Outside Ban County, heavy snow is rising with the cold wind, dancing in all directions, and the sky and earth have already become the same color.
The snow started to show up the day before yesterday, and it continued intermittently from yesterday to today, but it was really majestic.
In the huge camp, the soldiers stopped their daily rotation of drills, sports games, military fairs and other activities early, but they were still busy with something.
There was an overly spacious barracks in the middle of the camp. Zhang Xing, the leader of the Left Wing Gang, carried a long bench and sat on the outside of the door, staring blankly at the heavy snow falling above his head.
Inside the barracks, which was separated by a wooden board wall behind him, steam was rising. There were seven or eight corridors, plus dozens of desks in three or four rows, filled with documents, forms, and pens and papers. The leader of the gang, Wei Xuanding, was Leaders Xiong Bonan, Shan Tonghai, leaders Zhou Xingfan, Yan Qing, Zu Chenyan, Liu Zhouchen, Zhang Jinshu, Dou Lide, Zheng Ting, Lu Mingyue, Sun Xunzhi, Zhuge Dewei, and hundreds of officers and civil servants were arguing and thinking there. and issuing orders, plus a dozen spear-wielding guards and constant messengers and heralds, it almost turned into a vegetable market.
There was only one Jia Yue, fully armored and wearing a half brown fur cloak unique to generals. He was standing silently by the gate behind Zhang Xing, staring at the heavy snow above his head in a daze.
"Good snow."
After watching for who knows how long, Zhang Xing suddenly sighed quietly on the bench.
"Yes." Jia Yue behind him nodded expressionlessly.
"Heidi Ye Rennian, if it weren't for this snow, Hebei wouldn't be able to survive next year."
Obviously, with the arrival of the heavy snow, everyone has realized the strategic significance of this snow, whether they paid attention to it early or realized it later.
After a while, Jia Yue came again and asked, "Were you waiting for this snow?"
"Yes." Zhang Xing nodded. "But I didn't expect to wait...and I didn't expect that there would be so many troubles after arriving. "
"Something is better than nothing." Jia Yue could only say.
"Trouble is only temporary."
Zhang Xing also nodded.
Besides, these days, Zhang Dalong is staying at the winter camp in Ban County, and there is certainly no problem. There is also no problem in organizing the army, killing people, allocating farmland, and holding sports games...
No matter who it is, one can say that he acts with caution, that he is cruel in his methods, or that he is kind to women, but few people say that what he does is unreasonable.
But in fact, Zhang Xing knew very well that this was not the real reason why he stayed still for so long.
With so many troops and horses, and a decisive victory won, we can always divide our troops to do other things, and we can always send reliable troops to take advantage of the opportunity to expand the results of the battle.
But he never moved, sitting back and watching the three counties resume their defense, and even the new Bohai governor of the imperial court arrived. However, he did not dare to go from the south, nor did he dare to go to the county seat under the eyes of the deposed dragon army, but went to the far north. of Nanpi.
There are of course many reasons for not moving, but one important reason is that since setting foot on the land of Hebei, there has not been a single rain or snow in the entire Chidi of Hebei for thousands of miles. This is a place that has been brutally fought and organized plunder by the army. , covering a real big problem obscured by severe cold and moderate to mild famine in the entire area.
In the feudal era, zhenqi was not used in production, and the common people were sucked by the Wei Dynasty without leaving any room. The people had almost no savings, so this kind of natural disaster could have a negative impact on any political strategy and military achievements.
Under this situation, if it expands unbridled, one of the most realistic problems is that next year, the Deposed Dragon Gang will not be able to support the corresponding production activities, and the entire Hebei will further break through the bottom line due to the combination of military operations and famine.
This is obviously difficult to accept for Zhang Xing, who has to consider economic and people's livelihood issues in everything.
However, it really snowed, and the life-saving snow appeared, and new and imminent troubles came.
Zhang Dalongtou sat for a while, and suddenly someone walked out of the door, but did not leave. Instead, he came to the snow on one side and bowed his hands.
Zhang Xing said nothing and patted the other side of the bench. The other party understood and sat down, but he was a little cautious. However, it was the head who had just come from Henan today.
