At present, there are only three of the Liukou who are still in the south of Xi'an, and the only ones that are large are Chuangying, Zhao Ying and Zhang Miaoshou. Among them, the camp force is divided into two, which are respectively mastered by Gao Yingen, the "Zhongdou Star" and the "Fanshan Harrier". There are many people in Gao Ying, and the two sides are unable to hold each other, and after a long time, they will naturally think of finding foreign aid to break this deadlock.

Sun Chuanting was stationed in Xi'an to observe the wind direction in the south, he was not deeply rooted now, and without the assistance of Hong Chengchou and Zu Kuan, he did not want to attack rashly. If the rogues did not come to invade the city, he also did not move, and seized the time to strengthen the city walls and train the troops to clear the tun. Therefore, these days, both sides are calm, and they do not have the energy and strength to take the initiative to provoke trouble, and they try their best to maintain a delicate balance.

Zhao Dangshi received the envoys of Gao Yingen and Tuopan Gao respectively. There is no need to go into details, both of them gave relatively generous conditions, hoping that Zhao Ying could openly express his willingness to join his side. Zhao Dangshi did not give an answer immediately, and after sending them away, Zhang Miaoshou came to negotiate in person. He was very sincere, and bluntly said that people from both the high and extension sides had also come to his camp to recruit, and he couldn't make up his mind which side to take refuge in. The implication is that whoever Zhao Dangshi chooses, he will also stand together.

The surrender of Han Gon, the general of the camp, made Gao Yingen and Tuo Pangao no longer able to ignore the existence of Zhao Ying. Although the Zhao battalion is still busy with the formation and training of the new battalion, at least on the surface, there are already 10,000 infantry troops and 2,000 horse troops. Coupled with Zhang Miao's 5,000 men, the total strength is nearly 20,000, no matter which side is joined, it will inevitably cause an overwhelming advantage to the other side.

Before, Zhao Ying was insignificant, and Zhao Dangshi had little consideration. But creation makes people, less than a month, the world is turned upside down, and now one of his choices will determine the candidate for the new leader of the camp, Zhao Dangshi has to think more. While secretly glad that it was right to stay here and not leave, he also began to think about what to do to get the most benefits for his family.

After two days of light rain, it entered August.

In the past few days, there has been an endless stream of lobbyists sent by Zhao Yingzhonggao and Tuo, and Zhao Dangshi is still undecided. And the more he is secretive about the people he supports, the more they value him. In the morning, a messenger who had just sent off Tuupan Gao, who had served in the camp for many years, sent him, obviously wanting to play the emotional card, and the conditions given were very lucrative, Zhao Dangshi almost made a decision at that time, but he saw the constant hints of Qin Qigong on the side, so he reluctantly pressed the impulse.

Time is a little tight for Zhao Dangshi. Recently, although the officers and troops have been silent, they have been in one place with Chuang Camp and Zhang Miaoshou, and almost all the grain and materials within a radius of 100 miles have been divided up by a few families.

Zhao Dangshi needs to decide on the direction of the next few days, and he also needs to readjust the formation of the battalion before the army can be deployed.

Because 4,000 new people were recruited, 2,000 people in each of the five battalions of the Zhao battalion, the front, the left, the right, and the rear were all established. After careful discussion with the generals, Zhao Dangshi made drastic changes to personnel. This is also the second large-scale adjustment of Zhao Ying since the reorganization of Dazhou.

In order to further clarify the responsibilities of each battalion, except for a small number of auxiliaries left in each battalion, Zhao Dangshi transferred all logistical matters such as repair, transfer, baggage, and detention to the rear battalion. As a last resort, the rear battalion will not participate in the battle, while the remaining three battalions, the front, the left, and the right, are responsible for operations, and the middle battalion, as before, is responsible for the safety of the Chinese army, and when necessary, it is also engaged in field battles and defending the city.

The structure of each battalion has also changed considerably. Originally, the first battalion was divided into four divisions, but first, it was trapped by the shortage of capable generals, and secondly, in order to facilitate the transmission of military orders and reduce the burden on high-level generals, now the first battalion is only divided into two divisions, each with 1,000 people.

The middle battalion is the battalion with the strongest combat effectiveness and the heaviest responsibilities, and there is no accident, and the candidate for the thousand general is still Hou Dagui. He is a general that Zhao Dangshi relies on, and he is also responsible for his work, and he himself has an attitude towards the position of Zhongying Qianzong. Wu Mingfeng and Bai Jiaolong served as the commanders of their former and rear divisions. One of them is alert and the other is calm, which can effectively make up for Hou Dagui's impatience.

The front battalion has always been the main force in the field, and it is also the backbone of the whole battalion. Xu Hui is Zhao Dangshi's most trusted general, his military management methods are quite good, and his combat style is even tougher. The two commanders of his subordinates are Guo Hutou and Bai Wang. Guo Hu's head is sharp in leading the army, and with him as an assistant, he can make up for Xu Hui's conservative shortcomings in commanding the army. Xu Hui is good at training soldiers and leading generals, and Zhao Dangshi has some expectations for Bai Wang, so he put him under Xu Hui, hoping that he can learn some skills faster.

