Different from the slightly cold and smelly weather in northern Shanxi, here on the south bank of Jishui it is already "I don't know who cut out the thin leaves, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors." Thousands of green silk ribbons hang down the sides, and the weather is warm, even adding a hint of fragrance from the vegetation.
In this room, Zhang Dalongtou kept his promise and said that he would continue the transaction, and then he drove the queen's carriage over against all opinions.
Two donkey carts came along the road under the river embankment and stopped at the side and rear of the Qi Long Gang group. In one of the carts with green curtains, two or three figures could be seen faintly. There was also a cart in which three young women in simple clothes but whose beauty could not be concealed were seated. There were several packages piled behind.
When Sima Zheng saw this scene, he was a little relaxed and a little nervous, but he immediately clapped his horse and stepped forward.
The people around him knew this person's identity and knew that he had the destiny to take revenge on the Dragon Gang. Naturally, they were extremely vigilant. They all held their weapons and made some gestures.
Of course, Sima Zheng also knew what the problem was, so he stopped in time and looked at Zhang Xing: "Zhang Sanlang, I want to go and greet His Highness first..."
Zhang Xing nodded.
Sima Zheng immediately dismounted, leaving his sword on the horse. He passed the crowd lightly and came to the carriage under the river embankment to greet him.
Of course the queen knew Sima Erlong, and the monarch and his ministers had a few questions and answers inside and outside the carriage.
After a moment, Sima Zheng hesitated, but turned to look at Zhang Xing, who was sitting on the yellow horse: "Zhang Sanlang, I won't ask about the tens of thousands of people in the palace. Do you dare to ask about other female officials who are close to your highness?"
"There were indeed twenty-eighty-nine serious female officials who accompanied us that day and were captured later. Six of them had some level of cultivation. I asked them to protect some concubine or some princess from Ji County and return to the Eastern Capital; there were five or six more that I I worked as a matchmaker and married the young leader of the Deposed Dragon Gang. There were still about ten people left. I tried to persuade them not to come, but they listened and didn’t come. But these five didn’t listen. If they want to come, I will try my best to respect them..." Zhang Xing naturally followed suit.
Sima Zheng hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "How did you persuade those ten people not to come?"
"I told them that I was also from Xiyuan. I knew that the saint had always had a good reputation, so he must have regarded what happened a year ago as a great shame and humiliation. In addition, he had always despised human life, so he killed someone to vent his anger out of necessity...that is, the queen is Being a direct descendant of the Southern Dynasty will help him win over people in Jiangdu, and it will take decades to get married to save his life. If the others go back, who can guarantee that their lives will be safe?" After Zhang Xingyan reached this point, he smiled condescendingly and asked Sima Zheng again. "Can Sima Erlang make a guarantee in public? If Sima Erlang can guarantee it, not to mention those female officials, but also those servants in Liang County who are said to not listen to anyone's greetings. I can also write a letter to persuade them to follow you Walk."
The wind was blowing in the willows, and under the embankment on the south bank of Jishui River, Sima Zheng, who was stared at coldly by the leaders of the Dragon Gang on the embankment, was silent for a long time. Not only him, but also the carriage and the cart behind, The silence was also a bit terrifying.
There was a sarong covering the carriage, and the three female officials on the carriage could only lower their heads to avoid certain gazes.
Sima Zheng was silent for a long time, and then asked seriously: "Can you survive if you stay here?"
"No." Zhang Xing shook his head. "After today's incident, the imperial army is expected to move. The group of people on the river bank may not all be able to survive. How can they dare to say that their lives are safe here? However, I also tell them the truth. After talking about this matter, they just don’t want to bother with it, or they are more afraid of the saint..."
Sima Zheng nodded and said no more. Instead, he turned around, personally led the donkey of the cart, and dragged the cart past the people of the Deposed Dragon Gang. At the signal of Du Pozhen, Ma, the father of the Ma family and his daughter, Katsuya stepped forward without saying a word and took over another cart.
As the two vehicles arrived at the Huaiyou League side, the handover was completed.
