Delong

Chapter 344 River Walk (1)

"The red sun is scorching like fire, and the wild rice is half-scorched.

The farmer's heart is boiling like soup, and the son and grandson shake the fan. "

In the scorching summer, Zhang Xing was sitting under the shade of a tree beside the port on one side of the levee, his body exuding a clear icy energy, holding a bowl of ice water, and recited such a poem without convincing.

The dozen or so big bosses and bosses sitting next to them didn't know whether they were suffocated by the cold ice or the ice water gritted their teeth. Anyway, many of them trembled secretly.

In the end, it was still Xie Minghe who couldn't bear to listen, and indeed he was the only one who dared to say:
"Master Zhang, you went to inspect the field five days ago and felt that it hadn't rained for many days. You just read these words with a hoe while digging ditches in the field to divert water. Who would not agree with you? Old farmer, I asked about the drought situation at this time, and they all said that it was not a major disaster, but we should clean up the abandoned ditches due to the war in time to prepare for the drought. Compassionate labor... Now that things have been settled, everything that can be done has been done, and it may not stop raining, we have to cross the river to do other things, how can we say this?"

Zhang Xing nodded: "What Chief Xie said is true, then I will change a poem."

The people around breathed a sigh of relief.

"At noon on the day of hoeing, the sweat drips down to the soil.

Who knows dishes on the menu, A Journey? "

Zhang Xing blurted out to recite. "How? It's catchy, short and powerful, and it may be handed down from generation to generation?"

Xie Minghe opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything, he just lowered his head and drank a few sips of ice water.

On the contrary, Dou Lide, who was about to go to the east for the first time, reluctantly said: "It's always good for the leader to care about farming."

The rest of the people waited, no one said anything, they just went to bring ice water to drink together, because they knew whether they were warm or not.

Fortunately, I didn't wait too long. After a while, more than a dozen large and small ships appeared from the opposite bank with gongs and drums. Dressed in red and green satin.

Looking at this scene from a distance, Zhang Xing couldn't help being stunned for a moment, because the last time he saw this posture was when he was in the Huai You League election on Huai Shang, the other Hebei leaders also laughed a lot.

"Who do you think it is?" Zhang Xing stood up, a little anxious and helpless to ask.

"It will never be Xu Dalang's instruction." Chen Bin blurted out.

This is natural.

"It's unlikely to be Chief Chai or Bing Liu." Wei Xuanding also twitched his beard and laughed. "It is estimated that Lu Dayue and Lu Xiaoyue brothers made their own decisions... They were born in the water, simple in mind, and now they are rich."

"Shuijun... is it rich?" Zhang Xing finally grasped a point. "As far as the Lu brothers are concerned, where do you get so many colorful silks?"

"It's definitely not setting up a card on the river or robbing the merchants, they dare not." Xiong Bonan immediately realized the point of Zhang Xing's words, and immediately explained. "I guess it's the smuggling business in the east...Wine, grain, high-grade silk and satin, these things come from Kinki, and they want to be distributed downstream. Jishui is naturally the main channel, but there is no reason why Dahe should not go, especially in the four provinces of Hebei. After the county is stabilized, the business in Hebei will go from here."

"There should be a business connecting the rivers from the north to the south. Now Hebei is short of everything, but the big families still don't lack money. Fruits, livestock, grain, lacquerware, ironware, and even jewelry from the south, everything is needed." Dou Lide interjected road.

"So the river transportation is all the business of the Lu brothers?" Zhang Xing was stunned, and asked again.

"That's not enough...with Jinbei as the separation, the upper reaches are the Lu brothers, the lower reaches should be Cheng Dalang and the original Putai army, and Fan Bao, Zuo Caixiang and several Qi county leaders..." Wei Xuanding blurted out And yes.

"Both Cheng Mingqi and Fang Yanshi?" Zhang Xing was extremely surprised. "Fan Bao's family is eating Zhangqiu's iron pot business, and the transportation of Jishui's downstream is not enough?"

Wei Xuanding was silent for a while, and continued: "But as far as I know, it is true."

