At first glance, Chang Zeyu, dressed in a neat shirt with a square scarf, coupled with Chang Zeyu's clear and faceless temperament and tall and thin figure, almost made Zhao Dangshi's eyes shine. The words are terrifying, and under the many descriptions of Pang Jinming, Hou Dagui and others, Chang Zeyu's image in Zhao Dangshi's heart is actually quite poor. But often the more people with the city, the more difficult it is for people to make people distancing, and Chang Zeyu is like this. Zhao Dangshi only talked to him for a few words, and he felt like a spring breeze.

Although the first feeling is good, Zhao Dangshi still reminds himself all the time that the seemingly tranquil and elegant middle-aged man in front of him is by no means as kind and kind as his appearance.

This morning, Zhao Dangshi, as always, summoned Hou Dagui and Xu Hui to discuss with them the solution to some of the unresolved matters last night. During the discussion, the question of Song Houzhen's gift of the cup yesterday was naturally mentioned. Hou Dagui said the words "a glass of wine releases military power" in a timely manner, and Zhao Dangshi's chest suddenly disappeared.

Zhao Dangshi sent someone to find Song Hou Zhen and confirm the correctness of this matter with him. Although this gentleman has no position in the army, he is true to his words and is known as a powerful man. Zhao Dangshi asked again, and naturally led to Chang Zeyu.

It can be said that the reason why Chang Zeyu did not follow Xiong Wanjian to greet Zhao Dangshi, but bothered to send a cup hint was to create a different atmosphere for his appearance. Just like Liu Bei looked at the thatched cottage and got Kong Ming, he didn't want to be mixed with a group of ordinary generals and make Zhao Dangshi look down on the three words "Chang Zeyu".

By sending a cup, he successfully attracted Zhao Dangshi's attention, and then used the words "A glass of wine releases military power" to arouse Zhao Dangshi's interest. As he expected, after a night, Zhao Dangshi took the initiative to send someone to invite him to negotiate.

The reason why Zhao Dangshi invited Chang Zeyu to come out was that he wanted to understand the inner meaning of the five characters he said, and secondly, he also liked the actual status of Chang Zeyu in the city - so far, Zhao Dangshi has determined that Xiong Wanjian is just an ornament, and the real power faction in Baocheng is Chang Zeyu.

The conversation between the two was held separately in the study of He Fu. After a short prelude, Zhao Dangshi and Chang Zeyu both roughly understood each other's expression routines, and both knew that the other party was not an easy character to deal with. So then, let's get to the point.

Zhao Dangshi did not dwell on the details of other aspects, but had something to say, and directly asked Chang Zeyu about the true intention of those five words. Chang Zeyu knew that Zhao Dangshi's patience was limited, and now was the time to "inspect the goods", so he didn't make any sloppy eyes, and told him what he had thought about for a long time.

And his core idea can be summed up in three words - the right to collect troops. Whose military power is collected? Without him, Zhang Miaoshou, Hui Dengxiang and Xiong Wanjian.

This move hit Zhao Dangshi's current pain point, since Zhang Miaoshou and Wu Dading began to cooperate with Zhao Ying, Zhao Dangshi seems to have received some help, but more often than not, it is a kind of constraint. It's okay to say that the constraints come from the outside, but from the inside, it's uncomfortable. Especially in the face of the surprise attack of Zu Dabi and other officers and troops this time, Wu Dading, who was defeated first and had the advantage of geography and troops, was still beaten to the north, and Zhang Miaoshou became a dog in the rear and almost led to the death of Zhao Dangshi himself, and none of the three parties performed well. After really feeling the negative effects of the joint venture, Zhao Dangshi felt that dealing with the joint venture seemed to have become an imminent trend. Zhao Ying does not have much abundant capital, and must find the problem and solve it as soon as possible, otherwise, no one can guarantee the result of another attempt.

But how to deal with it is a headache for Zhao Dangshi, and he has talked to his henchmen and strategists several times about the concerns about the joint operation, but the matter has been temporarily shelved because there is no proper handling plan. However, what Chang Zeyu stated next made him feel that now might be an opportunity.

First of all, look at the situation, at present, Hong Chengchou led the main force to kill Li Zicheng in northern Shaanxi, the ancestor of southern Shaanxi Dabi was newly defeated, the official army was unable to take the initiative to attack, although Zhao Ying was victorious, it also urgently needed to rest and replenish. This is a rare opportunity for adjustment, because in Zhao Dangshi's plan, whether it is to enter Sichuan next or face Li Zicheng, who may go south, and Hong Chengchou, who is following behind, he needs his own strength as a basic guarantee. Iron striking still needs its own hardness, there is no strength, everything is nothing, but once the problem of the three battalions cannot be solved, Zhao Ying will not be able to slow down for a while.

