the barbarians under the isolation, which damaged a lot of people and horses, but it did not have much impact on the overall situation. General Wang was hit by the heart of the army. In order to be safe, he ordered the people and horses to retreat back to Dingxi City. Lou Guanhai told the truth without any cover-up, which was also what he discussed with Liu Mo, so that Xu Jinghong could understand the current situation.

After saying this, Lou Guanhai looked at Xu Jinghong, but found that he was neither full of the righteous indignation of the soldiers after hearing the victory of the barbarians, nor the sadness of ordinary people. He just nodded casually and continued to look at himself, obviously waiting for himself to continue to speak. This made Lou Guanhai sigh in his heart: "This Xu Jinghong is really calm. It seems that it may be a wise decision to give him the matter."

With this understanding, Lou Guanhai's words are even more direct: "Although my southwest border army has been damaged, I can still do it if I really want to defeat the enemy. However, the barbarians also hid after the war, which made it impossible for the soldiers and horses there to move for a while, so tens of thousands of troops had to stay in Dingxi City.

"The weight of grain and grass in the city is limited. It has always been transferred by our three states of Yun, West and Guizhou, and now we must do the same thing. However, the barbarians always cut off my food and grass on remote roads by relying on their familiarity with mountain and forest landforms, so..."

Without waiting for him to finish his words, Xu Jinghong has already said, "Lord Dutong wants to lead soldiers to deposit grain and grass to Dingxicheng?"

"Yes, although we still have a battalion of soldiers and horses in Yunzhou, in order to prevent the barbarians from suddenly coming to attack, so there are not too many people to escort food and grass, and we can only send 500 people. In this way, in order to be guaranteed, we must send competent people to lead the team. Although you are young, you are not small. Someone and Governor Liu agree with the heavy grain and fodder that you will escort this time. Lou Guanhai said and stared at Xu Jinghong: "Would you like to go?"

"As a general of the Song Dynasty, I ate the food of the court and took the money of the court. Since it is the above meaning, there is no reason to refuse." Xu Jinghong replied without hesitation. He knew that this was also a good opportunity to go further. As long as the grain and grass were safely transported to Dingxi City, this credit would naturally be indispensable.

"Okay, Team Xu, you can think so. You are really a good man in my Yunzhou army!" Lou Guanhai sincerely praised and patted him on the shoulder. Obviously, Lou Guanhai was very satisfied with Xu Jinghong's attitude.

"But there are still some conditions for the humble position, and I hope they can all agree."

"You said that as long as it is a reasonable requirement, it will meet you uniformly." Lou Guanhai waved his big hand and said happily.

"First, I hope that the deployment of personnel will be determined by myself. Because only 500 people can be selected to escort food and fodder, these people must be elite enough, so that even if we really meet barbarians, we have the power to fight!"

"According to you, as long as you are a soldier under my Xuanzi camp, any one can be called by you. However, there can't be more than 500 people..."

"I only need 500 people!" Xu Jinghong nodded and said, "Second, humble positions need the best armor and weapons. To ask the brothers to venture out of the city to send food, we must ensure that they have the strength to fight. These armor and weapons cannot be sloppy.

"This is also up to you. There are still many unused weapons in my Xuanzi camp. You can choose from them."

"This third point may make Lord Dutong a little embarrassed. I want you to give half of the silver money owed to the soldiers! Since we want everyone to take this risk, we must encourage morale. The soldiers' money has always been in arrears, and it is always a concern for them. If they go outside and still think about it when they meet the barbarians, they can't exert their strength.

"This..." Lou Guanhai was not as happy as the first two when he heard this condition. Instead, he was a little embarrassed: "This money can be allocated, but this matter is too extensive, and I'm afraid it will cause the dissatisfaction of others."

"Your Excellency, the soldiers have worked hard and risked their lives to fight for that little military payment. If you can't even meet this minimum requirement, please forgive your humble position for being powerless. Even if I really take them out, I'm afraid that if I go outside, they will do something unfavorable to the army, and it will be too late to regret it. Xu Jinghong quickly tried to persuade.

After thinking about it for a while, Lou Guanhai nodded and said, "Okay, let's do as you treat me." However, this paid silver can only be given to them in the name of rewards, so that there is an explanation for others.

Xu Jinghong knew that this was the biggest concession of the other party, so he nodded and said, "Yes. As long as these three points can be done, the matter of escorting food and grass will be handed over to me!"

"I have given you so much convenience, but now I have to make a request." Lou Guanhai said with a serious face: "You must safely send the grain and fodder to Dingxi City. If there is a little mistake in the middle, it will be a capital crime!"

"The humble position is willing to make a military order!" Xu Jinghong is also unambiguous.

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Xiao Xu can finally intervene in this battle and ask for fire support!!!!