The plan to counterattack Binzhou planned by Xue Linfeng and Ye Kai was not successful in the end. Xiongkuohai was defeated. The Binzhou Qufang opposite Hukou, which was originally guarded by Xiongkuohai, was empty. It was a great opportunity, but there were rivers and ditches in Qufang, making it extremely difficult for the large army to attack. Su Can, who followed Li Jian, reacted very quickly and immediately brought troops into Binzhou and pressed towards Qufang, forcing Xue Linfeng to retreat and return to Hukou to make trouble for Zhaoyi, Liao Daping, Fang Xiang and his Modao team defended Hukou. Xue Linfeng was unable to attack, and after being defeated by Xiongkuohai, the Southern Army also urgently needed to take a breath and revitalize morale. The two were stalemate.

On the other hand, Li Qing, who had never suffered a defeat, finally suffered a loss. Ye Zitan adopted the strategy of luring the enemy into depth and tempted Li Qing and his unit to penetrate deep into Guizhou. The 3,000 cavalry of the Northern Expedition Army, hidden on the Shaanxi-Guizhou border, marched 300 miles a day and night, cutting off the rear route of the army and completely annihilated the 5,000-man Southern Army in Guizhou. As the Bailian Camp of the Northern Expedition Army entered Guizhou, the Fifth Battalion and the Cavalry Battalion were approaching, and Li Qing had to shrink his troops in order to protect himself.

At this point, the troops entering Guizhou of the Northern Army already had Hao Ren's vanguard of 3,000 cavalry, more than 20,000 cavalry, nearly 20,000 cavalry, and nearly 50,000 cavalry. More importantly, Ye Kai had to divide his troops to defend the border between Shaanxi and Guizhou, but now both sides have become friendly forces, and Guizhou, Shaanxi, Jiangxi and even Jiangbei have become a large area. From a large strategic perspective, he has already survived the most difficult moment and is no longer a lonely army.

In Ezhou, Linjiang Garden. Rou Niang left the courtyard where she lived and arrived in the largest conference hall in Linjiang Garden. This was the first time she had been here since Li Xiao left Linjiang Garden. Sitting on the big chair at the top of the middle of the lobby, Rou Niang pressed her hands on her temples and kept rubbing them.

The good situation suddenly turned into such a mock kiss. Everyone in the hall looked gloomy, and from one side to one's advantage to the current stalemate, it was really annoying to think about it.

"Your Majesty Li doesn't know how it happened. My elite troops in the south are at his hands. After many years of fighting Ye Kai, I haven't picked up my opponent. I killed Ye Kai earlier. Why, even today, even if Yun Zhao in the north wants to reach out, he has no name to extend his hand!" He Huaijin said angrily. "This time, let's not talk about the loss of soldiers and generals, and Li Jian fell into the hands of the Northern Army. I don't know how many things will happen. Yun Zhao clearly wants to use Li Jian for his sake."

Everyone in the hall remained silent, obviously most of them agreed with He Huaijin's opinion.

"Princess, what do you think about this matter? What are we going to do next?" He Huaijin looked at Rou Niang.

"Our army plays sings of triumph in every direction. Even if there are occasional minor setbacks, what is it?" Rou Niang put down her hand, sat upright in a high position, and said with a calm face: "Uncle the Emperor worked hard and made great contributions. Without his efforts to resist Ye Kai over the years, we have this peaceful scene in the three prefectures in Jiangnan. He Zhizhou, you are saying this poorly. We are Weiwei Ye Kai, not a bandit mob. Don't forget that Ye Kai once fought at the city of Binzhou. Since the Emperor took over the military power, have the three prefectures in the south suffered wars and were in danger of war. There is no need to win. If you suffer a defeat, the sky will collapse? I think we have been so smooth in the past two years, and some people have been leisurely and unable to bear any setbacks!"

Rou Niang's voice and expression were stern, and the strong dissatisfaction in her tone made everyone in the hall calm down. Rou Niang has always held high power in the Li Xiao group, and her power has extended to the army in the past two years. She is often in a high position now, and now she is no longer the shy village girl of the past. With every word and action, a high pressure naturally emanates. Especially after he gave birth to Li Si's eldest son, his status in the entire group has increased. Even though He Huaijin was the first group of confidants who followed Li Xiao, he could only lower his head when Rou Niang scolded him.

"Yes, my subordinates have lost their words!"

"Small setbacks are not afraid, and they can better remind us that the days of success are still far away!" Rou Niang said coldly: "Next, while our three southern states attacked Guizhou, we must raise a large amount of military and food to send them to Shangjing. Although Shangjing has not suffered wars over the years, it is extremely difficult to be blocked. The Fourth Master is in Beijing without food or silver, and many things are not easy to handle. Lord He, you are the leader of the three southern states, and this matter will be coordinated by you."

"Yes!" He Huaijin said with his eyebrows down and his eyes.

"In addition, Su Can and his team traveled thousands of miles to Jiangnan, and their subordinates had to reward them, and the money had to be paid. After the emperor's uncle was defeated, his soldiers under his command also needed to be appeased. Those who could come back alive by Xiong Kuohai's troops needed to be rewarded even more!" Rou Niang said.

"Princess, Su Can and the others are fine, but the prince and Xiong Kuohai are losing their troops and losing their generals. It is already a pity to not hold them accountable. Why do you have to spend a lot of money to reward?" He Huaijin said dissatisfied: "It is already very difficult for the three southern states to provide the world. Princess, save as much as possible!"

