As the emperor returned from the north of the border, the order to serve the king was lifted, and hundreds of thousands of recruited troops gathered in the Taiyuan area also returned to the place, just as the wind in late autumn swept through the dead leaves, and it left clean in two days. As for whether these temporarily recruited troops will continue to be preserved or disbanded again, no one knows.

Zhang Xuan's army returned to Jianghuai in two batches. Although Yang Guang did not give them a reward immediately, they still gained a lot in this battle to serve the king. They obtained four thousand best war horses from the spoils. Pei Xingyan led 5,000 cavalry back to Jianghuai.

Zhang Xuan led a thousand infantry back to the back. In Taiyuan, Zhang Xuan asked the soldiers to rest for a day. As soon as the army was settled, Li Yuan came to visit the military camp.

This time, Zhang Xuan took Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to the north to sneak attack the Turkic logistics camp and made great contributions to rescue the emperor. The emperor also specially received him and praised him for having two good sons.

Li Yuan was very grateful to Zhang Xuan. Not only did he bring good luck to his family, but his second son also gave him an excellent experience. So as soon as he returned to Taiyuan, Li Yuan immediately rushed to visit Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan brought Li Yuan into the tent, and the two of them took a seat separately. Zhang Xuan ordered his personal soldiers to have tea.

"Since Mr. Li already has the right to lead troops, I don't know what Mr. Li has plans for the next step?"

"I plan to suppress bandits in Bingzhou area. There is a bandit in the central area of ​​Bingzhou. The bandit leader is Zhen Zhai'er. He endangers Taiyuan, Shangdang and other counties for many years. I have always wanted to wipe out him, but I have no chance. Since the emperor allowed me to lead troops this time, I plan to wipe out this bandit and stabilize the people's livelihood in the central area."

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, "I heard that the emperor appointed Wang Wei and Gao Junya as deputy generals of Mr. Li. Both of them were from guards and were not easy to deal with!"

Zhang Xuan said it was very subtle, which meant that the Emperor of Sui was not too relieved to be at ease with Li Yuan, and sent two people to monitor him. Li Yuan's face changed slightly, and he laughed dryly: "Everyone is serving the emperor, so it should be easy to get along with. The general is worried too much."

Zhang Xuan smiled, "But I have one thing. Don't you know whether to say it or not?"

"Please tell me, General, Li Yuan listens with utmost care."

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment, "Actually, I just wanted to persuade Mr. Li that the son's Jiancheng's affairs could not be delayed. Mr. Li was promoted to the command of the army this time, which may cause some conflicts among the Guanlong nobles. I am afraid that someone will be dissatisfied with Mr. Li and expose the Jiancheng's affairs. Mr. Li will be in danger."

Li Yuan's face changed drastically, and he couldn't say a word for a while. Zhang Xuan said lightly: "If Mr. Li doesn't like to listen, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Li Yuan's face changed drastically and it was not because Zhang Xuan said that the completion of the matter was completed. Zhang Xuan was originally an insider and had not talked too much for so many years. Li Yuan was relieved of him.

The reason why Li Yuan's face changed drastically was that Zhang Xuan reminded him in one sentence that the emperor promoted him to balance the internal affairs of Guanlong nobles, that is, to prevent the Dugu family from unifying the Guanlong factions. Once he became an obstacle to his uncle's unification of the Guanlong nobles, he would not threaten himself with the completion of the matter.

The more Li Yuan thought about it, the more scared he became. He felt that it was necessary to let Jiancheng come back immediately and discuss how to leave Wagang.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan was anxious and stood up to say goodbye. Zhang Xuan did not stop him and sent Li Yuan out of the camp with a smile.

Zhang Xuan returned to the big tent and happened to meet Li Jing at the entrance of the tent.

Li Jing hesitated and said, "I have something to do and want to ask my brother for help."

Since the end of the battle to attack the Turkic camp, Zhang Xuan has been trying every means to keep Li Jing. On the one hand, he handed over a large amount of military affairs to Li Jing for handling, and on the other hand, he asked Yuchi Gong to persuade Li Jing to stay. In history, Li Jing was loyal to the Sui Dynasty. He surrendered to Li Yuan because the Sui Dynasty was over.

However, because of the Wuchuan Association, Li Jing withdrew from the Sui officialdom in Mayi County early. However, Zhang Xuan felt that Li Jing actually had a very important sense of fame and fame.

The most typical thing was that he was invited by Lai Hu'er to go to Goguryeo to serve as Lai Hu'er's aide. It was only because Li Jing realized that Lai Hu'er did something stupid and his future was not guaranteed, so he did not continue to follow Lai Hu'er, but went to the Western Regions with Zhang Zhongjian. To some extent, he also tried to avoid disaster. The facts proved Li Jing's judgment that Lai Hu'er was imprisoned shortly after returning to Beijing, and was finally dismissed from office and returned home to retire.