Get Zhang Jinshu.
"Longtou, apart from an apparent desertion matter, I am here to report to you some news and trends in the Eastern Region." Zhang Jinshu lowered his voice, speaking sincerely, and there was nothing mysterious about it. "One is due to the continuous transfer of supplies. Complaints gradually flowed out in the Eastern Territory, mainly among the people, but they have spread to local officials and leaders. The other is due to your previous large-scale army consolidation. At the beginning, because of the plain The First World War was really shocking, and no one mentioned it much. But now that the limelight has passed, the discussion has started. They only say that you will not leave any bit for the leaders, and you will eat them all... This is obviously from Jiyin. It was spread."
"I understand." Zhang Xing didn't change his expression and just nodded slightly. "Thank you for your hard work... Let me see, after Hebei is stable, it is not impossible to go back to Jiyin... Your place is very important. If you are short of manpower, just come to Hebei to find me."
Zhang Jinshu was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately stood up again and bowed his arms to the end: "It's not hard work! You should do your best for the dragon head."
Zhang Xing nodded again, and Zhang Jinshu took the opportunity to leave.
"It is said that this person has always been disliked in the gang, but he seems to be indispensable..." Jia Yue watched the other person leave, thoughtfully.
"It's not that this person is annoying at all, but that this position is naturally annoying... It's just that once a person stays in a certain position for a long time, he will gradually become integrated with the position." Zhang Xingyi said.
"Actually, I'm the same, it's quite troublesome."
Jia Yue was thoughtful and fell silent again for no reason.
After a while, Xiao Zhou and Yan Qing also came out together. They looked at each other and Yan Qing took the initiative to take half a step back. Zhou Xingfan was the first to speak: "Third brother, there was an obvious commotion in the camp after the snow started. Yan Qing and I were right. For a moment, I feel that some things still require you to make your own decisions in order to convince others."
Yan Qing immediately nodded.
Zhang Xing thought for a moment and nodded, but he was not in a hurry to go in. Instead, he asked Zhou Xingfan to go to the kitchen in person and have someone deliver salty hot porridge with minced meat and ginger and green onions to the barracks behind him. He watched the meat porridge go in. The noise in the barracks gradually stopped, and then he and his three confidants stood up and turned into the barracks behind them.
"Let's talk about it. Is there anything that can't be dealt with or is too difficult?"
After entering, Zhang Xing first took a bowl of porridge from the desk, and then stood among the people and drank a few sips. Then he took the porridge back to the desk that technically belonged to him, and then sat on the chair to ask.
"There is something I need to change my story about." Wei Xuanding, who looked tired, put down his porridge bowl and spoke directly. "The firewood problem that I told the leader when it just snowed yesterday and the day before yesterday is actually enough... In the past month, the soldiers in the field have been taking turns to cut wood in the surrounding forest, and the wood and firewood were piled up everywhere. It just snowed suddenly, and everyone There is suddenly a need for more firewood, and transportation has become more difficult. There is also a shortage of firewood in all counties, cities and towns that we usually don’t need to take care of...So the problem lies in distribution and transportation."
Zhang Xing nodded: "What do you need if you want to distribute and transport it as much as possible?"
"It's nothing more than using as much manpower as possible." Wei Xuanding said seriously. "We discussed it and decided that it would not work to just send soldiers to the fields. It would be best to follow the example in the Eastern Territory of using food and money to recruit civilians. Moreover, when the peasants in various places rise up, as locals, they will naturally know how to go to various places. How much firewood should be sent from everywhere, and where is the best way to go... But in this case, money and silk are enough, and food is tight again, especially the people in Hebei are not as good as before in the east, so they have to use the most scarce food. We can hang them, but food is too expensive, so it is all military rations squeezed out from the Eastern Region."
"Then bring out the food, and save it at most." Zhang Xing made the decision without hesitation. "Otherwise, we will freeze to death before starving to death... This is the most important and important matter. Thank you, Mr. Wei, for your hard work." Take the lead in handling this matter with Lao Zheng."
