Delong

Chapter 251: He Ge Xing (5)

Amidst the sounds of cicadas, frogs and birdsong, the funeral at the foot of Mount Li was over.

From the second day onwards, the army of the Dragon Clan gathered here began to disperse to the rear... Of course, the strength of only two counties cannot permanently support an army of [-] to [-], especially when there are nearly [-] captives. Tens of thousands of civilian husbands can't stay for a long time, and they should go back after receiving the reward.

This seems to be another difficult process.

This is not to say that the Dragon Army lacks financial rewards and pensions. There is really no shortage of floating wealth. The crux of the problem is that in the process of troop separation, it is destined to have an impact on the existing troop establishment. It is directly related to the power balance of these big leaders and the leaders, so it is hard not to suspect that someone will take the opportunity to achieve a power integration.

But this process is so upright and natural that it is almost inevitable, so most people can't help but worry about gains and losses.

Things quickly unfolded in the scorching summer heat of early June.

First, the peasants who seemed to have done a part-time job went back with their wages and extra rewards, but some still performed new tasks, returning to various places with armor and military banners that needed to be repaired.

Then there is a comprehensive screening and selection of the surrendered troops and the Eastern Front troops. Some of the physical fitness is too shoddy, or the performance is extremely poor in the battle. There are only a thousand people.

In the end, about [-] surrendered soldiers and [-] newly recruited soldiers during the Eastern Front War were evenly distributed to each sub-helm according to the proportion, so that they could be transformed into local troops with counties as units.

This will greatly reduce the overall logistical pressure, but because the numbers seem a bit too large, it seems that it will still cause pressure on the place, but that's a story.

Of course, the local troops that had been hastily summoned were also promoted in large numbers according to their military merits, and they were scattered throughout the original so-called main army.

Then, there is the necessary follow-up treatment of disability and sacrifice. In addition to the necessary monetary compensation and exemption guarantees for money and food, they are mainly resettled at ferries, markets, and towns.

A similar policy should also apply to the families of the war dead.

In the end, it was to distribute the surrendered troops, and then dispatch some troops to station in batches in key cities such as Baima, Puyang, Jiyin, Jiyang, Waihuang, Chuqiu, Fengqiu, and Chengwu.

Besides, during the whole process, of course there were unavoidable slaps on the table and stares, because after all, the hearts and minds of the military leaders were involved, but what is interesting is that with the continuous signing of orders by Wei Xuanding, Zhang Xing and Li Shu, The whole process still seemed to go too smoothly... At least it was different from the fight between dragons and tigers that everyone expected. There was no direct conflict at the highest level where fierce conflicts should have erupted.

The matter was theoretically successfully completed within a very short few days.

As for the reason, it couldn't be simpler, that is, Zhang Dalongtou, whose authority has soared this time, has almost achieved perfect fairness in the process!

Really the perfect fairness.

All actions involving the formation of troops, whether it was separation or dispersal, or the replenishment of surrendered troops and meritorious local troops, he basically operated in accordance with the troop formation ratio achieved in the army reorganization in Jishui before the war.

So that when it came to the steps of transferring troops to station in various key cities and allocating troops after surrendering, Lihu here and Wang Shuyong's troops in the north had a total of 3 people, which was almost the same as the 3 people in Jishui after the army was reorganized. Some kind of one-to-one replica.

That is to say, the three typical mountains of Xu, Shan, and Wang are five thousand each, and the four small mountains of Zhang, Li, Xiong, and Zhai are three thousand each...

The only exception is Shang Huaizhi's department, but there is no way, everyone is dead, and Zhang Datou took the initiative to leave 1000 people for Shang Huaizhi's younger brother Shang Huai'en, and he took [-] people, but divided them in names. It was given to Zhou Xingfan and Zhang Jinshu, making people speechless.

In other words, Zhang Dalong only demolished half of the top of the mountain, and it was his own. He didn't even ask Xu Shiying and Niu Da about the number of troops they left privately, nor did they investigate Wang Shuyong and Niu Da's petty actions in Dongping County and Jibei County. , Really implemented the leader responsibility system.

In fact, during the whole process, what Zhang Dalongtou cared more seemed to be the gadgets that he kept innovating in the system... For example, he divided the local troops into three, and explained the city defense army to all the sub-rulers. The idea of ​​clarifying the responsibilities of the public security patrol army and yamen servants requires them to communicate flexibly internally and clarify their external responsibilities without interfering with each other.

