Zhang Yu said to Di Qing: "Captain, the remnants of the party went north and surrendered Jia Kui. It's better to order Jia Kui to send the troops here, and we-"

Di Qing said in a deep voice: "Jia Kui is Han Qi's subordinate, how can he be willing to listen to my military orders?" This battle is over, so let's get ready to repay the court. ”

Zhang Yu said: "This gang of traitors escaped from Yinzhou and caused our army of 100,000 to go north, how can they be spared so easily?" This time, I won't make an example of it, I'm afraid that the party will not accept it in the future! The last battle left and right, it's better to kill someone's head and roll! ”

Di Qing shook his head: "The two armies fight, you can do anything." Since the party members have surrendered, they will naturally come according to the surrender. Don't say more, wait for Yang Sui to arrive, and go north with me to see Jia Kui. He is now a general, and he can be regarded as a court-appropriate minister. ”

Seeing Di Qing's resolute attitude, Zhang Yu didn't dare to say any more, so he stayed aside and waited for Yang Sui.

Di Qing looked at the vast desert in the north, and his heart was empty, and there was an indescribable feeling. From being transferred to Yanzhou as a commander 20 years ago, working hard all the way, and becoming a privy envoy in his forties, Di Qing is a legend in the Song army. From a pawn to a lieutenant, Di Qing was certainly not the only one, but it was rare to do so in the sixty or seventy years since the founding of the Song Dynasty and when the rule was stable.

When he was a junior officer, Di Qing fought bravely, and in the Song army, which was defeated in successive battles at that time, he repeatedly made military exploits and was also promoted by leapfrogging. It is even more rare to be a middle and senior officer, to be able to unite his subordinates, and to be loved by the generals.

With today's status, Di Qing is certainly not a person who only knows how to lead troops to fight. When he was a general in the northwest, getting the support of his subordinates and having a good relationship with his boss was the key to Di Qing's promotion to the center. In the end, the southern expedition to Pingnong Zhigao, the first battle was successful, and he reached the peak. If it weren't for Du Zhongxiao's sudden rise to strength, he would be a symbol of the Song Army, and no one would question his ability.

However, it all came to an end. When attacking Lingzhou, Di Qing still felt unconvinced and felt that he was unlucky. After entering Hengshan, there were massacres and looting in many places, and Di Qing knew that his military career was about to end in this war. Completely destroying the last remnants of the party is to let his military career have an ending, but it is not very useful. When he returned to Beijing in this battle, he could still be a high-ranking official, but it was difficult to take charge of the army again.

For 20 years, he has been holding heavy troops. Although there were no big victories except for Pingnon Zhigao, there were few defeats. In the end, it will fall to this ending, and it is inevitable that I will be disappointed. The party perished, and a new era began.

This battle is Di Qing's end to his military career, not to vent, Zhang Yu said that killing people is not necessary in Di Qing's heart. They lowered Jia Kui, which was considered luck, and left their lives behind.

Looking at the vast desert, Di Qing suddenly remembered that if he didn't be a privy envoy a few years ago, would it be different. After being a privy envoy, many things have changed, and I can't even change my style in the face of a new situation. If you are just a coach all the way now, you won't have so many ties, you can completely give up everything before and start over. At the age of fifty, I actually still have a chance.

Thinking of this, Di Qing could only smile bitterly. Why did you bring these hundreds of thousands of troops yourself? Because this army was trained by the old forbidden army of the Song Dynasty, with the characteristics of the old army. With a different manager, it is difficult to even perform himself, and it is difficult to say whether it can go so smoothly. There is also a crucial point, this army originally carried the emperor's thoughts, and Di Qing himself had been tied to this chariot, where there were so many options.

The battle process was unsatisfactory, and this idea of old bottles of new wine was abandoned, and Di Qing was just a companion.

When Yang Sui arrived, Di Qing and a group of old generals brought their own soldiers and went north to see Jia Kui.

Jia Kui was originally Di Qing's old man when he was a pawn in the Gongsheng Army, but later Di Qing was promoted faster, and Jia Kui became his subordinate. The two have known each other for more than 20 years and have a deep relationship, which is not comparable to others. And Jia Kui is thoughtful, and unlike other subordinates, he has his own ideas for everything.

After traveling for dozens of miles, he arrived at a small lake in the evening, and Jia Kui had already led people to greet him.

They saluted, and several people sat down around a campfire. The soldiers took the wine, and several people drank around the fire.

Di Qing said: "The remnants of the party have surrendered, and this battle is over." In accordance with the will of the imperial court, I will take the army back to Beijing. Yongzhou has been farewell for several years, and I have missed it very much in recent years. Before leaving, come to see each other and talk about parting. ”

Jia Kui forked his hand: "Taiwei's teachings, I have always kept them in my heart." Jia Kui can have today, thanks to the promotion of Tai Lieutenant. ”

Di Qing waved his hand: "Don't talk about that today, just gossip." Tomorrow we will leave for the capital, and we will not see each other for several years. ”

The rest of the generals were all acquaintances of Jia Kui and stepped forward to talk together.

