Night.

Jiaozhou, in the deputy governor's mansion, Zhang Guangzu sat in the study, and there were several books on the art of war on the table in front of him.

Zhang Guangzu is thirty-five years old, of medium stature, because of his long-term experience in the battlefield, Zhang Guangzu's face is covered with wind and frost, but this only adds a little more heroism and fortitude, adding to the mature charm of many men.

At this moment, Zhang Guangzu was seriously looking at the art of war held in one hand, his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, he looked at it for a while, and put down the book in his hand.

Outside the Deputy Governor's Mansion, next to the barracks, because Zhang Guangzu did not bring his wife here, there were basically no women in the entire mansion, and the income and expenditure were all soldiers.

At this time, most of the sergeants were resting, and only a few hundred people were on guard around the camp.

In the vice-governor's mansion, there are also several patrolling soldiers patrolling back and forth.

Listening closely, you can still hear their slight footsteps, this time in Jiaozhou, stationed in Dacheng, the imaginary plague did not spread to the army, this is a happy event, so that he has a little more control over the battle below.

The kerosene lamp swayed slightly, and the flames flickered a little dazzlingly.

Zhang Guangzu stood up, turned out from behind the desk, blew out the kerosene lamp and walked out of the study.

To the north of the room with charcoal heating, the outside air, the cold invades the skin.

Zhang Guangzu stood on the steps, put the big coat on the top, went down the steps, and came to the courtyard, the weather was cold for the past two days, but the night sky was very clear.

The sky is full of stars, swarming with a bright moon, sprinkling moonlight in the sky to the world.

Zhang Guangzu sighed a few breaths in his hand, and moved his arm joints again, and after a creaking sound, the joints that had been sitting for an hour had been moved.

It was in the courtyard that he practiced his fists and feet.

But all soldiers don't know how to punch and kick, and generals like Zhang Guangzu "don't hold a blade, they can still take the head of someone in one or two moves."

After a set of boxing exercises, someone walked in from outside the courtyard and stood waiting for him to close his momentum.

After Zhang Guangzu gathered his momentum, he turned his head to look, and saw that it was an official living in his mansion, standing there with a thick stack of scrolls in his hand.

Seeing him stand, the officer walked up a few steps and saluted: "My lord, this is the month's military account book you wanted, and you have sent all of them." "Come in with me." "It's cold outside, he's nothing, the official's body is not as strong as the general, and he will catch a cold after standing for a long time, so he went back to the study.

The officer followed.

"Put it here. "Zhang Guangzu pointed to the case".

There was a hanging towel next to the desk, Zhang Guangzu took off a piece, wiped the sweat on his forehead, turned around and sat down behind the desk, and waved his hand: "Sit too." "Thank you, sir." The account books were placed on the desk in front of Zhang Guangzu, and the official sat down on the side.

Zhang Guangzu picked up one of the books and "flipped through" the brazier in the corner of the room, and in the brazier, "the sound of coal being burned rattled."

After a while, he finished reading one of the account books, was silent for a while, and said: "This month, a lot of grain and grass in the army have been used. ”

"My lord" you also know that in the past month, the training in the army has been doubled, and in order to prevent the soldiers from collapsing, they have all had meat at once, and the flatbread is enough, and the soldiers have eaten a lot more than usual, which is also expected, and now 200,000 stone has been used. "Yes, the king once ordered that the food of the soldiers should not be discounted, and that he must take care of the food and train a strong army, so be it." Throwing the account book in his hand aside, Zhang Guangzu said.

So far, the king of Chu has not deducted grain and grass, and Zhang Guangzu is very relieved.

Zhang Guangzu looked through the other account books one after another, checked them one by one, and immediately asked the officials if they were not clear, and after more than half an hour, these things were taken care of, and the officials left with the account books, Zhang Guangzu sat behind the desk, rubbed his eyebrows, and felt a little tired.

"I hope that this recruit can be trained as soon as possible!", thinking of the 3,000 new recruits in his battalion, Zhang Guangzu sighed lightly in his heart.

However, Zhang Guangzu also knew that no matter how properly trained he was, he had never been on the battlefield, killed people, or seen blood, and the recruits would not be able to really become elite soldiers.

Although there are a few cities in Jiaozhou that can be regarded as wealthy, most of the places are very desolate, and in such an uneven population, it is not so easy to recruit new soldiers, and it is enough to recruit these people.

Looking at the night, it was already time for dinner, Zhang Guangzu also felt a little hungry, and it was almost time for dinner.

I ordered someone to warm some food for myself on the stove and brought it over, and ate it in a hurry here.

"Tell each of the patrolling soldiers to bring a bowl of broth to warm them up. When he was about to rest, Zhang Guangzu told the guards on the side.

Although he is now the third-in-command in Jiaozhou, he can be here in Jiaozhou, with a high position, except for Zhong Wendao and Du Gongzhen, he has the highest official position, but looking at the soldiers under him, Zhang Guangzu still looks at the tooth soldiers the same as before.

He has followed Ding Huchen to fight in the north and south for many years, and has been in the military camp since he was a teenager, and he has long engraved the style he learned in his bones.

On the battlefield, he did not hesitate to sacrifice the lost soldiers, but in peacetime, these are not as good as casual consumption, this is the capital to live and work in peace and contentment, make meritorious contributions, and seal his wife and son!

