"This matter is simple to say, but it is very important to me."
Chen Ling sat cross-legged and smiled bitterly.
"About twenty years ago, when the late emperor was still alive, a dragon fell into the sea outside the Huaihe River. My father, as a general from the first surrender, was ordered by the emperor to go out to sea to find the dragon's corpse. The dragon's corpse was found, but in the end he also met the great Dongyi man.
Although the Governor was not yet a Grand Master at that time, he was already a well-known figure among the Grand Masters, and there were enough Dongyi and Yaozu Erdao navy around him... The Wei navy was naturally defeated in one battle...
"Now that they were defeated, everyone fled in panic, looking for ways to survive. Only my father, a newly descended person with the emperor's life, was shattered by a Dongyi master and his arm was still alive. He would rather die than retreat. As the saying goes, good fortune and misfortune are hard to come by.
Unexpectedly, this move actually attracted the great governor's admiration. He shouted to stop him on the spot, and even separated an arm from the dragon corpse, asking my father to bring it to the late emperor to see.
"After coming back, the late emperor appreciated my father's loyalty and bravery and rewarded me with one of the ferocious and thinly thorned dragon bones. My father took it home and found a craftsman for half a year to separate it. Then he got forty golden awls, which he thought were passed down to the world."
At this point, Chen Ling pointed his finger at Zhang Xing: "Zhang Baishou, do you understand what I said?"
Zhang Xing nodded slowly: "If what I have predicted is correct, you want to say that it is not easy for your Chen family to continue. Your ancestors worked hard and were crippled before they were recognized by the Wei Dynasty and were able to continue to prosper, so they are not willing to get involved in this mess."
Things that caused the family to take risks that they shouldn’t have taken.”
"That's right..." Chen Ling immediately raised his hand. "I knew you could really understand me! What is a dragon bone? What is a golden awl? What does Wang Zuojun's copybook and the business of Metasequoia Forest count? The key is, I
The continuation of the Zhongli Chen family! Moreover, this is not a matter of my father's arm. You should know that my ancestors built the Wubao and made the Chen family prosperous in Jianghuai for two hundred years. It was not just my father's experience. Zhang Baishou, you know the previous two hundred years.
, what’s the situation in the Jianghuai area?”
"I know a little bit." Zhang Xing lowered his head and drank a glass of wine, feeling real admiration and emotion in his heart.
I am really impressed and impressed.
You must know that before the Wei Dynasty destroyed the Eastern Qi, swallowed up the Southern Chen, surrendered to the Northern Wilderness, and divided the Wu clan into three parts, the world was basically divided into north, south, and east. Jianghuai was located on the dividing line between the north and the south, and had always been a place where wars between the north and the south were repeated.
…If the North wants to invade the South, and if the South wants to Expedition the North, it is indispensable to have troops in the Jianghuai River.
In the past two hundred years, there have been no fewer than ten battles involving more than 100,000 fine armor.
Not to mention, both the north and the south are also internally unstable. The south has changed three or four times in two hundred years, and the north has also changed two or three times. In between, there have been internal struggles among powerful ministers, palace coups, and large-scale civil strife. The Chen family has been
Wubao, the lowest form of tyranny, has continued to flourish for two hundred years. It is definitely not something that can be described as lucky.
"It's good that you know. It's easiest to talk to a smart person like you." Chen Ling answered with a sigh while holding a cup. "To tell you the truth, I have three family mottos in my family that I dare not forget for half a day... One is about fighting across the world.
When the time comes, you should take the lead bravely and be loyal to the end without fear! What does Zhang Baishou think? How courageous is he still?"
"It's so white." Zhang Xing held the cup with both hands facing each other, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Okay!" Chen Ling also drank the drink in one gulp, and then continued. "Secondly, when the world is in chaos, it is not a pity to maintain courage and strength by valuing wealth over military forces..."
"This one is even better than the first one," Zhang Xingyi said. "I consider myself to be a people-oriented person, and this one is actually somewhat similar to respecting the family."
"What a people-oriented person... People are the capital! No wealth or treasure can compare with people!" Chen Ling was obviously a little emotional. "I actually heard such words from a white-souled mouth... You can see how many wine bags and rice bags there are.
!Let’s have another drink!”
Zhang Xing raised his hand to drink with him.
"Three principles of peace in the world are not to seek merit, but to seek no faults..." Chen Ling drank another drink and continued, but couldn't help laughing to himself. "What do you think of the third one?"
"It makes some sense." Zhang Xing thought for a while and answered it sincerely... because it does make sense. "But it is only reasonable, and it is not something I can take."
