After the first month, February of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen was replaced by the rare leap first month. In many places of Huguang people, according to customs, the people are happy to spend another Spring Festival, but for all kinds of soldiers and horses, they can't delay in celebrating. This year, similar to the appearance of the first month of the leap month, is destined to be unusual.

In the first month of the leap month, the wind and snow gradually subsided at the turn of Chu and Yu, and was stirred by the remnants of the Hui, Ge and other battalions, and a large number of Henan bandits invaded northern Chu, and Zaoyang County alone fought more than ten times with all kinds of bandits and rogues one after another. Although they win every time, it can be seen that the trend of thieves is coming from winter to spring, and there are signs of recovery.

In addition to Chubei, the confrontation between officials and thieves in other places has also started one after another.

In the area of Huguang Wuchang Mansion and Qizhou, Huang Degong, Lin Baoguo, the generals of the Yongwei Battalion, attacked the "old Huihui" Ma Shouying and the "Geli Eye" He Yilong in Hejiazhai and were defeated. Hui and Ge retreated back into Yingshan and Huoshan not far away, taking Paradise Village as a stronghold, hiding between the mountains and mountains and maneuvering with the officials and troops.

"Cao Cao" Luo Rucai led the crowd to Huguang, ambushed Yang Shien, Luo Anbang, and infested Xing'an, Zhushan, Nanzhang, Fangxian and other places - at this time, Zuo Liangyu, who was stationed in Fangxian, had already entered the southeast of Shaanxi for a long time, and there was no effective official army around Yunyang Mansion to resist for a while. Song Yihe, the new governor of Huguang, received a request for help from Yunyang, and there were no soldiers for a while, so he sent a letter to Zhao Dangshi and asked him to come out. When he traveled to Henan before, Zhao Dangshi had a lot of convenience with Song Yihe, so he returned his favor and flew to Gucheng in the left camp. When Cao Ying's Zhukou heard about it, they were secretly afraid of Zhao Dangshi, and they retreated to the Badong region one after another, which made Yang Sichang confirm that it was a wise move to let Zhao Dangshi sit in northern Chu.

Wang Aoyong, the governor of Yunyang, was upright and often advised Yang Sichang, but Yang Sichang was disgusted with his people, and took the opportunity to remove Wang Aoyong from his post on the grounds that Cao Ying and others were wantonly plundering the Yunyang Mansion to resist the unfavorable defense, and directly promoted Yuan Jixian, the supervisor of Yunyang, to the governor. In just a few days, the governors of Huguang and Yunyang were replaced, and Yang Sichang's dictatorship in power can be seen from this.

Zuo Liangyu led his troops to the west, and the generals of Sichuan and Shaanxi chased the western camp, first with Ma Jinzhong, who was nicknamed "mixed 100,000" as the vanguard, and broke the western camp in the wolfberry pass in southern Shaanxi. After that, he sent a letter to Yang Sichang, requesting that troops be brought into Sichuan and Shu from Hanyin and Xixiang counties for further pursuit. Yang Sichang was afraid of Zuo Liangyu, for fear that he would make another meritorious service, so he rejected him, and ordered him to be stationed in Xingping and Amway, and only let He Renlong, Li Guoqi and other Shaanxi generals attack from Xixiang.

At that time, Zuo Liangyu already knew that Yang Sichang had privately promised the general of Yansui to He Renlong and transfer the seal of the general of the thief to Yang Sichang because he hated himself for not going to meet him, and he was also angry at Yang Sichang's inconsistency, so he ignored the military order to stand by and led his troops to move forward. Immediately afterwards, holding his breath, he cooperated with the Shaanxi generals sent by Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, to let Liu Guoneng disguise himself as a thief who had returned to the camp to infiltrate the Xiying garrison in Agate Mountain, Taiping County, at the junction of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Zhang Xianzhong's two important advisers, Xu Yixian and Pan Duao, were captured and released to Xiangyang, and his righteous son Zhang Huier, "sweeping king" Zhang Yichuan and other big cowards and Zhang Dajing, who was demoted from the thief, were all killed, and his own whereabouts are unknown, and there are even rumors that he has died in the chaos.

