"This is Kan Leng, and he is also the boss." Du Pozhen pointed his finger at the leader of a majestic man.
Zhang Xing raised his eyes and saw that this man was tall, almost as tall as Xiong Bonan. He had a long knife on his back, and one end of the long knife was connected with an iron chain, and it was actually connected to a short soldier in his waist. When we continue together, we immediately know that this is a typical warrior and fierce general.
Then he stood up and tried to shake hands: "What a man!"
Unexpectedly, Kan Leng didn't take over the job at all, but just went to see his adoptive father.
Du Pozhen was embarrassed for a moment, and quickly pointed out: "Zhang Longtou and his father are indeed brothers in life and death. You can just treat him like your uncle."
Only then did Kan Leng nod, then take over, and then unarm the weapon. Then he held Zhang Xing's hand and bowed down respectfully as a salute: "My nephew has met Uncle Zhang."
Well, Fu Bo naturally faced Uncle Zhang.
Kan Leng started, and the remaining Taibao imitated his example. They all changed the handshake into an cupped hand and called him Uncle Zhang.
Not to mention, when it was the turn of a young man named Wang Xiongdan to come over, he secretly exerted force on his hands... not using his true energy, but simply exerting force... Zhang Xing was too lazy to coddle the other person, and directly released the cold ice energy. , the white air aroused almost drowned the other party, causing everyone present to sneer, embarrassment, and fright. Wang Xiongdan could only rush out under the scolding of his adoptive father, and went to the door. Penalty station.
The little farce is not worth mentioning.
The only thing that can be determined is that these so-called Taibao are indeed young people with good strength. From this perspective, Du Po Zhen has its own foundation in the Huaiyou League and will never be influenced by the local Jianghuai forces. Empty.
However, understanding is clear, but it does not delay Zhang Xing from here as soon as he opens his mouth.
"The Xuzhou army is pressing down on the border. If Lao Du comes here like this, isn't he afraid of a fire in the backyard?" Zhang Xing asked seriously after sitting down again. "Isn't it time for Miao Hailang, who has a background in the Xuzhou camp, to harden up now? The powerful people in Huainan, the old members of the Whale Gang, and the wealthy businessmen in the East China Sea have all been properly gathered together. Will they just fall over?"
"If you fall over, fall over." Du Pozhen sighed. "At worst, I'll go back to the East and become a bandit..."
"The Eastern Territory cannot tolerate bandits now." Meng Shanggong blurted out and interrupted again. "The heroes of the Deposed Dragon Gang are in the west, the three big bosses of King Gao Shen are in the east, and the two counties of Qilu and Qilu are dominated by that Eastern March Commander. How can there be any room left?"
Du Pozhen was speechless for a moment, but ignored this person. He just came to see Zhang Xing, and then continued to turn his back on the guests: "What is the situation in the east?"
"I'm afraid this three-point situation won't last for a few days."
Zhang Xing seemed honest.
“Since we’re talking about this, let’s start from me…
"My opinion is that the old soldier from Qi County is quite capable. He is strict in running the army and has won many battles. Basically, his morale and military morale have been raised. Now he has obtained the full military qualification of the Eastern Territory and the territory of Lu County. The army has been expanded to 20,000. It is considered to be a strong force and a strong force. It is estimated that we will take action soon, and we may not even say that we have already taken action at this time...
"Whether it's our side or the east side, from my point of view, if we can't keep our composure, I'm afraid we won't be his opponent, and I'm afraid we will still suffer losses, or even suffer big losses.
"Also, didn't you ask Lao Wei before? Lao Wei has now gone to Hebei. He was worried about the direction of the Hejian camp and went to the Qinghe area to make observations. Leader Xu and Leader Niu were also cautious on the banks of the river. Shou."
"That's all." Meng Shangong continued to laugh. "In addition, when we are here, we are originally thinking about how to deal with the overwhelming attack from the Xuzhou camp. If it really comes, it will really be considered an attack from three sides. I don't know if Dongdu's troops will come, then it will be from four sides. Attacked..."
"The situation is indeed not good." Wang Gonggong finally intervened.
