Delong

Chapter 260: He Ge Xing (14)

The night visit between Xie Minghe and Xiong Bonan was just an interlude, it is of course a good thing to talk to each other, but even if there is no talk, it can't delay the continuation of the matter.

After waiting for a few more days, all matters behind him have been dealt with urgently. Wang Shuyong from the northern line also opened up the road with Cheng Zhili, and sent out the secrets to Dengzhou. Lu Yijun's opinion on how to deal with it, but De Longjun has no reason to delay here.

At the end of June, when Zhang Xingjin arrived at Father Liang, he did not go to visit the middle-aged couple, but let Wang Xiongdan, who was away on business, go to Linjiawa when he returned. People have their own way of doing things and judgment ability.

But at the beginning of July, as troops from all walks of life gradually reassembled on the front line, Zhang Xing officially issued an order requiring the counties of Dongjun and Jiyin to divide the city defense troops, yamen servants, and patrol soldiers into two, and send them to Dongping County, Jiyin County, etc. Lu County and Jibei County were transferred in parallel to maintain local law and order and ensure the smooth progress of the autumn harvest that is about to start on a large scale.

The replaced field troops moved eastward in order to supplement the front line.

At the same time, Zhang Xing publicly appointed the county magistrates and deputy rudder chiefs of the counties. More than half of them were still promoted and rewarded within the Dragon Gang, but there were also many local heroes who were demoted. , downgraded officials, and even three of them directly took up the post of local rudder chief and county magistrate.

This is not over yet, and then there were two more appointments. They took the leader Bing Yuanzheng to be the postmaster of the counties currently acquired by Lu County; …The two supervise the counties under their respective jurisdictions, and report to Chai Xiaohe, who is stationed in Dongping County in charge of local civil affairs and logistics, Wei Xuanding, who is in charge of all autumn harvest matters, and all other special leaders behind the front lines.

These two appointments are destined to cause waves inside and outside the Dragon Clan, because although they are only temporarily staying behind, everyone knows that the three civil officials, Chai Xiaohe, Bing Yuanzheng, and Du Caigan, have actually become Dongping County. The person in charge of civil affairs in Jibei County and Lu County.

No matter how centralized the Dragon Gang is, no matter how special bosses are set up, no matter how powerful the big bosses control the most deadly army, they will not be able to change this fact. Everyone will treat these three people as bureaucrats at the state and county level.

And what does this mean?

It means that the Dragon Gang has indeed become bigger, and the territory is also bigger; it means that Zhang Dalong is further drawing his salary from the bottom of the pot, engaging in civil and military division, to restrain those leaders and leaders who lead the army; it means that with the expansion of the Dragon Gang, a new At the same time, considering that both Chai and Du are the so-called "confidantes" of Li Shu, another leader, it seems that this appointment also means someone's selflessness.

It is conceivable that Li Shu should immediately propose Dongjun and Jiyin as candidates for "staying behind", but he doesn't know which two it will be.

But it was too late to think and react, because right after these personnel appointments, Zhang Xing immediately ordered the whole army to continue eastward, to take Qi County, and all the remaining towns in Lu County and Jibei County, and to capture Langya County by camera. Order.

The three leaders, Cheng Zhili, Wang Shuyong, and Shan Tonghai, sent troops together to besiege the most important and richest Qi County on three sides along the banks of Jishui River; while Xu Shiying led Niu Da's troops from Lu County to the south to meet Wang Zhen. Marched into the southern counties of Lu County in a large scale, and took advantage of the trend to advance into Langya County.

Both the northern and southern armies must follow Xiong Bonan's report and identification, screen the relevant rebels and implement strict measures, and must strictly enforce military discipline, protect the fields and crops, and ensure that there is no crime in the literal sense.

Then the two armies should be directly responsible and ask for instructions from Zhang Xing, the leader of the center and eastward.

After the military order was issued, Zhang Dalong did not hesitate to set off directly from Father Liang, leading Jia Yue, Zhou Xingfan, Wang Xiongdan, Yan Qing, and about [-] soldiers along the border between Qi and Lu, along the southern foot of Mount Tai, across Bo City, coming to Ying County at the intersection of Langya County, Dengzhou County, Qi County, and Lu County.

Before setting off, Zhang Xing had imagined that he might encounter many things similar to those middle-aged men and women along the way, but after he actually embarked on the journey and started the second stage of the Eastern Expedition, he realized that he still took it for granted.