A person with such an awareness can naturally think about his generals all the time, not merciful, but the quality of a famous general.

After telling him to go down, Zhang Guangzu returned to the bedroom and began to undress his armor and prepare to rest.

At this time, a soldier suddenly knocked on the door to report: "My lord, there is an adult from Xiangyang, who has arrived outside the mansion and wants to see you."

Zhang Guang's ancestor was silent, and after listening quietly, he frowned: "From Xiangyang?

"Yes, the gates were already closed, but they showed the token with the hanging basket, so they hung in. ”

Zhang Guangzu put back on half of his armor, stepped out of the door, and asked, "Ask me who is here, and what is the matter?"

The soldier replied: "The person asked, the adult only showed his identity, but he actually refused to talk to him." ”

"It's okay for me to see for myself. "If it is the envoy of Xiangyang, he will not be close to a soldier, Zhang Guangzu knows this very well, and he will walk out.

When they came to the second gate, they saw a dusty man standing, guarded by several soldiers who were watching at him. Seeing him coming, the man arched his hand and smiled: "Zhang Dudu, don't come unharmed?"

This person Zhang Guangzu knew, it was a civil official who was also under the account of General Ding Huchen in the past, surnamed Yuan, when Ding Huchen was transferred back, some officials who were also promoted also followed him to Xiangyang, and the atmosphere became relaxed immediately when the two met. They were all acquaintances, and there were no polite words, Zhang Guangzu let this person into the hall, and after the guests and hosts sat down, he asked: "I heard that Brother Yuan was ordered to come here from Xiangyang just now?"

"Exactly, this is a will of the king, it is given!" Lord Yuan smiled and took out a will from his arms.

"It turns out that it's still a Qincha!" Zhang Guangzu hurriedly got up and saluted Lord Yuan, and Lord Yuan smiled and accepted it, which was a gift on behalf of Wang Hongyi.

After receiving the salute, he sent down his will.

Zhang Guangzu kowtowed again, took it with both hands, and then got up, looked over with some suspicion and asked: "I don't know what this is," "The king's secret decree is a secret decree, so that the first preparation will be abandoned a few days later, and there will be a clear decree to come down, and before that, act in secret, and do not make a noise." ”

"Got it. Zhang Guangzu nodded, immediately tore open the sealed seal, unfolded it, and his face immediately became solemn.

After reading it, he put away the secret decree and put it in his arms, Zhang Guangzu: "Please ask Brother Yuan to return to the king on your behalf, and Guangzu will definitely act according to the order." ”

After that, he asked, "Brother Yuan also notified others?"

"Brother Zhang is asking Zhong Tingshi and Du Dudu, right? They have their own people to go, and they have nothing to do with a certain family. Lord Yuan smiled.

The two gossiped a few more words, and Lord Yuan left early tomorrow morning and stayed in the deputy governor's mansion that night.

At the same time, in the Jiaozhou Thorn History Mansion. Zhong Wendao was sitting in the hall, talking to people, and it was an official who was familiar with Zhong Wendao, who also brought a secret decree. After receiving the order, Zhong Wendao's face was also solemn.

Then it was implied that he would do what he wanted.

Similarly, Du Gongzhen's capital governor's mansion also welcomed distinguished guests.

After sending off the distinguished guests, Du Gongzhen didn't call anyone else, only Du Ran and Zhu Xin.

When the two came, they happened to meet on the road, and they exchanged a few words of greeting, neither hot nor cold.

Although these two people no longer have a conflict of interest, the feud they formed in the past has gradually entered the buckle, and it is impossible to completely untie it, but it is a good result to connect and not tear the skin when they see each other, and they can cooperate without stumbling each other in case of trouble.

"The king has issued a secret decree, let me secretly mobilize the army, ready to raise troops at any time to untie the cable, and go to Yishan County, do the two of you have any ideas?" Du Gongzhen sat in the top position, his face was pale, his eyes were deep, he looked at the two people sitting down, and asked.

Du Gongzhen's nephew Du Ran's eyes lit up: "Could it be that the king has already made up his mind to attack the land of Wu Yue?"

Du Gongzhen said slowly: "The king is young and ambitious, the puppet emperor of the Wu Dynasty usurped the throne, and repeatedly made enemies with Chu, it is a matter of time before he attacks here, now there is only Wei Yue in the south, although there are heroes in the north, but it is not a problem, but the situation on the grassland is not objective, the king must have been aware of it and accelerated the speed...... ，......

When it came to the situation on the other side of the grassland, the hearts of the three people in the hall were a little heavy.

In just half a year, hundreds of tribes scattered on the grasslands took refuge, with only a few hundred and a thousand in large, and more than 40,000 households, from 85,000 to 130,000 at once.

These three people are not ordinary people, and they are a little worried when they think of the impact of the growth of the grassland power on the Central Plains.

"The king came up with a will, and he made up his mind to go south to conquer, which is an opportunity to make meritorious contributions in the new dynasty, and the marshal must make plans early!" Zhu Xin said.

Du Gong Zhen: "Yes, this matter is very important, it is necessary to prepare in advance, make it clear, the army must be pulled out immediately, if the king's affairs are delayed, this is not a matter." ”

The three of them followed their instructions and began to gather troops in Jiaozhou in the dark within a few days.

A few days later, the decree came down. Except for those who stayed behind, the Jiaozhou army began to rise one after another and rushed to Yishan County.