Delong

222 Chapter 5: The Way of the Armor ([-])

"This is Kan Leng, and he is also the boss." Du Pozhen pointed his finger at the leading man.

Zhang Xing looked up and saw that this person was tall and tall, almost like Xiong Bonan, with a long knife on his back, and one end of the long knife was connected by an iron chain, and it was actually connected to a short weapon in his waist If you continue together, you will immediately know that this is a typical warrior and fierce general.

Then he stood up and tried to shake hands: "Good guy!"

Unexpectedly, Kan Leng didn't take over at all, but just went to see his adoptive father.

Du Pozhen was embarrassed for a moment, and quickly pointed out: "Zhang Longtou and Weifu are indeed brothers in life and death, you just treat it as the same as your uncle."

Only then did Kan Leng nod his head, then took over, but untied the weapon again, then held Zhang Xing's hand and bowed respectfully, bowing down as a salute: "Nephew has seen Uncle Zhang."

Well, Uncle Fu naturally turned to Uncle Zhang.

Kan Leng started, and the rest of the eunuchs imitated the handshake and called it Uncle Zhang.

That's not to mention, when it was the turn of a young man named Wang Xiongdan to come over, he secretly exerted force on his hand...not with true energy, but pure force... Zhang Xing was too lazy to be used to the other party, and released the cold ice true energy directly , the aroused white gas almost drowned the other party, causing everyone present to sneer with sneers, embarrassment, and fright. Wang Xiongqian could only rush out under the scolding of his adoptive father, and went to the door. penalty stand.

Little farce is not worth mentioning.

The only thing that is certain is that these so-called Taibao are indeed young people with good strength. From this perspective, Du Pozhen has his own roots in the Huaiyou League anyway, and he has never been defeated by those local forces in the Jianghuai area. Overhead.

However, if you understand it, you will understand it, but it will not delay Zhang Xing's opening from here.

"Xuzhou's army is pressing down on the border. If Lao Du comes here like this, isn't he afraid of a fire in the backyard?" Sitting down again, Zhang Xing asked seriously. "Miao Hailang, who was originally the background of the Xuzhou Daying Camp, should be hardened now? The tyrants in Huainan, the old members of the Whale Gang, and the wealthy merchants in the East China Sea have all been gathered properly. Will it just fall?"

"Flip over and over." Du Pozhen sighed. "It's a big deal to go back to the east and become a bandit..."

"The Eastern Territory can't tolerate the downstream bandits now." Meng Sangong blurted out and interrupted again forcefully. "The heroes of the Dragon Clan are in the west, the three leaders of King Gaoshen are in the east, and the two counties of Qilu and Lu in the middle are dominated by that Eastern Marching Chief. How can there be half a point?"

Du Pozhen was speechless for a while, but he ignored this person. He just came to see Zhang Xing, and then continued to turn his back on the guest: "What is the situation in the east?"

"This three-point situation may not last for a few days."

Zhang Xing seemed honest.

"Since we're talking about this, let's start with me...

"My opinion is that Lao Ge of Qi County is somewhat capable. He is rigorous in running the army and has won many battles. Basically, the morale and morale of the army have been raised. Now he has the full military qualification of the Eastern Territory and the territory of Lu County. Expanding the army to [-] is considered to be a strong army, with all the names and facts, and it is estimated that it will be launched soon, and it may even be done at this time...

"Whether it's our side or the east side, from my point of view, if you can't calm down, you may not be his opponent, and you may still suffer a loss, or even suffer a big loss.

"Also, didn't you ask Old Wei before? Old Wei went to Hebei now, but he was worried about the direction of the Hejian camp, so he went to Qinghe area to observe. Leader Xu and Niutou also stood by the river. Shou."

"That's pretty much it." Meng Sangong continued to laugh. "In addition, we are here, and we are thinking about how to deal with the overwhelming Xuzhou battalion. If it really comes, it will be regarded as an attack from three sides. I don't know if Dongdu will come. It will be four sides. pinched..."

"The situation is really bad." Eunuch Wang finally interjected.