"I understand, I understand!" Chen Ling responded. "I understand people like you! I have to admit that people like you are the kind of people who can achieve great things and enter history books... But if you become something big,
But ninety-nine people had to die on the way, and even the one who succeeded, in his biography, people like our Chen family are indispensable to come forward to maintain the place and bring peace to the world. So Zhang Baishou
, I tell you clearly tonight, no matter how hard you try, I will not go... This is my family motto, I will never speculate and take risks easily. No matter how big the opportunity is, no matter how small the risk, I will not move! We
There are just two kinds of people! That’s it! That’s it!”
At this point, before Zhang Xing could say anything, Chen Lingfu laughed again:
"Don't talk about these big words, talk over drinks, just discuss the matter. Your biggest reliance this time is actually just the Bai family and your official connections in Jing'antai, and this just increases my worries, because I obey the transfer of subordinates in Jing'antai by Uncle Cao
Army, follow the request of the noble daughter of the Bai family to mobilize the army. I don’t want to join anyone... Even if the Bai family is powerful, even if Emperor Cao of Jing’antai is the golden pillar of the court, aren’t there still saints? Saints are heaven and talent.
It can truly determine the success or failure of my family!"
Zhang Xing thought for a moment, lowered his head again and drank a glass of wine. Then he handed the cup to the maid beside him and asked seriously: "So, has the imperial messenger arrived?"
"Here we are, just when you were making a big fuss in the Metasequoia Forest, otherwise how could we have had this feast?"
Chen Ling lowered his head and fiddled with the chopsticks on the table, and his words returned to calmness. "It is probably difficult for the imperial court to understand your difficulties... In fact, this is the daily attitude of the imperial court... In short, without Nanya Jun's decree, Jing'an
Taiwan will definitely not give me a general, Ying Yanglang, to issue orders directly. That is a big taboo. At present, there is only a rough statement from the Ministry of War, even you know the kind, asking me to carefully maintain public order in the surrounding area and provide assistance... With this
An official document, two teams of three hundred fine armor, you can take it with you."
Zhang Xing's heart completely sank.
Before coming, he and Bai Yousi could think of the best way to deal with this situation, which was to persuade Chen Ling to destroy Jishan before the bandits sent troops, and then cross the Huanshui River, and take advantage of the absence of bandits in Yongcheng.
Before dispersing, invite an attack head-on and defeat them in one fell swoop to avoid the most troublesome and worst situation - bandits swarming up and plundering from all sides.
After all, if it really ended up like that, the bandits would not be able to avoid casualties, nor would they be able to steal enough food, and the food transportation work and the planned tasks would all collapse.
It is impossible to say that the seven counties in Jiangdong will come to replenish the food supply, which will inevitably lead to the clearing of Dangshan by the army afterwards.
So having said that,
What are three hundred fine armors enough for? Do you think you are Su Dingfang? Or do you mean that all three hundred people have the cultivation level of Dzogchen?
The so-called three hundred fine armors have only one function, and that is to protect the personal belongings brought back by the Jinyi patrolmen in possible turmoil...that's all, that's all.
After thinking about this, Zhang Xingfu held his wine glass and said in a deep voice: "Actually, there is another way."
"I appreciate Zhang Baishou even more." Chen Ling clasped his hands and sighed, then raised his head seriously, revealing his red face. "But it's useless... Although I am not as good as General Zhao Lang of Moyun Golden Wings, but as an eagle who enters the palace,
General Yang Lang is a little stronger than the Zuo You you saw today. Otherwise, why would you have commanded three thousand fine armors and formed a formation? Zhang Baishou, although you have some strange tricks, if you want to threaten me with a golden cone... ha...
Isn’t this just asking for death?”
As he said that, Chen Ling sat cross-legged in his seat, calmly watching the other party's reaction.
Zhang Xing, who was sitting opposite, just remained silent.
Seeing this situation, Chen Ling came to comfort him: "Why should Zhang Sanlang do anything? Not to mention that my family has been standing in Jianghuai for two hundred years. I am higher than you, older than you, and more powerful than you... Just one thing.
, that is, as long as I sit still in this matter, I can win. Although you have all kinds of ideas, you can't poke me, so isn't it natural for you to suffer today's setback in front of me?
In short, it’s okay if you are used to being a hero and doing extraordinary things, but don’t underestimate others.”
Zhang Xing, who was sitting opposite, was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I am self-righteous."
"Is there anything else you want to say?" Chen Lingfu asked again with a smile.
