In the pear blossom courtyard, in the middle hall, the fragrance of cloud tea is floating in the air.

Seven or eight men and women sat down in this spacious hall, drinking tea while giving advice to Wu Haogu, who was framed by traitors.

These people, whether they are the brothers and sisters of the Pan family from a family, or Zhou Dong, the number one leader of the forbidden army, or He Dazhuo, the number one lawyer in Kaifeng Mansion, or the Manichaean saint Mo Niangzi, or Su Dalang, the great treasurer of the Republican Bank, actually have two common identities - businessmen and citizens.

Their main income comes from industry and commerce - Zhou Tong's Imperial Boxing Gym is also a business, and He Tianran's litigator also serves the commercial sector of the Republican Bank, not to mention others.

In addition, they were all born or raised in big cities with a strong business atmosphere. Since I was a child, I have heard and witnessed the busy business activities of the city.

Therefore, they had little interest in the war that took place in the backwoods of the Northwest. Their businessman's mindset limits their gaze - businessmen are mercenary and short-sighted! In their opinion, the matter of opening up territory also has to be talked about.

It is not uncommon to start a war in the northwest, lose tens of millions of military expenses in a single battle, and kill tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers. How interesting can it be to exchange such a big loss for a few states and counties that have to be paid backwards to maintain it?

In order to have fun on the map, wouldn't it be the same to go to the overseas circle islands?

Of course, because Wu Haogu is also a short-sighted businessman, he has the same opinion. In order to destroy Liao in Pingxia, the Great Song Dynasty spent hundreds of millions, and hundreds of thousands of people died may not be successful. A tenth of the cost was spent on the sea, and the greater American state was circled.

The territory of Greater America seems to be so large than a few broken states along the Wuding River, right? And the potential for development seems to be a little bigger, right?

The main thing is that the Indians are not as good as the Western thieves...... It is said that they were all primitive people in the Stone Age, and they hadn't even invented the wheel yet! With a few hundred people, you can make a good situation.

However, Wu Haogu is not an official of the Great Song Dynasty, not even the prime minister, and now the official Zhao Ji and the prime minister Cai Jing want to throw money to the northwest battlefield to play him, what can he do?

Since there is no way to stop it, we can only find a way to get involved and see if we can get some oil and water!

Wu Haogu took a sip of Yunwu tea, and then coughed, and everyone who was discussing it suddenly quieted down.

"The Northwest is a must-go...... If I don't go, the two elites won't be able to fight anymore. The food of the king, the matter of loyalty! So I'm planning to go now, maybe I can really take down a few states. ”

Zhou Tong nodded, and said with some emotion: "That's right, Yuanfeng's four-year five-way summer battle was also good at the beginning. The west road took Lanzhou, and the east road took Mizhi Village, Shizhou, Xiazhou, Yinzhou, Youzhou and other places along the Wuding River. If the troops are withdrawn at this point, the area around the Wuding River and Hengshan will be consolidated. How is it not an unprecedented victory? If we could build more castles in Shi, Xia, Yin, and Youzhuzhou, deploy troops in Tuntian, and accumulate food, the western thieves would have perished long ago.

It's a pity that the imperial court wanted to break through Lingxia in one fell swoop, waved the army under the fortified city of Lingzhou, and besieged it for 18 days. And the western thieves released the water of the Yellow River canal to flood our army's camp, and sent elite soldiers to cut off our grain route. As a result, many soldiers and civilians starved to death, and they were unable to fight anymore, so they had to retreat from the army.

In the fifth year of Yuanfeng, he fought the battle of Yongle City, Xu Xi used troops rashly, built Yongle City by mistake, and commanded indiscriminately, so that the whole army was annihilated, making Shizhou, Xiazhou, Yinzhou, Youzhou and other places undefendable.

However, after the second battle, most of the cities on both sides of the Wuding River were ruined, and the people were also displaced. The Hengshan area was captured by our dynasty a few years ago, which weakened the armies of the Western Thieves and the Left Wing. Therefore, the seizure of the states on the banks of the Wuding River is entirely possible. ”

He was the only one among several people who knew about military affairs, and he also participated in the Five-Way Summer Battle of the Shenzong Dynasty in his early years, but he didn't get any credit, and his rank was not high. However, he served as the head of the military case in front of the palace for a long time, and mixed with a group of generals all day long, so he naturally often talked about the lessons of the battle of Yuanfeng Wulu Xia and Yongle City, so he was more familiar with the situation in the northwest - these two battles were attended by Kaifeng generals or chamberlains. Among them, Gao Zunyu, who was defeated in Lingzhou, and Gao Yongheng, who died in Yongle City, were all from the Gao family.

Wu Haogu nodded lightly, and a happy color appeared on his face. This time, Zhao Ji's requirements are not high, he just wants the Wuding River Basin, and he should be able to win.

Zhou Tong glanced at Wu Haogu twice, and then raised his fingers again: "But it's not easy for Xuanzan to achieve great success." After all, there are only 5,000 elite people in the two straights, and after the consumption of successive battles, I am afraid that there are less than 4,000 people who can fight. Although they are all elites, they are really a little less used in the battle against the Western Thieves.

And there are elite soldiers who are about the same as the two elites, and there are also those on the side of the Western Thieves. It was their Iron Harriers and garrisons, totaling twenty-eight thousand. In addition, there are 5,000 proton troops, and their combat power is also good. A total of 32,000 elites, this is the real capital of the West Thief.

