The afterglow of the dusk sunset is faintly spreading, and Jinling City is still very lively. The streets are full of wineries and teahouses, which are the best time to make a living. There are also many small vendors who are planning to do evening business in the open spaces. The streets are bustling with pedestrians, some are carrying loads, some are rushing to drive cars and cargoes, and many men and women stop to enjoy the scenery of the Qinhuai River. This noisy and peaceful scene often gives the illusion of being in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

At this time, Li Yuan's mansion was closed, and there were personal soldiers patrolling back and forth, which was quite like not being close to anyone. When he entered the mansion, candles were lit under the bright eaves of the pavilion, and the noise was constantly coming.

The day after tomorrow, Li Yuan specially asked Liu Jiangsheng and Xu Kuangheng to go to Beiyuan and Tianyin Mountain respectively, and invited Luo Erhu, Ebony Special Service, and the commander and generals of the Holy Guards in Beijing to the mansion. In addition to rewarding the brothers' hard work for many days, he regarded it as a rare gathering before the expedition. After all, it was unpredictable that the war was fought on the battlefield.

The three brothers first entered the backyard and chatted with Liu for half an hour, then hurried out to greet the guests. Wang Jingyao played the role of a housekeeper today. Even his younger brother Wang Jingguo also ran and led a group of maids and servants to run back and forth, running back and forth to pass the message.

Li Yuan had already changed into the imperial purple robe and sat upright in the main seat with a smile. Seeing that the time was almost done, he stood up and shouted, "Everyone!"

When everyone at the table saw Li Yuan talking, they quickly stopped the noise and looked at Li Yuan together.

"I am willing to invite you to the mansion. First, we will share friendship with you, and second, we will toast for the Western Expedition in the future! We will have a rare gathering tonight! We also ask you not to be restrained, and we must eat and drink well and return with all our fun! But don't be greedy for the cup to harm your body, otherwise you will miss the big event of going to the expedition. This is the military law of this is ruthless!"

"I thank my brother first!" Luo Erhu was the one who was most excited about the banquet. Perhaps he had been holding on for a while in Tianyin Mountain and took the lead and shouted out.

The big black man shouted, which made everyone relax and replied in unison: "Thank you, Hou Yu!"

Then, just watching Li Yuan wave his hand and signal the meal to start, Wang Jingyao hurriedly ordered the maids to start working, and in a moment they presented fine wine and delicacies.

Almost all of the people who attended the banquet today were military generals, and they were very happy. Except for a few of their own brothers, the rest were Li Yuan's subordinates. Although they were inevitably a little reluctant at the beginning, Li Yuan took the initiative to bring Luo Erhu and Liu Jiangsheng to greet each other enthusiastically. While these generals stood up to thank the gifts, they also spontaneously developed a favor to the new boss. The banquet could naturally bring people closer together, and soon the banquet turned into a sea of ​​joy, with cups intersecting, constantly accompanied by laughter and joy.

"Bang!" Suddenly a wine pot was touched on the table. Wang Jingyao hurriedly picked up the wine and then ordered the maid to wipe the pouring wine.

Li Yuan was chatting with the ebony specialist. He turned his head and looked at Wang Jingyao. Obviously, her face was still a little nervous, so he smiled and said, "Sister Yao, stop busy, sit here and have a meal together?"

Wang Jingyao smiled shyly and said, "No need, how dare you ruin Li Lang's good mood? You can continue to eat well. This is the work that our female family should do. Let's eat later!" Then he rushed to another table, checked and called the maid to go to the kitchen to urge for food.

Seeing that the Ebony Special Forces glanced at Wang Jingyao mysteriously, and nodded at Li Yuan, Li Yuan smiled helplessly and said, "Why, we Han women are still virtuous! Let's drink!"

"Haha! Yu Hou Yan is very lucky! However, my Uighur woman is also the best! Although she is a little older, her hands and feet are just as diligent, she can ride horses and shoot arrows!" Ebony Special Coach patted her chest proudly.

Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh, and then said cheerfully: "It turns out that Brother Eumu is so big! If our brothers fight Khitan in the future, what if I find a Khitan woman for you?!"

Then he pretended to be mysterious and whispered: "Don't worry, my sister-in-law will definitely not know by then!"

The Ebony Special Coach was stunned for a while and didn't reply. Then Gudong finished the wine in the glass. Perhaps it was because of the wine that he said angrily: "It's okay for a small person..."

"Haha!" Li Yuan had heard Luo Erhu mention it long ago that the ebony special agent was in Tianyin Mountain. As soon as he mentioned his wife, the seven-foot man showed fear on his face, which seemed to be true.

