"I know." Zhao Jiu leaned sideways and held his forehead with his hand. "The Imperial Camp Cavalry was formed hastily, and its origins are mixed. Although he is the commander-in-chief and the governor, the deputy commander-in-chief Li Shifu has made great contributions. The loyalty and bravery of his father and son are well known to the world, but he was relegated to the position of deputy commander-in-chief due to his age and background... What's more terrible is that the number of Tangut light cavalry he led almost accounted for half of the cavalry. In other words, in terms of battlefield experience, Tangut light cavalry is also slightly better than the newly formed heavy cavalry... The remaining half of the newly formed heavy cavalry was divided into two, and there is also Liu Qi with the Tibetan cavalry and Xihe Army who accounted for half of the country... It is ridiculous to say that these people do not listen to Qu Duan's command, but it is actually unlikely that Qu Duan can properly subdue them... And those direct descendants he relies on, such as the Zhang brothers, and Xiahou Yuan and others, if they have the intention to make contributions, how can he withstand it? Therefore, he can only bite the bullet and take my whip to give an explanation to his confidants."

Let’s talk about what kind of person Wu Da is?

This man was probably the most tactful among the generals, but that didn't mean he didn't have the determination and courage, otherwise he wouldn't have gritted his teeth and tied up Qu Duan and handed him over to Hu Yin and Wan Qi Xie. Or maybe he was so tactful later because he had been ordered to tie up his superior once, so he was not willing to show his sharp side easily.

However, these are all old stories. The relationship between Wu Da and Emperor Zhao is actually very interesting... Compared with Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Zhang Rong, Yue Fei, and even Qu Duan, Wu Da, as one of the chief commanders of the imperial camp, has always lacked some distinctive "good stories" with Emperor Zhao.

That's right, those things like rebelling at night and breaking into the camp, and being whipped in public.

Wu Da himself was recommended by Hu Yin to replace Qu Duan, and he rose to become a general. Then he maintained his status with his talent and ability to deal with people. Finally, he shined in Yaoshan and became known to the world as a general... There was a lack of personal ties between him and Emperor Zhao.

In a sense, Wu Da also wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with the officials and establish some personal relationships. He was not just being smooth and polite with his colleagues.

Therefore, when Emperor Zhao finished his long and rambling speech, the commander of the imperial camp's rear army immediately realized that this was an opportunity... He believed that the other generals and ministers must be as keenly aware of Emperor Zhao's pre-war tension and suspicion as he was, because this was indeed normal and difficult to hide from those shrewd generals and ministers, or even the close ministers.

But it was obvious that arriving at the right time was better than arriving early, and only Wu Da encountered the opportunity for the official to try to confide in him.

"So that the emperor knows, I heard about Qu Dutong being whipped on the way."

Wu Da was thinking about it, and he didn't delay to answer the Emperor Zhao's question. "But in my opinion, everyone has their own difficulties and ideas. Qu Dutong was being controlled by his subordinates, so he might as well take advantage of the situation and test the waters. But what's the harm? Who doesn't have their own little thoughts? Who dares to say that they are selfless?"

Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned.

"For example, the Prince of Han, he is the best warrior in this dynasty. He is fighting for merit now, just to keep his position as the first in merit. Maybe he wants to fight comfortably, so Hezhong Prefecture made a great effort, but he really doesn't care about his subordinates." Wu Jie seemed not to see the strange look of Emperor Zhao, and talked directly. "But like Li Jiedu, he fought for merit at Tieling Pass before, firstly, he worked hard in Shanzhou for eight years, which was really aggrieved, and secondly, because most of his troops were from Shanluo, and the army was mixed, he wanted to clear the name for his subordinates... As for Ma Zongguan, Ma Zongguan seemed not to fight, and he couldn't fight, but that was because he didn't want to fight for his own merit, but all depended on whether his subordinates could get results after this battle, so he didn't fight for his subordinates."

At this point, Wu Jie saw that Emperor Zhao had no intention of stopping him, so he continued to talk: "However, even these three, as well as General Qu, although they all wanted to gain merit and reputation, when they met the Emperor, they were able to stop and restrain their thoughts, and instead obey orders. Even if they have some selfish motives, what's the harm?"

"Wu Qing." Zhao Jiu finally laughed. "You are trying to comfort me in a roundabout way, saying that I am just like the other four. Although I am also worried about the outcome of the battle and have some anxiety and doubt, I have never done anything out of control. So even if I have some thoughts, what's the harm... right or wrong?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Wu Jie stood up and bowed his head. At this time, the steam from the bowl of soup in front of him was no longer hot.

"Thank you, Mr. Wu." Zhao Jiu shook his head, smiling. "But Mr. Wu, I am really different from them..."

Wu Jie didn't know what he was thinking, but his face was solemn: "I know the difficulties of the emperor, which are a million times more troublesome than those of us ministers... The overall situation of the world, north and south, east and west, all aspects are under the emperor's consideration, while we ministers only need to take care of the present, how can it be the same thing?"

"Logistics are consuming too fast." Zhao Jiu shook his head more and more. "Armor and routine military supplies are sufficient, but for food, horses, and clothing, the court actually prepared roughly according to the annual consumption of 300,000 soldiers and 500,000 civilians, but there are too many variables... The consumption of civilians is much more than expected, and there are suddenly more than 100,000 refugees in Hebei, and Yue Pengju suddenly wants to set up a large camp of dozens of miles in Daming Prefecture, all of which require logistics like water... It's the same in Hedong. In addition to the original number, there are only tens of thousands more people, but the consumption in front and behind has doubled, and Ma Kuo's troops are more than expected. In addition, you come here this time, and there are Dangxiang people, Khitan people, and Mongolian reinforcements behind you, and we have to provide money and food for them. I don't know if we can stop them from taking advantage of the situation to plunder the place... It's really too difficult, and I am really worried."

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