Wu Xiang looked at Wu Sangui without much expression on his face.

Denglai's new army defeated the 100,000 Hou Jin Tatars who invaded Liaodong. They wiped out and captured 60,000 Hou Jin Tatars alive. Neither Wu Xiang nor Wu Sangui particularly believed in this result. After all, they had guarded Liaodong for many years and knew clearly about the Hou Jin Tatars.

The combat effectiveness of even those Han troops who were considered the weakest would increase exponentially once they surrendered to the Houjin Tatars.

However, Zu Dashou confirmed the news, and Zu Dashou also participated in organizing the battlefield.

Wu Xiang didn't have to trust Wu Zongrui and Denglai New Army, but he would never doubt Zu Dashou. The relationship between the two was too close.

After a period of time, Wu Xiang finally digested these shocking facts.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Wu Xiang to fall into a dilemma again.

The Liaodong Frontier Army under Zu Dashou and Jin Guofeng are undergoing training. They are receiving training from the Denglai New Army. To put it bluntly, in a short time, the Liaodong Frontier Army under Zu Dashou and Jin Guofeng will all be integrated into Denglai.

Go among the new army.

The reinforcements from various towns stationed in Jinzhou, Ningyuan and other cities were all transferred to Shanhaiguan by Wu Zongrui, bringing the Shanhaiguan garrison to more than 50,000 people, the largest scale in history.

It is said to be a good thing that Wu Xiang has such a large team under his command, but Wu Xiang knows that things are definitely not that simple.

All the military pay and food and grass needed by the Liaodong frontier army were provided by the imperial court. Every year, Liaodong consumed hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and hundreds of thousands of grain and grass from the imperial court. In comparison, Liaodong was able to obtain as much military pay and food and grass as possible from the imperial court.

, the treatment of the border troops in places such as Xuanda and Yansui is much worse.

Although the location of Liaodong is important and the Liaodong frontier army undertakes the arduous task of defending the Jin Tatars, military pay and food and grass are often not available. Once upon a time, there was also a mutiny among sergeants in Liaodong because military pay and food and grass were not available for a long time.

Later, due to the pressing pressure of the Houjin Tatars, the Guanningjin Defense Line became the key point in protecting the capital and the capital, so the imperial court attached great importance to the military pay and food and grass needed by the Liaodong frontier army.

Because of the relationship between military pay and food, the armies in various towns were willing to rush to Liaodong and stationed there for a long time.

After Denglai's new army arrived in Liaodong, these situations slowly changed.

The most critical thing is that the military salary of the sergeants of the Denglai New Army is much higher than that of the Liaodong Frontier Army.

If the military pay and food for the Denglai New Army were also allocated by the imperial court, Liaodong would have been unable to stabilize for a long time. The Liaodong border army and the sergeants guarding the towns in Liaodong would definitely make a fuss. Unfortunately, the imperial court did not allocate funds for the Denglai New Army.

One tael of silver was paid as military pay, and not a single stone of food was allocated.

To put it bluntly, the huge expenses of the Denglai New Army were all solved by Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao. As for what other people thought of solving the problem, Wu Xiang and others had no right to interfere.

The Denglai New Army's high salary and bravery in combat are enough to attract others to join it, including the sergeants of the Liaodong Frontier Army.

Therefore, Zu Dashou and Jin Guofeng both acquiesced to the behavior of the Denglai New Army in rectifying the Liaodong Frontier Army under Zu Dashou and Jin Guofeng, and Wu Xiang also felt that Zu Dashou and Jin Guofeng were not particularly angry, and even thought about entering Denglai

Among the new army, you must know that both of them are co-presidents of the Governor's Mansion and are both commander-in-chief, so their status is very high.

This must have triggered Wu Xiang’s thinking.

As one of the vassal towns in Liaodong, Wu Xiang has experienced too many things. The choices of Zu Dashou, Jin Guofeng and others are what he is most concerned about and considers the most. Among them, Wu Sangui played a role in fueling the flames.

Wu Sangui admired Wu Zongrui very much, it can be said that he worshiped him.

So far, Wu Sangui is the most promising young man of the Wu family in Liaodong. He became a guerrilla general at the age of twenty. He is a fierce warrior and can assess the situation. Given time, he will definitely achieve great things and shine in his family.

The people Wu Sangui admires and admires will never be any worse.

After careful consideration, Wu Xiang decided to express his attitude. Of course, on the basis of expressing his attitude, he would not offend the powerful officials in the court, especially some of the senior officials he had worked hard to make friends with.

The opportunity came soon. Wu Xiang received an order from the Ministry of War and dispatched the Liaodong border troops into the pass to participate in the battle to eliminate the rogue bandits.

It is not a big deal to mobilize the Liaodong Frontier Army to participate in the battle to exterminate the bandits. In the past, the emperor and the court often mobilized the Liaodong Frontier Army. For example, Cao Wenzhao was transferred from the Liaodong Frontier Army.

But Wu Xiang found clues from it. There was no copy of the edict from the Ministry of War. That is to say, Wu Xiang received only one copy of the edict from the Ministry of War. This meant that the governor's office of Jiliao did not receive the edict from the Ministry of War.

Wu Zongrui conferred the title of Crown Prince Shaobao, the right deputy censor of the Imperial Palace, and the title of Shangshu of the Ministry of War. The dignified Governor Ji Liao did not receive the edict from the Ministry of War. This is very strange.

The edict from the Ministry of War represented the wishes of the emperor and the court. To Wu Xiang, it was not much different from the emperor's imperial edict.

It is certain to dispatch sergeants to fight in the pass, but how many troops will be dispatched and how to participate in the battle is worth thinking about. If according to the wishes of the Ministry of War, Wu Sangui will lead tens of thousands of Liaodong frontier troops to Henan and obey Xiong Wencan, the governor of the five provinces.

