On the eighth day of the second lunar month, in the bitter cold wind, Li Mingfeng went to Xingqi City, the capital of the Great Qi State, and met his former brother Yang Siqi, the prime minister of the Great Qi State.

Under the introduction of Yang Siqi, he met with Wu Haisheng, the lord of the Great Qi State, and Yang Siqi accompanied Li Mingfeng to sweep Liu Ziwei's grave. After more than 20 years of separation, the master and apprentice said goodbye to heaven and man, Li Mingfeng cried bitterly, and he didn't know whether his choice was right or wrong. Yang Siqi set up a banquet to entertain Li Mingfeng, and the old friends who came to accompany him were Li Qing, Jiang Feiyu, Ren Qiang, Zhu Lei and others, while Zhang Tiangang, Zhao Liangtie, and the Zhou brothers (after Han Yuanshi returned to the Great Qi State, the old surname Zhou was restored) were newcomers, and the old friends and new friends gathered together and drank happily.

The capital of Daqi is in Yuanyi County, Yang Siqi renamed Yuanyi County as Xingqi City, and the five counties under its jurisdiction are called Anping City, Yongding City, Kaiyang City, Jiyuan City and Yuantong City. Li Mingfeng entered the Great Qi Kingdom from Anping City, passed through Kaiyang City to Xingqi City, and saw an endless stream of caravans along the way, the people in the city were stable, the Zheng people and the Hu people lived in harmony, and the Great Qi Kingdom showed great vitality.

Seeing the rebirth of the Great Qi Kingdom in the Western Regions, and the goal that the master had fought for all his life was gradually realized in a corner of the Western Regions, Li Mingfeng was full of emotion, raised his glass and said: "Brother Yang, I want to honor you with this glass of wine, and you have contributed to the Great Qi Kingdom today." Ming Feng is ashamed, he can't follow the master to serve the country, and I'm sorry for the master's teachings. ”

Yang Siqi said with a smile: "The country of Great Qi has today, and it is the elders and brothers who have fought to the death, and Yang is just unwilling to be left behind." I propose to pay tribute to the ancestors and brothers who died in the Great Qi Kingdom, please everyone. ”

Everyone raised their glasses and drank them all.

Yang Siqi put down his wine glass and said, "Before Master Liu died, I asked me to tell you when I could see you, everyone has their own ambitions, you choose to start a family and have children, and he doesn't blame you for staying away from fighting." After receiving the letter from you to marry a wife and have children, he was very happy, saying that he was sorry for letting you go to Pingshan Town back then, and asked us not to disturb your life. ”

Li Mingfeng's voice choked, and he said: "Master, the disciple is not filial, and he can't support you for the elderly, and I feel ashamed." ”

Li Qing had a grudge against Li Mingfeng for avoiding him for so many years, and sneered: "Brother Li has become the son-in-law of the Jiang family, and he is very rich and noble, how can he think of seeing us haha." ”

"Brother Qing, don't stab me. The little brother is not right, this glass of wine is considered a sin. Li Mingfeng said, picked up the cup and drank it all. Li Qing sighed, they were all brothers who grew up with bare butts, and they really couldn't hate it, so they picked up the cup and drank it with them.

Yang Siqi prepared dishes for Li Mingfeng and said, "Mingfeng, don't patronize and drink, and eat some food." I know a little bit about your intention this time, but today I don't talk about business, I only talk about personal friendship, and I don't get drunk. ”

The next day, the Xiangshuai Mansion was also a dinner, but there were many fewer people who came to attend, only Yang Siqi and Li Qing were accompanied, and Li Mingfeng knew that he was ready to talk about business.

After drinking two cups, Yang Siqi said: "Ming Feng, I heard that the court gave Jiang Anyi a decree to exterminate the horse thieves in the Gobi, I wondered if Da Zheng Guo was going to use troops against the Western Regions, and was about to send someone to listen carefully, but it happened that you came, it seems that Da Zheng Guo really wants to do something against the Western Regions." ”

Huazhou is located in the place where the Western Regions are advancing eastward, and all the countries in the Western Regions have set up fine works in Huazhou, and the Great Qi State and the Great Zheng State are enemies, so naturally there are many spies. Qin Cha came to Huazhou Huiye Mansion with great fanfare, and the ordinary people knew about it, and even the horse thieves knew about the news of the Gobi eradication.

