Baisha Town, not far away, is located on the main road south of Luoyang, where merchants gather. Surrounded by low mountains and hills, many sheep are raised, and they have developed the ability to make mutton soup. At the beginning of the year, when Wang Xiaoye was stationed in Yique, he deliberately learned the soup-making technique and spread it to the army. With this relationship, a lot of mutton soup restaurants opened in nearby states and counties this year. Yingyang is close to Baisha, and there are three of the most prosperous downtowns.
Ding Jin did not prepare a place for Yu Huan. After leaving the county government office, Yu Huan found an inn nearby to stay. It was almost noon, so Wang Gan and I found a mutton soup restaurant. We cooked three hotpots per person and sat there drinking soup.
After drinking for a while, I ate a fire. Wang Gan said: "Commander, looking at Ding Jin's appearance, I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade him."
Yu Huan said: "It's difficult. That guy actually asked himself which top position he sat on. Is this what he should ask? Since Zhenfu raised his army, he has never done this kind of business in the world. Where did he get his first place? !”
Wang Gan nodded. Crush the fire-flavored petals and soak them in the soup. Said: "Time waits for no one. In a few days, the wheat will be harvested. When the weather is hot, the Jurchens hide in the north to escape the heat, and it is time to transport grain to Hedong Road."
Yu Huan thought for a while. Cai Dao: "Zhang Jun asked you to come with me. You must have your own way. Let's talk about it and we can discuss it."
Wang Gan said: "I hear what Zhang Tongzhi said. If Ding Jin can't stand it, then I have to find another person. What I originally thought was that Luan Qingshan was highly valued by Ding Jin and should have a very high status. Ding Jin didn't agree, so then It’s Luan Qingshan. But today when I entered the county government office, I found out that there is no place for Luan Qingshan.”
Yu Huan said: "These people in the world attach great importance to seats. We think those top seats in the hall are a joke, but we don't know that in the eyes of people like Ding Jin, they are very important. The people sitting today are the first to follow Ding. There are several leaders who have entered. Luan Qingshan is new, and no matter how important he is, there is no place for him in the top spot. Huh, I think back then, when I was under Ding Jin, there was no place for me in Niuniniao."
Wang Gan was stunned for a moment. They serve as soldiers under Wang Xiaolie and do not have these rules. What kind of position, what kind of power, everything is in order. What is the top spot? It sounds like a joke. I didn't expect Ding Jin to have such rules here.
Yu Huan said: "In an army like Ding Jin, even if Ding Jin is gone, it will not be Luan Qingshan's turn to be the leader. If he is forced to help him, his subordinates will not obey him and will inevitably disperse. The only person who can replace Ding Jin is the person in the top position. .”
Wang Gan nodded and realized that what he thought before was simple.
Yu Huan said: "Let's stay here for a few days and check out the situation. Ding Jin is disappointed with us and should talk to Liu Yu. Although Ding Jin looks lazy, it is impossible for everyone under his command to be like this. He wants to surrender to the puppet Qi , some of my subordinates must be dissatisfied."
Among the bandits in the world, when they first started, not many wanted to invest money or pretend to be rich. Most of them slowly change their minds as time passes and various factors add up. At this time, Zhao Gou did not pay attention to these people and regarded them as bandits. Only when it cannot be eradicated and there is no other way, will the status of some people be recognized. As long as the court has the ability, these people will either hand over their military power or be exterminated. What Zhao Gou values most is who holds the military power. To be honest, Zhao Gou was not mean to these leaders as long as he handed over his military power.
The leader of the bandits surrendered part of his military power and settled down to be a peaceful nobleman. Either they will be wiped out, or they will surrender to Liu Yu.
Wang Xiaolie understood this, so he didn't want to annex Ding Jin. He just wanted to maintain a good relationship and be able to use his territory. But for Ding Jin, there are big forces around him, the room for maneuver has disappeared, and he has no chance to become a grass-headed king.
