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Chapter 854 Recruitment
Bianjing, Imperial Palace.

At this time, the emperor had received the news that the 50,000 Song army was completely wiped out. The old emperor, who was already in his twilight years, immediately fainted from anger. The ministers of the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty were all waiting anxiously because the imperial doctors were busy treating the old emperor.

Because the old emperor Song Renzong still has a son, who died in infancy after Sheng Hong went to Bianjing to serve as an official in the original drama, these ministers were not too anxious. Instead, all their energy was focused on the affairs of Yangzhou. Minister Shen looked at them with a frown and sighed, "Right now, the war in the northwest and north is tense. The pressure on the Duke of Ying is enormous. Liao Wenjun has been so disappointing in Yangzhou. I really don't know how to deal with it next."

"Minister Shen, the matter of Yangzhou is easy to deal with. There is no need to worry about one state. We just need to besiege it from all sides. On the contrary, I am worried about the Liao and Xixia. I am afraid that they will take the opportunity to invade the Song Dynasty." At this time, Minister Han on the side analyzed with disapproval. After all, the Liao and Xixia were the recognized mortal enemies of the Song Dynasty, and all the energy of the Song Dynasty was focused on the border.

"Yes! These jackals will not give up such a good opportunity." Lord Shen naturally nodded in agreement, and suddenly felt that being attacked from both sides was very uncomfortable.

At this moment, a young eunuch walked out from the inner palace. When he saw the gentlemen, he bowed and explained, "Gentlemen, His Majesty has woken up and is about to summon you."

"Oh?"

Then, several eunuchs followed the eunuch into the inner palace in surprise. The old emperor on the dragon bed still looked very weak. He looked at the eunuchs in front of him with some difficulty and asked, "Have you come up with any ideas?"

"Your Majesty, detailed news has been sent back from Yangzhou. The Ningyuan Army has allowed the ships on the river to pass. This means that the shortage of supplies in Bianliang has been solved." Seeing the old emperor lying in bed and still working hard, several ministers showed expressions of pity, and then Minister Fu tried his best to pick out the good news to report.

"Hmph! This is a blow to me, but then a sweet treat for me!" How could Song Renzong, who had been an emperor for most of his life, be a fool? He immediately realized the intentions of Suning and the Ningyuan Army.

"Your Majesty, Yangzhou is just a small place after all. The Song Dynasty is still in danger from the Liao and Western Xia." Seeing that the old emperor had such a big prejudice against Suning and the Ningyuan Army, the ministers on the side looked at each other in confusion, and then Minister Han quickly reminded the old emperor.

"I know! Don't worry! I won't withdraw troops from the border." The old emperor naturally knew what these ministers were worried about. They were simply worried that he would withdraw troops from the border without any regard for the consequences.

"Your Majesty is wise."

"My lords, how should the Yangzhou issue be resolved? Please come up with a plan as soon as possible. My Song Dynasty cannot afford to send out a few 50,000-man army."

"Your Majesty, several generations of Ningyuan Marquis Gu's family have served as generals in the army and have a great influence on the army. If this continues, it will inevitably cause turmoil in our army. Therefore, I suggest that Gu Yankai summon the elders of the Gu family to open the ancestral hall and expel Gu Tingye from the Gu family tree. In this way, Gu Tingye will naturally not be able to rely on the influence of the Gu family." Prime Minister Shen hurriedly expressed his opinion to the emperor, because the prestige of the Gu family in the army was unimaginable for ordinary people.

"Okay! Go to the Heavenly Prison and ask Gu Yankai and the Gu family elders to do it."

"Your Majesty, you can also order the areas around Yangzhou to recruit some militia on their own, and then directly besiege the city of Yangzhou." Then Han Da Xianggong looked at the emperor and said, he was ready to take his time and do a good job, mainly because they could not withstand too much trouble.

"Everyone, I wonder who should be sent to lead this matter?" As the emperor, he naturally knew the specific situation of the Song Dynasty, and then asked directly without comment.

"Murong Yanzhao."

"Oh? Is that the Murong who always targets Gu Tingye?" The male protagonist's life in the capital was not very comfortable. This Murong Yanzhao had always been targeting the male protagonist, and the old emperor naturally knew the situation in Bianliang very well.

"Exactly!"

"Okay! Then order Murong Yanzhao to go and take charge of the affairs of Yangzhou. This Ningyuan Army must be destroyed for me." Thinking that Murong Yanzhao was already a veteran in the Song Dynasty army, it would be no problem for him to deal with a small Ningyuan Army.

"Yes! Your Majesty."

Soon the news that the Ningyuan Army had completely wiped out 50,000 Song troops shocked everyone in Yangzhou and the world. Those officials and wealthy businessmen who were dragged to the salt village to do hard labor chose to surrender. The main reason was that they simply could not bear the hard work of being a hard laborer. For these pampered guys, it was an inhuman torture.

"Commander, I have fulfilled my mission! Most of the officials and wealthy businessmen are willing to join our army." Sure enough, Wang Zhizhou came back to report with excitement and pride on his face, feeling that he had done a very good job in his first job after joining the Ningyuan Army.

