The rain in late spring comes and goes quickly. After a while of heavy rain, the clouds disperse and the air becomes fresh again.
Chiping City is located in the southeast corner of Qinghe County. It is connected to the port by a protected waterway in the south. You can overlook the river. It is also the closest big city on the other side of the river after entering the river at the four entrances. It has always been a hub for merchants and merchants, and it is an important hub between the north and the south. As for the ferry in the city , just like Huankou Town, with many high-rise buildings and numerous shops.
However, since the Three Expeditions, wars have continued, and all businesses have declined. Those shops outside the city have long been idle. Last year, when the Dragon Gang became prosperous on the other side, Cao Shancheng ordered them to eradicate them all to prevent them from becoming targets for siege or a place for thieves to settle. at.
Fortunately, many high-rise buildings in the city are still there. Although it is bleak, it is enough for Cui Erlang to have a rare leisure time and sit on the high-rise buildings to look south... Of course, Cui Erlang is not looking at the river, but looking at the ripples caused by the rising spring water through the city wall. A moat of sparkling living water.
After watching it for half a day, although the poetry and painting is not as poetic as that of Mr. Zhang and Mr. Xie, the so-called "fresh rain and clear rain in the Zhulou on the river, and the spring water in the south of the city is full of literature" is not difficult for Cui Suchen to understand.
"Cui Erlang is so leisurely!"
Just when Cui Suchen was leaning on the railing and looking at the water and forgetting his feelings, there was a continuous thumping downstairs. After a moment, Wanshou, the city guard and the county's prime minister, walked up quickly with a serious expression. "Didn't I tell you yesterday? Master Cao knows that you are here and you are coming over today, why don't you leave?!"
"What will I do if I leave?" Cui Erlang looked back, his tone calm but straightforward. "I don't know how many people in the city saw me coming and stayed here for many days. Now he is coming, but I left. Isn't it self-inflicted? When the time comes, the account will be settled on my dear brother. The military situation is here , do you really think that Cao Shancheng dare not kill people? What kind of world is this?"
After hearing this, Sun Wanshou's tone softened somewhat, but he still couldn't hide his frown: "No matter what, he will arrive at noon, how are you going to deal with him?"
"Just meet him directly." Cui Erlang responded calmly. "He questioned himself in every possible way, but I just wanted to go eastward and was ambushed, and wanted to go south but was blocked..."
"That's all it can do." Sun Wanshou felt helpless, but couldn't help but sigh as Cui Suchen had looked before. "Actually...if there hadn't been such chaos, the three of us would have been able to set up a banquet in this building and sing the praises of spring water. How did it end up like this?"
Cui Suchen was silent at first, but when he raised his head slightly and faced the bright spring sun above his head, he suddenly remembered the billowing water after the summer rain, and then he burst into laughter: "Even now, why can't we celebrate spring with wine?"
Sun Wanshou just shook his head.
In the afternoon, Sun Juncheng held a banquet in a high-rise building in the south of the city to entertain the governor Cao Shancheng who came to inspect, as well as the former Xuzhou camp supervisor Sima and Cui Zhengzhou Fang Erlang Suchen who were blocked here by the military.
Three people and one pot of wine, three vegetarian dishes, three meat dishes and one soup. The wine is ordinary sake sold in Dongdu. In fact, it is already very frugal.
Cao Shancheng was probably really hungry. He ate first after sitting down, but he devoured it with great eagerness, and even asked for a bowl of noodles. Cui Suchen still looked like he was swallowing water, but he also calmly poured wine and ate vegetables. Only Sun Juncheng Clearly worried, he just sat there and watched the two people's behavior.
"Why did Cui Erlang abandon his official position and return home?" After eating for a while, Cao Shancheng suddenly stopped eating, put down his quick spoon, and came straight to ask, but his questions were a bit misleading.
"Because there is nothing to do." Of course Cui Suchen would not fall into the other party's trap.
"Why do you have nothing to do... You are the dignified Sima of the Xuzhou Camp. It is considered a military position. With the national crisis at the forefront, you should stick to your duties." Cao Shancheng said firmly.
"Because there is no one in the Xuzhou camp." Former Cui Sima sighed. "One hundred thousand men of Xuzhou have died again."
