With the capture of Xingzhou, the war against Dangxiang in the Song Dynasty came to an end for the time being, but the Song Dynasty began to be busy. The idle Xiangjun troops in various places received orders and rushed to the northwest after they set off. These Xiangjun troops were different from the regular imperial guards. They usually had family members, and families were allowed to live in the military camps. Therefore, the Xiangjun's garrison was generally similar to ordinary villages, but they were poorer.

Outside Tokyo, Li Zhang and Han Qi walked side by side in the snow, with wild dogs and several yamen runners following behind, and they walked and chatted in front. Since entering the officialdom, although they often met, they were more because of business, and both were very busy and had their own families to take care of, so they hadn't chatted like today for a long time.

It was cold and the ground was frozen, and some of the Xiang army near the capital were to move to Xingzhou City. This was not just the matter of the Privy Council, but also needed the cooperation of various yamen such as Kaifeng Prefecture. As the Promoter of Kaifeng Prefecture, Han Qi happened to go to a Xiang army base to check today. Li Zhang happened to meet him, so he came together. He was also quite curious about the survival status of the Xiang army.

"Li Zhang, everyone in the court said that although you don't have the position of prime minister now, you have the reality of prime minister. This is not a good show. You should be careful and not be plotted against!" Han Qi suddenly spoke at this time. He was in Kaifeng Prefecture and was very informed. He was also very concerned about some trends in the court. He was also a little worried about Li Zhang's current situation, because Li Zhang had actually violated the taboos in the officialdom.

"I know what those people in the court are saying, but I don't care. Moreover, the war between Dangxiang has come to an end for the time being, and I will not get involved in other things again." Li Zhang said calmly. He naturally knew that his influence on Zhao Zhen would arouse dissatisfaction or jealousy among some people in the court, but he himself has a sense of responsibility. As long as he does not touch the real core interests, ordinary people dare not really target him.

"Just be prepared. In fact, with your status and status, you can enter the court openly. Even if you are in the position of priest, it will take a few years. I believe Your Majesty also hopes that you can become his most capable assistant in the court." Han Qi hesitated for a moment before he suggested again.

"You don't know my character. It's okay to ask me to come up with advice next to His Majesty and help him with some advice, but if you really let me deal with those complicated government affairs, it might be a mess and you will only be responsible for things. In comparison, I think you are more suitable to be the prime minister." Li Zhang laughed when he heard this.

"Don't joke about me. I'm just a small prosecutor now, how dare I expect the position of prime minister? But don't be too modest. Now you do a good job in martial arts? Old General Cao doesn't care about things, and now you will handle everything big and big. Martial arts are also booming. Even Lu Xiang praised you for your talent in governing the country!" Han Qi smiled at himself when he heard Li Zhang saying that he could be prime minister.

"Huh? This is not right. I remember you were very confident when you were a child." Li Zhang said in surprise when he heard that Han Qi was so unconfident. In his opinion, it was almost certain that Han Qi would be appointed as a marquis and minister in the future.

"Who is not young and frivolous? But the longer I enter the officialdom, the more I feel that the water here is too deep. I have no confidence in what step I can go in the future." Han Qi first glanced at Li Zhang, then looked up at the distance, with a little confusion in his eyes.

Li Zhang only woke up at this time. Unexpectedly, the famous Han Qi would be confused when he was young. However, it is normal to think about it. No matter how great a person is, he cannot plan his life in advance. They are more pushed to that position by the times. As the saying goes, the times create heroes, this sentence can be said to be a word that tells the secrets of heaven.

"Let's stop talking about this, what is the number of the wing army we are going to today? How many people are there in total?" Li Zhang suddenly changed the subject and said that the confusion in life cannot be awakened by others' guidance. It is more of a personal understanding. Others can't help with this at all.

"This wing army is called Sheng Erjun, with a population of about 5,000, most of them are young and strong, and there are more than 1,000 wives." Han Qi also woke up from his feelings at this time, and then smiled at Li Zhang with a little embarrassed expression and introduced him.

"Saint Second Army? Why is this name so strange?" Li Zhang asked in surprise when he heard the number of Xiang Jun.

"The Xiang army was originally an auxiliary soldier to assist the regular army, but later, in order not to let the refugees cause trouble, Emperor Taizu would recruit the victims into the Xiang army every year. Therefore, according to unwritten regulations, such Xiang army generally used the year number when they were recruited. For example, the second army of Sheng was actually in the second year of Tiansheng. Countless refugees fled to the capital to make a living. So the court then incorporated these refugees into the Xiang army. There were not so many people, but in the later years, some disaster victims were successively recruited, and there were only more than 5,000 people." Han Qi explained patiently. Although he had just taken office for a while, he had patiently checked the information and was very familiar with these things.

"So that's it!" Li Zhang nodded when he heard this. He originally wanted to ask why there were so few women, but when he thought of the cruelty of the famine, he couldn't help but sigh. He had seen the victims fleeing to the capital. Almost every victim was yellow and hungry, and behind him were the corpses along the way. Feeling women rarely persisted in the capital, so it was not difficult to explain that most of the young and strong soldiers in the wing army were young and strong.

While speaking, Han Qi and Li Zhang finally came to a low village. They said they were the Xiang Army. In fact, from the outside, they looked like several villages close together, but they were even more low and dilapidated than ordinary villages. Moreover, they had no land and could not do anything else because of their military status. Therefore, they could only rely on the salary paid by the court.

According to the court's regulations, the salary of the Xiang army was half of the imperial guards, but it was stipulated that they were dead, but people were alive. Moreover, the court could not spend so much money to support a group of idle people every year, so the salary of these Xiang army was often deducted. Unless there was something that required their labor, the salary would be paid accordingly, otherwise they could only wait to drink the northwest wind.

"The Second Holy Army usually relies on some labor assigned by the court, such as building imperial tombs, building river embankments, and even transporting food. When they have work, they have income, and they have no work to do it. Some people secretly rent land from nearby landlords to farm. However, because they are military, many people are unwilling to rent it to them. Even if they take the risk of renting it to them, they will raise the rent. Even if they work hard for a year, they can't even earn rations." Han Qi introduced again at this time.

Li Zhang was silent when he heard this. With the promotion of Tudou, he thought that there should be no one in the Song Dynasty who could not eat enough, but now it seems that he is still too naive. These wing soldiers are obviously a group of people struggling on life and death. Even if Tudou has an impact on them, it is probably very limited.

At that moment, Li Zhang and Han Qi stepped into the front village. Because the Second Holy Army had received the order to move, they did not arrange labor. In fact, in such cold weather, there was no labor for them to do. It was noon, which should have been lunch time, but every household in the village was very deserted and there was no smoke rising. This made Li Zhang immediately understand that it was probably because of his poverty, so these soldiers were accustomed to eating two meals a day.

Perhaps it was because it was too cold, most people were huddled at home. When Li Zhang and his team entered the village, they didn't see many people. Instead, a few curious children saw them coming in through the cracks in the door. They all looked at them with curious expressions. They had big eyes, big heads, and very thin bodies. They were typical malnutrition. Their small faces were even red and black, and their hands and faces were full of frostbite, which looked extremely pitiful.
Chapter completed!