For another example, he asked to combine the characteristics of the commercial development of Dongjun and Jiyin counties, give priority to ensuring the smooth north-south commercial roads along the Puyang-Jiyin-Yucheng line, and only collect taxes on entry and exit and in the market, and do not allow the county and other counties Then set up a card to generate income and so on.

For another example, Xiong Bonan, Zhang Jinshu, Liu Zhouchen and other leaders are required to improve the separation of local inspections and military law troops, and to explain to the leaders that they will not give treatment to the main soldiers before they surrender, but have to take on the task of auxiliary soldiers to save money.

He even ordered the cities along the Jishui River to pay attention to dredging the river and strengthening the embankments.

In short, this big leader seems to be interested in everything, but he just doesn't feel the most sensitive military establishment.

Facing this scene, people reacted completely differently. Some people were overjoyed, some were anxious, some felt powerless, and some became even more disturbed.

On the tenth day of June, as a large number of troops continued to garrison westward according to the principle of proportion, some people finally couldn't hold back.

In the big camp to the north of Lihu City, Zhang Xing did not work indoors, but chose to sort out some strange forms under the wooden shed outside, and do paperwork approval here... The outside is bright and the air is good, the most important point is that he Not afraid of the heat... As always, this is also the place where the most people gather.

The only thing is, some people come here for real business; some people should have been subordinates of Zhang Dalongtou, responsible for contacting and handling affairs; but more people seem to just try their best to make room for sitting here, treating this place as a A place close to power or a stage to express oneself.

However, this definitely does not include Xu Shiying and Xu Dalang, the second most important hero in the Battle of Lishan, and another protagonist whose prestige rose sharply after the Battle of Lishan.

Of course, if Xu Dalang can come, he can't just say no.

Since Xu Shiying came alone, she just went to the shed where Zhang Xing was located to say hello like other leaders who finished their work, and then took a bowl of iced sour plum soup, then turned around and went into a side table with the bowl in hand. In the wooden shed, it seemed that they were going to observe the situation before talking.

As a result, as soon as he came in, he almost shuddered and spilled the sour plum soup in his hand... It turned out that another big leader, Shan Tonghai, was actually sitting in this shed, and only one person was sitting in the corner, and the people around him were far away. It looks like a stranger should not enter.

It just so happened that Xu Dalang came at this time, and the people around saw this, and they even moved out of the way, but Xu Dalang came back to his senses, looked around, and could only bite the bullet and sit in the past.

"Is there no one to take care of Brother Shan's camp?" Xu Shiying asked casually after sitting down amidst the chirping of cicadas.

"A few days ago, the dispatching of soldiers and horses must be watched. Now that Liang Zi led the army to the Chengwu garrison, everything is settled, so why should I take care of it? Just let Xiahou watch the barracks." Shan Tonghai held it. An empty bowl to answer. "Besides, no matter how busy I am, you will be busy? Why are you here?"

Besides, the two of them were originally fellow villagers from Jiyin and competitors on the road. They couldn't be more familiar with each other, and there was naturally a tacit understanding. Therefore, as soon as they came in, Xu Shiying realized clearly in his heart that the other party and him had the same meaning. Hearing that the words matched, he simply gave half of the sour plum soup in the bowl to the other party, and then said slowly:

"I heard people say that Wang Wulang sent back a military report at noon today, saying that Cheng Dalang led the Putai army across the river, went straight to Qi County, and occupied Linji, Gaoyuan, and Zouping in one go...so I wanted to ask Is there such a thing?"

"Of course there are." Shan Tonghai picked up the bowl and drank it all in one go. "I've just asked... and not only this, it is said that Li Longtou sent people in Yuncheng that day to make the strategy actually effective. There is a rebel surnamed Zuo who is still occupying several counties in the southeast of Qi County."

"Then Fan Bao..."

"Fan Bao and Jia Runshi's father withdrew all the way to Qi County. They didn't dare to stop at all. They just guarded the south bank of Jishui in the county and a few cities to the west, not daring to move."

"So, is it true that the Qilu official army that shocked the Eastern Territory last year is really about to end?"

