Chapter 36: Back-up

Seeing dozens of people rushing around, Guo Zhang, who acted as the commander of the guard, whispered: "Marson, there are many people. If something goes wrong later, I'm afraid there will be danger in chaos."

It was not impossible for them to protect Zhang Mai to fight in and out of dozens of people, but there was no need. Zhang Mai nodded and said, "Let's go."

Guo Zhang shouted, and his mount ran over from more than ten steps away, all of which were sweat-blooded horses. The merchant Zanji had very good eyesight and was shocked when he saw it. Zhang Mai and others rode their horses on them, and they were extremely agile. Zanji was even more shocked and said to himself: "This... are these people thieves?"

Zhang Mai and others had already walked far away. After entering the city, he suddenly remembered something and said to Guo Zhang: "Although what happened just now was a trivial matter, since we heard it, we have to make sense. Go back and find the group of merchants and tell the merchant the conspiracy of the two slaves. I don't want such a bad thing to happen under the rule of the Tang Dynasty."

Guo Zhang agreed. On the second day, Guo Wei entered the mansion. Zhang Mai called him to approach him, looked at him again, and asked, "Why did you think of Chebing?"

Guo Wei said: "One day when I entered the city, I was blocked by a car that fell on the side of the road, so I had an idea of ​​this."

Zhang Mai said: "I'm not asking this, what I'm asking is, where do you want to build a chariot soldier to deal with whom?"

Seeing Zhang Mai ask this, Guo Wei probably had guessed his thoughts, so he said directly: "There is nothing in the east now. Our enemy is naturally the Uighurs and Khitans in the west. As for the battlefield, it should be in Beiting."

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "You are indeed a person with a lot of knowledge. With your grade, the information you have come into contact with is very limited. You can actually think of these things. This ability to see the small is even more rare." He patted his shoulder and said, "But you are training the chariots in the suburbs and easily leaked the news. Now that Satuk has learned his lesson, it is difficult to guarantee that you will not send me some detailed lessons to find out the news. After you go back, let your militia disperse and then enter the Guzang grassland in batches. I will also allocate additional personnel and funds to you. In the future, you, Guo Shiyong, Xi Sheng, and Shi Ba will cooperate to practice. I will often go to see the progress."

Guo Wei yelled and said, "So the Marshal said that yesterday was for the purpose of keeping the secret?" Zhang Mai smiled. Seeing that Zhang Mai didn't use the car formation, Guo Wei let himself work with the three generals Guo, Xi and Shi work together for the sake of keeping the secret. He was even more imaginable. He was overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down and said, "Guo Wei, who is Fanglai and the position of deputy commander, is so valued by the Marshal. He should be loyal to the Marshal in this life, and he will be broken to pieces!"

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "The career of Tiance's Tang Dynasty belongs to everyone, not mine. I am willing to go through fire and water for this career. As long as I have the ability and the heart, I should be promoted. As for whether it is a new person and an old person, and the level of the position, hey, our Tiance Army has not yet reached the stage of seniority."

Guo Wei admired these words even more, thinking: "Although there are many kings of the Central Plains, no one can say such words." He is even more heart-to-heart, but he is a rough and simple person, and his heart is thoughtful, but his face is not revealed.

Zhang Mai said: "Your military achievements have not yet arrived, so I can't just get promoted to you. At present, I will let you be Guo Shiyong's deputy to help train soldiers with the position of assistant manager. If you have military achievements in the future, you will have your future. Go and do it well."

Guo Wei bid farewell and Ma Xiaochun said, "Marson, I remember this person seems to have just entered the country. We have to let Lu Jialing check his background."

Ma Xiaochun is not as capable as a big deal in big things, but he is as careful as a little thing and is good at remembering it.

Zhang Mai said: "Yes, but if you find out what results you only show me, you must not disclose them to the fourth person."

"Yes." Ma Xiaochun said and took out another letter and said, "General Xue from Jincheng has come to write."

When Zhang Mai opened it, it was Xue Fu's discussion about the Uighurs in the Lingxi Province. He also believed that Satuk would inevitably expand outward. Zhang Mai ordered Ma Xiaochun to reply on his behalf, briefly telling Xue Fu about the discussion and preparations of the senior military leaders.

