Before noon, there was already uncontrollable noise in the north of Lihu City.
This is not only the decision documents of the big bosses being posted, showing a lot of sensitive and serious things, but more importantly, the rhythm of the meeting has been delayed from high-level decisions among the big bosses to all the leaders. We are all involved in the process.
And soon, as the discussion deepened, with the unanimous suggestions of important officials including Wei Xuanding, Xiong Bonan, and Li Shu, the scale of the meeting was expanded again. Many middle-level and junior officers, commanders, and deputy commanders in the military Discussions with local backbones also entered the process, and the format of the meeting became a special discussion led by a single big leader.
Yes, even Li Shu quickly managed to use his free money to buy food in the west before the autumn harvest in the subsequent meetings, including setting up an inspection agency to clean up all the errands including lawsuits and jails on the territory... Compared to the second time As far as the Eastern Expedition was concerned, this was certainly an idle job, but no one could deny that it was still an important job that could both accumulate prestige and obtain obvious merit.
As for Chai Xiaohe, in addition to the early transfer of materials, he also received the important task of concentrating craftsmen to continue to prepare and maintain ordnance.
Relatively speaking, although Zhang Xing did not have any direct personal tasks, he still had to face some direct problems at this time.
"Is there a commotion in the Huaiyou League?" Zhang Xing, who was sitting in a corner under the greenhouse, asked in surprise. "What exactly happened?"
Standing in front of him were Ma Ping'er and Wang Xiongdan. These two people seemed to have been a little depressed since they arrived here, and they were surrounded by a lot of close or confidant leaders and helmsmen who were sitting or standing. , protector, deacon.
"Actually, it's nothing." Wang Xiongdan quickly tried to explain under the attention of everyone. "My foster father and you all jointly dealt with a few bastards who wanted to break up... Whether it is according to the rules of the world or the laws of the alliance, they should be dealt with."
Zhang Xing thought for a while and continued to ask: "Should it be right? I'm just curious... Why is the family separation happening now? Where are the people who are causing the separation?"
Wang Xiongdan was at a loss for words, causing many sensible people from the Deposed Dragon Gang to curl their lips.
Ma Ping'er, on the other hand, was a little impatient at this time and complained directly: "Let's just say it directly, can this matter be hidden from the leader?"
"It's the Black Shark Gang from Wushihui who takes the lead. There are about four or five small gangs, all of whom are under the command of Huaibei Northwest." Wang Xiongdan was urged, and he had no choice but to respond in a low voice, looking depressed. "They wanted to rebel. After a public discussion in the alliance, most people were still unwilling to rebel, but they couldn't hold it back, so they wanted to quit the Huaiyou Alliance and rebel on their own... In the end, they broke out and took action, killing a gang leader and imprisoning him. Two of them were killed, and forty or fifty high-ranking brothers died."
Zhang Xingfu thought for a moment and continued to ask seriously: "Is the Black Shark Gang Sha Datong?"
"yes."
"Is he the one who died?"
"……yes."
"I remember that Sha Datong was a very smooth man. Why did he suddenly take the lead in doing this? Is it related to the Lishan War?" Zhang Xing couldn't ask further.
"Of course there is." Ma Ping'er interjected from the side. "But more importantly, Huaibei Northwest originally wanted to rebel, and then Xuzhou sent troops this time and ruined the people there... No matter how tactful the Sha gang leader is, he still has to take into account the wishes of the local gang members in his gang... Especially when Han Yingong was defeated and retreated directly to Huaiyang, forcing the vortex water to harm the middle reaches to the upper reaches."
People around him were stunned and then sighed.
Zhang Xing was also stunned, nodded, but then shook his head: "Let's see how long Boss Du can hold out... The embarrassing thing about this is that in the current situation, for the sake of the unity of the Huaiyou Alliance, one can kill and suppress, but if the situation gets worse, In one or two years, the Huaiyou Alliance may rebel again. How will we explain to the local heroes in northwest Huaixi then?"
There is a lot of discussion around. Obviously, not only from the internal perspective of the Huaiyou League, but also from the perspective of the Deposed Dragon Gang, the Huaiyou League, an ally that is unwilling to rebel, is also a very embarrassing existence, and with the upcoming events of the Deposed Dragon Gang, Expansion, this state cannot be maintained for long.
Wang Xiongdan and Ma Ping'er, two big gangs who have been in constant contact with each other in recent times, naturally knew some things and were even more sensitive to some things. However, although they wanted to speak several times, they did not say anything in the end.
