Returning to Qiao Mansion as a guest for the second time, Long Xiang had an unreal feeling. The politeness shown by his mistress Chen made him feel uncomfortable.

Even the aggressive Qiao Wei showed due courtesy at this time. Although she was still as cold as ice, she was already looking at Long Xiang with that rare toothless fake smile.

What about the original nobility and indifference? What about the gap between the rich and the head of Guizhou?

If you are arrogant at first and respectful later, it won’t be the Hongmen Banquet, right?

Qiao Wan's friendly eyes and Qiao Wan's sweet smile made Long Xiang feel sincere.

In the original world, Long Xiang had participated in countless wine parties and could handle any occasion with ease, so this time when he came to the Qiao family for a banquet, he always maintained a humble attitude.

He smiled when he needed to smile, toasted when he needed to toast, answered politely and courteously, and ate and drank cheerfully. These actions made Qiao Rui secretly appreciate him, thinking that he was a young man who wanted to get involved in officialdom.

The banquet ended happily and lively, but Chen's words made the hall quiet.

"Yunqi, I want to borrow someone from you. I wonder if I can give it up?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Rui and Qiao Rui turned to look at Chen almost at the same time. Qiao Rui had a complicated look in her eyes and said to herself, Madam, you are too impatient. Didn't I tell you to wait for a while before talking?

Qiao Min was full of gratitude to her mother, while the Qiao sisters set their sights on Long Xiang.

"Uh..." Long Xiang was startled when he heard this, and quickly responded with a smile: "Of course, no problem. Could it be that Madam wants to borrow Luo Yicheng?"

Mrs. Chen winked at Qiao Rui, as if to say that Long Xiang agreed readily, but you were just thinking wildly, then turned around and nodded with a smile.

"Yun Qi is really easy to understand. Miao'er has reached the age of eleven and is slowly getting in touch with things in the camp. Now he needs a follower to protect him. Luo Yicheng can be a life-saving gift to the general. I want to

If he borrows it to teach Miao'er, he will definitely not be indebted to him, but he is such a talented person, are you really willing to let him go?"

Long Xiang stood up and clasped his fists: "I am the general's soldier. My wife wants to use Luo Yicheng. It is his blessing. I will make arrangements when the general returns home and ask him to report to Qiao Mansion tomorrow morning."

"Thank you very much. I'll toast you."

At this time, Mrs. Chen raised her wine glass to signal, and Long Xiang saw sincerity in her eyes, saying that her mother was worried about her children's education. It seemed that parents had been the same for thousands of years.

"The last general dare not accept it. The last general respects the general and his wife..."

Long Xiang bent down and picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. The heroic feeling he showed inadvertently made Qiao Nian envious. He thought that he would do the same in the future and become a brave and courageous man.

After the banquet was over, Qiao Min took the initiative to get up and see Long Xiang off.

Seeing the tall and short figures disappear, Mrs. Chen shared with Qiao Rui with a face filled with relief, "General, Wei'er has really grown up. Let's not train him to become Sun Ce, at least he can't be worse than Long Xiang."

?”

"Long Xiang is not bad..." Qiao Rui waved his hand gently and walked to the bedroom alone.

General, are you angry that I have made my own decision? Chen sent Qiao Wei and Qiao Wan to rest, then moved their lotus steps towards Qiao Rui.

Qiao Rui walked quickly at night, so Chen went straight back to the bedroom and closed the door, asking meaningfully: "General, are you blaming me? Don't you see that Long Yunqi is very happy?"

"Refreshing? That's because Yunqi knows how to be a good person..." Qiao Rui shook his head after hearing this.

Mrs. Chen frowned and asked angrily: "Don't I know how to be a human being? There are fish and meat at today's banquet. I'm afraid Long Yunqi has never eaten so happily in his life, and I don't know what happened to asking him for a wife.

..."