This time, the people on the Deposed Dragon Gang felt a bit relieved. Leaders such as Xu Shiying, Zhou Xingfan, Guo Jingke, Chai Xiaohe, Guan Xu, Zhang Jinshu, Jia Yue, etc. almost instinctively looked at Zhang Xing, ready to follow this A big leader turned back.
Zhang Xing was not so pretentious that he wanted to do something with Sima Erlong in public, such as changing the time of the horse, but immediately turned the horse's head.
Even Du Pozhen only agreed to send people into Qiaojun and then turn back and discuss the situation with Zhang Xing privately.
The two groups of people had a tacit understanding, and each turned around, preparing to make a split.
But just as he started his journey, Zhang Xing suddenly reined in his horse on the river embankment, and then looked down the river embankment... Nothing else, but on the road under the river embankment, the position where the baggage carriage and cart had just stopped was much more abrupt. A cloth bag.
The nearest knight went straight over. Without even getting off his horse, he picked up the bag, opened it, looked surprised, and hurriedly handed it to Zhang Dalongtou.
Zhang Xing took a closer look and saw that it was a bag of noodles, weighing several kilograms. It must have been ground in a hurry, and there was quite a bit of bran in it.
The people around him instantly lost interest, and some even had the instinct to stop and prepare to return.
Unexpectedly, after Zhang Dalongtou saw clearly what was inside, his face immediately darkened, and then he reined in his horse and went down the river embankment, chasing the donkey cart that was already on the road.
This scene caused tension among everyone on both sides.
The knights of the Deposed Dragon Gang gritted their teeth, and most of them turned around to catch up. The rest did not dare to fall behind, so they had no choice but to keep up. Xu Shiying even whistled, telling the knights to split into two, and part of them went down to the road. Following, some of them followed the river embankment to catch up and outflank... But this time, it was the turn of the Huaiyou League on the opposite side and a small number of Liangjun officials to become nervous.
However, Du Pozhen and Ma Ping'er, who were at the center back, did not make any extra moves against Zhang Xing who rushed into the team face to face.
"Stop!"
Zhang Xing didn't bother to pay attention to the tense situation outside. He just galloped between the two cars, stopped the car, and then raised his face in the face of the astonishment of Sima Zheng, Du Pozhen, Ma's father and daughter, including everyone on both sides of the outside. Bag, ask seriously. "Whose bag of bread is this? It fell to the ground?"
Sima Zheng felt confused and wanted to interrupt.
"This is a matter between the Deposed Dragon Gang and the man who lost the bag, and has nothing to do with the others." Zhang Xing interrupted first, and then continued to ask, his tone becoming more solemn. "I ask again, who threw away these kilograms of wheat flour?"
No one answered.
Zhang Xing, however, just stood still.
"Who lost it?" Sima Zheng had no choice but to join in and urge him. "Don't delay important events."
A female officer sitting on a cart lowered her head, then slowly raised her hand.
"I don't know whether you did it accidentally or intentionally, whether you lost it or abandoned it." Zhang Xing held the flour bag and said coldly. "Then let me tell you thoroughly... According to the rules, you have done work for the Deposed Dragon Gang these days, whether it is sewing or sweeping, these few kilograms of noodles are the reward you deserve, the Deposed Dragon Gang Don’t take advantage of this.”
It suddenly dawned on everyone that the bag of noodles was the female officer's reward for working in the Deposed Dragon Gang, and it was probably because the female officer's abandonment before leaving meant she looked down on the Deposed Dragon Gang, which offended the big leader.
For a moment, everyone felt that this female official was too meddlesome, and even if she was spoiled, she shouldn't be thrown away at this moment.
On the other side, everyone secretly felt that this big dragon head seemed to be a troublesome person, and too stingy... but they didn't dare to complain.
"And logically speaking, with the world in such chaos, who do you think you can rely on?" Sure enough, Zhang Dalongtou's tone became increasingly fierce. "I relied on the emperor and the queen to get many rewards for a while. People said that if you take them back, you can take them back. The key is to kowtow and thank you. Only this kind of thing is earned by you in an upright manner. It will be yours wherever you put it. It's what Cao Che relied on. He is an emperor, and if he takes it away by force, he is also a robber who robs!"
