"I feel ashamed to say that I have known Brother Wang for many years, but I have never asked him his name...please enlighten me." In front of Wanjun, in full view of everyone, Zhang Xing stepped over Wang Zhen and others and asked, attracting everyone's attention.
Wang Gonggong was silent for a moment, but returned with his hands: "It's all gone. The experience of Beiya in the past is nothing to mention before the current situation. Wang is thinking of changing his name, abandoning the past, and starting a new life. If you don't give up, please give me a try."
Help me come up with a name."
"Brother Wang wants to make a new comeback, of course it's okay, but with your heroic demeanor, why do you need others to give you a name?" Zhang Xing smiled more and more. "How about you name one yourself? I must remember it today."
"How about just naming each one, Fire Table Boiled?" Wang Gonggong didn't refuse and immediately thought of a name.
Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment and turned back out of curiosity... It wasn't that he was uneducated, but that he didn't have this kind of knowledge. In addition, the level of the former Beiya official was naturally high. This just showed that someone's level of education was a bit low.
Of course, when the rear saw this, Chief Wei Xuanding immediately stepped forward, twirling his beard and laughing: "Zhuo Tong Zhuo, it means clearly. Your Majesty... Mr. Wang has understood the situation."
Zhang Xing was stunned, and the other leaders and officers with mixed backgrounds also seemed to be stunned.
On the contrary, Wang Gonggong, that is, Wang Zhuo himself, just smiled and shook his head when he heard this, and took the initiative to explain: "Chief Wei thinks highly of me. I use cooking and water blanch... This experience is really like this."
Being stripped naked and put in a pot and boiled in water is so indistinguishable...it can be considered a warning."
Now that things have happened, everyone naturally knows the whole story of that day, and they can't help but burst into laughter. Many people even seem to be mocking, but for some reason, few people actually laugh.
"It's quite good." Zhang Xing reacted, nodded, and no longer dwelled on the matter. "The root of this war is the multi-pronged encirclement and suppression by the government and army. Our rebels, led by our Deposed Dragon Gang, rose up to resist. On the Eastern Front,
We, the Deposed Dragon Gang, resisted. Here on the southern front, Brother Wang's army was small and there was no need to fight to the death. However, he still led his troops to hold back Han Yingong's main force, and then he pretended to surrender and blew up Han Yingong's camp.
, so that the guy could not advance and disturbed the decisive battle on the eastern front, and now he can only wait and walk away. I think Brother Wang and his rebel army are the first to succeed on the southern front. Do you have any objections?"
When he said these words, he seemed to be complimenting Wang Zhuo, but later he turned around and consulted with the heroes and officers present.
Everyone present looked at each other, but no one refuted it.
Without him, the Meng rebel army collapsed before the war, and the Huaiyou Alliance did not take action after all. This so-called first victory on the southern front could only be chosen between Wang Zhuo and his internal servants, and Wang Zhen and his Mangdang Mountain bandits.
However, paper cannot cover the fire. Just as everyone knows that Wang Zhuo and his servants burst into flames after being boiled in water, so the news that Wang Zhen was once shaken by Sima Zheng on Mangdang Mountain has long been known.
It was passed down through certain channels on Mangdang Mountain... In this case, even if Mangdang Mountain made a great contribution in the end, Wang Zhen could make up for it, but should he be the first to do it?
Instead of fighting with him, should he pass over Wang Zhen, the real leader, to Zhou Xingfan and Chef Fan? Bai Yousi has captured Lu Changheng, but there is no need to compete for the credit here, right?
Therefore, no one can refute the theory of first merit.
"so."
Zhang Xing looked around, his eyes swept across all the key figures present, and continued speaking matter-of-factly. "Since everyone has no objections, and since we all belong to the rebel army, I think I can recommend Brother Wang to join the Deposed Dragon Gang and become a member of the Deposed Dragon Gang."
A big leader...what do you think?"
There was a sudden silence all around, but the army behind them was still coming towards Yucheng, which was controlled by friendly forces, in a steady stream. They were walking in a hurry, their clothes were well-dressed, and they had a heavy weight on their shoulders, just like a long forest.