"Madam, I don't know. Last time Long Xiang was demoted for losing food, and the government did not provide pensions to the families of the soldiers who died under his command. My husband tried to intercede, but the superiors did not agree. Alas..."

Qiao Rui sighed deeply when he was halfway through speaking.

"The young and the strong can still survive by farming, but the young and old may not be able to live without military food support..."

Because of Longxiang, the Chen family had a superficial understanding of military households. Ordinary soldiers were not paid directly. When the strongest members of the family were recruited to join the army, the government would regularly distribute rations to the family members.

Long Yuan died in the battle in Fengqiu. Although the orphan Long Xiang received some pensions, he lost his long-term source of livelihood, so he was raised by Qiao Rui in the mansion. Most of the family members of the soldiers who lost their lives in the battle were selectively forgotten by the government.

.

Ordinary people who have no value are not considered human beings in the eyes of the rulers.

"These people should have been helped, but in the end they couldn't bear the hunger and left Shouchun one after another. I think Long Xiang and the others have tried their best... I feel guilty..." Qiao Rui said and fell on the couch.

.

Only then did Mrs. Chen know why Qiao Rui didn't want to speak. She walked over and sat down guiltily, and said softly: "When you are born in troubled times, you are often helpless. The general will just take care of you more..."

Even if Chen didn't mention it, Qiao Rui would still do it. He felt guilty for the soldiers' families and was grateful to Long Xiang and Luo Yicheng.

After returning to Shouchun, Qiao Rui went to the south city gate to hang out when he had time. Firstly, he shared his experience in leading troops, and secondly, he showed that he valued Longxiang and also meant to intimidate Cao Xing.

Although Qiao Rui was ranked high in Yuan Shu's army, he was considered a mediocre general in the late Han Dynasty. His ability to manage the army and use troops was not outstanding, and Long Xiang felt that he was not a talented general.

The result is like a teacher who has graduated from three majors and shares his experience in the college entrance examination with students who can only get into junior college. The teacher's explanation is clear and logical, but the students are "very shocked" when they hear it.

As for Qiao Rui's intimidation of Cao Xing, it is the icing on the cake. As a project manager and a professional expert, Long Xiang's ability to lead a team is an order of magnitude higher than Qiao Rui's.

Long Xiang rarely gets angry at ordinary times, but he is loved by everyone under his command. Cao Xing is used to his superiors who "subdue others with force", but he has no confidence in the "Smiling Tiger", so he is cautious and well-behaved in front of Long Xiang.

After a period of recruitment, training, and preparation, Long Xiang's Qubu was transferred away from Shouchun City Defense and reassigned to Qiao Rui's command.

The locust plague and drought gradually took hold, sweeping across Xu, Henan, Yang, Jing and other prefectures, with the Huaihe River Basin being the most serious. The reduction in grain production that year was a foregone conclusion. Daily rations for battalions without war missions were also drastically adjusted and reduced, so that

Both new soldiers and veterans have complaints.

In the seventh month of Autumn, Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui and other generals collectively submitted a letter informing the ministries that there was a risk of rebellion due to lack of food, and requested Yuan Shu to increase the rations for the officers and soldiers.

No matter how hard the life of the people and soldiers was, Yuan Shu's life did not change at all.

Seeing the generals writing letters asking for food, Yuan Shu threw the problem to Yan Xiang and said: "Since the armies are in such a difficult situation, let each county open its treasury and transfer the food stocks to Shouchun. If the food stocks are not enough, we will collect taxes for one year in advance."

."

Yan Xiang was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly handed over his hands and went out to report: "Your Majesty, we have deployed troops continuously, and the treasury of each county and county is empty. In addition, there is a natural disaster this year and the harvest is not good. How can we collect taxes? I am afraid that various places have to provide relief to the victims, otherwise there will be no return.

It’s a scene of refugees rising everywhere and people dying of hunger everywhere..."

"But the soldiers are hungry, who will help me conquer the world?" Yuan Shu didn't care about the life and death of the people at all.
Chapter completed!