"Of course the situation is not good, because in the same situation, we are fundamentally different from Wang Gonggong. Wang Gonggong also has the relationship with Beiya and the favor of Grandmaster Du Gong... When things came to pass, Kaicheng surrendered, and he only said that he was If you dare not go south for fear of crime, your life will still be saved." Meng Sangong was still firing on all cylinders. "But what about us? What do we have? Since we rebel, we will die. When the soldiers come, they will block the water and cover it with soil. Those who succeed will be princes, and those who lose will be dung... What did Zhang Longtou say? Princes, generals, and prime ministers would rather be kind. ?”
As soon as this statement came out, there was a lot of applause around him.
This is also the mentality of many people who have never fought with the official officers and soldiers of the imperial court... With such an attitude, they still feel dissatisfied.
how to say?
Faith is commendable and should not be discouraged.
Even when he accused Wang Gonggong, what he said was actually the truth. The Xuzhou camp was directly assigned by Jiangdu. The master Niu Dugong was still there, and the accompanying Beiya system was also there. People like Yu Gonggong who was in charge of documents also had enough political influence. , it is very possible to save one's life in the face of battle.
"Okay." When the cheers subsided, Zhang Xingfang continued to speak with an expressionless face. "That's what happened. The key is that we made an agreement before Brother Du came... We share the same hatred and support each other. At the very least, there must be military intelligence reports... What else is there to say?"
Having said this, Zhang Xing finally looked at Du Po Zhen again.
After hearing this, Du Pozhen remained unhurried and continued to ask: "May I ask you two, how many soldiers do you have in hand?"
"Three thousand, barely enough to defend two county towns." Wang Gonggong was the most straightforward. "Even Dangshan cannot be defended if necessary."
"Ten thousand, four to five, including three thousand soldiers and hundreds of heroes." Meng Shanggong answered proudly. "If we guard the four counties well, we will still have enough strength to fight head-on, cut off the enemy's food routes, or support the left and right sides."
Du Pozhen nodded and finally went to see Zhang Xing again.
"At this moment, not to mention the other scattered enclaves, the Deposed Dragon Gang currently has four counties: Jiyin, Dongjun, Dongping County, and Jibei County, with a total strength of 56,700 people." Zhang Xing did not say a word, and It was the leader Zhang Jinshu who blurted out at the former's signal.
"After Lu Jun was lost?" Du Pozhen was surprised for a moment.
"Yes." Zhang Xing also nodded. "But this is in general, including people from Dangshan and many military bandits from Juyeze."
Du Pozhen also nodded. Others don't know, how come the three families here don't know the details of the leader of Dangshan?
At this point, after nodding, Du Pozhen finally couldn't ask any more questions. He could only explain his situation to Zhang Xing under the gaze of the other three families:
"Miao Hailang is not causing trouble..."
"oh?"
"Although he has a background in the Xuzhou camp, his backer died during the Three Expeditions. Instead, he has to rely on us to maintain it... On the other hand, Wenren Xun'an in Huainan seems to have his own way."
"Where are the others?"
"The rest of the people are still safe... Speaking of fundamentals, the Three Expeditions not only destroyed Hebei and the East. Even if Jianghuai is a little better, how much better can it be? The heroes and people of Jianghuai are also fundamentally dissatisfied. , it’s just that the emperor led his army to Jiangdu, and he was so close that he didn’t dare to say anything easily... I won’t hide it from you either. The biggest issue in the Huaiyou Alliance in the past few months was the conflict between Huaibei and Huainan, Huaidong and Huaixi. Opposition, everyone in Huaibei and Huaixi wants to rebel, but those in Huainan and Huaidong are worried that it will implicate themselves if they rebel, and they dare not say that rebellion is bad. I just barely maintain both sides."
"I can imagine what happened."
"As for the Xuzhou camp coming over all over the world..." Talking about the most fatal information, Du Pozhen paused, but then came up with an unexpected interpretation. "It is bound to come, but it may not be as strong as you think."
"How to say?"
"Of the three masters in Jiangdu, Lai Zhan'er is the most trusted. He has been staying at the Jiangdu camp. The two who went to Guanzhong, named Yu and Tuwan, went to Jiangdong to take charge... Therefore, there has never been a master here in Xuzhou. There are many real big shots, and there are many generals vying for one position, making it a mess. However, the Xuzhou camp had suffered an entire army annihilation in Dongyi before. The replacement sergeants were all brought by the emperor, but the auxiliary troops and local The officials and warehouses are all local, which is also an embarrassment.”
