In mid-November, the once-famous Zhishi Army suddenly encountered a surprise attack by the government troops in Qi County, and suffered a serious setback. Shi Zijiang, the second-ranking figure in the army, was killed in the battle, and two of the remaining eight leaders were also missing. Chishiro himself, with more than 50,000 remnant troops, fled across the mountains to Lu County in embarrassment, while some of the soldiers, horses and baggage on the north bank of Jishui were brought back to Dengzhou by the leader there and took refuge with Gao Shitong.
As for the officers and soldiers of Qi County who won a great victory, they captured a total of 60,000 livestock of all kinds and beheaded nearly 5,000 people, but they took advantage of the situation to regain the entire Qi County.
When the news came out, the entire Eastern Territory was shaken, because this was the first victory of the official army against the rebels.
But that's about it.
As the time came to late November, an expected cold wave came from the north, spreading a large area of ice and snow over the entire eastern border from north to south.
Due to bad weather conditions, large-scale military operations were halted, but practitioners and sentry riders began to take advantage of the opportunity to travel in all directions, taking advantage of the situation to brew and blend something.
Obviously, the imperial court wanted to take the opportunity to make arrangements, rest, and convey orders of rewards and punishments. At the same time, the two major groups of rebels in the eastern part of the east border, namely the Hebei Rebels on the Dengzhou side and the Qianlong Gang rebels on the Dongping County side, were unlikely to accept it. Stop here... In fact, according to reports from the front line, Li Shu has sent Wang Wulang and Shan Dalang to the north and south respectively to station troops at the border of Jibei County and Lu County for rest and reorganization, and at the same time, he and Dengzhou We have contacted all parties, and are still working hard to win over those Ju Yeze defeated soldiers.
It is said that every time Li Longtou collected an army, he would send it to the camps of the two big leaders fairly, which was really selfless.
It is almost conceivable that when the snow melts and dries, or when the winter camp ends, there will be a major invasion of Lu County and Jibei County.
At this time, Zhang Xing and Zhang Longtou, who was actually in control of this county in Jiyin, which was located on the westernmost side of the Deposed Dragon Gang's territory, had an inexplicable sage's time mentality.
"you sure?"
Zhang Xing, who was writing something on the case, looked up in surprise.
"I'm not sure." Yan Qing, who had obviously matured a lot, sat on the starting position and smiled. "But there is indeed this rumor, and I think if it is true, it will be verified soon..."
"How do you say it?" Zhang Xing put down his pen, put his hands on the table and asked.
"If General Tuwan really abandoned the battle in Nanyang and went down the river to Jiangdu with General Yu, Nanyang would not be able to be easily cleaned up in a short period of time... There are rumors that Wu Jingfeng has almost reached the level of a grandmaster. , It’s just a pity that at his age and in this position, he doesn’t dare to build a tower easily because he wants to rebel.”
"On the other hand, even if he doesn't build a tower, he still has the ability to survive on his own." Zhang Xing answered casually. "You can just run away if you can't beat him. I just don't know if the master or grand master has a more direct way to deal with such masters... He is number one on the black list, and he deserves his name."
"The imperial court also lost the timely response in the past." Yan Qing couldn't help but sigh. "If it were in the past, with the power of the Deposed Dragon Gang, the third brother, Mr. Li, and the Wu brothers should have been moved on the black list seven or eight times due to changes in the war situation..."
"No, not really." Zhang Xing shook his head. "As far as I know, those people on the black list are basically rebelling. If everyone is rebelling, it means that no one is rebelling. If everyone is moving forward rapidly, it means that no one is moving. The wave of Jing'an Taiwan is stopped by silence. It’s appropriate.”
Yan Qing couldn't help but hold his forehead and laugh. After laughing, he returned to the topic: "I just said verification, but actually I want to say that if General Tuwan really left and Wu Jingfeng continued to wreak havoc in Nanyang, then the queen and many concubines, princesses, Where should the palace servants and chamberlains go? It is said that everything in Dongdu has been packed. There are rebellions outside every day. They all thought that Jiangdu might be better, but in the end they couldn't leave..."
Zhang Xing thought thoughtfully: "I understand what you mean. Are you saying that if the two veterans Tu Wan and Yu leave together, then the Queen will most likely leave Liang County?"
"I think so." Yan Qing replied solemnly.
"Cao Zhongcheng's situation is more difficult than imagined, but he is also tougher than imagined. Although the saint has lost the hearts of the world, his influence is unique." Zhang Xing became more and more emotional. "So, if the emperor's uncle does not fall, the overall framework of the world will be held up here, but I don't know how long the emperor's uncle can hold on..."