Wang Zhuo stood there with a magnanimous expression, still speechless, but his mind quickly started spinning, and he quickly made up his mind - he wanted to join the Deposed Dragon Gang and become the big leader.
The reason is very simple.
After this battle, the surrounding situation will definitely become more intense in the future, and that night, when he and the chamberlain army made that shocking blow, they also lost too much... On the one hand, it was a loss of strength, and on the other hand, it was a complete loss.
Losing the possibility of making peace with the imperial court... In this case, he and his internal servants must be recognized by the Deposed Dragon Gang in order to continue to survive in the cracks between the Huaiyou Alliance, the Deposed Dragon Gang, and the imperial army.
There is nothing unacceptable about being completely thrown into the arms of the Deposed Dragon Gang, the biggest victor in this battle.
Of course there are many opponents, or potential dissatisfiers.
Li Shu, Shan Tonghai, Xiong Bonan, even Xu Shiying, Zhai Qian, Wang Zhen and others will feel a little uneasy. For everyone, no one of them is happy to have another big leader.
But how to say it?
Who can object at this time?
Would a man as smart as Li Shu object to Zhang Xing when he had just won such a big victory and had such high prestige? Xu Shiying was equally smart, would he object? Zhai Qian's own boss had not yet become a full-time official, would he object?
As for the leader Yanzu, the ancestral minister, he didn't even see him squeezing forward, okay? Wang Zhen didn't even dare to raise his head to look at Zhang Xing the whole time.
On the other hand, Shan Tonghai, after hesitating for a moment, couldn't help but step forward and wanted to speak.
But at this moment, Bai Yousi smiled while holding the sword.
This seemed to make the scene that originally wanted to make a noise quiet down again, and Shan Tonghai also remained silent.
However, after a while, someone still spoke seriously.
"Zhang Longtou, for such an important matter as the big boss, should we wait until the war is completely over before everyone can gather together and discuss it?" Purple Faced King Xiong Bonan took a step forward and asked seriously.
"It makes sense." Zhang Xing nodded, but then shook his head. "However, my suggestion at this time has definitely not broken the rules... Because Chief Wei, Li Longtou and I are all here, and among the big leaders, it is only Wang Wulang and
Cheng Dalang is not here, and the number of people is completely in line with the rules... More importantly, leader Wang Zhuo has made outstanding achievements. Now that he has seen it, why bother to wait, procrastinate, and not reward the merits? Wouldn't it cool the hearts of the heroes in the world to serve?
?”
He said this as if Wang Zhuo invited him to join.
But it still took effect, and Xiong Bonan immediately shut up.
At this time, Wei Xuanding, who had weighed the pros and cons, finally stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves and raised half of his forearm: "If you follow the rules, then I, the chief, will speak first... I agree."
Zhang Xing immediately went to see Xiong Bonan, who had retreated.
Xiong Bonan thought for a moment and nodded: "Of course I agree."
As soon as these words came out, several smart people around him exhaled. Li Shu and Xu Shiying immediately spoke and expressed their agreement... Seeing this, Qingzhi was irresistible. Shan Tonghai also simply agreed, and Zu Chenyan finally showed up.
He expressed his stance, but just nodded in agreement.
In this way, the former Beiya Gonggong and today's Wang Zhuo officially became the leader of the Deposed Dragon Gang after meeting Zhang Xing in the north of Yucheng, and according to the rules, he was assigned to the left wing.
So far, Zhang Dalongtou has not gone too far, but happily greeted everyone to enter the city.
Let's say that this is not the first time Zhang Xing has come to Yucheng, but this time he came in, more like a master than the last time... As soon as he entered, he first ordered Xu Shiying and Zhai Qian to take over the city defense, and then asked Xiong Bonan,
Zhang Jinshu rectified military discipline, and then asked Wei Xuanding and Yan Qing to assist Bai Yousi in verifying the first-level military merits obtained in previous battles... After giving the order, he simply found a small courtyard to live directly, and let the others rest.
