Lujiang County, Anhui City.

As the season approached winter, Zhang Xiu and his entourage put on cloth clothes outside their armor, although this was still not enough to completely cover up the unusually brave and healthy temperament of the guards of the Xiliang Wuwei camp, but it would not make people guess that one of the knights in this group was the current lord of Jianghuai.

When he arrived at the city of Wancheng, the captain on duty at the head of the city saw these dozens of cloth riders galloping and very vigilantly beckoned the soldiers under the city gate to pull up the antlers.

Seeing that the antlers of the horse were closed at the city gate, Lu Su and Zhuge Jin, who were driving together, looked at Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu's face was smiling at the moment, and he was naturally very satisfied with Liu Ye's governance of Lujiang County. When he was about to approach the city gate, Zhang Xiu's eyes rolled, and he suddenly had an idea in his heart.

So Zhang Xiu turned around and gave instructions to Lu Su, Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun and the generals. The crowd galloped to the gate of the city and reined in the horses' heads.

A group of riders braked in front of the city gate, but the dust splashed by the horses' hooves did not stop, and rushed directly to the guards who were waiting behind the antlers to resist the horses.

A captain wearing an iron helmet leaned out of the city gate, and shouted: "Who is coming, don't you know that you are going to dismount when you enter the city?" ”

"I've never heard of this rule-breaking man!" Zhou Cang, who had the loudest voice, spoke: "Open your dog eyes and take a good look, have you ever known my son-in-law?" ”

The lieutenant was rashly scolded as a dog's eye, but he did not have a trace of anger, but first looked at a young man who was surrounded by this group of knights.

The young man in Zhou Cang's mouth is actually Lu Xun. On this trip, Lu Xun was dressed in black, with a sword hanging from his waist, his face was like a crown of jade, and there was a bit of ease in his calm bearing, and his appearance was indeed excellent.

The captain of the city guard stared at Lu Xun for a while, then looked at the "Gongzi attendants" again, and a voice that was even more impatient sounded.

This time, it was Zhang Xiu who spoke: "The little school in the city, my son-in-law still has family affairs, if it is delayed, it is not something you can afford to bear." If you are dismissed, you will never be used, and if you are careful, your master's head will not be guaranteed! ”

The lieutenant finally stopped looking, bowed to the so-called "son of the family" under the city, and said that the son was all right. He turned to the direction of Zhang Xiu and Zhou Cang, lowered his head, and had an expression of apology. Then, with a wave of his hand, the soldiers at the city gate moved away from the antlers.

The expression on Zhang Xiu's face was still that of a lackey of the family with contempt and contempt, but his eyes had been paying attention to the every move of the captain on duty. When he saw that the lieutenant violated the city defense regulations without interrogation, and let himself and others enter the city easily, he sighed in his heart.

In the end, Zhang Xiu and his entourage rode on horses under the eyes of a group of Lujiang county soldiers and went straight to Anhui City, and drove straight to the county guard's mansion.

As soon as Zhang Xiu and the others left the city gate, the captain suddenly changed the respectful and obedient expression on his face, beckoned a general next to him, ordered him to light the warning wolf smoke on the city wall, and beckoned the military Sima of the headquarters to give him some advice and instructions to guard the city gate. Then he led a Biao army and followed behind Zhang Xiu and his party.

At this time, Lu Su was worried about his old friend Liu Ye.

When Zhang Xiuchu was in charge of Huainan, he had an agreement with Liu Ye for a one-year period.

In the face of Zhang Xiu's solicitation, Liu Ye promised to decide whether to serve Zhang Xiu or not within one year. But before the one-year period arrived, Zhang Xiu was defeated by Qi Chun first, and then directly demoted Cao Cao. The so-called one-year covenant can only be abandoned.

