Chapter 167 Wang Xiaojie is different from what Zhao Ji imagined

The position of Governor in the hall of Pingzhou Governor's Mansion has been occupied by four people within a month.

First it was the main character Qiu Jing, then Li Duozuo, then Zhao Ji, and now finally it is Wang Xiaojie.

Zhao Ji and Li Kaigu walked into the hall one after another, only to see Wang Xiaojie sitting high up in the hall with a stern face and a scar of neither deep nor shallow on his face, which was left from the battle with Tubo. It looked very ferocious.

Sitting to the lower right of Wang Xiaojie was a general with a long thin face and two triangular eyes that looked a bit evil.

Yan Feishi and Zong Huaichang were able to have a seat when Zhang Xuanyu and Li Duozuo were generals, but now they can only stand, as if they are being trained.

Zhao Ji felt the depressing atmosphere in the hall, and Zong Huaichang even signaled with his eyes, as if implying that Wang Xiaojie's visit was not a good intention.

"Greetings, General." Zhao Ji and Yang Xuanji were wearing armor and could not perform the full greeting, so they just made a simple gesture.

Wang Xiaojie nodded slightly in response, with an indifferent attitude.

However, the triangular-eyed general in the hall suddenly attacked: "You are so arrogant. How dare you not kneel before the general!"

Zhao Ji glanced over coldly at the voice and asked, "Who are you? Generals Yan and Zong are standing, but you have a seat."

The man sneered and said complacently: "I am Su Honghui, the former general of the Left Yulin Guard and now the general of the Right Wei Guard."

Zhao Ji raised a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, and cupped his hands and said, "Oh~ So you are General Su, a talented disciple of King Liang, who followed Xue Huaiyi to conquer the Turks. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."

In the early years, Wu Zetian sent her male favorite as the commander to fight against the Turks and lead a large army in an armed parade, and this person was among them.

He had a close relationship with Wu Sansi. During the Bleeding Eagle case, Wu Sansi used his identity to do something tricky.

As a result, Su Honghui was transferred from the Zuo Yulin Guard by Wu Zetian, and now he probably took advantage of Wu Sansi's relationship and ran to Pingzhou.

No one could have imagined that behind this guy's complicated background, there was also an identity of a snake spirit.

What Zhao Ji didn't know was that in history, it was also Su Honghui who tricked Wang Xiaojie to death.

Wu Zetian ordered to execute him, but he immediately made meritorious deeds to atone for his sins and was spared from death.

At that time, the Zhou army had just been defeated, and the commander of the Zhou army happened to be Wu Youyi, who was hiding in the desert. Think about it, think carefully, where did this "merit" come from?

Back on topic, Su Honghui was not a good person from every angle, and since Zhao was obviously sarcastic in his words, he immediately felt resentful.

Not sure if it was Wang Xiaojie's instruction, but Su Honghui was full of confidence and asked, "General Zhao, before General Wang arrived in Pingzhou, you mobilized the army privately. Isn't that a bit too disrespectful to the general?"

Zhao Ji did not respond at all and retorted, "General Su, I am the newly appointed governor of Yingzhou by your majesty. You are so confident and trying me as if I were a criminal before the general has spoken yet."

"Do you have the great general in your eyes? Forget the great general. With such arrogant words, do you still have the law of the court in your eyes? Do you still have His Majesty in your eyes?"

Su Honghui's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he was speechless for a moment: "You..."

Zhao Ji sneered and said aggressively: "General Li Duozuo entrusted the military affairs to me before he left. I have to make an emergency decision. The opportunity for war is fleeting."

"So I led my army all the way to the Stone Valley of the East Gorge, recovered the lost territory, and defeated the Khitan army. Is this still a crime?"

Su Honghui's face was gloomy, and he retorted: "Who knows if you are killing innocent people to take credit for it, or exaggerating to seek credit and reward."

Zhao Ji laughed again and said sarcastically, "General Su, don't judge others by yourself. The big camp at the entrance of Dongxishi Valley can't deceive people after all."

Su Honghui was furious and was about to attack again, but was interrupted by Wang Xiaojie's majestic voice: "Okay, General Zhao has done nothing wrong this time, Honghui, how can you be so offensive."

Wang Xiaojie turned his gaze to Zhao Ji again: "General Zhao, before His Majesty left, he specifically asked us to maintain a sincere and united heart and work together."

"We should stop hindering each other and doing our own thing like Zhang Xuanyu and Li Duozuo did. We should learn from our mistakes."

Since Wu Zetian had already been brought up, Zhao Ji could only take a step back temporarily: "Your Majesty is very insightful. But General Su just pressed me with harsh words, so I had no choice but to respond."

"General Su, you are young and hot-tempered. Please forgive me for being offensive just now." Zhao Ji said with a wry smile.

Su Honghui also forced a smile and apologized to Zhao Ji, and the little friction between the two was written off.