At this point, Zhang Xing threw the flour bag back on the cart, and he rarely lost his composure: "Do you think I'm angry at you for looking down on the Deposed Dragon Gang? I'm angry at you for looking down on yourself, because you don't know what is the most precious thing. ! You can throw it away if you want, but you have to wait until you get out of Jiyin before throwing it away!"
After saying that, Zhang Xing finally turned around and ran away while many people were in a daze, just as easily as he had just beaten his horse into the opponent's team before.
After a while, a sigh came from the carriage: "Put it away! Hurry up and move on!"
A group of people who came to take over did not dare to neglect, and quickly continued westward - there was no way, the southeastern part of Liang County south of Jiyin had already become an area controlled by the Meng brothers and other bandits, they could only first Turn to the west and then go south.
This is bound to be a troublesome and long journey.
However, it is ridiculous to say that there were tens of thousands of people before, and Liang County itself had strong soldiers and horses, but it was easily robbed by the Deposed Dragon Gang with dozens of horses. Now there are only dozens of Huaiyou League warriors and a few Liangjun officials, as well as a few Jinwu Guards brought by Sima Erlong to escort, but the queen's carriage easily, steadily and quickly passed through Liangjun, which was half turned upside down. Arrived at Qiao County.
There they gathered the long-awaited elite troops of Xuzhou Camp, replaced them with the Queen's guard of honor, and continued southward.
Not to mention what happened to other people, Du Pozhen, the leader of the Huaiyou Alliance, delivered the queen safely to the troops in the Xuzhou camp that day. Instead of being beaming and claiming to be a hero, he was obviously frowning... Actually that night Fleeing to the north overnight.
Really an escape.
With the Xuzhou army already pressed out, Du Pozhen had no idea what fate awaited him once the queen crossed the Huaihe River. How was the emperor of Jiangdu going to deal with her?
Therefore, he had made an agreement with his old brother Fu Boshi early, and the latter would handle the arrangements. He must quickly flee to the north to wait and see.
This is also the real reason why he and Zhang Xing agreed to meet. The situation must be discussed. Things have developed to this point, and war is about to become chaotic. It would be strange not to discuss it... But it is inevitable to take the opportunity to hide.
This thing about the Queen is really a scam.
Accompanying him were Ma's father and daughter, who were regarded as liaisons between the Deposed Dragon Gang and the Huaiyou League, and seven or eight of his confidants in the Huaiyou League... They were all the kind of people who were not qualified to be a force, but had outstanding performance. The young talents all call him foster father.
It is said that when business was still good last year, I learned it from a certain Zhongcheng in Jing'an Taiwan.
Returning back, of course there is no need to take the detour to the west, so the first stop is Xiayi. As the leader of the largest river and lake power in Jianghuai, Du Po Zhen cannot ignore any small intermediate forces along the way, especially Xiayi. The controller of the city does have something to say.
These are thousands of armed servants. They call themselves the Beggar Army, and they are called the Duke Army outside. They look weird when they talk about it.
However, weirdness is weird, but it does not delay this force from showing sufficient strength.
In the past two months, they not only withstood the invasion from the north of the Meng family, but in a small battle, they defended the bridge openly and defeated Meng Shanggong's younger brother Meng Zhigui, and also extended their power to the next door. Dangshan County.
More importantly, this force has demonstrated extremely strong civil affairs capabilities... Those chamberlains from Ziwei Palace unexpectedly and seamlessly took over the original county government organization, and they actually organized external friction and expansion at the same time. Spring plowing completed.
It is said that he did better than Meng Sangong who was backed by the Deposed Dragon Gang.
This also made Du Pozhen have a strong curiosity about the Prince and Eunuch of Beiya, because now it is said outside that talented people like Eunuch Wang in Beiya are basically like the husband-in-law of Nan Ya. It is because of this Only now can I manage a group of internal servants so well.