The rest of the people did not say a word, and the accompanying Wang Shuyong, Zhai Qian and others even went to see the sky and the earth.

"I know about this." At this moment, an unexpected person suddenly spoke, but it was still Dou Lide. "The two brothers of the Lu family are actually not strong enough, and their defense area is generally from Puyang to Sikouguan, and it is not easy to distribute downwards. Then Cheng Datou has always been meticulous, seeing that no one is doing downstream transportation business, So I took the initiative to find Chief Fan who has experience in shipping, the leaders of Putai who are in charge of downstream military affairs, and the leader on the left to take over the business together."

At this point, Dou Lide explained a little bit: "The reason why I know is because Fan Wang was ordered to guard Chiping last month... Cheng Dalang went to find him to join the gang. He was a little uncertain, so he asked someone to ask me. .”

The others looked at the head sheep from Hebei, each of them felt weird and didn't know what to say.

"Good eyesight." Zhang Xing sighed. "It's also a good way... When you see a blank market, you don't just grab it directly, but gather people with technology and capital and all stakeholders to eat together. Others don't want to get involved, so they don't want to offend others. We can only come together... As expected of Cheng Dalang, if I were me, I would do the same thing, in fact, that's how the Huaiyou League got together back then."

The people around couldn't hear the right way, and they didn't know whether to praise it or dislike it, and some words were completely confused, and they didn't dare to make a sound.

"Cross the river first, let's talk about it after crossing the river." Seeing that the red and colorful boats had already reached the center of the river, Zhang Xing abandoned this topic and led the Huang Puma forward.

Feeling relieved, the people around followed up one after another, but couldn't help but lag behind a few steps, and only King Xiongtian and Chief Wei followed closely behind.

However, when he came to the ferry and saw the boat getting closer and closer, Chen Bin didn't hold back. Regardless of the many people behind him, and Wei and Xiong beside him, he went directly to persuade him in a low voice: "Leader, It is still necessary to give the leaders a way to benefit, and you can’t control it too strictly, the world is like this, if you are too strict, they will think that you are unreasonable, not that you are strict in law.”

"I know." Zhang Xing nodded immediately. "I have a plan in my heart... cross the river and say."

Chen Bin nodded, and then stopped talking, Wei Xiong, the two of them, and the few high-level leaders behind him just couldn't hear.

After a while, the boats lined up to approach the port, and everyone boarded the boats one after another, but Zhang Xing, who said he had a good idea in his heart, scolded: "Lu Da...we have dozens of people crossing the river, why are you looking for dozens of boats? I’m still wearing red and green, so those who know it will know that I’m on a routine tour of the Eastern Territory, and those who don’t know it will think that I’m here to take a concubine to pick up my relatives! If it’s passed on to Dengzhou, is there still my life?”

Then he laughed.

The people around also laughed apologetically, Lu Dayue was embarrassed for a moment, and could only rub his hands: "Be careful next time... I really don't know that the leader doesn't like ostentation."

That's it for the matter.

It's just a mere crossing, the big ship starts, but many times, it turns back to the other side.

Accompanied by many leaders including the Lu brothers, Zhang Xing boarded the Sikouguan Ferry on the opposite bank. , Zheng Detao, the empress of Qi County, Zhang Jinshu, the internal security officer of Nan'an, and other leaders led many people here to welcome them.

As soon as he landed, there were still about ten steps to go, when Zhang Dalong suddenly turned his head and pointed to the river surface, he suddenly woke up: "You said... We have been crossing the river for half a year, why didn't we expect to build a few pontoon bridges on the river? Hundreds of years old pontoon bridges are erected permanently! Lu Da, you have been on the river for a long time, and you know the joints, can you build a pontoon bridge?”

Lu Dayue was startled for a moment, and immediately responded: "Of course the pontoon bridge can be built, but there is a saying... the river is too wide to be built, and the water is too narrow to be built, and it must be rectified when it freezes in winter and melts in spring. It is also convenient to clean up and down the fleet... So, it is best to have a place with Hejian Continent, and the Hejian Continent must be stable..."

