Delong

Chapter 384: The Country’s Destruction (2)

On the last day of September, Cheng Zhili ended his marriage leave and came to Jiangling, but he did not come directly to Cangcheng to pay a visit to Chief Zhang. In line with the process.So Yan Qing, the person in charge of personnel, also responded according to the procedure, and chased him an informal letter signed by the chief Zhang Xing, the new deputy commander Chen Bin, and the chief military officer Xiong Bonan. The secretary asked him if he would be transferred to the post of county magistrate.

Maybe it was a little late, Cheng Zhili did not reply that day.

However, what Chief Zhang didn't know, or what he didn't care if he knew, was that Chief Cheng visited Xu Shiying that night.

Xu Shiying is rich. His family has a shop outside Jiangling City and a house in Jiangling City. They bought it seriously, with three yards in front and back. They didn't ask for simple front and back courtyards in Cangcheng.

In fact, Cheng Dalang is also rich. Although he was forced to move from Henan to Hebei and then back again in the early years, he now has a shop and a mansion in Jiangling City. Big houses were also placed in the Wucheng where Cui was concentrated.

Of course, Cheng Dalang did not come here this time to discuss with Xu Shiying how to "get rich from scratch", but to sincerely ask some questions.

"Since you have hated Chief Zhang, is this cold bench going to be settled?" Cheng Dalang asked sincerely.

"What does Cheng Dalang think?" Xu Shiying looked wandering, seemingly careless. "Do you think that now, who in the gang can violate the chief authority?"

"I didn't say disobedience, but in troubled times, if there are no soldiers and horses by my side, I feel really uneasy." Cheng Zhili spoke earnestly. "If I can stay in the army, I am willing to be demoted to the leader."

"For no reason, why should you let go of your big leader...is the big leader so worthless?" Xu Shiying sneered, becoming more and more disapproving. "Aren't you letting Chief Zhang bear the notoriety of destroying the big boss for no reason? People want to follow the rules and establish prestige."

Cheng Zhili took a few deep breaths, and continued to ask: "Then can you transfer me to another station, so that Chief Zhang can't see and worry? I promise that I will not cause trouble after I go, and I will never provoke Chief Zhang again." .”

"Is General Cheng crazy?" Xu Shiying finally became serious. "Do you want to go to Jiyin Xingtai or Huaixi? Do you want to take your battalion armor with you?"

Cheng Zhili hesitated to speak, he really wanted to take this battalion with him, or in other words, he thought of this level because of this battalion... First of all, this is a rare main force armored cavalry of the first battalion, with a strong combat power ; secondly, he himself has experienced an entire army annihilation, and has been a short-term leader for a while, so he is very sensitive to military power; finally, a very important point is that although he has undergone many military reforms, the army configuration of the Dragon Gang is basically the same. Try to respect the influence of the relevant leaders.

For example, before the formation of the whole army to prepare for the general class, the deployment of core officers was generally determined by the leaders of each battalion. The 200 battalion heads of each battalion reserved posts, enough to cover most of the officers in a battalion of no more than 2000 soldiers and horses. And the last time, that is, in the process of building the camp after crossing the river, it mostly emphasized the balance of soldiers in Hebei and Henan at the sergeant level.

To put it bluntly, boiling frogs in warm water belongs to boiling frogs in warm water, but this gradual and gentle behavior of "separating the hills" did maintain a certain continuity of the hills in each camp.The most direct sign is that in the battalion led by Cheng Zhili, [-] to [-]% of the sergeants still have backgrounds in the Putai Army or the surrounding areas of his hometown, and as many as half of the middle and high-level officers have been with him for two years or more. Relationship.

As for other battalion heads, the situation is different. An infantry battalion full of 2000 people may have a higher proportion of continuity of officers and soldiers, but it varies from person to person, and the soldiers and horses under the leader with less seniority are obviously scattered.

In short, under such circumstances, Cheng Zhili seems to have sufficient reasons not to give up this battalion of armored cavalry.

However, he also knew in his heart that once he did so, he would almost look like a "traitor".

Needless to say, Du Pozhen is still considered an outsider. Even though Li Shu has never quarreled with Zhang Xing on the surface, in fact, the history of the two-leading confrontation between the two sides is there. Li Shu's side The leader of the group either has a long history, or was divided due to geographical reasons, which can be regarded as grandiose, but he was recruited by Zhang Xing into the gang, and he has been openly loyal to Zhang Xing many times. At this time, he was persuaded If Li Shu took the initiative to call him over, he would be looked down upon.

It's all right to be looked down upon, the key is that it is very likely to arouse the wrath of the chief.

