Delong

224 Chapter 7: The Fate ([-])

Wang Wu's disastrous defeat belongs to the kind of situation where it is not enough to surprise people even if they are really defeated.

Because no matter how sincere, obedient, and reasonable Wang Shuyong is in his daily life, it is impossible to change his fundamentally powerful disposition within half a year.

This kind of person, who suddenly gains a county and tens of thousands of people, even if he knows in his heart that he is not the opponent's opponent, and he probably knows that the two leaders behind him are right, he will still be reluctant to part with bottles and cans, so that he is beaten by others. The first battle was like a landslide.

Of course, Zhang Xing also has to learn a lesson from it, that is, even if he wants to persist, he must put people first and land as the bottom. decisive battle.

However, if you are not surprised, you are not surprised, because of this defeat, it is only natural that the military structure of the Dragon Clan has become extremely difficult.

In fact, after sweeping across the three counties in March, the unstoppable eastward army was in a state of disarray after barely meeting the defeated army in Jibei County. Chang, Sucheng and other fertile lands, directly choose to withdraw westward.

If you don't withdraw, you won't be able to, and if you don't leave, you will be completely surrounded by people.

During the retreat, the situation of the troops became worse and worse, morale was low, it was common for recruits to flee, quarrels between leaders, and road grabbing among the troops were common, and an even worse incident happened. The incident - the two newly surrendered leaders of Dongping County, a county magistrate and a local tyrant, directly engulfed a small number of troops and surrendered to the official army.

Before leaving, he even attacked friendly troops.

In this case, people are naturally panicked.

So soon, there were old leaders from Jiyin and Dongjun, specifically the Zhai brothers and monk Huaizhi. Lost, the mentality is obviously timid, so I gathered a group of people and proposed to go back to my hometown.

Several big bosses who had failed miserably were also a little moved.

When you win, you can't wait to stretch the territory, and when you lose, you can't help but want to preserve your strength... The feudal army built with powerful as the main force is the most troublesome problem.

Because this kind of behavior is not even intentional, but an instinct, and there is even a sense of mutually agreed rules.

Zhang Xing and Li Shu were the most powerful and capable anti-thief backbones they could find. No one felt that there was any problem with this kind of behavior... This was precisely the biggest problem.

However, at this time, Li Shu, the leader of the left wing, stood up. With the prestige he had successfully gained in the defense of Pinglu, coupled with the strong support of Xiong Bonan and some scribe leaders, he forcibly suppressed all noises, and then Leading the remnants of the defeated generals, they retreated to Yuncheng, the capital of Dongping County, and began to stand firm, preparing to meet the enemy.

Yuncheng can be regarded as a famous city in the east, a big city, and even a crucial city.

This is because when Jishui came here, it extended into Juyeze with a radius of hundreds of miles. Not only was Yuncheng backed by Juyeze, the water and land were unobstructed, making it easy to defend. More importantly, because of the existence of Juyeze, it made The area between Jishui waters and Dahe becomes narrow here, and the straight-line distance is only fifty or sixty miles... This means that this city can easily monitor Dahe and Juyeze, as well as the land passage between the two.

Practitioners are stronger and can fly with condensed pills, but they cannot be worth [-] mules alone, and transport the logistics independently... In other words, as long as a large army is needed to operate, it is impossible in this era Someone was stupid enough to expose his logistics to this big city.

From this point of view, Li Shu's retreat and choice is undoubtedly a correct choice.

Relying on this fortified city, a big city, and a vital city, while holding on to it while resting, and coupled with the high-level combat power of the two sides, there is absolutely no way for the officers and soldiers to break through the city in a short period of time, and they dare not rely on victory. The momentum is easy to pass.

Sure enough, after the victory in the chaotic war, the officers and troops hurriedly gathered from the east and tried to take advantage of the victory to pursue, but when they faced Yuncheng, they fell into an embarrassing siege.

