Chapter 170: The Crusade (3)

The people in the lobby came and went, and in the end, only Chen Cheng was left sitting in the dark lobby. The murderous aura on his body had receded like a tide, and the whole person fell into a state of no waves in the ancient well. He pondered what he was angry about.

Is it angry at the lawlessness of Fuping Haoqiang, or angry at Xu Chao who sent a few teenagers? Or is it angry with himself? The truth behind this matter is that the heroes are bold? Or is there someone who is trying to stir up trouble? Or is it really just a drain? No matter what the truth of the matter is, people are already dead, and nothing else matters. If they were allowed to continue their studies in the Tooth City, this would not happen, would it?

Life is essentially the same, but when I first heard that there were dead people, I was only a little shocked; But when he heard that the person he cared about was dead, he almost burst into a rage. It's not universal at all!

In the final analysis, I still divided people into three, six, nine and so on. To a certain extent, Chen Chengxin said: I am becoming more and more like the natives of this world, if it were not for the plug-in. This is not necessarily a bad thing, only by understanding the thoughts of the natives of this world can we rule them more effectively.

But what are you here for? Is it to rule the natives of the world, or to help the people of the world and promote the development of the productive forces here? In the process of moving forward, the end and the means seem to have become somewhat unclear. Some people say: Don't forget the original intention, you have to always. However, our hearts are always changing, and who can maintain their original state of mind after experiencing joy and suffering?

Joy is just that, every suffering and injury, every time it will leave wounds and scars on our hearts, and when the wounds stop bleeding, when the wounds scab over, the shape of the mind will change more or less, right? Those scars can help us resist the same damage, but they also harden the mind and become less pure and transparent.

Yang Qiu was the first prince of Liangzhou to take refuge in him, and Chen Cheng originally wanted to make him a horse bone, and he wanted to get along with him as a monarch and minister, and spread it as a good story. If Yang Qiu hadn't invited them to the Northland, how could they have today's situation? Later, when the surprise attack on Linrong, Yang Qiu also brought a small number of cronies to kill him together.

In any way, things shouldn't have come to this point. Half of the share given to Yang Qiu's silver mine was for merit, and half was in exchange for his concessions on taxes. It can even be said that it is spending money to buy food and obedience from him. Giving Cheng Yi and Ma Teng shares in the silver mine also has such considerations.

But now it seems that it is time to redefine "who is our friend and who is our enemy". Chen Chengxin said: What I did was earth-shaking things, how could Dingge be Xianheng? In this process, there are bound to be many deaths, many people. Unless you stop there, you will shed more blood in the future, both from your enemies and your own.

So, what are your choices? Will you be held back by fear of bloodshed? The answer, of course, is......... Never!

The means and methods can be improved, but the matter of principle is that we cannot retreat from a single step, even if we want to be the enemy of the whole world!

Chen Cheng sat in the dark, thought for a long time, and cleared his thoughts. Then he stood up and said to the court, "Someone! ”

The tooth general on duty stepped forward and said; "What does the lord command?"

"Summoning Li Jun, Wang Ling and Yao Qiong to come to Yinchuan .........", Chen Cheng paused, he stood in the hall and was silent for a while, and then said: "Order Zhao Yun, starting tomorrow, the leave of all tooth soldiers will be canceled, the army's training will be halved, and it will enter the third level of combat readiness." ”

The tooth general repeated Fang Cai's order, and when he was sure that it was correct, he immediately retreated.

Chen Cheng raised his head and looked at the sky, the spoon shape of the Big Dipper had reached a low altitude. The cold light traveled through the dark universe for an unknown amount of time before it fell on this dusty planet. Looking at such a magnificent starry sky, how can you not feel the insignificance of people? How can the flies and dogs survive in the world, and how can they be compared to the universe............. Well, Chen Cheng laughed at himself: "I'm not Sun Liancheng who has the universe in mind, what should I do or what I have to do." ”

When he was laughing at himself, the footsteps under the eaves of the corridor sounded unhurriedly, and when he looked back, it was Yan Zhong who came. The Liangzhou Pastoral Mansion was heavily guarded, and only Yan Zhong and Yan Bodao could enter and exit freely. Chen Cheng asked, "You came over so late, but what happened?" ”

Yan Zhong walked to Chen Cheng's side and said, "Fuping's matter......... In fact, Wang Yue had already reported it first, and after I knew it, I immediately sent someone to investigate. ”

Chen Cheng had already suppressed the road anger in his heart, and he said in a deep voice: "What can you find out?" ”

Yan Zhong said: "It was Yang Qiu's clan who did it, but the messenger behind it was Han Sui. ”