"I really don't understand. I'm getting old, and there's no war in the gang now. What's the point of marrying a high-ranking wife while I'm at it? Is this a taboo?" After thinking about it, Cheng Zhili could only sigh. .

"You need to be content." Xu Shiying just frowned. "Cheng Dalang, it's not just that you have committed a taboo about marrying Cui's daughter. You did such a big business on the river before, and you even dragged the leaders downstream to do it together. Breaking the taboo..." Halfway through speaking, Xu Dalang himself became impatient. "Forget it, you just have to think about it, as far as Chief Zhang is concerned, what can we do with big bosses?"

"What are you drawing?"

"Of course it's for big things." Xu Shiying said quietly. "He came here with the idea of ​​changing the world from the beginning. He has been doing business for more than three years. The land is so big. He doesn't call himself a king or establish a system. He doesn't live in a big house. He doesn't even have a servant. Food, the whole day is either following the law or thinking about the gains and losses of the previous dynasties. Of course, you have to do big things... So, don’t worry about what is reasonable or not, whether it is reasonable or not, you only think from this direction, and what you do It doesn't matter if the reason is to delay others from doing great things."

Cheng Dalang was silent for a long time, his face became more and more ugly under the lamplight, and he said after a while: "I still understand the truth, Lao Zhai also sent me a letter... It's nothing more than the first thing I do, it's a matter I'm not that over the top, and people are worried that I have led a bad leader. I have led others. Who doesn't know the truth of killing chickens to make an example? It was you first, and now it is me... To be honest, I don't complain."

"Then what does General Cheng care about?" Xu Shiying finally asked impatiently. "It can't be that after I crossed the river, I didn't hide my displeasure. You don't complain yourself, but think that I have a lot of resentment. You want to encourage me to do something for you in front of you?"

"Xu Dalang was joking." Cheng Zhili quickly waved his hand.

Xu Shiying took a deep breath, and suddenly asked again: "So, is my resentment so obvious?"

Cheng Zhili didn't make a sound this time.

Xu Shiying thought about it for a while, and told her honestly: "Cheng Dalang, I am different from you... It is true that I have grievances, but after crossing the river, I have never delayed my work, and Chief Zhang has always entrusted me with important tasks. There are some small things that are inappropriate, but generally speaking, there is no quarrel. Therefore, he has always trusted me, and I have always been frank and frank. I am not afraid that he will deal with it again. On the contrary, it is your generosity. Obviously, I have a knot in my heart, and I have resentment in my heart. As for you to ask me how to deal with this matter, I only have one sentence, the sheriff is not bad, just admit your mistake honestly, just go to the post, don't waste your thoughts in vain .”

Cheng Zhili sighed, and then said again: "If this is the case, I have nothing to say, but can I ask Xu Dalang to do me a favor first? If it doesn't work, I will take office honestly." , but be sure to say a few good words for me and do me a favor, if it is useful, I will be grateful in the future."

Xu Shiying just nodded indiscriminately.

Seeing this, Cheng Zhili didn't want to sit too much, stood up, and saluted seriously... Because Cheng Dalang was much older, Xu Shiying was also a little embarrassed, so he quickly got up to stop him, and then sent him all the way out before returning.

However, when he returned to the hall, Xu Dalang, who seemed to be just impatient, obviously felt a little uneasy.

Of course, his uneasiness is not the same as that of Cheng Zhili. Cheng Zhili's problem is that losing his military power has caused a strong sense of personal insecurity, and then he has obvious dissatisfaction with Zhang Xing. Xu Shiying's problem is still the same old problem. His growth experience and way of thinking made it difficult for him to understand, or he was unwilling to believe that Zhang Xing's behavior could lead the Dragon Gang to the final victory.

Xu Shiying longed to see Zhang Xing more "pragmatic" and more in line with his image of a "successful man".

In other words, Xu Shiying also wants to plan big things, but he is more worried about the success rate of big things.

In fact, the information obtained in the past two days has made Xu Shiying's worries even more serious... Two days ago, Zhang Xing, Xiong Bonan, and Chen Bin approached Xu Shiying, Dou Lide, and Ma Wei to discuss a matter together. That is to say, it is a military plan to attack the Liyang Cang in case of a possible famine.

The risk of this matter is self-evident - if there is no great master in this world, or if there is no such thing as true energy cultivation, then this is the best plan, and Xu Shiying will take the initiative to propose or even secretly cover it in advance without these people saying that he The layout plan, but isn't there such a thing as a great master and heaven and earth vitality?

It is often discussed everywhere that without the suppression of the masters, the saint in Jiangdu would have been dead for half a year, and he would be stinky. Large-scale turmoil started in the year, not to mention that there were at least two great masters (Uncle Cao and Master Zhang) around Ji County where Liyangcang was located, plus a British Duke who didn't know whether it was the master or the master.