And quickly withdrew the siege, because they found that the waterway of Juyeze was unimpeded, but for them, if the city is not broken, why go west to sweep it?
Therefore, they can only occupy the front lines of Shouzhang and Pinglu, and enter Liangshan, which is north of Juyeze, which is convenient for monitoring Yuncheng, and form a military confrontation.

Thanks to this, Zhang Dalong's head was at the rear, and he seemed to be fine for a while.

"Mr. Li has already arranged for Cheng Dalang to go out from Julu Lake?" Zhang Xing was surprised for a moment, facing the messenger in the hall of Jiyin County Mansion, but he immediately came to his senses. "Do you want him to contact those people in Dengzhou and let those people go to Qi County?"

The messenger, that is, Li Shu's confidant, Du Caigan who was squeezed out by Zhang Xing in a sense, was obviously taken aback by Zhang Xing's quick reaction, but he nodded immediately and verified: "Yes this means."

Zhang Xing thought for a while, then nodded heavily: "There is nothing wrong with Mr. Li's arrangement, plus the behavior of sticking to Yuncheng, it can even be called a martial arts... What other explanations does he have?"

"He still wants to ask about the movements of the Huaiyou League and Xuzhou." Du Caiqian's question was not surprising. "Especially in Xuzhou, because if Xuzhou's elite go straight north, cross Jishui, and then pass west of Juye Ze, Yuncheng will lose the meaning of defending the city..."

"Master Du of the Huaiyou League was specially invited by me to go back, because I knew a piece of news temporarily, and it was related to Xuzhou..." Zhang Xing was silent for a while, and chose to reveal part of it in front of some leaders. "As far as I know, the direction of Xuzhou may choose Sima Zheng as the master to come to the east, so I made some arrangements...Mr. Du and Leader Zhou are going to deal with this matter. The main reason is to facilitate the change of generals before the battle. .”

In the hall of Jiyin County Mansion, there was a moment of silence.

After a while, Du Caiqian, who was born on the edge of Guanlong, said with difficulty: "Sima is the Erlang of the Sima family? The one who is number one on the talent list?"

"Yes." Zhang Xing replied simply.

"Is leader Zhou and Leader Du sure?" Du Caiqian asked with difficulty.

"Do your best and obey the destiny." Zhang Xing said one thing. "But this is the most effective method I can think of... It can be regarded as some places that coincide with Li Gong."

"That's true." Du Caiqian thought for a long time before he could only nod. "Then next..."

"Prepare for battle, defend the city!"

Zhang Xing responded directly.

"Whether it's the east side or this side, we have to endure it and gather strength...then the camera will make a decision!
"Things ebb and flow like a tide, before the general trend was ours, so naturally everything went smoothly, now the general trend is the enemy's, and it is our turn to persevere...

"I don't want to hide from Chief Du, or I want Chief Du to go back and tell Li Gong that regardless of whether Sima Erlang can be replaced, or where he comes from, I will mobilize the troops next, renovate Jiyin County City, and prepare When necessary, give up the half county of Jiyin and guard Jiyin.

"As for that, if it is really a last resort, for example, if the Xuzhou army penetrates the Heze and Leize areas from among us, then we will retreat to Puyang together, and prepare to transfer to Hebei if necessary, and take advantage of the division between the north and the south by the army to survive."

Du Caiqian was sweating profusely, but he could only nod his head.

The few people in the hall, whether it was the so-called Zhongyi leader Zhang Jinshu who had been clearly moving towards Zhang Xing in the past six months, or the so-called Zhongyi leader Zhang Jinshu who was in charge of military law, or Yan Qing who had always been Zhang Xing's confidant, or Jia Yue, an old friend and innocent leader who was confused in the village, All were pale.

You know, Jiyin County and Dongjun County have always been regarded as the rear of the Dragon Clan. Now, according to the words of this big leader, not only was he planning to give up half of Jiyin County at the beginning, but he was even ready to abandon the entire East Territory. Preparations for fleeing Hebei.This is in stark contrast to the situation when he once occupied the five counties a few months ago and was about to complete the great cause of supporting the Dahe and Jishui and running through the Eastern Border.