Yan Qing hesitated for a moment, but still took the initiative to ask: "Does the third brother think that the emperor's uncle must fall first?"
"This is inevitable." Zhang Xing said seriously. "From the perspective of the relationship between the two, if the emperor's uncle does not fall, how can the saint fall? From a geographical point of view, if the Wei Dynasty is really going to collapse, there must be chaos in Guanlong, and then Emperor Cao will bear the brunt..."
Yan Qing suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly.
Zhang Xing hesitated for a moment, but then sighed: "Actually, there are some things I can only say to you privately... I don't even know if Uncle Cao is an enemy or a friend... If he is an enemy, I hope he can last a long time. Some, so that I can try my best to be a master before Guan Long decides on a new master. Otherwise, how can I compete with Guan Long? But if we say they are friends, to put it bluntly, I will try to sort out the situation a little bit. From now on, it is estimated that this person’s black tower will be the first to be suppressed, and it’s hard to say whether he will survive by then.”
"That's the truth." Yan Qing thought about it seriously, then nodded repeatedly. "But maybe it's because you, Third Brother, are so powerful that you will drive Uncle Cao to a dead end."
"I still have some self-awareness." Zhang Xing smiled and continued to sigh. "If you want to drive people like Uncle Cao to a dead end, you must have the right wave of the general trend, take advantage of it, and more importantly, unite as one and work together..."
"Of course." Yan Qing nodded.
There was silence in the room.
"So, Sisi didn't say where exactly she was going?" After a pause, Zhang Xing continued to ask at the desk.
"Yes." Yan Qing was a little more careful.
Zhang Xing thought about it for a while, and actually understood in his heart that there was nothing unnecessary to ask about this matter, because Bai Yousi had given him his thoughts.
According to what Bai Yousi said before, she will first see the situation clearly in the east capital and make arrangements for old friends in the east capital; and after confirming that the situation is temporarily stable, she should first go to the west to meet her master to verify the turmoil and the situation in the world. She will also go to Taiyuan to see her father to verify the clan arrangement - the Bai family has been divided into large and small sects for generations, and his father is just a newly established small sect in the Bai family's large sect, and she She also has several younger brothers, and no one knows what her father’s intentions are. Some things can only be asked in person.
During this process, we might also want to take a look at the western border areas, see the border situation of the Wu tribe, visit the Red Mountains and Black Mountains, and explore the meaning of Hebei.
It is very likely that the other party will wait until the rebellion here reaches the expected low ebb before joining them, and then they will go to the North and Dongyi together as planned.
As soon as the rebellion reaches a low ebb, the leader of defeatism will go to the border or abroad to increase his knowledge. It is also part of the meaning of the question... For example, Li Shu is an experienced person, maybe he will still be able to do it by then. Can be a companion.
After thinking in a daze, Zhang Xing came back to his senses and looked at Yan Qing again: "Xiao Yan, we are close friends. Since you are here, I won't say much about certain situations. I have a few things here, you can do whatever you want. Once you finish one thing, I can give you the position of leader based on your merit, but I don’t know which one you want to do?”
"Please tell me, Third Brother, what exactly is going on?" Yan Qing perked up and immediately stood up and handed over his hands.
"First, there is a powerful Meng family in Chuqiu, Liang County. Half of his family's property is naturally in your Liang County, but a lot of it is in the Zhouqiao area of Jiyin... The actual person in charge of this generation is Meng Shanggong. He is the captain of the county. Due to some things, the Deposed Dragon Gang is trying to take advantage of him in Ji County. His son Meng Zhong is only twelve or thirteen years old. He is mainly from one of his clan brothers here in Zhouqiao, nicknamed Meng Zhigui. The bastard is in charge of things at home. I want to clean up the land and grant it to others. He actually started to sneer at me by saying that Meng Shanggong was the captain of the Wei Dynasty... If you are interested, you can go to Ji County and ask Meng Shanggong when. An official from the Wei Dynasty can grant land to a rebel like me? Do you still care about his clan brothers?"
"I think it's okay." Yan Qing blurted out. "I also know the Meng family. They also take everything for granted. The people of Liang County are also sitting on the fire. In this situation, Meng Shanggong should not be able to stay in Ji County. But if he wants to come back, he must rely on the leaders of the Deposed Dragon Gang. The situation is easy to do, so tell him clearly that as long as he has some ambition and ideas, he will never argue with you, third brother, over those hundreds of acres of land... And if he doesn't have this ambition, his clan brother deserves to be punished."