Let’s say that from the beginning of the Three Marches, Dengzhou and Langya were the core outbreak points of the disaster of the Three Marches, and in the chaos that lasted for more than a year, Langya County and Dengzhou were the first to fall into a state of complete anarchy, among which Langyaqiong, Dengzhou is rich, so Dengzhou has entrenched three large-scale rebel armies, namely Zhishi Army led by Zhishilang Wanghou, Gao Shitong's Bohai Navy, Sun Xuanzhi's Pingyuan Army, and Langya County has become a kingdom of small independent rebels.

And this influence soon spread to the eastern part of Qi County and Lu County.

Even because these places were the main dividing line between Zhang Xuguo's troops and the rebel army, they were met with no-pressure looting and large-scale indiscriminate looting.

Zhang Xing passed through many villages along the way, and he hardly saw any livestock... no matter if it was cattle, sheep, horses, chickens, ducks or dogs... it was only at this time that he believed that Zhang Xuguo defeated Zhishilang Wanghou in the previous battle report. It is true that tens of thousands of livestock were captured.

And this perfectly echoed Xiong Tianwang's previous report. Zhang Xing didn't realize until then what the so-called looting was all about... This kind of looting is almost equivalent to some kind of natural disaster. A kind of plunder is also a kind of huge damage to production itself, and in the end it directly leads to abandonment, refugees and escape.

That's right, Zhang Xing did not see the fugitives like that pair of men and women. He only saw many vacant houses, dilapidated village communities, and crop straw with signs of being eaten by the roadside along the way... and time obviously passed After a long time, it is really unclear whether it was the use of the fugitives or the destruction of the army's exchanges.

In other words, long before Zhang Dalong worried that he would see the fleeing people, the local people had already fled.

"Have you finished counting?" At noon, when he was about to reach the county seat of Ying County, Zhang Xing suddenly reined in his horse and stopped by the side of the road, ignoring the fact that the local rebels had already left the city ahead to surrender.

"The count is over." Yan Qing, who arrived from the rear, was sweating profusely and hurriedly reported. "The number of people fleeing to Dingkou in each village along the way is different..."

"Approximately what percentage, what is the total number?" Zhang Xing interrupted the other party, impatiently asking.

"Twenty percent... just counting the villages along the Wenshui River, it has already reached more than [-] households. It is hard to say the exact number." Yan Qing swallowed as soon as he finished speaking, because he was vaguely aware of Zhang Dalong's head, whose expression did not change. In fact, he was already angry, so he hurriedly explained again. "This is on the official road. Whether it is robbed or harassed, it is the place that is most affected. There may not be so many other places..."

"Enough." Zhang Xing simply interrupted the opponent. "Is it true that the rebel army in Ying County did it?"

"At least they were the ones who did it the last few times, and they were the ones who confiscated the animals." Yan Qing answered carefully and added by the way. "Confiscating livestock is actually a habit of Zhishijun Wanghou...Because livestock are easy to transport, they are meaty, and they are the best military rations...Affected by him, these rebels in Langyalu County have the problem of confiscating livestock."

"Looting is looting, what expropriation?" Zhang Xing finally showed his impatience on his face. "I said four military orders, you deal with them and send them out quickly."

"Yes." Yan Qing changed his words immediately.

"The first military order is to inform the Xiongtian King in Surabaya that I want to increase the punishment for looting the rebels...you must kill people! In addition to the specific leaders who have to be dealt with, the soldiers must also be slaughtered, one in thirty or one in fifty. It's okay to draw one, and it's okay to directly investigate the backbone, in short, there will be blood... I decided to draw one out of every fifty here in Ying County, and additionally deal with the backbone, and the leaders are not going to stay." Changed, but said something that sent chills down the spine.

As soon as these words came out, Yan Qing obviously hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he nodded quickly, and Wang Xiongyan beside him also had some reactions.

"The second military order is here in Ying County, to let Jia Yue get ready in front and prepare to kill people."

"Yes."

"The third military order was issued by Qi County, telling the three big leaders and Jia Runshi on the front line that if Jia Wugen, Fan Bao, and other leaders of the Qilu Army and the county magistrates led by Qi County are ready to surrender, they can do so in an appropriate manner. Relax the conditions and follow the example of Li Shan's relegation and appointment after the war, but the leader must be the first to leave the city in white to ask for surrender, as a sign of sincerity."