"I know." Wei Xuanding breathed a sigh of relief.
Zheng Ting, the leader in charge of the logistics of the troops here, also said yes.
"Who else has a problem?" Zhang Xing continued to urge.
Thanks to Wei Xuanding's start, the others no longer hesitated and moved forward.
"Longtou, this morning someone who left during the army reorganization came to me and said he wanted to come back." Dou Li
Virtue drinks porridge quickly, finishes it early and is the first to speak. "Japanese people can't stand it in winter, and they can't stand it even more when it snows."
"How many people are there and who is the leader?" Zhang Xing blurted out and asked.
"Originally, there were only one or two thousand left when we left, but now there are only four or five hundred left. In the Bohai Salt Mountain, east of Wudi County, facing the sea, there is a tidal flat between the mountains and the sea. We could have counted on one or two, but now the sea is completely empty. It's ice floe, and the tidal flat is covered with snow." Dou Lide answered seriously. "The leader's name is Liu Heitao. He is a low-income man who dares to fight. He has good cultivation and has access to the second line of Ren and Du. Everyone in Hebei is optimistic about him. Even if he is a bit mixed up... In his early years, he followed the tall leader to Dengzhou. I’m back, and it’s said that I went under the command of Chief Niu of East County, but he didn’t stay there. I couldn’t stand the rules in the army before, so I ran away with them... He was the subordinate of Chief Hao before I left.”
"I have an impression of him." Zhang Xing thought thoughtfully. "It's just that since he is a subordinate of Leader Hao, why did he come to you again?"
"We are fellow villagers." Dou Lide laughed. "We've known each other for a long time."
Zhang Xing came to his senses and felt that he was confused by the heat in the barracks.
When we enter Hebei, we must reuse Hebei people, otherwise we won't be able to get anything done.
But among the first batch of Hebei leaders appointed, Gao Shitong almost cheated everyone after his last saucy maneuver. Basically, he no longer has any momentum. Hao Yide and Fan Wang are typical rough and loyal leaders. Some people look forward to it and have no politics. Their abilities and thoughts are all in their respective camps; and the remaining Sun Xunzhi, Zhuge Dewei, and Dou Lide are all participating in handling all the general affairs in this camp at the moment. However, Sun Xunzhi is timid and only does his duty. Zhuge Dewei has a poor reputation. Although he was powerless, Dou Lide naturally became a spokesperson for Hebei people.
As the same saying goes, a person's achievements depend not only on ability and character, but also on luck. If you stand out at a critical moment and become the leader of a specific group of people in a specific environment, it is likely to change everything.
"It's not impossible to come back." After thinking for a while, Zhang Xing calmly answered. "They are all rebels, it is too harsh to do nothing to save them.
But since we are leaving and coming back, we have to add another level according to the new surrender... The tribes dispersed, and those who should take their families to the fields will go to the fields, and those who should join the craftsmen's camp will go to the craftsmen's camp, and Liu Heitao will come back to do it. There is a team general, and a leader must come forward as a guarantor. If he runs away again, the leader will have to deal with the matter himself or this person can come back and continue working. Similar to guarantees, each leader must have an upper limit. You can Let’s discuss it and the whole system will come out. "
Dou Lide responded solemnly.
"Zhang Longtou." Unexpectedly, the next person to speak was Shan Tonghai, the rotating leader who was only here to replenish his account. However, there was some substance to what he said. "It's the twelfth lunar month and it's snowing again. Many sergeants from the east want to ask if they can go home for the New Year..."
"It's impossible for everyone to go back." Zhang Xing thought for a while and shook his head helplessly. "It is human nature for sergeants from the Eastern Territory to have this idea, but as long as the sergeants from Hebei cannot support the overall situation, enough people must be left behind... draw lots, allocate them, slightly expand the scope of visiting relatives, and ensure that there are three points during the Chinese New Year this year One of the people from the East can go home...those who go home to celebrate the New Year this year will automatically avoid this annual holiday next year."
"That's all it can do." Shan Tonghai smiled, surprisingly he didn't care much. "But the morale of the military can't help but fluctuate."
