Zhang Xing and Xiao Zhou traveled along the river with more than a dozen cavalry guards and guides provided by the Lu brothers and Guo Jingke. The farther downstream they went, the further away from the eastern capital, the more they became aware of the chaos of the situation.
In the Puyang area, the defeated soldiers and the fleeing civilians were just reduced to bandits who robbed homes and houses. They formed groups but had no stronghold at all. Although the local tycoons hated the Wei Dynasty to the core, no one dared to actually take action. Even after Xu Dalang joined a secret society like the Deposed Dragon Gang, which was absolutely anti-Wei, he still hoped to clean up the place under the banner of cooperating with the imperial court. The mentality behind it is really worth pondering.
After crossing the river, the painting style here in Hebei is obviously different.
Just across a river, the scale of the bandits is obviously different. In the mountains and grass, there are countless people occupying the mountains, forests, lakes and hillocks, raising flags and flags, so that in broad daylight, the road is a paradise for bandits, almost all towns, Villages and Zhuangwei have all chosen to stay behind closed doors. Only a few cities with troops stationed around them still have some order and vitality... Obviously, these bandits have not changed their mentality. After they became bandits because of the force of the imperial court, They also regarded themselves as bandits and began to enter the role of unscrupulous destroyers, and those villages and villages automatically began to arm themselves due to the need for defense.
In other words, it was no longer the Wei court that controlled order outside the city.
Then we continue to go downstream and reach the Qinghe, Pingyuan, and Bohai areas, which are the typical lower reaches of the river. It is even more exciting... At least four to five groups of large-scale bandits and rebels have appeared here, ranging from tens of thousands to more. It is said that there are more than 100,000 people, and they have begun to attack cities and plunder villages, and even proclaimed themselves generals and kings.
Only Zhang Xing and others along the way found that the saboteur mentality of these people was still very obvious. The so-called generals and kings were more about the expansion of selfish desires rather than for any cause.
It sounds absurd, or at least it seems absurd on the surface... It is already the third year since Zhang Xing came to this world. He was defeated and merged with each other as soon as he appeared. Then he became a civil servant and basically became a criminal investigation officer. It's really ridiculous. He rarely kills people and sets fires, and this time he was the one who witnessed the collapse of the Three Conquests of Dongyi, so he has long been able to be iron-clad about some things, but this journey... still feels ridiculous.
Because, at this point, something is already clear, that is, the Wei Dynasty is bound to collapse, and it is the ruling class of the Wei Dynasty that has caused the collapse. In this case, Zhang Sanlang, who has dual historical experience, knows that only rebellion is the real way out... But the thugs he, a well-known rebel, dealt with along the way were all rebels, which means that in theory comrades.
It can be seen that Xiao Zhou, who has always been curious, has become more and more confused, but because of his family hatred and his usual respect for Zhang Xing, he doesn't say much for the time being.
"Xu..."
To the north of the river, Putai County, Bohai County, is still more than 20 miles away from the destination of this trip, Putai. When walking to an intersection, they unexpectedly encountered a checkpoint. The location of this checkpoint was really tricky. It turned at the intersection. A few dozen steps later, he was sheltered by a small hill-shaped earth platform at the intersection, so he was caught off guard. By the time he reined in his horse, he had already been thrown into the intersection and was semi-surrounded.
"Please tell me your name, place of origin, and purpose of your visit. If you want to go to Po Tai, you must hand in your sword!"
Behind the checkpoint, someone seemed to have expected this scene, and someone started shouting.
Zhang Xing stood still for a moment and glanced at the group of people.
I saw that the leader of the shout turned out to be a civil servant wearing a small crown, sitting majestically on a chair behind the antlers and the fence. There was a low desk in front of him and a few paperwork forms in his hand. thing.
At the same time, dozens of strong men were wearing leather armor and holding swords and shields. They were majestic and had their own formation.
Not counting that, Zhang Xing looked up and saw that there were seven or eight steel crossbows lurking in the fortification that he thought was a natural platform but now seemed to be man-made.