But it was a pity that Du Po Zhen entered Xiayi City in name and saw the legendary internal servants, many young palace maids walking in the streets, the order restored to normal, and even merchants and villagers entering the city to join the market. , I also saw that the city walls were being reinforced and the trenches were being cleaned, but I did not see the legendary prince.
The people in the inner army were very polite. They told Leader Du that the prince and his father-in-law went to Jiyin by way of Dangshan County, and planned to draw a clear line of demarcation with Meng Shanggong face to face through the mediation of the Deposed Dragon Gang. The other slightly famous father-in-laws, Most of them also took people to the north to guard against the government troops and Meng Shanggong. The remaining few were scattered to repair the city defense, so it was not easy to entertain them without permission.
Du Pozhen expressed his understanding that it was inappropriate for the people below to meet him in private when the prince was not here. Besides, he was on his way, so he left directly and continued northward.
The next stop is the territory of the Meng brothers.
Needless to say, everyone knows that Meng Shanggong went to Jiyin, and his brother Meng Zhigui not only had to guard against several surrounding forces, but also guarded against the main force of the army in Songcheng. He had gone to Kaocheng just taken over a long time ago to take charge. Not seen at all.
As a result, after a slight pause for half a day, Du Po Formation set off again on the first day of March, preparing to lead the crowd to re-enter Jiyin.
Of course, this time there was no nervousness and caution as before, and there was no deliberate avoidance of the market city. Instead, they entered directly from Zhouqiao City, which was said to be the meeting point.
What's interesting is that Zhouqiao City is about to hold a big market on March 3rd. Du Pozhen and others happened to be attending the meeting. Along the way, they saw many people from Liang County swarming in, often with just a few eggs and two handfuls of new ones. After getting a broom and a few kilograms of millet, he happily helped the old and the young away.
After all, Alliance Leader Du was born into a poor man, and of course he knew the hardships these ordinary people were going through. So after arriving at Zhouqiao, facing Zhang Xing who was quickly reunited, he couldn't help but sigh:
"Brother, you said March 3 next year, how many people here can be so happy?"
Zhang Xing was about to speak.
But at this moment, a richly dressed strong man next to him suddenly raised his knife and sneered, and then responded first: "Leader Du, are you talking as if if we don't rebel, the common people will be able to survive? In troubled times, who doesn't? Is it just a temporary thing to force a smile?"
Of course there was nothing wrong with his words, but there was something wrong with his attitude. Du Pozhen didn't say a word, but several eunuchs behind him got angry early.
However, the man was obviously just using Du Po Zhen as a gesture. Once he said it, the effect was achieved, he handed over to Du Po Zhen again: "Boss Du, this is the first time we meet, I am Meng Sangong, my words are a bit awkward, please forgive me... But these are my true words.”
Du Pozhen was also used to seeing this kind of person, how could he not know that they were just expressing their opinions? Besides, the Meng brothers' territory is there, and it is impossible for them to fall to others. Therefore, the leader of the Du Da Alliance didn't bother to argue. He just nodded, glanced at another middle-aged man with a fair face and no beard, and followed Zhang Xing to a building to the north of the market.
The other heroes, in great numbers, also swarmed in.
There was nothing much to say about sitting down. Zhang Xing and Du Pozhen sat at the head, Meng Shanggong and Wang Gonggong sat on the left and right, and the other leaders of the Deposed Dragon Gang and members of the local branch also took their seats.
Only the Ma family and his daughter were pointed out to sit near the front, which obviously caused a slight commotion among the Huaiyou League eunuchs who could only stand.
Du Po Zhen was stable and did not say a word. Zhang Xing saw it early and did not say a word.
It wasn't until everyone was ready that they looked at the big leader waiting for him to speak. Then he calmly spoke, but he pointed at the Taibao of the Huaiyou League and spoke to Du Pozhen:
"Lao Du, we are serious brothers. These nephews are naturally my serious nephews. Why don't you let me see them?"
After hearing this, the people in the hall felt that it made sense for a while, but after looking at the ages of the eunuchs and this one, they still couldn't help but feel a little weird.
But how to say it?
He's just a little older, so he's not lying.
ps: The weather in Chengdu is amazing.
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