Zhang Xing looked back at the White Wolf Fort, which was still within sight. Over there, the flag of the Wei Dynasty was still ringing fiercely in the winter wind. Then he looked at these armored bandits who suddenly appeared in the middle of the road and blocked the road behind them. The trees, and the steel crossbows clearly visible behind the trees, couldn't help but let out a breath of white air.
His Royal Highness, Prince Qi, seemed to be a little confused. Moreover, his self-righteous display of sharpness that day was only directed at Zhang Xing, so he would naturally pretend to be at a loss on weekdays.
Qin Bao, on the other hand, looked at Zhang Xing with some embarrassment.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xing just looked at him in turn: "Didn't you have it when you came?"
"No." Qin Bao said, but his face was embarrassed. "When I came, although the Dharma was in place, the Holy Master had not yet left Taiyuan, and everyone thought there would be words again..."
Zhang Xing nodded, and Qin Bao was already there when they met.
The holy driver almost fled Yunnei. The Guanfeng Hall had been burned down a long time ago, and he didn't even have a car. He just left early and stayed late, and hurriedly arrived in Taiyuan.
Then upon arriving at the place, they announced a new reward method, the so-called 1,500 honors plus 200 special honors. As a result, the five sergeants accompanying him were dissatisfied. Some officers even took advantage of Wei Chi's death. There is a traitor in the court who wants to kill Prime Minister Su Wei.
Although the matter was suppressed immediately, the court also immediately changed the law, adding 3,000 honors to 200 special honors, and immediately transferred it back to the Eastern Capital to let everyone go home to celebrate the New Year...
So far, the Forbidden Army has stopped the turmoil on the surface, but it is still causing trouble in private.
According to what they just learned from Bailangsai, Shengjia has left Taiyuan and returned south. Zhang Xing and others thought that the matter was at least under control on the surface, but now it seems that once something cracks, The development of the matter may be far beyond everyone's imagination.
"Which army and branch do you belong to?"
Qin Bao waited for a while and saw that King Qi and Zhang Xing stopped saying anything. He immediately rode forward and scolded them severely. "How to wander around here?"
A group of armored bandits looked at each other, and then a leader stepped forward proudly, showing a messy beard: "Which army and which unit do you belong to? If we are partners in the army, we can discuss it easily... But why?" No armor?”
The accent is very strong, and he seems to be a local rather than a Kansai or Central Plains person.
"We are Fulongwei." Qin Bao responded seriously.
"What is Fulongwei, the Forbidden Army?" The bearded leader frowned on the spot.
"almost."
"Then I'm sorry." The leader said with a complete sneer and relief. "The imperial army came over and ruined our place. They also attracted the Wu tribe and robbed everything in the north. In the end, we rescued you. We went to Taiyuan ourselves and received rewards. , happily went back to the Eastern Capital to enjoy their happiness, but they left us here and didn’t give us a penny... For one tael of silver each, we won’t need your horses, otherwise we will have twenty steel crossbows. You must not recognize us."
"Is it the Fenyang Palace garrison, the Taiyuan garrison, or the rebel army that followed King Qi in Taiyuan?" Zhang Xing suddenly reined in his horse and asked.
The man was startled for a moment, but he still responded: "We are the Taiyuan Rebels."
"Why didn't the Taiyuan rebels follow the Holy Master back to Taiyuan?" Qin Bao interrupted in surprise.
"We'll stay after passing the White Wolf Pass. There must be someone guarding the road, right?" The man sneered, but still made a little addition. "Actually, we should go back to Taiyuan, but we don't want to go back. We want to do business without capital..."
Qin Bao wanted to say more, but Zhang Xing nodded directly and continued to ask: "So, in fact, the Holy Master left directly without any reward for the reinforcements from Jin?"
"What else can happen?" The man seemed to realize something, and immediately turned around to ask behind him after answering. "What exactly is Fulongwei?"