Zuoying Zhao Dangshi moved the least, and Qin Jinxiao was the total of thousands. Except for replenishing him with some troops, none of his personnel Zhao Dangshi moved. This team is basically a native soldier from Shizhouwei, with blood and family as the link, and the combat effectiveness is very strong, only Qin Jinxiao can effectively drive it. Dismantling them is not only detrimental to the stability of Zhao's camp, but also runs counter to Zhao Dangshi's philosophy, which has always believed in "soldiers are expensive but not expensive". These 2,000 people may not be as good as the front or middle battalion in formation, but Zhao Dangshi believes that as a jumping army and a strange soldier, this fierce and desperate army is definitely the best choice.

The right battalion was newly established, and Hao Shaoqi was transferred over to be the general manager of Qian. He is one of the first few generals, brave and good at fighting, generous under control, and very popular in the army. Although he has a series of stinky problems such as recklessness and greed for alcohol, he is not a fool with courage and no strategy. Especially in the past few months, Zhao Dangshi and all the generals have seen that he has humbly asked all the generals for the skills and means of training the troops, combat, and so on, and has made rapid progress in handling things and managing the army.

The rear camp promoted Wang Laixing to come up. The logistics work such as money, food, materials, armor and prisoners of the rear camp owner is very important, as Zhao Dangshi's most trusted partner, this candidate for the thousand general manager has no other than Wang Laixing. Moreover, according to Zhao Dangshi's careful observation in all aspects, Wang Laixing is not a general who is suitable for rushing into battle, but has shown a certain ability in logistics coordination in the process of being in charge of the rear office for a long time. Therefore, instead of risking a command mistake or even dying in battle to drive the duck to the shelf, it is better to put him in a reasonable position.

The above is the arrangement of the generals of the five battalions of the infantry army, in addition to this, there is also a major change, that is, a civilian personnel will be arranged next to the generals of the five battalions and above to assist in handling military affairs. This matter was actually started as early as the time of Shi Zhouwei, and the effect of the pilot was very significant. With civilian personnel who are proficient in writing and writing and who know how to do mathematics as their deputies, it is much more convenient for the generals to check the strength of troops, arrange assigned tasks, and so on, and the military and political efficiency has jumped more than one notch compared with before. Hou Dagui and other old coarse people originally complained about this initiative, but after tasting the sweetness, they no longer resisted, and even thought that there were not enough clerks around them, so Baba ran to beg for it.

But there were few Confucian scholars in the camp who were coerced or took the initiative to surrender, and even fewer who could be used by real talents, and Zhao Dangshi shared them as appropriate, barely enough.

In addition, in order to prevent weak Confucian scholars from being bullied and humiliated by the rude generals, Zhao Dangshi specially set up corresponding positions at all levels, so that these Confucian scholars could do things "in the name of righteousness". For example, there will be a position of "counselor" next to each Qianzong, and these counselors do not belong to the battalions, but are directly under the unified jurisdiction of Qin Qigong, the "joining the army" around Zhao Dangshi. Qin Qigong will socialize, although he is a civilian, but he can get along with generals at all levels in the battalion, and he is a celebrity in front of Zhao Dangshi.

By the way, the counselor of the middle camp is Yan Licheng, this person is sleek, very good at observing words and feelings, and can deal with the moody Hou Dagui; The counselor of the former camp is one of the three major families in Shizhou Weisuo City, named Shuiqiu Tan, who is old-fashioned but proficient in mathematical algorithms; At the request of Qin Jinxiao, the left battalion was not rationed with clerks; The counselor of the right camp is Yang Zhaofeng, which is also Yang Zhaofeng's own request. Zhao Dangshi also thought that Yang Zhaofeng, who was very bookish, might be more suitable for civilian work than the generals who fought bloodily, and he was upright and had a good relationship with Hao Shaoqi, so he arranged for him to try for a while; The camp is the same, and it is still fearful to assist Wang Laixing. He Ke was grateful, only to feel that he was step by step, from death to life, from nothing, how many times Jiao Laoxin night was finally not in vain.

Because of the large number of miscellaneous items such as money and grain exchanges, the back camp also specially added a seat for the main bookkeeper to let Liu Xiaohong do it. With his upright and unyielding character, he is not suitable for dealing with people, and as a partner of military generals, it is better to let him be accompanied by materials and documents.

After doing it for the first time, there was a second time, since he helped Zhao Ying set up military regulations, Liu Xiaohong's mentality seems to have calmed down a lot, and he has no resistance to Zhao Dangshi's arrangement, and even feels that his value has a place to be displayed, which produces a small sense of satisfaction. After receiving this appointment, it is rare that he did not refuse on the spot.

If the expansion of the infantry battalion was in Zhao Dangshi's plan, then the entry of Han Gon and 2,000 cavalry was a surprise. Han Gon's ability, Zhao Dangshi knows it. He did not interfere too much in the affairs of the Ma military camp, and gave all the housekeeping in the camp to Han Gon to deal with it himself. Seeing him delegating power like this, Han Gon also secretly praised Zhao Dangshi for being a person who understood the rules, and gladly accepted the appointment of General Manager of Ma Junying.