Many people in the audience looked at Zhou Xingfan, but the senior leader of the Deposed Dragon Gang just sat there coldly without saying a word.
"Thanks to this, we can grasp their logistics information..." Du Pozhen said seriously. "Jiangdu provides logistical support to Xuzhou. I'm afraid it won't be able to send out 108,000 to the east together. Even 50,000 will be difficult. I estimate that there will be 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers... The duty of the Xuzhou camp is also to control Live in Jianghuai."
Many people breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhang Xing frowned slightly.
"If he can mobilize 100,000 soldiers to fight across the country in just half a year, we don't have to worry, because the logistics support may not be directly from Jiangdong, but also from Jiangdong." Xiao Zhou finally sneered. "Let's just look at it... Let me tell you, even if the two or thirty thousand elites go out to the east, the logistics support and intrigues are enough for them to drink a pot."
"Twenty to thirty thousand elites are already scary." Zhang Xing waved his hand and continued to look at Du Po Formation. "Can you determine where this army is coming from? Is it going directly north to join forces with Zhang Xuguo of Qi County, or is it coming towards me?"
"I came here for you." After a pause, Du Pozhen gave a clear answer. "After the Queen was robbed, the logistics supplies were all heading to the west of Xuzhou. The route is probably Qiao County and Liang County, and then here... isn't it clearly aimed at you?"
There were so many people present and they became nervous.
But Zhang Dalongtou breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm afraid of only one thing, that is, the government's officers and soldiers should be coordinated and work together as one."
"Third brother, don't worry!" Xiao Zhou blurted out. "I've said it before, if we want Hebei, Dongdu, and Jiangdu to be of one mind, or if those arrogant generals are willing to lower their face and cooperate with Qijun Lao Ge, it's better to believe that the dog emperor can change his temper!"
"Why don't I know these truths..." Zhang Xing also laughed. "But when it comes to matters of life and death, you always have to listen clearly."
"Isn't Zhang Xuguo from Qi County also from Guanlong?" Someone asked in surprise. "You don't even have the trust of Xuzhou Camp?"
"There is also a core and an edge in Guanlong, the old town and the new..." Zhang Xing explained with a smile. "Wherever there are people, there are divisions...His background can at most bring him the trust of the emperor and his uncle. On the contrary, the people below look down on him because he comes from a lower background and because of his sudden achievements, he became the commander-in-chief of the army."
Everyone was stunned, and Zhang Xing also looked at Du Po Zhen and asked a question that he was not sure about, but he still had to ask:
"Lao Du, let me ask you, if the elites from the Xuzhou camp and Lao Ge from Qijun come together, and our lives are at stake, can you rebel from behind and disrupt the logistics in the Xuzhou direction?"
Everyone came to see Du Po Formation, including the Ma family and his daughter who came with Du Po Formation and a group of Taibao. It was rare for the hall to become completely quiet, but it seemed that the noise in the big city outside was becoming more and more clearly audible.
Zhang Xing even heard the cries of fish ball rice... The saying goes, "A bowl of rice costs five copper coins, and fish balls alone cost two cents each."
Prices have still risen a lot...I don't know if it's because of the bad world, or because Jiyin has purchased a lot of gold and silver recently, causing inflation?
Probably when he heard it for the fourth time, Zhang Xing had such an idea in his mind.
At this time, Du Pozhen finally said what everyone had expected: "Now I have to take responsibility for the entire Huaiyou League, and the Huaiyou League has to take responsibility for the tens of thousands of Jianghuai children. Therefore, if the imperial court does not take advantage of us, please forgive me and allow us to tolerate it for a while and just convey a message to you. Of course, on the other hand, if the Hunjun is determined to eat us, we, the tens of thousands of descendants of the Huaiyou League, will not suffer in vain. "
After saying this, everyone was a little embarrassed. Not to mention the leader of the Dragon Gang and Meng Shanggong, even the several eunuchs of Du Po Zhen were a little shy.
It was Zhang Xing, who was still out of touch with everyone's reaction. Hearing this, he nodded with relief, and then stood up: "I understand Brother Du's difficulty... Let's not say more. Let's have lunch first, and then we can talk about some contact in the afternoon. Details of the intelligence... How about eating fish balls and rice today?"