After the letter was written, he sent it to Jincheng. Three days later, Xue Fu quickly replied to a letter, saying that Satuk had a very military strategy and was a person who had suffered losses. He was more progressive than that year. "He should also know that even if the news of the Uighurs in Lingxi was blocked, it could only be leaked slowly and could not be hidden forever. Once it was leaked, our army would be prepared. Since our army was prepared, he might not come." Xue Fu concluded that Satuk might not attack Beiting after the beginning of spring, but would launch an offensive where the Tang army had not guarded.

"There is no place to guard against?" Zhang Mai handed the letter to Li Bin and said, "Xue Fu's words are correct in principle, but we have all guard against each other, whether it is Beiting or Ningyuan. Can he still cross a thousand feet of mountains and directly attack Shule? Can't Kucha be successful? Xue Fu is afraid he is too worried."

Li Bin, Murong Guiying and others also agreed.

Zhang Mai said: "Although this is the case, if Satuk engulfs the entire clan's troops and attacks Beiting with the Khitan east and west, the threat may be greater than that of Arslan. Even though Yang Yi and Chunhua can resist, we can't always be in a situation of being beaten like this! The thorn on this vest must be pulled out."

When Murong Guiying heard this, he guessed that Zhang Mai had the intention of expedition to the West. After the meeting that day, he quietly came to see Cao Yuanzhong and said, "It seems that the marshal will be in expedition to the West sooner or later. On the way to the West, there was Yang Yi there. The fourth young master would not be able to win the first place, but the important task of leaving the West can be won. As long as he fought for the important task of leaving the West, even if he made many contributions on the road to the West, the great contribution of the fourth young master to the rear is enough to compete with the generals of the Western Expedition."

Cao Yuanzhong was secretly concerned after hearing this.

But after going out, Li Bin suddenly came back and said to Zhang Mai: "Marson, do you really want to expedition the West in person?"

"What? Is there a problem?"

Li Bin said: "This big thing cannot be handed over to the governors Guo and Yang?"

"You know it's a big deal, so how can you ignore it!" Zhang Mai said: "The situation in Beiting, in the east, the Uighurs in the west, Yang Yi's troops are already a little difficult to defend. If you want to turn defense into offense and pull out Satuk's thorn, you must do it with 100,000 troops. If you add logistics and auxiliary personnel, you have to invest more than half of the military, manpower and material resources of our Tiance Tang army. Do you think someone can replace me for such a big deal?"

Li Bin said in his heart: "There may be one or two people in our army who can do it, but if we send someone else, it will be difficult to win this battle."

You should know that since it has concentrated more than half of the national strength of the Tiance Tang army, if it is defeated in this battle, it may shake the foundation of the Tiance Tang army, but if it wins, it will be a great achievement of the country. Since the Tiance Tang army is now in the entrepreneurial stage, those who have achieved this great achievement of the country will inevitably be shocked to Zhang Mai's position, which will be extremely unfavorable to the internal stability of the Tiance Tang army. Therefore, Li Bin was worried that if he handed over this matter to others, the major on the front line would be worried about gains and losses, and the opposition factions in the rear would be more likely to be hindered from multiple sides. The Tiance army would have to deal with the Khitan and Uighur at the same time, and the military strength would not be advantageous. If there was another internal worry, how could there be a chance of victory?

But Li Bin was just thinking about it and did not say it out, but said, "But Marshal, if you are Qin Zheng, who should keep guarding Liangzhou?"

At present, there are five generals in the Tang army in Tiance: Guo Luo, Yang Yi, one in Ningyuan and the other in Beiting. It goes without saying that the remaining three Xue Fu, Guo Shiyong and Cao Yuanzhong are all in the East. In terms of combat function, Xue Fu is the strongest, and in terms of qualifications, Guo Shiyong is the deepest, and Cao Yuanzhong is the closest - the three have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Zhang Mai pondered and said, "The people who stayed behind only want nothing wrong, not merit. I think just like when I entered Shazhou and asked Guo Zheng and five others to stay in Gaochang, they would hold military affairs together with several ministers and generals."

Li Bin said: "Then there must be a order."

"During Gaochang, no one was appointed as the leader." Zhang Mai said: "If you should manage the army, you should manage the government. If there is a major event, the five people will discuss it."

