The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 107 Seeing Opportunities in Dangerous Situations
Busy until evening, when the riots in the county basically subsided, I discussed with Wen Tai to issue a notice to calm the people, beheaded several rebel leaders in the street, and mobilized the Jiedu government and county government officials as representatives to visit several merchants who had been looted, return the property and then give them money. Certain compensation was provided, and a series of remedial measures were implemented, gradually appeasing the people in the county.

Zhu Xiu dragged her tired body back to the small courtyard, took two hasty bites of food, and then fell into a deep sleep.

Ma San quietly took off his clothes, shoes and socks, covered him with the quilt and closed the door.

Ever since the fire broke out in the county warehouse, he had not had a sound sleep since five or six days.

Yesterday afternoon, soldiers and horses from Zhecheng City had arrived outside the county seat and set up camp, assuming a posture of confronting Anding County to the end.

Zhu Xiu and Wei Hu climbed to the top of the city to check the defenses and observe the movements of the Xue family's troops.

The formation of more than 3000 foreign troops is not small. It may seem bluffing, but in fact, most of them are trained by local regiments and tenant farmers of the Xue family. Even if the training is stepped up for a period of time, it is still difficult to hide the true nature of the soldiers.

If we really want to go out of the city to fight in the field, the nearly two thousand tooth soldiers in the county alone are completely sufficient.

The Chang Yi Ya Army was divided into eight commanders, three of whom mutinied and one was coerced.

In the battle to quell the turmoil, nearly 300 people were killed or injured, and nearly 500 people escaped from the city. In just two days, the Ya army lost nearly a thousand people.

Fortunately, the core commanders of the Ya Army were not affected. They collected the surrendered rebels and recruited a group of young men in the city, which could barely keep the county's troops at [-].

The first thing Zhu Xiu did when he took over the power of Jiedu was to disperse all the remaining Yajun and reorganize them into six commanders, each with a number of between [-] and [-] people.

The remaining more than 100 soldiers were assigned to the Zhenhai Camp and temporarily served as Jiedu's pro-army, under the command of Bi Hongyu.

Chen An, Yan Ping, and Bi Zhenhai served as commanders, while Guan Tieshi took over as deputy capital commander of the Ya Army.

In this way, Zhu Xiu could directly control most of the Ya army and effectively control the county's troops.

Xue Xiuming seemed to know the true combat strength of his army. He did not rush to attack the county town, but only sent troops to block the roads leading to the two city gates.

On the other hand, he still waited for the Fengxiang Army to arrive.

Early the next morning, at dawn, Zhu Xiu woke up naturally, feeling that her head was dizzy and her limbs were sore and weak.

I yawned and got up, put on my clothes, socks and shoes, my hair was oily and itchy, I didn't care to take care of it, I just gathered it up casually and put on a scarf and I was done.

The soldiers and horses of the Xue family were approaching outside the city, and there was not much food left in the city. Shi Kuangwei slept for ten hours every day. All matters, big and small, were waiting for him to make decisions. Whether he wanted to make war or peace with the Xue family, he had to make the final decision.

Thinking about this, Zhu Xiu really felt that she was not qualified to sleep for a while longer.

There was cold water in the basin. After soaking the towel and wiping her face, Zhu Xiu became more awake. She walked around the screen and walked outside. Suddenly she noticed a person leaning on a chair outside.

When I got closer, I saw that it was Shi Lingyan. Xiao Nizi was leaning on the chair of the imperial master, covered with his cloak, her lips were slightly open and she was sleeping soundly, and the long whip in her hand fell to the ground.

"Hey, wake up!~" Zhu Xiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, picked up the whip and patted her face.

Shi Lingyan suddenly woke up with trembling eyelashes, stood up with a sigh, and put on a vigilant posture as if he was about to fight the enemy with his fists.

Zhu Xiu was startled and hurriedly avoided: "Don't do it! It's me!"

The little girl looked confused and was stunned. Her tense body relaxed, she glared at Zhu Xiu, took back the whip, fell down on the chair, covered her mouth and yawned.

"If you don't go to bed, what are you doing in my room?"

Shi Lingyan pursed his lips and muttered: "Of course I'm protecting you!"

"The house is safe now, no need to worry." Zhu Xiu felt warm and pitiful in her heart.

Shi Lingyan shook his head stubbornly: "I promise daddy that I will protect you every step of the way! From now on, I will guard you at night, so just sleep!"

