Zhou Chuanli added, "Commander Cao has been busy with official duties and has been negligent in his duties. I apologize to Lord Zong on behalf of Commander Cao!"
Zong Ze said, "Since it is due to busy official duties, what crime is there? It is all to share the Emperor's burdens and to protect the people of our Great Song Dynasty!"
"Lord Zong is a man of great wisdom and righteousness; I am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"
Not wanting to hear Zhou Chuanli continue his flattery, Zong Ze asked Yue Fei, "How about Dali?"
"We are willing to send five thousand armored soldiers!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chuanli's heart sank again. They were only willing to give him five thousand armored soldiers? How could they possibly fight like that!
But then Zong Ze said, "Good! Five thousand armored soldiers are enough!"
At this moment, Zhang Heng, the prefect of Qinzhou, came to the military camp to request an audience.
A messenger arrived with the news, and Zong Ze ordered Zhang Heng to be brought in.
"Your humble servant Zhang Heng pays his respects to Lord Zong, Commander Zhou, General Zhang, and Commander Yue!"
"Prefect Zhang, there's no need for such formalities."
Zhang Heng said, "Reporting to Lord Zong, Commander Cao has led five thousand elite troops to Qinzhou and is currently inside the city."
"Cao Xingyun is here!"
"Commander Cao sent me to convey a message: a banquet will be held tonight to entertain all of you superiors!"
Zong Ze sat upright in the center of the military camp, his hair and beard all white, yet he was extremely dignified, and his voice was deep: "With a formidable enemy at hand, the banquet is cancelled. Please convey my thanks to Commander Cao. If he has time, please come here to discuss with me a strategy to repel the enemy!"
Zhou Chuanli then said, "Lord Zong, I believe we should go to Qinzhou City to meet with Commander Cao. Only when the commanders-in-chief are in sync before the battle can we defend against the enemy from afar."
Zong Ze was a straightforward person. With 100,000 troops from Jiaozhi pressing on the border, he didn't care about banquets or even meals. He only ate until he was full and spent the rest of his time thinking about military operations and making strategic plans.
He is now the Pacification Commissioner of the Southwest, in charge of the entire war in the Southwest. The task assigned by the Emperor to destroy Jiaozhi is the top priority, and everything else is done with the destruction of Jiaozhi as the priority.
Zong Ze was about to refuse when Zhang Jun quickly said, "Lord Zong, Cao Xingyun must also have a plan to repel the enemy that he wants to discuss with you in detail. However, Lord Zong is getting old and should not be overworked. Therefore, I will go to the banquet with Commander Yue."
Zong Ze nodded in agreement. Although he had a fiery temper, he was not stupid.
Otherwise, how could he have recruited heroes from all directions in just a few months while he was in Cizhou?
In Zhao Huan's words, "Don't assume that people with bad tempers have low emotional intelligence. Those who only know how to emphasize emotional intelligence all day long probably have dog shit in their heads!"
Truly outstanding people don't spend all their time trying to improve their emotional intelligence; they simply use their principles to figure out how to accomplish something!
Right now, Cao Xingyun is clearly dissatisfied with him as the Southwest Pacification Commissioner. Otherwise, after Zong Ze arrived in the Southwest, how could Cao Xingyun, as the Southwest Military Commissioner and the highest-ranking official, not come to welcome him in person?
Zong Ze's decision to have Cao Xingyun personally greet him was not out of arrogance, but because the military commissioner was in charge of military and civil affairs along the route, and many things needed to be learned from Cao Xingyun first.
What was most important to Zong Ze when he first arrived in Southwest China?
Enemy situation! Our own military situation! Both are of utmost importance!
As the Southwest Pacification Commissioner, a high-ranking official of the imperial court, he naturally had to cooperate with the Pacification Commissioner appointed by the court as soon as possible!
Zong Ze, as the Pacification Commissioner, held a position even higher than Cao Xingyun's. For the commander-in-chief of the entire army to leave the camp and attend a banquet with a formidable enemy at hand, was truly bizarre.
Zhang Jun had a rough idea of the reason behind this, and immediately suggested that he and Yue Fei go to see him.
As the future military commissioner of Jiaozhi, he was of the same rank as Cao Xingyun in terms of title. Yue Fei was the emperor's trusted general and brother-in-law, which was already enough to give Cao Xingyun face.
After agreeing, Zhou Chuanli breathed a sigh of relief.
That evening, Yue Fei led a thousand new soldiers, along with Zhang Jun, and entered Qinzhou City under the guidance of Zhou Chuanli and Zhang Heng.
Qinzhou City was now under full martial law, and the city's garrison was on high alert.
After entering the city, although it was already night, the streets were bustling with people.
Yue Fei could also see militiamen training on the streets.
In fact, several captains of the new army were sent to Qinzhou City to help the militia and local troops with their training.
The city of Qinzhou seemed to be in a state of complete mobilization.
At the front, the officials of the Imperial Propaganda Department were still working hard to promote the slogans of protecting the country and serving the court, and a group of passionate young people were shouting along with them, their voices shaking the heavens and the earth.
When people saw the new army entering the city, they all shouted with excitement.
Having long heard of Yue Pengju's illustrious reputation, his southward campaign to quell the rebellion and his repeated defeats of hundreds of thousands of rebel troops, how could I not be excited to finally meet him in person?
The new soldiers were dressed in bright infantry armor, carrying bows and arrows, crossbows, daggers, and horse-slaying swords at their waists. Every one of them had a very cold expression on his face.
After entering the city, they marched in unison, forming a square formation.
Everyone takes the same size steps and lifts their feet the same height.
Every step you take makes a sound, without any extraneous noise!
Their movements were as precise as a tailor measuring with a ruler!
The new army was so impressive that it stunned everyone who came in!
So this is how the military can be!
Those onlookers had seen the Imperial Guards of the Song Dynasty before. Compared to the army before them, the Imperial Guards under Cao Xingyun were nothing more than thugs and hooligans.
This is what an army should be like!
According to the elders, more than a hundred years ago, the imperial guards of the Song Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Taizu were invincible.
But more than a hundred years have passed, and the Song Dynasty has forgotten what the Imperial Guards looked like more than a hundred years ago.
But today, people can't help but sigh from the bottom of their hearts: It must be just like that!
At this time, there were 5,000 imperial guards in Qinzhou City.
Some of the five thousand imperial guards had been waiting here for a long time.
Hearing that the famous Yue Fei was coming, and that he had routed the Southern Imperial Guards, these people naturally wanted to bring their own people to "watch closely."
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