"Of course the situation is not good, because in the same situation, we are fundamentally different from Wang Gonggong. Wang Gonggong still has the relationship with Beiya, and the favor of the master Dugong... When the matter came to an end, Kaicheng surrendered, and he only said that he was If you dare not go south in fear of crime, you will still have your life." Meng Sangong still fired with all his might. "But what about us? What do we have? If you rebel, you will die. Soldiers come to cover you with water and earth. The winner is a prince, and the loser is dung... What did Zhang Longtou say? Kings and generals, it is better to be kind." ?”

As soon as this remark came out, there were quite a lot of applause from around.

This is also the mentality of many people who have never fought with the court's serious officers and soldiers... With such a posture, they are still dissatisfied.

how to say?

Faith is commendable and should not be discouraged.

Even if he blamed Eunuch Wang, what he said was actually the truth. Xuzhou Daying was directly appointed by Jiangdu, the master Niu Dugong was still there, and the Beiya system was still there. People like Eunuch Yu who were in charge of documents also had enough political influence. , It is very possible to save a life in front of the battle.

"Okay." When the applause slowed down a bit, Zhang Xingfang continued to speak expressionlessly. "That's the way it is. The key is, before Brother Du came, we made an agreement...to fight against each other, to help each other, and at the very least there must be a report on the military situation...what else can we say?"

At this point, Zhang Xing finally looked at Du Pozhen again.

After Du Pozhen listened, he was still not in a hurry, but continued to ask: "May I ask you two, how many soldiers do you have?"

"Three thousand, barely guarding two counties." Wang Gonggong was the most straightforward. "Even Dangshan can't be defended when necessary."

"Ten thousand and forty five, including three thousand soldiers and several hundred heroes." Meng Sangong answered boldly. "If it's safe to guard the four counties, whether it's a head-on battle, cutting off the enemy's food roads, or supporting the left and right, there is still room for strength."

Du Pozhen nodded, and finally went to see Zhang Xing again.

"At this moment, not to mention the rest of the scattered enclaves, the Dragon Gang now has four counties, Jiyin, Dongjun, Dongping, and Jibei, with a total force of [-]." Zhang Xing didn't say a word, but It was the leader Zhang Jinshu who blurted out at the former's signal.

"After Lu County is lost?" Du Pozhen was surprised for a moment.

"Yes." Zhang Xing also nodded. "But this is in general, including the people from Dangshan, and many military bandits from Juyeze."

Du Pozhen also nodded, others don't know, why don't the three families here know the details of the leader of Dangshan?
But at this point, after nodding, Du Pozhen finally couldn't ask any more questions, so he could only explain his situation to Zhang Xing under the watchful eyes of the other three families:
"Miao Hailang didn't make trouble..."

"Oh?"

"Although he is the background of Xuzhou Daying, but his backer died in the Three Expeditions, and he has to rely on us to maintain it... It seems that the Wenren in Huainan are looking for safety, and they seem to act on their own."

"What about the rest?"

"The rest of the people are still safe... Basically, the three expeditions have not only damaged Hebei and the eastern border, Jianghuai is better, but how can it be better? The heroes and people of Jianghuai are also fundamentally dissatisfied , It’s just that the emperor took his army to Jiangdu, and he was so close that he didn’t dare to say anything easily... I don’t want to hide it from you, the biggest event of the Huaiyou League in the past few months was Huaibei and Huainan, Huaidong and Huaixi Everyone in Huaibei and Huaixi wants to rebel, but those in Huainan and Huaidong are worried that if they rebel, they will implicate themselves, and they dare not say that rebellion is bad, I just barely maintain both sides."

"I can think of what's going on."

"As for the fact that Xuzhou's camp is coming from all over the world..." When it came to the most terrible information, Du Pozhen paused, but then came up with an unexpected interpretation. "Coming is inevitable, but it may not be as tyrannical as you think."

"How to say?"

"The three masters in Jiangdu, Lai Zhan'er is the most trustworthy, and has been staying at Jiangdu Daying. The two surnamed Yu and Tuwan who went to Guanzhong went to Jiangdong to sit in the town... So, Xuzhou has never had a master. The real big man in charge, how many generals competed for a position, made a mess, but before the Xuzhou camp was wiped out by the entire army in Dongyi, all the soldiers were brought by the emperor, but the auxiliary soldiers, local Officials and warehousing are all local, which is embarrassing.”