After all, what Zhang Dalongtou said every day about the ebb and flow of the tide, he shouted every day when he was in power, how could these people not know?It is Du Caiqian, who has experienced Yang Shen's chaos, and is Li Shu's confidant, how can he not know this truth?
It’s just that I know that I know, now that I’ve gone through all the turmoil and all this aggressive work, how can I let it go so easily?

From this point of view, it is not easy to laugh at Shan Dalang and Wang Wulang.

Just like that, Du Caiqian came and left in a hurry.And Zhang Xing did not hesitate to issue a mobilization order, but asked to strengthen border patrols, dispatch outposts for surveillance, and at the same time began to consciously concentrate the left-behind troops in Jiyin close to the Jishui line, and recruited manpower in the form of recruitment to help Ji Yinjun City carried out city defense repairs and ordnance rectification.

This action cannot be concealed from anyone.

Coupled with the overwhelming defeat on the Eastern Front and the "rumors" that the imperial army was about to suppress it, people's hearts began to shake.

In the beginning, they were businessmen and well-known thugs who came to invest in the rivers and lakes. They are best at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and they are also a group of people with the most abundant information channels. They quickly chose to evacuate... Hebei returned to Hebei, Jianghuai went to Jianghuai, and Central Plains back to the Central Plains.

In these two counties, which have always been famous for their commercial prosperity, commercial activities have shrunk almost visibly with the naked eye.

The most direct impact was that Zhang Xing's attempt to buy horses with Ziwei Palace's wealth fell through.

Immediately afterwards, some big local households were forced to burn their debts and free their private slaves under the rule of the Dragon Gang. They had accumulated a certain amount of dissatisfaction. At this time, they were even more vacillating and conservative... Many wealthy households are recruiting people. , hoarding supplies, and even the whole family fled.

Frankly speaking, these people have the right to be dissatisfied, because Zhang's policy is obviously perfunctory, and he has not penetrated into the families of the three big bosses Xu Shiying, Shan Tonghai, and Wang Shuyong at all, and he is no longer a boss.

But until now, Zhang Xing is not easy to get used to these people. He can only strengthen border patrols and internal inspections, and at the same time send out targeted warnings. For a small number of people who react strangely, they will directly forcibly relocate their residences and split up their staff.

Of course, these actions have a little effect, but at the same time, they also further confirmed a certain kind of speech, making this kind of wavering spread further, and it spread in two directions-first, some ordinary people who are regarded as middle-class families hesitated , also tried to follow and escape; secondly, some soldiers and gang members who had no real property in the Chulong Gang, as well as Jiangren, also began to waver.

Rumors are spreading, production and cultural activities are shrinking, and people's hearts are in turmoil.

Even Zhang Xing was a little caught off guard by the development of this situation, and it was even difficult for him to deal with it.But soon, after a night of torment, he still gritted his teeth and added an order—that is, to intensify patrols on the border to search for escapees. Yincheng was used as a labor force; and those who were suspected to be members of the Dragon Clan were found to be dead, and they were all brought back to Jiyin City, where they were tortured and killed for public display.

On the other hand, if ordinary people leave with their families, there is nothing to worry about.

However, even so, Zhang Xing was also a little worried, but in turn, he was afraid that Zhang Jinshu's department, which had greatly increased its power and responsibility, would expand in the process, causing harm to innocent people.

But he can only talk, what can he do?

He could only tell Zhang Jinshu hastily, and asked Jia Yue to lead his guards to supervise Zhang Jinshu's department like a doll.

It can only be said that throughout the first and middle days of March, although the weather suddenly warmed up and the millet seedlings in the field were getting taller and taller, the torment between Zhang Xing and the people in the three counties of the Dragon Gang was no different. The millet seedlings in the field are moving slowly.

This situation reached a peak on March [-], when news of the formal dispatch of troops from the Xuzhou Camp came.

When the news came, Zhang Xing appeared to be as stable as an old dog on the surface, and kept giving orders, ordering the troops to gather as planned, and publicly declared that both Jiyin City and Yuncheng were indestructible, but his heart was completely flustered... because Xiao Zhou didn't Reply with exact information.