So, in this case, when our own side should continue to follow the plan to strike later, we took the risk of being interfered by multiple great masters to seize food, but it was to relieve most of the people who were outside the territory of the jurisdiction. A behavior pattern that was extremely unacceptable to Xu Shiying.

That's right, Xu Shiying is the representative of Zhang Xing's smart people.

However, what made Xu Shiying, a smart person, even more difficult to accept was that Dou Lide actually expressed his approval of this proposal, and Ma Wei did not object.

Besides, the reason why Dou Lide agreed was obviously because of his lack of cultivation, and he was trying to fool people's hearts as much as possible. Everyone privately calls this person Xiao Zhangsan, because this person is very similar to Zhang San in everything, and he is dedicated to big things, and because of his lack of cultivation and lack of talent for leading soldiers, everything is based on winning people's hearts.

As for Ma Wei, this is a bereaved wine student, carefree, and obviously a little arrogant. Now that he can use it, he has a lot of kindness and kindness. If Chief Zhang is going to fight Dongdu, he will directly help with the planning .

And the people around him were like this, so in order not to have a fundamental confrontation and conflict with Zhang Xing, Xu Dalang could only choose to accept it.

But that doesn't mean he agrees in his heart.

This time Cheng Dalang came again, which made him even more worried.

These members of the Dragon Gang are too high, unrealistically high, and too low, so this situation is only a personal matter... As for other people, it may not be appropriate, such as Niu Da, who fought many times. They were defeated and defeated in Xuzhou, so that Xuzhou had a feeling of fear of war; another example is the Wu brothers, who are indifferent; , the government returned to Fang Jingbo, the army returned to Wang Zhen, and he only relied on a sword to be the general manager. After all, it was due to Zhang Xing's selfishness; Habits of hooligans... There are so many kinds of things, so the future of the Dragon Gang is really smooth?
But if it is not possible to dethrone the Dragon Gang, which one can do it?My foundation, background, and experience are all here, so what right do I have to pick and choose here?
But to be honest, thinking of this, Xu Dalang admired Zhang Xing as a routine, and being able to lead this group of people to the current situation despite these selfish distractions is already quite remarkable.

On the contrary, I think I can transcend others, but after being "wronged", I still care about it until now.

Early the next morning, although it was winter in theory, the weather was still autumn, and it was rarely sunny, the wind was light and the clouds were calm. Xu Dalang came to Cangcheng early to participate in the planning of that matter, but did he remember Cheng Dalang's request last night? After eating in the corridor in the morning, I went to Chief Zhang Xingzhang and made a speech.

"Leave the net?" Zhang Xing was slightly surprised.

"Yes."

"Who is going to spare me?" Zhang Sanlang smiled. "The overall situation is the same, why is Cheng Dalang so wronged? Even if he is wronged, he should tell me personally."

Xu Shiying was just perfunctory at first, but she was over-thinking last night, and at this time she put some thought into it, so she continued to persuade: "Chief, we still need to appease the inner circle, especially now that the situation is tense, and no one knows what to do next." What happens next..."

Zhang Xing was stunned, and after realizing what the other party meant, he still laughed: "You mean to say that I am too strict with these big bosses, and when the situation changes, they may say that they will turn against it? So that it will cause a catastrophe?"

Xu Shiying wanted to explain.

"I've thought about it." Zhang Xing suddenly became serious. "First of all, it is precisely because of this possibility that Cheng Dalang was transferred out of the army, so as to save time from causing a catastrophe; secondly, the difficulty I told you two days ago included this level...Xu Dalang , those of you who have a solid foundation will inevitably face a wave to see if you can hold on."

Xu Shiying fell silent and stopped talking.

On this day, Chief Zhang received four requests - Cheng Zhili ran around all over the place yesterday night, Xu Shiying, Zhai Qian, Niu Da, and Dou Lide all interceded.

But instead, he strengthened his determination and simply issued a formal document that day, formally dividing and establishing Wudi County according to the original plan, and then appointed Qian Tang as the prefect of Wudi County and Cheng Zhili as the prefect of Pingyuan.

That’s not to mention, immediately after that, Chief Zhang directly appointed Zhou Xingfan as the leader temporarily, replacing Cheng Zhili’s Jiaqiying, and replaced the leader Hao Yide as the general of the Qingqiying, and then promoted Cao Chen, who is quite famous in the Hebei Rebel Army He was the former general of Hao Yide Yinglang.

It was expected that the selection of candidates was not bad, but the direct appointment so quickly made Cheng Zhili completely lost, and could only take over hastily.