In the middle of this month, Chen Xinjia succeeded Fu Zonglong, who was imprisoned, as the secretary of the military department, and in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, he tried to coordinate the relations between the government and the opposition. First of all, it was proposed to "comfort the officials and troops in Huguang and other places on the grounds that the ministers worked hard, dispatched well, and punished the virtuous and the faithful". Emperor Chongzhen had very high expectations for Yang Sichang, so he naturally agreed, and gave Yang Sichang a bullfighting costume, a golden saddle and a good horse in the imperial stable. As soon as the envoy left the palace gate, the good news of Agate Mountain had arrived. Emperor Chongzhen Longyan Dayue, and then issued 50,000 taels of silver and 1,000 horses of brocade silk to reward the soldiers. And Zuo Liangyu deserves it, the first in terms of merit, exempting the old defeated army from the crime, and finally won the seal of the general of the thief.

However, when the matter reached the ears of He Renlong, he was greatly indignant. He was the second in terms of merit, and he had Yang Sichang's secret permission, thinking that he would have to give the general of the thief a hand, but in the end, the bamboo basket was empty, of course he was dissatisfied. Because Yang Sichang has made enemies with Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong, it is difficult to win the trust of the two.

Yang Sichang knew that he could not control the generals remotely, so he made up his mind to lead the troops to recruit in person. In March, when I heard that Zhang Xianzhong had returned, he sent Zhang Kejian to enter the Sichuan army. Subsequently, an infantry battalion was set up in Xiangyang, and 1,700 rake soldiers recruited from Hunan were subordinate to Li Yinglong, Wang Yunfeng, Ma Degong, etc. He also set up a cavalry general battalion, followed Yuan Jixian's suggestion, and specially promoted the former chief military officer of the Jizhen Central Association who was deprived of his official position due to an incident and was assigned to the border to make meritorious service and redeem himself, as the commander of the battalion. At the end of the month, he led his troops out of Xiangyang, and went south to Yiling Prefecture, Jingzhou Prefecture, and is expected to go up the river from here and enter Kuizhou Mansion in eastern Sichuan.

Ten days after Yang Sichang's army left Xiangyang Mansion, Zhao Dangshi walked to Xiangxi Lake.

At the beginning of April, the weeping willows on the lakeside are all sprouting, lush and dotted, fresh and lovely. The spring mud is like snow, and the horse's hooves are stepping on it, and there is a creaking sound of fine pieces. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the clear waves are rippling, the green mountains are oblique, and there are occasional swimming ducks and water birds passing by, which is pleasant and comfortable. Every time he came here, Zhao Dangshi had a refreshing feeling, and couldn't help but sigh that Chen Hongfan's vision for site selection was unique.

"Why is Brother Xian here?"

Zhao Dangshi is admiring the landscape, under a willow tree, a person wearing a felt hat and a straight jacket, is sitting on the stone slab fishing. The little guy standing on the side hurriedly opened a horse to supply Zhao Dangshi, who was walking after hearing the sound.

"Yo-"

The calm surface of the lake suddenly ripples, the bamboo fishing rod is pulled a few times, and the angler holds the hook head, and a white scale is struggling and writhing in the sun. The angler laughed, took the white scales off the hook, threw them into the fishing basket beside him, clapped his hands again, handed the fishing rod to the little guy, and greeted Zhao Dangshi: "It's rare for a virtuous brother to be free." ”

Zhao Dangshi looked at Chen Hongfan's leisurely expression, shook his head and said, "How can I be at ease with my brother." ”

Chen Hongfan has not been out and around since he went home to recuperate a few months ago, and Zhao Dangshi went to the Governor's Mansion to celebrate the New Year at the beginning of the year, and he happened to be staggered. Goodbye now, the other party has already picked chrysanthemums under the east fence, pinned his affection on the landscape, cultivated in the garden, how can there be a little bit of Jin Ge Iron Horse.

The little guy held the rod behind, and the two walked slowly around the lake. During the conversation, Zhao Dangshi felt that Chen Hongfan deliberately avoided military affairs, and only led the topic to some miscellaneous matters such as piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and couldn't help sighing.