"Is that?" Rou Niang said two words coldly, "Mr. He, don't forget, where are the soldiers of the Emperor and Xiongkuo Hailai? They are all soldiers from the three southern states!"

Rou Niang was harsh, "This money is not only for them, but more importantly, it is for the people of the three southern states to see. Not only should those who are alive have to be rewarded, but those who are dead have to be given a lot of pensions! The three southern states are the foundation of the Fourth Master, and the hearts of the people and the morale of the military must be stable. He Zhizhou, don't ruin big things for a little money!"

"Okay, but the treasury really can't make any turnaround!" He Huaijin said with a frown.

Rou Niang smiled coldly and glanced at everyone, "Are you? You can't turn around?"

"Yes, I really can't turn around!" He Huaijin said.

Rou Niang leaned back, half-closed her eyes for a while, as if she was talking to herself, "What should I do? Ziyan!"

"Empress!" Zi Yan took a step forward.

Rou Niang waved her hand.

Zi Yan walked to He Huaijin with a smile, pulled out a stack of paper from her sleeve, and handed it to He Huaijin.

He Huaijin, who was puzzled, glanced at Rou Niang who was silent in the hall, looked at Zi Yan, who was standing with a smile on her face, opened the paper in her hand, and glanced at her face. After a quick look at the stack of files in her hand, sweat was already dripping from her face.

Zi Yan smiled and took back the files from He Huaijin's hand, and walked back with a downed look on her face.

"Empress, the Ezhou treasury can still find some solutions. I think all the officials in the prefecture tried hard and saved up, and the silver was almost the same." He Huaijin said with a sweat on his face.

Everyone in the hall was shocked, for some reason He Huaijin suddenly changed his words.

"That's good!" Rou Niang stood up and sat upright. "There are still a lot of cash in the garden, and I can still take out a little of it. Zi Yan, and turn around and send it to Lord He."

"I dare not, I dare not, the money in the garden belongs to the empress, how dare the subordinates use it?"

"There's nothing I dared to do! What do I want so much money?" Rou Niang said lightly: "It's better to let them play a bigger role instead of letting them lie there and sleep."

"Empress Virtue!" He Huaijin bent down and said.

"Empress Virtue!" The officials in the hall stood up and bowed.

"Okay, everyone will do their duty next. Don't panic about the occasional failure of the front line. Doing your own business is the greatest loyalty to the Fourth Master. The military affairs are coordinated by the Emperor. As for the rest, I will handle it. Li Jian, hehe, he won't live for a few days. I want to see what tricks can the Zhengbei Army use to hold a dead Li Jian!" Rou Niang said. "You go down and do your errands carefully!"

"Yes!" The officials bowed and retreated.

He Huaijin stayed and did not move. Rou Niang sat back on the chair, looked at He Huaijin without saying a word.

There was no one else in the hall except Rou Niang and Zi Yan. He Huaijin's knees became weak and he finally knelt in front of Rou Niang.

"Grandma, spare your life!"

Rou Niang looked at him but did not ask him to get up, "Mr. He, I have never understood, what is the use of making such money? The Ezhou treasury is almost yours. Please give me a request. You have been in charge of Ezhou for many years. Over the years, you have become the largest landlord and the largest merchant in Ezhou. Money flows to your house like flowing water, but you are still thinking about the public treasury. What is the reason?"

"Empress, my subordinates are just turning around. After this time, they can pay back the money from the treasury!"

"But now we are anxious to use the money!" Rou Niang said angrily: "He Huaijin, I don't care what method you use, and immediately make up for the deficit in the treasury. If you don't have money, you can sell the land and the house!"

"Yes, Empress, I'll do it right after I go down. Tomorrow, no, today, I will definitely make up the silver coins of Curry today!"

Staring at He Huaijin, Rou Niang's voice gradually turned softer, and she said softly: "Mr. He, you have always been loyal to the Fourth Master, I know that this. But what would he think if the Fourth Master knew that you dig his foundation like this? The Fourth Master is a person who is difficult to rub the sand in his eyes, and he is even more greedy. You have seen the methods of the Fourth Master cleaning up the three southern states back then!"

He Huaijin was sweating coldly, "Yes, yes, please be careful with the princess."

Rou Niang sneered: "If I hadn't been for my chastity, you would have lived in prison long ago and could have kneeled in front of me!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have no choice but to go through fire and water for you, and I will never refuse. In the future, only the order of the Empress will be followed." He Huaijin kowtowed like pounding garlic.

"Ziyan!" Rou Niang called softly.

Ziyan walked forward and handed the stack of papers in her hand to He Huaijin. He Huaijin quickly took them over and stuffed them into his arms.

"Quick the tail quickly and don't leave a handle that makes people sick!"

"yes!"

"You go, I'll do it well, I won't lose money to you!"

"Thank you, Empress!" He Huaijin got up and walked out of the lobby tremblingly.

"Empress is so skillful. He Huaijin is going to be devoted to it now!" Zi Yan said with a smile.

"If he doesn't be honest, he can make him have nothing with his backhand!" Rou Niang sneered. He turned around and looked at Ziyan, "By the way, Kuohai was seriously injured and was on his way back to Ezhou. When he comes back, you can take him into Linjiang Garden. The doctor here is good and there are good medicines, so he can recover faster!"

"Thank you, Empress!"
Chapter completed!