Then the Ebony Special Forces looked around, got up and drank for Li Yuanman, and leaned closer and said softly: "Commander, this battle will definitely be a big battle! You need Tianyin Mountain--"

Li Yuan then raised his hand to stop, shook his head and said in a deep voice: "No, the training time of Tianyin Mountain in the army is too short, and it may not play a big role. And now the time has not come, so you must not appear, otherwise it will cause a big disaster! Be sure to follow my military orders, all the soldiers will continue to train strictly, and you must not step out of Tianyin Mountain! This time, the two tigers follow me to fight, and everything will be done. Brother Eumu! As for the supply of money and grain, I have ordered Mr. Xu to arrange it in the mountains."

The Ebony Special Coach nodded and replied seriously: "Abide by the commander's order."

"Okay, don't be so reserved. Since I came here tonight tonight, I'll relax!"

At this time, Liu Jiangsheng also came over with a smile. Since he went to Beiyuan to reorganize, Li Yuan rarely met him, and directly pulled him to sit down intimately. Then he simply poured two glasses of wine.

"Jiang Sheng, you and my brother have not seen each other for many days. No matter what you want tonight, I have to have a few drinks together! If you don't say much, you will be my dearest brother. You will always be my dearest brother! I will go to the battlefield together, and I hope you and my brother will make great contributions again!"

"Brother Yuan, I am different from you, and I don't know how to say those things. I still say the same thing, Brother Yuan, I believe you." As he said that, Liu Jiangsheng punched Li Yuan in the chest.

It’s not that Li Yuan is sentimental, but when he saw Liu Jiangsheng’s sincere and honest smile, he blurred his eyes when he heard the “Brother Yuan, I believe you” that has never changed since childhood.

The deep affection in this is no longer something that can be expressed in words. The two brothers looked at each other and smiled, clinked glasses together, and drank them all in one go.

......

Late at night, the guests had already dispersed, and only the moonlight was left in the courtyard.

Li Yuan sat alone in the study, drinking tea and quenching wine while thinking quietly.

Today, through several generals of the Guards' Saint Army at the banquet, he had roughly found out the current foundation of this army and solved some doubts.

Li Jin, the top leader of the Wei Sheng Army and the commander of the army, was a Tuyuhun native. He successively served Li Siyuan of the Later Tang Dynasty and Shi Jingtang of the Later Jin Dynasty. He had to lead his troops south to rely on the Southern Tang Dynasty five years ago. Just like the way he treated those surrendered generals in the past, Emperor Li Jing was both surprised and afraid of his arrival.

First, he was appointed as the military envoy of the Wei Shengtong Army, and thus organized the army he brought into the Right Chamber of the Guard Army. Finally, he was appointed as the Jiedushi of the Zhongwu Army, intending to conquer the north, and then he was asked to conquer the right Chamber in the border Shouzhou. What's ridiculous is that the jurisdiction of the Zhongwu Army was far away in Xuzhou, the Central Plains, and it was just a false title. The so-called "conquering to conquer the north" was just an excuse to conquer him to the border of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, the army controlled by Li Jinquan was only the right wing of the Guards Army. In fact, it was still the troops he brought back from the north. The supply of money and grain was only distributed by the court, and the people's hearts were temporarily stabilized. But Li Jinquan could only bite the bullet and trapped in a corner of Shouzhou. This was also the reason why Li Yuan failed to pay homage to his so-called "boss" after taking office.

The ten troops in the left wing of the Guards, more than 20,000 people were all from Jianghuai, all stationed around Jinling. They were originally only obeyed the orders of Li Chengyu, the deputy commander of the Guards, who were also in Jinling. Li Chengyu had been transferred two months ago, and the deputy commander of the Guards was temporarily vacant. Now Li Yuan has served as Du Yuhou, which means that this army will only obey Li Yuan's orders from then on and follow Li Yuan to fight against Chu the future.

The generals of the Guards Army who were invited to the banquet tonight were naturally all the children of Jianghuai from the left wing. Li Yuan also met many acquaintances, such as Chai Kewu who was transferred from the Palace Army with Liu Jiangsheng, Fan Renyu, whom he met on the Beiyuan School field before, and many veterans who participated in the Battle of Destruction of Fujian. All the generals were considered full of talents.

But the most basic thing for an army is soldiers. When Beiyuan reorganized the imperial guards, Li Yuan saw the elite soldiers drawn by the Crane Army, and naturally saw with his own eyes that some soldiers with no discipline and dispersion were really uneven. The overall improvement of the quality of the soldiers is by no means a mere ten or half a month.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan was happy and had a faint sense of worry.
Chapter completed!