There wasn't even a formal banquet.
During the whole process, Wang Zhen was scratching his head. He waited until this moment and saw that only Xiao Zhou chased after him. He finally did not dare to delay any longer and passed by.
"Don't worry, I don't blame you for some things." Zhang Xing turned around and saw Wang Zhen following in, but he didn't even sit down, so he just put his hands behind his hands and looked back at each other in the yard. "Not to mention that Sima Erlong didn't care about you at all.
You have a sense of loyalty, and you just say that you don’t care about your heart. After all, you led your troops here and blocked Yucheng and blocked Lu Changheng. You always have merits and no faults... The reason why I want to ignore you is because some things will happen once
If you discuss it in public, it won't stop others from taking offense on the spot, but it will embarrass you."
Wang Zhen woke up and felt relieved, but since he came in, he couldn't leave directly. He always felt that he should say something, so he handed over his hand and said: "It's just one thing, third brother, I have not lied about my loyalty to you!"
"
Zhang Xing nodded immediately: "I have never doubted our loyalty in the slightest. We made an appointment that day, and we will remember it to this day and will never forget it in the future."
Wang Zhen was completely speechless. He wanted to say something more, but he really didn't know what else to say. He could only raise his hands to Zhang Xing and Zhou Xingfan in turn, then turned and left.
Zhang Xing returned the gift with his hand.
Xiao Zhou just watched the other party leave coldly, and then turned back bitterly: "Third brother, even if you say this, are you going to let him do this?"
"If you were me, how would you deal with him?" Zhang Xing thought for a moment and asked in turn.
Xiao Zhou thought about it and felt at a loss... The problem is indeed like this. Wang Zhen has a problem. He has wavered in his fundamental position, but he has not taken any practical actions. Instead, he came to Yucheng to resist the enemy, and
After the decisive battle, he successfully pursued and caused casualties... so-called merit but no fault.
Even just talking about positions, Wang Zhen is half one of his own, and in the Deposed Dragon Gang, there are also Li Shu, uncles and nephews of the Fang family, and powerful factions like Shan Tonghai who are secretly opposed to each other in public and private affairs, and even some
Many of them are just making a living, and there are a large number of rich local households, landlords, and descendants who don't need to ask about their position.
In this case, it is okay to deal with Wang Zhen, but isn't it weakening his own power in disguise?
At this thought, Xiao Zhou felt powerless, but in the end he could not help but feel angry: "I can't even fight against the violent Wei Dynasty. I can't say that I am not as good as those under Li Shu."
"This makes sense, but have you ever thought about it, if Wang Zhen was not in Mangdang Mountain, but was in our Deposed Dragon Gang from the beginning, in Jiyin and Dongjun, would he still be uncertain?" Zhang Xing
Hearing this, he smiled instead. "On the other hand, if Li Shu's Kansai confidants had independently controlled an army in Mangdang Mountain, wouldn't they have wavered? In the final analysis, loyalty is real, and so does wavering.
Really, we just shouldn’t overestimate people and underestimate the environment. I would say that a small part of the problem lies with Wang Zhen, but most of it lies with Mangdang Mountain alone.”
"So... what are third brothers going to do?" Xiao Zhou was thoughtful and didn't have the time to ask.
"In addition to expelling Han Yingong, the most important thing I want to do when I go south this time is to bring Mangdang Mountain and the inner servant army under the direct control of the Deposed Dragon Gang, and then swallow up Chuqiu, Yucheng, Dangxian, and Xiayi...
..." Zhang Xing responded calmly. "The inner servant army is weak and has no independent ability to survive after this war. Just one sentence is enough, but in Mangdang Mountain, we need to pay equal attention to kindness and power, and use some means... I asked them to test it.
Military merit lies in this."
At this moment, Zhou Xingfan completely woke up.
That night, since Zhang Xing did not hold a banquet, the generals could only find their own place to stay in Yucheng, which had already emptied half of the city. Some fell into the army, and some entered the original county offices, official offices, and Cangcheng.