"Oh? That means there are still a lot of diehards?" Suning became curious about those "diehards" and was surprised that they didn't think that doing labor in the salt village was hard.

"Huh? Exactly! After all, the Song Dynasty has had the imperial examination system for so many years, and it is still regarded as orthodox by everyone." Realizing that the young man in front of him was not easy to fool, Wang Zhizhou explained with some embarrassment.

"Well, then let's keep these people and use them as bargaining chips in future negotiations."

"Yes! Commander!"

The Ningyuan Army naturally expanded and grew stronger after the 50,000 Song soldiers were annihilated so easily. You must know that these Song soldiers who surrendered were the best source of soldiers, and of course more suitable for conversion than those salt workers. Then Suning selected 30,000 of the best surrendered soldiers to join the Ningyuan Army, and the remaining 10,000 or so were all sent to the salt village to dry salt.

"Hualan, your father and your brother are very stubborn and they didn't choose to submit to me." Su Ning found Sheng Hualan triumphantly, and naturally spent a long time with Sheng Hualan again.

"Sir, I..." Thinking that Su Ning beside her was angry, Sheng Hualan hurriedly wanted to plead for her family.

"Don't worry! I won't kill them." Before Sheng Hualan finished her request, Su Ning smiled and comforted her.

"Thank you, sir."

"Also, I have another good news for you. Your concubine Wei gave birth to a baby boy, and your grandmother has named him Sheng Changsong."

"Ah? Really? That's great." As expected, Sheng Hualan laughed in surprise, then looked at Su Ning with a pleading look on her face and said, "Sir, I want to go back to the Sheng family to see my family."

"Your father and brothers are unwilling to join me. If others knew that you were my maid, do you think they could still return to the Song Dynasty?" Su Ning knew that the Sheng family still had doubts about her, so she naturally knew that they were unwilling to associate with her.

"Ah? This..." As expected, Sheng Hualan showed a bewildered look, realizing that this was indeed an unsolvable problem.

"Haha, I'll have someone quietly take you there in the dark."

"Thank you, sir."

That night, Sheng Hualan, wearing a black cloak, arrived at the Sheng family under the escort of a group of Ningyuan soldiers. The elderly, weak, and disabled members of the Sheng family could not help but feel pleasantly surprised to see Sheng Hualan. The old lady of the Sheng family burst into tears of joy and hugged Sheng Hualan, saying, "My poor Hua'er! I am sorry for making you suffer."

"Grandma, the commander is really good to me. Hua'er doesn't feel wronged." Sheng Hualan knew that her family wanted to know about her situation, so she quickly explained to her grandmother with a smile.

"Gu Tingye?" Old Madam Sheng looked at her eldest granddaughter in front of her uncertainly and asked.

"Yes! The Ningyuan Army wiped out 50,000 Song troops yesterday." Sheng Hualan was worried that her family would be pessimistic about Su Ning and the Ningyuan Army, so she specifically explained yesterday's great victory.

"I've heard about this, Grandmother, but what exactly is Gu Tingye planning to do?" While Su Ning and the Ningyuan Army's resounding victory was certainly unexpected, Old Lady Sheng still couldn't understand Su Ning's true intentions. "He said he wanted to be king, and that he would make me his concubine."

"Ah? What? Is he waiting for the court to recruit him?" At this moment, Old Lady Sheng immediately widened her eyes in horror. She really didn't expect that Suning's ambition would be so big. She soon guessed Suning's general plan.

"That's right! Wang Zhixin, the former governor of Yangzhou, has now surrendered to the commander-in-chief."

"Alas! It seems that our Great Song Dynasty is about to enter a troubled period."

"Grandma, do you think the commander will succeed?" Looking at the sighing grandmother in front of her, Sheng Hualan asked her grandmother.

"It's hard to say! Recruiting people has always been a tradition of our Great Song Dynasty. There are also external threats from the Liao Dynasty and the Western Xia in the northwest and north, and Dali in the southwest is also unwilling to calm down. In addition, the government and the court are adopting a policy of emphasizing civil affairs over military affairs. Perhaps Gu Tingye and the Ningyuan Army can really achieve their goals."

"That's great! Then I can become a concubine in the future?" After hearing her grandmother's analysis that Su Ning and Ning Yuanjun had a high chance of success, Sheng Hualan jumped up in surprise, and unknowingly her whole heart was on Su Ning.

"Silly child, grandma doesn't care about whether she is a concubine or not. As long as you and your brothers and sisters are safe, that's enough." Old Lady Sheng certainly noticed what her granddaughter was thinking, and then looked at Sheng Hualan helplessly and shook her head.

"Grandma, I heard that Aunt Wei gave birth to a younger brother for me?" Sheng Hualan then remembered the happy event at home, and looked at her grandmother in front of her and asked.

"Yes! I was scared out by the sound of the cannon last night. It weighs a full eight kilograms. Luckily, Fang's mother learned the skill of midwifery when she was young, otherwise it might have been really dangerous."

"Ah? Eight kilograms? How can it be so big?" Sheng Hualan opened her mouth in surprise and quickly covered her mouth with her handkerchief.