"Han Sui?" Chen Cheng laughed, but his smile was a little crazy, and he smiled and asked, "Probably not, right?" He just came up and asked me to support a batch of military rations and lead the troops to Hanyang to participate in the Eastern Expedition. ”

Yan Zhong let out a long sigh and said, "Han Wenyue's nature is difficult to change, no matter what he does, he likes to mix in some intrigues. On the one hand, he called himself a minister, and secretly provoking the relationship between the prince and Yang Qiu on the other hand, which may seem incredible to others, but to Han Sui it is just ordinary. Last year, he married his daughter to Yan Xing, and this year he came again. Alas, he is not one who can achieve great things. ”

Chen Cheng said: "Is there any evidence? ”

Yan Zhong said: "There are both human and material evidence, Wang Tingshi arrested some people in the north, not only found out the ins and outs of the Fuping incident, but also found out that Han Sui's people were also involved in the last assassination incident. ”

Chen Cheng was still groaning, and Yan Zhong said again: "Wang Yue is outside, if the prince doesn't believe it, summon him here, and you will know when you ask." ”

"I know," Chen Cheng's voice was very steady, and he couldn't tell that he was still angry before, "So Bo Dao wants to persuade me not to send troops to participate in the Eastern Crusade?" Even further, after Han Sui's soldiers and horses went to Fufeng, he raised the army and took the opportunity to enter Hanyang County, cutting off his back road? ”

Yan Zhong smiled and said, "No, I want to persuade the prince not only to participate in the Eastern Crusade launched by Han Sui, but also to transport more grain and grass over. ”

"Why is that?"

Yan Zhong sneered and said, "Doesn't he like to play conspiracy and tricks, and we will treat others in the same way as others." I have two strategies, and the prince uses them to destroy Han Sui, which is as easy as a palm. ”

Chen Cheng listened carefully to Yan Zhong's two strategies, and said, "It's really good to lure them with advantage and force them with force, but things may not develop as we expected. And in this way, it will not be so easy to win the trust of the Liangzhou princes in the future. ”

Yan Zhong said: "These two strategies are just the general direction, and what to do is naturally still necessary for the prince to decide. If Han Sui is kept and not killed, he will inevitably be unwilling to fail. But he is not willing to fail, will others be willing to spit out the territory they have acquired? When the civil strife in Liangzhou is reached, the prince will be able to go south justifiably and completely control the situation in Liangzhou! ”

In the current Liangzhou, it is probably Yan Zhong who can come up with this kind of conspiracy that calculates everyone, right? With such a thought, Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Bodao is not only my Xiao He, but also my Chen Ping!" ”

The next day, the guards on the governor's mansion doubled, and the alley outside the door was full of carriages, and the military generals of Wenchen crowded the lobby of Chen Cheng's mansion. On the eaves of the corridor under the hall stood more than a dozen tooth soldiers armed with spears and horizontal knives hanging from their waists. The men stood on the wooden floor, staring ahead, motionless.

Yang Qiu had a happy look on his face, he had been in the position of the secretary of the military department for almost a year, and he was dealing with various documents every day. If it weren't for the high and powerful position in this position, he would have been unable to do it a long time ago. Well, now, it's finally time for war again! He talked with the others next to him about the recent military situation with high spirits, and laughed from time to time.

Xu Chao glanced at Yang Qiu, then lowered his eyes and stared at the teacup on the table, as if he was thinking about something. But in reality, he didn't think about anything. The furnishings in the lobby are very different from the past, because of Chen Cheng's personal preferences, the original futon tables have been replaced with Hu tables and chairs, and the positions are still the same as before, on both sides of the lobby.

At the beginning, everyone was very unaccustomed to this, how awkward it looked, but after a long time, I felt that it was acceptable. In any case, it is more comfortable to sit in a chair than to sit on your knees. There were teacups on the table, and the maids came over and poured tea for everyone, and brought a plate of pastries, including cheese, French fries, dried sweet potatoes, etc., which were also beautiful, and they would definitely not be able to eat enough.

The footsteps behind the screen sounded, and the tooth general took the lead to walk out, stood still in the hall, and said in a loud voice: "Liangzhou Mu has arrived!" ”

The civil and military generals who were talking suddenly quieted down, and then got up together and said, "See the lord!" ”

Chen Cheng didn't wear armor, but just wore a plain linen shirt, and the cuffs were not as wide as the current long sleeves, but were tucked up at the tail, looking very capable. He sat down on the chair at the top, raised his hand, and said, "Please take a seat." ”

After everyone sat back on their chairs, Chen Cheng said again: "I called everyone here today to discuss some important matters. Bodao, you first tell everyone about Han Sui's side. ”

When Xu Chao heard this, his heart moved, and he pretended to glance at Yang Qiu on the side inadvertently, but saw that the latter still had a happy look on his face, and he didn't hear the meaning of Chen Cheng's words at all. He sighed in his heart, and then cheered up and paid attention to the development of the situation in the hall.