"It's over, but it's not really over yet." Shan Tonghai spoke sharply. "There is still one breath left. As the old saying goes, a sick tiger is not a dead tiger. At this time, as long as we rush over and eat Fan Bao and the last four thousand elites, the four of Qi County, Lu County, Jibei County, and Dongping County The whole county is ours; but if we wait like this and let people come back out of breath, it's hard to say what happened again."

Xu Shiying didn't say a word, just took a sip of soup from the bowl.

Seeing this, Shan Tonghai felt a little anxious for a while, and asked with an empty bowl, "What do you think of Shiying?"

how can i seeI'm all here, so naturally I'm watching with a bowl like you!

Xu Shiying was speechless in his heart, but his face was calm like a breeze: "Of course what Brother Shan said makes sense, but if you want to come to Brother Zhang, you will be careless..."

"Of course there are concerns, but I'm afraid it's not here." Shan Tonghai glanced at the shed on the side, and blurted out.

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding gang members who had been hiding quite far away but pricked up their ears instinctively moved out again.

Xu Shiying looked up at Zhang Xing's shed, and saw that the place was very lively, and there were constant sounds of cicadas and people in the barracks, so she simply sneered and asked in turn, "Then where do you care?"

"What do you think?" Shan Tonghai wanted to speak, but he couldn't say it in public.

"Are you... worried about the Western Front?" Xu Shiying said. "I didn't say it for the sake of the army, but now everyone knows that Qu Tuda has not moved in Jijun, and the reaction of Dongdu and Jiangdu after the war has not yet come out... Zhang Sange is reasonable to be conservative. "

"That's right." Shan Tonghai smiled slightly. "Of course it makes sense to say this, so we can't object... But why not send out [-] soldiers? As long as you join forces with me and Wang Wulang, you can easily wipe out the four eastern counties. It's time to gather the troops and armaments of the four counties, and then turn around, whether it's Dongdu or Xuzhou, who is afraid of them?"

Xu Shiying glanced at the other party, smiled and said nothing.

The meaning is obvious. If the troops are really divided, why should you go?Just because you were defeated overnight by Zhang Xuguo and lost Lu County directly?Or is it because you didn't catch up with a warm meal at the foot of Mount Li?

"I know..." Shan Tonghai let out a long breath upon seeing this. "I know what you mean. If it's really a division of troops, why should I go? My clan uncle offended Zhang Longtou for no reason, and I have never been close to Zhang Longtou, so it's not my turn."

As soon as these words were uttered, the people around with their ears pricked up couldn't listen anymore, and it happened that everyone had finished the iced sour plum soup at this time, so they got up one after another and hooked their shoulders together to serve the soup.

As soon as the person left, Xu Dalang also slightly released some invisible qi, and isolated himself from the surrounding area so that he could persuade him.

"But it's difficult for you." Unexpectedly, seeing the people around him leave, Shan Dalang changed the topic, but then turned the topic to the other party. "At the beginning of the gathering outside Jiyang City, Zhang Dalongtou and Wang Wulang did a good job, but you forced Mr. Li over there, making it difficult for the Dethrone Dragon Gang to survive. Just because of this, if I were Zhang Longtou, I would hate him. You are forever."

Xu Shiying froze slightly, and withdrew her true energy.

"Now Zhang Longtou suppresses Li Longtou for the time being, and in the end you stand up again. Whether you like it or not, everyone is actually pointing at you to fight against Zhang Longtou... If you want me to say, you treat him like Zhang Longtou. Third brother, they treat you as a confidant. So, don't expect to go by yourself! I guess, even if it is a division of troops, it is a matter for Wang Wulang and Niu Da, and that is his confidant." Shan Tonghai kept shaking his head.

Xu Dalang was very embarrassed, he listened for a while, and finally he had no choice but to persuade him: "Brother Shan, the matter is not as bad as you think. If Brother Zhang always cares about these things and doesn't have a big picture in mind, we will be the losers in Lishan." , not to mention the deployment of troops this time, who wouldn’t say that Brother Zhang is all right? It’s Brother Shan, have you ever thought that you can keep the biggest plate of soldiers and horses?”

