Chapter 27: Huang Zhi County Has an Invitation

  "What do you think of the Party's military?" For a moment, unable to persuade Old Master, Xu Wei decided to take a detour.

  "Although you are good at fighting, compared with our Western Army, you are still slightly inferior." Xu Taigong replied with an arrogant tone.

  "How about the Tanguts compared with the Khitans?" Xu Wei asked again.

  Xu Taigong hesitated for a moment, and had to admit: "The Khitan people have a strong nomadic nature, their soldiers are not afraid of death, and their combat effectiveness is quite high. Especially with many cavalry troops, they have been pressing us for over a hundred years." He paused at this point, "But the Song Dynasty generals are not weaklings either, after hundreds of years of battles, it's unlikely that the Khitan people have gained much advantage."

  Xu Wei nodded in agreement and then asked: "How about the Khitan people compared to the Jurchen people?"

  Does this question still need to be answered? The answer is right in front of you. The Jin army swept across Khitan, unstoppable, and by the second month, the Liao emperor was captured in Yingzhou. A hundred years' foundation was destroyed in an instant! Although the Jin returned the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, they were just empty cities. There are still ten prefectures in the hands of the Jurchen people. If a war really breaks out in the near future, these six prefectures will be easily taken by the Jin without any effort. Then, marching south, straight to the Yellow River, and after crossing the Yellow River, it is the imperial capital!

  Xu Taigong did not dare to think further, a soldier's intuition told him that once the war began, the Song army would be completely unprepared and without any defensive position to rely on, and the Jurchen iron cavalry would be unstoppable. If at this time, the Tangut people, who had deep grievances against the Great Song, were to come and strike again... On a scorching hot July day, he felt his hands and feet turn icy cold, as if he was about to go into battle for the first time in his life. Even at the most critical moment of life and death, he had never felt this way before. If Xu Wei's words were unfortunately proven true, the prosperous lands of the Central Plains would be on the brink of disaster.

  What surprised him even more was how did these Xu Wei know? Or, how did he think of it? He had lived for decades and fought all his life, but his experience was not as good as that of this young son who was not yet weak. Was it Zhang Qing's teaching again? But this idea was soon denied by himself. After the battle of Xiajin, he knew that everything was planned and implemented by Xu Wei himself. This kid has been a completely different person since he got seriously ill! He must have become mature and sensible after experiencing life and death twice.

  Thinking of this, I felt very relieved and looked up at my son and asked: "What are your plans?"

  "At present, the most urgent task is to pull up a troop. This cannot be done without your support." Xu Wei finally got to the point.

  Xu Tai Gong didn't hesitate, his son had made up his mind to do something right, and as his father, he naturally wanted to support him with all his might! He immediately expressed his stance: "You go ahead and do it, Dad will definitely support you!"

  Xu Wei didn't have time to thank him before he heard the old man ask in a puzzled tone, "Will Jin Jun really head south within a few months?"

  "October." Xu Wei's expression turned serious.

  Xu Taigong's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and he said anxiously: "I hope you're wrong, otherwise... the foundation of our great Song Dynasty for 160 years..."

  "It's up to people to make things happen." Xu Wei said this as if it was meant for Lao Yezi, but also seemed to be saying it to himself.

  In the next few days, Xu Wei was busy enough, not only taking care of the wounded militiamen but also discussing matters with Zhang Qing and Yang Yan. What made him most annoyed was that since he became a minor official, all sorts of people who were not even remotely related to him came to the Xu mansion to pay their respects. Xu Taigong was a man who liked to save face, so he set up a banquet to entertain them. Those people ate and drank but refused to leave, shouting that they wanted to follow him. At first, Xu Taigong was overjoyed, but gradually he couldn't bear the disturbance, so he gave each of them a few taels of silver to send them away.

  It's even more unbearable, people from all over the countryside see benefits, some catch two chickens, others carry a bag of dates, and come to the Xu mansion to take advantage of the autumn wind. Fortunately, although Mr. Xu was forced to retire, the court, in consideration of the old minister, especially one who had fought for the country his whole life and had outstanding military achievements, still allowed him to receive his full salary, so he wasn't drained dry by these so-called "relatives".

  On this day, the Xu family set up seven tables of banquet, and Xu Wangshi and Xu Xiuping were busy to the point of dizziness. Even the six-year-old meatball went to the kitchen to help. At this time, someone from the county government came to deliver Xu Wei's official uniform and seal. Those uncles, aunts, and relatives who had never met before swarmed in, asking the new nobleman to put on his official robes, looking very majestic. Xu Wei dealt with them for a while, saying he had official business to attend to, and escaped from home.

  Just as he was about to go find a few brothers, he saw Zhang Qing, Yang Yan, and Ma Tai hurrying over halfway. Seeing Xu Wei wearing a cyan-colored eighth-grade official robe, the three of them were stunned for a moment, then surrounded him with joy. Yang Yan reached out to touch the official robe, exclaiming: "It's really an official uniform! Look at this fabric, this workmanship, this cut - it's beautiful, just beautiful!"

  "It's even more impressive than County Magistrate Zhi!" Ma Tai also praised.

  Yang Yan rolled his eyes: "He's one grade higher than Ninth Brother, what can he do? Can't compare to Ninth Brother's good looks!"

  Zhang Qing looked at Xu Wei for a moment and said calmly: "Xu Jiu, congratulations."

  Xu Wei couldn't help but laugh bitterly, plucked the black silk from his head and held it in his hand, saying: "Less nonsense, I'm about to be annoyed to death."

  "What's going on? Those gluttons are still lingering in your house? Ma Er, let's go, take action! Damn it, they're addicted to eating! These shameless things!" Yang Yan cursed and really wanted to take action to help Xu Wei drive the people away.

  Ma Tie was startled: "Isn't this bad? Guests come and go, what kind of host chases guests away?"

  The two were arguing, when Xu Wei interrupted: "You don't need to worry about this, I have a way. I was originally going to come find you, to discuss something..." Just as he said this, suddenly two fast horses came galloping from the west of the village, and the people on the horses wore the uniforms of government officials - weren't they the yamen runners from Xiajin County? What were they doing coming to Xujiazhuang?

  The other party's horse was fast, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived. The four of them flashed to one side. However, they saw that the other party had reined in their horse not far ahead and jumped down from it. Seeing Xu Wei, they recognized him clearly and without saying a word, bowed their head and went down on one knee. Those three were initially stunned for a moment, but soon came to understand: Ninth Brother was now an imperial official, eating the salary of an official household, so naturally, when seeing a government officer, they should bow.

  "The little ones have seen Vice Magistrate Xu!" Two officials half-knelt on the ground, their hands clasped over their heads, shouting loudly.

  Xu Wei laughed and said: "Get up, it's not like we're in a government office, what's the point of doing these useless things?"

  These two men had both participated in the "manhunt operation" at Datong Casino that day, one of whom was the one who shouted loudly "Where's Xu Wei? Where is he? He was just here a moment ago!" and the other was the one who followed up with a shout of "Ah, he ran away!" When Xu Wei told this interesting story, the two men were shocked, would they not settle accounts after autumn? We didn't offend you, it was all that damned plague-ridden Liang County Magistrate!

  "Haha, Deputy Xu has a good memory." The two of them said with a smile.

  "What's up? Came all the way to find me?" Xu Wei asked.

  One of them bowed and said seriously: "By order of County Magistrate Xu, Vice Envoy Xu is requested to enter the city immediately, as there is an important matter to discuss."

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