"Hmph! It's all that bitch Lin Qinshuang's fault. She deliberately sent a constant stream of supplements into Concubine Wei's yard and didn't allow Concubine Wei to move around. Fortunately, the Ningyuan Army suddenly rebelled. Otherwise, if Lin Qinshuang's evil plan had gone ahead, Concubine Wei would have died from childbirth." At this time, Old Lady Sheng also realized Lin Qinshuang's evil plan, and she couldn't help but explain with gritted teeth in hatred.

"Ah? Aunt Lin is so vicious?" Sheng Hualan was also shocked by Lin Qinshuang's vicious methods. She felt that this was something that ordinary people could not understand.

"Ah! The affairs of our Sheng family are also my fault. I didn't want to make the relationship with your father too awkward, so I deliberately put aside all trivial matters and went to Shou'an Hall to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures. I didn't expect your father to be so confused. He favored his concubine and killed his wife, which led to the unrest in our Sheng family. If I had stopped your father's behavior earlier, Lin Qinshuang would not have been so unscrupulous." Although she hated and despised Lin Qinshuang's methods, Mrs. Sheng still realized her mistake.

"Grandma, this is really not your fault. It's mainly because my father is too partial to Miss Lin."

"Hey! Hualan, I wonder how your father and brother are doing now?" Then Old Lady Sheng asked about Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai. After all, their specific whereabouts were still unknown.

"Grandmother, my father and Changbai are still doing hard labor in the salt farm. This time, the Ningyuan Army, with its great victory, has subdued many officials and clerks in Yangzhou. It's a pity that my father and Changbai still refuse to compromise."

"Hualan, your father and Changbai are right. After all, no one can predict the situation of the Ningyuan Army."

"what?"

"Hualan, we will announce to the public that you have committed suicide. I hope you can understand our painstaking efforts."

"Woo woo woo Huaer understands."

"Silly child! Dry your tears and go see your brother."

"Yes! Grandma."

Looking at the back of her eldest granddaughter, whom she raised personally, Old Lady Sheng couldn't help but feel full of anticipation. She also wanted to see whether Suning and the Ningyuan Army could succeed, or whether they would be wiped out by the mighty army of the Song Dynasty next time. She really felt that Suning's behavior was too crazy.

Su Ning knew that if he wanted to truly achieve his goal of rebellion, he had to expand his family as quickly as possible, otherwise it would be impossible to rely solely on those bastards in the Gu family. Naturally, he didn't think about having any contact with them in the future, so he had to hide with Sheng Hualan every day to make friends.

"Uncle Liao, you can't go back to the Song Dynasty now. You might as well join my Ningyuan Army directly." Su Ning left the big bed in the inner house refreshed, and then came to the prison and sat in front of the prisoner.

"Hmph! How could I possibly betray the Song Dynasty court when I have received the emperor's grace?" Liao Wenjun rejected Su Ning without even thinking.

"Uncle Liao, do you think your family still has a chance of survival?"

"This..." Thinking of his family in Bian Jing, Liao Wenjun began to hesitate.

"You have seen the strength of my Ningyuan Army. We can march directly to Bianjing and easily capture the city. However, I do not want to truly destroy the Song Dynasty."

"Gu Tingye, what exactly are you going to do?" Liao Wenjun was of course well aware that Ning Yuanjun had this strength. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva and looked at Su Ning and asked.

"Uncle Liao, the Song Dynasty has always had a tradition of seeking amnesty. I don't believe that the emperor and the ministers would not have this idea." Then Suning stated his intentions. It was just that the Zhao Song court was too weak.

"Ah? You... you want..." After realizing that Suning was just trying to be recruited by the court, Liao Wenjun widened his eyes in shock. He naturally believed that Suning and the Ningyuan Army could succeed.

"Haha, Uncle Liao, what do you think are my chances of success?" Suning laughed and looked at the stunned Liao Wenjun and asked back.

"."

"Uncle Liao, surrender to me! I will definitely make you successful."

"Coco is my family"

"Don't worry! When the Ningyuan Army and the imperial court negotiate, I will bring your family here safely."

"Commander-in-chief, I, Liao Wenjun, am willing to surrender." Hearing Suning's promise to bring his relatives back, Liao Wenjun naturally knelt down on the ground without any hesitation.

"Haha, good! Just accept your appointment as the deputy commander of the Ningyuan Army and command 10,000 Ningyuan Army infantrymen." At this time, Su Ning said with surprise about the new appointment of Liao Wenjun. He will continue to subdue other generals of the Song Army in the future. Anyway, they will not be too repulsive to him. After all, he is not those foreign barbarians in the north.

"Thank you, Commander."

His Ningyuan Army was not only mainly composed of poor salt workers, but also trained by his own AI robots. In addition, the Ningyuan Army adopted the Mongolian thousand-household system, which consisted of thousand households, hundred households, general flags and small flags. The officers and soldiers above the small flags used his own AI robots, so naturally there was no need to worry about Liao Wenjun's loyalty to him.

(End of this chapter)