There is a reason why Zhao Jiu asked Wang Yan to pick up Ma Kuo, because the place where Ma Kuo and his subordinates are currently operating is basically the place controlled by Wang Yan's old Eight-Character Army before they crossed the river, so they are familiar with each other.

In addition, it also has the meaning of expressing attention and conveying specific information.

After all, Wang Yan is more or less a general and a prime minister, not to mention a very popular minister, but he is worthy of his position. And if Wang Yan can bring back a 30,000-person Eight-Character Army from the Taihang Mountains... even if it is very fast

If he lost control of this force... and could reach this point, then there is no reason why Ma Kuo should be worse than Wang Yan.

Of course, these are all trivial details and trails. The key point is that after the Zhao Guan family had just gained some advantages in the direction of Kansai, they couldn't wait to recruit their horses. Their determination to regain the two rivers was enough to silence everyone.

It is hard to imagine that after this official has been in power for five or six years and has experienced so many resolute political purges, there are still people who dare to advise this official face to face to suspend or slow down the Northern Expedition.

Aren't you afraid of being labeled as a capitulator by the Di newspaper and having three generations of your family idle, or simply exiled?

"I heard that the officials had just returned from the northwest, and when they passed by Shaanzhou, I couldn't wait to send Lieutenant Wang across the river to talk to the officials. I was very grateful, and I did have thousands of things to report to the officials regarding the situation in the two rivers.

.But before the report, I have something to say that I am unhappy about. If I don’t say it, I must not say anything that will be said later..."

On the river embankment, facing Zhao Guan's family who came to greet him in person, under the eyes of Wang Yan, Liu Hongdao, Fan Zongyin, Lu Benzhong, Ren Baozhong, Liu Yan and other civil and military officials, after Ma extended the ceremony to pay homage, he did not wait for Zhao Guan's family to come forward and help him up.

After shaking hands, he bowed his head directly, which was impatient and even a little rude.

"Ma Qing, please tell me." Zhao Jiu was already tempered, and he immediately raised his arms to urge the other party to speak.

"Officials must not underestimate the Jurchens because of the previous victory at Yaoshan in the Song Dynasty and the retreat of the Beilu River outside the river. If we cross the river and go to the north at this time, I am afraid that there is a high probability that we will be defeated and return." Ma Kuo raised his head.

, sincerely communicate. "Recharge your batteries to wait for the day..."

On the river embankment in the afternoon, when Zhao Guan's family heard this, they immediately burst into laughter.

When Ma Kuo saw this, he became more and more anxious and said quickly: "I have no intention of threatening you! Officials, the Northern Expedition is of great importance. Once the Northern Expedition crosses the river and cannot hold a large town in Hebei for a long time, the morale of the people will be depressed."

.Besides, Hebei is in ruins and people's hearts are in turmoil. If the emperor and Song Dynasty cross the river but are unable to appease the people, there will be some obstacles."

Zhao Jiu was completely solemn: "Of course I will act prudently. The purpose of calling you here this time is to hear the actual situation in Hebei before making a decision."

At this time, Ma Kuo's mood calmed down a little.

However, at the same time, the surrounding civil and military officials couldn't help but look at each other in confusion. Even Wang Yan, who had accompanied Ma Kuo all the way south, was also a little embarrassed.

By the way? Everyone noticed that there was something wrong with Ma Kuo from the very beginning.

Of course, this question does not mean that there is a problem with Ma Kuo's position. If there is a problem with this person's position, there will be no one with a reliable position in the world; nor does it mean that there is a problem with the content of his suggestions. As the only one who sticks to Lianghe

To be a military leader who fights against gold behind enemy lines? He himself is the only expert on this topic? He is the only one who refutes others? It is not his place for others to refute him.

This problem actually refers to Ma Kuo's inappropriate mentality.

He spoke in a hurry? His tone was hurried, and he seemed to still regard the Zhao family and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty as being in the same state as when Jingkang was in power. They were grand on the outside but miserable on the inside. They couldn't listen to advice and couldn't do anything. They only had dignity and pretentiousness, regardless of the actual situation ahead...

...So, the Northern Governor seems to be afraid that if he shows a little weakness, it will lead to misjudgment by the officials and the accompanying civil and military officials, which will lead to catastrophic consequences.

This mentality is of course very wrong, but it is excusable.

Because the betrayal and difficulties Ma Kuo experienced were far beyond the understanding of the monarchs and ministers of Henan, and he was alone in the north, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and his mentality was not right, and it was natural that he was even a little intolerant.

