Xu Mu's heart sank and he kept thinking about his ideas. Of course, even if Yuan Tao really wanted to win over him, he didn't blame him.
It's just that he didn't want to touch such a big sore, lest he get covered in pus and blood.
"This round of Di people knocking on the door, if it weren't for the small boss's efforts to turn the tide, Hezhou City would have fallen long ago." Yuan Tao covered his mouth and coughed twice before speaking lightly.
These words were naturally addressed to the Marquis of Dingbei.
According to Xu Mu's guess, Li Rucheng, the Marquis of Dingbei, should be one of those wavering characters. To put it bluntly, if he really was a member of Yuan Tao, he would have smashed the wine glass with Xu Mu by now.
"Brother Yuan, please don't say this again in the future." Li Rucheng said calmly, "Everyone in the court knows that the first success in defeating Di was Zhao Qingyun, the general who conquered the north. He was only one step away from becoming a marquis."
Yuan Tao smiled slightly, without any dissatisfaction.
Everyone in Daji knew that he was once the supervisor of Daji, but they also knew that after the young emperor ascended the throne, he did not make him king according to the ancestral precepts.
In terms of status, he and Dingbeihou in front of him are indeed colleagues of the same generation.
"These words are just a joke at the banquet." Yuan Tao nodded calmly, "But the old Marquis should know that your beloved Miss Sun Xiaowan was sent back by this young master after traveling two thousand miles across the border."
Li Rucheng frowned, turned around and looked at Xu Mu again.
"I heard that you know the art of riding, but I don't know who is the master who teaches the art of war."
Turn on your computer and browse military forums.
Of course, it was impossible for Xu Mu to say that. His face was calm, and he followed Li Rucheng's words and spoke calmly.
"When I was twelve years old, I met an old fisherman on a river outside Wangzhou. I helped him mend his line, and he gave me a book on war."
"You didn't know how to read at that time!" Li Rucheng looked angry, thinking that Xu Mu was tricking him.
"It's an old album, I'll think about it while I'm reading it." Xu Mu smiled lightly.
This time, not only Li Rucheng, but also Yuan Tao looked slightly surprised. This incident was not mentioned in the news about the gathering.
"Where's the military book?" Li Rucheng said in a hurried tone.
"Si Hu has finished wiping in the toilet."
Bang.
Li Rucheng slumped down in his seat. If Yuan Tao hadn't been there, he might have started to curse.
Although I cannot believe what the little boss said, at least it is a good thought. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how a little stickman in Wangzhou City knows how to arrange troops.
.
"You two, have a drink." Yuan Tao shook his head strangely and reconciled.
Li Rucheng drank a few glasses of wine in a depressed manner and looked at Xu Mu with an increasingly unhappy look.
"Old Marquis, as I said before, this little boss is a great talent." Yuan Tao wrapped himself in a big cloak and finally interjected.
Xu Mu sat silently, knowing without guessing what Yuan Tao wanted to say next.
"Old Marquis, I dare not hide it from you. This Xu Xiaodong family has a very good relationship with me, and is equivalent to my brother-in-law."
"If you have time, you should walk around more. My younger brother is also an acquaintance with Miss Xiaowan."
Li Rucheng remained motionless. His knife-like face lifted up again, with a pair of fox-like eyes, wondering what he was thinking.
for a long time.
"It's snowing today, Brother Yuan, please take care of yourself." What Xu Mu didn't expect was that Li Rucheng changed the topic abruptly.
Since Yuan Tao was present, he couldn't say much. In fact, deep down in his heart, he didn't like this approach.
"Thanks to the old Marquis for your concern, come, you and I will drink together again."
The wind and snow were howling outside the house, but in the main hall of the Hou Mansion, a banquet was going on until dusk.
After stepping through the snow in the yard, Li Rucheng took a few guards and got on his horse. Before leaving, he turned his head again and gave Xu Mu his last two deep looks.
"Does the Marquis allow me to join the army?" Under the eaves, Xu Mu sighed for a long time.
"I can't hide it from you."
Yuan Tao covered his mouth and coughed twice, took Xu Mu's arm and walked into the main hall again.
"Everyone in the world knows that I, Yuan Tao, have no time."
After taking the old ginseng tea, Yuan Tao drank two sips comfortably, and his pale face finally showed a rare trace of rosiness.
"Master Hou, I don't want to enter the court."
"I know." Yuan Tao said with a calm face, "I heard about your great victory at the border. I almost couldn't help it. I wanted to enter the palace to fight for you, or at least make you a junior general."
"But I held back."
"I've figured it out. While you're waiting, you shouldn't be too exposed, as it will attract the wind. Besides, I also know that you don't want to enter the court."
"Then the Marquis is still like this...bringing me and the Li family girl together."
"My dear boss, do you know how many troops there are in Li Rucheng's Dingbei Camp?"
"I don't know."
"Except for those who live on free wages, I estimate there are still fifty or sixty thousand."
Xu Mu was a little surprised. He had never thought that Li Xiaowan's grandfather would be so powerful.
"Li Rucheng is sixty-seven years old this year. No matter how strong his body is, he still can't survive the old age. Three generations of single generations, and Li Shuomo is incompetent. So, don't look at his arrogant face. He wants to find a good son-in-law more anxiously than anyone else.
"
"Brother-in-law?" Xu Mu was startled.
"It should be." Yuan Tao took a breath, "This round, I just paved the bridge for you. It is your own decision whether you want to leave or not."
"But I want to say that you successfully married Li Xiaowan and went north to earn some military glory. One day Li Rucheng dies, you will be the commander-in-chief of the three armies of Dingbei Camp."
"Will Li Shuomo be willing?"
"Don't mention him. He joined the Dingbei camp a few years ago. The 20,000 regular camp was killed by 5,000 horse bandits. His armor was thrown away. His reputation was ruined."
"Then how did the Marquis know that Li Rucheng would die soon?"
"He will." Yuan Tao lowered his gaze and said three words lightly.
"The Dingbei Camp has fifty to sixty thousand, no matter which path you take in the future, it will be enough for you to fight for."
"Master Hou, what if I don't want to."
"As I said, I'll let you. But the road you have to take in the future may be very difficult."
"After getting married, my little Zhuangzi, my little maid and wife, and the more than 400 brothers from Qinglongying will all be abandoned."
"Pretty much, the Li family won't let you raise private soldiers until you gain power."
"Little boss, are you ambitious?"
"What ambition."
"An ambition like that of Xiao Haitang, to put it nicely, means changing the dynasty for the country and the people; to put it worse, it means to sit on that dragon's throne."
"Of course there are." Xu Mu looked serious, "But I am a stable person. I can't throw away the pears and peaches I earned just because I saw watermelons."
"That's right... Xiaodongjia is a wonderful person." Yuan Tao closed his eyes slightly, "Maybe he was too impatient. I should have known that Xiaodongjia is the only one with the most pride in the world."
"Don't worry, I won't be angry with you. This road is inaccessible, so just find another one."
Yuan Tao stood up again and wrapped himself tightly in his cloak. His face, which was originally red with old ginseng tea, suddenly faded away and became paler.
"Little boss, it snowed early this year. If it snowed early, more people would freeze to death. That year, I killed 123 corrupt officials, and all the stolen money I got was exchanged for warm robes.
And hot soup.”
"I just feel like I'm like the Secretary of Fire, going around putting out fires and saving people."
Xu Mu raised his head, looked at the catkin-like snowflakes outside the house, and fell into deep thought for a moment. He understood that what Yuan Tao did was just to save Daji.
After all, after Yuan Tao's death, the entire Epoch had no backbone and was bound to fall apart.