"It's all your Highness's fault." Zhang Xing turned around to talk to King Qi, his words were sincere and his voice was loud. "If Taiyuan is still here, at least it can be divided among the honorary quotas... As a result, because His Highness cannot win the trust of the emperor, so many people have been implicated... In the winter, His Highness cannot abandon them like this. Otherwise, not only are they destined to become thieves, but the people around them will also be harmed by them."
Cao Ming hesitated to speak, but under the gaze of other Fulong Guards, he could only remain silent.
But Zhang Xing didn't care at all, and directly rode his horse forward a few steps, then turned his horse slightly to get out of the way, and then pointed his riding whip at the King of Qi in front of the obviously panicked soldiers:
"Brothers from Taiyuan, the one behind you is His Highness King Qi who led you before... You all ended up today just because His Highness was supervising the army in the north and no one made the decision for you... But now that His Highness is back, the brothers from Taiyuan will There is a way to survive. Your Highness is back, and the land of Jin will be at peace! Come together and pay homage to King Qi. Not only can you be exempted from guilt, but you can also let King Qi take you to claim rewards! Isn't it wonderful?"
Cao Ming was stunned and choked on the spot and coughed twice.
But the armored highwaymen started to stir up excitement, and then there were chaotic inquiries and noisy discussions. In the process, the crossbow machine that had been placed behind the big tree blocking the road was obviously put away.
After a while, the leader actually believed it, threw down his weapon, and wanted to come forward to see and verify.
Zhang Xing also quickly turned around and led them to see King Qi at the back of the team.
"Don't hurt me!" Cao Ming was furious as he looked at Zhang Xing coming towards him.
"Your Highness harmed them first." Zhang Xingyi spoke righteously. "Your Majesty, why are you so irresponsible?"
The Fulong Guards immediately came to see him. The bearded leader glanced at Cao Ming, then at Zhang Xing, and even flinched for a moment.
Cao Ming still wants to talk.
Zhang Xing became more serious: "The saint has given up on them, will King Qi abandon them again? Besides, what else does your highness have to lose? Even if he has no responsibility, does he not even have a conscience?"
Cao Ming became even more stunned, and when the bearded leader heard this, he couldn't bear it anymore, but he immediately stepped forward, pretended to look at it for a few times, and then knelt down in front of the horse and cried out, telling all the injustices King Qin had suffered. .
According to this person, they were fine when they followed the King of Qi northward at first, but after they came back, they were thrown here and immediately encountered complete disregard - in the mess, the white wolf stuffed all the ghosts to the north. The governor of the state was under unified command and didn't care about them at all, and Taiyuan never gave orders behind him.
After staying here for two days, I was expecting a reward, but suddenly I heard that the Holy Master had left, and then I learned that all the rewards passed down during the siege were invalid, and only the Forbidden Army had those honorary positions. They have no share in the Taiyuan garrison at all.
Not to mention, they were preparing to return to Taiyuan, but only three to five days after leaving, they encountered other soldiers of King Qin who had dispersed on the way. Before the imperial army left, they emptied Taiyuan's treasury, including gold, silver, money and silk. Not a trace was left.
Moreover, the Jun Cheng got into a quarrel with the other leaders of the Taiyuan garrison and locked up the city to prevent the garrison from entering.
When they arrived at Loufanguan, it was true that they were not allowed to go out but were not allowed to enter... So they were completely panicked and didn't know where to go? So they turned back, but it was freezing cold and there was no one to supplement the logistics, so they simply looted.
"Taiyuan is the capital of Tangtang. A county magistrate can't handle the military affairs well, especially since many sergeants are outside the county. It is even more incompetent, which is unusual." Zhang Xing sighed. "But there is a problem here...why didn't a temporary Taiyuan stay behind when the Holy Master left?"
"What do you think?" King Qi asked bravely.
"It was not necessary at the beginning... After the incident between the Ma family and his son and the eldest princess, the saint was a little shy... But more importantly, the saint was in Jin at that time, and the saint could decide everything in Taiyuan. Unfortunately, there are also my husband-in-law and you, His Highness, and the other two husband-in-law who have come to accompany us after handling the funeral."
