Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

There was no time for empty pleasantries. The situation on the front was tense, so Wangshu got straight to the point. "To be honest, Your Highness, the war situation in the south is severe. I would like to request that Your Highness send 20,000 troops from Nanyang to the south to provide assistance."

She truthfully recounted the contents of the letter, including some details about Chang'an's situation. "I sincerely seek your help, Your Highness, and I hope you will speak frankly. No matter what decision you make now, it will not affect the agreement between you and my husband."

Before they even had time to warm themselves up, the topic got straight to the point. The prince was stunned. This couple acted in exactly the same way. One was one, two was two. They were very frank and honest without beating around the bush.

Looking out the window, Luoyang, which used to be subject to years of extortion and plunder by the imperial court, is now tax-free and has opened its gates. The streets are bustling with people, giving the impression of a prosperous and peaceful era where people live and work in peace and contentment, welcoming visitors from all directions and gathering wealth from three directions.

Those who had accused him of being a traitor and a coward who would lose without fighting gradually fell silent, with most of them trapped in Chang'an, their lives and deaths unknown.

Even though the Prince of Nanyang was living in a corner of the world, he knew that forces were growing and declining. Although he could not see it clearly, the only thing he was sure of was that the Zhou Dynasty was doomed to fall. The son-in-law Zhou Wuxie struggled for a while, but was disappointed in the end. None of these rebellious forces were royalists, and some even betrayed the emperor at the last moment.

The once-prominent general who defended the country was in great danger. In the current world, apart from the general who defended the country, there was no one else in the Daliang Dynasty who could save the country from collapse.

Even as a member of the royal family, he chose to stab Chang'an in the back - Chang'an has never treated Luoyang well.

But making him become the villain's accomplice at this moment goes against the doctrine of the mean that he believes in.

"Madam, you are straightforward. I am the descendant of the Zhou family, and I only wish Luoyang peace and stability. I am afraid that I have disappointed you."

As expected, Wangshu's expression remained unchanged. She had said what she needed to say, and then she calmly picked up her chopsticks to eat. "There's nothing to be disappointed about. One should do their job and fulfill their responsibilities. Luoyang is blessed to have the prince here. Let's eat while the food is hot."

Luoyang cuisine is both colorful and flavorful, with the sliced ​​meat soup and crispy pork being particularly special. Even the pink peony flowers in the peony bird's nest, which looks larger than life, are still blooming beautifully among the bird's nest, which is amazing.

To time travelers, these were merely late-planted peonies grown in a greenhouse. But for the ancients, who followed the 24 solar terms, the power of seasonal changes was a wonder of the world, like the Seven Wonders of the World in later times, attracting a constant stream of visitors from other places to observe and check in.

People who live and work in peace and contentment possess greater creativity and imagination for beauty. Yellow eggshells, white shredded radish and tofu, red shredded ham, black shredded wood ear mushrooms, and shredded pork and mushrooms, all drenched in broth and garnished with out-of-season peony flowers, were the order of the day. With a love of beauty, Wangshu, meeting the gazes of the two, took the first chopstick. "Let me be the one to destroy the flowers with my ruthless hands."

The prince smiled, and the beauty covered her mouth, "Madam, you are so humorous!"

The three of them shared it and ate it.

Finally, cakes and tea were served. Wangshu, who didn't like tea, was about to find an excuse to leave. "I'm honored to have the prince and princess here today. I learned through Liang Ju that the prince had recently intended to purchase armor from him, but circumstances have prevented the delivery. He's not in Luoyang at the moment, so he asked me to bring you a letter. I hope the prince will forgive me."

Tang Bo handed over a sincere letter of apology. The butler of Nanyang King took the letter and handed it to his master. After reading it, he found that the whole thing could not be delivered. He was willing to pay compensation according to the penalty for breach of contract or delay the delivery for half a year, and add 10 sets of general armor as compensation for the delay.

