County office.

On the table was a large pot of stew, horse meat, from a dead anti-thief horse.

The magistrate was the host of the banquet, the county seat and the history of the classics were accompanied, and Wang Yuan, Wu Liande and Sizhu were entertained.

Zhang Maolan raised a glass of water and said: "Replacing wine with water is not a tribute, thank you for saving you in danger." ”

Zhu Ying glanced at the Gebu clothes on Zhang Maolan's body, and swept the empty county government living room, the eunuch also felt helpless, and said: "Zhang Zhixian, you deserve to be too clear, right?" Don't even have a glass of wine? ”

Zhang Maolan smiled wryly and explained: "The furniture in this county government has been chopped into firewood when guarding the city, and it is used to boil gold juice and hot oil. If you want to demolish the houses of the common people, you must always demolish your own first. The county government represents the prestige of the imperial court, which cannot be demolished, only the furniture inside. The same is true of alcohol, which is used to reward the soldiers and comfort the wounded, and the county really can't find a drop of wine. ”

Wang Yuan raised his glass and drank it all, and said with a smile: "As long as you have a heart, water is more mellow than wine, and this cup is Zhang County's heart of patriotism and love for the people!" ”

"Wang Yushi has an overreputation, just do his duty," Zhang Maolan looked worried and blamed herself, "It's a pity that I can be shallow, I can neither kill the thieves nor live the people." In vain, he is a parent and lives up to the trust of the court! ”

had a good celebration banquet, and Zhang Maolan was extremely depressed with a few words, and several Zhu sons felt very unhappy.

But everyone can also see that this county is a real clean official.

What else can you do with Qing officials?

It is no good to suppress him, and to increase his fame, he will cause a lot of trouble.

Stewed horse meat is very unpalatable due to the lack of condiments. Zhu Ying, Zhu Zhi, Zhu Cong, Zhu Xiang and Wu Liande only casually picked up a few chopsticks, then found an excuse to leave early and went outside the city to cook and eat by themselves.

Wang Yuan ate with relish, he was in the mountains when he was young, and he didn't eat as much as this.

After the eunuchs and military attachés left, Zhang Maolan finally smiled: "Wang Yushi is really different from them. ”

"I've been poor since I was a child, and I'm used to it." Wang Yuan said.

Zhang Maolan suddenly ran back to her bedroom, took out a jar like a treasure, and said: "This is the rice wine brewed by my deceased mother before her death, and I brought it all the way from Shandong." When I was rewarding, I only poured most of the altar, and I was really reluctant to leave a little, so I originally planned to hide it and drink it slowly. A few of them are people who can make friends, so let's drink it today. ”

As she spoke, Zhang Maolan poured a glass for Wang Yuan, County Cheng and Dianshi.

Wang Yuanwan smiled: "Then cheers!" ”

"Don't toast," Zhang Maolan hurriedly stopped, "The wine in the altar is only enough for two or three glasses per person, and if it dries too quickly, you won't have to drink it." Let's eat horse meat, talk slowly, and drink slowly. ”

The county and the history of the county both smiled wryly.

If it were changed to before, with such a Qingguan and Zhixian on the stall, they would definitely join forces to fool around. But in the continuous battle of defending the city for several days, they have been convinced by Zhang Maolan, and they plan to assist them in the next three years, and they can only be surprised by the various strange words and deeds of the county honor.

Wang Yuan asked, "What is Zhang Xianzun going to do next?" ”

Zhang Maolan took a sip of rice wine and said anxiously: "The summer grain is not harvested, the autumn grain is extinct, and the real hard days are still to come." The rich families in the city were also looted by thieves once, and their stocks were running out. I can only try to get the rich families to share the rice and grain, and then find another way to get some grain. How many people can live can only depend on the will of heaven, or there is a change of children and it is unbearable to eat! ”

Wang Yuan thought for a while and said, "When I return to the capital, I will tell you a thing or two in front of Your Majesty, and maybe I can get a little food relief for Renqiu County." ”

"Thank you so much Wang Yushi," Zhang Maolan got up and saluted, and shook her head again, "Many prefectures and counties in Beizhili have suffered military disasters, and the imperial court is afraid that it will not be able to provide relief. Wang Yushi is brave and unparalleled, and please put down the rebellion quickly. The sooner the thieves are exterminated, hundreds of more people will be able to live! ”

Wang Yuan clenched his fists and said, "This is a matter of duty. ”

After eating half a pot of horse meat, and the rice wine in the jar had been drunk, Zhang Maolan personally sent Wang Yuan to the guest room to rest.