"Forget it, I also know what Boss Du means, and I also know his difficulties. The second Eastern Expedition is coming soon, and I don't want to point fingers at Huaishang." Zhang Xing shook his head in reply. "On the other hand, you two were sent back again. It is not only the face that Boss Du gave me, but also his love for you two, and it is also a leeway for both sides in the future... How many people did you bring with you this time?"
"There is no one, just the two of us." Wang Xiongdan became increasingly embarrassed. "After the previous few hundred people returned, they were gathered up by the adoptive father, and all of them were added to the long sword team newly formed by him and his uncle."
Zhang Xing nodded immediately. It would be strange if he didn't know this basic skill of Du Po Zhen: "That's good, Wang Xiongdan, I have officially added your name to the leader today. You can join Jia Yue immediately." Go to the camp and pick out two hundred soldiers to be the leader of my bodyguard... I will set off today."
Wang Xiongdan nodded and became curious again: "Where are the old brothers before Third Uncle? Have they dispersed into the army?"
"That's not true." Zhang Xing explained briefly. "Some have been promoted, but the foundation is still there. I asked Jia Runshi to supplement the number of people and lead... In the future, you two will cooperate more and pay attention to the matching of weapons. These four hundred people will be important in cooperating with the entire army of practitioners to form military formations in the future. Auxiliary.”
The young Jia Runshi turned around and bowed his hand seriously to the slightly older Wang Xiongdan, who immediately returned the greeting. Then he saluted the cold-faced Jia Yue, who was familiar with the business, and the three of them went to the military camp together. gone.
As soon as they left, Zhang Xingfu came to see Ma Ping'er again: "Ping'er, what do you think? Do you want to lead the army or do something? Does your father have an explanation with you?"
"My father asked me to be more careful and not to make any mistakes. He also said that I would not lead troops." Ma Ping'er shook his head repeatedly. "I personally thought that if there was a team of female soldiers, no matter what else, they would come out to lead the troops, but right now there is still no..."
"This is a big problem." Zhang Xing nodded in approval. Even though there is such a thing as true energy cultivation, and there are real female masters, the vast majority of people in this world still have no cultivation. This makes men and women in cultural and practical differences. There is still a typical medieval atmosphere in the division of labor. "There may be a chance to form a team in the future...but before that? Do you still want to lead the army?"
Ma Ping'er lowered his head and said, "My father's words are a bit harsh..."
Zhang Xing was convinced and wanted to give instructions.
Unexpectedly, Bai Yousi was sitting on a chair a few steps away. After hearing this, he said directly: "Let's lead a group of soldiers out, and then follow me!"
Zhang Xing went to see Ma Ping'er, and when he saw the latter nodded, he pointed at Zhou Xingfan: "Xiao Zhou led the horse leader to catch up with Jia Yue, and also led five hundred people out. I will follow Sisi's orders in the future."
Ma Ping'er nodded, turned around and left with Zhou Xingfan.
At this time, there were fewer and fewer people beside Zhang Xing, and he finally looked at Wang Zhen, who immediately sat over.
"I want you to come from Chuqiu. You can bring five hundred people with you. Meng Zhigui will lead a thousand Meng's rebels and be your lieutenants." Zhang Xing, who was under the shed, got straight to the point, not caring about the crowd surrounding him. "Let Jia Yue divide you into five hundred men, and then you, Jia Yue, and Xiao Zhou will be the core military leaders directly under me..."
Wang Zhen hesitated for a moment and asked directly: "Can I become the big boss in this way?"
Even though everyone around him was having heated discussions, this statement still attracted the attention of many people.
"That's what I mean." Zhang Xing was still straightforward. "Your qualifications are shown here, and your merits are actually not bad. Just like Niuda this time, you only have a clue... The Eastern Expedition is over, and there is no such thing as before, so it is natural."
Wang Zhen nodded immediately: "That's okay."
It's so simple and cute.
Zhang Xingfu looked back at Wang Zhuo again. To this man, his instructions were quite simple: "Then I'll leave the matters on the southern front to Chief Wang. I can rest assured that you can handle the matter."
Wang Zhuo immediately stood up and bowed seriously.
Let's say that at this time, not only the people under the shed, but also the official roads began to stir up excitement.
Because as the discussion progressed, many policies that did not need to be kept confidential had been improved and simply released following some previous personnel decisions.