The Liang family is a wealthy family in the south. Now, they divide most of the iron and salt mines south of Luoyang with the Chen and Nan families. The three families work together to support the salt and iron money of the Jingzhou army. The iron and steel making technology of the south and the novel and lightweight armor styles have made the elite armored army of Jingzhou famous for being invincible. Among them, the general armor made in the style of the armor worn by the invincible general of the guard is actually invulnerable to swords and knives.

When Qin Xiuyuan attacked the city, he sent two sets of armor to the Luoyang army. The soldiers were amazed to see that it was impervious to swords and spears, and they lamented the excellence of the armor. They were afraid that if the two armies confronted each other, the armor would increase their courage three times. The King of Nanyang, who had no intention of damaging his fighting power, finally rode his donkey down the hill and signed the agreement.

Later, the Luoyang Army learned of the ordering channel and immediately placed an order. Seeing that the delivery date, after waiting for half a year and paying a large sum of money, was about to be delivered, was immediately gone, and the King of Nanyang was frustrated and bitter. He had refused to borrow troops first, had a full meal, and then accepted the breach of contract and sincerity later.

Luoyang's skilled ironsmiths and armorers, along with their iron warehouses, had long been plundered by the General. Having soldiers without armor was like throwing an egg against a rock against an armored army. Without the experience of actual combat, they were like a fine sword sealed in its box, rusted and increasingly imposing.

There are no more than 20,000 Jingzhou troops in Luoyang now, of which 3,000 are elite soldiers, and there are 5,000 Hu soldiers led by Hu people. It can be said that Qin Xiuyuan almost stationed his most elite forces in Luoyang. The Qin Mansion is strictly patrolled by soldiers within a radius of one mile. The housekeeper of the mansion is Qin Xiuyuan's martial arts master. The guarding is probably tighter than that of the high-ranking person in Chang'an a few years ago.

Many of his subordinates had some ulterior motives while Qin Xiuyuan was away on a military expedition, but King Nanyang himself did not dare to have any such thoughts. Any mosquito that approached the Qin Mansion would probably be killed along with three generations of ancestors.

After reading the letter, he calmed down his disappointment for a long time, "Does the Jingzhou Army have plans to increase troops in Luoyang in the near future?" The Chen and Nan families supply armor to the southern army, and the Liang family supplies armor to the Luoyang army. The distribution is clear and they don't interfere with each other. Logically speaking, only when Luoyang, Xiangyang and other places expand their troops will they be so busy making armor.

Wangshu nodded, "I do plan to increase the troops. But conscription is a burden on the people. I intend to recruit 20,000 soldiers to resolve the current crisis."

Conscription generally means forcibly recruiting young men. The imperial court has been doing this for the past decade, causing public outrage and widespread complaints.

Recruiting soldiers means hiring young and middle-aged people or veterans, paying them monthly, forming them into mercenaries and incorporating them into the army. It is winter now, which is a good time with abundant labor force.

The day before, the King of Nanyang had just refused to lend troops, and the next day, ten recruitment orders were issued from Luoyang and passed south one by one, and local governments were notified to the southern border under the jurisdiction of the Jingzhou Army.

The order stipulated a monthly stipend for young men and able-bodied women within the appropriate age range. Obedience to orders and bravery would be rewarded according to military merit. Those killed in action would receive ten years of support from the Jingzhou Army. Those who had served for four months could resign. Interested individuals were urged to register for interviews at the local government offices. Those who arrived within the deadline would receive a food allowance based on their travel time, regardless of whether they passed or failed.

After hearing the news, the prince sat quietly in the military camp for a long time.

As soon as this order was issued, the fast horses from government offices in various places ran out of steam on the way to Qin Mansion in Luoyang. The situation in Bazhou was difficult. It was entirely dependent on guerrilla warfare and reserve reinforcements to stop the coalition forces' eastward advance step by step. The Luoyang troops were determined not to return to the south for defense. All places put aside their praises and criticisms of the recruitment order, and took the lead in using the money, food, clothes, shoes, swords and knives in the government office storehouses to train a steady stream of new recruits, and built new city walls day and night in this dangerous place.