Zhang Xing shook his head inexplicably. He didn't know whether he was in denial or thought of something. However, he did not continue to discuss the matter in depth, but continued:
"Secondly, the matter of land transfer seems to be done fairly, and it is indeed almost over, but in fact there is still a big problem... It's not that anyone dares to take the initiative. I have been here for two months, and everyone knows that I am After all, there are only a few people like Meng Zhigui who think they have something to rely on. The biggest problem is between narrow and wide towns... Do you know this?"
"Of course I know." Yan Qing smiled bitterly. "Although land granting is the same across the world, some villages have more people but less land, and some villages have more people but less land. In fact, the allocation must be relatively fair... Third brother, do you want to move a narrow township to a wider one?"
"There is still a war ahead. This is just a rebellion. There is no large-scale relocation. It is just a slight relocation of Dingtao, the narrowest county, and Chengwu, the widest county. That's it. The wide townships in Chengwu County are also large. Out of dissatisfaction, we made trouble three times in five days..." At this point, Zhang Xing made no attempt to hide his words. "Since Li Longtou has gone to fight, the personnel power in the rear is naturally in my hands. The leader of Chengwu cannot suppress the disputes between locals and guests below. If you have the courage, I will directly allow you to be the deputy leader to take charge of county affairs. Go Please comfort me here, and then directly turn into the helmsman, and actually become the chief of Chengwu County!"
Yan Qing was greatly moved... What did he seek after coming out of Dongdu?
In other words, I have been thinking about taking the imperial examinations before, what do I want to achieve?
Chengwu County is located in the south of Jishui, next to his hometown Liangjun. It is a large, prosperous and spacious county. How can he not want to?
However, Yan Qing thought for a moment, then suppressed his excitement and asked seriously: "If there is anything else, please tell me."
"Thirdly, regardless of whether the narrow township was moved to the wide township or the Meng Zhigui incident, it was already the end of the re-granting of farmland. After this incident, I have a new idea, which is to investigate the 19 cases in the two counties. The military and civilians of the county will compile statistics on all the cultivators, and when the time comes, the results of the land grant will be filed together... You can also do this."
Yan Qing's heart moved slightly, but surprisingly he remained silent.
"Fourth." Zhang Xing continued speaking without paying attention to the other party's reaction. "If you are worried about the imperial court's punishment and affecting your father, but you still want to help me, it's not impossible... Do you remember Wang Zhen of Fulongwei? He is now in Mangdang Mountain and has a great cause, but there is a distance between me and him. If you are interested in Dangshan County in Liang County, I will give you some gold and silver and you can buy a county captain. Only do it in Dangshan County. Secretly open a direct channel to Mangdang Mountain for me. You can also do it if necessary. A traitor."
Yan Qing nodded again, but couldn't wait to ask again: "Is there more?"
"No more." Zhang Xing looked at the other party with interest. "Which one do you choose?"
"The third one." Yan Qing did not hesitate. "If I had to choose one, I would choose the third thing..."
"Why?" Zhang Xing laughed.
"If the third brother's matter is completed in the future, wouldn't this be the third brother's future Jing'an Terrace?" Yan Qing didn't bother to cover it up. "Third brother is willing to give me this opportunity. Even if it is just an introduction, I should try my best to seize it."
Zhang Xing nodded: "Since you understand in your heart, just do it... Just remember that the Deposed Dragon Gang has its own regulations, and our rebellion is also a precarious situation. Don't make the situation too big, and don't overdo it." It's so confusing that I put the cart before the horse... I'll check out the territory information first, and then take the opportunity to gather some people, and I'll be satisfied."
"I understand." Yan Qing said seriously. "Take it one step at a time, just think that you are really a person who wants to collect information in the field... Once you have done the basic things, you can start doing business based on the capital."
"That's right." Zhang Xing nodded repeatedly. "But don't think too much, and don't be afraid, because everyone is just rushing to get things done and making a fool of themselves...the so-called big bosses, helmsmen and the like are basically like that."
Yan Qing naturally had nothing to say.
In this way, the matter was settled. In the next few days, Yan Qing did not mention his own affairs, and other matters in the rear were also assigned to others.
For example, Niu Da and Guan Xu sent people to contact Meng Shanggong to interrogate, and Taoist Wei went to suppress Chengwu... But on the third day of snow, the first two things had not yet come to an end. Xiao Zhou and Lu The brothers appeared together on the river that might soon freeze, and sent the navy ships to Baima Port for resettlement. At the same time, they brought a lot of information from the lower reaches.
Since the matter was serious, Xu Dalang personally arrived at Jiyin County with the three leaders and found Zhang Xing, who was squatting in the snow in the backyard of the county house, sharpening a knife.
"Is there such a thing?"