Du Po Zhen and below can only nod in approval.
In this way, everyone had a full meal of fish ball rice for 5 cents a bowl. Zhang Xing even ate two bowls and added two fish balls. In the afternoon, they discussed some specific integration of four intelligence agencies and three defense agencies. details, he dispersed directly and rested on the spot.
Among them, Meng Shanggong even returned directly to Chuqiu City under his own control that night, as if he was not satisfied with the results of the four-party talks.
In fact, many people, including those within the Deposed Dragon Gang, felt that Zhang Xing was not tough enough, and did not force Du Po Zhen to express his position, nor did he unify the command authority of Meng Shanggong and the inner servant army.
Even at Du Po Zhen's place, I felt a little uneasy.
In the evening, Du Pozhen stayed at Zhouqiao, and then called a few adopted sons for questioning.
"You saw Zhang Longtou today. What do you think of him?"
"Not very mighty."
"There seems to be no decision-making on major matters. Every little thing is suppressed by our brothers, but there is no suppression on those big shots."
"Seems a little indecisive."
“It’s not worthy of its name.”
"I think it's a bit unfathomable." Unexpectedly, it was Kan Leng who expressed some kind of convincing gesture.
"How do you say that?" Du Pozhen was surprised for a moment.
"Because I think this person has done enough deeds, and there is no need to pretend to be tyrannical... Then who killed Zuo Youxian? Who established the Deposed Dragon Gang? Who robbed the Queen? Killed two There is the Prime Minister of the South Yamen and the Governor of the North Yamen. I don’t think this one is not ruthless, powerful or decisive... Therefore, he is so calm now, or he has some more ruthless decisions and is waiting for the opportunity or news. Either he is really magnanimous and is willing to tolerate us continuing like this." After Kan Leng finished speaking, he handed over his hand. "I wonder what my foster father thinks?"
"I think the same thing as you." Du Pozhen sighed. "If he is indecisive and only knows how to struggle, what are the rest of us? But now I don't know whether he is extremely dissatisfied with me and is planning to launch something to force me to submit, or is he really tolerant?"
Wang Xiongdan heard that his adoptive father was a little discouraged and immediately interrupted with dissatisfaction: "What dares he initiate? We are not made of clay."
"What do you know?" Du Pozhen shook his head more and more. "Once this kind of person is activated, the literary one will definitely leave you with no way to retreat, and the military one will be as powerful as thunder... Just like this time about the queen, he said to himself, should we escape? I say now I’m just giving it to you to gain some knowledge and don’t underestimate him. After all, Jiangdu will have to hide here before he decides to continue using us for logistics and transportation.”
Wang Taibao then shut up.
While Du Pozhen was educating his sons, Zhang Xing also began to sort out and reflect on the whole day, and began to be indecisive... Meetings are of course a magic weapon, but sometimes, especially in external meetings, their respective positions and The binding of core interests is destined to produce no new results.
However, this does not mean that he can relax, especially given the overall situation, which is becoming more and more tense.
Picking up paper and pen, writing and drawing, Zhang Xing quickly summarized a few points:
First of all, whether it is the Eastern Border, the Jianghuai River or the Central Plains, the background of the people and the Jianghu has not changed. That is, they are deeply persecuted by many imperial policies including the Three Expeditions, and completely rebel against the imperial court. This is the overall situation, which means that even if it is a rebellion If something goes bad for a while, it will come back sooner or later in the future.
Second, there is the unreliability of all allies.
The Huaiyou Alliance is the most powerful. Once it raises troops, it can relieve the pressure on the southward direction of the Deposed Dragon Gang, and even the pressure on the entire Deposed Dragon Gang, because anyone with understanding in the Wei Dynasty will not allow rebels to occupy Jianghuai and threaten Jiangdu and even Nanyang. The Wu brothers worked together to cut off all connections between Jiangdu and Dongdu.
But on the other hand, Du Pozhen is not a fool. He sees the situation clearly and cannot take the initiative to become the target of public criticism, take the knife for the Deposed Dragon Gang, and allow the Deposed Dragon Gang to grow bigger.