Yang Siqi waved his hand to ask Li Mingfeng not to speak for now, and continued: "Mingfeng, I already said yesterday that everyone has their own ambitions, and we don't blame you for any choice you make. But if you are ordered to come and be in the middle of things, then I will explain first, you are still not our brother, can we believe you or not? ”

Li Qing said unceremoniously: "Ming Feng, you are Jiang Anyi's brother-in-law, and you were also our brother, although we are secretly in contact with Jiang Anyi now, but after all, we are enemies of the two countries, which side do you prefer?" ”

Li Mingfeng said solemnly: "Two elder brothers, I have thought about it repeatedly before coming to the Great Qi Kingdom, and the two will not help each other, but if it does not harm the Jiang family and is beneficial to the Great Qi Kingdom, the younger brother should know everything." Before coming, Mr. Zhang said that Zheng Guo's use of troops was not aimed at the Great Qi State, but was an opportunity for both sides to cooperate and benefit both sides, and the younger brother came here as a liaison to communicate with the two sides to avoid misunderstandings. ”

Li Qing was very dissatisfied with Li Mingfeng's answer, and was about to speak, but Yang Siqi preemptively said: "This is very good, when we talk about business, we will do business, and we are still brothers in private." ”

"Brother Yang, Brother Qing, I know you blame me for not talking about brotherhood, but I can really only do this." Li Mingfeng said sincerely: "Although I don't help each other, if someone else comes, it may not help the Great Qi Kingdom as much as me." Over the years, I have felt guilty for my brothers, and I also hope that I will have the opportunity to do something to comfort my teacher's soul in heaven. ”

Yang Siqi patted Li Mingfeng's shoulder and said with a smile: "Mingfeng, you can come is your heart, and you can forget Liu Shi's unfulfilled wishes, but since you are here on behalf of the Jiang family, then we will do business when we negotiate, so you don't have to feel uneasy." Ming Feng, Zheng Guo is ready to use troops in the Western Regions, how many soldiers and horses are he ready to dispatch? ”

"Emperor Zheng gave Jiang Anyi a decree, asking him to exterminate the Gobi horse thieves, seize gold and silver to enrich the treasury, and secretly ordered him to attack the countries of the Western Regions and loot supplies as appropriate", Li Mingfeng picked Mr. Zhang to explain the information he could say and said: "Emperor Zheng allowed Jiang Anyi to send 50,000 troops. ”

Li Qing sneered: "Zheng Guo is now embattled, and he still wants to fight the idea of the Western Regions, so he is not afraid of provoking fire." Just 50,000 soldiers and horses wanted to pacify the Western Regions, but the Emperor of the Zheng family dared to think that it was almost the same as sending food to the people of the Western Regions. ”

Li Mingfeng said solemnly: "Brother Qing, don't be careless. I only arrived in Huazhou a few years ago, and I don't know much about the soldiers and horses of the Anxi battalion, but I heard that Jiang Anyi spent a lot of money in the Anxi camp, and some of the soldiers and horses were the elite trained by Jiang Anyong and Shishi, and these soldiers and horses were loyal to Jiang Anyi, and the equipment was good, and they could play a big role on the battlefield. ”

Yang Siqi asked, "Ming Feng, do you know how many such soldiers and horses there are?" Have you ever seen its combat power? ”

Li Mingfeng pondered for a moment and said, "I learned from Jiang Anyong's mouth that there are about six or seven thousand such soldiers and horses, all of whom have been stationed in the Gobi and have a certain degree of adaptability to the climate and terrain of the Western Regions. As for the combat power, I haven't seen it, but when I heard Jiang Anyong talk about it, he was quite complacent, and I think it shouldn't be weak. ”

"Ming Feng, you just talked about equipment, do you know what kind of ordnance they are equipped with? Zheng Guo developed a heavy riding and chopping knife, and Jiang Anyi also developed a rotating catapult, I don't know what new inventions there are? Yang Siqi asked with interest.