The best example is Wang Yan, who was also present. Wang Yan had been in Taihang Mountain for two years. His mentality almost collapsed. He thought everyone he met was a traitor. He changed three or four beds to sleep in one night. In the end, he forced his subordinates to get tattoos to show their loyalty.

And after he came back, he was still intolerant. He was vaguely resistant to any arrangements, disposals, and military arrangements from above. He also found it difficult to get along with his subordinates. Even his former confidant like Military Advisor Xiao Fan was given military power once he was promoted.

Afterwards, he couldn't tolerate it.

To put it bluntly, it's already a bit morbid.

Therefore, although there was a reason for the incident, and it could even be said that the reason behind this pathology was worthy of respect, Zhao Jiu still transferred him from the position of independent military leader and became a local official.

In comparison, Ma Kuo's point of being out of place is actually nothing.

In fact, Zhao Guanjia understood the opponent's mentality, greeted him a little, and dragged him to the barracks behind him. After sitting down in Zhang Rong's lobby, he specially asked him to sit down, and the other civil and military personnel stood there. The so-called attitude was expressed, and the posture was correct, and then he

After a few words of conversation, the playing became appropriate very quickly.

"How many people are there in the Taihang Rebel Army now?"

"So that the officials know that the Taihang Rebel Army is of course countless. I roughly estimate that there are always hundreds of thousands of young people hiding in the mountains. But that is the total number. I cannot control the dispatch. As for me... I am assisting King Xin here.

When Bei Taixing raised the flag, there were only thirty or forty thousand people gathered in front of them, of which about twenty thousand were young and strong."

"It's not bad." Zhao Jiu immediately nodded and praised. "The area of ​​Southern Taihang is limited. On that day, the Eighth-Character Army went southward with 30,000 people. I estimate that Ma Qing's side is almost the same number. What's more, the Jurchens have been in Taiyuan and Longde Mansion in the past two years.

There are regular main forces stationed in Hezhong Prefecture, so it is inevitable that the base area on the mountain will be divided, suppressed, and restricted... 20,000 is not bad."

"The officials clearly see thousands of miles away... Just as the officials said, there were fifty or sixty thousand people at the beginning, and thirty thousand could be young and strong. However, in the past two years, they have been severely squeezed by the Jurchens, and the number has just become smaller. But do not hide it from the officials.

Even if there are 20,000 young men in my family, when the time comes to use my life, I may not be able to manage it properly." Ma Kuo was sincere.

"How do you say that?" Zhao Jiu was surprised for a moment, but then he came to his senses. "But because you came from North Taihang, the locals in South Taihang are not convinced?"

This time it was Ma Kuo's turn to be slightly startled, but he soon recovered: "As the official said, the two main families... one is from the northwest of Nan Taihang, Hedong Road, Taiyuan; the other is from Nan Taihang

The southeast, that is, the Hebei West Road directly opposite here, where Weizhou was born, is the foundation of the Tuanjie Society... There have always been some disobedient people, and the ministers may not be able to adjust them when the time comes."

"Be more careful."

"So that the officials know that the leader of the previous family is called Zhang Heng, and his troops are said to be ten thousand, but they are all family members who went up the mountain. According to my estimate, he basically only has two thousand soldiers. However, although this man has few soldiers and horses,

But he has a strong foundation around Taiyuan. In the Taihang Mountains, anyone who wants to trade with the people of Taiyuan or inquire about the military situation in Taiyuan relies on him. Even last year, when the Jurchens oppressed South Taihang the most, this man once led 2,000 people from Fenzhou.

Crossing the Fen River and going to Guji Mountain to eat, the Jurchens didn't even notice on the way... I would not dare to annex such a person easily."

Zhao Jiu understood the words and nodded repeatedly.

Not only him, but also several ministers who knew a little bit about military affairs around him became serious... You must know that Guji Mountain was the main mountain range in the northwest of Shanxi Province in later generations, Luliang Mountain, and Zhang Heng's move from Taihang to Luliang was equivalent to a Jurchen raid.

During this period, it crossed the entire Shanxi Province without any damage. Although it was said that it crossed from the southernmost point of the Taiyuan Plain, it is enough to explain the problem.

At the very least, this person has deep roots in the Taiyuan Plain, and no one dares to tell the truth. The key is that he also knows the Jurchens' arrangements clearly, so he can seize the opportunity and swagger over.

This kind of super local snake's function, if used well, will have miraculous results. Ma Kao would only take the risk of annexing this person unless he was crazy.

"When you leave, I will write him a grand decree and promise him a future as a commander. If he doesn't understand the value of a commander, he can just promise him any other future." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment and immediately agreed.

Made a political commitment.