Needless to say, Meng Shanggong is a typical tyrant. He only thinks about territory and military power, but he has some skills that can be used and even relied on for a while. However, he is just arrogant and ruthless. Sooner or later, he will have to fight against the more arrogant and ruthless imperial officers and soldiers. You suffer a big loss in front of the elite.
As for the prince's father-in-law, not to mention that the power is too small, the key point is that Meng Shanggong's ridicule and hints are not false. For the sake of a large army to press the border, what will happen if the father-in-law of Beiya comes to guarantee surrender?
Do we want to accuse them of being incompetent?
The thoughts that crossed my mind that day were true, but when things came to pass, who would dare to put the matter of life and death on their heads?
In fact, Zhang Xing now deeply doubts the reliability of the Dangshan direction. Wang Zhen has left and never returned. The so-called bold words are still there, but people's hearts are unpredictable. Over the past six months, he has changed many temperaments and ideas, let alone others?
However, this does not mean that the situation will be bad to a certain extent.
Zhang Xing fully understood that Xiao Zhou had something to say when he complained today, that is, the imperial government and the army must be torn apart, Xuzhou and Qijun must not be able to work together, the gap between Dongdu and Jiangdu must be growing, and there is a nine-tenth chance that Hebei's heavy troops will not be able to pass through. He wouldn't even look at the chaotic Dongjing.
If they could really help each other, the three conquests of Dongyi would have been completed long ago, and the Wei Dynasty would not have fallen to the current situation.
However, if things are reversed, as long as there are one or two heroic officers and soldiers like Lao Ge from Qi County who take the initiative to take responsibility for the Wei Dynasty, the Deposed Dragon Gang will really have a narrow escape.
And those acquaintances released from Dongdu, who knows what effect they will have? Qian Tang, Qin Bao, and Li Qingchen, in any case, are better than the original local officials, right? Especially since Lu Changheng is in Jijun and Li Qingchen is in Huaiyang, we must pay attention to their movements.
All in all, there seems to be some hope, but it is destined to be difficult.
With mixed thoughts, Zhang Xing couldn't help but become more and more entangled. He really didn't know how to deal with the upcoming full-scale counterattack by the army. Only when his thoughts changed, he remembered the agreement with Bai Yousi, thinking that he had already made up his mind after the defeat. Leaving... but feeling like I'm worrying in vain.
After thinking about this, Zhang Xing simply threw the pen and paper directly on the table under the lamp.
At this moment, a clear cough suddenly came from the roof.
Zhang Xing was startled for a moment, then he woke up. He just held down the pen and paper and raised his head to invite: "Is it Sima Erlang? Since you're here, you might as well come down and talk."
A moment later, a person knocked on the door, and then opened the door generously and entered. It was Sima Zheng who had escorted the queen away with Du Pozhen before.
When the two parties met, Zhang Xing didn't ask where the other party came from. He just smiled bitterly and said, "Well, Sima Erlang is now in Jiangdu, and he should be the same as I am in Jiyin. It's like being in water and fire. The so-called dilemma, the future is uncertain, and it's hard to decide between good and soft. ?”
Sima Zheng was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "It is natural that the future is uncertain, and it is also true in the world of fire and water, but what about the dilemma and the difficulty of deciding between good and soft, right? Just do your duty faithfully, do good and suppress evil. However, in this world and situation, When you make a decision, you can’t help but have some worries in your heart.”
Zhang Xing was startled for a moment, but nodded heavily: "Sima Erlang has a good heart, and he will definitely become a dragon among men!"
Sima Zheng instead smiled bitterly: "Zhang Sanlang is just a blinder. Think about it for yourself, have you ever lacked decision-making in your life? And we have known each other for so long, and I have always believed that you can make clear decisions, grasp the key points at once, and do things in chaos. To be the best, the most righteous, the most impeccable, where can I be the one to inspire you?”
Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment again, and then he finally realized that he had unknowingly had the idea to stay and try to survive this low ebb in the Deposed Dragon Gang, and even open up the situation.
This is obviously irrational, even irrational, because traveling around the world with Bai Yousi, waiting for the sky to collapse, has always been a dream.
But this kind of entanglement has actually emerged.
For a moment, Zhang Dalongtou was so confused that he even thought about returning to Jiyin and trying the compass again.
ps: Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm. I can’t stay for a few days and will be leaving soon.
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