The wealthy businessmen and landlords could no longer bear it any longer and began to rush forward. On the separated official road, they were talking and thinking about the newly posted things on the big tree. Some people even pricked their ears. Come and listen to the discussion across the line of samurai, or just watch eagerly.
What local landowners are concerned about is whether taxes will be increased due to the second eastward levy, and whether they should properly express their cooperation or even surrender? What the wealthy businessmen care about is whether there are new business opportunities. After all, due to the three previous expeditions to Dongyi and the subsequent war turmoil, the Jishui River Basin, which was originally almost commercially integrated and extremely developed, has been blocked for a year.
Needless to say, there is no need to say much about the thoughts of the wealthy merchants in the world. They were shocked by the scale and results of the Battle of Lishan. Most of them came here to apply for jobs. However, the wealthy merchants who have cultivated themselves these days are naturally more powerful. He has the mentality of a good bird choosing a tree to roost on, so he has always been reserved.
Of course, there are inevitably spies from all sides.
However, as the meeting progressed and deepened, whether it was the landowners, wealthy businessmen, wealthy businessmen, or spies, they were all obviously shocked by this method of decision-making.
The Deposed Dragon Gang has been rising for a long time, and the characters in it are all so-called famous people. They have naturally heard relevant rumors, but as the saying goes, seeing is better than hearing a hundred times. Only when you are here today can you believe that the Deposed Dragon Gang actually Everyone really makes the decision together. A big leader can really decide the final result with a raise of his hand. The leaders, helmsmen, captains, guardians, and deacons below can also really consult with the big leader in charge face to face, and then Make the agreed upon documents into documents, copy them, post them, and implement them.
Although these wealthy people, businessmen, landowners, and Taoist priests may not understand the Taoism inside, nor can they properly sort out and explain things, some things naturally belong to the kind of things that do not require advanced knowledge to understand.
For example, when everyone has a public discussion together, will they all have a little face, and will the things they come up with be more fair and aboveboard? And is it possible to minimize the risk of wars, assassinations, and other bottomless things caused by private resolutions? For example, if the results of everyone's discussion are confirmed by everyone on the spot, can the opposition's opposition be filtered out as much as possible on the spot and avoid unnecessary actions by the opposition afterwards? Will it also allow the vast majority of people to implement these resolutions without any pressure or even become determined, and even have a sense of mission?
It can only be said that no matter what, this makes these gangsters feel a little refreshing.
"A rebellious gang has turned itself into a government! The government only puts up notices and knows how to do things behind closed doors!"
After watching for a while, under the big tree opposite the official road, a wealthy man in brocade clothes carrying a big sword suddenly sneered, and then walked away with his arms in his arms, attracting side glances from the people around him.
Obviously, the businessmen and landowners who are disadvantaged groups but have mastered the wealth seem to like this kind of open and transparent scene very much. Their attention has been diverted to the interpretation of those clauses. But it is more obvious that they seem to be more and more comfortable in this world. On the contrary, some of the powerful people in the world are fed up with this.
And soon, as this person left, many people left one after another - not everyone can accept this kind of thing.
"What the Cloak Sword said is quite right...the Deposed Dragon Gang has become like the government."
Seeing those people leaving, under the tree next to him, a fat Taoist priest with a bare head, wearing a tattered robe with the logo of Baidi Temple, sitting on a double-headed crescent shovel sighed slightly... Baidi Temple Among them, there is a specially ordained martial Taoist priest, known as King Kong, just like the maid in the Red Emperor Temple...and this person is obviously an ordained Taoist priest who has broken the family.
"So let's just forget it?" A friend next to him who was wearing a futou and dressed in an ordinary martial arts style except for his shorter hair asked in surprise when he heard this. "Go back to Nanyang directly? Or go to Hebei?"
"No..." The fat bald Taoist priest thought for a moment, touched his bald head and sighed. "I don't know what the boss thinks. I just think that since there is a rebellion, just like what the Dragon Slayer Gang said, they want to overthrow the Wei Dynasty and re-establish the world. But if you want to re-establish the world, you have to establish a new government. No Isn’t it normal to have quackery?”
"Then stay?" My friend continued to ask.
