Chapter 47 The war is about to begin
"It's my fault. I have thick skin and a few beatings won't hurt me!"

When the officers and soldiers were speechless, Xue Cuo took the initiative to take responsibility.

He only knew that Li Xuan was the prime minister's son, and he was not clear about Li Xuan's current identity.

It was a hot day and Li Xuan was not wearing armor.

To prevent the heat, the soldiers did not wear armor during training.

In this era, "heatstroke" can even take one's life in severe cases.

"Supervisor Zhang, Xue Cuo will stay in our army from now on. Can you give him up?"

Li Xuan saw this and decided to keep Xue Cuo in the army and make him his confidant.

He has great ambitions and needs a group of people who are willing to go through fire and water for him and dare to risk the world's condemnation.

Li Xuan saw that Xue Cuo was a man of loyalty and righteousness and could be given an important position.

Xue Cuo served in the Anxi Qiuci Army for three years and became familiar with the Western Regions.

If things are not possible, Anxi is the place Li Xuan longs for in his heart.

"It's just a trivial matter. General Li just needs to give me a written receipt."

Escort Officer Zhang was naturally happy to accept this favor.

There are exiled prisoners everywhere on the border.

Supervisor Zhang believed that there was also one in Feng'an Military City, but Xue Cuo was just transferred from one place to another.

After some operations, Xue Cuo was left in Feng'an military city.

Only then did Xue Cuo know Li Xuan's true identity and serve as the military envoy of Feng'an.

The official position was higher than that of the Governor of Qiuci.

After all the grain was transported ashore, it was counted and recorded again. Then the soldiers and military servants were called to carry more than 20,000 dan of grain to the granary in the military city for storage.

"On the battlefield, I like to ride my horse in front of the enemy and lead the troops. You can choose to be my personal guard and follow me into battle. You can also choose to find other jobs in the military city."

Supervisor Zhang's fleet left down the river, and Li Xuan gave Xue Cuo the opportunity to choose.

In addition to Luo Xing, Li Xuan currently has twenty other personal guards.

They are all fierce warriors in the army.

When Lu Yu was selecting his personal guards before, he had chosen them, but they refused.

Everyone in the army knew that the personal guards of the Confucian generals almost never saw the battlefield.

That's not what they're after.

A general like Li Xuan who dares to charge into battle is worthy of their following.

"General, I am willing to be your personal guard. If the enemy wants to harm you, they must first step over my dead body."

Without any hesitation, Xue Cuo chose the former.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

Li Xuan asked the same question again.

"I can't read a few words, but I have heard the story of Yu Rang assassinating Zhao Xiangzi in the army. A gentleman will die for his friend. Moreover, if there were no general, there would be no Xue Cuo in this world."

Xue Cuo said firmly.

"Okay, I will let the judge record your name in the book. As long as you make contributions, I will make you a free man." Li Xuan patted Xue Cuo on the shoulder and encouraged him to practice riding more.

Since the beginning of the Lotus Month, the border has been hot, especially in the desert west of the military city, where the heat waves are rolling like a raging fire.

In such harsh environment, fighting rarely takes place.

The Tang army mainly focused on training during this season and could not take the initiative to fight.

The Turks raised horses for grazing in the summer and at most sent small teams of cavalry to rob some merchants.

But there was no place for trade near Feng'an City. The place for trade with the Hu tribe was in the area around Shoujiang City in the Hetao region.

The war horses of the Feng'an Army were driven to the pastures beside the Yellow River, where they were trained while grazing, waiting for the horses to grow fat in the autumn.

Although the possibility of a Turkic attack was extremely small, Li Xuan was always cautious in his patrol work. Every day, at least ten cavalry teams were sent out to patrol the border, and sometimes Li Xuan personally led the team out of the border.

They would even send scouts to further places, both day and night.

If any Hu cavalry appeared, Li Xuan would immediately withdraw the horses from the pasture.

In the blink of an eye, it is July.

Li Xuan received a letter from Li Shizhi, saying that everything was fine at home. Li Longji trusted Li Shizhi more and more, and recently let Li Shizhi take up several official positions.