"That's right! The bridge on the east side of the river has a big river island, and there is not much water transportation up and down." Zhang Xing was stunned, and asked again seriously, and the rest of the people also looked at Lu University seriously. "Is there a Hejian Continent on the big river?"

Lu Dayue thought for a while, then continued to answer: "Yes, there are between Wuyang County and Dong County, and Qi County is behind Douzigang... You can go and see."

Zhang Xing nodded: "It's hard work for you, let your subordinates walk along the river to see where it is convenient to set up a pontoon bridge, if it can be built, we will build it... After all, the north-south connection is a matter of life and death for us. The military, the country and the economy all depend on it, the more convenient the better. When there is a real war and the ice freezes, we can just put it away... After the hydrological information is sorted out, just send it to the general mausoleum."

Lu Dayue quickly responded.

The rest of the leaders, some who just came up to him, didn’t know anything; those who were careful knew what was going on, but they were either relaxed or nervous, or lamented that Zhang Longtou was smart or felt that Zhang Longtou couldn’t hide things, but his temperament was not enough, but they didn’t show it on their faces. ; There are also careless ones, but they are also muddled... Anyway, they can't see it.

Just like that, everyone acted as if nothing had happened, and once again set foot on the land of the Eastern Territory.

On the day of arrival, Zhang Xing told the leaders whose families were in the eastern region to do their own thing, including Jia Runshi, who should go home and visit relatives, and only had to be notified to meet up in a few days.As for the rest of the people, they were roughly divided. Xiong Bonan took people to Qi County and Langya County to the east for inspection, Wei Xuanding went to Jibei, Lu County, and Dongping for inspection, and he himself was going to bring Chen Bin, Dou Lide, Xie Minghe, and Cui Suchen. , Yan Qing, Wang Xiongdan and others are going west to see Dongjun and Jiyin.

However, it didn't start immediately.

At least for Zhang Xing's place, he only sent Wang Xiongdan to the east to make the front stop, and the rest simply stayed at Sikouguan for the day.

Zhang Xing himself, together with Xiong Wei, had a discussion with Xu Shiying, Chai Xiaohe, Bing Yuanzheng, Zheng Detao, Zhang Jinshu and others, and listened to their reports on the military, economy, people's livelihood, public security and other affairs of the South Bank in turn.

After these words, it was almost dark, and Cui 26 and 27 who took the records were tired and tired, and there were many forms and other things that were handed over. On the contrary, Cui Suchen, who hardly spoke along the way, was calm and organized quickly and properly. .

Unsurprisingly, in the evening we had dinner together at the Dukou public house, and when we turned back to the back hall, Xiong Bonan and Wei Xuanding would go on tour tomorrow, even if they weren't tired, they each had their own group of people to ask for. To deal with it, they separated early and went back to their respective courtyards; then Chai Xiaohe, Bing Yuanzheng, Zheng Detao and other civil servants were probably shameless, so they also left directly and went back to their own residences; only Xu Shiying and Zhang Jinshu But they all refused to leave, and Zhang Jinshu even reported a few things that were not easy to say in public.

"What do you think about Chen's internal affairs?" After listening, Zhang Dalong looked around, but asked Chen Bin first.

"Dare to ask what the leader is asking?" Chen Bin asked seriously. "Is it the official business in the daytime or the matter Zhang's internal affairs are talking about now, is it the matter on the river, or is it the matter of the whole Henan?"

"Ask them all." Zhang Xing was also a bachelor. "We must listen to your opinions."

"The biggest matter is of course Langya County, but there is nothing to say about this matter." Chen Bin cheered up and spoke immediately. "It's true both in the open and in the dark, that is, many local wealthy and powerful households have turned to Sima Zheng in Xuzhou in private... If you find evidence, you should kill it. If you can't find it, you have to respond in time. I think Xu Dalang today The method given is the right way, forcefully move the big households over there, to the north.”

Zhang Xing nodded, then looked at Cui Suchen: "What does Cui Erlang think? Is this feasible?"

Xu Shiying and Zhang Jinshu immediately went to see this familiar person.