Zhang Xing sat down on the corridor with a half-sharpened scimitar and listened carefully to the narrative, feeling some expected and reasonable emotions.
It turned out that Chishiro fled to Lu County in embarrassment with 40,000 to 50,000 remnant soldiers and arrived at the foot of Mount Tai. However, when the locals in Lu County saw the 40,000 to 50,000 rebels arriving, the leader was the famous Chishiro from Langya, a neighboring county, and they did not hesitate. On the contrary - Chishiro somehow managed to easily capture the small half of Lu County behind Mount Tai and regain his strength. Now he is preparing to open up Langya and Lu County to connect the territory together.
All I can say is that the world has been suffering from Wei for a long time.
And because of this incident, it was not only Tomoyo Wanghou himself who was shocked. The rebels of the Deposed Dragon Gang, who were originally frightened by the battle in Qijun, also fell into some kind of anxiety. The person in charge of the Lujun strategy Dalang couldn't bear it anymore and sent troops directly in the snow.
Not to mention, after sending out troops, it actually had a miraculous effect!
Faced with Shan Tonghai, who marched directly to the city in the snow, the governor of Lu County actually surrendered and sacrificed the county government Xiaqiu, and even praised Shan Dalang as a flying general!
This action immediately triggered a chain effect. After hearing the news, Wang Wulang, who was in charge of Jibei County's strategy, was not willing to lag behind and directly sent troops to Jibei County.
And, it actually succeeded!
Shouzhang, Yanggu, and Dong'a defeated three cities in a row, and then the governor of Jibei County in Lu County abandoned the city and gave up most of the county.
I don’t know how Li Shu and Li Dalongtou, who are still in Juyeze to mobilize the Juyeze rebels, will feel after hearing this? Anyway, Zhang Xing's mood here is quite complicated... He is always defeatist and worried about the heroes in the army, but looking at the broken world and the grass in people's hearts, it would be strange if you don't waver.
"Maybe before the Chinese New Year, we will have regulations for five counties." In the snow in the backyard of the county house, Xu Dalang laughed dryly and described it this way.
It can be seen that the big leader has always had some capitulationism. I heard that the two big leaders who are on equal footing are about to monopolize a county, or even more than one county, but here he is being captured by a very skillful man. Zhang Long pressed his head firmly, somewhat unwillingly.
"It's okay." Zhang Xing was also confused in his heart, but he just took it seriously. "The five counties before the year are also Qi County, which will be convenient for attacking in the middle after the year... Then there will be six counties. We will bring Dongping County over and treat it as a rear area... Is there anything else?"
"The other thing is about Cheng Dalang!" Xiao Zhou was furious and told Cheng Zhili's behavior again. "I'm afraid this guy is in Lu County now, hanging out with the Zhishi Army..."
"Send a letter immediately to inform Shan Tonghai and ask him to pay attention to it. Even if you want to talk about the rest of the story, you have to wait until the war in the east stabilizes." Zhang Xing did not panic at all. He had a lower limit for these powerful leaders. There is already a psychological leeway. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes!" Suddenly someone responded from outside, and then broke in directly, but it was Chief Wei Xuanding. He did not change into new clothes this time, but he still had the same brocade clothes as before.
"Is Cheng Wu causing trouble again?" Zhang Xing frowned.
After all, if that were the case, even though he wouldn't like it, he would have to cut through the mess quickly.
"There was trouble again, but I suppressed it." Taoist Wei hurriedly entered the courtyard, steam still coming from his head. "I came here to ask Zhang Dalongtou... did you know that the Queen was said to be passing through Liang County a few years ago?"
The others' expressions changed.
"I heard." Zhang Xing, who was sitting in the corridor, said one after another, his expression unchanged.
"Then do you think Zhang Shizhao will take the opportunity to accompany him, at least escort him to Jianghuai?" Taoist Wei stared at Zhang Xing and asked seriously.
"Yes?" Zhang Xing was still calm, because he had indeed thought about this issue. If the queen could not go down the Han River in Nanyang, she would have to take the Huan River to enter the Huaihe River, and this would inevitably pass through Xingyang, Zhang Shizhao There is no reason not to take the opportunity to go south to find his sage emperor.
"Then do you intend to get rid of another Xianggong Zhang?" Taoist Wei stared at the opponent's hand holding the knife, unable to ask further.
"Why kill him?" Zhang Xing was confused.
There was silence.
After a while, Wei Xuanding spread his hands speechlessly and reminded seriously: "Zhang Longtou, we are rebels."
Zhang Xing seemed suddenly enlightened.
PS: Thanks to Mr. Fan Lihua for another alliance... and greetings.