It was during this stunned moment that the back of the level became tense, and seven or eight strong men armed with spears, fences, and steel forks stood up from behind to join them.
If he had just marveled at this scene before, Zhang Xing's eyelids twitched when he saw this scene. He didn't know why. Even if he was a master of Qijing with both Ren and Du, he might not be able to survive the whole body if he forced his way through. If he retreats, his subordinates, including Xiao Zhou, may have to pay the price.
"Is Li Ding in charge of Po Tai now?" At this thought, Zhang Xing quickly became arrogant as if nothing had happened. "I am from Jing'antai and also his old friend. I was ordered to come from Dongdu to look for him."
The clerk behind him was stunned for a moment, raised his hand slightly to stop the strong man behind him, then looked at Zhang Xing and his party, and then asked seriously: "Is there any official document?"
"No." Zhang Xing responded without any shame. "I'm on personal orders. His wife Zhang Shiniang is the sworn sister of my family Bai Changjian. After the defeat of the Three Expeditions, his family in Dongdu was very worried. They were afraid that he would have no explanation here. They asked me to come and explore the way first. I I only found out about him when I walked to Qinghe..."
Unexpectedly, the clerk was silent for a moment, and then he said with a straight face: "If this is the case, there are no documents for you? I can't let you go!"
This is to admit that Li Ding is here, but has to deal with business matters.
But this is ridiculous, okay? In this kind of world and this kind of environment, you are just doing business as a ghost? And this kind of military configuration, at first glance, it seems that Li Ding didn't do it well? In other words, this person was obviously taking orders from Li Ding.
In fact, several low-level bosses in Dingzhuang were obviously surprised.
But Zhang Xing just thought about it immediately, hesitated for a moment, but then moved slightly in his heart, and took the initiative to ask: "If we hand over the sword, report our name and place of origin, and just walk in, your Excellency will allow us to go to Po Tai to see Li Silang." ?"
Sure enough, the clerk became inexplicably flustered and just grabbed the pen and hesitated. The people around him were also inexplicably surprised.
Zhang Xing was completely awakened, sighed, and took the initiative to tell him: "Your Excellency, I am a master of both Ren and Du, otherwise I would not be ordered to do this kind of work by my Bai Changjian and Mrs. Li... Just you Don't be entangled anymore, let alone do stupid things...Li Silang is just the messenger of the water, and he is destined not to stay long."
"It's not that I have bad intentions." After hearing this, the civil servant finally sighed helplessly. "It's just that the outside is in such chaos, and there is no city on the Pu Tai side of Hebei. It all depends on Li Shuijun's proper division, and the area of dozens of miles can maintain stability. If he leaves now, I'm afraid the situation will be ruined immediately."
"How come I don't understand your difficulties?" Zhang Xing nodded immediately. "But forceful melons are not sweet. Whether Li Ding stays or not depends on your sincerity and his true intentions. If you think that stopping us will prevent him from leaving, you are taking it for granted..."
The civil servant simply stood up and avoided his seat.
Zhang Xing immediately returned the courtesy: "Don't worry, I will never mention this matter when we meet. I will only tell him some family matters."
The civil servant nodded in relief.
Only then did everyone realize that this civil servant was actually worried that Li Ding would leave Po Tai after someone came to his family, and the place would be insecure. Fortunately, the person who came to Jing'an Tai had a clear conscience and immediately pointed it out.
However, the official was relieved for a moment, but the other young leaders became uneasy, as if they were worried that Li Shuijun would leave.
Let's not talk about the restlessness here, just say that Zhang Xing passed the intersection and continued to move forward. In the middle, he passed several open and hidden checkpoints, as well as fortifications and polders, and even a patrol team, which was also amazing.
