I am cannon fodder, but I can hug thighs

Seeing that Xia Zhengan didn't look angry at all, everyone knew that Song Shiqiu's behavior was condoned. Seeing Song Shiqiu being arrogant but unable to say anything, all the civil servants held their breath.

Song Shiqiu calmly accepted the anger of other civil officials. The looks in their eyes seemed to be calling him a traitor who ignored the foundation of the country and only knew how to flatter the emperor and win over military officers.

He doesn't have the courage of a civil official to die for his remonstrance!

"But I think..." Song Shiqiu paused for a moment deliberately. Hope rose in the eyes of several civil servants, and their faces turned from gloomy to bright, as if to say that he was not too reckless. But Song Shiqiu just smiled, "General Xi seems to have something to say?"

All of a sudden, everyone's eyes shifted to Xi Lilong, some looking at him with curiosity and some disdain.

Xi Lilong cursed Song Shiqiu in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He stood up and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, I ask Your Majesty to allow me to lead the Yuanyang Army to the north to test the situation. On the one hand, it can calm the hearts of the Uighurs, and on the other hand, it can deter the Turks. When General Su leads the army to the north, we will know ourselves and the enemy, and we will be able to fight a hundred battles without danger."

Xia Zhengan held his chin with one hand and tapped the desk with the other: "General Xi, the northern border is vast. You only have 5,000 soldiers and horses, while the Turks have at least 30,000 troops. Do you know that once the Turks discover us and there is no reinforcement, the Yuanyang Army may not be able to win by surprise like before."

Although there are many military strategies, but in the endless grassland and desert, all of them are empty talk.

"If we lose, not only will your reputation as an ever-victorious general be ruined, but the Yuanyang Army may never come back." Xia Zhengan knew that she was bold, but he still hoped that she could think it over carefully.

"Your Majesty, the Yuanyang Army is Daxia's special force. The purpose of their existence is to protect Daxia's people. I am willing to draw my sword and kill Lou Lan!" Xi Lilong looked at Xia Zhengan fearlessly, "I beg Your Majesty to allow me to lead the Yuanyang Army north!"

Xia Zhengan, who was originally leaning forward slightly, gradually sat up straight: "I will not regret it even if I die?"

"Never regret it even after nine deaths!"

Xi Lilong's sonorous voice echoed in the imperial study, and everyone looked at each other with different expressions. Although they were all military generals, Xi Lilong was not very popular among them. But at this moment everyone had to re-examine this woman.

She faked her death and joined the army when she was still young, and in only three years she stood out among many women and became the chief general of the Yuanyang Army. Now, before she even reached middle age, she has already achieved eighth rank in military merit. Such an achievement is rare even among men. After all, these few years are not like the past ten years when she fought wars everywhere. With fewer battles, there are fewer military merits to earn.

Xia Zhengan pondered and said, "Well, you are worthy of being a general of our Great Xia. Now there are only 5,000 Yuanyang soldiers. You can use these 5,000 soldiers as a surprise force. I will give you another 5,000 people to serve as the Yuanyang Army's guards, making up a total of 10,000."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xi Lilong hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

Xia Zhengan raised his hand and said, "Wait a minute. I have assigned these 5,000 guards to you, but whether you can use them depends on your own ability! In half a month, no matter whether you can subdue those 5,000 soldiers and use them for your own purposes, you have to go north."

Xi Lilong raised her head suddenly. She didn't expect this to happen. If she couldn't get the recognition of that group of men, she would definitely not be able to give them orders. There would be no way for her to cooperate with them on the battlefield, and she might even become a burden.

"Then Your Majesty, you cannot blame my Yuanyang Army for being too heavy-handed. They were simply defeated." Xi Lilong smiled confidently. If anyone dared to disobey her, she would beat them until they surrendered.

Most of the time over the past three years, the Yuanyang Army had to serve as bodyguards for these men, and sometimes they didn't even get a word of praise from them. Now, the Yuanyang Army has finally regained some ground.