During the time when Cao Cao was stagnant in Shouchun, Liu Ye, as the Lujiang Taishou who was the agent of Zhang Xiu, naturally wanted to go to Shouchun to pay homage to Cao Cao. Fortunately, Liu Ye and Cao Cao had contact and understanding with each other in their early years, and Cao Cao's envoy Liu Ye continued to serve as the Taishou of Lujiang, and selected talents for Cao Cao to fill in the counties of Lujiang, and allowed him to meet Cao Cao after settling Lujiang County.

But who would have thought that Zhang Xiu suddenly rebelled against Cao Cao in the name of his aunt Zou's humiliation. and also defeated the Cao army, causing it to lose its troops and generals, and drove the Cao army out of Huainan in one fell swoop.

This time, Zhang Xiu, who regained control of Huainan, took the initiative to send a letter to Liu Ye this time, saying that he still trusted Liu Ye to govern Lujiang, took the initiative to admit that he still had shortcomings, and was willing to invalidate the original one-year period and let Liu Ye decide to stay.

Liu Ye also replied to Zhang Xiu and expressed to Zhang Xiu that he was willing to set up with Zhang Xiu for another year, and he was not in a hurry to go to the question of whom.

In fact, Zhang Xiu at that time couldn't let go of Liu Ye, a great talent, Liu Ye was just a proposal, Zhang Xiu directly readily agreed, and still used Liu Ye as his own county guard.

And now, it is the day when the second year of Zhang Xiu and Liu Ye is coming to an end.

So when he entered Anhui City this time, Zhang Xiu suddenly came up with such a whim to test Liu Ye's governance ability, but the result was something that Zhang Xiu had never expected, and it also made Zhang Xiu feel very uncomfortable.

Lu Su naturally knew Zhang Xiu's thoughts. After following Zhang Xiu for only a few months, Zhuge Jin already had a general understanding of this lord. The thoughts of this young lord can often be described as strange, sometimes his words and deeds do not say that others do not know what he means, and even Hu Che'er and other personal generals are confused. His mentality and personality are also extremely unstable, sometimes like a fifty or sixty-year-old goblin, vicious and ruthless, and sometimes like a young man in his seventeen, eighteen, or twenties.

It's good to get used to unusual words and deeds, but the instability of mentality and character is a big problem. Fortunately, there is Jia Xu, an old poisoner, who is constantly guiding and correcting Zhang Xiu, and now Zhang Xiu's daily life is finally a bit like a Ming monarch.

In Lu Su's opinion, although the speech and demeanor of this somewhat strange lord are becoming more and more steady and calm, his endless new ideas are always unguardable, and being in them also makes people's brains open.

Just like the so-called "military exercises" that had never been seen before, Zhuge Jin and Lu Su were still new to the Zhang Xiu Shogunate at that time, and when they went to see it, they just watched the lively mentality. However, after some tossing and turning, many of the advantages and disadvantages and problems that can only be discovered in actual combat have been revealed a lot after experiencing a so-called "exercise" that is a higher level than a drill.

Afterwards, even Yuan Jian and other ministers who could pick out the bones in the eggs did not consciously praise Zhang Xiu's move, which not only made a group of ministers and civil officials know a little about the actual situation of the military and facilitated their handling of military affairs in the future, but also directly enabled Zhang Xiu and Zhang Liao and other generals to grasp the combat strength and know the advantages and disadvantages of the headquarters.

Of course, the most amazing thing is the grain plan economy proposed by Zhang Xiu. Although it may seem impossible to realize this Laoshzi planned economy for the distribution of grain, according to Yan Xiang, Yang Hong and other Wenchen on a small scale, it has been found to be extremely feasible. Although the final implementation of the grain supply system was basically formulated, corrected and implemented by capable ministers such as Yuan Lian, Yan Xiang, Shu Shao, etc., Zhang Xiu's pioneering thinking and courage in the first mention were greatly admired by everyone.