Zhang Xing analyzed carefully.
"But soon there was a surprise attack by Dulan Khan. No one expected this, so it was your Highness's turn to actually make the decision. After coming back, the failure to arrive as promised in advance caused instability in the Forbidden Army, which made the saint unable to Instead of returning to the Eastern Capital immediately to appease the imperial army, it is possible that the saint himself missed something at this time... However, from above, the governors did not remind the saint, or the people below did not report the situation of the Taiyuan garrison to At the top, it’s hard to imagine.”
"So?" King Qi was still a little confused.
"So." Zhang Xing's tone became more sincere. "This is a traitor in the imperial court! Your Highness, don't go back to the Eastern Capital. Go to Taiyuan, gather up the Taiyuan troops, and take supplies from Fenyang Palace as appeasement rewards. Then ask your Highness's mentor Zhang Fuzi to come forward, and then give him The emperor's uncle in Jing'antai wrote a letter to explain his helplessness and asked them to seek justice for everyone from Dongdu."
Everyone below King Qi, including Qin Bao and other Fulong Guards, as well as the bearded military bandit, were all stunned.
"If this is the case, we are willing to follow King Qi!" Unexpectedly, it was the bearded military bandit on the ground who was the first to respond. "People are scattered all over the place. They are from Bailangsai to Taiyuan City, but I am familiar with the place and everyone. With just a word from His Highness, I can bring them all to His Highness Prince Qi!"
Qin Bao opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment.
"Don't harm me!" But almost the next moment, King Qi severely scolded him. "Zhang Xing, what's your idea?! You...I'm not with you anymore? That's Jun's father! I...you..."
"What is your Highness thinking?" Zhang Xing's words became more sincere. "How can I harm His Highness? What's wrong with my idea?"
"It's useless." Cao Ming almost begged. "Zhang Xing, you don't understand. It can't be done like that... The governor of Youzhou has strong troops and horses. Behind him, the army of Dongdu is gathered. Guanzhong..."
"Guanzhong has just abolished five general administration offices." Zhang Xing quickly added. "Wei Shangshu has just died, and there will be a turmoil in the court. Maybe the Prime Minister will be furious."
"But if I stop in Taiyuan against the imperial edict, I will be the biggest trouble. Besides, the emperor and Master Zhang will not be swayed so easily." Cao Ming sighed. "They are great masters. The towers of great masters are based on the principles and they dare not be as steely as heart. But they have reached this level and they will never repeat themselves and become rebellious officials and traitors... Those tricks of yours are hidden from the public eye. But the people of the world."
Zhang Xing sneered and nodded again: "It's just that the lower official is naive."
Cao Ming was relieved for a moment.
Then, Zhang Xingfu came to see the bearded military thief on the ground again: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but you have also seen that His Highness the King of Qi, like the imperial court, does not want to be with you anymore."
When the previously majestic thief leader heard these words, he was neither furious nor sneered. He actually fell on the ground and wiped his tears on the spot. The tears fell and left two black lines on his gray face.
Cao Ming felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles on the horse.
The leader of the thieves cried twice, stood up, and sighed: "Forget it, I also believe that he is the real King Qi. It is quite rare for such a noble person to be willing to say a few words to me. And listening to His Highness, I also mean to embarrass myself, can we still force His Highness to do something? I will call people to make way, and you guys can go away!"
Cao Ming could only cover his face.
After a while, the road opened and everyone ran past as if they were fleeing. The fastest one was King Qi.
Zhang Xing, on the other hand, rode by leisurely and carefully looked at the former regular soldiers along the way. After passing this section of the road, he even stopped on his own initiative and turned back to ask those people:
"Why are you going to Bailangsai to rob? Why don't you go to the surrounding areas of Taiyuan? That's where the wealth is, right?"