Shan Tonghai also felt embarrassed when he heard this, but he turned his head and looked at the shed that was completely covered by people, his eyes drifted: "So I'm just complaining to you, it's not easy to talk to you face to face. But I just want to ask you one thing." Fact, he is so selfless, what exactly is he trying to do? Even if he really wants to cut off the violent Wei and stabilize the world, he should have a priority, right? Even if it is true that everyone is brothers, there are leaders, big leaders and leaders What's your point?"

This is a bit of a statement.

And Xu Dalang thought about it for a while, and said seriously: "I came here today because I was going to ask a formal question... I think that Brother Zhang is the most responsible for the survival of the Dragon Gang and the opening of the situation. Talk about a big boss, ask for more power, you should, don't be taboo... As long as it is not too much, no one will not open their eyes."

"Not bad." Shan Tonghai simply nodded. "My point is also simple, as long as he doesn't abolish the balance between the left and right wings, and forcibly swallows up the Dragon Gang as the leader, then it doesn't matter whether it is to divide up more troops now, or to gain more territory from the East Fourth County... It's just that I'm impatient, and I have some bad words to say, so even though I'm here, I can only drink soup here, and you have to talk about it."

Xu Dalang nodded again, then stood up directly, Shan Tonghai followed suit.

But soon, Xu Dalang explained again: "Brother Shan, don't be idle. You can talk to King Xiongtian and Chief Wei. After I have asked clearly, I will go to you. The four of us will talk together, and we must maintain the support." Unity, don't let the upper and lower go wrong."

Shan Tonghai glanced at the other party in a little surprise, before finally nodding his head heavily and leaving.

And here, since Xu Shiying met Shan Tonghai unexpectedly, he didn't bother to put on a show, so he came directly under the shed here, and saw Zhang Xing who was filling out the form.

Zhang Xing had seen the other party a long time ago, including the other party muttering under Shan Tonghai's shed, and then got up and separated together, but it was not surprising, he just pouted his mouth and asked the other party to sit down:

"Xu Dalang, wait a moment, I've finished writing the detailed military preparations for the four counties of Liang County... Although the Meng Clan Rebel Army is gone, the influence of Meng Yigui and the Meng Clan on Chuqiu and Yucheng is still there, and they should be properly introduced. In the gang organization, there are bandits in Mangdang Mountain, and there are indeed good and bad, so you need to know the bottom line, pay special attention, and make an early agreement on the number of soldiers and horses, so as not to raise soldiers indiscriminately."

Xu Shiying sounded reasonable, nodded quickly, and even instinctively took out his books in his arms, but only after touching his hands in did he realize that he was not here to attend class, but to represent the big bosses to do the most naked interest with Zhang Dalongtou It was an exchange, and it was embarrassing to stop.

It took about a quarter of an hour before Zhang Xingcai filled out the form carefully, and then called a messenger to explain: "Give it to Wang Zhen, let Wang Zhen show it to Cook Fan, and then tell him that there is no rush to execute it, it is best to tell Wang Zhen Boss Zhuo, hurry up and come here... I have something to say here."

The messenger didn't mention how to respond, but Xu Shiying's heart moved slightly when he heard it, and he became more determined for a while.

After a while, the messenger left, Xu Dalang hesitated for a while, and then came to speak: "Third brother, I have something to ask, how about we talk privately after we go to the account?"

Zhang Xing laughed out loud.

Xu Shiying was slightly taken aback, slightly stunned.

"It's nothing." Zhang Xing picked up a form again, and then pressed it still, looking up in awe. "Are you asking about business or private?"

Xu Shiying still didn't react, but she instinctively became cautious: "What about business matters, what about private matters?"

"If it's business, there's nothing to shy away from so many brothers here." Zhang Xing continued to speak with a straight face. "As for private matters... I am the leader of the gang. This time the temporary commander-in-chief of the army, you are the leader. This time the deputy commander-in-chief of the army is now in the barracks. Dare I ask, what right do I have to talk about private matters?"

The elites in the surrounding gangs were shocked, and everyone nodded in praise.

And Xu Shiying was stunned for a long time, and his momentum lost more than a third, so he decided to speak out in public: "Third brother... I actually came to ask, since the front line has confirmed that Qilu is empty, shouldn't we march at a high speed?"

"This is serious business." This question was asked openly, and Zhang Xing replied very quickly. "If you ask me, there is some reason to march, and I want to march as soon as possible, but as the leader of the gang, I am temporarily in charge of the army, but I always have some overall concerns and thoughts."