Li Bin said: "It is said in theory, but at the critical moment, no key person cannot act smoothly. Take Gao Chang for example. The one who made up his mind about whether to enter the sand and how to rescue the marshal, and finally made up his mind, was not five people, but one! The snake has no head, and the government of the rulings is just good. It can be done when nothing happens. If something really happens, you still have to see the situation clearly and make the world determined. Even if you don't just call this person and let this person lead, at least you have to leave some intentions."

Zhang Mai said: "Then who do you think is suitable?"

Li Bin said: "I can't say who is suitable, but if it is General Cao Yuanzhong, I'm afraid that with his knowledge, mind and wisdom, he may not be able to cope with the complex situation in the East."

Zhang Mai laughed and said, "How could you think of him!"

Li Bin said: "General Cao is the most noble among the generals. If you are a marshal, you will always stay. It is natural for him to support the young master as his uncle. If something happens, others will not be able to fight against him. Moreover, the old army in Shazhou is spread all over Lianglan, and there are Murong Guiying and Kanglong who are good at internal disputes as their followers. When the marshal was in the past, the military camps of the old army in Shazhou would become the cornerstone of the stability of Lianglan, but once the marshal leaves, these people will definitely become a big shot."

Zhang Mai pondered: "Yuan Zhong will not betray me, and the Shazhou faction has no courage."

"I won't betray you." Li Bin said: "But I'm afraid that after they get the power, they will make some tricks. Now the Central Plains are like a firecracker leaning against the fire, which will be blown up at any time. Marshal, you are far away from the front line and cannot control it remotely. If someone here doesn't handle it well, I'm afraid the situation will be out of control!"

The current Tang army in Tiance is no longer the Anxi Tang army in Shule, when it was in remote places. A different decision may affect the whole world at any time. Every move may lead to great changes in the country and the devastation of life. Li Bin is hindering his closeness and alienation, and some words are difficult to say too clearly, but it is not easy to say this.

Zhang Mai nodded silently and said, "I understand."

After Li Bin left, Fu'an asked his personal maid to come to Zhang Mai with his child in his arms and asked why he was so busy. Zhang Mai understood what Fu'an meant. During this period, he was busy with state affairs and had no skills to gather together with his husband and children. Fu'an also heard about the affairs of Beiting. Although he missed him, he couldn't pester Zhang Mai and asked him to leave his business and have an affair. So he asked his personal maid to come with his child in his arms and wanted Zhang Mai to see his son and think about him. In fact, it was a little trick from his daughter's family.

Zhang Mai used to be no matter how upset the state affairs were, but when he saw his son, he would all disappear. At this time, he held his son and thought of Li Bin's words, but he became even more troublesome. He said to the maid: "You go back first, I will take the child to play with his sister."

He actually brought the child to Guo Fen. When Guo Fen saw him, he was stunned and said, "Why are you here? You are such a rare guest!"

Zhang Mai said angrily: "What a rare guest, I am your husband!"

Guo Fen said lightly: "It's only half."

Zhang Mai was blocked by her and was so angry that he wanted to leave. After walking out, he came back again after a few steps. Ma Xiaochun held his son and two daughters to play next door, and he fell on the bed. However, there were two beds in Guo Fen's house, one was sleeping, and in the inner room, the other was a kang, with a short short table in the middle. Zhang Mai was tilted on one side, and Guo Fen sat on the other side.

After a while, Guo Fen finally came over and asked, "Why, have you encountered a difficult situation?"

"Why do you ask this?"

Guo Fen said: "Will you come if you don't encounter any difficult things?"

Zhang Mai snorted and said, "If I don't encounter anything, I won't come? Who do you think of me?"

Seeing that he was holding it a little hard, Guo Fen's tone softened and said, "Okay, you will come to me when you encounter something difficult. Finally, I have me in my heart, and I am actually still happy."

Zhang Mai didn't expect his wife to speak warmly, but instead felt guilty and said, "I didn't deliberately neglect you these days, but Fu'an just finished giving birth..."

"Okay," Guo Fen said: "No need to say so, actually I don't know you yet? If I hadn't been so arrogant, you wouldn't have been like this. Now my sister has just given birth to a successor to you. If you go harder to go to her, I don't blame you."

Zhang Mai frowned and said, "It's okay if others say this bastard, but you should know that there is no difference between me and my daughter and my son."