"It's hard to say." The bald Taoist priest continued to touch his head under the tree. "I still feel guilty about going to the government... If we could endure those restrictions, why did we escape from the temple with the boss that day? And you think, An Tianxia should have done this, but An Tianxia had to eliminate violence before Wei, but if you want to eliminate violence, Wei should be twisted into a rope and follow one head... The Deposed Dragon Gang is like this. Today the leader named Li is the leader, and tomorrow the person named Zhang will overwhelm him. Why don't you think so! "
"That's the truth." The short-haired friend sighed. "If you want to say that the rebels are rebelling against each other, then there is no need to do this. But if you want to do this, who will be the emperor? As long as one of them becomes the emperor, how can we continue to do this? Lian Beidi's There is also a single-headed commander in the Demon Guard!"
"That's what I mean." The fat, bald Taoist priest nodded quickly. "I guess among the people who just left, it's not that this thing looks too much like a government official, but that it looks nothing like it. I've never seen it before, and I'm scared... It looks like a wealthy family, a gathering place. The appearance of righteousness remains.”
"Then wait a little longer?" My partner thought for a while and asked immediately. "Should I go back and make it clear to the boss, and you stay here and continue watching?"
The bald Taoist priest was about to say more when suddenly, there was another noise in front of him.
He raised his head in surprise, and even couldn't help sniffing... and after he stood up, he suddenly realized.
It turned out that at noon, the Deposed Dragon Gang carried out many wooden barrels from the military camp, which were filled with hot meals, including vegetables, pickles, stir-fried sauce, steamed buns, rice, porridge, and soup... This is the Jishui River Basin, At the junction of the north and the south, transportation is developed, and the variety of materials is quite guaranteed.
Smelling the aroma, people under the shed and in the square paused their discussions. Whether they were the big boss or the ordinary guardian deacons, they all went to get meals, and then quickly continued talking with rice bowls and steamed buns, as if they were in a military camp. Rude habits and little etiquette.
However, the food was so delicious that people on the official road looked at it in awe. Many people who had no lunch habit were also preparing to go to the city to find a meal.
The bald Taoist priest also rubbed his belly and hesitated for a moment.
But at this time, under the shed, some big boss noticed this, and after giving an order, someone actually handed over several buckets of food, soup, and porridge, and there were food soldiers there to greet them.
It turned out that the Deposed Dragon Gang actually wanted to treat these onlookers and wealthy businessmen and landlords who were waiting for news to dinner.
The gangsters didn't care and just swarmed over. They even felt that the Dragon Gang finally had some sense of loyalty. Although the wealthy businessmen and landlords had no shortage of their own, some even thought the food was inferior, but from a distance, they thought the food was inferior. When the big bosses and leaders all gathered together to eat the same thing, they couldn't help but be amazed. They all came to try it and decided to try it themselves.
The fat bald Taoist priest also filled a large bowl of rice, spread half a bowl of green vegetables, sprinkled half a spoonful of sauce, and specially ordered a steamed bun. He sat back in the shade of the tree to eat, and after a while he ate it cleanly. I was ready to return the bowls and chopsticks when I saw a large vat of sour plum soup coming next to me. I was even more delighted... The Jianghuai Central Plains are rich in plums, and the plum rain got its name from this, which happened to be in June after the rainy season. The most practical, cheap and delicious, suitable for men, women, old and young, so sour plum soup is available in cities of all sizes.
However, when the bald Taoist priest rushed to ladle the sour plum soup, he saw a pair of Liuhe boots suddenly appear behind the bucket, and then inexplicably stretched out a hand and grabbed the big iron spoon first.
The fat Taoist priest raised his head in surprise, and saw a young man looking at him with a smile, so he smiled too. Before he could speak, he noticed something strange. When he lowered his head again, he saw that the surroundings of the big iron spoon were already cold. People even had ice edges faintly appearing, but the ice did not form from around the iron spoon, but emerged from the entire barrel, and they were shocked for a moment.
Without him, there would probably be only one person in the Deposed Dragon Army with this level of Ice Qi!
Or it can be said that at this moment, one of the most famous Ice Qi masters in the world seems to be deposing the Dragon Army.
"Okay." After just a moment, Zhang Xing, who was starting to get bored, said with a smile and handed over the iron spoon. "It's a shared spoon, everyone, be careful, don't fall in it, and you'll end up drinking it."
The fat Taoist priest nodded, took it, lowered his head and scooped out a bowl of ice-cold sour plum soup. He handed the spoon to the person behind him, but he held the bowl beside him and watched the dragon-slaying knife turn around and leave. Then he returned. Go under the tree.