Zhang Xing had no expression on his face and no response. After all, as the other party said, this is probably the only way this matter can go.
However, after the discussion of this matter was completed, Military Judge Liu Zhouchen reacted somewhat, but also hesitated.
"What should I say?" Zhang Xing looked at Liu Zhouchen and urged.
Liu Zhouchen, who was in charge of military law, immediately handed over his hand and reported: "Longtou, as Chief Shan said, the morale of the military is indeed a bit fluctuating, but it is not just the Eastern Border sergeants who are just homesick. It is the Hebei sergeants who were already stable, but because of the heavy snow. , each worried about their family members in various places in Hebei, and quite a few people became deserters..."
"It's interesting." Zhang Xing couldn't help but sigh. "The kid who escaped outside wants to come back, and the people in the camp want to leave."
Dou Lide also sighed, and then sincerely handed over his hand: "Longtou, it's like this. The current situation is definitely the most stable in our camp, and the peripheral family members, as long as they leave the Bohai and Pingyuan counties, basically
There is no hope at all. If you run away, you may not be able to make it in time. Once you get there, you may not be able to find a solution... It's just that people's hearts are full of flesh, and not everyone can think clearly about the pros and cons. "
"I know." Zhang Xing said seriously. "But you don't need to ask for mercy on this matter. Coming in is coming in, going out is going out, it's not the same thing... Military law cannot tolerate it, just let the military judge do it freely."
"Here." Liu Zhouchen, who had gained the words, immediately responded.
"Yes." Doulide hesitated for a moment, then closed his mouth.
All I can say is that he has established his character as "Hebei Renyi's good brother".
Next, everyone had something to say, maybe talking about military affairs, or logistics, or the difficulties in surrounding counties and towns that had been conquered. But after talking about it, they actually had the same idea, that is, the heavy snow had catalyzed the camp's development. internal contradictions.
It's snowing. Although it has not yet become a reality, everyone will think that traffic will become more difficult and the severe cold will continue for a period of time... This will psychologically stimulate people's hearts and cause fluctuations.
And the human heart is the foundation of everything, so the huge camp that had previously relied on the power of victory, sports games, military law, and logistics to ensure stability was naturally turbulent again.
People in Hebei have the thoughts of people in Hebei, and people in the East have the thoughts of people in the East. The sergeants are sergeants, the leaders are leaders, and the people are people. You think about progress, he thinks about his wife and children, and everyone thinks about food and fuel. That is the bowl of porridge in my hand.
Meat porridge is the most fragrant.
However, fortunately, Zhang Xing, the ugly daughter-in-law in Hebei, still has a record, so she won’t have to cook only these few bowls of meat porridge.
"Is there anything else?" Zhang Dalong waited for a moment, and when no one said anything, he asked, and when no one responded, he looked at one of them.
"King Xiongtian."
Xiong Bonan understood and raised his hand seriously: "Is the leader ready to take action?"
In the large barracks, everyone looked at each other in surprise.
But even some attentive people suddenly thought that during the previous army reorganization, Xiong Bonan had indeed been here, using his reputation and strength to help suppress various places, and played a huge role, but then disappeared, but I don’t know where I went, it seems I just turned back three to five days ago.
"You can't do it without taking action." Zhang Xing said with a smile. "We have to find money, we have to find food, we have to boost morale, we have to let the soldiers survive this period... As long as we get through this, it will be easy to handle in the spring."
Xiong Bonan laughed and continued to ask seriously: "Where to fight and how to fight?"
"I beat them one by one, one after another, but I can't escape." Zhang Xing lay back on his big bare chair. "Strike from near to far, but those with a bad reputation will be given priority..."
At this time, Wei Xuanding suddenly realized, "Did King Xiongtian go to investigate the powerful Wubao in the two counties a month ago?"
"Of course." Xiong Bonan said with a smile. "But it's not two counties, it's the five surrounding counties! Otherwise, how can I use my time in a month?"
Everyone was stunned and excited.
Dou Lide was the only one who couldn't help but worry: "But Wubao is not easy to fight. We have tried it before. Three to five thousand people couldn't take down one Wubao..."