Zhu Xiu had no choice but to say: "Then you have to take a nap during the day. There is no need to guard me day and night. Bi Hongyu and Ya Bing will protect me during the day. You can stay at home obediently and take care of your father when you wake up." "

Shi Lingyan hesitated for a while and couldn't help but yawned a few times.

"Then I'll just take a nap for a little while!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and nodded, and then asked with concern: "Is the injury from the fight with Chu Xing that day better?"

Shi Lingyan patted his chest and said proudly: "How can a mere thief hurt this girl!"

Zhu Xiu said seriously: "I saw he hurt your belly. It's a vital point there. Don't be careless! Go lie down and I'll check it for you."

Shi Lingyan blinked with round eyes: "How to check?"

Zhu Xiu reached out and touched her waist and abdomen: "Just like this."

".Kaka!~"

"Ouch~ It hurts!~"

Shi Lingyan opened the bedroom door with a red face and ran out. Ma San came into the room with a bowl of porridge and a small plate of pickles, his face full of confusion.

"Your hand, little official?" Ma San was startled when he saw Zhu Xiu's wrist twisted and stiffened.

"Oh, it's okay, I accidentally twisted it just now, let's have breakfast!"

Zhu Xiu sat down calmly, raised her right paw, and held the chopsticks with her left, making Ma San look awkward.

After drinking a bowl of gruel, he didn't feel full at all. Zhu Xiu sighed. Now the Jiedu Mansion and Yajun were in the embarrassing situation of drinking gruel for two meals a day.

Outside the house, Bi Hongyu, who was dressed in iron leaf armor and a helmet, had been waiting for a long time. She stood as straight as a pine tree with her sword in hand, and her stern face said "Don't let strangers enter".

Zhu Xiu walked out, and Bi Hongyu cupped her fists and saluted.

Zhu Xiu smiled and nodded, very satisfied with his new chief female bodyguard. "Let's go."

Immediately, Zhu Xiu got on the carriage, and Bi Hongyu led a group of Zhenhai Camp soldiers to escort him to the outer city.

Climbing to the top of the city, Wei Hu and Wen Tai have arrived.

The two of them saluted, and Zhu Xiu hurriedly waved his hands and said: "Brother Wei is my elder brother, and County Magistrate Wen is already an elder, so how can I accept the gift from both of you?"

Wei Hu said seriously: "Now you are acting as Jiedu envoy, there is a difference between superiority and inferiority, as it should be!"

"Haha, what Wei Yashuai said makes sense." Wen Tai smiled and stroked his beard.

Zhu Xiu smiled and had no choice but to leave it to them.

"What's going on outside the city?" Zhu Xiu held on to the crenel and looked at the Xue family barracks a mile away.

Wei Hu said: "Xue Xiuliang led hundreds of people to attack in the middle of the night. Pang Guangsheng and Chen An led the crossbowmen to repel them."

Zhu Xiu sneered and said: "This guy is quite smart and wants to test the county's defense situation."

Wei Hu said: "Although Xue Xiuming has three thousand soldiers and horses, he lacks siege equipment. With the combat power of foreign troops, he does not dare to attack rashly. But he besieged the county town and cut off the roads. We cannot send people out of the city to recruit the nearby people. food."

Wen Tai sighed and said: "If we can go out of the city to collect food, we can still cope with it for ten days and a half. Now Xue Xiuming has blocked the roads around the county and there is a shortage of food in the city. What should we do?"

Zhu Xiuning looked into the distance and remained silent.

Wei Hu said: "Why don't I lead the army out of the city before Fengxiang's army arrives? If I can defeat the Xue family's Yawai army in one fell swoop, the situation may turn around."

Zhu Xiu shook his head and said: "No, even if Brother Wei can defeat the Xue family rebels, the Ya army will definitely suffer a lot of damage. The Xue family must be wiped out, but the vitality of the Zhang Yi army cannot be greatly damaged. Xue Xiuming should have the same idea. , beating Anding County and thousands of troops on both sides to pieces will be of no benefit to anyone."

Wei Hu said in a deep voice: "However, if we don't fight to the death with the Xue family now, we will have no chance of winning when the Fengxiang army arrives! Jiao Jixun came for the Xue family and will definitely support the Xue family. Three thousand Fengxiang elite soldiers, plus Three thousand foreign troops, under the condition that our army is short of food, can break through the county in less than two days."

Zhu Xiu slapped the wall and suddenly said with a smile: "How much does Brother Wei know about Jiao Jixun?"