Yan Qing obviously still wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded, indicating to write it down.

"One last thing." Zhang Xing thought for a while, then suddenly lowered his voice. "Tell Xu Shiying... Let him look at the situation in Langya County and make his own decision. There is no need to take all of them. Just seal the north first...Our strength is limited, we must first suppress the forces in Dengzhou."

This time Yan Qing didn't have any unnecessary reaction, instead he immediately came to his senses, nodded again and again, then turned around and passed the order.

But as soon as he left, Zhang Xing stopped for a moment, and suddenly turned his head to look at Wang Xiongdan who was beside him who was about to speak a few times: "Xiao Wang, I want to ask you something, you are half a local, you said, these people who fled from the desert Yes, where will you escape to?"

Wang Xiongdan thought for a while, and immediately gave the answer: "Dongyi."

Zhang Xing was slightly taken aback.

"It's Dongyi." Wang Xiongdan replied seriously. "If you go south, you will be blocked by the Huaihe River, and then you will turn to the east. If you go north, you will be blocked by the big river, and you will also turn to the east. In the end, you will probably turn to Dongyi... not only now, but also in the east of Jianghuai. In the eastern half, there is a saying about going to Longtan, that is, when there is a famine and war, they will go to Dongyi... But there are also sayings that they will flee from Dongyi to the north."

Zhang Xing nodded, thoughtfully: "Dongyi..."

"Although Dongyi can't be said to be vast in land and sparsely populated, it is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and there are very few large-scale civil strife." Xie Minghe, who hadn't left since that day, suddenly interjected. "It's good to live, but it's just to live."

"How to say?" Zhang Xing immediately asked.

"Everyone in Dongyi believes in the Qing Emperor, and a small part believes in the Red Emperor Empress. Among them, the Qing Emperor has the greatest influence." Xie Minghe answered seriously. "And Emperor Qing didn't like to watch the civil strife among the people below because of the conflict among the hundreds of clans back then, so in the Dongyi court hall, everything was suppressed, one layer after another... As for it is just to survive, don't forget Now, the Dongyi people are still affected by the demon clan back then, and those who were classified according to their grades, and those who escaped, are only the most lowly category, barely making ends meet, no different from official slaves."

"A place really has a local custom." Zhang Xing didn't comment on the good or bad of the matter, but took advantage of the situation to express emotion. "Before, I had an agreement with someone to go to Dongyi for a while, and I also told Sisi to fulfill the agreement together, but now I don't know if I can make it in this life."

Seeing Zhang Xing feeling so emotional, Xie Minghe was puzzled: "Since you are from the Northland, why are you so emotional about such customs? As soon as the three hui rise, the four imperials will fall, but on the other hand, the direct influence of the four imperials in the center of the world If there is less, the influence of Dongyi, Yaodao, and Beidi will be great. That is to say, Baidi has always been more particular, and rarely tosses in the middle of Shu... You should know that you are from the Northland. What kind of inside story is it?"

Zhang Xing was thoughtful, and then looked at Jia Yue who was riding forward on the horse, who was already more than a hundred steps away.

And behind him, the county seat of Ying County was already in sight.

"Be careful." Seeing this, Xie Minghe immediately stopped his extra thoughts, and Nian Xu sneered on the spot. "Not everyone who comes from a reckless background can be as open-minded as King Xiong... Even King Youxiong, who has a great reputation in Hebei and the East, lives in the middle of the world. You call yourself the leader of the Rebel Army, but you don't like the Rebel Army. As strict as you are, but let the officers and soldiers lightly... Temporarily adjust the focus of the attack on the officers and rebels. Dare to advise."

"Whatever." Zhang Xing withdrew his gaze and responded indifferently. "But do business, don't ask other questions... Believe it or not, I am saving this gang of rebels."

"Of course I believe it." Xie Minghe sneered.

"What about you?" Zhang Xing suddenly turned his head to look at Wang Xiongdan who was caught off guard.

Wang Xiongdan was stunned for a moment, and slowly responded: "I originally wanted to persuade you, but if this is what Longtou and Xiongtian Wang have decided to do, then there is nothing to say... After all, Longtou has done really well on the western front. , has this qualification to deal with it; and King Xiong Tian is the one who values ​​loyalty the most. It's just... just follow the standards of the leader, is there any right for the world's righteous army?"