Many people in the audience looked at Zhou Xingfan, but the senior leader of the Dragon Gang just sat there coldly without saying a word.

"Thanks to this, we can grasp their logistics information..." Du Pozhen said seriously. "Jiangdu provides logistics support here in Xuzhou. I'm afraid it won't be possible to get [-] to [-] troops out of the eastern border, and even [-] will be difficult. I guess it looks like [-] to [-] soldiers... The duty of the Xuzhou camp is also to control Live in Jianghuai."

Many people breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhang Xing frowned slightly.

"If he can send [-] soldiers to fight across the land in just half a year, we don't have to worry about it, because the logistics support may be reversed if it is not directly in Jiangdong." Xiao Zhou finally sneered. "We just looked at it... If you want me to say, even if these two or thirty thousand elites go to the eastern border, they will be able to drink a pot for logistics support and intrigue."

"[-] to [-] elites are already scary." Zhang Xing waved his hand and continued to look at Du Pozhen. "Can you be sure where this army is coming from? Is it going directly north to join forces with Zhang Xuguo of Qi County, or is it coming towards me?"

"It's for you." After a pause, Du Pozhen gave a clear answer. "After the empress was robbed, the logistics supplies were all meant to go to the west of Xuzhou. The route is estimated to be Qiao County, Liang County, and then here... Isn't it obvious that they are coming for you?"

The crowd became tense again.

But Zhang Dalongtou heaved a sigh of relief instead: "I'm afraid there is only one thing, and that is the unified dispatch of the imperial court and the army, working together."

"Third Brother, don't worry!" Xiao Zhou blurted out. "As I said before, if you want Hebei, Dongdu, and Jiangdu to be of one mind, or if those arrogant soldiers are willing to put down their faces and cooperate with Qijun Lao Ge, it's better to believe that the dog emperor can change his temper!"

"I don't know these truths..." Zhang Xing also laughed. "But it's a matter of life and death, and it's always good to hear clearly."

"Isn't Zhang Xuguo from Qi County also from a serious Guanlong family?" Someone asked in surprise. "You don't even have the trust of Xuzhou Daying?"

"There are cores and edges in Guanlong, old towns and new ones..." Zhang Xing explained with a smile. "Where there are people, there will be divisions... His background can at most earn him the trust of the emperor and the emperor's uncle. Instead, the people below look down on him because of his lower background and his rapid advancement to the military commander."

Everyone was stunned, and Zhang Xing also looked at Du Pozhen, and asked the question that he was not sure about, but he still had to ask:

"Old Du, let me ask you, if the elite of Xuzhou Daying and Lao Ge of Qi County fight together, when we are alive and dead, can you turn back and damage the logistics in the direction of Xuzhou?"

Everyone came to see Du Pozhen, including the father and daughter of the Ma family and the eunuchs who followed Du Pozhen. It was rare for the hall to be completely quiet, but it seemed that the noise of the big city outside became more and more clearly audible.

Zhang Xing even heard the cries of fish ball rice...the so-called "five copper coins for a bowl of rice, just add fish balls for two cents each".

Prices have risen quite a bit... I don't know if it's because the world is bad, or because Jiyin bought a lot of gold and silver recently, which caused inflation?

Probably when he heard it for the fourth time, Zhang Xing inexplicably had such an idea in his mind.

And at this time, Du Pozhen finally had no choice but to say a sentence that everyone had expected: "Now I want to take responsibility for the entire Huaiyou League, and the Huaiyou League also wants to take responsibility for tens of thousands of Jianghuai children. So if the imperial court doesn't take advantage of us, please forgive us and allow us to bear with it for a while, and just pass on a message to you. Of course, on the other hand, if the faint king decides to eat us, we, the tens of thousands of disciples of the Huaiyou League, will not suffer in vain. "

After saying a word, everyone was a little sleepy, not to mention the leader of the Dragon Gang and Meng Shangong, even Du Pozhen's eunuchs were a little shy.