Up and down the general mausoleum, including Wei Xuan's Dingtai in Liaocheng, there were some discussions.

However, at this time, there is no shortage of news, and the autumn wind quickly spread the news... After hearing that the witches attacked Guanzhong, Li Cheng, the governor of Youzhou, was worried about his hometown, and publicly wrote to Dongdu, asking Dongdu to allow him to resign and return to his hometown .

Obviously, as Luo Shu said, the head of Youzhou really couldn't hold on anymore, so maybe he was really worried about the elders in his hometown, worried that he would not be able to be buried in the ancestral grave, or maybe he was worried that his son would not be able to control the situation when he died. It was time to lose his life in vain, anyway, while he was still breathing, he simply confessed.

Along with this news, there was also a secret letter from Luo Shu conveyed by Zhang Gongshen. The other party asked Zhang Xing to send troops to the front line of Qingzhang River to deter Xue Changxiong, so as to prevent Xue Changxiong, who is the general manager of Hebei, from taking the opportunity to seize control of Youzhou .

This is the core subtext of the initial alliance between the two parties. Of course, the Dragon Gang has nothing to say, and Xue Changxiong's acquisition of Youzhou is also the most unacceptable result for the Dragon Gang.

So soon, probably in mid-October, following Li Chengwu's departure from Youzhou, he took the Hengshan Mountain to go to Jindi, and no less than [-] battalions of the Chulong Gang marched northward together, and arranged along the Zhangshui River, including Xiongbo Nan and Wang Shuyong. , Xu Shiren, Zhai Qian, Jia Yue, and Li Zida were all among them, and they actually put on a posture of aggressively attacking Xindu and Hejian at any time.

Regarding this, Xue Changxiong was frightened and angry, and immediately sent a letter, asking about the direction of Jiangling, what is his intention?

Of course it is for the prosperity and stability of Hebei!
Zhang Xing had already written the reply document, and sent it back immediately. He did not forget to ask Wang Xiongdan to lead the first battalion under the direct command, which was filled with sufficient supplies, to go north to Changhe first, and even put the word "拍" on it. banner.

However, as soon as the letter was delivered, two other urgent documents arrived at Jiangling:

The letter came from Wuyang, and it was a few tyrants from the former Langya County who had settled in the Qinghe area. They suddenly took advantage of the main force of the Dragon Clan to flee north and west, and entered Wuyang County, and they had no intention of staying in Wuyang. He went straight to Ji Jun and Wei Jun. Yuan Baocun, the prefect of Wuyang County, was stunned and at a loss, so he could only send a message asking for countermeasures.

The other letter came from Zhao County. According to Feng Wuyi's words, the Shanchopper Wang Chenkuo, who had already settled down, suddenly sent troops under the banner of the Dragon Clan to try to hijack Li Cheng who was passing by, and fought with the Youzhou Army who was escorting him. The result of the battle is still unknown. .

"That's how the situation got worse." Zhang Xing looked around, spread his hands and spoke, as if he had expected it. "It's not something that can be stopped by manpower at all... how can we control Guanzhong and the Wu clan? Hebei is just taking advantage of the autumn rain to take a breather, and now it will be chaotic again."

Immediately, without waiting for everyone to speak, Zhang Xing formally ordered directly in the Grand Palace:

"Generals Zhou Xingfan and Fan Wang led the cavalry eastward to Wuyang to capture the fugitive Langya tyrants and act according to the law. Those who should be killed, those who should be imprisoned, and those who should be demoted to garrison fields should go to garrison fields. If they meet Jijun or The soldiers and horses of Yecheng, let them see the strength of the two sides, make a self-determination before the battle, and allow the war; then immediately send someone to check Wangchen Kuo Hengshan's original story, and if it is true, immediately issue an announcement... Now prepare...to expel this person from the status of the leader of the Dragon Gang, and then Inform the whole territory and the surrounding area that this person was bought by Xue Changxiong, and he is a traitor within the gang."

"Wang Chenkuo is not the leader of our gang, and King Xiongtian didn't make a deal with him before he came." Someone seriously reminded him.

"I know." Zhang Xing also replied seriously. "But he claims to belong to us, of course we have to recognize him before expulsion... I also know that this person is actually Bai Hengqiu's, not Xue Changxiong's."

"What if... if Dongdu came with a document and asked Xue Changxiong to temporarily take office in Youzhou, or no matter what, what if Xue Changxiong insisted on going north to Youzhou?" At this moment, Chen Bin suddenly came to ask.

"Then we'll really hit Xindu." Zhang Xing's tone remained flat. "How else?"

(End of this chapter)