Wei Hu thought for a while and said: "In the fifth year of Tianfu (940), the governor of Jinzhou (Ankang, Shaanxi Province) wanted to surrender to Meng Chang, the lord of Shu. I followed the commander of the army and sent troops to suppress it under the order of the court. I fought with the then Baoda Jiedu. The envoy Jiao Jixun joined forces in Jinzhou, and we have met several times. This man is mature and prudent, and has good military skills. He should not be underestimated. "

Zhu Xiu echoed: "Brother Wei is right. Jiao Jixun is a man of gentleness and martial arts, and has the appearance of a famous general. He is cautious by nature, and he knows how to protect himself. According to his temperament, if there is no reasonable excuse, he will never lead Fengxiang easily. The army has entered the territory under the jurisdiction of Zhangyi Town. The invitation from the Xue family alone is not enough for Jiao Jixun to lead his troops. He must have an imperial edict in his hand."

Wen Tai asked doubtfully: "Is it possible that the young envoy is familiar with Jiao Jixun?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "I have never been masked before, but I heard my mentor talk about this person before when he commented on people in the world, and I had some impressions."

"Respected Master is really a strange person in the world. He has not been out of a state, but he knows the situation of the world and the heroes of all parties like the palm of his hand!" Old man Wen stroked his beard with emotion.

Zhu Xiu smiled slightly and said a few words modestly.

Of course he had never met Jiao Jixun, but he had read about it in the history of Song Dynasty before, and there was one thing that impressed him.

It is said that Jiao Jixun was later transferred to Kaifeng to serve. When Uncle Guo raised an army, Jiao Jixun was ordered by the court to resist Guo Wei's army.

At that time, Jiao Jixun had many troops and horses, and his strength was not weak, but he knew that he was no match for Guo Wei, and he was unwilling to surrender easily and tarnish his reputation. He was even more worried that if Guo Wei's uprising failed, he would be held accountable by the court after surrendering rashly.

Therefore, Jiao Jixun pretended to fight to the end for the imperial court, but secretly dispersed his troops and allowed all kinds of rumors to spread that shaken the morale of the army. He also lied to the imperial court that his soldiers had mutinied and surrendered to the enemy.

When Guo Wei's army arrived, he led his army into battle and collapsed at the first touch.

On the surface, he had no choice but to be defeated and captured. In grief and anger, he even raised his sword to kill himself, but was saved by his generals.

Guo Wei comforted him with good words, and still left him in the army to lead the army. In this way, Jiao Jixun fell into the arms of Uncle Guo smoothly, without leaving the notoriety of betraying the lord and defecting to the enemy, and became the founding father of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

When Zhao Dachenqiao rebelled, Jiao Jixun returned to the Song Dynasty without any psychological burden, and enjoyed his old age smoothly.

Judging from these few things alone, Jiao Jixun is definitely an old fox.

He survived through the Jin, Han, Zhou, and Song dynasties throughout his life. In terms of serving as an official and conducting himself as a person, he was on a par with Feng Dao, a veteran of the ten dynasties.

The flowing dynasty and emperor, the iron-clad Changle Lao and Jiao Jiji.

However, Feng Dao was too high-profile. Every time he changed his family, he gained a new level of infamy. He was even called a traitor by Ouyang Xiu and Sima Guang.

Jiao Jixun is much more low-key. Every time he changes his master, he seems to be forced into helplessness.

The new owner thinks highly of him, but the old owner not only does not hold a grudge, but also regrets and misses him.

For such a guy, Zhu Xiu just wanted to give a thumbs up and praise him: "What a talent!"

If given the chance, Zhu Xiuzhen would like to ask him for advice on how to preserve himself in troubled times.

Therefore, based on historical records, Zhu Xiu had a preliminary understanding of Jiao Jixun.

It is not a trivial matter for soldiers and horses from other towns to enter, and Jiao Jixun must have something to rely on if he dares to do so.

Similarly, with his caution, he should not easily conflict with the Zhangyi Army. The arrival of the three thousand Fengxiang Army should serve more as a deterrent.

Wei Hu asked in confusion: "You mean, we are standing still just to wait for Jiao Jixun to arrive?"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "That's right! The Xue family seems confident when the Fengxiang army arrives, but as long as Jiao Jixun is smart enough, he won't start a war easily! In this way, we have room to negotiate with him, and we won't be forced to The fighting in Anding County has made the chickens and dogs restless."

Wei Hu and Wen Tai looked at each other. If the situation really develops according to Zhu Xiu's judgment, it will naturally be the best for Jiedu Mansion and Yajun.

(End of this chapter)