"This is an extraordinary matter for the frontline military, so there is no need to refer to any laws." Cui Suchen naturally knew what Zhang Xing meant, so he immediately answered. "Not only that, I think there are many reasons for many things here in the Eastern Territory. The leader only asked me a lot about the laws and regulations of the three counties in Hebei."

"That's not the case. Isn't this place in the East Territory still an extrajudicial place?" Zhang Xing shook his head immediately. "You still have to express your opinion more."

At this point, the person sighed again: "Langya's matter is naturally this matter, but the key is why people's hearts are not attached?"

"Isn't it natural that Langya's heart is not attached?" Xie Minghe didn't think so. "It was the most chaotic place after the rise of the rebel army, and the rebel army had no discipline, and the big households hated it, but those rebels still carried the banner of the Zhishi army. Later, when we settled the Zhishi army, we also placed them in Langya, so From the eyes of the big households, the Zhishi Army is naturally in the same line, and since we have accepted the Zhishi Army, we are naturally one, and the previous accounts have to be settled."

"But if you want to say that, what do Dengzhou and Hebei say?" Zhang Xing immediately asked. "The rebel army there was also very poor in discipline at the beginning, and we are also the attitude of the leader of the rebel army."

"Dengzhou and Hebei are afraid of being beaten." Dou Lide, who entered this occasion for the first time, couldn't wait. "People are determined."

"Hebei is afraid of being beaten, but Dengzhou is being beaten." Xie Minghe retorted.

"Dengzhou is so big and has a large population, how can it be regarded as empty?" Dou Lide also retorted without hesitation.

"The ones that are empty are rich and big households." Xie Minghe corrected seriously. "The three expeditions to Dongyi were all set up in Dengzhou. After the rise of the rebel army, Dengzhou was the first army to gather and besiege... In this case, the rich and powerful households can hardly protect themselves, or It was ruined early, or it was scattered long ago."

"Then Cheng Dalang..."

"The matter of Cheng Dalang's family just confirms my statement... First of all, his family is on the border between Dengzhou and Qi County, and it is on the edge, and when it arrives here, the imperial army will leave the river and go to Dengzhou. He avoids him; secondly, isn’t Cheng Dalang’s family background also forced to relocate by the Zhishi Army at that time?

Dou Lide fell silent, how could he be Xie Minghe's opponent in terms of lip service?
"Brother Xie is right." Zhang Xing was slightly moved. "The problem lies in the big households... There are not many big households in Dengzhou for a long time, and under the military town, the big households usually don't have much ability. There is Cheng Dalang. But Langya is not. There are many mountains in Langya, and it is also near the sea. A piece of land next to Xuzhou’s elite plains, the big families in Langya are officials when they go out, and they are proud when they come in. There are some sayings that the army can also hide in the mountains, but these people have not been included in our system, so there is trouble Something happened."

"Then move!" Xu Shiying reiterated his position. "Let Xiong Tianwang look at this matter, Dengzhou sends troops again, and see who can make trouble?"

Zhang Xing nodded, but slowly shook his head.

"Is there anything else you care about?" Xu Shiying couldn't ask.

"I'm thinking about Sima Zheng." Zhang Xing sighed. "In troubled times, the so-called big households are also weak in the face of established swordsmen... If they can live and work in peace and contentment, they will definitely not think of causing trouble... The Langya incident has a reason, and it is a matter on the front line of the military country. I have nothing to say... But Xuzhou How can we attract them? The generation who violated the Wei, could appease the people? Sima Zheng alone, as for this? Or is it that the Sima clan has already controlled Jiangdu, making Sima in Xuzhou talk about everything, making Xuzhou actually Sima? Is it private? So, now that the three counties of Xuzhou have stabilized, people like Langya have the mentality to speculate on the Sima family?"

The others looked at each other.

"It is possible for the Sima family to actually control the three counties of Xuzhou, and even control Jiangdu." Chen Bin said slowly. "But Longtou, in fact, most people still think that if the court can be stable, they should follow the court as much as possible. Those who are as firm as Longtou are actually a minority... So, as long as Sima Zheng is a little stricter in Xuzhou, so that he can follow the court there It seems like Langya, the big households in Langya will flock to it."