In fact, the benevolent Lu Su and Zhuge Jin were able to be loyal to Zhang Xiu's command very simply, and Zhang Xiu's governance of Huainan and the redemption of the Li people were the biggest reasons.

However, the more they came into contact with Zhang Xiu, Lu Su and Zhuge Jin discovered the special features of Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiugui is the master, but he never cares much about etiquette. Therefore, in front of Zhang Xiu, most of the military generals can be informal, they don't have to go to the palace to take off their shoes, and the military generals don't have to wear the same crown dress when they are deliberating, and the generals don't necessarily have to wear standard armor. All of this, as long as it is harmless and not offensive, it can be passed in front of Zhang Xiu.

Of course, there are also people who stubbornly abide by the etiquette norms, and they are willing to leave the house only if they have to dress formally, and there are many bowing rituals. This kind of person is the Qing school represented by Yuan Lian and Yuan Yaoqing.

In addition, Zhang Xiu is also quite easy-going in handling people, and has been a gentleman for nearly two years, but he has never severely reprimanded and accused any of his subordinates. Even if this courtier made a big mistake and mistake, such as the improper command of Ji Ling in the Battle of Qiyang, and the later Guangling Taishou Han Song was carelessly seized control of the county by Yang Feng Han Yin, according to the normal handling procedure, these two people will be at least beaten into the cold palace or demoted for a period of time, even if the fault of these two people is actually the reason for Zhang Xiu's negligence for a while.

But when liquidating the matter of Ji Ling and Han Song, Zhang Xiu put aside the direct losses caused by Ji Ling and Han Song, and directly analyzed the root cause of their faults. bluntly said that the fiasco of the Ji Ling Department was due to the careless command and deployment, and bluntly said that Yang Feng and Han Yin, who did not deal with the ambitions of the wolf son when they accepted his surrender, but connived at it to become a climate. First, it is required to bear the main responsibility for these two mistakes.

Since the boss has assumed the main responsibility, the punishment of Ji Ling and Han Song, who only have secondary responsibility, will naturally not be very heavy, and in the end, they will only confiscate their annual salary, making them think about it behind closed doors for half a month.

But don't think that Zhang Xiu always cherishes and tolerates his subordinates, Zhang Xiu's gentle and casual appearance, but he has a calculating heart.

For example, the last time Zhang Xiu visited Shouchun City in civilian clothes, he accidentally found a woman from a good family after drinking with a military captain, although Zhou Cang beat him violently and Hu Che'er also poured the lieutenant's belly with horse urine, and although the captain was on a holiday in turn, Zhang Xiu later found a random reason to demote him and transfer him.

Because Zhang Xiujun was solemn, those generals who wanted to drink during their vacations but couldn't guarantee their own wine would only dare to lock their doors to drink in the future.

In other words, many things can be passed in front of Zhang Xiu, but some things that involve principles or fundamental problems of being a person, Zhang Xiu is extremely disgusted. Even if the expression on the face will not be revealed, it will definitely linger.

Notice, this is a real nostalgia! If it is "remembered" by Zhang Xiu for some reason, if it is not corrected in time, the opinions in Zhang Xiu's heart will definitely get bigger and bigger!

If Zhang Xiu is difficult to let go of his feelings to the extent that he has a pimple in his heart, it is basically announcing the end of this person's political and military career, and even the end of his life.

Fortunately, the military generals and ministers who can climb to a high position are not stupid, and they all know Zhang Xiu's character of being loose on the outside and tight on the inside.

Yes, to a certain extent, Zhang Xiu's careful eye is also quite famous in the Zhang Xiu group.

Now, what Lu Su is worried about is Zhang Xiu's opinion of Liu Ye because of the city gate.

The group was speechless all the way, and when they were about to arrive at the Taishou Mansion, Zhuge Jin, who had been observing the folk customs of Anhui City, suddenly pointed to the city head in the distance behind him and wondered: "Why did the wolf smoke light up inexplicably in this big day?" ”