At this moment, according to the information sent by the sentry cavalry and Du Pozhen, the official Xuzhou general is still Sima Zheng, and the logistics is still pointing to Jiyin, but the first to move west is a mere Zhonglang general. , called Ma Hu, led four or five thousand soldiers and acted as a vanguard.

In other words, Du Pozhen didn't have any news from Xiao Zhou either.

The situation was extremely bad, but Zhang Xing had no choice but to continue to passively wait for the information to be clear... There was really no other way. He asked Zhang Shizhao once, and the latter only emphasized that "the document of a county", Then I really went to deal with the general affairs of Jiyin City.

But soon, as the time came to late March, a piece of good news suddenly came, alleviating this suffering.

But not in the direction of Xuzhou, but in the direction of Yuncheng——Zhang Xuguo in Yuncheng withdrew his troops, and more than [-] Qilu soldiers left Yuncheng and returned to Qi County.

The news is very clear, Li Shu's strategy has worked again, and Cheng Zhili didn't make much effort at all, so he persuaded the two big leaders, Sun Xuanzhi and Gao Shitong.

This is because the officers and soldiers of Hejian and Youzhou Camp in the Hebei direction were also dispatched. Sun Gao and the two dared not cross the river to go back, so they could only try to open the situation in the south.At the same time, Zhishilang Wang Hou, who had been defeated by Zhang Xuguo twice in a row, also found the two Hebei leaders. The remnants of the defeated generals, a total of [-] people, once again joined forces to advance westward and pressed into the territory of Qi County.

There was a fire in the backyard, and Zhang Xuguo lost his temper, so he immediately turned around and withdrew his troops.

Withdrew cleanly.

When the matter developed to this point, the atmosphere had a slight change. It seemed that Zhang Xuguo's fate had been revealed without a doubt. It seemed that as long as he kept scratching him, he would have difficulty making progress.

Things are complicated, news and visitors come from all directions.

That is to say, on the second day when the good news from the direction of Yuncheng arrived in Jiyin City, Wei Xuanding, the leader of the Dragon Gang, was also escorted by Guan Xu, the deputy rudder leader of the Puyang sub-rudder, and went south together, turned back from Hebei, and came to Jiyin City.

What he brought to Zhang Xing was definitely not good news.

"Youzhou-Hejian moved together." Taoist Wei went straight to the backyard of the county mansion where Zhang Xing lived, and when he saw the latter, he was straight to the point. "No less than 4 people were dispatched from the Youzhou camp, divided into eight Zhonglang generals, and the raids were divided into separate routes. Xue Changxiong sent more than [-] troops from Hejian to support and dispatch in the center. It is obvious that he is preparing to wipe out the entire Hebei."

"How many rebel forces are there in Hebei now?" Zhang Xing had a headache and hurried to ask.

"Seventeen or eight families, large and small." Wei Daoshi thought for a while, and gave an unbelievable number. "But it's strange to say that there are not a few of them who are good at all. The strong ones have half a county, and the weak ones don't even have a city. After defeating the county government, it only gained momentum after crossing the river... I don’t know what’s going on?"

What can happen?The reactionary forces are too powerful!
Zhang Xing was speechless, but patiently explained: "Although people in Hebei are the most anti-Wei people, on the other hand, Wei has not relaxed the control of Hebei, not to mention the permanent establishment of Youzhou Daying and Hejian Daying, and Ye Capital, Jijun, Hanoi, Taiyuan, and Shangdang are condescending to Hebei, and even the emperor went south to Jiangdu, and he did not forget to send Xue Changxiong north..."

At this point, Zhang Xing paused for a while, but continued:

"As for other counties and countries, there are often some top Hebei famous families, such as Qinghe Cui, Bohai Gao, and Fan Yanglu. If they don't make up their minds to rebel, the state and county cannot be shaken...and these people even us The Dethrone Dragon Gang doesn’t even care about it, let alone others.”

Taoist Wei thought for a moment, then nodded heavily: "That's the truth."

"How long can it last?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.