Under his command, he went all out to wipe out the rogue bandits in Shaanxi and other places, and there was no need to report to Wu Zongrui.

But Wu Xiang would never do this. He was not willing to become someone's pawn.

After only thinking for less than an hour, Wu Xiang made a decision and rushed to Jinzhou City with the edict from the Ministry of War, making a special trip to report the matter to Wu Zongrui. No matter what Wu Zongrui's attitude was, at least he showed enough sincerity.

Of course, when you visit Wu Zongrui, you must take Wu Sangui with you.

Coincidentally, Wu Zongrui was actually in Ningyuan City, which made Wu Xiang a little regretful that he would not be able to see Zu Dashou this time.

"Uncle, when you see Mr. Wu, you must be respectful..."

Before Wu Xiang finished speaking, footsteps sounded outside the house.

The person who came in was Wu Zongrui.

Wu Xiang was stunned for a moment, and Wu Sangui stood up immediately. They never dreamed that Wu Zongrui would come to Yin Hotel in person. Logically speaking, they should be the ones to visit.

"It turns out that it's Mr. Wu who has been neglected by his subordinates. Uncle, why don't you pay homage to Mr. Wu quickly..."

When Wu Xiang clasped his fists and bowed his head in salute, Wu Sangui also quickly came over and was about to kneel down on one knee to salute.

Wu Zongrui stretched out his hand to support Wu Xiang.

"Commander Wu, you don't have to be like this. Uncle, get up too. This is the Yin Hotel, not the Governor's Mansion of Ji Liao. There aren't that many rules. I just told Luo Dianyong to arrange the banquet."

"Don't dare, I don't dare mess with the rules, I will keep your love in my heart..."

Wu Xiang answered very well and had the demeanor of a scholar, which impressed Wu Zongrui.

This was the first time he saw Wu Xiang.

Wu Xiang also had a certain reputation in the late Ming Dynasty. In the 17th year of Chongzhen, he was the admiral of the capital camp. The city was broken and captured alive by the Dashun army under Li Zicheng. Later, because Wu Sangui surrendered to Hou Jin and opened Shanhaiguan, Wu Xiang was beheaded by the Dashun army.

Wu Xiang's fighting ability is not to be praised. Compared with Wu Sangui, Wu Xiang is much worse. Especially in the Battle of Daling River City, Wu Xiang escaped alone and all the sergeants under his command were wiped out. Therefore, he was dismissed from all posts and thrown into prison.

If he hadn't gotten help from Zhongguan Gao Qiqian, he might not have been able to get ahead.

Wu Zongrui's impression of Wu Xiang was average, but he definitely looked at Wu Sangui in a different light.

After sitting down, before Wu Zongrui had time to speak, Wu Xiang took out the edict from the Ministry of War.

"Reporting to your lord, Xiaguan and Quanzi made a special trip to see you. They came for an edict from the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War asked Quanzi to lead the Liaodong border army and enter the pass to participate in the battle to exterminate the bandits. Xiaguan thought that this matter of mobilizing the Liaodong border army was still a matter of

I need to ask your Majesty for instructions, otherwise the defense forces at Shanhaiguan are weak and I will not be able to bear the burden..."

Just after Wu Xiang finished speaking, Wu Zongrui smiled and spoke.

"General Wu has received an edict from the Ministry of War. I don't know about it yet. All soldiers and horses in the world are dispatched by the Ministry of War. Since it is an edict from the Ministry of War, I can't object. General Wu said this and I can't answer it.

"

Sweat suddenly appeared on Wu Xiang's forehead, and his body trembled slightly.

"Your Excellency has misunderstood. I have absolutely no intention of doing so. I just think that all the troops in Jiliao are at your disposal. Moreover, the situation in Liaodong has been unstable for many years. Shanhaiguan is a key place and must be heavily guarded."

, that’s why I came here specifically to pay my respects to you. I really don’t know that your Excellency has not received the order from the Ministry of War..."

"Sir, my father really doesn't know that you have not received the order from the Ministry of War. Besides, the order from the Ministry of War does not specify how many troops my father is required to dispatch. That's why my father came to report and ask for your instructions..."

Wu Zongrui listened very carefully to Wu Xiang's explanation and Wu Sangui's supplement.

Wu Zongrui believed that Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui must know that Ji Liao Governor's Mansion did not know about the Ministry of War's edict, otherwise they would not have made a special trip to report it. However, there are some things that do not need to be pursued too closely.

"So that's it. It seems that I failed to understand Mr. Wu's painstaking efforts."

Wu Xiang's face improved a little, and he once again clasped his fists and bowed his head to Wu Zongrui.

"My lord, it was the lower officials' poor thinking that led to your misunderstanding."

Having said this, Wu Zongrui picked up the imperial edict from the Ministry of War on the desk and read it quickly.

Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui are both soldiers. Although they are a bit tactful, the upright style of soldiers still exists.

Wu Zongrui didn't mince words and spoke directly.

"Since you asked about this matter, I have made it clear that the defense situation in Liaodong is not optimistic. Although we defeated the 100,000 Jin Tatars who attacked Liaodong, no one knows whether Huang Taiji will counterattack, so Guan Ning

The Jin Defense Line still needs to focus on defense. As for exterminating the bandits, the troops in each town should be enough, but the Ministry of War’s edict is here. If you ignore it, it will be equivalent to resisting the decree and disrespecting it. No one can bear this crime. "

"There are 50,000 sergeants stationed in Shanhaiguan. It is not a bad idea to dispatch 10,000 troops to fight inside the pass. You can decide for yourself whether to fully mobilize the Liaodong frontier army, General Wu. You can also decide for yourself whether to let Chang Bo lead the army in the battle.
Chapter completed!