Jia Kui instructed the soldiers to take a sheep and roast it on the fire, poured wine each, raised his glass and said: "The party is a giant and has disturbed China for decades, thanks to the Taiwei and the generals who led hundreds of thousands of troops, and they were swept away in one day!" Congratulations on this great achievement, and drink a glass of wine together! ”

After drinking the wine, Zhang Yu said: "But the last more than 10,000 party rebels were defeated in your hands." I don't know how to deal with these more than 10,000 rebels? They have been on the border of the party for a long time, and they are approaching China, and they don't know how much trouble they have done, and they cannot be spared. ”

Jia Kui said: "The party item has been extinguished, and there is no need to mention the previous things." According to what the imperial court had already decided, the generals were escorted back to the capital, and the soldiers were released home. But now that Hequ Road is the time to employ people, I need to talk to Captain Han to see how it is. ”

Zhang Yu smiled: "It's still you kind-hearted to save the lives of these people." In the recent wars, we have no prisoners of war. ”

Jia Kui smiled and didn't say anything. When Bai Yuzi surrendered, he made it clear that Di Qing's department was going to kill them all, and there was no place to surrender. So he fought with Jia Kui, rushed once, and then asked for surrender.

After gossiping for a while, the mutton on the fire was cooked, and several people drank wine and ate meat while talking about the future direction.

Di Qing said: "The Khitan is about to be reunified, and the imperial court will do something." Jia Kui is now handsome on Linfu Road, and he will inevitably participate in it, and the future is unlimited. This is a rare opportunity, and we must firmly grasp it and make more meritorious contributions. ”

Jia Kui arched his hand: "Borrow the auspicious words of Taiwei." The court has already made a decision on this matter, and I will bring my own troops to obey the order. ”

Di Qing nodded, took a sip of wine, looked at the moon in the sky, and said leisurely: "Since a few years ago, Taiwei Du led his troops to save Tanglong Town, won consecutive battles, and expanded the land for thousands of miles, and the battle has not been fought like before. After the war, the forbidden army was reorganized, and it was said that it was a military system based on the winding road of the river, and the soldiers of the forbidden army, where could it be done? When Captain Du trained in Suizhou, he selected 30,000 people from 200,000, and the rest camped in the fields. If the forbidden army is like this, where can the soldiers who have been laid off go? In the end, it only got its form, but not its god. ”

Zhang Yu said: "Why should the captain be humble. This time, the party was attacked, Lingzhou was broken, Hengshan was swept away, and the party was wiped out, and the army made a lot of achievements. ”

Di Qing said lightly: "The army of more than 200,000 people has been out of the Zhenrong army since September last year, and it took more than half a year to destroy the party, so this battle feats are just like that." Don't forget, the 30,000 soldiers and horses of Zhao Zi under the command of Taiwei Han, from Xingxing Gorge to Xingqing Mansion, more than 3,000 miles, how much time did it take to forgive Zuo and destroy the country? Although we won, this battle was really not beautiful. What will the court officials think when they see it? Baochen, after destroying the party, he will fight the Khitan, such a record is not good. ”

Zhang Yu said: "How not? Stubborn and stubborn, bravely kill the enemy, which one are we weaker than? ”

Di Qing patted Zhang Yu on the shoulder: "But now, it's not so important to be stubborn." There are guns and cannons in the army, and what is more important is that the generals should be able to organize guns and artillery, rather than bravely rushing into battle. In our army, there are too few generals who can organize guns well. When I return to the capital this time, I estimate that the generals in the army will return to the military academy and study again. If you can't really learn, you have to find a way out. ”

Speaking of this, Di Qing couldn't help but sigh: "When I went out of the Zhenrong army, I thought that the subordinate generals were already elite enough, and I didn't believe that other armies could be stronger than us." Until the attack on Lingzhou, he was still unconvinced, thinking that it was just bad luck. When the army entered Hengshan and the troops were divided, they knew where the real difference was. As soon as you divide your troops, you feel that you can't control your subordinates. After the division of troops, how the various departments fought and occupied the places felt unsatisfactory everywhere. But there's no way to take care of it. Only then did I remember why the river meandering road was arranged like that, and what was the reason. ”

Zhang Yu said: "The captain blames himself too much. The road to Hengshan is rugged, and it can only be so no matter which army comes. ”

Di Qing shook his head: "Baochen is badly right. In the military system of Hequ Road, the army is separated, there are generals who manage general affairs, there are deputies who directly report to the superior commanders, and there are commanders who fight, where can they not be controlled? Since entering the river meandering road, Du Taiwei has expanded the land for thousands of miles, when has he heard of the fact that the troops were slaughtered? But what about us? How many times did it happen? In the end, these remnants could only vote for Jia Kui. ”

Zhang Yu opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, the so-called surrender of troops to chaos, the generals above knew that it was wrong, but there was no effective means of control, so they could only acquiesce. In the last battle, Di Qing simply didn't want to be taken prisoner, and it was also a cover for his subordinates.

Di Qing is a typical old general, who relies on his own ability to fight, and he has the heart of a soldier. In the first battle of the party, there was no support for either of these things. At first, I felt panicked and desperately wanted to prove myself. In the end, I found that it didn't work, and I slowly accepted it, but now I have no thoughts.

Coming to see Jia Kui tonight, Di Qing finally understood that he was no longer suitable for the current military system, and he might not have the opportunity to lead troops in the future. Jia Kui is the highest-ranking general in his own department, and now it seems that he has the best future, so he can't help but sigh.

Zhang Yu is a fierce general, and he has never really studied in a military school, so he doesn't have deep feelings about this. Di Qing knew that if Zhang Yu couldn't change his mind quickly when he returned to the capital this time, he would only be like himself, and he would be eliminated in reality.