"Yes." Zhang Xing answered seriously. "General Chen, please don't embarrass the woman in the Metasequoia Forest, because I will come back sooner or later."
Chen Ling was stunned for a moment, nodded, and raised his hand slightly.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Xing stood up, took the golden awl, bowed his hands, and walked out without saying a word.
The next morning, Zhang Baishou, who had come with a strong attitude and a confident mind, did not struggle anymore, but chose to leave in despair with two teams of 300 fine armors and a few bags of belongings...
This is a complete defeat, a defeat that leaves no room for excuse.
Although there were good reasons, a failure was a failure - Zhang Xing was ordered to come here to persuade Ying Yanglang General Chen Ling to send troops to resolve the matter first, but he could not do so.
As for the accompanying people, Qin Bao and Zhou Xingfan were also frustrated. On the contrary, the other accompanying patrols did not care. For them, they were just on a mission. Although Zhang Baishou had a dark face, it was good that he did not anger them.
.
Obviously, not everyone is willing to take on responsibilities beyond their own responsibilities.
The journey back was much shorter, because the fleet did not dare to stop at all. It has been moving forward on time these days. Now it has already passed Guyang and arrived in Qixian County. But even so, because of the presence of three hundred fine armors, when
When Zhang Xing returned to the fleet, it was already halfway through the twelfth lunar month.
In other words, the Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer.
Returning to the fleet, I met Bai Yousi and the others. It was not unexpected. There was no ridicule, but more comfort and encouragement. But for some reason, there seemed to be a trace of relief in these comforts and encouragements.
Meaning.
"If Chen Ling said this, even if it were Daluo Immortal, there would be nothing he could do."
Looking at the golden awl in front of him, Qian Tang simply shook his head in response. "I don't want the gold and silver treasures, I don't recognize the Bai family's reputation, and I can't be scared by the officials of Jing'antai. What else can I do? I am a Ying Yanglang general who has entered the palace.
, a serious general!"
"The problem is not the official position, but the host and guest... Nowadays, people are sitting on the ground, and although we are dragons crossing the river, we are dragons crossing the river that can't get out of the way or stop." Li Qingchen didn't mock, but just shook his head in arms.
"Now that they are hiding far away, what can we do if we can't reach them with our paws? The only trouble is that if the planners know about it, they may risk their lives to cause trouble."
"I just sweep the snow in front of my door and don't care about the frost on other people's tiles." Hu Yan glanced at the trackers outside the window and shook his head in reply. "Who in this world is not like this? Chen Ling can show off the family motto and it's him.
As for other people, they often find out when they get involved in the bad things above, and then they narrowly escape death... This is just Zhang Sanlang's fault."
Obviously, Hu Yan recalled the incident where Chen Wenda, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, investigated Li Shu thoroughly that day, which almost cost him his life. Then he realized that it was a bit embarrassing to say this again at this time, so he turned around abruptly. But now that he said this,
It still made people think too much. For a moment, even Bai Yousi couldn't say anything because she was solely responsible for that matter.
After being silent for a while, Zhang Xing continued to ask: "Over there, only the Ministry of War responded to the letter. What about our side? Does Taichung have an opinion?"
"Yes." Li Qingchen held his arms and rushed to confront him. "About the same day, Taichung Kuai Ma gave me an explanation, telling me not to worry too much and to protect myself as much as possible. Then he said that reinforcements would be sent over, but I was afraid of killing Zhang Sanlang.
I can’t even imagine who it is..."
"who?"
"Sima Erlong and Fulongwei!" Li Qingchen sneered. "According to Sima Erlong's speed, I'm afraid they will fly in tonight or tomorrow night... If they come, at least they can stop Jishan from building a dam."
"Why Sima Zheng and Fulongwei?" Zhang Xing was really surprised. "What does he have to do with us? They are not from the Zhenfu Division."
"It's hard to say..." Qian Tang sighed softly, with a strange expression. "We all guessed that maybe Sima was about to transfer to the army as a general, and he was going to Fusi in West Town to become the leader of the Fulong Guard... But it was just a guess.
.”
Zhang Xing didn't say anything, and Bai Yousi didn't say anything either. It was obvious that this kind of speculation was very popular and indeed reasonable.
All I can say is, no wonder everyone is worried.
After all, if Bai Yousiruo goes to Fulongwei, how will the twenty or thirty members of the patrol group deal with it? How many people can be brought there, and who can they be?
After a night of silence, the fleet continued its journey the next day. Although several officials from Shangji County noticed Zhang Xing's return and knew something was wrong, they were put off by the news that the world-famous Sima Erlong was about to come to rescue.