It was still Zhang Xing, who was still out of touch with everyone's reactions. Hearing this, he nodded as if he was relieved, and then stood up: "I understand the difficulties of Brother Du... Let's not talk much, we will have lunch first, and then we will talk about contact in the afternoon." The details of the information...How about eating fish ball rice today?"

Below Du Pozhen, he could only nod in agreement.

In this way, everyone ate a bowl of five yuan a bowl of fish ball rice that day. Zhang Xing even ate two bowls and added two fish balls. In the afternoon, they discussed some specific information integration of the four schools and defense of the three schools. If there are any details, they disperse directly and rest on the spot.

Among them, Meng Shangong even went back to the Chuqiu city controlled by himself that night, as if he was not satisfied with the results of the four-party meeting.

In fact, many people, including those inside the Dragon Clan, also felt that Zhang Xing was not tough enough to force Du Pozhen to take a stand, nor did he unify the command of Meng Sangong and the internal servants.

Even with Du Pozhen, the family felt a little uneasy.

In the evening, Du Pozhen stayed at Zhouqiao, and then called a few adopted sons for questioning.

"You saw Zhang Longtou today, what do you think of him?"

"Not very powerful."

"It seems that there is no decision on major matters, and we are oppressing our brothers with every little skill, and there is no suppression of those big men."

"It seems a little indecisive."

"The name doesn't live up to the reality."

"I think it's a little unfathomable." Unexpectedly, it was Kan Leng who expressed some kind of convincing gesture.

"How to say?" Du Pozhen was surprised for a moment.

"Because I think this person's deeds are enough, and there is no need to use any posture to pretend to be tyrannical...Then who killed Zuo Youxian? Who established the Dragon Clan? Who robbed the queen? Killed two A minister of the southern yamen and a governor of the northern yamen, I don't think this one is not strong enough, not powerful enough, lacking in determination... So, he is so calm now, or he has some more ruthless decisions, waiting for opportunities or news, Either it is really extraordinary and willing to tolerate us continuing like this." After Kan Leng finished speaking, he bowed his hands. "I don't know what the foster father thinks?"

"I think the same as you." Du Pozhen sighed. "If he is indecisive and only understands entanglement, what are the rest of us... But, now I don't know, is he dissatisfied with me to the extreme, planning to launch something to force me to submit, or is he really magnanimous?"

Hearing that his adoptive father was a little discouraged, Wang Xiongdan immediately interjected in dissatisfaction: "What dare he launch? We are not made of mud."

"What do you know?" Du Pozhen shook his head more and more. "Once this kind of person is activated, the literary one will definitely make you have nowhere to retreat, and the military one will definitely be like a thunder... Just like this time about the Queen's matter, he talked to himself, should we avoid it? I'm saying now For you, it’s just for you to increase your knowledge, don’t underestimate him. After all, before Jiangdu decides to continue to use us for logistics and transportation, he still has to hide here.”

Only then did Wang Taibao shut up.

While Du Pozhen was educating his sons, Zhang Xing also began to sort out and reflect all day long, and began to be indecisive... Meetings are of course a magic weapon, but sometimes, especially in external meetings, their respective positions differ from each other. The binding of core interests is destined to have no new results.

However, this does not mean that he can relax, especially under the overall situation, it is getting more and more tense.

Picking up a pen and paper, writing and drawing, Zhang Xing quickly summed up a few things:
First of all, no matter whether it is the Eastern Territory, the Jianghuai River, or the Central Plains, the background of the people and the rivers and lakes has not changed. It was broken for a while, and it will come back sooner or later in the future.

Second, is the unreliability of all allies.

The Huaiyou League is the most powerful. Once it raises troops, it can relieve the pressure on the southward direction of the Dragon Gang, and even the pressure on the entire Dragon Gang. Because the Great Wei has a sensible person, it will not allow rebels to occupy Jianghuai, and then threaten Jiangdu, and even Nanyang. Together, the Wu brothers cut off the full connection between Jiangdu and Dongdu.

But on the other hand, Du Pozhen is not an idiot, he can see the situation clearly, he can't take the initiative to become the target of public criticism, take the knife for the Dragon Gang, and let the Dragon Gang grow bigger.