Han Sui said that the matter of the ministers and the request for a joint expedition had already spread throughout the city, and Yan Zhong also knew that everyone had heard the news, so he made a long story short, briefly introduced it, and then said: "This is the case, Han Sui is now gathering soldiers and horses, saying that he is going to go on another expedition to the east, you are all heroes of Liangzhou, but I don't know what to think of this matter?" Should you agree to it, or should you say no? ”

"Agree, of course agree!"

The lobby immediately erupted with a burst of shouting and shouting and killing, for the generals, when the supervision is getting stricter and stricter, fighting is the only way to get promoted and make a fortune. Drinking soldiers' blood, eating empty salaries and other behaviors, as long as they are discovered, there is only one dead word. Chen Cheng was laissez-faire to the other princes, and he was also light on the people in the territory under his rule, but he never said that he had relaxed his requirements for the army.

After many soldiers and horses were retrenched, at least half of the money and food saved was spent on selected troops, so that the training could become more and more rigorous. When the armies of the Liangzhou princes were able to see one exercise in ten days, the Liangzhou army basically exercised every two or three days. In addition to resting once every ten days, the tooth soldiers directly under Chen Cheng's direct jurisdiction have to practice every day.

You don't need to compare anything else, just by looking at the frequency of drills, you can know the level of combat power. These generals have been practicing day and night, and they have long held their breath, and now they are all excited when they hear that there will be a battle. Not to mention that fighting a war can be promoted and make a fortune, it can also avoid the hard work of practicing every day!

Yang Qiu's voice was the loudest, he was once a prince of Xiliang, and his heart and mind were to enter the pass and occupy Sanfu, and now that he had such a good opportunity, he even put aside the feud with Han Sui, and he said loudly: "Lord, please immediately gather the army, open the treasury, reward the three armies, and then send troops to the east!" ”

Chen Cheng had already figured it out last night, and now there was not the slightest anger on his face, but a smile on his face. He stretched out his hand and pressed it down, and after everyone quieted down, he smiled and said, "Several generals agree to send troops, I already know, do you have any objections?" ”

Yang Qiu looked at Chen Cheng's side, and the Chinese book on the left made Yan Zhong smile, not knowing what he was thinking. The attendant on the right made Zhao Yun's face solemn, and he couldn't see the slightest thought. He looked to the side again, and Xu Chao, the head of the household, was staring at the teacup on the table, as if he could see the flowers from the teacup.

Yan Zhong said: "Guanzhong is rich, whether it is the money and grain of the household registration, or the output of the land, it is far better than the north. It would be good if he could take advantage of the chaos in the imperial court to seize Guanzhong. But Han Sui is the closest to Guanzhong, and after laying Guanzhong, will Han Sui get cheap? ”

Yang Qiu said in a loud voice: "Although Han Sui has many soldiers and horses, how can he compare with the elite of our army? Song Jian, Ma Teng and others will never sit idly by and watch Han Sui dominate Guanzhong, and Zhongshu Ling is too worried! ”

Yan Zhong smiled and said: "What Yang Shangshu said is also reasonable, I just said this possibility, so that everyone can be prepared first, lest after seizing Chang'an, Han Sui suddenly turned his face, and everyone was caught off guard." ”

"If Han Wenyue dares to do this, then we will unite all the princes and transfer troops and horses to destroy him!"

"Yes, Hangul is about a ball!"

"The division between master and slave has been decided, if he is safe, if he is obedient, if he is rude, he will be destroyed first, and then he will march east!"

Everyone shouted, not taking Han Sui in their eyes. A year ago, when the Huns had just been defeated, the generals were still a little worried about Han Sui, who owned the three counties. Now, a year later, although Han Sui's territory is larger, Chen Cheng's side has also gained a firm foothold, coupled with sufficient money and food, and the soldiers are brave, he no longer regards Han Sui as a great enemy.

The generals want to be promoted and make a fortune, and they are looking forward to the day when there will be another sword and soldier every day, and it doesn't matter who the opponent is. Last year's war created many military nobles, and the army was hot-eyed.

Chen Cheng asked: "Except for those who are in favor of sending troops, is there no one who opposes sending troops?" ”

The generals said "no" loudly and stared fiercely at the civilian officials with their eyes. In addition to the officials of the Ministry of War, there were really some officials in other departments who did not approve of sending troops, but their own bosses did not oppose it, so they also pressed their minds.