Zhao Ji stared at Wang Xiaojie and thought to himself, "Wang Xiaojie looks rough, but he is actually very smart. He didn't show up himself, but let Su Honghui take the lead to show his power." "I am at a disadvantage when arguing with Su Honghui like this. When I become rich in the future, I will have to get two lackeys to endorse me."

Wang Xiaojie once again displayed his majesty on the stage: "Please take a seat, generals. Now that everyone is here, it's time to discuss business."

Zhao Ji was not polite either. He sat down in the first seat on Wang Xiaojie's left. Yan and Zong sat below Zhao Ji, and opposite them were the generals of the Right Guard.

"General Zhao, you have just returned from the front line. Could you please introduce the military situation on the front line?" Wang Xiaojie asked.

Zhao Ji stood up and replied, "Our army is now facing the Khitan army in the Stone Valley of the East Gorge. This is the only way from Pingzhou to Yingzhou. There are about 20,000 Khitan troops camped in the valley. Sun Wanrong is in charge and is strictly guarding it."

"We have 10,000 soldiers, and we have set up camp at the entrance of the valley. General Yang is in charge personally, and neither side can do anything to the other. However, the Khitan army is still sending more troops."

Wang Xiaojie nodded and said solemnly: "It seems that our army is at a disadvantage in Dongxishi Valley. We must either send more troops to Dongxishi Valley or temporarily avoid the front line."

"What the general said is absolutely right. I just wonder whether the general should advance or retreat, attack or defend?" Zhao Ji asked a nonsense question.

If they wanted to defend, Li Duozuo would not have to leave, and it would not have been Wang Xiaojie's turn at all.

Wang Xiaojie's eyes flashed with brilliance, and he suddenly slammed the table: "Of course we will advance. I will personally lead the main force of the Right Guard to Dongxishi Valley to meet Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong!"

The faces of all the generals, including Zhao Ji, changed. Everyone thought that Wang Xiaojie would not retreat, but they did not expect him to be so radical.

There was little to say about the military discussions thereafter, as Wang Xiaojie was responsible for arranging the defense of Pingzhou, Danzhou, and Jizhou, as well as the army's marching route and food and supplies.

After everyone left, Wang Xiaojie asked Zhao Ji to stay alone and dismissed his attendants to explain the plan for the westward advance.

"General Zhao, this is a secret decree bestowed by His Majesty himself. Please take a good look at it." Wang Xiaojie took out an imperial edict and handed it to Zhao Ji personally.

Zhao accepted the imperial edict respectfully and had already guessed its contents to a high degree.

Wang Xiaojie was half envious and half jealous, and said tartly: "General Zhao, I am a few years older than you, so I will call you Chengyuan."

"His Majesty really favors you, kid. He lets you lead an army and gives you the power to do whatever you want. This kind of favor is not something that ordinary people can get."

Zhao Ji was somewhat flattered when he heard this. He was able to enjoy Di Pangpang's preferential treatment so soon.

"The general holds great power and controls all the troops in western Liaoning. He has not even sent a military supervisor. It is clear that the general is more favored by Your Majesty." Zhao Ji replied with a smile.

Wang Xiaojie didn't care about the soft thorn in Zhao Ji's words, and said sternly: "Chengyuan has read the imperial edict. I will give you 25,000 troops, and General Yang will be your deputy. Go west from Danzhou, bypass the Turkic territory, directly attack the heartland of Khitan, and surprise attack Yingzhou."

After that, he patted Zhao Ji on the shoulder and said earnestly: "This is the bait I personally prepared to attract the main force of the Khitan army for you. You must seize the opportunity and don't disappoint His Majesty's high hopes for you."

Zhao Ji was shocked and confused for a moment, and didn't understand why Wang Xiaojie changed his attitude.

Wang Xiaojie observed Zhao Ji's expression and smiled, "Chengyuan, don't you understand why I have two different faces in the hall? Do you suspect that I was the one who ordered Su Honghui to show you a warning just now?"

Zhao Ji quickly cupped his hands and said, "I dare not."

Wang Xiaojie laughed and explained, "I have a reason for doing this. I want to play a drama of a general-commander feud with Chengyuan, so that I can conceal the truth and 'drive' Chengyuan to Tanzhou."

When Zhao Ji heard this, he suddenly realized something, and the way he looked at Wang Xiaojie changed.

I originally thought that even if Wang Xiaojie was not a Li Kui-like character, at most he was just a rough but meticulous Zhang Fei. I didn't expect that he had a very smart mind.

In fact, Zhao Ji had a preconceived idea. How could a man who could lead hundreds of thousands of troops be a reckless man?

"General, this is a great plan. I admire it." Zhao Ji said sincerely.

Of course, Wang Xiaojie's move was probably in vain.

Because of Xiao Qingfang's internal guards, Wang Xiaojie's plan to divide his troops into three groups was probably already on Li Jinzhong's desk.

Although Wang Xiaojie's efforts were in vain, his character and ability made Zhao Ji feel more at ease.

To deal with such a Wang Xiaojie, it would be unlikely for Li Jinzhong and Xiao Qingfang to annihilate Zhou's army as they did in the original drama.

(End of this chapter)