Chen Hongfan seemed to be smiling, hesitated slightly, and said: "How can the virtuous brother have a lonely face?" ”

Zhao Dangshi frowned and said: "The land with beautiful mountains and rivers is good, but if you consume your mind, it is not as good as the poor mountains and bad waters to temper people." ”

Chen Hongfan heard that there was something in his words and kept silent. Zhao Dangshi stopped, shook his head and said, "Brother, the younger brother has a sentence that I don't know whether to say or not." ”

"You and my brother have nothing to say, but it doesn't hurt to talk." Chen Hongfan smiled a little awkwardly.

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said "Okay", and then said: "Since the farewell of the governor, I haven't seen my brother for a few months, I should have thought that my brother was in the army and prepared to accumulate thick and thin, but I didn't know that I was wandering around the manor day and night, and I didn't have anything to do with the army." If this is the case, what did you and I do when we made a promise under the Governor's Gate? ”

Chen Hongfan coughed lightly, his face was ashamed, and Zhao Dangshi continued: "Since my brother stayed in Xiangyang, he has stood on his heels. At the time of working hard, why is it so gloomy that Mr. Wuliu and Mr. Zhenbai are doing it? ”

"Mr. Wuliu" Tao Yuanming and "Mr. Zhenbai" Tao Hongjing are all famous hermits. Of course, Zhao Dangshi's words were not to praise Chen Hongfan and Qingyuan, but to euphemistically accuse him of not wanting to make progress.

Chen Hongfan was silent for a moment, then turned his head and said to the little guy who followed him a few steps behind: "You go home first, just say that I will return later today." Waiting for the little guy to run away, he bowed his head slightly, "Look at what the virtuous brother said, after a year of hard work, he was a little slack around the New Year, and he couldn't help it." ”

Zhao Dangshi probably knows Chen Hongfan's mentality. Although Chen Hongfan reluctantly mixed a seat under Yang Sichang's supervision, after all, it was not as important as Xiong Wencan's heart, he knew that he could not be reused by Yang Sichang, and he did not have the ability to rely on soldiers and horses to fight a piece of the sky, and the situation in the DPRK and China was changing, and most of the previous backers who lost their power and retreated from leisure have fallen, and he can't help but be a little sad about the future, and then pessimistic about the future, and feel that there is no future, so he has to get by, and he is disheartened.

Fishing for flowers, sad autumn and the moon, looking chic and chic, but they are just a fig leaf for Chen Hongfan's self-deception.

For Zhao Dangshi, Chen Hongfan can be regarded as a nobleman, and he is an important role in promoting his life in northern Chu, Zhao Dangshi will repay his kindness and revenge, and now this brother is down, how can he not take a hand and pull it up. Besides, Chen Hongfan thought that he was worthless, but in the eyes of Zhao Dangshi, he was still important.

"Brother, at this critical juncture, it is a good time for my two brothers to fight hard. Others can slack off, how can you and I slack off! Zhao Dangshi shook his head again and again, sighed and said, "Do you know the news that Elder Yang Ge led the army to leave?" ”

Chen Hongfan said in a sullen voice: "I have heard of it." ”

Zhao Dangshi continued: "Elder Yang Ge is determined to personally pursue and suppress the Sichuan and Shaanxi thieves, but this Xiangyang Mansion is still the place where the superintendent is stationed, and the allocation of money, grain, armor and weapons from various states and counties must be supported by the unified degree of the government, which is still very important. As soon as the standard camp left, Chuzhong was empty, and Yang Ge Lao was asking you and my brothers to work together to protect the peace of the city. ”

When Chen Hongfan heard this, he raised his head and said, "Is this really the case?" ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "How can there be a lie." Brother, do you think, Zuo Shuai and the envoy left one after another, who else is there in this northern Chu? It's nothing more than the elder brother and the younger brother. The voice was low at this point, "My brother and I have one heart, he has Zuo Liangyu in Henan, and my Huguang may not lose to him." ”

If you don't say the last sentence, as soon as you say it, Chen Hongfan's heart was immediately slammed with a hammer weighing a thousand catties, so excited that his whole body shook, swallowed spit, and stared. He had already seen that Zhao Dangshi was not an ordinary person, but he never imagined that his virtuous brother would be so ambitious. Taking advantage of the situation and making it impossible is really a master's move. Who is Zuo Liangyu? What does Zhao Dangshi's words mean? Go without saying.

