No matter how much Xue Jing persuaded him, Wu Youlu's face remained as calm as water. But when Xue Jing mentioned that Wu Youlu could recruit Zhang Cheng's Jingqi, his eyes flashed, and he said lightly:
"The guards around Zhang Shen are as fierce as tigers. They are not ordinary people. How can they be good? This matter is extremely risky."
After Wu Youlu finished speaking, he filled a cup of tea for himself. He just played with the teacup without saying anything.
Xue Jing, who was next to him, saw a glimmer of hope and hurriedly continued to persuade: "Master Guards, if you accept Zhang Cheng's elite cavalry, who else on the North Road can compete with you?
What's more, Zhang Cheng has recruited more than 2,000 young and strong military households, and they have all been trained. After this, if you don't pick up a ready-made one, let alone Yunzhouchi Guards and Ma Yingwang. In terms of defense, even the commander Jin Xinpeng cannot compete with you, sir! "
Xue Jing looked up and saw beads of sweat as big as beans looming on Wu Youlu's forehead. He knew that Wu Youlu was struggling in his heart at the moment, so he hurriedly cheered him up:
"My uncle has already said that if this matter succeeds, he is willing to recommend the garrison master to serve as the commander and envoy to guard the upper north road. When the time comes, Mr. Wu will make the palm seal and my uncle will make the seal. This place on the north road will be respected by the garrison master.
If not, when Zhang Cheng comes back, it will be an inventory of the fields and hidden houses, and the hundreds of servants that the Lord has won over over the years will also become Zhang Cheng's personal followers. By then, the Lord will become a lamb to be slaughtered. Someone is at the mercy of others! "
Wu Youlu held the tea cup tightly in his hand, but it couldn't help shaking. Seeing this, Xue Jing continued:
"A person who is not poisonous is not a husband, and a person who is petty is not a gentleman! Sir, you must make a quick decision, and do not hesitate to make a decision. It will cause endless trouble!"
"Snapped!"
The tea cup in Wu Youlu's hand was crushed to pieces by him. As if he had made up his mind, he said with a sinister expression:
"Done!"
…………
On May 27th, at 6 o'clock, Xuanfu Town was in the middle hall of Zhang Yan's mansion.
The two old ladies were each sitting in their chairs, reading the letter written by Zhang Cheng. He Shihui and Lin Fangping were sitting quietly at the bottom, with a little maid serving them tea.
Zhang Cheng's mother, Mrs. Zhang Yang, read the letter and handed it to Zhang Han, who was next to her. She said softly: "Sister, Cheng'er has gone to the capital. He said in the letter that he would visit the Wu family's aunt. It seems that this silly boy is interested in that. Miss Ji's family is really caring."
Zhang Han took the letter, glanced at it, and said: "Cheng'er seems to be enlightened now. Sister, you don't have to worry about me anymore. Let's pack up and go to Dushi. If this matter about Miss Ji's family comes to fruition, But I need my sister to take charge of the overall situation at Dushi."
Mrs. Zhang Yang was also very excited. Since she married into the Zhang family, she has taken care of her husband and raised her son. However, this son is extremely naughty. Although he is also very smart, he is very willful.
Now that he has followed his wishes, how can he make her unhappy? He immediately said: "Everything is up to my sister. You have always treated Cheng'er as your own. How can I be so good at such important matters now?" .”
Since the death of Zhang Cheng's father, Zhang Yang and Zhang Cheng have been living in Zhang Yan's house, but Zhang Han has always treated her like a biological sister, so they have always treated her as sisters.
Zhang Han knew that her sister was speaking from her heart, so she directly asked He Shihui and Lin Fangping, "You must have also received Cheng'er's letter, right?"
Lin Fangping looked at the old lady Zhang Han and said: "Reporting to the two old ladies, we have received the general's letter. This time, Su Zhenxiang leads 200 healthy women, Zhang Chengfang leads 37 boys' camp, and Lin The team officer's ten guards accompanied the two ladies to the Monolith Castle.
My subordinate was ordered to lead 200 new troops and still stay at Xinzhuang Fort. I cannot follow the old lady to Dushi Fort. Please forgive me! "
Zhang Hanshi said to He Shihui: "Shihui, when this master was alive, you would follow him in the war. Now, although the master is gone, Cheng'er is still there. Although he is guarding the north road now,
But there is no telling when he will return to this town. Since he only keeps you here, it shows his trust in you. Don't let Cheng'er live up to his expectations for you! "
He Shihui hurriedly left his seat and knelt down and said: "The old lady said something serious. Shihui just wants to follow the general and has no other ideas. Please tell the general that Shihui will protect his family's property in Zhencheng. Please Don’t worry, General.”
…………
The carriage shop outside Fuchengmen in the west of Beijing has a relatively independent small courtyard in its backyard.
At this time, Zhang Cheng, Wei Zhice, Chen Zhong and others were resting here, but Niu Sheng was busy inside and outside. He kept shouting to boil water, cook rice and cook dishes, and was very busy.
After a while, several dishes were put out to go with the wine. Zhang Cheng was most satisfied with the plate of beef with soy sauce. He was the first to use his chopsticks to eat, chewing the beef with soy sauce in his mouth, and said: "This is rare, why not?" You have to be in Jingli to eat this kind of beef at will."
Wei Zhice smiled at the side and said: "That's right. If you were elsewhere, who would dare to kill cows for no reason? Farmers here rely entirely on old cows for farming."
He then said: "General, you will stay here tonight, and I will go into the city first to help the general set up a front station."
"Well, that's fine. I'll stay here tonight and then go to the city tomorrow. You can arrange a hotel first, and you can also think of going to the house of Mr. Wu, the doctor in the Ministry of Industry, to report it. If I have time tomorrow, , will personally visit the Wu family’s aunt.”
Zhang Cheng said while eating, took another sip of wine, and continued: "Zhi Ce, from now on, when no outsiders are present, you can just call me by our name. We don't want the general to come between you and me, the general will go."
Wei Zhice said with some embarrassment: "Hey, I still call the general fluently. We are used to it now, and the more we shout, the smoother it becomes."
"That's right, I also think the general is smooth." Niu Sheng interjected.
He has been busy in the capital during this time. Following Zhang Cheng's instructions, he first opened a large car shop outside Deshengmen. Later, Wei Zhice raised the issue of Cunning Rabbit's Three Caves, and then opened this large car shop outside Fuchengmen. car shop,
In addition to the stables, there are also several warehouses and warehouses behind the large cart shop here, which are convenient for passing merchants to store their goods.
This Fucheng Gate is far away from Chaoyang Gate to the east and west, and is closest to Mentougou in the west of Beijing. Mentougou is a coal-producing area, and all the coal used in Beijing is transported there.
The coal carts over there often go in and out of this gate, so the merchants from the coal tavern collected donations and carved a bunch of plum blossoms in the Wengcheng gate. "Plum" and "coal" are homophonic. Whenever the north wind whistles, the sky is white, and the surroundings of the oven are Everyone praised: "The plum blossoms in Fucheng herald the warm spring."
Zhang Cheng's intention in setting up this large car shop at first was very simple, just to facilitate Niu Sheng's team of night-time sergeants and horses to hide here. But later he discovered that there were people coming and going, and information from all parties converged. Another benefit.
