Fu Song

Chapter 242 Inspection
A group of people and horses walked on the galloping road.

This year's snow has been particularly heavy, and the snow on the road is half a foot deep. The knights are carefully controlling the horses. Sometimes the ground that looks flat is full of traps. Several horses had broken hooves.

If not everyone is equipped with one person and two horses, some people really can only walk.

The leader of this group was Ma Xing, the appeasement envoy of Shaanxi Road.

During the Chinese New Year, the pacifier did not stay in the government office and drink wine by the stove, but chose to come out to patrol against the wind and snow.

And the most important place to visit this time is Suide.

Although Suide has been recovered, the losses suffered here may not be recovered in ten or eight years.

When Li Du entered Suide, he didn't want to stay here for a long time at all, so he implemented a policy of looting Suide, not only robbing food, money, but also people!
When the officers and soldiers came over, the entire Suide area was devastated, and sometimes it was rare to see a single family after walking for tens of miles.

"Deqian, I passed seven villages all day today, and there is no one left in any of them!" Ma Xing sighed, "It's all the fault of me, the pacifier."

Cheng Gui looked at Ma Xing, whose beard was covered with icicles, and comforted him: "Scholar, this is all caused by the ambition of that thief Li Xu. If it wasn't for the bachelor, I'm afraid that Shaanxi Road would be even more devastated, crying everywhere. It's over!"

Ma Xing let out a long breath, shook his head and said: "You don't need to comfort me, Li Xu's defeat is due to Director Xiao Dingxiao, I, at best, can only follow the trend."

"Bachelor, if it wasn't for you to coordinate the money and food in the rear, it wasn't for you to withstand the huge pressure from Bianliang for Xiao Ding, it wasn't for you to issue the death order to let Li Dan and Wang Jun guard the front line of Yan'an, and to let the Zhenrong army Going north, and let Ya Nei go to Yuzang Huama as a hostage, can Xiao Ding have the results of today's battle?" Cheng Gui said.

Ma Xingle stopped his horse and looked at another ruined village in front of him with a gloomy expression.

After Cheng Gui finished speaking, he was also silent.

He knew what Ma Xing was worried about.

After a long while, he looked back at the guards who were about seven or eight steps away from the two of them, and said in a low voice: "I have met Xiao Changqing before, and it should be said that he is still a loyal person. On Hebei Road, he This has been proven. The appeasement officer needn't worry too much."

"When Li Xu left Hengshan to Xingling, he was also loyal. In terms of achievements, how is Li Xu back then compared to Xiao Ding now?" Ma Xing said with a wry smile: "Sometimes you are not human." What do you want to do, but the time and situation push you, and you can’t help yourself to that step step by step. What is there a saying? Oh, yes, it’s called finally living the kind of person you hate the most. Deqian, When I was not a pacifier, I looked down on Zhang Kuo in every possible way, but when I became a pacifier, wouldn't I be the same as Zhang Kuo when I did some things?"

"That guy Zhang Kuo, how can he stand shoulder to shoulder with a bachelor!" Cheng Gui smiled. "Bachelor, haven't there been rumors recently that the imperial court wants to transfer you to Hebei Road as a pacifier? If so, you might as well take this opportunity to call Xiao Ding back to Yan'an Mansion for a gathering. If he is willing to come back, then the question It's not too big."

Ma Xing nodded: "This is not a rumor, I'm afraid it will become a fact. An old friend in the capital wrote to me, saying that Xia Jie and Xia Zhiyan are going back to be the chief assistant."

"Who will take your place?"

"Lan Sixin!" Ma Xing said, "The current Yushi Zhongcheng."

Cheng Gui was taken aback: "This one has never been in charge of a party. Can he handle such a complicated situation in Shaanxi Road? Lan Sixin came to Shaanxi Road, which one will be appointed as Yushi Zhongcheng?"

Ma Xing glanced at Cheng Gui and spit out a name.

"Cui Ang, Cui Wangzhi!"

Cheng Gui closed his mouth immediately.

Everyone is a sensible person, what is the purpose of the officials to let Cui Ang be the censor Zhongcheng, it can't be clearer.

The Son of Heaven wants to create a big prison!

"I've already made an offer to the officials. This time, I also gave up my face and took the credit for pacifying the northwest, and I want to use this to exchange the seat of Yushi Zhongcheng." Ma Xing said.

"Bachelor, why didn't you discuss this matter with me?" Cheng Gui said in shock: "Why are you rushing to jump into this fire pit? Although Hebei Road is a mess now, the Liao people will retreat after all. , After a few years of hard work, you will be able to build new meritorious deeds, and then take the pacification of the northwest, and then return to Bianliang with the meritorious deeds of Hebei, and the position of the chief assistant will be captured at your fingertips."