"You should go back to Nanyang. I have figured it out and will stay here." The fat Taoist priest looked at his companions who were still eating, drank the cold sour plum soup in one gulp, and then wiped his mouth. "Follow the notice and find that hell leader to join the gang."
"I bought you for just a bowl of soup?" The companion next to him who was still eating had seen it clearly before and couldn't help but couldn't bear it now. "Why are our Bashu Thirteen Vajras so cheap?"
"You know nothing!" the fat Taoist priest blurted out, dismissively.
In the afternoon, many backbones in the gang may have been too enthusiastic about participating in political discussions, and many powerful leaders seemed to be willing to take this opportunity to emphasize their special powers, so that the meeting tended to be delayed and further expanded... But soon Soon, all this was forcibly stopped by Zhang Xing, the newly appointed leader Zuo and commander-in-chief of the Second Eastern Expedition.
Meetings are a good thing, but if the core issues are successfully solved, there is no need to continue to be perfunctory here. In other words, solving the core problem itself is to launch the Second Eastern Expedition quickly and decisively.
In fact, at Zhang Xing's urging, Wang Shuyong rode directly back to the front line that night, and Wang Zhen and Meng Zhigui also returned to the southern front that night.
After breakfast on the second day, Lihu's army started to move forward... The deposed dragon army began to advance in an orderly manner, with troops one after another, and flags all over the official road, as far as the eye could see.
Interestingly, when the entire Eastern Expedition army numbered as high as 30,000, the largest advance force of the Dragon-Deposing Army, namely Zuo Longtou Zhang Xingshen's troops, only had 4,000 troops.
But this seems to be a matter of course, because beyond Lishan and heading east, in the entire Dongping County, Jibei County, and Lu County, no matter whether it is an official or a bandit, there is no army with a total of more than three thousand.
On June 15th, Zhang Xing's red-bottomed "deposed" flag reached Yuncheng. At this time, Niu Da and Wang Shuyong, who were the vanguard, had already captured Lu County, Jibei County and Xiaqiu, Lu County respectively.
At the same time, the leaders below Xu Shiying have quickly taken control of at least fifteen counties and twenty cities in the three counties, plus seven large rivers and Jishui crossings, nine famous specialties and commercial towns, five mines, and seven A large temple.
And took advantage of the situation to sweep away eleven permanent and semi-permanent military villages of various origins, including the Liangshan Dazhai.
Each leader has a special appointment, and they all implement it strictly along the way.
Notices of peace and security were posted on government offices, city gates, towns and any settlement with more than 300 people as the huge army poured in everywhere. This time, considering the food risks in the future, the Qianlong Army did not release large amounts of food. Instead, they chose to provide targeted emergency relief to areas with food shortages, and began to encourage everyone to take advantage of the summer to seek food from wild vegetables, fruits and vegetables.
Of course, it is inevitable to distribute the money seized from the treasury, and at the same time carry out a larger-scale debt-burning strategy.
Parts of these three counties, which were the main battlegrounds between the Deposed Dragon Army and the Qilu Army, were the enemy areas closest to the Lishan battlefield. All the forces within them showed great obedience.
Almost all the government surrendered, the defeated troops were swept away, the previous defectors were liquidated, the war orphans were collected, food was specially protected, ordnance and supplies were transferred to Lihu and Jiyin for refurbishing, and the unique local organizations of the Dragon Gang were deposed. Structures were set up and various military and political policies were implemented.
On June 17, Xiong Bonan gave the answer. According to the purple-faced king's investigation, the so-called rebel army on the south side of Juye Ze, which numbered 1,500 people and was known as the Golden Boring Army, had committed multiple robberies and robbery. This was an abominable act that was close to massacre of the village. Therefore, although they asked to surrender, they should not be regarded as rebels, but should be exterminated as bad bandits.
Wang Zhen, who had just come from the southern front, quickly attacked and won the battle easily. He beheaded the enemy's leader and surrendered his troops. In accordance with Zhang Xing's military order, he killed the enemy on May Day and threw their bodies into the marsh. The snake is strong.
On June 21st, Zhang Xing started from Yuncheng and headed for Sucheng. The surrounding armies once again pushed eastward from all directions. This time, almost all of the three counties, which were extremely empty, fell into the hands of the Dragon Army.
Autumn has not yet arrived, but the autumn wind is already sweeping away the fallen leaves.
PS: Good night
(End of chapter)