"If they are not capable enough, they deserve to be beaten. If they really go to the battlefield, will the Turks show mercy to them?" Xia Zhengan chuckled and turned his gaze to the other generals. "My dear ministers, you were so aggressive just now. It shouldn't be difficult for me to borrow troops from you now."

Secondment is certainly not a problem, but it might be difficult to get their family generals to listen to a woman.

But although His Majesty said that Xi Lilong had to tame those soldiers himself, they all knew exactly who he wanted to tame. If he really gave some disobedient soldiers to Xi Lilong, he was afraid that they would suffer the consequences in the end.

After thinking about it in their minds, the faces of several generals turned bad. Today was clearly the Hongmen Banquet. His Majesty and Song Shiqiu set up this Hongmen Banquet specifically for Xi Lilong and all of them. They felt that the status of the Yuanyang Army was not enough, so they wanted to support the Yuanyang Army and help it grow.

Several civil servants wanted to laugh, but they found that they were not much better and were all fooled. They were like the pot calling the kettle black.

In the entire imperial study, no one could laugh except Xia Zhengan and Song Shiqiu. Xi Lilong couldn't laugh either. If she laughed, these people would really get angry. She knew when to quit.

"Then it's settled. You have been arguing about this for a long time. Now that there is finally a result, why are you all unhappy?" Xia Zhengan smiled and added fuel to the fire, "Is there anything else you are worried about? Oh, I understand. You must be thinking about how to reward the Prime Minister's wife and the Princess of Jin for returning from the disaster relief in Taiyuan Prefecture, right?"

Everyone: "..."

Again?

Another reward?

Isn't the reward from the Prime Minister's Mansion enough? They almost moved all the national treasury there.

But they had heard a little about the disaster in Taiyuan Prefecture. Although they had not seen it with their own eyes, the documents sent back from that place all described it clearly. They had originally thought that there would be another disturbance this year, but it turned out that the disaster was almost over before there was any disturbance.

This is a drought, and whether the drought can be overcome depends entirely on God. They did not expect that the good news would come in less than a month.

Putting aside the prejudice against Song Shiqiu, he indeed deserves an award. Not to mention that he deserves an award, even if the people of Taiyuan Prefecture want to build a temple or make a statue of him, they cannot say anything.

"I thank Your Majesty on behalf of my wife." Song Shiqiu thought of the reply letter he had not received for many days, and there was helplessness on his lips.

Song Shiqiu noticed the unfriendly looks of those people, and although the looks were very complicated, he just nodded slightly. His calm and composed look made the group of people very angry.

Why do all the good things get to Song Shiqiu!

But... who was he to have such a keen eye to marry such a capable lady? Some people are born with wealth and fortune, and they cannot even envy them enough.

Song Shiqiu's fortune is so good that some people have to think twice before trying to touch him. If this person's fortune is really related to the country's destiny, they will really become sinners for all eternity.

A group of people left the imperial study room one after another. Xi Lilong followed Song Shiqiu and left, slowing down his pace. "I have already had someone stop the Uighur Saint. Do you want me to send her back?"

"Let your people keep an eye on her first, hide her, and bring her back after the Northern Expedition is over." Song Shiqiu could not hide any of the Uighurs' actions, not to mention that the other party did not deliberately hide it, and he would find out after a quick investigation.

"This little girl is too naive. If the news about the Turkic Khan was so easy to get, so many white cranes wouldn't have died." Xi Lilong didn't expect the Uighurs to be so desperate. It seems that the Turks have been too arrogant during this period. "Has the news of the Uighurs retreating to the Central Plains not been passed on?"

She remembered that she had sent a message to the Uighurs in the winter that if they encountered the Turks, they should retreat directly if they were no match for them. Why were they still defending the Western Regions?

"It has been reported, but there are still many elderly people and children among the Uighurs, and there is no time to retreat."

Since there is no way to retreat, we can only fight.