"Longtou really thinks too much, how can those local tyrants in Langya see that Sima's acting as Cao?" Xie Minghe was even more dismissive.

"That's right." Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "For the time being, we will follow what Xu Dalang said, report to King Xiongtian tomorrow morning, and let's talk about other things..."

"Would you like to give Chief Zhang Jinshu the title?" Chen Bin continued to talk, but suddenly mentioned personnel affairs. "He's in Henan. He's in charge of public security and internal affairs, just like me. There's no reason he's just a leader."

"How can I have more credit than Chief Chen?" Zhang Jinshu quickly stood up to express his opinion. "Besides, Chief Chen often consults with the leader, and it's not just the internal affairs of public security."

"I'm telling the truth." Zhang Xing waved his hand. Although Chen Bin's arbitrarily mentioned this topic was a bit unexpected, it was obvious that there had been discussions in Jiang Ling's place, so it was nothing unexpected. "What you say makes sense... The reason why Chen Neiwu is the chief is not because of his position, but because he has made great contributions in conquest of Hebei. Without him, we would not be able to gain a foothold in Hebei, let alone traveling south today, entangled in internal affairs here. And his job is also divided into two levels, one is the internal affairs, and the other is the civilian leader of Jiangling. But Zhang Jinshu also has a saying here, and now Hebei clearly separates the border patrol from the internal affairs, and the border patrol is now Lu Chang Heng is a single leader who does it, and at the same time reports to Chen’s internal affairs department, the staff department, and the leaders of the army. Sooner or later, your side will have to change. Since your powers and responsibilities have been divided, you must give you an explanation at that time, so that it is convenient to govern... …and you might also consider recommending someone to come up and fill this border patrol full-time.”

Zhang Jinshu was both surprised and delighted. The surprise was naturally that he could recommend someone from himself to take this position, as well as the possible political promise, but he was also a little disappointed because he couldn't get the exact political promise after all...Only he also knew that he was really not too serious Great meritorious service, it is not easy to go up, and after thinking about it, he became a little uneasy again, but this did not delay him to come and thank him on the spot.

"What else is there?" Zhang Xing continued to urge. "Chen Neiwu continues to talk..."

Chen Bin thought for a while, but then shook his head: "Actually, the matter is like this. Langya's matter is the most important, but there is nothing to say; other matters may be talked about, but it is not appropriate to say it at this time. The leader should personally discuss it." Go take a look, and take your time."

Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment, but his eyes swept over the few people in the hall, and he suddenly realized that Chen Bin was avoiding some people.

After discovering this, Zhang Dalong instinctively felt that Chen Bin was troublesome, or that his brain was obviously too rational, but when he thought about the next few things to talk about, he felt a little uneasy.

After thinking about it, he said bluntly: "It's nothing else, there is one thing that needs to be investigated carefully... I understand that I think there is something wrong with the taxes in the east and west counties this spring..."

"Is there a reason for this?" Chen Bin said immediately. "It's not wrong, it's just that Qilu was originally suffering from wars, and it has recovered quickly in the past two years, so this year's spring tax is still increasing, and the supply war in Jibei East County has been incessant for the past two years, it is really exhausted, and many people Transferred to Hebei... it is normal to have less."

"I thought there were more chiefs in East County and Jibei County..." Zhang Xing said with a smile.

No one took his fault, only Chen Bin watched it with his eyes.

Zhang Xing looked as usual, and nodded: "Forget it, the weather is hot, everyone has dispersed, this matter has to be checked in person to make a conclusion, it is not good to make speculations, otherwise it will hurt the hearts of the brothers... Chen Neiwu Stay for a while, I have something to say."

Everyone had their own thoughts and got up quickly.

When Chen Bin was the only one left, Zhang Xing finally became serious: "I know what Chief Chen means, and we must reserve benefits for the leaders below! But according to me, profits can be kept, but there must be rules... one You can’t use Lila to form cliques, there are already many hills, but you still have to use profit to make entanglements, what’s the matter?”

Chen Bin instinctively thought of Cheng Dalang's operation, and nodded immediately: "Indeed."

