Before the imperial court launched the campaign to conquer the West, Chen Z and Dai Wei were just small generals, leading hundreds of men. However, in the current puppet Zhao era, they have become commanders.

As a battalion general in a war camp, promotion is not unpleasant. In the past season, if there was no backing, if you wanted to climb from the rank of battalion general to the position of camp general, you would not have to work hard for ten years, and you would not have to think about it.

And now, it's less than two years.

And this is also a helpless move for Cui Ang.

In the past few years, the imperial court's military losses have been too heavy.

Experienced armies were either lost in the war against the Liao Dynasty or in the northwest battlefield.

Moreover, there is also the question of whether it can be trusted.

Compared with the Forbidden Army officers who later surrendered, Cui Ang and his son trusted the Wu Sheng Army they brought out from Huazhou the most.

Next, there were the generals like Chen Z and Dai Wei who had been fleeing with them from Shaanxi.

After all, we have lived and died together, and we have a passionate love.

This is also the reason why the two of them somersaulted upwards after the city of Tokyo was defeated.

Chen Z and Dai Wei are just the most ordinary members of the hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops in the Central Plains of Tokyo City.

They don't serve as soldiers for some grand ideal.

To them, this is just a career.

A few years ago, joining the Fourth Army was an enviable career.

The income is high, you have face, and you have a lot of leisure time.

In the past two years, joining the Fourth Army has become a high-risk occupation.

Tens of thousands of people went to the Hebei border, but few came back.

Nearly 100,000 people went to the northwest battlefield, but less than 10% came back.

When the Liao army besieged Tokyo, there was no shortage of soldiers in Tokyo. With the young and strong, there were still hundreds of thousands of them.

It's a pity that these people are not really soldiers.

They lack the bloody spirit that a soldier should lack most.

They love life, love family, love life,

They want to live well.

Therefore, when someone took the lead, these people surrendered without hesitation.

For them, whether it is Zhao Song or the current Zhao State, it is just that a big flag has been changed on top of the city. They still serve as soldiers and eat food.

Being able to protect your family from harm in such troubled times, and being able to live peacefully and stay together as a family is better than anything else.

Don't talk to them about the righteousness of family and country, the difference between Han and Yi,

They don't understand,

I don’t want to understand either.

For them,

Regardless of the Song Dynasty or the Liao people, they are the lowest class anyway. Even if they become common people instead of soldiers, they still have to pay taxes. The Liao people are fierce, and they also have to eat! They can't live without them.

of these people.

Therefore, when they discovered that the big tree Cui Ang behind them might be broken in the coming violent storm and could no longer be relied on, they were prepared to shake the tree without any psychological burden.

Another blow to the big tree with an axe,

It has nothing to do with loyalty, just to survive for yourself.

Betrayal is only the first time and countless times.

Once you have passed this first hurdle, you will no longer feel any psychological pressure.

It is as common and easy as eating and drinking.

And there are not many such people in Tokyo today.

Does Zhao State have a small army now?

Nothing less.

Cui Ang gathered most of the surviving members of the Fourth Army, and this group alone numbered hundreds of thousands.

Then, in order to stabilize the security and stability in the ruling area, a large number of young and strong refugees were gathered and organized into the army. This was also a common practice of Zhao and Song Dynasty in the past to maintain domestic stability. Regardless of the combat effectiveness of the army, at least they would be integrated into the army.

The stabilizing factors have been temporarily resolved.

Therefore, the entire army of Zhao State now amounts to more than 300,000 people.

This is a huge burden on Zhao's finances.

It is very different from Liu Yu's Qi State and Liu Quanyi's Jin State.

Liu Yu saw the opportunity very early and surrendered very quickly. Therefore, the entire Hedong Road, which is now the so-called Qi State's jurisdiction, did not suffer much damage. He only donated a large sum of wealth to Yelumin, who presided over the attack.

Even though the place was saved, the local agriculture, industry and commerce were not greatly damaged.

The Jin State, that is, Hedong Road, has always been a prosperous area, and has always been under the control of the Liu family. Although it is now facing the eager gaze of the Western Army, it can basically survive.

The situation in Zhao State was quite different.

The Liao army acted like wolves and tigers. After destroying Tokyo, they swept through the surrounding areas. Most parts of Zhao State are now in dilapidated condition, and production and life have been greatly damaged.

The fields were left uncultivated, industry and commerce were stagnant, the population was plundered, and wealth was plundered. The wealth accumulated by the Song people over several generations was wiped out in just a few months.

Tokyo and its surrounding areas were rich in the past, but now they are miserable.

Cui Ang took over such a mess.

In order to keep the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command from rebelling and causing chaos, Cui Ang must also pay large sums of money every month.

Where does the money come from?

Money doesn't fall from the sky.

Therefore, he could only blackmail the people under his command again.

There are many places in Zhao State that can no longer be described as poor.

Cui Ang must have been in the political hall, served as a minister, and had been in charge of a feudal official. Of course, he knew that this was not a long-term solution.

Restoring production and stabilizing industry and commerce is a top priority.

I originally hoped that after this year's autumn harvest, the situation could be stabilized a little, and then the hundreds of thousands of subordinates under my command could be settled in the form of settlements.

But now, everything has to be pushed back.

The political struggle between Liao and Beijing came to an end, and Xiao Chuo's overall victory put Cui Ang in a life-or-death crisis.

Cui Ang felt bitter.

He really has no choice!

What can he do?

Choosing to become an imperialist and Lin Ping's follower was his only way out.

Even if he wanted to lick the queen's feet, she wouldn't want him.

When the news that Xiao Chuo became the Empress Dowager Chengtian and governed behind closed doors reached Tokyo, Cui Ang had already heard the tolling of the death knell.

"This news must be tightly sealed. How many days can we hide it?" Cui Ang's face was purple, and he looked as if he hadn't slept in a few days. Although he was wearing a royal robe and a purple gold crown, his whole body was...

He seemed a little stooped.

Standing opposite him was his eldest son, Cui Bo, who is now the Crown Prince of Zhao.

"Father, I'm afraid I can't hide it. They also have their own news channels. Now I'm afraid this news has spread everywhere. The key is Qu Zhen and Yelu Min in Nanyang. They will definitely publicize this news." Cui Bo looked on.

Panic, a little at a loss.

Triang sighed.

The eldest son Cui Bo is really inferior to the second son Cui Jin by more than one and a half points.

It's a pity that now the second son probably hates himself to the core!

Speaking of which, as a father, he has betrayed his second son twice.

Once, Cui Jin was disfigured and lame, and the second time, Cui Jin was directly trapped north of Hengshan and fell into the hands of Xiao Ding.

Cui Ang was a little surprised that Xiao Ding didn't kill him.

After he became the King of Zhao, Cui Jin wrote an article that was widely circulated in the world. In addition to scolding himself, he also declared that he had completely severed the relationship between father and son.

Cui Ang did write an article to fight back, but rather than scolding the unfilial son, it was more about helping Cui Jin to clear up the relationship.

In this way, no matter what his fate is in the future, the world will always be tolerant of Cui Jin.

If he really loses, the Cui family will never cut off their incense in the future.

But Cui Ang really didn't expect that the crisis would come so quickly.
To be continued...