Then the first thing Li Jing did when he came back this time was to tell himself about the Turkic logistics camp, which made Zhang Xuan realize that Li Jing chose him.

Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "Get in and sit down and talk!"

Zhang Xuan asked Li Jing to sit down and asked his personal soldiers to bring some wine and dishes. He poured Li Jing a glass of wine and said with a smile: "This time, Brother Yao succeeded in the sneak attack on the Turkic logistics camp. Senior Brother Yao is the first contribution. I have written it into the military newspaper. I believe the court will definitely reward his brother."

Li Jing smiled bitterly, "I discussed with my brother for this matter, can I hide my name in the military newspaper?"

"Why?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

Li Jing drank the wine in the glass and sighed: "Because of the Wuchuan Association, I promised Dou Qing that I would not re-enter the Sui Dynasty officialdom. It was this promise that I could escape from the Wuchuan Association."

Zhang Xuan shook his head, "I still don't understand very much."

"It is really difficult for ordinary people to understand, because I know too much about the Wuchuan Association, and so is Zhang Zhongjian. At that time, Gu Dushun meant to kill us to silence us, but with Dou Qing's guarantee, Wuchuan Association did not take action. I and Zhang Zhongjian avoid disaster to the Western Regions, and it was also for the same reason."

Zhang Xuan was secretly shocked. Could it be that the marriage to him was to avoid disaster?

He had never thought about this, but from Li Jing's words, he suddenly realized a deeper meaning.

Zhang Xuan stared at Li Jing with sharp eyes, "Brother Li knew what kind of background would Wuchuan be so scared of Wuchuan?"

Li Jing pondered for a moment, "I can't say this. I have made a swearing to Dou Qing, but the general can ask Chuchen, maybe she is willing to say it."

"Okay! I won't make things difficult for you, but I hope Brother Li can continue to stay in our army."

Zhang Xuan was not interested in the secrets of the Wuchuan Association, and only interested in Li Jing. He would keep Li Jing in his army no matter what.

Li Jing smiled and said, "Have you always wanted to return to Qingzhou County?"

Zhang Xuan's face changed slightly, and Li Jing hurriedly said: "General, don't blame Jingde for his mistake. He bit his mouth very tightly and did not reveal the general's secret. It was just me who guessed that Wei Yunqi was still in Qingzhou, and the families of tens of thousands of soldiers were still in Qingzhou. How could the general not want to go back?"

Zhang Xuan nodded, "Senior Brother Yao said it well. We all think that Qingzhou is our foundation. This is the consensus of the entire army. We want to go back to Qingzhou, which is also a fact. It's just that we want to use legal means to go back, but we never want to deliberately provoke bandits and poison the villagers of Qingzhou. If we have no choice, we will force ourselves to return to Qingzhou."

Li Jing pondered for a moment and said, "It is not realistic to force return to Qingzhou. I have a compromise that may help the general return to Qingzhou in disguise."

Although Zhang Xuan also thought of returning to Qingzhou by bribing Yu Shiji, he was not sure. After all, Qingzhou had quelled the riots and they had no reason to go back. If Li Jing could help him find another way, it would be the best.

"Please tell me clearly with Senior Brother Yao!"

Li Jing said slowly: "I once advised General Hu'er to come. He had already made great contributions to defeating Goguryeo. I advised him to seize the Liaodong Peninsula and occupy Beishe City to support his troops. But he did not adopt my suggestion and returned to Luoyang. As expected, he was imprisoned as soon as he entered the city. Why didn't the general consider Beishe City?"

Beishe City is the Dalian area in later generations, facing the Bohai Strait from the Shandong Peninsula. Zhang Xuan once considered that his troops and sea ships were insufficient, so he could only put it aside for the time being. In fact, Zhang Xuan's capture of the East China Island was similar to Li Jing's plan.

Li Jing smiled and continued, "If the general thinks it is inappropriate to seize the Beishe City, then the second strategy can be adopted. I heard from Yang Sima that Donglai County is sparsely populated, and most of the population is concentrated in Ye County. There is only one county in the west of Donglai County, almost an empty county. The two counties in Guanyang and Changyang in the central area are also very small. Why don't the general directly stationed in Wendeng County?"

Zhang Xuan paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back. Li Jing's words had already touched him, but he felt that the second plan was still a little worse.

At this time, Li Jing continued: "I have a third strategy. This time, the world is responsible for the king. As a result, all counties have recruited troops. Then it is not surprising that the army will appear in Beihai, Donglai and Gaomi. As long as the general is still in Jianghuai in name, I think the court will not be able to pursue the source of the Beihai County army."

Zhang Xuan nodded slowly. Beihai County was still under his control. It was completely understandable that a county soldier appeared in Beihai County. At this time, he actually felt a sudden enlightenment.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a long time and said, "I can adopt Senior Brother Yao's third strategy. I hope Senior Brother Yao will stay and help me!"
Chapter completed!