Another night passed, and on the morning of the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Xing saw a stream of light coming from a distance. He knew that this must be Sima Zheng abandoning his headquarters and flying over to communicate in advance, so he directly abandoned the three hundred soldiers and boarded the ship.
.
Sure enough, the person who came was none other than Sima Zheng.
When the two sides met in the cabin, Sima Zheng actually remembered Zhang Xing, whom they met that day, and also returned the favor alone, which was really hard to find annoying.
Next, the two groups of people sat down in the cabin and took a breather. However, Sima Zheng immediately frowned and obviously hesitated a little.
"I dare to ask Sima Zhu Shou, are there any difficulties?" Zhang Xing asked in confusion. "It should be very simple in Jishan."
"It's not Jishan." Sima Zheng explained sincerely. "Of course there is no problem in going to Jishan to organize dam construction...but I didn't expect that the overall situation here is so bad. If it is as you said, tens of thousands of people will be hungry by then.
Bandits swarm up at night, even if a real dragon comes down to earth, they will not be able to stop the disaster... The officials will be in trouble, and the hungry people will not be able to survive after robbing the food, but they will only add merit to the army."
From Bai Yousi down, everyone was silent. No one added fuel to the fire and mentioned the matter of food replenishment in the southeast.
"Furthermore, one thing doesn't seem right." Sima Zheng continued. "Not to mention that the messengers in Jing'antai are very fast, but the documents from the Ministry of War are actually transmitted as fast as ours? According to the procrastination of the Ministry of War, this kind of
How come 'little things' got a reply to Long Gang so quickly?"
Everyone almost sighed in unison.
Zhang Xing also sighed on the spot, and then wanted to explain... But the next moment, several messages gathered in his mind, but almost instantly, the hair on his back exploded, and he stood up suddenly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise, but Zhang Xing stared straight at Bai Yousi, speaking with difficulty: "Inspection inspection, please stay with Sima Changjian for a moment. When I come back, I will go see Zhou Xingfan."
Bai Yousi didn't know why, but he nodded directly.
Everything was mixed in Zhang Xing's mind. When he came out of the hatch, the third-rate master who had access to the nine main meridians staggered and almost fell down. However, when he jumped off the boat and called Zhou Xingfan who was next to him, he calmed down:
"Xingfan, Chen family started from Jianghuai Wubao?"
"Yes." Zhou Xingfan was confused, but he still answered appropriately. "Everyone knows that Chen is the leader of the Jianghuai Wubao force."
"Then let me ask you again, isn't the foundation of his family the local power of Jianghuai? Is it the powerful Jianghuai and the heroes around him?"
"Of course that's the case. There have been many times when the Jianghuai people rebelled and acted in rebellion, always with his family as the leader."
"And his three thousand soldiers are the soldiers of the imperial court? They have nothing to do with his family's power, right or wrong?"
"Of course it is." Zhou Xingfan became more and more surprised. "What's wrong with Brother Zhang?"
"It's okay." Zhang Xing suppressed the discomfort in his heart and tried his best to order. "You can get on the boat now and ask Bai Inspector to come out. Let her come to see me alone and tell her that I have something important to discuss."
Zhou Xingfan did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly obeyed the order. After a while, Bai Yousi easily flew out by grabbing Mr. Zhou's collar.
"What's wrong?" Bai Yousi asked hurriedly as soon as he landed on the bank of Huanshui River. "I've never seen you so glum!"
Zhang Xing hesitated to speak, but led the other party to the side for dozens of steps before he stopped: "I was tricked by Chen Ling! And I have some ideas, and I want to confront the patrol inspector."
"How did you do it?" Bai Yousi asked in surprise, holding the long sword.
"Let's do it little by little... I'm also confused now." Zhang Xing said seriously. "First of all, Chen Ling claims that he doesn't want to cause trouble, so he obeys the orders and doesn't move... But Sima Changjian came over and said something good
Yes, Chen Ling was really so quick and lucky, did he just get the Ministry of War documents when I started to manipulate him?"
"Why did he fake it?" Bai Yousi asked in surprise. "If he faked it to trick you, wouldn't he be afraid that he would write a document later to clearly ask him to help us?"
"This can only mean one thing. He doesn't want to send troops to fight the Dangshan bandits at this time, even if the imperial court gives a formal order."
"No, it doesn't make sense. Sooner or later, you will be ordered to send troops. Don't forget... We just said that if these Dang mountain bandits are allowed to get their hands on food this time, the imperial court decrees that he will have to send troops to quell the Dang mountain bandits."