Li Mingfeng shook his head and said: "Ordnance research and development is a secret of the 100 Engineering Department of the Economic Strategy Mansion, Jiang Anyi has specially set aside an area outside the West City for the use of the 100 Engineering Department, with many checkpoints, and ordinary people can't approach it at all. Even Jiang Anyong didn't know much, and rarely talked about it to me. New Year's Eve was drinking together, and I heard him inadvertently mention 'fire bomb', and then I felt like I was speechless and didn't say anything more. ”

"Fire bombs?" Yang Siqi pondered, what is it? Yang Siqi once sent people to infiltrate the 100 Engineering Department, but they were all discovered by the defense masters in the 100 Engineering Department. Yang Siqi is not good to go in person, and once he is discovered by Jiang Anyi, it will be difficult to maintain the current delicate cooperation situation.

"Do you think it's because the soldiers and horses of our Great Qi Kingdom are strong or the soldiers and horses in Huazhou are strong?" Li Qing asked.

Li Mingfeng smiled bitterly: "Brother Qing, how can I compare this, I don't know much about the soldiers and horses on both sides." However, I have seen the soldiers and horses of the Great Qi Kingdom along the way, and the equipment is similar to that of the soldiers of the Huazhou Prefecture. During the Chinese New Year, the generals of the Tun army came to pay New Year's greetings to Jiang Anyi, and I have seen the war horses they rode and the soldiers who guarded them, and they did not seem to be weak. ”

Yang Siqi said: "That is to say, the 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Great Zheng State can be used as 80,000 or even 100,000 horses, if the 100,000 army can run rampant in the Gobi, our Great Qi Kingdom can follow and eat a few pieces of meat." Jiang Anyi can use the direction of soldiers? ”

Before leaving, Mr. Zhang explained that the army is impermanent, and all kinds of changes will happen, and Jiang Anyi's initial plan is to first scare Wei Che and Ju Su, so that they do not dare to act rashly, and then concentrate his forces to deal with Rong Mi or Xiu Li. Mr. Zhang said that he didn't care what the Great Qi State did, and he could guarantee that Zheng Jun would not target the Great Qi State, but hoped that the Great Qi State could help raise some grain and grass. Li Mingfeng made Zhang Keji's intentions clear.

Yang Siqi lightly clasped his fingers on the table and thought, the Great Qi Kingdom, Tian Wei Kingdom, Shasu Kingdom, and Qianglan Kingdom are allies, Jiang Anyi has a close relationship with the Shasu Kingdom, and the other three countries will definitely send troops to echo when Zheng State sends troops, and it should not be difficult for the Great Qi State to take the opportunity to seize several cities. Yang Siqi's heart is hot, after a few years of recuperation, the national strength of the Great Qi State has soared, and it is time to expand the territory. The strength of the left neighbor Rong Mi is too strong, and he does not dare to provoke him in peacetime, so he can only compete with weak countries such as Weiche and Jusu, but Jiang Anyi led the army to come, just to fish in the muddy water and profit from it.

…………

Huangzhou Pansnake Mountain. Rao Qiangfeng and Dong Haoyun both entered the mountain, and the captured Wuqing County, Fengjie County, Nanshui County, Zhongqiao County and Tongyang County were handed over to Huang Sanben, Wang Kai, Li Zongming, Meng Zihui and Shu Yongjie respectively.

King Keming, the Duke of Shenguo, sat in Tongnan County, forty miles away from Wuqing County, and the number of soldiers and horses under his command increased to 25,000, and the Son of Heaven transferred 10,000 horses from the Sixteen Guards, and 10,000 from the Anxi Protectorate, adding together there were 25,000 regular troops, plus more than 10,000 soldiers and regiments urgently summoned by various states, a total of more than 35,000 people.

Wang Keming did not rush to suppress, but set up a military village on the road and sent troops to stifle the possibility of the Heavenly Army going west and north; The 30,000 troops of the Anxi Protectorate also drove to Xinyang County, Qianzhou, and joined the 5,000 men and horses that Zhu Yifeng had arrived before. The 30,000-strong army of the Andong Protectorate finally arrived, blocking the road from Pansnake Mountain to Dezhou, and forming a blockade of the Heavenly Army.

Just wait for the spring flowers to bloom, and the final decisive battle will come.