"Indeed." Zhuge Dewei also felt a little afraid.
"We now have fifty thousand elites, twenty-five battalions," Shan Tonghai sneered. "You can easily sweep all counties and cities, but you can't defeat anything."
"Both of you are right." Zhang Xing waved his hand to stop this unnecessary dispute. "Wubao is indeed difficult to defeat, because first of all, Wubao is often built by a manor run by a powerful man, and the supplies are abundant. Secondly, the officers in Wubao are the descendants of the clan, and the soldiers are to protect the countryside... Don't laugh, everyone, that is, Hebei is now The wilderness outside is forced to be deserted, otherwise life in Wubao will be better than outside no matter how difficult it is. But we have no choice. Not only do we need to take the food and property in Wubao to enrich ourselves, but the key is that these Wubao owners It is destined to be our formidable enemy in Hebei and must be defeated."
"Not bad!" Someone couldn't help but agreed, but it turned out to be Zheng Ting, the senior leader in charge of logistics. "Since we have made the decision, how can we tolerate them enclosing the land for the master? Besides, the Hebei Rebels were driven to Haili Mountain in the past two years. Yes, whoever can take advantage of the opportunity to build these forts and guard the place can be considered neither an enemy nor a friend?"
Dou Lide immediately followed up and made a change: "It is indeed true. What Chief Zheng said is absolutely...the beating is deserved."
As he said that, he also extended his hand to Zheng Ting, who was outspoken... Zhuge Dewei wanted to follow suit, but was half a beat too late. Many people around him were actually surprised by Zheng Ting's performance, but some people knew clearly that after Zheng led the group of senior scribe leaders who were present at the time of the incident, most likely all of them had stayed in the county. I came to Hebei with you, isn’t that just for this?
This was because he had brought himself into the post-retention status of Bohai County in advance, and he couldn't help it. These forts had previously annoyed the Hebei rebels like Dou Lide, and then angered the self-proclaimed masters of Hebei such as Zhang Xing and Zheng Ting in advance.
It is also the case that people sit at home and cause trouble for no reason.
But again, since I went to Liangshan, how could I not visit Zhujiazhuang and Zengtou City!
"Good point." Zhang Xing nodded. "In short, Wubao is indeed difficult to defeat, but since we have crossed Hebei, we must pull out...and we are not the scattered rebels we were before. No matter whether he is Zhujiazhuang or Zengtou City, how can we be afraid of him?"
"There is no such thing as these two families..." King Xiongtian wanted to correct him, but he didn't say it out loud.
Because Zhang Dalongtou quickly mentioned another important topic.
"To be honest with you, the reason why I want to leave Wubao until the army is reorganized before attacking is because it won't snow and there will be no drought locusts next year, which will not set the tone for expansion. The other reason is because I also want to take the opportunity to tighten military discipline." Zhang Xing continued to speak sincerely. "We call ourselves a rebel army, so we should have excellent discipline, but human nature is greedy, and there are always people who think that we are being mysterious... Now that we have come to Hebei, we naturally have to reinvent ourselves. "
"The dragon head means..." Xiong Bonan suddenly became interested.
"At that time, when the Southern Tang Dynasty was crossing south, the north was in chaos, and the Zhou Dynasty had not yet established a country. It only lingered in the Daijun and Yanmen areas. It was not until Emperor Taiwu rose up that he quickly swept through Hebei... The reason why he was able to quickly swallow up Hebei and Shanxi with just one county, There are countless reasons, but there is one characteristic of him that I admire very much, and that is that war is beneficial, and the entire army is not allowed to hide personal interests. No matter how much money is spent, it all depends on the present." Zhang Xing glanced at the many people in the barracks. , asked with a smile. "We are also here to fight against Hebei. Can we reach the level where Emperor Taiwu did back then?"
Everyone was uproarious and talking about it, but no one thought there was anything inappropriate.
This is the power of tradition and allusion.
If you ask these people to follow the three principles of discipline and eight points of attention, they will definitely think you are joking. However, you want them to return to their local history and point to the old customs of tribal democracy of a tribal alliance military group that has just completed centralization, and say that we This should be followed in order to achieve success, and everyone will feel that this is not impossible.