Looking at the inside, at present, in addition to Zhao Ying's relatively complete rear camp system, the old military camp and Zhang Miaoshou's army management can be described as a mess. The soldiers in their battalion did not have much discipline, and basically grabbed things and put them by their side. Take Zhang Miao's hands as an example, Zhao Dangshi has been to it several times, and in the camp, you can see old women, women and children washing and cooking everywhere, many of these are the families of military generals, and more are slaves who have been plundered. There are even military generals driving cattle and sheep, shouting and swaggering through the market, just ask, how can such an army, like a vegetable market and a miscellaneous compound, fight without distractions? At first, Zhao Dangshi tried to make suggestions for improvement to Zhang Miaoshou, but when he saw the eight women and five or six children that Zhang Miaoshou had in his tent, he completely dismissed his idea. At that time, the connection between Zhao Ying and Zhang Miaoshou was not so close, and Zhao Dangshi could not care about it, but now, Zhao Dangshi absolutely could not tolerate dragging such a big burden to face the uncertain future.

Zhao Dangshi finally understood the meaning of centralization. In the initial stage of a group or camp, the effect of so-called "democracy" on the whole is definitely not as good as imagined. And "centralization", which sounds rather aggressive, can bring about a significant efficiency improvement overall.

It is easy to delegate power and difficult to collect power, and Zhao Dangshi's distress is clear to Chang Zeyu. He has been there from the top of the group to the bottom of the group, and understands the evolution of a group, and he understands the difficulties that groups at each stage will encounter. It can be said that he is a person who has played the rogue system thoroughly, he has seen and experienced too much, the pros and cons, success and failure are as common as commonplace for him, he only needs to sum up the past experience, and he can put forward constructive suggestions on the predicament that Zhao Ying is facing now.

This kind of experience is exactly what Zhao Dangshi needs.

Hou Dagui and Xu Hui originally thought that Zhao Dangshi and Chang Zeyu would come out soon, but they stayed in the lobby for most of the day, and they didn't see Zhao Dangshi's intention to go out. The two of them finished handling some trivial military affairs, ate dinner, and began to be bored in the lobby, but without Zhao Dangshi's order, they didn't dare to go, so they had to take chess and play. Hou Dagui was anxious, and the chessboard was always too rushed and slowly eaten away by the steady Xu Hui, and after a few plays, he rarely won and lost interest, so he stopped playing. Xu Hui didn't say much, asked someone to brew tea, and tasted it himself.

Hou Dagui lost the chess with tightness in his chest, and remembered that he couldn't go back immediately to live with the charming Rao Liubo, which made him even more irritable. Xu Hui took a few sips of tea, saw his restless appearance, and said lightly: "Mr. Hou Qian, the chess game is like a battle game, have you heard of it?" ”

"What? Mr. Xu Qian is mocking me in front of me? Hou Dagui was depressed, and when he heard that Xu Hui seemed to have contempt, he was angry.

Xu Hui smiled, shook his head lightly, and said, "You listen to me." 'A game of chess is like a battle', the person who said this should be a chess master, but I'm sure he hasn't been on the battlefield. ”

"You ......" Hou Dagui listened to what he said, suppressed his anger and did not attack on the spot.

Xu Hui put down the teacup and sighed: "Just like yesterday, if it weren't for Han Qian's surprise victory, how could we win in chaos?" And this opportunity, you see, but I can't see it. Alas, I must seek to be safe in every battle, and I will make a decision on a chess game and then move, but I don't expect that I will count every move, but in fact, my opponent can also count every move of mine. Just like playing chess, you may be able to win steadily when you meet mediocrity, but when you meet a master, you can only be played with by others! ”

Hou Dagui saw Xu Hui's lonely face, and was sure that he was indeed moved by what he said, but Xu Hui, who was honest with each other, he had never faced it, and all of a sudden, he didn't know what to say, and after thinking about it, he could only mutter: "I am also blinded ......"