"Please teach me, third brother." Xu Dalang followed immediately. "Are you worried about retaliation from the Eastern Capital on the Western Front or Qu Tuda in Jijun?"

"No." Zhang Xing blurted out, but it was a bit unexpected. "The water in the eastern capital is too deep. The previous generation regarded Guanlong as the foundation, and only thought about who can become the mainstream of Guanlong, reintegrate the military of Guanlong, and naturally annex the world... It's not that they don't value us, but they value each other more. If you are entangled, you will not realize it until the world is turbulent... If you want me to say, Han Yingong will definitely not be used by Cao Lin, Cao Lin will only be stretched day by day, and others will be afraid of Cao Lin's tyranny, but they don't know who will do it The sacrifice for this person's departure."

Xu Shiying was obviously a little dazed, and the surrounding gang members were even more confused, but they all nodded without delay, as if they understood very well.

Seeing this, Zhang Xing finally put down the pen and paper, and clasped his hands behind the case and smiled: "You just think so. If Dongdu can exert its own power, why does it need Zhang Xuguo? Why do you need to win over Han Yingong? But now Zhang Xing Xu Guo is dead, Han Yingong is also disabled, how did he get new strength out of thin air? Take ten thousand steps back and say, we have already given him face with so many garrisons on the western front."

Xu Shiying nodded, and continued to ask: "Isn't the third brother worried about the direction of Xuzhou? That saint sent troops to come again? Or that Sima Erlong sent soldiers directly to Lu County or something..."

Zhang Xing, who folded his arms, laughed even louder: "Xu Dalang, what's the matter with you today? How can you be so confused? With that saint's selfishness, how dare he send troops out of his control area? Han Yingong Is the lesson not enough? What kind of country’s imperial court, that single husband doesn’t care, he only saw his soldiers and horses leave Xuzhou, and was dragged away by Dongdu!”

Xu Shiying suddenly realized... That's right, Dongdu is a mass of muddy water, so it's hard to guess, but the saint in Jiangdu is a typical bastard, but it's easy to figure out.

After this incident, the emperor probably would not allow the troops to leave the Xuzhou camp for half a step.Even the meaning of Xuzhou Daying will be reduced to the need to protect the Huaihe River.

After thinking up to this point, Xu Shiying finally gave up on this aspect of thinking, and turned to ask seriously: "Then what is the third brother worried about?"

"One, it is worried about over-expansion." Zhang Xing also suppressed his smile, and raised his voice, as if he was talking to Xu Shiying, and it seemed that he was talking to the backbone of the gang and the middle and low-level officers who gathered around him more and more. speak. "To be specific, there are insufficient manpower in the gang to effectively rule the area, and among the four east counties, three counties' treasuries have been destroyed, which is relatively empty and not enough to support logistics."

When Xu Shiying heard this, she was startled suddenly, and immediately nodded emphatically, obviously agreeing.On the other hand, the others were visibly agitated, they seemed to agree, and they seemed to be a little impatient... Who doesn't want a rising tide to lift all boats?
"Secondly, since the Qilu officers and soldiers are attacking the four eastern counties, it doesn't matter. How can we face other rebels?" Zhang Xing didn't care about the reaction of others, but continued to speak. "Especially the three rebel armies in Langya and Dengzhou. They are all well-known large-scale rebel armies. Even if they are defeated again and again, there will always be 6, [-], [-], [-] people... Our Dragon Sect must be the world's rebel army The leader, but if these three rebels are disobedient, are they prepared to show both kindness and power? So, how to deal with Dengzhou and Langya? Even further, they are already on the edge of Qi County, and now they hear that we have defeated Zhang Xuguo, It doesn't matter if we come here sooner or later, we don't delay people to drive over directly. At that time, they will directly rob Qi County, what should we do? Do we want to go to war directly? What name should we use? Are you ready?"

Xu Shiying's face became more difficult, and many people around him also became awe-inspiring... The matter was hasty, he really didn't think so far.

"Third." Zhang Xing kept talking. "I guess you've thought about it too... Take the four East counties, or add Langya and Dengzhou. By then, there will be seven or eight counties, one or two hundred counties, how to rule them? It's Xuebeidi In that way, the Xu family will be divided into seven or eight counties, the Shan family will be divided into seven or eight counties, and then the three hui and the four royals will each honor several counties as gods, and then set up a few magic guards to garrison them? Finally, how many big cities will be shared by the gang? ? Or is it going to belong to the public property of the gang in a grand manner, and it should be governed normally by counties?"