The next day, the 200 cavalry remained outside the city to recuperate, waiting for the return of the hundreds of men who had been left behind. The Jinyi guard sentry cavalry was sent out and continued to the north to inquire about the news, and Wang Yuan looked for an opportunity to stab him in the back.

After another three days, the sentry suddenly returned to report that the main force of the rebel army had retreated.

Wang Yuan took out the map, frowned, and said, "The thief is planning to go back to Shandong?" ”

Wu Liande drew a line on the map: "We are in Renqiu, and the Beijing camp has been sent to Bazhou and Zhigu, and the Shanxi border army has also been sandwiched from Zhuozhou and Wuqing, and Lu Shilang personally led the army to defend Bazhou." If the thieves do not run, they will be surrounded within three to five days. They were supposed to go to Jinghai County and then head south to Cangzhou...... Damn, just like that time in March, he threw off the official army and went to Shandong and Henan to wreak havoc. ”

"Lu Shilang let these tens of thousands of people escape?" Wang Yuan couldn't figure it out.

The eunuch Zhu Ying sneered: "He only has 20,000 people in his hands, how dare he take the initiative to attack the rebels with a strength of 40,000 or 50,000 before the armies of all walks of life converge?" You must know that Liu Liu, Liu Qi and Yang Hu have many old thieves in their hands, not Sun Hu outside Renqiu City. ”

Zhu Zhi also said: "Wang Yushi, although Lu Shilang's hand is also Jingying, but Jingying is different from Jingying. Don't look at how good our people are fighting, just think that all the Beijing camps dare to fight. Lu Shilang's side are all young master soldiers, and they are very cowardly when they fight, even if he wants to, he can't do it. ”

Wang Yuan scratched his head: "Then let's leave immediately and go to Cangzhou to wait for the thieves." ”

This time, no one objected, and Wang Yuan showed his prestige, and the soldiers obeyed his martial arts. Second, everyone can also see that Wang Erlang seems to be a reckless man in battle, but in fact, his brain is very flexible, and he will not take 200 cavalry to die.

Regarding the arsonance of the main force of the Beijing camp, Wang Yuan wanted to scold his mother very much.

Even if you don't dare to attack blatantly, you should at least bite your tail and don't let the main anti-thief force leave calmly. As long as the speed of the anti-thieves is slowed down, other Beijing battalions and border troops will come, and the officers and troops will be able to occupy the absolute initiative.

Now it is good that the commander-in-chief of the front line of the official army personally led an army of 20,000 and sat back and watched the anti-thieves swagger and withdraw from the established encirclement.

It's hard to say whether Lu Wan, the squire of the military department, is mentally retarded, but he must be a guy who can't control the generals of the Beijing camp!

Four months ago, Ma Zhongxi, who led the Beijing camp to kill the anti-thieves, was too anxious to face such a situation. He knew very well that he could not condone the anti-thieves to ravage Shandong and Henan, so he actually went to Liu Liu Liu's and Liu Qi's camps to appease him as the left deputy capital Yushi.

This shocked Liu Liu and Liu Qi, not only did not kill Ma Zhongxi, but sent the horse to Ma Zhongxi to congratulate him on his birthday, and convened the leaders of all walks of life to discuss the matter of recruiting security.

Liu Liu really wanted to be recruited, and he was almost persuaded by Ma Zhongxi.

Liu Qi persuaded: "Sixth brother, it's difficult to ride a tiger." Nowadays, eunuchs and traitors control the country's affairs, which is a well-known thing. Even if Ma Dutang sincerely appeases us, can he make decisions for the imperial court? ”

Liu Liu's mind instantly sobered up, but he still had a trace of illusion about the imperial court. While leading his army to retreat south, he sent people to Beijing to inquire about the news, and found a reward notice in the capital.

Since the thief did not accept Zhao'an, Ma Zhongxi went to the thief's camp in person.

Hehe, the officials have something to say, Ma Zhongxi will shed his skin if he doesn't die this time, who let him contact the thief without permission? If he hadn't colluded with the thief, why didn't the thief kill him to vent his anger? Very logical idea of impeachment.