Needless to say, Meng Sangong is a typical tyrannical style, with only territory and military power in his mind, but some skills can be used, and even relied on for a while, but he is just arrogant and fierce, and sooner or later he will be defeated by the more arrogant and fierce court officials. Suffer a big loss in front of the elite.

As for Wang Gonggong, not to mention the fact that the power is too small, the key point is that Meng Sangong's ridicule and hints are not false. When it comes to the fact that the army is overwhelming, the father-in-law from Beiya comes to surrender, so what?
Are they to be condemned for incompetence?
That day's thought was true, but when things came to an end, who would dare to put life and death on their heads?

Even now, Zhang Xing deeply doubts the reliability of the direction of Dangshan. Wang Zhen is gone and will never return. The so-called bold words are still there, and people's hearts are unpredictable.

However, this does not mean that the situation is going to be bad to a certain extent.

Zhang Xing deeply understands that Xiao Zhou also has some arguments to complain about today, that is, the imperial court and the army must be torn apart, Xuzhou and Qi County must not be able to work together, Dongdu and Jiangdu must be more and more separated, and Hebei's heavy troops will probably not survive. He wouldn't even take a look at the messy Eastern Realm.

If they could watch and help each other, the Three Expeditions to Dongyi would have been accomplished long ago, and Great Wei would not have fallen to where it is today.

However, looking at things the other way around, as long as there are one or two military heroes like Qi County Lao Ge who take the initiative to take responsibility for the world of Wei, the Dragon Gang will really be close to death.

And those acquaintances released from the Eastern Capital, who knows what effect they will have?People like Qian Tang, Qin Bao, and Li Qingchen are stronger than the original magistrates, right?Especially with Lu Changheng in Jijun and Li Qingchen in Huaiyang, we must pay attention to their movements.

All in all, there seems to be some vitality, but it is destined to be very difficult.

With so many thoughts, Zhang Xing couldn't help becoming more and more entangled. He really didn't know how to deal with the coming counterattack of the government and army. Only when his thoughts changed, he remembered the agreement with Bai Yousi, and thought that he had already made up his mind after a big defeat. Leaving... But I feel that I am worrying in vain.

With this in mind, Zhang Xing simply threw the pen and paper onto the table under the lamp.

And at this moment, there was a clear coughing sound from the roof.

Zhang Xing was stunned, then came to his senses, just held down the pen and paper, and raised his head to invite: "Is this Sima Erlang? Since we're here, why not come down and talk."

After a while, a person knocked on the door, and then pushed the door openly and entered. It was Sima Zheng who escorted the queen away with Du Pozhen before.

When the two sides met, Zhang Xing didn't ask how the other party came here, but just smiled wryly first: "Why, Sima Erlang is now in Jiangdu, and it should be the same as I was in Jiyin. It's like being in a dilemma. ?”

Sima Zheng was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "It's natural that the future is uncertain, and it's also true if we are in a world of fire and water, but what about the dilemma and the inevitability of softness, right? Dedicated to one's duty, doing the good and suppressing the evil. However, in this world and the situation, When making a decision, it’s inevitable that you’ll be grumpy in your heart.”

Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment, but instead nodded heavily: "Sima Erlang is kind-hearted, and he will become a dragon among adults!"

Sima Zheng smiled wryly instead: "Zhang Sanlang is blind. Think about it, have you ever lacked decision-making in your life? Besides, we have known each other for so long. I have always remembered that you can make clear decisions, grasp the key points at once, and make decisions in a chaotic situation. The best, the most upright, and the most impeccable, where can I inspire you?"

Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment again, and then it dawned on him that he had unknowingly had the idea of ​​staying and trying to survive the low ebb in the Dragon Clan, and even open up the situation.

This is obviously irrational, even irrational, because touring the rivers and lakes with Bai Yousi and waiting for the sky to collapse has always been a dream.

But the tangle has actually emerged.

For a moment, Zhang Dalong's head was in a state of confusion, and he even thought about going back to Jiyin, so he tried the compass again.

PS: Thank you for your enthusiasm, I won’t be here for a few days, and I’m leaving soon.

(End of this chapter)