"It's hard to say." Wei Daoshi came back to his senses and smiled. "See what Xue Changxiong and Li Cheng want to suppress... If it is necessary to capture eighteen bandit leaders, it may not take two years to suppress them; and if they only need to wipe out the prefectures and counties as much as possible, they will be finished before autumn."

"After sweeping, will you go south?" Zhang Xing asked earnestly.

"Nine out of ten it won't." Taoist Wei shook his head again and again. "Xue Changxiong has an imperial decree to take charge of the bandit suppression in Hebei. Li Cheng and his son in Youzhou are naturally dissatisfied. It is said that they have some contact with your father-in-law in Taiyuan; and the locals in Li Cheng's subordinates, headed by a surname Luo, voted for Xue Changxiong. ... There is me in the two families, and you are in me. They are messing up and fighting together, and they have the intention of dividing Hebei as private land... In this case, let alone they will not cross the river and go down Now, even if the Xuzhou army goes north, I am afraid that they will be annexed by them."

Zhang Xing heaved a sigh of relief, but immediately realized something was wrong.

Sure enough, Chief Wei smiled coldly: "So, can we still count on going to Hebei to avoid the edge? In my opinion, rather than counting on Hebei, it is better to be ready to let Niu Da and Putai from Chanyuan The ones who have withdrawn earlier are the best!"

Zhang Xing was silent for a moment, and answered seriously: "The original intention is to take advantage of the fact that Hebei and Henan do not belong to each other, and float the big river to seek a way of life."

Taoist Wei also felt that his behavior was too boring, so he restrained himself a little: "It is said that Yuncheng has been rescued?"

"Mr. Li is quite capable." Zhang Xing said his words sincerely. "The soldiers and horses he captured Zhang Xuguo were all recruited by the county themselves, and the safety of Qi County cannot be put aside. This is the second time that the backyard has been successfully ignited, and Zhang Xuguo has a strong army and sharp generals, but only Can be led by the nose."

"Of course Mr. Li is capable, but I'm afraid that his ability is too great." After all, Daoist Wei is a person who hides a pickle jar in his heart, so he couldn't hold back. "Twice to save the crisis on the front line, and to surrender without fighting, you are not afraid that his prestige is too great, and he has completely controlled the front line army and the leaders who are actually in charge of the army?"

As soon as these words came out, Guan Xu, who had been pretending to be dead without making a sound, finally raised his head, and exchanged a glance with Yan Qing who was sitting and listening.

"What am I afraid of?" Zhang Xing didn't take it seriously. "Not to mention seeing that the current situation is going to be difficult and everyone has to help each other, it is because he really controlled the Eastern Front by virtue of his prestige, as if I did not do anything on the Western Front, and I also controlled people's hearts... I don't believe it. What I have done in the past six months has no effect."

Taoist Wei and the other two in the backyard were all startled, each silent.

After a while, Wei Xuanding lowered his voice and continued to ask:
"So what's the matter with Xuzhou coming to the enemy?"

"I don't know." Zhang Xing said truthfully. "I can only say that I tried my best, but right now I can only wait for the news and adapt accordingly."

Daoist Wei nodded, but didn't pursue it, so he got up.

Zhang Xing also hurriedly got up to see them off, so surprised that Guan Xu and Yan Qing also got up separately.

"No matter how……"

Taoist Wei stood up, but stood still, and spoke slowly. "Zhang Sanlang, as you just said, you have also done things on the western front in the past six months. I don't know what others are doing. Of course I see it, and our views on the Hebei family are naturally opposite. ...So, even though I'm a little unhappy, and I can't be called being manipulated by you, I'm still willing to respect you three points... That's a certain point, and I must support you in whatever decision you make. "

Zhang Xing was startled for a rare moment, then nodded slowly.

Hearing this, Guan Xu seems to want to speak, but he probably knows that he is a descendant after all, and his status is much lower, so it is appropriate for Xu Niuda to take the lead... More importantly, expressing his position at this time is a bit of a follower So I just bowed silently and left.