Zhao Dangshi selected dozens of people from more than 2,000 horse troops to join Ye Bushui, so that the number of men and horses directly under this army reached 100 horses, and Zhou Wenhe was also promoted to general manager.

10,000 infantry troops, 2,000 horse troops, and more than 10,000 personnel transfers are not comparable to the thousands of people in Dazhou at the beginning. Zhao Ying rested in the south of Xi'an for nearly ten days, Zhao Dangshi, Hou Dagui and other generals had no time to spare, Qin Qigong, He Kewei and other clerks were even more busy, day and night in their heads were counting troops and personnel and other affairs. Although tired, no one in Zhao Ying complained, because Zhao Ying was growing, and as a participant in promoting the growth of Zhao Ying's tree, everyone was relieved in their hearts.

The matter of rectifying military affairs was busy until mid-August, during which time Gao Yingen and Tuo Pangao's envoys came to the door more and more frequently, and the grain in the camp was running out, Zhao Dangshi felt that it was time for a showdown.

The night before he made his decision, a guest came uninvited.

This person is known by Zhao Dangshi, Li Zicheng's confidant general, and Tian Jianxiu, the veteran general of the eighth team.

Li Zicheng's person, how dare Zhao Dangshi slack off, he was immediately invited into the big tent and asked for warmth.

In the past year, Tian Jianxiu has obviously lost a lot, and his eyebrows are also quite tired, and it can be seen that Li Zicheng and the eighth team have not been in a satisfactory situation recently.

"The official army in northern Shaanxi is fierce, and the Hong barbarians are even more vicious and abnormal, our battalion has suffered successive defeats, and now we have to gather with Guo Tianxing in the mountains of Wang and Longshan to avoid the limelight." Tian Jianxiu sighed and said, "The Mixed Sky Star Dao attacked Jingyang, Sanyuan, and Fuping, intending to divide the officers and soldiers, but they were defeated and fled Pucheng, and were pursued by Sun Shoufa and Gao Jie. The situation is sinister, and before the contemptible people come, the grass on the wall of the sky star is about to surrender again......"

Zhao Dangshi also had a sad face, and said: "Not only the general, but also the king was poisoned by the officials and soldiers a month ago, but it's a pity, do you know about this matter?" ”

Tian Jianxiu straightened his body and replied: "I already know it, I don't hide it, the contemptible person came this time, and he was entrusted by the general because of this matter." said, adding, "The officers and soldiers are cruising endlessly, and the contemptible people steal out of the mountain, if Yu Lu is not lucky, I am afraid that I will not be able to see Brother Zhao." ”

Compared with the exuberant look when he was in the eighth team, Tian Jianxiu was covered in dust at this moment, and he really looked down. Zhao Dangshi first comforted him with a few words, and then asked: "Dare to ask General Chuang if he wants Zhao Ying to go north to help?" ”

In fact, when he said this, Zhao Dangshi regretted it a little, because Zhao Ying's new frame was initially decided, and there was no close battle yet, so he went north in vain, and it was extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, Tian Jianxiu shook his head. Zhao Dangshi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and listened to him: "No." Although the officers and soldiers are strong, they are just arrogant for a while, and they will soon be able to get out of the predicament. Speaking of this, he accentuated his tone, "The contemptible person said that this time I came to break the king." ”

"Breaking the King......

Gao Yingxiang has been captured, his whereabouts are unknown, and he can't say that he is already on the way to the capital at this moment. However, it was only a small pause, and Zhao Dangshi figured out the key to it, and said in a deep voice: "Not for the king, but for the king." ”

Tian Jianxiu squinted and smiled: "Brother Zhao is really a smart person. ”

Zhao Dangshi groaned: "However, at present, Gao Yingen and Tuupan Gao are competing fiercely, and the general is far away in northern Shaanxi, how can he insert a pole horizontally?" ”

Tian Jianxiu didn't answer him, but asked: "In Brother Zhao's opinion, who is the most qualified person to succeed to the title of 'King Chuang' now?" Is it Gao Yingen, or Tuo Pangao? As he spoke, a bright light appeared on his face, and then without waiting for Zhao Dangshi to respond, he asked and answered, "It's not, it's a general." ”

Zhao Dangshi naturally acquiesced, Gao Yingen and Tuupan Gao are now famous, but they are still unknown in history, and Li Zicheng is undoubtedly the "new king" in the future.

In Liukou, the substitution of names is a common phenomenon, and the benefits brought by the prestige accumulated by a name are not simply measurable, just like nicknames such as "Sweeping King" and "Little Qin King" have changed several owners. And every new owner will reap a lot of benefits from this name, so that a resounding name will be fought over by many forces after the death of the old master. The reason why there is always a rogue in the historical books who suddenly appears thousands of miles away or who is obviously killed in battle but is written in the Tang newspaper again a few days and months later is also for this reason.

The name of "King Chuang" is extraordinary, and with him, he has become at least nominally the leader of the world's rogue, and this appeal is undoubtedly more than one level greater than that of "Chuangjiang". Li Zicheng is a hero, and he will come to fight for this name, in fact, it is also expected by Zhao Dangshi.