After Xu Hui finished speaking, he fell into deep thought, at this moment, the sun was sinking in the west, and only the lobby of the two of them seemed a little quiet, after all, Hou Dagui couldn't bear it, and felt that he should respond to Xu Hui, and after thinking for a long time, he suddenly said: "By the way, Lao Xu, are you interested in the widow in the back camp?" ”

The widow of the back camp is Zhao Yuanzai's biological mother Lou Niang. Previously, when Xu Hui was sick in the camp to recuperate, Lou Niang volunteered to take care of her, under her care, Xu Hui recovered quickly, I heard that later in order to thank Lou Niang, Xu Hui also specially sent someone to bring some gifts back, at this time Hou Dagui racked his brains and couldn't find a common topic with Xu Hui, so he could only mention here.

He thought that Xu Hui would blow up, but Xu Hui was silent for a moment and said, "No." ”

Hou Dagui was interested at this time, and was about to take advantage of the victory to pursue and make a big news, but who knew that Zhao Dangshi came at this time, he saw that the two were talking rarely, and said with a smile: "What are you talking about, so that I can also know?" Chang Zeyu followed behind him, and the two of them were smiling, almost like old friends reunited.

Xu Hui hurriedly said: "If you can't get on the stage, you won't be dirty." ”

When Hou Dagui heard it, he spat in private: "Don't admit yourself." ”

Zhao Dangshi didn't chase after him, he looked interested, Hou and Xu glanced at each other, and they both knew that an important decision would be announced next.

Sure enough, after everyone sat down again, Zhao Dangshi spoke: "Tomorrow, the herald will order the city to fortify, the whole army will abandon the camp and come to Baocheng to concentrate, and summon Hao Shaoqi and Hui Dengxiang of Chu County to leave a small number of soldiers and horses to defend the city, and the rest will come together." ”

As soon as these words came out, not only Hou Dagui, but even Xu Hui, who had always been as calm as a mountain, couldn't sit still. Listening to Zhao Dangshi's arrangement, it seems that he wants to give up his control over Chenggu, and even the county will be defended by false soldiers. Such a big military adjustment, obviously, came from a secret conversation with Chang Zeyu's study.

Hou Dagui first questioned: "In charge, the three aspects of Chuxian, Baocheng, and Chenggu form a triangle and complement each other, once any of them are abandoned, the entire defense line will be in vain." "His words are right, before, only because there is a county still in the west, the officers and soldiers of Luoyang did not dare to come out, and because of the timely rescue of the city solid, they repelled Zu Dabi and spared Baocheng. The echoing effect of the three points is obvious.

Zhao Dangshi looked at him meaningfully and said, "I know what you think, with these three points, you can ensure the safety of our army." However, this move is suitable for the past, not for the present. He didn't wait for Hou Dagui to speak, and continued, "Before, our army was still sufficient, and we could divide our troops. At that time, the officers and soldiers were not clear about our deployment, and they could also have a surprise effect on them. However, at the moment, our army is insufficient, and it is really impossible to take into account the three points, and then blindly divide the troops, I am afraid that we will not be able to echo each other, but will give the enemy a chance to break through. ”

Hou Dagui's brows knotted into a lump and said, "Please speak clearly." ”

Zhao Dangshi glanced at Chang Zeyu and responded: "Let me ask you, the official army of Luoyang has been newly defeated, do you have the strength to fight again?" ”

Even if Zu Dabi's army did not suffer many casualties, for him, whose original task was to "garrison the city", the defeat in the first battle of Baocheng was a serious dereliction of duty. He was under pressure, and he would definitely not be easy to dispatch again, and besides, the firearms team of Fei Yi Zaibu was defeated in a battle, and he and Zu Jie's cavalry alone did not have the confidence to attack the city.

"None."

"Yes. There are no soldiers in Hanzhong City who dare to fight, and the defensive position on both sides has been clear, so we really have no reason to be afraid. Zhao Dangshi said indifferently, "What's more, you think that the officers and soldiers were beaten back in this battle, and the next time they come back, they must have received reinforcements from northern Shaanxi." With our current strength, guarding three places, do you think we can stop Hong Chengchou? ”

Hou Dagui was silent when he heard this, there is no need to divide the defense now, and it is meaningless to divide the defense at that time, rather than increasing the cost of control and management like this, it is better to temporarily gather the troops.

"I'm not just here for this time." Zhao Dangshi spoke again, and this time, he seemed to have deliberately raised his voice. Hou Dagui and Xu Hui's attention was reattracted to him, and Chang Zeyu also gently stroked his beautiful hair at this time.

"In three days, I'm going to hold a banquet in Baocheng." Zhao Dangshi said.