Duan Xu seemed to be missing something in his brain.
He Simu thought, the first transaction condition was to help him, and the second transaction condition was to call her by her real name. This little general's thinking was really outrageous.
However, He Simu has gradually gotten used to Duan Xu's eccentricity recently, so when he said this, she was only surprised for a moment before she calmed down again.
"You could have exchanged something more from me, something that could help you realize your wish, instead of wasting it like this."
Duan Xu shook his head and said firmly: "This is my wish, it's not a waste."
He Simu looked at Duan Xu for a while, as if trying to find out something from his handsome face, but he looked at her sincerely, and he almost had the words "innocent and kind" written on his forehead.
His wish was really useless and arrogant. But this young general was not her subject or subordinate, and he would be dead in a hundred years, so it would not matter to her if he yelled at her once or twice.
He Simu said: "Okay, now you owe me twice."
"I will definitely fulfill my promise when I feel better. I'll remember that." Duan Xu smiled.
But He Simu had obviously forgotten the original intention of taking off Duan Xu's pants, and Duan Xu was obviously happy to see it happen.
General Qin arrived at Shuozhou Prefecture two days later. The generals of the four armies occupying Shuozhou also gathered in the prefecture to discuss the next strategy against the enemy.
Duan Xu's injury had not yet fully healed, and he was more afraid of pain than normal people. He would gasp when He Simu touched him, and he couldn't wear heavy armor at all. But seeing that several generals were majestically dressed in armor, armed from head to toe, riding tall horses, Duan Xu would look arrogant if he didn't show up, and would look delicate if he showed up without armor.
When Duan Xu saw the postures of the generals from the gate tower, he smiled and sighed twice.
At this time, Chen Ying also asked Duan Xu with great concern: "General brother, little sister said that you cried out in pain when she changed your bandages. Are you going to fight again?"
Ever since Chen Ying was adopted as his younger brother, he has always followed him around like a little tail.
Duan Xu smiled, thinking that the reason he cried out in pain was because his little sister was too rough with him.
"The war won't start so soon, but this is also a war. I've made great achievements when I was just starting out. Except for Tabai, the other people in the army are very unfamiliar with me. Naturally, they are half curious, half want to show me off, and perhaps a little selfish to flatter me. But it's obvious that Marshal Qin and my family belong to two different parties. Promotion in the army depends more on Marshal Qin and Duke Pei. It's useless for them to flatter me."
Duan Xu's words confused Chen Ying. He looked at Duan Xu with confused eyes. Duan Xu squatted down and touched his head: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Just write it down. When you follow me back to Nandu, the human relationships and social situations are more complicated than these."
After a pause, he smiled and said, "In that case, I will show my true colors."
Wu Shengliu and Meng Wan have always been responsible for entertaining the generals when they come to Shuozhou City. Wu Shengliu is very familiar with the situation in the army, and Meng Wan is careful and polite, and no faults can be found.
On the morning when Marshal Qin and several generals arrived, Marshal Qin asked all the generals to attend the meeting to discuss the follow-up arrangements, and Duan Xu finally appeared.
When he came out of his tent, he was only wearing a casual red round-necked robe, and his hair was only tied up in a high ponytail. Shen Ying followed him and held a basket with a silver-white armor in it.
He took his armor out of the basket and put it on while strolling leisurely, lacing and knotting it leisurely, putting each part on carefully. He put it on in full view of everyone as he walked, as if he was trying on a new piece of clothing on the streets of Nandu.
He walked in front of the soldiers brought by the generals. The soldiers were completely confused and wondered what this new general was doing.
They were whispering among themselves, wondering how General Duan's armor looked so delicate and light, and they didn't know how it was made.
When he arrived in front of General Qin's camp, Duan Xu was just putting on his wristband, and then he straightened his clothes and walked into the camp. The three generals in the camp had already arrived, and they had been watching Duan Xu coming through the camp gate.
Duan Xu smiled and saluted them: "Duan Xu of the Tabai Army, hello to General Qin, hello to all the generals."