After Taoist Wei left, Zhang Xing felt at ease.

After all, it's always a little heartening to have a mean-spirited but unquestionably resourceful person come to you to offer support during this most psychologically difficult time.

The visitors came one after another, and only one day later, Ma Ping'er and Wang Xiongdan appeared in front of Zhang Xing and told them the most important new information about Xuzhou.

The news is generally good, but it cannot be said to be all good, just as Zhou Xingfan's trip to Xuzhou-Jiangdu was generally successful, but he did not do his best. Become Han Yingong.

Known for his brutality and bravery, the latter officially dispatched more than [-] troops from Xuzhou in the name of the lieutenant general, plus the [-] vanguard.

This made Zhang Xing feel a little bit of a stone in his heart.

But it's not enough, because Sima Zheng is still in Xuzhou, which means that he will regain trust at any time, lead troops out at any time, and even directly exert his subjective initiative to change the overall situation; and Han Yingong is obviously not a good person. In the end, Xiao Zhou was also caught, but he was arrested by Lai Zhaner after he found his trace, but the arrest was an arrest after all, and it was not the same thing as him fleeing into Lai Zhaner's mansion .

The situation is getting more and more chaotic.

It can only be said that the worst situation has been avoided for the time being.

And just when Zhang Xing's mood couldn't tell whether it was more tormented or slightly relieved, because of the dispatch of Xuzhou's army and the formal gathering of troops in Jiyin, the outside world became more tense...Mengshangong and Wang The father-in-law couldn't help but visit one by one, reiterating the previous covenant.

At the same time, with the official shrinking of the army, there are more and more escapes, and the level of involvement is getting higher and higher.

"I really didn't expect it, but I wasn't really surprised..." In the Baimadu barracks in the north of Baima City, Xu Shiying looked at the person in front of him with a complicated expression. "Just a routine question, Chief Zhou and Juncheng Zhou, why did you escape?"

Zhou Weishi, the former prime minister of Dongjun County, shivered for a while in the tent before carefully responding: "Actually, I just feel that the Dragon Gang has never regarded me as their own, and who doesn't know the virtue of the court? Now, the only way to have a chance is to try to escape before the imperial army comes under pressure."

"Your silver lining lies with me!" Xu Shiying sighed. "At least it's with me right now."

Zhou Weishi was silent for a while, then bowed down and bowed, and said sincerely: "Leader Xu, please give me a chance! From today onwards, I, Zhou Weishi, will definitely do my best to repay you."

Xu Shiying nodded, stood up, and raised her hand after the military case: "Now, go back to the city immediately to do business, I just pretend that you are not the one caught today..."

Zhou Weishi let out a long breath, then immediately turned and walked out.

Unexpectedly, Xu Shiying followed closely behind.

This caused Zhou Weishi to be very nervous.

"I'm not following you." Xu Shiying calmly explained after coming out. "I was going to Jiyin, to find Zhang Longtou and entrust my life and wealth... Originally, I was going to wait for Niu Da to go to Zhang Longtou to pat his chest. After all, he is a confidant, so I can't go first , but Niu Da is not on the right track, so I can only do my part...Old Zhou, not everyone is used to surrendering without fighting like you, and I am not a hero, but if I want to run away, I have to Let me lose my heart and say it. What's more, if we are united, there may not be a good result, right?!"

Zhou Weishi could only nod his head, but his heart was like a mess.

Success or failure of life and death, who can tell clearly?
PS: Thanks to the new leader, Master fffstop, Master Yanyaoshan, Master Xiaoyu, Master Tiejia, Master Buxiangwan Spicy, Classmate Li Hua, Master Gao Lengniao, Master Fantuan Watermelon, Master Cabbage, Master Timothyj, Ping Master Zong Xiayin, Master Huo Huo, and Wang Lu's Shangmeng... Thank you for your money.

ashamed.

Then a new book "Starting Civil Fortress, the Great Ming God of War Is A Little Panic" was sacrificed as a routine... The road of the Ming Dynasty God of War Zhu Qizhen's counterattack!

(End of this chapter)