In the county government office, Ding Jin sat on the top chair and said to Ma Xi, Peng Tan and Shi Jian: "Wang Xiaolie sent people here. I thought he wanted to annex our army territory just like Li Jinglue who annexed Guozhou. . Li Jinglue holds the second highest position in Wang Xiao’s hunting army. Even though I was a little worse in the past, I still had to sit in the third or fourth highest position. The brothers were still happy. Who would have thought that this guy just wanted to take advantage of the passage, and we would not benefit at all. !”
Ma Xi said: "Lending our way will definitely bring us benefits. Wang Xiaolie transports grain and grass to Hedong Road, and we charge 20 to 30% as travel expenses. Isn't that too much? If so, this business can also be done."
Ding Jin said: "Brother, today is no better than yesterday. This advantage is not easy to get. Wang Xiao hunted 100,000 soldiers and horses and defeated the Jin people. How could he still see us? The nearby Ruzhou alone has an army of 20,000. If one of them is not good enough, he raises troops to attack us. Who can stop him? How can Wang Xiaolie give him 20% of the benefits? To satisfy him, we can only suffer!"
Peng Tan said: "According to the captain's opinion, what should we do now?"
Ding Jin said: "It will be difficult for us to defend Songshan with two or three thousand soldiers and horses alone. We must rely on big forces to settle here. From what I can see of the major forces around us, the Emperor of Qi in the north is the most generous. !”
Shi Jian's expression changed after hearing this: "Puppet Qi is the puppet of the gold thief! If you surrender to him, how will you be able to see your ancestors in a hundred years!"
Ding Jin said: "Brother, the most important thing now is how to survive. If you can't survive, you don't have to wait a hundred years. You have to go see your ancestors now. I heard people say that if you vote for Qi, they won't want you. , still as comfortable as before. I will give you an official position and give you money. Is there anything better than this in the world? You don’t need to say more. Tomorrow I will send Qi Xianggong to Yingyang. Let Yu Huan Take a look, Wang Xiaolie looks down on us, but there are others who look down on us!"
After hearing this, Shi Jian couldn't help but stare angrily and said nothing angrily.
Ma Xi and Peng Tan looked on with smiles and said nothing. I have long heard people say that Liu Yu is much more generous than Zhao Gou. If you vote for him, not only will you be granted a high official position, but you will also be given sufficient power.
Liu Yu was indeed generous in demoting officials and generals. Not only to appoint senior officials, but the most important thing is to trust and give real power. A powerful faction like Ding Jin would still let them lead the troops under normal circumstances. After surrendering to Liu Yu's tent, he still had troops and territory.
Historically, most of the heroes in the Jingxi Road area, except for Zhai Xing and a few others, had surrendered to the puppet Qi, including Niu Gao and Dong Xian. It was not until Yue Fei's Northern Expedition captured Xiangyang that some of the talents returned to the Song Dynasty. Now that Wang Xiaolie is in Xiangyang, these people will be different if they have support.
Ding Jin said: "Yu Huan is so shameless that if he doesn't take the fifth position, forget it. Luan Qingshan has really made a lot of contributions since he joined me. He is also loyal and reliable. In my opinion, this fifth position The top position was given to him, so he took it. The five of us can show Jiang Xianggong that we are still strong, which is only good. What do you think?"
Ma Xi said: "Everything depends on my brother's orders."
Peng Tan had no objection. Shi Jian was just angry, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
Ding Jin was too lazy to pay attention to Shi Jian and made up his mind immediately. Luan Qingshan is his confidant, and if he takes the fifth position, he can strengthen his power in the army. If he defected to Qi, he would need more help from his subordinates.
When everything was settled, Ding Jin ordered everyone to disperse. By asking Jiang Yi to come to Yingyang for talks, Ding Jin wanted Puppet Qi to understand that he had other places to go and could get more benefits. If you become a traitor, of course you have to be a high-ranking official.
