In essence, Xiao Ding and Xiao Changqing are not suitable to be a king.

He is an excellent general and a qualified military commander,

He was honored by the world as the best general in the world.

But these alone are not enough to control the vast area he now governs.

The Western Army has its current size, firstly, thanks to the rules and regulations established by Xiao Cheng at the beginning, and secondly, because of the effective assistance of Zhang Yuan, the group of people who promoted the expansion and prosperity.

Xiao Ding's greatest strength lies in his willingness to delegate power.

Don't be suspicious when you employ people, and don't use suspicious people to the extreme by Xiao Ding.

With his super charisma, even Xiao Ding's enemies were very impressed by him.

Of course, the most useful thing on this land is strong force.

Needless to say, Xiao Ding himself, no one can face him head-on.

Although Tie Yaozi and Bubazi combined had less than 30,000 soldiers, they were the core of the entire Western Army.

The two cavalry that Xiao Cheng worked hard to build for Xiao Ding are now the most powerful weapons that Xiao Ding uses to intimidate hundreds of tribes under his command.

Xiao Ding never thought of setting up his own business.

Not only does he have absolute trust in his brother Xiao Cheng, but he also has a clear understanding of himself.

Whether it is the Liao Kingdom or today's Jiangning and New Song Dynasties, they all have their own core ethnic groups, core culture and self-pride.

For these most core things, many people are willing to give up their honor, their wealth and even their lives. They will always give up a lot of contradictions because of these things, even if it seems that they are not in common with each other.

Dai Tian cannot stand together under the blue sky, but in critical moments, they will still hug each other for warmth.

But his men couldn't.

There are hundreds of tribes under the Western Army. Everyone gathers together because they can draw benefits from this group, and they are also frightened by the power of this group and have to join.

But once this group is threatened, and if a force equal to or even superior to this group imposes a threat on itself, then it is foreseeable that it will fall apart.

Is it fun to be an emperor?

It looks very good.

But in fact, this is really a profession that is roasted on the fire.

If you really become the emperor, when the country is destroyed, everyone else can surrender, but you cannot.

Not only will it end badly for you, but it will also bring disaster to your descendants.

Xiao Ding had no such thoughts either in public or private matters.

But his subordinates didn't think so.

Even his son didn't think so.

Everyone wants to go further.

The pursuit of fame and fortune has no end.

I believe everyone has felt the power of the Liao Kingdom by now.

Just recruiting envoys on the northwest road has already put the Western Army under strong pressure. If the Liao Kingdom presses against itself with all its strength, how many rounds can the Western Army resist?

Don’t forget that the last battle between the Western Army and the Liao Kingdom was just a partial force from the Liao Kingdom attacking the Song Dynasty. The Western Army was already fighting as a whole.

Now, Xiao Ding asked his son to feel the power of Jiangning Xinsong.

The Western Army generally looked down upon the current Song Dynasty, and they did not even think about how the Song Dynasty in Jiangning was really a soft-legged crab, how it had defeated the Liao Kingdom on the battlefield in the past two years.

The new Song Dynasty under the leadership of his second brother must be fundamentally different from the Tokyo Song Dynasty in the past.

Tuoba Yangwei is a good candidate.

He is knowledgeable, clear-minded, and has prestige among the clans.

At this point, he was more cautious than Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan, who has always been wise, has an incomprehensible obsession with this matter. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that this person has come to where he is today step by step.

Let Tuoba Yang

Wei went to Jiangning to see the new Song Dynasty,

I believe the information he brought back will convince others and give up some of their unwanted illusions.

When Tuoba Yangwei set off with Xiao Jing and his party, Gan Quan had already arrived at Stone City in Jiangning Prefecture.

What Gan Quan didn't expect was that as soon as he settled down, news came that Xiao Cheng, the chief assistant, wanted to see him. An official named Liu Xin led his people directly to the door of the post house to pick him up.

In a certain respect, this also proves the criticality and importance of Zhang Cheng's current position.

Stepping into the door, he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, and bowed deeply to the ground.

Gan Quan did not hesitate to respect the chief minister of the dynasty who pulled the Song Dynasty out of the abyss.

If it weren't for Xiao Cheng, half of the current Southern Dynasty would definitely be gone.

Although no one says this, everyone knows it.

It was precisely because Xiao Cheng made a decisive decision and sent troops thousands of miles away to first aid Xiangfan and then Xuzhou. In several consecutive battles, he defeated the attacks of Zhao Jun and Qi Jun and stabilized the Xiangfan defense line and the Jianghuai defense line. This is how the North and South are today.