Then, before the evening of that day, Zhang Xing finally met Li Shuijun, who seemed to be very popular with the locals, on the bare platform of Pu Tai... The latter heard something about an old friend of Jing'an Terrace in the village next to Pu Tai, and even Li Shuijun The Third Master was led to this place, which was the best place to avoid people talking, without even telling him his name... This was a man-made rammed earth platform with bare surroundings. It was said to be the miracle of the Black Emperor, and he was always there. The one without grass is really interesting.
And to be honest, this Suicune was in good spirits, with a rosy and shiny complexion, and he didn't look like he was downright unlucky.
"I wasn't unlucky to begin with." When Li Shuijun saw the person coming, he only clasped his hands and smiled bitterly. "But I should have known it when I saw you. It seems that we are going to be in trouble again."
Zhang Xing didn't care at all and just bowed seriously: "Li Shuijun has done a great job... he has gathered strong men, is good at ordnance, and controls the vital points north and south of the river to win over people's hearts. Is this a rebellion?"
Li Ding was silent for a moment, but he didn't bother to refute. He just asked seriously: "What do you want from me?"
"When I went to follow the Holy Master on the Eastern Expedition, I heard that Li Shuijun was here. When the Eastern Expedition was defeated, the Holy Master went to Jiangdu, but unexpectedly, Li Shuijun was still here. After walking around, he reached the upper reaches of Jishui River. I heard someone said that Li Shuijun is still here...I was curious, so I came to see him." Zhang Xing said.
"Then what?" Li Ding continued to ask.
"I have formed a deposed dragon gang, which specializes in hunting real dragons and returning the vitality of heaven and earth to the people. I have always known that Li Shuijun is a man of great ability and has a personal relationship with Huyunjun, so I want to invite Li Shuijun to join the gang and attract him to the list. , He established his prestige by doing so." Zhang Xing said sincerely. "Don't worry, Li Shuijun. I am now one of the two leaders in the gang. As long as you nod, I will work hard to find a leader for you, Li Shuijun."
Li Ding was silent again, then he just folded his hands under the sunset and shook his head firmly: "If you don't do it, you won't join the Dragon Slayer Gang, and I can't find Mr. Huyun."
"Then please ask Li Silang to help with another small thing." Zhang Xing continued to hand over sincerely.
"What?" Li Ding became a little serious.
"Help me kill Zhang Jinscale in Qinghe and annex his troops." Zhang Xing said seriously. "He has started massacring the city... It's not good. I also need a rebel army to do something, and at the same time earn some reputation in the Deposed Dragon Gang... After all, you are a serious court official who has manpower and resources on hand. We have enough resources to kill him."
Li Ding hesitated for a moment. Next to the two of them, Xiao Zhou, who was responsible for warning others from eavesdropping more than ten steps away, also turned around in surprise, as if he wanted to say something.
"After the annexation, it will be good for you." Zhang Xing seemed to have a plan in mind, so he took it seriously. "Firstly, if you do something, Uncle Cao in Dongdu will see it and make arrangements with you. This is your future; secondly, although you have established yourself here in Putai, your reputation is not justified. Sooner or later they have to leave, and once you leave, given the current situation in Hebei, they will either disperse and become thieves, or wait to be defeated and annexed by Chishiro on the other side of the river or Gao Shitong and Sun Xunzhi from the Bohai Sea... Instead of this, Regardless of whether you are a thief or continue to protect your family, you have to punch away with one punch, establish a prestige, and save hundreds of punches... Do you think so or not?"
Li Ding took a deep breath, sat on the podium under the setting sun, and then shook his head vigorously towards the eastern horizon: "You, if you talk about your words, even Lord Huyun will stay away when he sees you. .”
"Do you just say it makes sense?" Zhang Xing didn't panic at all.
"I want to ask you something first." Li Ding shook his head repeatedly. "You, Zhang Sanlang, are determined to bring peace to the world in one rage...how can you both slay the dragon and get rid of the dragon? Why don't you protect the country and the people? If you want to get rid of the dragon, that is to say, you want to rebel, why do you have to join forces with me as an officer and the army?" To destroy the rebels?"