, some people found empty residential houses, and they were in groups of three or five, each having communication.
Wang Zhen did not violate Hutu this time. Although Zhang Xing had no intention of living there, he still took the initiative to give up the county government office and handed it over to Wei Xuanding, while he moved to Cangcheng.
That night, after he ate some food, he went directly to bed. Unexpectedly, as soon as he lay down, Chef Fan suddenly came to look for him again.
"What's going on?"
After going out and doing everything casually, Chef Fan went directly to Wang Zhen's bedroom. The latter just frowned and stood up, crossing his legs on the couch to ask.
"The more I think about it, the more wrong I am." Chef Fan rubbed his belly and sat down on the bedside, and said seriously. "Master... tell me, since that person swallowed up the internal servants so easily, will he take a military merit test early tomorrow morning?
Will he swallow us up too?"
Wang Zhen thought for a while, then asked seriously on the bed: "So what if I swallow it?"
Chef Fan was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer.
"So, so what if I swallow it?" Wang Zhen saw this and continued to ask. "Have you forgotten that I was the leader of the Deposed Dragon Gang? I was there when the gang was first established."
Chef Fan finally said: "But the people up and down Mangdang Mountain are just bandits, not members of the Deposed Dragon Gang..."
Wang Zhen thought for a while and continued to ask: "You don't want to recognize me as the boss?"
"Of course not." Chef Fan shook his head quickly. "I want the master to take us and not get involved..."
"How could I not get involved?" Wang Zhen was helpless and a little hard to understand. "And didn't you tell me before that officials are officials and thieves are thieves?"
Chef Fan sighed: "But a thief is a thief, and a bandit is a bandit. And we have made meritorious deeds. As long as we grit our teeth, he will break the rules and swallow us up in public."
.”
"I probably understand what you mean." Wang Zhen also sighed. "Anyway, you want to hold on to the Mangdang Mountain area and then make ends meet by yourself?"
"Yes." Chef Fan was stunned and nodded immediately. "That's what I mean."
"But why can't we go with Brother Zhang?" Wang Zhen asked seriously.
"Not only this Third Master Zhang, but also Second Master Sima and White Lady, I don't want to follow them." Chef Fan said sincerely. "These are all big shots, with ideas and abilities..."
"Isn't it good to have ideas and abilities?" Wang Zhen said thoughtfully.
"That's good, but I don't have the ability, and neither do these bastards in the mountains. Those who have no ability follow the capable people, so that Xilihutu will be used as a stepping stone and their lives will be wasted.
" Chef Fan's words became more sincere.
"I understand your reasoning. One general's success can lead to thousands of bones drying up." Wang Zhen finally came to his senses. "What do you want from me?"
"I will propose it tomorrow and ask everyone to go back to Mangdang Mountain." Chef Fan answered seriously. "That person understands it in his heart. Once you tell him, he will understand."
Wang Zhen nodded hurriedly: "Whenever brothers want to leave, I will do my best. At worst, I will stay and let Brother Zhang send someone to take care of things on the mountain... It will never damage our loyalty on the mountain."
Hearing this, Chef Fan finally felt relieved, but he said goodbye and left while feeling his stomach.
As soon as the person left, Wang Zhen looked at the large and small crescent moons outside the window. He only felt that it was so hard for people to maintain their loyalty after entering the Jianghu. This was really something he had never thought of before. However, he was fascinated by the two moons for a while. It took a long time.
Go to sleep.
In fact, it was probably rare to enter the city that night, and the news of Han Yingong's escape gave everyone a reassurance, so many people began to care about it. Chef Fan and Wang Zhenlai discussed it one time and another, although Fang Yanlang
, Du Caiqian and other confidants were accused by Zhang Xing of cleaning the battlefield in Lihu, but there was still a big leader Zu Chenyan beside Li Shu who took the initiative to show concern.
Zu Chenyan came from a famous family in the Eastern Qi Dynasty. He was a good writer in literature and was known as a talented scholar in his early years. However, because his father, as the last powerful official in the Eastern Qi Dynasty, had a bad reputation, he was publicly humiliated by the pilgrim saint who had just ascended the throne at that time.