Cao Shancheng was slightly startled, and Sun Wanshou next to him was even more embarrassed - but he didn't know who he was embarrassed for?
Cao Shancheng was silent for a long time, and then continued: "Even the Xuzhou camp suffered heavy losses. This time, the imperial court also added Dongdu elites and many Guanxi garrison soldiers. The soldiers and horses are more powerful, and the position and status are more important. , why doesn’t Cui Sima continue to perform his duties faithfully?”
"Not to mention that I didn't know that the imperial court would recruit many soldiers and horses at the time. Even if I knew, I would have resigned faster." Cui Suchen said seriously.
"What does this mean?" Cao Shancheng's rough and messy eyebrows instantly raised.
"It's very simple." Cui Suchen answered frankly. "Because the Cui family is from a lowly family, it is not enough to supervise the powerful people in the East and the high-ranking families in Guanlong... In the past, it was possible to take this position because the soldiers in the Xuzhou camp were all descendants of Jianghuai and Jiangdong, and most of the generals were Jianghuai generals. It is just in line with the imperial court's practice for me, a Zhengzhou Cui clan born half from Guanlong and half from Hebei, to supervise the children of Nanchen Jiangjiang... Now that all the children of Jianghuai are dead, if I am still there to supervise the army, won't I be punished? People laugh at you because you don’t understand the rules?”
Cao Shancheng couldn't refute it.
After a long while, the prince, who had wasted half his life in the position of county magistrate, could only sigh: "The imperial court should not place important military and state affairs based on family background, so that those who are loyal to the emperor, patriotic and capable are restricted, while those who are incompetent, cowardly and cowardly are restricted. Hold its handle..."
At this point, Sun Juncheng was obviously relieved, because Cao Shancheng had obviously lost his aggressiveness.
But soon, what the county magistrate did not expect was that the seemingly gentle Cui Erlang actually took the initiative: "How hypocritical are Mr. Cao's words?"
"What do you mean?" Cao Shancheng raised his eyebrows on a tall building in the south of the city and spoke in a serious tone, which almost startled Sun Wanshou. "My loyalty can be proven by the sun!"
"I'm not talking about this, but about Mr. Cao's background." Cui Suchen's expression remained as usual, but he could still reveal his hint of sneer. "Mr. Cao Fu keeps saying that the court should not use family background to govern the military and state affairs, as if it is mostly for people with low family backgrounds. However, I have been trapped here in Qinghe County for many days, and I have heard people mention it when I go around... It is said that Lord Cao Fu often said to people after he returned from defeat in Pingyuan: "Since we are the country's soldiers, we are ashamed because we are inferior in strength and cannot capture and kill the dragon thief. How can we still listen to the thief's temptation and prepare to surrender?" ?Are we the kind of people they are who slaughter family members? 'What does this mean?"
Cao Shancheng became angry and gritted his teeth: "Cui Erlang, officials and thieves are not at odds with each other, how can they be confused?! Besides, as a noble of the family, you are a minister of national military affairs who has entered the palace seriously. You don't want to serve the country, but instead What’s the point of speaking for thieves?”
"What's the truth? Don't Mr. Cao know?" Cui Suchen asked suddenly. "When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs be left intact? The Cui family in Qinghe has been unable to serve for a long time, and there are many incompetent children. At this time, it is just a matter of human nature to go east to ask for a peace talisman. It is necessary to set up a card first. If you attack and kill on the road again, even a person like me who is about to return to his home in Henan will be detained till now?! Do I still want to give you a good look?!"
Cao Shancheng took a long breath after hearing this, still gritting his teeth: "I knew you were waiting for me here! Cui colluded with the thieves, and I am the chief officer of the county, can I still indulge in this? I can't understand the canonical punishment, and I have already suffered a lot. Hate! Deeply hate!”
Sun Wanshou looked at his chief officer, his expression remained unchanged, but his heart was extremely complicated. He was relieved, but also a little inexplicably depressed:
He breathed a sigh of relief because he realized Cui Erlang's high rank and took the initiative to lead the matter to the fundamental issue that Cao Fujun was most concerned about, which made Cao Fujun no longer able to probe into questions.
And the reason for frustration is that Sun Wanshou is actually very convinced of his former subordinate and current boss Cao Fujun, because the other party has indeed shown unimaginable responsibility in the chaos. When others fell into disarray, including him, When the Jun Cheng was helpless, he almost turned the tide and saved the situation in Qinghe.
