Luo Rucai almost looked like he wanted to tear his heart out, Niu Jinxing stopped talking, and Song Xiance went on to say: "The title of Marshal of Fengtian to advocate Yidu does sound like he wants Marshal Cao to also serve as Chuang Cao Liang.
It is not appropriate to be in charge of the camp. But I think if the word "du" is changed to a big character, and it should be called the Civil and Military Marshal of Fengtian Advocacy, it will only highlight the high prestige, and not show that he can directly control all the camps."
Luo Rucai snorted and said, "I can't bear it, no matter the marshal or the general marshal. Brothers, if you think highly of me, don't mention this matter again."
At this point, Li Zicheng finally stood up. He held Luo Rucai with both hands and said, "Okay! Brother Cao is not vain, and his suggestions are correct. Everyone's opinions are very good. I think this is how things should be done, and I will
With the name of the Civil and Military Marshal of Fengtian Advocating Righteousness, Brother Cao can be called Deputy Marshal of Daitian Fuminweide!"
At this point, Luo Rucai realized that he had fallen into a pit. He stared at Li Zicheng and felt that his old friend had changed a lot and was no longer as frank and simple as before.
He pulled the corners of his mouth and smiled and said: "Hey! Providing support to the people on behalf of heaven sounds really grand. He is also Deputy Marshal Weide. He really respects me! My old Cao also deserves it, and I can only feel grateful in my heart.
I have nothing to say. It’s just that all the soldiers under my command are used to calling me ‘Commander’, and the soldiers in other camps are also used to calling me ‘Commander Cao’. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to change my name for a while and call him Deputy Commander.”
Yuan Zongdi, who had been silent all the time, sensed the unhappiness in Luo Rucai's words, and said: "Although Brother Cao's official title is Deputy Marshal Daitian Fumin Weide, we all might as well call you 'Cao Shuai',
Your soldiers may as well call you 'Generalissimo'. There is no need to force everyone to change their words for the time being. Everyone just needs to understand that after the two battalions join up, there will be only one Generalissimo in the whole army."
What Yuan Zongdi said was very clear, and the faces of the generals in the Cao camp who were sitting behind Luo Rucai didn't look very good.
Luo Rucai was also very unhappy. His original intention was that if he had to find a formal title, he could take a few steps back and give him the title of General So-and-so. This would not only show that Li Zicheng was half a step above him, but also ensure that Cao Ying could be protected.
of independence.
But now Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xiance all sang together and forced him to wear the hat of deputy marshal, making it clear that they wanted to eat Cao Ying.
He was dissatisfied, but considering the current situation of Cao Ying and the benefits of joining the camp with Chuang Ying, he still nodded and said: "This is good, this is good, and it should be like this. Deputy Marshal Daitian Fuming Weide, it sounds really good."
style!"
Luo Rucai turned his head again and shouted to the generals of Cao Ying: "Brothers, from now on I will be the deputy marshal! Don't forget this, from now on I will be the deputy marshal who brings great power to the people on behalf of heaven!"
The Chuangying generals below Li Zicheng all knew that Cao Ying must be dissatisfied. But as Niu Jinxing said when he proposed this idea before, with Chuangying's current strength and Henan's good development environment, Yue Yue
It will be better for the long-term development of the rebel army to determine the difference between superiority and inferiority among Chuang Cao as early as possible.
Therefore, Li Zicheng also agreed that even if Luo Rucai was dissatisfied, this point must be firmly set and Cao Ying could not be allowed to maintain too much independence.
For this reason, Li Zicheng did not hesitate to give up Dengzhou, which was about to be conquered, to Luo Rucai. He made even greater concessions in the distribution of food and wages, soldiers and equipment, and military discipline and orders, making many incests and giving Cao Ying as much preferential treatment as possible.
Due to the serious famine in Dengzhou, the people were already suffering. However, after Luo Rucai conquered Dengzhou, military discipline was not as strict as that of the camp. Chickens, sheep, cattle, and donkeys were slaughtered by Cao's camp at will, and women were raped and men were kidnapped.
Violent things also happened constantly. Women who refused to comply with rape were often killed, and those who were raped often committed suicide.