Of course, there are also elite soldiers on the side of the Western Army, and the elite forbidden troops from all walks of life and the utility soldiers of each general are combined, there are about 60,000 people, which is twice as much as the elite of the Western Thieves. However, the cavalry is not as good as the western thief, and it is a bit ...... when used Therefore, Xuanzan must be prepared to fight with the elite of the Western Thieves alone, this is the most important! ”

If you are a layman, you will definitely think that there are millions of people fighting in a group when you see the records of the battle between the Great Song Dynasty and the Western Xia. In fact, there are not so many elite soldiers, most of them are transport auxiliaries or the presence of soy sauce. The people who can really fight, there are more than 30,000 people on the Western Xia side, 60,000 on the Song army's side, and about 70,000 if you count the two elites.

In other words, the elite of the Song army was twice as large as that of Western Xia. Therefore, the performance of both sides on the battlefield is that Western Xia has been pressed and beaten by the Great Song Dynasty for so many years. However, because the Song army did not have an overwhelming advantage, and the logistics were relatively difficult, the command was another terrible mess. So to the end of history, the Western Xia was not destroyed by the Song Dynasty.

"Then hire more utility!" Wu Haogu raised his eyes and said, "The official family has already allowed me to raise one or two thousand people for myself." ”

"Then raise 2,000 people!" Pan Xiao'an said, "More people is better than fewer people...... You're not bad for money anyway. ”

Pan Qiaolian said with red eyes: "Da Lang, there is money in the inner account room, and millions of dollars have been saved in cash alone, so let's use it to hire warriors." ”

There are two sources of money in the internal account room, one is the dividend income of the Republic Bank over the years; The second is the income from the investment and operation of the dowry brought by Pan Qiaolian, especially the land in the north of Kaifeng Prefecture, which made a lot of money after development.

"The money from the inner account room should be invested in the land of Xicheng and the real estate project of Lao Guozixue," Wu Haogu said to Su Dalang, "The official family is going to take out a piece of land from Xicheng, which is now the Qionglin Palace Repair Office, to build a house and reward it to the two elites, and use the land of Lao Guozixue to offset the construction costs." We can build some 'Shikumen' houses on the land of Guozixue, and they should be able to sell for a good price." Because Guozijian Primary School will soon be expanded into a academy that teaches the six arts......"

"Da Lang, it's all this time, why are you still thinking about making money?" Pan Qiaolian interrupted Wu Haogu's words, and said in a complaining tone, "If a person has three longs and two shorts, what is the use of the slave family having more money?" ”

"Mrs. Pan, don't say such frustrating words." Mo Niangzi sat next to Pan Qiaolian, and hurriedly explained her, "Da Langji people have their own natural appearance, and they will definitely be able to win this way, and they will succeed immediately, but the people who are effective still need to be hired a little." ”

Su Dalang shook his head and said, "But where should the effective people who can fight go to hire them in a hurry?" ”

Zhou Tong reminded: "There is no urgency in hiring utility, if you have money, you are afraid that no one will come?" If you want tens of thousands of people, it may be useless to spend money, but 2,000 people will not worry. But there is no need to rush to make a move, let's wait for Mr. Murong to arrive before making plans, anyway, it won't be bad for a few days.

In addition, in three months, it will be time for the Imperial Court to practice martial arts, and this time another 2,000 warriors can always be selected, which should be able to catch up with the battle next spring. ”

"Why are there only 2,000 people?" Wu Haogu asked, "Didn't 4,000 people be elected at the beginning of this year?" ”

Zhou Tong shook his head and said: "There is only such a good hand in the forbidden army, where can 4,000 people be selected every year?" Moreover, this year's war in the northwest, of course, the generals of the Western Army have to hold the strong men in their hands. ”

"I see." Wu Haogu thought for a while, "Mr. Murong will not be able to reach Kaifeng for at least 20 days, what should we prepare for during this time?" ”

"Naturally, I'm ready to build a city!" Zhou Tong stroked his beard and said with a smile, "On the surface, there are seven states of western thieves on both sides of the Wuding River, but in fact there is not much territory. Therefore, there is not much room for detours, outflanking, and surprise attacks to fight there, and even ambushes are difficult. After all, the two sides have been fighting around such a place for decades, and every ravine has been trodden.

Therefore, fighting in the area of Hengshan and Wuding River is to build and siege cities. If you can build a city in less time than others, then you won't have to worry about not being able to make meritorious contributions. This thing should be difficult to praise, right? ”

This thing seems to be really difficult for Wu Haogu! Wu Haogu is the No. 1 real estate developer in the Great Song Dynasty, and he, a real estate developer, is still a model of development and construction. The large-scale Jiehe Commercial Market, the Tianya Commercial Town in Haizhou, the Qionglin Palace in Kaifeng Prefecture, and many other real estate construction projects are all involved in the "Republican" commercial house.

"Isn't it just building!" Pan Xiao'an stroked his palms and smiled, "We are familiar with this matter, so many houses have been built, and we will be stumped by a few earthen cities?" I will go to find Li Jiangzuo tomorrow and ask him to find a few master craftsmen. That Huang Shilang is also a good hand at building cities, so it's better to bring him with you. ”

Wu Haogu also smiled, looking confident, "I can't only build a city, but I can't attack a city!"

This time, we have a great achievement! ”