Ling is a concurrent official position of a lower level.

Although it is of little use, it represents the emperor's favor.

Li Shizhi also told Li Xuan that the emperor had decided to send troops to the Turkic Khanate, probably in August of autumn.

He was worried that Li Xuan would act rashly in the war with the Turks, and reminded Li Xuan to take good care of himself.

This is the main purpose of this letter.

Finally, Li Shizhi asked Li Xuan: "Does Qilang have any new poems? Send them to me for my father to read!"

Li Xuan smiled slightly, leaned over the table and wrote a letter in reply, congratulating Li Shizhi and asking Li Shizhi to keep a close eye on Li Linfu. If there were any things that were difficult to understand, he should discuss them with his staff, and it was not a shameful thing.

He told Li Shizhi that he had adapted to life on the frontier and that the soldiers trusted him very much, so there was no need to worry.

He also sent a poem back home as he wished.

Langtaosha.

The Yellow River bends and stretches for thousands of miles. Waves and winds have blown it from the ends of the earth. Now it goes straight up to the Milky Way, to the home of Altair and Vega.

By the time this letter was sent home, the Chinese Valentine's Day had already passed.

Let the world guess what the meaning of the poem is!
"There's a change. Historically, the war to annihilate the Turkic people was supposed to take place next year, but now it looks like it's going to happen this year."

After sending the letter away, Li Xuan fell into deep thought.

According to Li Shizhi, it was Li Linfu who instigated Li Longji to destroy the Later Turks.

Was it because he was anxious for Li Shizhi's growing power, was he seeking "military merit as prime minister", or was there some other purpose?
"General Li, Marshal Wang summons you to Huile City."

A few days later, the envoy of the Shuofang Jiedushi entered the Feng'an military city to report to Li Xuan.

Upon inquiry, Li Xuan learned that all the main generals of the Shuofang Army, including the Zhenwu Army Envoy, the East Shoujiang City Envoy, the West Shoujiang City Envoy, etc., had to go to the Shuofang Jiedushi Mansion in Huile City.

The gathering of the army commanders is a sign of a major war to come.

"General Wang, Marshal Wang summoned me to Huile. You will be in charge of the military affairs in Feng'an for the time being."

Before leaving, Li Xuan gave instructions to Wang Sili.

Over the past month, the two have worked in perfect harmony without any conflicts.

Wang Sili did not offend Li Xuan's authority as the commander-in-chief and trained the troops diligently and responsibly.

Li Xuan delegated power appropriately and gave Wang Sili respect.

"You will finally understand."

Wang Sili bowed.

He personally felt Li Xuan's charm in the army, and given Li Xuan's identity, he would carry out Li Xuan's beliefs and work together for success.

"It will take some time to get there. I have some fruits and vegetables planted on the other side of the Yellow River. Please help me take care of them."

Li Xuan has already decided to plant watermelons and has arranged the watermelon vines a few days ago. He is just waiting for the fruits to ripen to see their quality.

"Yes!"

Wang Sili didn't quite understand why Li Xuan was doing such weird things, so he just did what Li Xuan told him to do.

Planting a dozen acres of land on the other side of the river will not have any impact on the military city.

When returning to Lecheng, Li Xuan only brought 22 personal guards including Luo Xing and Xue Cuo.

A day later, Li Xuan stepped into the prosperous Huile City for the second time.

Unlike the last time, as soon as Li Xuan entered the city, the chief secretary of the Lingwu prefectural government greeted Li Xuan and arranged accommodation for him and his party.

A military city like Zhenwujun, which is thousands of miles away from Huile City, will take several days to reach.

After putting away the gifts, Li Xuan immediately went to the Shuofang Jiedushi's residence to pay a visit to Wang Zhongsi.

"Doctor, please invite General Li in."

Li Guangbi appeared in front of the mansion and asked.

Li Xuan didn't know Li Guangbi's identity. Since he was so young, he thought he was an assistant official in the Jiedushi's mansion.

Wang Zhongsi met Li Xuan in a side hall, which meant it was just a private meeting.

(End of this chapter)