Chen Hongfan is keen on power, and he is not the master who is easily depressed, otherwise he would not have tried his best to recover several times and seek fame. Recently, I have been immersed in pastoral affairs, and I don't hear anything outside the window, but I can't do anything because of the panic. He said to Zhao Dangshi that there is partial wealth in his faith. At the moment, when Zhao Dangshi said this, his mind was racing, and his heart instantly dropped a lot.

"I don't know ......" The two of them took a few steps, and this time it was Chen Hongfan's turn to hold back, "I don't know what the virtuous brother has planned?" ”

Zhao Dangshi turned to look at him and said with a sigh of relief: "Don't hide it from my brother, since the beginning of the spring, thieves from all over the country have been competing to attack my Chu land, and there has been a huge momentum. Dumen and Zuozhen have all moved westward, and the scale of the existing second battalion of our battalion sits on the huge ground, so it is inevitable that there will be some neglect of one or the other. At this point, there was a pause, and the color was correct, "What the younger brother means, please use the name of the elder brother's general army to expand the soldiers and horses." ”

"This ......" As soon as he talked about expanding the army, Chen Hongfan was immediately dumbfounded.

Zhao Dangshi said: "Brother rest assured, all the food and equipment needed by the soldiers and horses will be solved by the younger brother here." The younger brother has already thought about adding two more battalions on the basis of the current elder brother's one battalion. Make up three battalions, and I'll set myself in Chubei. ”

Chen Hongfan knew that Zhao Dangshi did this to avoid the eyes and ears of the imperial court. Zhao Ying's general army in one place has already exceeded the number of soldiers and horses too much, and if it continues to expand, it will definitely be criticized and suspected by the government and the opposition. Therefore, the best way is to expand the army with the establishment of Chen Hongfan Changping Town's general army. The latter three do not have jurisdiction over each other, and basically can only govern one battalion of soldiers, and belong to the rank of general. However, the general army is really a commander-in-chief, and there can be adjutant generals, staff generals, guerrillas, and so on under his command called battalion officers, so there is no accurate number in the establishment. Chen Hongfan, the general soldier of Changping Town, was set up in the Jiajing period with the "south to protect the Beijing division, north to look at the mausoleum" and set up a veteran military town, marked under the deputy general, staff general, guerrilla and other positions, Chen Hongfan himself led a battalion, henchmen Ma Tingshi, Xu Qizuo each led a battalion just right, and there was no way to exceed the system.

It is true that he can also think that this plan was proposed by Zhao Dangshi, and Zhao Ying was responsible for supporting the battalion soldiers, and Zhao Dangshi would inevitably install his own people in the camp to control him in the future, and he would inevitably be hollowed out. But thinking about it carefully, it is inevitable for Zhao Dangshi to dominate Chubei, so why bother to go against the trend. In other words, for him Chen Hongfan, only by clinging to Zhao Dangshi can he have the hope of rejuvenating the spring, anyway, he has no future if he keeps the soldiers and horses, so it is better to change his course and take advantage of the trend. He already has some feelings that Zhao Dangshi may be the partial wealth he is destined to be.

Unconsciously, the two walked to the gate of the manor, Zhao Dangshi saw Chen Hongfan frowning and silent, knowing that his mood was fluctuating, and he was not persecuted, and said calmly: "Send my brother home, what the younger brother wants to say in his heart has been finished." There is still something to do in the army, so I won't go in this time. After saying that, he arched his hand, led the horse and left.

After only a few steps, the footsteps behind his head were broken, and Chen Hongfan caught up.

"Brother Xian, slow down, you and I haven't had a few drinks for a long time, why rush to leave. Stay tonight and get drunk. Chen Hongfan didn't wait to leave, he raised his voice to dissuade, and at the same time stepped forward in three steps and two steps, grabbed the reins with one hand, held Zhao Dangshi's hand with the other, and put on a smiling face, "This time, my brother will go out and go with you." ”