"It's different." Zhang Xing stared at Bai Yousi and answered seriously. "That time, he did his own thing. This time he sent troops in front of experts like us... He wanted to hide, not to send troops themselves, but to ensure that we were monitoring him.
He sent troops."
Bai Yousi became more and more confused: "I have been confused by you."
"The thing is very simple." By the river, Zhou Xingfan and others were watching from a distance, while Zhang Xing couldn't help lowering his voice in response. "Master Zhou just told me that the Chen family originated from Jianghuai Wubao, and his fundamental power
, it was never the government soldiers assigned to him by the imperial court, but the powerful Jianghuai and local heroes who had been inseparable from his family for several lifetimes."
"You mean... the reason why Chen Ling did not send troops is because the leaders of the Dangshan bandits, as well as the rangers, heroes, and criminals who have gathered recently, are his foundation. He wants to ensure that these people can escape intact during the imperial annihilation.
?" Bai Yousi continued following Zhang Xing's train of thought, but instinctively shook his head. "It's still wrong... there's something completely wrong."
"Of course not." Zhang Xing looked up to the sky and sighed. "We thought Chen Ling was following the third family motto, but in fact he was following the second family motto!"
Bai Yousi opened his mouth to speak, but then he was stunned on the spot.
"That night, the inspector asked me whether this Wei Dynasty was destined to be hopeless... In fact, the problem has been explained." Zhang Xing looked at the other person's eyes and said every word. "Even a person with your background, the inspector, can't help you."
After learning about Jiangdong's taxation, we began to discuss this issue. Then why do you think that local forces that have fought hard in such troubled times will not analyze it? And why do you think that people must regard this time as peace? Yang
People witnessed the Shen Rebellion with their own eyes; the second conquest of Dongyi failed. Xuzhou, as the southern camp, is just over Dangshan Mountain. It is impossible to say that there are many heroes hiding in Dangshan Mountain to avoid the second conquest of Dongyi; and I don’t believe that the taxes in Jiangdong are here in Jianghuai
It's much better. Inspection, if you think about it according to the second family motto, assuming that Chen Ling has already felt that the world is going to be chaotic, and feels that he needs to build up his strength, wouldn't it be all right?!"
Bai Yousi thought for a long time and suddenly asked: "Then what should we do?"
"It depends on what the inspection wants to do?" Zhang Xingping answered. "We agreed in advance that I won't bring a compass when I go on this trip, so we have to work hard on our own."
"Same as before, I want to save the innocent and the weak... Even if we really want to fight, the strong should come first and win or lose." Bai Yousi's eyes were clear, and he didn't think twice.
"Can Sima Changjian be trusted?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.
"Sima Zheng is often constrained by his family and behaves stingily, but now that he is away from home, he is still willing to be open-minded and open-minded... Our thoughts are clear and there is nothing to say, and there is no reason for him not to help."
"So, I have a plan that may work." Zhang Xing replied with a sigh. "It is impossible to force Chen Ling to send troops now, but we can ask Sima Changjian to suppress him. After creating a situation where he has to send troops,
If I force him to send troops openly... And if the inspector can trust my ability, please give me the golden awl and let Qin Er and I go to Dangshan Mountain."
Bai Yousi held the sword in his arms and said nothing.
"I should have thought of it earlier." Zhang Xing hurriedly explained. "It is too difficult to deal with Chen Ling, a sophisticated and cunning person who knows what he wants. So instead of forcing him to send troops, it is better to do the opposite and go
The chaos of Dangshan made counter-intentional plots, prompting Dangshan to send troops! Once Dangshan gathered their elite thieves and arrived at Jishan on the west side of Huan River, Chen Ling would have to send troops to attack under the watchful eyes of Sima Changjian... Then there would be a battle
And if we break it, we can solve the situation at the least cost and in a way that best suits the inspection and my thoughts."
"It's not that I don't understand your strategy." Bai Yousi hesitated for a moment and answered in a deep voice. "But I'm worried about your safety... Although Chen Ling from Longgang is a cunning and powerful person, he will not threaten you easily.
Dangshan is the other way around.”
Zhang Xing immediately laughed: "So you have to be alone and just stop going?"
Bai Yousi also laughed.
"Inspector, please trust me again and give me the golden cone." Zhang Xing handed over his hand sternly. "There is still plenty of time. I'll be back as soon as I go."
PS: It's a holiday. Happy New Year everyone. Good night. I'm sorry. See you tomorrow.