"The officials have made a clear conclusion that Zhang Heng originally came from a wealthy family in Taiyuan and would definitely be willing to serve the country. However, the problem is that they are far apart and an empty decree may not win his trust." Ma Kuo had some doubts.

"Then let him go to Guji Mountain and contact Yan'an Prefecture in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and take over some ordnance from there... By the way, I can inspect his goods to see if he is pretending!"

“So wonderful!”

"Where's the other one?"

"The other family has strong soldiers and strong horses." Ma Kuo came to his senses and was helpless. "This person is called Liang Xing, known as Liang Xiaoge. He is only twenty-seven or eighty this year. He is an old tribe of Yue Jiedu who lost his way in Hebei.

Later, during the battle of Yaoshan, Yue Jiedu crossed the river and met him once. He heard that he had established a stronghold in the mountains and led hundreds of people. Instead of taking him away, he allowed him to work in the Taihang Mountains.

When the officers and soldiers went on the Northern Expedition, they were given the title of commander, and a lot of weapons and armor were left behind..."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Zhao Jiu laughed when he heard this, but he had already guessed what was going on.

"This should be a good thing." Ma Kuo was really angry. "But this man is young and energetic. On the one hand, he relies on the weapons and armor left by Yue Jiedu to select and train troops and horses to expand his strength; on the other hand, he does not obey the orders of the subordinates and only says

I am a hypocrite. He is a serious general in the Imperial Army. How can he listen to my words? He contradicted me several times, attacked Shanxia County without authorization several times, secretly connected with the mountain stronghold several times, and even sent leaders to the mountain stronghold where I belonged to do something.

Even if he received the military order from Li Jiedu in Shaanxi Province, he would ignore it and only said that his family only recognized Yue Jiedu and not Li Jiedu."

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long time, and then he continued to laugh dryly: "Let me try and let Yue Pengju explain to you... How many soldiers does this little brother Liang have?"

"There are four thousand men and women, and the weapons are the best in South Taihang." Ma Kuo looked increasingly helpless. "At least three hundred pairs of iron armor, more than a thousand sets of leather armor, and more than a hundred crossbows... The key is that he himself defends

A local born and raised at the junction of Huaizhou and Yuezhou was summoned by Yue Jiedu, and he had such strength that the righteous men of Xiangzhou, Cizhou, Weizhou and Huaizhou on the south side of Taihang all listened to him."

Ma Kuo's complaint was palpable. What this little brother Liang did was indeed not in line with the overall situation, but Zhao Jiu could only smile bitterly.

Even Zhao Jiu was not the only one. Who in the military camp, both civil and military, didn't know this? Even Ma Kuo had to work so hard to cross the river to meet the saint. Even if Yue Fei cooperated, how could he properly deliver the general's order to Liang Xing?

Then how could Liang Xing write an empty piece of paper?

Unlike that Zhang Heng, this Liang Xing matter will most likely turn into a bad debt.

"How about I give you a Jiedu ceremony?" After thinking for a long time, Zhao Guan's family also felt embarrassed, so they tried their best to respond again. "You wait a few days and get the Jiedu honor guard before returning."

"I have thanked the officials for their kindness, but today is no better than in the past. There are heavy troops on three sides of Nantaihang. I can only walk through the mountains and ridges on small roads. The military ritual guards are too eye-catching. If I only carry a seal of decree, those

The village leaders didn’t believe it either…” Ma Kuo struggled to answer.

"Why don't you believe it?" Lu Benzhong couldn't hold back his curiosity and couldn't help but interject.

"Of course it's because of Xin Wang." Zhao Jiu sneered at Ma Kuo before he could look embarrassed. "After the Second Saints returned, the Jurchens would definitely spread rumors in the mountains, saying that Xin Wang was a lie and that he had really gone back long ago...

As everyone knows, this brother of mine still has some integrity."

Lu Benzhong suddenly realized - it must have been a long time, and Nan Taihang could hear more or less news from Henan, so the fake king's story was gradually exposed, and Ma Kuo's credibility in this regard was gradually ruined.

"Whether you take it with you or not, you must report it!" Zhao Jiu thought for a while and responded seriously. "After Ma Qing leaves, I will let the newspaper publish the details of your visit to me, from Brother Liang to Zhang Heng, and then to Professor

All matters related to the festival should be logged out at the same time... It's better than nothing."

"Thank you, officials." Ma Kuo felt relieved.

"The most reliable road to the Taihang Mountains now is probably the road to Jiezhou (north of Shaanzhou), right?"

"yes."

"I will ask Li Yanxian to send you some ordnance specifically. It is most appropriate to have strong troops and strong horses."
To be continued...