Ma Xing narrowed his eyes, and said calmly: "But when I go back to serve as Yushi Zhongcheng, I can kill the idea of ​​the emperor building a big prison!"

"This is against the official's idea!" Cheng Gui shook his head and said, "The official will not agree."

"Whether it is successful or not, you have to try it!" Ma Xing sighed: "I have written a letter to Xia Jie, hoping that he can help me. In Bianliang, Luo Song, Chen Gui and others must not want to see him." There are so many people who object to Cui Ang being appointed as the imperial censor, I hope the officials can rein in the precipice."

"Xia Zhiyan won't agree." Cheng Gui shook his head: "First, the situation in Hebei is not good now, Xia Jie won't be at ease if someone else goes. Second, Xia Zhiyan knows your temperament as a bachelor. If you want to return the court, I am afraid that Xia Zhiyan will feel that it will hinder him from governing. Bachelor, Xia Zhiyan has become the chief assistant, and the angle of thinking about problems is completely different from when he was in opposition. Bachelor, he will Do you care if the officials purged a group of officials? I am afraid that he is thinking of doing so to replace a group of his own confidantes! As for whether the ones to be purged belong to King Jing, King Chu, or what faction it is, it doesn’t matter. , so what does it matter? The key is to make room for his own people! On this point, he and the officials are probably aspiring together."

Ma Xing was very annoyed when he heard that, he flicked his sleeves, brushed off the snowflakes falling on his body, and said angrily: "Do your best, obey the destiny!"

Looking at the thin and small figure of Ma Xing who was breaking the horse forward, Cheng Gui couldn't help but sighed again.The person in front of me is really a man of noble character who cares about the country and the people, and has never had any selfishness, but what can he do if he is alone?

After walking forward for more than ten miles, Wang Jun, the Zhijun of the Suide Army, finally led his men to meet him.

Wang Jun, the former deputy commander of the Guangrui Army, has been promoted step by step in the past few years. Now he is the commander of the Suide Army, leading nearly ten thousand soldiers stationed in Suide.Moreover, these soldiers and horses are all powerful troops who have experienced war, and they are now under Wang Jun's leadership, confronting Li Du who is still entrenched in Xiazhou, Shizhou and other places.

When Li Du led his army to capture Suide and stormed Yan'an Mansion, two generals under Ma Xing stood up to support the situation. One was Li Dan, who decisively gave up most of Suide and guaranteed The soldiers and horses under his command did not suffer much loss, and a second line of defense was built outside Yan'an Mansion, which completely defeated Li Du's plan to take Yan'an Mansion in one fell swoop.The other one is Wang Jun dug from Xiao Ding.Li Dan was good at defending, while Wang Jun commanded the army, but he was good at attacking with a clear image of a broad and sharp army. In the subsequent counterattack, it was Wang Jun who commanded the troops and beat Li Du back step by step.

"Bachelor, you have traveled so far in such a cold weather, Suide and everyone are very excited to hear that you are coming!" Wang Jun got off his horse and walked up to Ma Xing in a few strides. Holding the reins for him with his own hands.

This general, who once only wanted to get mixed up with one level of control and then retired, is now a commanding officer, with seven or eight generals of control level under his command.

"Don't take a look, don't worry about it!" Ma Xing nodded at the other party: "This way, there is still little smoke in Suide!"

"Yes, bachelor, but it's much better than before. The officials gathered all the people they could gather around the city. Now there are [-] to [-] people in Suide after re-registration."

"There are only [-] to [-] people left!" Ma Xing said sadly, "I remember that there were more than [-] people on the register before the war."

Wang Jun was dumbfounded for a moment, and he said after a long while: "Scholar, Li Du took most of them captive, as long as Li Du is defeated, these people can go home."

"Yes, defeat Li Du, and save these suffering people to go home!" Ma Xing raised his head.

Wang Jun's Zhijun yamen was not located in Suide, but in Mizhi, which was quite in line with Ma Xing's temperament.You must know that the Yamen of the appeasement envoy should have been set up in Jingzhao Mansion, but this one, by accident, set up the Yamen of the appeasement envoy in Yan'an Mansion.Regardless of whether Wang Jun's move was for his own good or not, setting up the Yamen in Mizhi is indeed closer to the enemy, and it is also more conducive to grasping the enemy's situation.

"Wang Zhijun, this time the pacifier came to inspect, how did you make it known to everyone? With such a big fanfare, didn't Li Du also hear the news?" Cheng Gui was quite dissatisfied.