Xu Dalang panicked.

However, Zhang Xing had already made his words known to the public before the others reacted, but he stood up directly and spoke out loudly, as if he was preaching to everyone, and he seemed to continue to talk to Xu Shiying:
"Everyone joins the Dragon Gang for the purpose of eradicating the violent Wei and stabilizing the world. They all come here for righteousness. Are they going to sacrifice their lives for someone's family? If so, thousands of people buried under Mount Li I'm afraid there will be resentment... If you don't say this clearly, especially if you big leaders don't stand up and explain to the gang, I'm afraid no one will fight! Why do you still ask me why I don't move? Why? Do you want to move? To work for the self-interest of your big bosses? Why?"

Xu Shiying's heart was awe-inspiring, knowing that he could not evade, nor could he procrastinate, so when he stood up, he said loudly, "Of course everyone is for the public..."

"Isn't that enough?" Zhang Xing interrupted the other party with a smile. "Say it openly, isn't it all right? If you don't say it, everyone will think that you big leaders are going to have a county for each person, and you will be divided!"

Xu Shiying was sweating profusely, and immediately shook his head: "There is absolutely no such thing."

"It's not up to you to talk about this matter." Zhang Xingfu waved his hands under the shed again and sighed. "Xu Dalang, the leader of our gang has a very high status. He mounts his horse to manage the army, and dismounts to manage the people... But there is no way, because the soldiers and horses at the beginning were drawn by the chief himself, and no one else can get in... But if it is like this , even if these counties are not under the control of you big bosses in name, in fact, the military, government and financial power are all controlled by you big bosses, what is the difference from enfeoffment?"

Xu Shiying finally stood still, suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, and tried his best to answer: "If this is the case, I can give an answer first, assigning all the power of sub-helm to the two leaders and chiefs in the gang to prove my innocence. "

"No, not enough." Zhang Xing blurted out.

Xu Shiying only felt his body shaking a little: "Where does Dalongtou think is lacking?"

"Soldiers and horses come first in troubled times...without soldiers and horses, it's just a matter of saying whether the big boss will help the grandfather dispose of the rudder." Zhang Xing only paced behind the case with his hands behind his back, still calm.

"Then why..." Xu Shiying only felt a mouthful of old blood in her heart, and she was extremely wronged for a moment. "Why didn't the leader make arrangements when preparing the troops before? Instead, he just said it today?"

"What are you thinking?" Zhang Xing stopped in his tracks with surprise on his face. "If we had been entangled in the establishment of the army from the very beginning, I'm afraid it would be difficult to appease people's hearts without a month... How can we quickly take the East Six Counties?"

Xu Shiying was completely stunned.

Zhang Xing looked at the other party, grinning and showing his teeth, "Actually, let me tell you, as long as all the practitioners in the general belong to Wei Gong, Li Gong and I, then everything will be safe and we will march eastward in a big way. "

Xu Shiying's face suddenly changed, but the surroundings were buzzing, and it was hard to stop.

After a while, the movement spread towards the entire barracks, and even to Lihu City behind him... Everyone knows what Zhang Dalongtou's conditions are.

Amidst the bang, Zhang Xing stood with his hands behind his back, turned his face to look at the other party, and said softly, "How, Xiao Xu disagrees?"

Xu Shiying listened to the movement around her, and knew that almost all the middle-level backbones in the gang and the army agreed with this plan, and then looked at the man in front of him who taught him another lesson, as smart as he immediately made a choice and judgment, but Under the watchful eyes of many gang members and military officers, he put on a smiling face quickly and decisively, and his tone became high and earnest:

"Third brother is joking. I, Xu Shiying, want to pursue righteousness with all my heart, and I have always been selfless. If we can make the Dethrone Dragon Gang prosperous, Shiying will naturally support it with all our strength."

Zhang Xing nodded, very relieved, his eyes were like a good teacher seeing a good student who is motivated.

"Children can be taught!" Zhang Sanlang felt sincerely in his heart.

PS: Good night everyone.

　Datang: One garrison of the Anxi frontier army,

　　
　
(End of this chapter)