However, it may be that he has been in the middle and lower levels for too long, and has not been able to find talents for too long. In fact, this person has always had strong emotions, and this emotion is not towards the emperor and the emperor's uncle in the east capital who are out of his reach, but towards the emperor and the emperor's uncle in the east capital. It was against everyone else in the bureaucracy... After all, the emperor and his uncle promoted him and recognized him, but the bureaucracy was the direct target of suppressing him.
After the defeat of Ma Lianhe, he even took the defeat of Hejian Camp into account, and the target of his resentment also expanded to other people in Hebei.
It can't be said that he has a problem, nor can it be said that he shouldn't have emotions. It's just that in this overwhelming situation, this state cannot last long.
If he can't hold it himself, neither can anyone else.
However, in the face of Cao Shancheng's attack, Cui Suchen was still not afraid: "No matter how much you feel you are relying on Mr. Cao, no matter how much you hate him, you should have a certain amount of restraint. If you go too far, you will only embarrass yourself... I am honest today." Wait, it is true that the Qinghe Cui clan went to the plains, but they were just asking for peace, but because of your actions, they were pushed to the opposite side. Twenty-six and twenty-seven were all ignorant. I don't even dare to come back. In Jiangling, I was just flattened and rounded by a person like Zhang San. I have already reported my family's land, property, and even the number of practitioners and people one by one. You are stopping me. Or was it pushed over?"
Cao Shancheng was furious: "Cui surrendered to the enemy, and you still blame me for my strict enforcement of the law?"
"If you really enforce the law strictly, you can just raid the Cui family's residence in Wucheng!" Cui Erlang showed no mercy. "You know it yourself, and you can't copy it! There is a former Eastern Qi Governor who I don't even know is a Grandmaster or a Cheng Dan sitting in there! Why bother to poke me when you know you are incapable of doing anything? ?!”
There was silence for a moment on the tall buildings in the south of the city.
But after an unknown amount of time, Cao Shancheng slowly stood up and said to Cui Suchen: "Where righteousness lies, you must go there knowing you cannot go there... Cui Erlang, there is some truth to this. I think you are doing this." A son of this family will never understand until the day he dies. On the contrary, the thief opposite me, Saburo Saburo, even though he is a friend and enemy, he still has a certain aura in his actions!"
At this point, the person ignored the other person's reaction and pointed at the other person again, turning to look at his own county magistrate:
"Sun Juncheng, I know that you didn't say something last time, and I also know that you wanted to treat him preferentially and protect him. Don't you just think that the collapse of the Wei Dynasty was all caused by the saint's lack of virtue? Isn't it just that? I feel that the Wei Dynasty is the Wei Dynasty of the saints, and the court is only the court of the saints. He abandoned it, so why should we be so dedicated?
"And I am not going to tell you any big truths today, I just want to ask you, if Xue Changxiong, the leader of the Guanlong general, is so domineering and ignorant, and the leader of the family, he has no responsibility for the situation in the Wei Dynasty. ?
"If meat eaters... do not need to be meat eaters, if everyone who eats official positions and salaries obeys the law and is loyal to the country, don't say that in that case, the saint will never act recklessly. Even if the saint's mind wavers, he will never let the world be like this. It’s unbearable!”
After saying that, this man, who was recognized as one of the most knowledgeable and loyal county guards in Hebei Province, turned around and went downstairs.
Sun Juncheng felt uncomfortable and extremely angry at the final questioning - of course he found it difficult to accept that the other party was still defending the tyrant who abandoned the world, but he also knew very well that if he questioned other bureaucrats and generals based on their loyalty and duty, Cao Shancheng is definitely the most qualified person.
After the three campaigns, Cao Shancheng in Hebei and Zhang Xuguo in the east were like that.
However, when he thought of the current situation and the almost destined outcome of this county prince, Sun Wanshoufu felt deeply sad and could only hide his face in silence.