"What is this guy thinking?" Someone immediately raised his voice to refute. "The rabbit won't eat the grass next to the nest... If we really did this on the edge of Taiyuan, would we be able to go back in the future? This place is where the original military order directed us to be."
Zhang Xing nodded and was about to leave, then turned back: "Do you have all your winter clothes?"
"I brought it with me from Taiyuan before." Someone else quietly agreed. "Your Majesty doesn't care about us, so why does Xie ask these questions?"
"Have you eaten enough?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.
"There are still a few days left." The bearded bandit leader finally caught up. "What do you want to do?"
"Nothing." Zhang Xing sighed. "We all have knives, and we are all strong men. It is impossible for anyone to starve you when he is hungry... Stop doing some evil, there is really no other way after a while, just take the small road and bypass Loufanguan to go home for the New Year... …When the time comes, use these armored steel crossbows as a security team, and the folks in the countryside will only be grateful to you.”
The others looked at each other, but the bearded bandit leader was startled, and asked in turn: "Have you decided that the court really doesn't care about us? Just abandon the whole group?"
"Not necessarily... who knows?" Zhang Xing shook his head and slightly cupped his hands. "Beidi Zhang Xing, see you again if we are destined."
Then he rode away directly to chase King Qi.
In this way, the team continued to gallop south, and within a few days, they crossed Loufan Pass, and then continued south. At the same time, more and more rioters and refugees appeared on the road, and the cities along the way often refused to accept them, and soldiers were everywhere. Soldiers, banditry and chaos.
Perhaps he felt guilty that when he left the building that day, His Highness King Qi did not go to Fenyang Palace and took the Fenshui Road, which was destined to have the most rebels and refugees. Instead, he said nothing and chose to go south along the Hutuo River, turn to Xiurong, and cross the river. Zhoushan, took a relatively small road south.
But on this day, when they saw that they had arrived in Taiyuan and turned around a mountain pass, everyone was completely shocked because they were robbed again, and behind the robbers, there was a building that had been burned down for a small part but was re-military. ized village.
"Look, we all seem to be in military robes. For one tael of silver each, we will allow you to pass." The bandit leader was wearing a dirty Mingguang armor. Behind him were people wearing armor and holding military standard weapons. There were also some people wrapped in Flower coat, holding an iron fork and the like. "Otherwise, our dozen or so steel crossbows are not afraid of you."
"What if I want to join the gang?"
Qin Bao, King Qi and other Fulong Guards came to see Zhang Xing again. Zhang Xing sighed, got off the horse, left the scimitar and the sheathless sword on the horse, and walked up with his empty hands. "The imperial court left us to the north and ignored us. We came back through a small road."
"You guys also want to join the gang?" The bandit leader frowned. "It's not impossible, but you have to submit your certificate!"
"Okay." Zhang Xing nodded, walked to a position seven or eight steps away from the opponent, and still faced him with his bare hands. "how?"
"There is actually half a village in the col above. There is a bullshit hero nicknamed Breaking Wave Knife. He is also a rebel of this wave of King Qin and a local. But even if he is not enlightened, Taiyuan will not allow us to enter. He also brought With seven or eight people, they refused to follow us, and insisted on protecting the village above. That man was very powerful... We pretended to be an officer and killed him, and then we gave him a second boss. If we kill him It's not impossible to lead him under our powerful crossbow, but he can only be given to a third-in-command." The bandit leader seems to be quite particular.
"According to our rules in the north, we shake hands to make an appointment." Zhang Xing extended his hand in response sincerely. "It's a deal."
The man opposite was startled for a moment, nodded, and turned around to smile: "He is still a fastidious person...but I like it. Saints are not fastidious, so we must be fastidious too!"
Then, he directly threw down his weapon and walked forward with his head held high. When he met Zhang Xing, the two pairs of powerful hands were tightly held together in an instant.
The next moment, the surroundings of the two people were filled with cold air, and dripping water turned into ice, which seemed to indicate that the twelfth lunar month was approaching.
ps: Good night everyone.
7017k