, and then for decades he could only work as a low-ranking official in the Eastern Qi family.
This incident not only reflects the Wei Dynasty's basic ethics of adhering to Guanlong's standard, but also reflects the noble character of the pilgrim saint. A small side effect is that this ancestor has been particularly aggrieved in the past ten years of his life.
At the same time, he had to live in the state and county, doing dirty work for more than ten years as a so-called noble person.
Therefore, he was very worried about some things, but he did not dare to show off in public, so he could only go to see Li Shu privately.
"There is no way."
Facing the worries of his supporters, Li Shu seemed a little magnanimous. "There is no better way to gain prestige than fighting. I didn't follow him in Yuncheng. They won in Lihu, so I gave him the opportunity to win."
The strength of people's momentum... If you try to hit them at this time, you are asking for trouble."
"Then don't you care?" Zu Chenyan was sitting on the other side of Li Shu, worried. "I heard that this man was born as a military man in the north. He usually behaves in a arrogant and arrogant way. Once he is allowed to help others,
If we gain the upper hand and pull in all these reckless people, where will we go?"
When Li Shu heard this, he smiled calmly: "It's not that we don't stop him, but that we wait for him to make a mistake."
"How do you say that?" Zu Chenyan couldn't ask further.
"Things must be done according to rules." Across a table, Li Shu explained seriously. "People's hearts have their own direction... For example, after a battle, what you need to do is reward and punishment and expand the victory... This
Sometimes, it is wrong to do other things without doing these two things, so we can bring it up and take the initiative; but on the other hand, if someone is doing these two things, even if their own selfishness is involved,
Even if others are dissatisfied, there is no room for opposition, because if they jump out to oppose at this time, they are opposing the entire Deposed Dragon Gang."
Zu Chenyan thought for a moment and then thought of something: "What about today's events?"
"Of course it is." Li Shu answered seriously. "Today's matter is both reward and punishment and expansion of victory, and that prince and father-in-law indeed have merit... If you speak out at this time, you will not get any favors, you will only be punished.
The other side grabbed our sore feet and hit us in turn."
"But..." Zu Chenyan was still uneasy. "What if he never makes mistakes? What if he always expands his side's power while taking the overall situation into consideration?"
Li Shu was silent for a while and then said seriously: "Of course this is what I least want to see, but if it really is the case, there is nothing we can do."
"How to say?"
"It's very simple. This person is ambitious. Whether it's peace in the world or eradication of the violent Wei Dynasty, he can always keep doing things. But whenever he does the next thing, there will always be complications and there will always be people who are dissatisfied. This When the time comes, we will win over the dissatisfied people. When there are more dissatisfied people, it is time to speak." Li Shu said seriously. "This method is actually very easy to achieve, but it seems a bit selfish, and this method is used. By suppressing him, other people can follow our example in the future to deal with us...unless we break up and separate our families, we will use this method to rectify the situation once and not do it next time."
Zu Chenyan was thoughtful, but couldn't help but stand up, walked around the table, almost next to Li Shu, and asked: "Mr. Li, do you think the Deposed Dragon Gang is currently cooking oil here, and what will happen in the future?" Disband or split up? I think the gang is too mixed. They can unite as one when they are suppressed by the court, but once they expand, they cannot be held back."
Li Shu was silent and just shook his head, but he didn't know whether he wanted to say it wouldn't be the case, or he didn't want to say it, or he felt he shouldn't say it.
It was a noisy night, and there seemed to be exchanges and discussions everywhere, but Zhang Xing just let it go.
The next day, everyone came to the county government office in Yucheng where the wall had been torn down, and began to discuss merits and rewards for the battle before the southern front.
Zhang Xing invited Wei Xuanding and Li Shu to sit side by side, and then placed the military merit book that he had worked hard to check yesterday in front of him, and asked Yan Qing to call forward those who had made meritorious deeds on Mangdang Mountain in public... Of course, in this scene, only those Mangdang Mountains could be called forward. There is a leader of his own in Dangshan Mountain and a hero with good cultivation.