After the ceremony, he calmly fastened his hair crown, thus completing his attire, and then he walked to his seat and sat down.
The generals who had wanted to give him a warning could not help but be surprised and exchanged glances, as confused as the soldiers they had brought with them.
Shen Ying stood behind Duan Xu, turning the words Duan Xu taught him in his mind.
—The strategy to deal with the enemy is to confuse the enemy. To strike first is to gain the upper hand, to make a false move in the east and attack in the west, to create mystery. To deceive the enemy into hesitating and not making any move.
Duan Xu seemed to have noticed nothing, and said with a smile: "Duan is new here, and this is the first time I meet you generals. I hope you can give me some advice."
General Qin sat high up on the main seat in the tent. The old general, who was nearly fifty years old, had a calm expression. His eyes fell on Duan Xu indifferently, then turned away and said, "General Duan is a young talent. He resisted the 200,000 Dan army in Shuozhou City for more than two months. He even sneaked into the military camp to kill Avolzi and turned the tide of the war. I have reported this merit to the court. I think he will be rewarded soon."
He said this as if it was not him who sent Duan Xu to Shuozhou to die.
Duan Xu smiled and bowed, saying, "For the sake of the country and the people, this is the way to go. I am grateful for the general's kindness in entrusting me with important tasks, and I am fortunate to have done my best."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a sneer coming from the side.
Duan Xu glanced over and saw He Simu sitting beside him in a three-layer gown with curved hems, propping up her chin and looking at everyone in the camp nonchalantly. When she saw Duan Xu turn his head to look at her, she smiled and said, "Go on."
What she probably wanted to say was - keep performing.
He Simu transformed into a ghost that was invisible to ordinary people and came to watch the show.
Duan Xu seemed to want to laugh, but his mouth curled up halfway and then retracted, returning to his original generous and righteous appearance, and exchanged pleasantries with General Qin and the generals in the camp in a turbulent manner.
Daliang also suffered heavy losses in this battle with Danzhi. The army fighting against Fenglai in Yuzhou battlefield caused tens of thousands of casualties in Daliang. Duan Xu also lost more than a thousand people while guarding Shuozhou. The civil strife in Danzhi is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but given Daliang's current situation, it can't afford to take on too many places.
The emperor ordered General Qin to lead his troops to attack and occupy Shuozhou, and then proceed according to the situation. With the current strength of Daliang, at most they can occupy two more states, so the direction of the attack is the focus of discussion.
There are only two directions, attack Luozhou and Yunzhou to the northwest, or attack Youzhou and Yingzhou to the northeast.
He Simu listened to the generals' discussion for a while, and roughly understood that the attack direction had already been decided on Youzhou and Yingzhou. The reason was very sufficient. Youzhou and Yingzhou were strategically located. After occupying them, they would strangle the throat of Danzhi and plan for Danzhi to go to the capital. Moreover, Yingzhou was the ancestral home of the current emperor. It had fallen into the hands of the enemy for many years, which made the emperor lose face. If they could get it back, it would naturally make the emperor very happy and it would be a great achievement.
However, they obviously did not inform Duan Xu in advance about their predetermined attack direction.
Duan Xu put his hands together and crossed them at his lips. He watched the generals discuss the direction of attack and the countermeasures with a pair of smiling eyes. His eyes were somewhat playful and nonchalant. When General Qin found that he had not spoken for a long time and symbolically asked for Duan Xu's opinion, he laughed softly and said, "Youzhou and Yingzhou are good in every way, but I think Yunluozhou in the northwest is the focus of the attack."
This statement made the generals present frown. Duan Xu smiled and said, "Youzhou is the throat, that is the heart of Danzhi. The Huqi people come from the grasslands and deserts and are extremely sensitive to crises. If we really attack Youzhou, even if the royal court is in chaos now, they can temporarily put aside their grudges and reorganize their army to deal with us. Brothers fight within the walls, and defend against external bullying - this principle is not only understood by the Han people."