"You are actually asking about one thing...but I have to answer it in detail, but I divided it into three parts and said it slowly." Zhang Xing walked over, still standing upright with his hands behind his back, but just looking at the other person behind him on the stage. sunset.
"It doesn't matter if you divide it into eight parts." Li Ding sat there and sneered.
"The first question is too simple." Zhang Xing opened his hands in response. "If I had your family background and your ability to lead troops, and if I happened to be like you guarding a pile of ordnance supplies and civilians at the farthest place from Dongdu and Jiangdu after the chaos... I would protect the territory immediately The people are at peace! If thieves come to attack me, if I beat thieves, I might be promoted to an official position. When the court calls me, I will stay put. When officers and soldiers come to attack me, I will take advantage of the situation and rebel... But it's a pity that I don't have a family background like yours, and I don't have your family background either. Such luck, not to mention your military skills... Of course, the main thing is the last one."
Li Ding held it in his heart, but in the end he just shook his head.
"The second question is self-explanatory. Since you don't have the ability to face all the waves on your own, you have to go with the flow." Zhang Xing asked seriously. "Master Li, with your talent and vision, tell me that Dongdu is relatively empty right now, and we won't be able to send out troops for a while. I just say that this wave of bandits will be able to hold Hejian back if they cause trouble in a while - A counterattack by the four major battalions of Youzhou-Xuzhou-Jiangdu?"
"This is what I want to ask you." Li Ding finally gritted his teeth. "You know clearly that this wave will be swept away by the imperial army, why are you so anxious to 'pacify the world'...can't you go to Wu'an with your documents?!"
Xiao Zhou looked back again, but still didn't say anything.
"No." Zhang Xing answered proudly. "If you take the document and go to Wu'an, your life will be determined by your destiny. How can you stabilize the world?"
Li Ding was about to speak for a moment, but unexpectedly, Zhang Xingfu continued to sneer and retort: "You still have the nerve to ask me? I just ask you, is the Northern Route Army going back to live well? Before I can sort out my thoughts at the Hejian Camp in Youzhou, Do you think your broken platform without even a city wall can stop the more than 100,000 troops of Gao and Sun? Those people have weapons donated by our saint. And these local people have no hope, but you are better. First you gave them hope, and then you asked them to be swallowed up by bandits... What do you think this is?"
As the sun set, Li Ding sat on the podium, looked at the eastern horizon, shuddered on the ground, and then said with difficulty: "According to my original shape, I should have just abandoned this place like Yang Shen did, put on makeup and ran away. , I did think so at the beginning... But for some reason, I knew this, but I still couldn't bear it, and I was a little unwilling, which led to such an embarrassing situation... It can be seen that I was taught a lot by you. "
Zhang Xing turned his back to the other party, looking at the setting sun in the west and sighing: "If you have known me for so long and still just put on makeup and run away, not only will you not be willing to accept it, I will not be willing to accept it either."
Xiao Zhou turned around to look and just shut up.
The three of them were silent for a while, watching the setting sun gradually disappear into the waves of the river, the horizon no longer visible from the east, countless bonfires lit in the camps around Po Tai, and then they spoke again, but they actually stopped talking. Half the words.
"This podium was originally the first time the Black Emperor left the north to march south. He stood up here to peek at the East China Sea and watch the Qing Emperor's dragon spirit. Unexpectedly, after only a few thousand years, he could no longer see the sea. Already..."
"Thousands of years, even if there are no gods to move mountains and seas, it is enough for the sea to turn into mulberry fields. Speaking of which, I was on the edge of the Sea of Bitterness, and I once watched the Sea of Bitterness with King Qi, and then copied two sentences. I thought it was very interesting at the time, but this time It seems more appropriate to use it here..."
"I won't ask you what it is."
"The ancients have never been seen before, and the newcomers have never been seen after. Thinking about the long history of heaven and earth, I shed tears with sadness... It is a rare good sentence to copy, it would be a pity not to let outsiders know..."
"..."
"..."