"Secondly, you can't harm the public interest with your own interests. The lessons of the Jiangdong dynasties are not enough? Why do you want to oppose Guanlong? Isn't it just four words of the sect's private plan?!" Zhang Xing continued. "The same is true for letting go of Lu Da today. After all, he didn't delay his official business because of his own business."

"That's the truth." Chen Bin continued to nod and asked again. "So, regarding the spring tax of Jiyin and Dongjun, the leader must investigate carefully?"

"Yes."

Chen Bin couldn't help sighing: "I'm afraid that at this critical moment, some people will use this to talk to the leader."

"This is the third one." Zhang Xing simply answered. "I will never allow anyone to use these things to negotiate with me on any terms! If there is a problem, openly speaking, there is no problem with meritorious service, disability, tax reduction, and preferential treatment. I'm afraid that I think I'm holding the positions of a few big bosses, and I'm going to compete with me... If anyone really dares to do this, I'd rather tear my face and lead the troops here than make such a foolish loss!"

What else could Chen Bin say, but he could only hand it over: "If this is the case, if you feel something is wrong, you should immediately transfer troops and people, and don't take risks."

"It's natural." Zhang Xing nodded.

Chen Bin was about to leave.

At this time, Zhang Dalong called to stop the other party again: "Go out and see if Xu Shiying is still outside, if he is, call him in."

Chen Bin was taken aback for a moment, then nodded again.

After a while, Xu Shiying really came in, but he could only stand there with his hands tied.

Zhang Xing went over with his hands behind his back, walked around the opponent a few times, looked around, almost had a seizure, but finally recovered his breath, and just returned to his seat, sighing faintly:

"Xu Dalang, what I regret most now, do you know what it is?"

Xu Shiying didn't dare to guess, but just cupped his hands: "Please tell me, third brother, I really don't know."

"It's too much loyalty, too much dignity, too much respect for Qin Er's personal wishes, and he has been soft-hearted over and over again, so he stayed in Dongdu." Zhang Xing answered seriously. "I really can't control Li Ding, and I can't drag Sima Zheng, but Qin Er is my elder brother's fault."

Xu Shiying thought for a while, then nodded heavily: "Being emotional and reasonable, this should be the case...Third brother has this idea to be sincere."

"Then do you know what my second regret is?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.

Xu Shiying was about to speak, but was stunned in place, and then looked at the other party in surprise, feeling a little at a loss.

"It's just that I've always given you too much face!" Zhang Xing pointed at the other party's nose and exploded, and suddenly scolded his head and face. "It's because I didn't take the opportunity to transfer you out of Dongjun after the eastward advance the year before last! I also passed through Hebei last year and didn't force you to stay with me! Your talent, intelligence, and ability are here. All I can see is what I can think of. Li Ding, Sima Zheng, and Sisi are even incomparable to the Xiongtian King, but why can't they change their tyrannical problem of guarding an acre of three-point land?! Obviously they can be a dragon Tengyun, but they have to learn how a snake drills a mud nest? And put a stinky fish The rotten shrimp is like a treasure! You really didn’t hear what happened today. Isn’t Dongjun the territory of your Xu Shiying alone? Why are you pretending to die all night? Do you really think I dare not touch you?! Chen Bin advises I can bear it, and take it easy, Lu Dazhai, Qian Chengzhi, I can bear it, and Shan Tonghai can bear it, but I can't bear you to degenerate yourself!"

Instinctively, Xu Shiying didn't mention it in fear, but he was also moved inexplicably, so much so that he forgot to pretend to be remorseful in time-this third brother hated the iron but not the steel again and again, regardless of the current situation. Could it be that he is sincerely loyal to himself? Bar?

PS: Thanks to Master Wu Mu and Master Zongyue Qianli for another alliance. Happy New Year everyone.

I'm very sorry, but I fell asleep... I fell asleep at [-] o'clock in the evening, and I woke up after [-] o'clock, and it turned out that it has been ten hours.

　A fast-paced and light-hearted historical text, produced by Lieyang... with this strange title.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)