Some of them even thought they saw some hidden meanings in these allusions - as expected, Zhang Dalongtou had a big plan, and now he was following the right person.
"What I mean is very simple, it is to use trophies and victories to stabilize the morale of the army, and to establish the new atmosphere of our 25th Battalion's new army through Dawu Fort." Zhang Xing raised his voice and interrupted the noise. "That's it. There must be strict discipline, no hiding anything, no private looting, all spoils of war must be handed over to the public, and then divided according to the rules... If the officer deserves one more point, then write it down in writing, and then give the officer an extra share and say he wants it. We discussed clearly how much to keep for confiscated treasury, how much to charge for camp treasury, and how much to share equally. We also wrote down frankly that this family has not had a bad reputation, so we should leave something behind to ensure their production and living in the coming year. We also wrote it down. If you hide something, you will be punished with as many floggings as you can, including how many floggings for one penny and how many floggings for one tael of gold. Today, you will do it according to the rules. If there is anything wrong, let the soldiers speak and let the local government complain about injustice. If it is unjustified, it will be dismissed. , accept it if it makes sense, and if you change the rules next time, they will still be enforced."
At this point, Zhang Xing pointed to a person: "Leader Dou, in this first battle you and Xia Hou Ningyuan will fight the two battalions. Pick the one who is close and weak to fight, and set an example. It's best to let Liu Heiguan be the best. See what it means to be a mighty and benevolent teacher."
No matter what, this is an honor and an opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Dou Lide immediately responded with excitement.
"Chief Shan, lead your troops to hold down the formation, just in case... But if there is no accident, you don't participate in the war, and you don't have to participate in the division of the spoils. You just hold down the formation." Zhang Xingfu pointed again.
one person.
This arrangement was a little uncomfortable for Shantong Hai, but he couldn't push it away, especially since Xiahou Ningyuan was his general. Now that the camp has been dispersed, even if there is still a foundation in the eastern border, it still needs to be carefully won over. Also said yes.
"King Xiongtian, you have to go through another hard journey, but Leader Liu does not need to go out. Let Zhou Xingfan lead my elite practitioners from the middle camp to obey your orders. One is to assist in breaking down the stronghold when necessary, and the other is to serve as a military discipline enforcer." Zhang Xing continued to give instructions.
Xiong Bonan and Zhou Xingfan also surrendered.
"We must tell all the leaders and soldiers that we are rebels." Zhang Xing also stood up at this time and declared boldly. "We are cleaner than the army of Wei Wei, and we are more capable than the army of Wei Wei. Moreover, we do not want to take one city or one place, but we want to take the whole Hebei and the whole world! We want to establish a new peaceful and prosperous age!
"Therefore, the Wei Dynasty's court must fight with dignity, the soldiers must govern with dignity, and the Wubao must sweep with dignity. If you have merit, you will be rewarded, if you have delinquency, you will be punished. If there is a law, follow it, if there is no law, just control it."
"The overall situation in Hebei must be spread out in a clean and pure manner while taking advantage of this heavy snow! As long as we do this, we will be the first class of benevolence and righteousness in troubled times, and everyone will be worthy of it.
People who come from the Eastern Region have already heard these slogans. Not everyone is Xu Dalang and can take out a pen and paper to record them at any time. Even with the complimentary meat porridge, there is no unnecessary inner turmoil, just a few A thoughtful person noticed the hidden meaning of Zhang Dalongtou and realized that some of the previous rumors were true - Zhang Longtou really hated the conditions in the East and wanted to make his own situation in Hebei and establish a foundation.
Then they did have some different reactions, but they didn't follow the reaction of most people. However, at the same time, those Hebei chiefs and a group of Hebei clerks who spent two years crawling on ice and snow, eating river mussels and picking mulberries, how could they have ever fed such luxurious meat porridge?
As soon as I heard about it, I felt as if I had heard something about Huang Zhong Dalu. I almost stayed on the spot and wished I could immediately start a career with this big leader and achieve a better life and future.
PS: Good night everyone.
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