Guo Fen said: "Even if there is no difference in your eyes, there is a difference in others' eyes. I know you are different from others and want to change the world repeatedly. However, it is a tradition for men to pass on the clan for thousands of years. It is like this in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, and millions of soldiers and civilians think so. This is not something you can change just by wanting to change."

Zhang Mai reached out to pass through the short gust and touched Guo Fen's belly, and said, "Or why don't you give me another son."

Guo Fen slapped his hand away and said, "Even if I can give birth to you another son, what's the use? My brother is not in Liangzhou! Even if he is in Liangzhou, he may not be able to help with his current reputation!"

Zhang Mai was stunned when he heard this and said, "You are the only one who knows me the deepest. Alas... Fen'er, I'm sorry recently."

When Guo Fen heard his sudden apology, he was stunned. After a while, he couldn't speak. He moved away from his husband's arms and cried suddenly. He cried so hard. Zhang Mailai felt that Guo Fen was stronger than men. He had never seen Guo Fen cry since he got married. He said in surprise: "What are you doing!" Guo Fen sobbed: "Recently... I'm actually very scared, do you know?"

"Afraid? Do you really think I gave birth to a son because of Fu'an, so I ignored you? A silly girl."

"No," Guo Fen said: "I am worried about my brother... I have been suspicious of him recently. Although I pretended not to hear him, I actually knew it. I was very confused and had a lot to ask someone to say, but I didn't know who to ask for. My brother, my sister-in-law, my younger brother, and my closest person are all in the distance, and there is only one person here..."

Zhang Mai said: "You have something to say, why don't you tell me?"

Guo Fen said: "Do I have a chance?"

Zhang Mai was stunned for a moment, and the room became quiet. After a stick of incense, Zhang Mai said again: "I'm sorry."

Guo Fen's tears gradually dried up, and Zhang Mai said: "Actually, now that I think about it, sometimes I really doubt whether it was right or wrong to promise to marry Fu'an. If it weren't like this, things might not be that complicated now."

Guo Fen snorted coldly and said, "If it weren't for her, who would help you have a son?"

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "You, aren't you my wife?"

Guo Fen spat at him and said, "I? I am not as beautiful as her, I always have daughters but not sons, and I don't have a good family to rely on..."

"Stop saying these angry words." Zhang Mai said, "I want to say a few sorry to you? Aluo has indeed made many mistakes in the past one or two years, but if time goes back, I will still hand over Ningyuan to him. When I left Shule's Eastern Expedition, I encountered many difficulties along the way, fighting Viaga, entering Shazhou, and attacking Diyin, especially when I was trapped in Guabei, I had doubts whether I could leave alive, but even at that time I never worried that Ningyuan would have problems. If I had changed, could I do that? But now I want to go to the western Expedition, but I don't know who to hand over Liangzhou to. Yuanzhong is actually a good person, but I know very well that he does not have the ability to carry out the strategy I left for him - both internally and externally."

Guo Fen said: "Didn't you always tell the soldiers that those who are virtuous and capable in the Tiance army are here. Since he is not capable, you should give it to someone with ability."

Zhang Mai smiled bitterly and said, "That's what we pursue, but it's not completely possible. Things in the world are not something I can do. Just like I think there is no difference between my son and daughter, I also hope that your husband will have a son, but God just pretends to be a fool. People with ability are not allowed to have enough power and a suitable identity, otherwise that ability will not be able to be exerted."

Guo Fen said: "Then what are you going to do now?"

Zhang Mai hesitated and said, "I can't think of a good idea for the time being. When the sand migrator Shi Lianglan was moved, I had the intention to consolidate the eastern front. I expected this side effect, but I thought it would be enough to dissolve it in a few years. But I didn't expect that Satuk would rise so quickly. I had a premonition that there would be a big storm on the western front soon, which might be so big that everyone would unexpectedly. Arslan was easy to deal with, but Satuk was unpredictable." He paused and said, "If it really doesn't work, I will take Yuanzhong to the battle at that time."

Guo Fen said: "Actually this is not good. Cao Yuanzhong has a great effect on stabilizing the situation in Hexi. The current situation in Liangzhou is not much more complicated than Shule in the past. Cao Yuanzhong's people are simpler. It is better to have him as the head of the Hexi lineage than to let those who have bad intentions do it. As long as you can arrange the chess pieces and form a balance, that is. Humph, I actually have an idea."

"What's the idea?"
Chapter completed!