Unexpectedly, the first person called up was Chef Fan.
"Lao Liu." Zhang Xing smiled slightly when he saw the person coming. "You are here to take credit for making the decision in Yucheng. I have already thought about it. I will leave Yucheng to your management. According to the rules of our Deposed Dragon Gang, How about being a helmsman and leading the county magistrate?"
Chef Fan was inexplicably panicked, so he hurriedly asked: "How come I, a cook from Mangdang Mountain, became the helmsman and the county magistrate?"
Li Shu and others also looked sideways.
"You are a person who is loyal, has a stand, and understands the hardships of the people. How can you not be a helmsman and lead the county magistrate?" Zhang Xing answered with a smile. "As for the civil affairs, Jiyin has its own explanation. You can ask the leader Wang Zhuo. There needs to be some people who can read and understand arithmetic and find some local old-time officials. There is no reason why they can't do it well."
"That's not what I meant." Chef Fan quickly explained. "If I become the county magistrate, what will happen to Mangdang Mountain?"
"What kind of Mangdang Mountain is there at this time?" Zhang Xing said with a smile. "From today on, the eastern half of Liang County will belong to our deposed dragon army. We will leave 180 people on Mangdang Mountain as an outpost."
Chef Fan was startled and looked at Wang Zhen who was also confused. Thinking of his words last night, he wanted to refuse.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Zhou Xingfan on the side suddenly scolded with a serious face: "Fan Laoliu... you just stand here with your belly puffed out, isn't it hard for other brothers to wait? Everyone fought hard and stabilized the southern front, and the circle He went to four or five counties and made great contributions, but it happened that the third brother was a person with clear rewards and punishments. The leaders came down to be the helmsman and deputy helmsman, and the heroes were appointed as protectors and deacons. Those who did not know how to be an official could only join the army. What a good thing it is to serve in the army and let everyone make their own way. Why don't you thank me quickly and go to rectify the city's defenses and appease the people in the south of the city who are suffering from war. Don't block everyone's way with your fat body."
When these words were spoken, in the square in front of the county government, all the backbones on Mangdang Mountain became excited, either pushing each other, or couldn't help but raise their feet and raise their heads. They all looked forward and thought in their hearts.
Think about whether you can be a county magistrate or a team general.
When Chef Fan heard the noise behind him, he turned around and saw this scene, and finally felt cold in his heart - he just had some ideas, how could he stop the big guys from chasing fame and position?
You think that one general can accomplish everything, but everyone has their heads hanging on their belts and just want to follow Mr. Zhang to have a chance and find a future.
I'm standing in the middle with my fat body, isn't it blocking everyone's way?
At this thought, Chef Fan continued to chat, his eyes swept over Wang Zhen who also had a complicated expression, Zhang Xing who looked at him with a smile, Zhou Xingfan who squinted and urged, and Li Shu and others who did not know when to calm down their expressions again, but their expressions remained normal.
I didn't even dare to decline the position, so I just gritted my teeth and accepted it.
After all, at this time, even if he resigned from his official position, he would still be hated by the Mangdangshan brothers... What's more, where can he go if he resigns?
Zhang Xing saw the other party bowing down and then looked at Li Shu who was expressionless. He felt very relieved - he was condescending and acted based on the overall situation. It was unreasonable to act in a dignified and upright manner. So what if some people had some thoughts?
Do you really think you don’t know that these people were running around in chaos last night?
However, I have carried out the most solid management, won the most difficult battle, and now have carried out an upright shuffle in a way that represents the interests of the most people.
Who? Why don't you follow your own rules? Besides, I never force anyone, I just open the way for you to choose. If you weigh the pros and cons and still come, isn't it just like a river running into the sea, it's logical?
PS: I printed out a color list of the personnel structure of the Deposed Dragon Gang. Xiao Yu then flushed and sat on it. As a result, half of the Deposed Dragon Gang was wiped out.