Naturally, this situation could not be hidden from Li Zicheng's ears and eyes, and it did not surprise him. Only when Li Shuangxi led his troops to Dengzhou to rest, he saw such a scene and couldn't help being very angry.
Li Shuangxi ran directly to the generalissimo's tent and questioned Li Zicheng: "Father, it's not okay for Cao Ying to continue like this! Now Cao Cao regards you as the master, and people near and far regard Cao Ying's men as your men. They are like this
What's the plan, isn't it just to rub dust on your face? We say every day that the troops in the breakout army are benevolent and righteous troops. They have always suppressed the troops and brought peace to the people. They have done nothing wrong, but they came to Cao Ying under your banner and ruined our good reputation.
It’s corrupted.”
He was so angry that he actually patted Li Zicheng's table and pointed directly at his adoptive father and said: "Father, you have to ask Lao Cao to come and discuss it. We must strictly enforce some military disciplines and don't allow this to continue!"
Li Zicheng smiled, waved his hand to let Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance continue to handle official business, and explained to Li Shuangxi: "Shuangxi'er, sit down, what are you so anxious about? Cao Cao can lead his entire battalion to surrender to me. This is better than
Everything is important. As for military discipline, we need to discuss it with him in a few days. Now that his whole battalion has just arrived and everything is in chaos, we can only turn a blind eye."
Li Shuangxi still said angrily: "Cao Shuai himself is addicted to alcohol and sex, and he has a lot of women. The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. I think it is really difficult to talk about it!"
Li Zicheng simply pressed Li Shuangxi's shoulders, asked him to sit down, and said, "You know it! Lao Cao likes to have fun. He has so many wives and concubines. When Zuo Liangyu chased him down, he also raised troupes and singers.
, it is difficult to control the officers and soldiers under the opponent tightly. But don’t worry, Luo Ru is the deputy marshal. From now on, we will gradually absorb Cao Ying into the camp, and all military disciplines must be in accordance with the rules of breaking into the camp."
As they were talking about this, suddenly the sound of horse hooves stopped outside the tent. Then Tian Jianxiu walked in. Li Zicheng asked him to sit down and asked: "Yufeng, you have settled the matter of food, wages and equipment with Cao Ying."
?"
Tian Jianxiu nodded and said: "I discussed all these matters with Luo Rucai in person. He was a little unhappy because he was forced to accept the title of deputy marshal. But when he saw the conditions given by the marshal and the treatment was so generous, he
We were happy again. Luo Rucai also hosted a luncheon for us. During the banquet, he also asked several singing girls to sing a cappella to accompany the wine, which inevitably delayed a lot of time. If I hadn't come back in a hurry to report, I might have had to listen to a few more performances with him.
"
Song Xiance laughed and cursed at the side: "The soldiers are half dead in front of the army, but the beauties are still singing and dancing in the tents. There are singing girls and theater troupes in Marshal Cao's camp, which is really like the style of famous ancient generals."
Niu Jinxing also sneered: "You are a drunkard and a womanizer. It seems that although Cao Shuai is cunning, he has no ambition. He does not want to lose his independent status. He wants to be an army within an army and a country within a country. Let's see next,
Which one, Marshal or Deputy Marshal Cao, is more popular among the people? We can make concessions at will in terms of material resources, but in terms of people's hearts, we must press forward step by step so that Cao Cao's camp will slowly disintegrate and be absorbed by me."
Li Zicheng clapped his hands and said: "What Qidong said is a bit exaggerated. Everything is still very far-term. In the future, after we fight with Lao Cao for a period of time, the situation may change again. It is hard to say. The focus now is to defeat Cao Cao.
The second thing is to make Cao Ying brothers feel the difference in breaking into the camp. Everything else is secondary."
Except for Li Shuangxi who was a little confused about how everyone plotted against Cao Ying, everyone else nodded in agreement.
Tian Jianxiu was Li Shuangxi's father-in-law. He patted Li Shuangxi on the back and explained it several times before finally sighing: "You are married now, you are no longer a child soldier. In the future, many things can be solved not only by being brave but good at fighting."
Yes, didn’t you recruit Shao Shichang, a clerk in Luoyang, to help you with work? From now on, you should listen to him talk more about the knowledge in books and learn more."