"Have you all forgotten how terrifying Danzhi's elite troops are? There are many lakes south of the Guan? River, and we can still hold them off. But if we fight with the Danzhi army on the plains, you generals should all know what the result will be. As for Yingzhou..." Duan Xu smiled, and almost said - "You want this state just for the sake of His Majesty's face, it's of no use other than that."
General Qin took a sip of tea nonchalantly, and his trusted General Wang of the Suying Army spoke: "General Duan should also know that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There is indeed a gap between us and the Danzhi army. If we don't take Youzhou while the enemy's morale is in chaos, we may never have another chance. Youzhou can be attacked or defended, and it has the advantage of terrain. Once we occupy Youzhou, it will be difficult for the Huqi people to take it back. Now that the Danzhi royal court is in chaos, I don't think they will reorganize their army so quickly. They may negotiate."
Duan Xu smiled. He couldn't say that he had been in the Danzhi Royal Court for so many years and knew the Royal Court much better than you did. He was silent for a moment and suddenly said, "I see that the generals seem to be very interested in the armor on me."
—Is this an interest in the armor? This is an interest in his strange behavior.
Duan Xu continued calmly, "Even an eight-year-old child like my brother can lift this armor of mine, but it is extremely tough and invulnerable. It is made of the mineral 'Tianluo'. This mineral is light and tough. After being refined and forged, it can be made into armor. Compared with heavy armor weighing dozens of kilograms, the effect is not inferior at all. However, this kind of armor is rare in Daliang, and one piece costs more than a hundred gold. Qin Shuai should know why. Daliang does not produce this mineral, and the place that produces Tianluo in abundance is Luozhou, which is named after it. Because when the Danzhi captured Luozhou, they ignorantly massacred the city. Now they know nothing about the method of refining Tianluo. In recent years, they have tried to get the refining method from Daliang, but they have failed repeatedly."
At this time, Chen Ying, who was standing behind Duan Xu, remembered the second half of the words Duan Xu taught him - you can't always be mysterious, it's better to have some substance in these mysteries that people can savor.
"Not only that. Yunzhou has pastures for raising horses, but Daliang has no good pastures, so war horses are scarce and the cavalry is weak. If we can occupy Yunzhou as a place for raising war horses, the combat effectiveness of Daliang's cavalry will be greatly improved, and the gap between us and the Danzhi army will be reduced again and again. Moreover, Danzhi has vast grasslands in the north and does not care about Yunluo. It will be much easier for us to occupy these two states, and it will not touch Danzhi's nerves."
Duan Xu explained the pros and cons one by one based on his understanding of Danzhi. After a while of silence in the camp, General Qin spoke slowly: "General Duan's words are not without reason. The grasslands of Yunzhou and the mineral veins of Luozhou are indeed important materials, but—"
He Simu said the word "but" almost at the same time as Qin Shuai. She knew that the previous words were just perfunctory and there would definitely be a "but" later.
"But the battlefield situation changes rapidly, and we need to make choices. We must not be greedy for small gains and lose the greater good. Youzhou is the heartland, and a battle may win many years of peace. All generals think that Youzhou and Yingzhou are the best choices. General Duan..."
Qin Shuai didn't say anything else. It was obvious that their decision to exclude Duan Xu would not change because of Duan Xu's objection.
Duan Xu's eyes swept across the faces of everyone in the camp. Just when He Simu thought he would say something to defend himself, Duan Xu suddenly smiled and said, "Duan Xu is short-sighted. Since the seniors have chosen the direction, I will cooperate with you and say no more."
He Simu looked at Duan Xu in surprise, and she said, "They also know that it is difficult to attack Youzhou, and they are probably going to force Danzhi to negotiate peace. Once the peace treaty is signed, there will be no reason to fight again. Your wish to recover the seventeen states will probably never be realized in this lifetime."
Duan Xu smiled, nodded lightly to indicate that he understood, and then said softly - there is no point in saying more.