Wang Jun laughed and said: "Cheng Chaofeng, don't look at Li Du's fighting spirit is not high even though he still has tens of thousands of troops. Under such weather, if he really dares to lead an army out of Siwu Pass, the general will be very happy." Well, it’s just a big meeting gift for the bachelor. Now we are not afraid of him coming to fight, but we are afraid that he will stick to Siwu Pass and not come out! Siwu Pass is too steep and difficult to fight.”

"Haven't you tried to recruit the guard general of Siwu Pass? In the current situation, the opposite side should be the army's morale is weak?" Cheng Gui said.

"It is Li Du's son-in-law, Zhang Yunsheng, who is guarding the Wu Pass. He tried it once, but he wasted the lives of several good men." Wang Jun shook his head and said. "I didn't do such useless work anymore. Now I'm just raising my troops and raising horses. I just wait for the next spring to bloom. When the bachelor gives an order, I will storm the Siwu Pass. Although the pass is dangerous, it must be guarded by people. Just like the imperial court. Said, the opponent's hearts are indeed inconsistent, as long as they are willing to pay the price, they can always be captured."

All the way without a word, straight into Mizhi.In the next few days, Ma Xing inspected Qingbian Village, Yongle City, Funing City, Nuanquan Village and other outpost military villages non-stop.

Along the way, I appreciated Wang Jun's ability to lead troops even more. In this weather, the logistics supplies in these military camps were sufficient, and the morale of the soldiers was high. Cheng Gui went to review the Suide Army's military supplies accounts, and it was clear. Clearly, such a common thing in the army of the Song Dynasty, such as eating empty pay, is not seen here at all.You know, even for a strict person like Ma Xing, as long as he does not exceed his limit, he will acquiesce.

The people who came out of the Guangrui Army were indeed different from other places.

After hearing Cheng Gui's unbelievable return, Ma Xing was silent for a long time, and finally said this sentence.

"Wang Zhijun, tell me the truth, how is your army now compared to the Guangrui Army back then?" Ma Xing invited Wang Jun alone, even though it was on Wang Jun's territory.

"Bachelor, why not!" Wang Jun hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth. "The soldiers under my command now have at most [-] to [-]% of the combat effectiveness of the Guangrui Army, and this is almost our limit."

"What's the difference?" Ma Xing continued to ask.

"Army's training, combat methods, and management, the soldiers and horses under my command are the same as those of the Guangrui Army." Wang Jundao: "Scholar, I think you know by now that the soldiers and horses under my command are superior to management, and they are still different from other troops." There's a difference."

Ma Xing nodded.

"These are what I have learned from Director Xiao over the years." Wang Jun said frankly: "The reason why there is such a big gap in combat effectiveness is because of a series of supporting measures such as equipment, supplies, and post-war pensions." On top of that. In the Guangrui Army, not only those who died in battle will receive generous pensions, but their families will always receive subsidies from the Guangrui Army. In the words of Director Xiao at the time, those who died for the Guangrui Army, Guangrui Army Ruijun took care of his children."

Speaking of this, Wang Jun smiled bitterly: "Director Xiao has great powers and can always get money, and his caravans can always make a lot of money. Bachelor, I am ashamed to say that I have also got a caravan now." , but the money earned is a drop in the bucket for the entire Suide army. Moreover, he can always get the best equipment. The Guangrui army has never been short of national weapons like the god arm bow, but we You can only use sparingly, once it is worn out, it will be even more difficult to replenish."

"Now he can't get it either!" Ma Xing laughed a few times.

"Now, he doesn't really need it anymore!" Wang Jun looked at Ma Xing and said, "I still have some friends over there, and I also exchange letters every day. Bachelor, do you know? Now under the command of Director Xiao, the cavalry that can be mobilized , As many as tens of thousands of people. More importantly, they have produced the first batch of god arm bows in Xingling's bow and arrow workshop."

"How is this possible?" Ma Xing exclaimed: "Only Bianliang's craftsman camp can make the magic arm bow! Except for a blueprint from the master craftsman and a spare blueprint from the Privy Council, there is no other place to find it. The third copy, why would Xiao Ding make it?"

"I don't know the specifics. But I think these brothers from the past won't lie, and they don't need to lie to me!" Wang Jun shook his head. "The bachelor also has connections over there, you can check."

Ma Xing nodded, his face became even more serious.

Now Xiao Ding is able to mobilize the number of troops he knows, but it is too shocking to be able to make such a thing as a god arm bow.

(End of this chapter)