"Third brother." After a while, under the dusk, Xiao Zhou finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"What?" Zhang Xing looked back.
"Brother Li Si has another question. You haven't said it yet... I'm actually very curious." Xiao Zhou came to ask seriously. "Since we want to rebel against the Wei Dynasty, we should contact the rebel army and strengthen our strength... Why should we destroy them in the name of officers and soldiers?"
"Because they have poor discipline and kill excessively." Zhang Xing's words were plain.
"But since you are a thief, who doesn't kill excessively?" Xiao Zhou didn't have time to ask.
"This sounds a bit like Qin Er." Zhang Xing stood down behind Li Ding with his hands behind his hands and said with a smile. "What makes a thief a thief?"
"It's because... it's because Bao Wei won't let them live!" Xiao Zhou gritted his teeth and gave the reply. "The Xiu Ming Hall and the Great Golden Pillar have captured the wealth of the middle class; we conquered the Eastern Yi three times, and lost four to five of the ten troops stationed there; and the people of Hebei in the Central Plains lost twenty-three out of ten. Everyone is afraid, so why don't you become a thief?"
"Yes, there is no problem at all here." Zhang Xing blurted out, as if he was used to the theory of rebellion. "After becoming thieves, why are they not exempted from killing and looting? Is it because there is no control, reason and restriction... and are the control, reason and restrictions thrown away by themselves? No. They also listened to control, Listen to the principles, laws, and restrictions... But they listened honestly, but they ended up making mistakes, and will lose four or five times out of ten in the future. This shows that the principles, laws, restrictions, and rules of the Wei Dynasty are all gone. it is bad."
"I understand." After hearing this, Xiao Zhou suddenly woke up. "So they have to ask for new principles, new disciplines, and new rules? This is the real rebellion against An Tianxia. And when we take over them now, we want to give them new principles, new rules... and then use our rules to replace the violence. Wei, this is the real way to eradicate the violent Wei and stabilize the world! Those ordinary thieves do not have their own rules. Although there is nothing wrong with being thieves, after becoming thieves, they deserve to be exterminated!"
"Absolutely." Zhang Xing nodded. "Xiao Zhou can be taught."
In the dusk, Li Ding remained silent.
"But..." Xiao Zhou hesitated. "There is another point, which is what Fourth Brother Li asked just now... Since Third Brother is so clear about the situation, why can't he do something opportunistic... I mean, it is so troublesome now, but to rebel, you must first kill the rebels who go too far... Why can't you be a little more bold, throw away a few things, and let it go? Anyway, it doesn't seem to make a big difference if you pick up the principles and rules again in the next journey, right?"
"Maybe, but I don't dare." Zhang Xing sighed with his hands behind his hands. "Because the road to troubled times is already at our feet, and everyone is lined up in front of the thoroughfare, ready to set off. If there is a slight deviation at this time, it will be a thousand miles away and go astray in the future...Everyone must be responsible for the path he takes. ...I don’t dare.”
"I will take away Zhang Jinscale for you." Li Ding, who was sitting at Zhang Xing's feet in the dark night, finally spoke. "But we have to take a long-term view... You have to give me a comprehensive strategy so that I can feel at ease when I return to the Eastern Capital... If you want to pacify the world, pacify me first!"
"First contact Cheng Dalang on the other side of the river." Zhang Xing seemed to have expected that the other party would agree. "Look at what kind of person he is. If he's smart and smart, let's use his shell to do this business."
ps:
Thank you to Mr. Bachelor A for your double alliance, thank you to the lazy, fat and late-stage cancer man, Mr. Mountain Viewer who has no money, Mr. Qingshan Master, Master Fusheng, Mr. Yan Yuan, the leaders of the five masters... Thank you for your love... Wuwu Ugh... Especially Mr. Kanshan, who has no money and is isolated in Shanghai alone. It is said that he is eating grass when he is hungry. He actually thinks of treating me to a barbecue for joining the alliance for me... wuwuwu.
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