Confrontation.

"I've met the chief assistant!"

As soon as he bowed to the ground and stood up again, what came into view was a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Gan Quan had met Xiao Cheng a long time ago.

At that time, he was a captain under Zhang Chao, but more often than not, he was by Zhang Cheng's side.

At that time, Zhang Cheng was on good terms with Luo Gang, Xiao Cheng and the others. As one of the guards, he naturally dealt with Xiao Cheng frequently.

The immatureness of the young man in the past has long since disappeared, and his appearance has not changed much, but his calm and self-confident temperament naturally radiates outwards.

"I haven't seen you for more than ten years, and the style of the chief minister is still the same as before." He said sincerely.

"You are much older!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile.

"Shoufu remembers me?"

"Back then, you were always following Captain Zhang. I remember one time when he and Luo Gang were going to hook up the tiles, you followed behind and got scolded by him! But no matter how much he scolded you, you just wouldn't leave.

It is your duty to be a guard. If you dare to leave, the old lieutenant will definitely skin you."

Gan Quan couldn't help but laugh: "The old lieutenant was very kind to us. In fact, at that time, I also wanted to go shopping in Goulan, but I didn't have enough money in my pocket, so I wanted to take advantage of the young master!"

Both of them laughed.

Just a joke, the gap between the two seemed to disappear in an instant, and they seemed to have returned to the green years of the past.

Liu Xin brought the new tea that had just been picked this year, and Gan Quan quickly stood up and thanked him.

"Isn't life in the mountains difficult?"

"The first year was the most difficult!" Gan Quan nodded: "We had less than a thousand people, and we had to eat and wear, and we had to deal with Cui Ang's suppression. That year,

It’s just running around everywhere!”

"Now the pain is finally over!" Xiao Cheng said: "Those who persevere will always be rewarded. Jingzhao Mansion is a good place to stay. If you manage it well, it will be more than enough to support your army of less than ten thousand people.

Zi Ming, is he okay?"

"Little Lieutenant Zhang is all well. I also want to express my special thanks to the chief assistant for the thunder and fire bullets he gave him. When he was half blue, without these weapons, there would have been many casualties," Gan Quan said.

"These are nothing! Ziming has held on for so many years, and this time he captured Jingzhao Mansion, which is equivalent to stabbing Zhao Jun in the chest and abdomen. This will not help our Song Dynasty regain its old capital.

This is another great contribution!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "So, what do these weapons, military rations, etc. count? As long as Ziming wants it, I will do my best to support it."

Gan Quan was silent for a moment and said: "Chief Assistant Gao Yi, Xiao Taiwei and us are all grateful. In the past few years, Chief Assistant Fu Song established in Jiangning, we have not spoken out. It is actually because of our own difficulties.

Lieutenant Zhang asked me to explain this clearly to the chief assistant."

"No need!" Xiao Cheng waved his hand and said, "Ziming and I met when we were young.

Don’t I still know who he is? Today is still a chaotic world, and you are in a den of tigers and wolves. The first priority is survival. Only by surviving and growing stronger can you say anything else. Just like now, you

It has grown stronger, didn’t you come right away? Mr. Xiao’s eyes are still bright, and you will never see the wrong person.”

"Thank you, Chief Minister, for your thoughtfulness!" Gan Quan gratefully handed over his hand. Regardless of whether Xiao Cheng said these words sincerely or not, at least his attitude was in place. And in the past two years, he has given them these extraordinary things through various channels.

Too much help from the guys who are not that strong.

Without Zhiqiuyuan and the Imperial City Division transporting military rations and weapons to the mountains through various methods, how could they be where they are today?

"Ziming asked you to come over, not just because he wanted to express his gratitude, right?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile. After chatting with each other, he naturally got to the point.

"Yes!" Gan Quan sat up straight and said, "Xiao Taiwei sent me here mainly because he wanted to talk to you about the problem of Qin Fenglu's pacification envoy Li Chun. I'm afraid this person cannot be trusted."

Xiao Cheng nodded: "This person is indeed untrustworthy, but he does not have the courage to openly rebel against the Song Dynasty. At this point, he at least has some sense of shame, which is much better than Cui Ang, Quzhen, Liu Yu, Liu Quanyi and others.

Yes, so this is one of the reasons why I still tolerate him."

"But now he seems to have the intention to imitate the King of Daxia!" Gan Quan said: "Can the chief assistant tolerate this?"
To be continued...