Zhang Xing nodded, noncommittal, but got on the yellow puma and continued to move forward.

Xie Minghe, on the other hand, obviously felt a little out of the way, and before turning around and getting on his horse, he teased Wang Xiongdan: "After killing this wave, we will clean up Dengzhou, and then other rebels from all over the world will do things properly, so it must be done properly. "

Wang Xiongdan was half stunned and half worried, so he could only follow in a hurry.

On the fifth day of July, in the afternoon, the leader of the left-wing leader of the Dragon Clan arrived in Ying County. The first thing he did was to punish the local surrendering rebels on the grounds that they separatist the territory but plundered it instead. Draw one out of fifty, more than forty beheaded.

The rest are equally appointed.

This place is located at the intersection of the four counties, and spies from all parties have been waiting for a long time, so the news spread almost immediately, and soon had a huge impact on the surrounding rebels... The timid hastily abandoned the land and fled to Dengzhou. The power of the three major rebel armies in Dengzhou further expanded, and those who were bold or reckless simply defended the city and openly confronted the dethroning army.

For a time, the second stage of the Dragon's Army's march quickly turned into a stage of military confrontation, and there were small but obviously fierce battles everywhere.At the same time, on the contrary, in Qi County, the former army of Qilu, who was in constant panic, received Zhang Longtou's goodwill from Jia Runshi, the confrontation was greatly reduced, and a large number of surrenders appeared.

Among them, the two most important ones, that is, Jia Wugen, the prime minister who occupied Qi County, and Fan Bao, who controlled the last powerful elite unit of the Qilu army, were all shaken.

Especially Jia Wugen, because of the role of parent and child, and because Licheng was the target of public criticism, he faced Shan Tonghai and Wang Shuyong's front, and was the first to give a definite answer—he agreed to surrender alone in white, but he wanted to go directly to see Zhang Xing and get the answer. promise.

However, Fan Bao led his troops back to Zhangqiu, with Jishui in the north, a Zuo Clan rebel army in the south, Licheng in the west, and with heavy troops in hand, it is not so urgent... Especially there are rumors that his sister Fan Lihua is outstanding in martial arts, but she hates the death of her elder brother Fan Hu, and has conflicts with her second brother who intends to surrender.

It cannot be said that there will be twists and turns in this matter.

However, in such a complicated situation between the enemy and ourselves, the Zuo Clan's rebel army occupying Zichuan and Tingshan on the north side of Ying County, entrenched in the south of Qi County, suddenly took the initiative to unconditionally ask for the surrender of the Dragon Army, and the leader rushed to include Before all forces, including Jia Wugen and his son, arrived in Ying County first.

You must know that Zuo's rebel army occupies an indispensable part of Qi County's territory, and it is the southern gate of Fan Bao and Qi County's soldiers. The position was chaotic, and there were quite a few rumors, so the sudden surrender of this army, and such a quick surrender, really had a huge impact.

Correspondingly, in order to be open and honest, or maybe to save the reputation of treating the rebels harshly, Zhang Xing, who was obviously a little surprised, decided to go out of the city ten miles to meet him in person almost hastily.

On the seventh day of the seventh month, hundreds of people from both sides met each other on the official road in the mountains north of the city.

Then, to everyone's surprise, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the leader of Zuo's rebel army not only got off his horse first, but actually dropped his knees to the ground on the road, kowtowed in front of the yellow puma with Zhang Dalong's head, and greeted him with a kind of humble etiquette that surpassed everyone. Zhang Xing saluted.

Almost everyone on both sides was dumbfounded.

But after a while, the man raised his head, revealing a face full of scars, but he finally spoke: "Master Zuo paid respects to Zhang Longtou, the kindness of the leader, Zuo will never forget in this life, therefore, the world is in chaos, and the decision At the beginning of the incident, there was the meaning of responding to the leader."

Rao Zhang Xing has evolved to the point where he started to study the theoretical work of rebellion, so he couldn't help being startled at this moment, and it took a while before he immediately looked up to the sky and sighed:
"Third Master Zuo, people are right and wrong, don't come here without any harm."

The rest of the people were still sluggish, but Wang Xiongdan thought about it, and suddenly became dumbfounded.

PS: Good night everyone.

(End of this chapter)