After a long while, Cui Suchen finally stood up slowly, turned around and leaned on the railing to look into the distance, but he rarely lost his composure and spoke. It seemed that he was answering Cao Shancheng who had left. Some seemed to be explaining to Sun Juncheng, but it was also possible that he was just talking to himself. Self encouragement:
"There are tens of millions of people in the world. No matter how few people go to justice, how can it be possible that there is only one person? However, the road is blocked and long. Those who are slow to move may not be able to go far, and those who are anxious to go fast often have a short distance. Besides, it’s better to stop and see the situation clearly than some people who are so blinded that they even get in the wrong direction!”
At the end of the sentence, it was not a rhetorical question, but a conclusion.
The spring water in the south of Chiping City flows continuously, with sparkling waves and a shape like a scroll. It flows straight south to the river, and further down the river is the boundary of the plain.
At noon when Cui Suchen saw Cao Shancheng and easily provoked him but rarely felt anything from his heart, in the plains, tens of thousands of deposed dragon troops began to leave the Banxian camp in a mighty manner, crossed the Ma Mian River, and headed for Cao Shancheng. Coming from the west.
Due to the large number of troops that were launched at one time, there were a total of 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, plus baggage, craftsmen, and auxiliary troops stationed in the fields. It was difficult to calculate the number. The momentum was astonishing.
In addition, the deposed dragon army has always had a trivial system and many rules for dividing camps and routes, so it only combined the army of soldiers to line up on the official road, so that the road was paved, and the auxiliary soldiers were forced to follow the army on the farm paths. Come.
Let us say that all people in the world were born in Longmu. At the foot of Mount Calendar, during the first life-and-death battle between the Dragon Army and the hostile Qilu army, they would rather walk in the swamp than avoid the flooded fields. Today, spring seedlings are blooming, and the four fields are clearly visible, making it more natural. Be careful, keep your hair straight on the Longshang Trail.
From a distance, it looks like the confluence of hundreds of rivers heading westward, unstoppable, and also like the arrangement of longitude and latitude, dividing the four fields like a chessboard.
Just as Bai Sanniang said, Zhang Xing is confident on the surface, but in fact he is extremely unconfident in his heart. He has always felt that he is a rebel who rushes to gain prominence, and that the Deposed Dragon Gang is a rabble. But today, he was riding a yellow gelding and was stationed on a gentle slope next to Douzi Hill. Looking at the scene from a distance, he saw that the greenery in his eyes complemented the ranks of the troops. Even though he had always been guilty, he rarely felt heroic.
Then he looked back at the people around him and said:
"Everyone, who can open up this land of Longmu and support this large army to march westward? If we give you another three to five years to repair the system internally, enter Hebei from outside, consolidate the eastern territory, and then integrate the old land of Qi in the east, why? Can’t we compete with Guan Long?!”
The people around him had already seen the same thing, but few of them responded to him.
In fact, in the evening of that day, the eight battalions that started on the western front, led by Xiong Bonan, Wang Shuyong, and Xu Shiren, had already headed straight to Gaotang City and set up camp on the spot.
Xue Wanbi knew that the critical situation was coming, and when he found out about the advance, he had already sent rescue messages to his back, asking Cao Shancheng to come to the rescue, and asked Cao Shancheng to ask Qu Tuda and soldiers and horses from Wuyang, Wu'an and Wei counties to come to the rescue. Cao Shancheng did not dare to neglect, and flew directly from Chiping to the preset location, which was Boping County directly behind Gaotang in the Zhangnan-Licheng-Gaotang-Chiping defense line, and then Pegasus here The four directions asked all counties to come to rescue.
One day later, of course, before the replies from the counties arrived, the red flag with the word "Deposed" had already arrived at the gate of Gaotang City.
The houses and trees outside the city had long been cleared away, and Zhang Dalongtou was not polite. He only accepted the young seedlings with a pity mentality, and let the troops camp around the city, completely surrounding Gaotang City.
The next day, the water in the moat was directly and easily cut off.
At this time, Cao Shancheng finally got good news - both Wei County and Ji County would definitely send some reinforcements. It is conceivable that under the political pressure of these two counties, Wu'an, Wuyang, and Xiangguo They also have to hold their noses to help.
There is a relatively complete defense line in front, and there is a strong point in the defense line, Gaotang, led by Xue Wanbi. If reinforcements can be gathered, although they dare not claim victory, the Dragon Army will definitely be short of food. As long as they hold on for a few days, they can force the opponent back. , which is the result of victory.
ps: Good night everyone.
