1. Meng Dingguo did not decisively reveal the secret purpose, mainly due to two reasons.

He was originally a border general, loyal and brave, and became famous very early before he accidentally entered the eyes of the emperor, first transferred to the capital as a backbone general, and then honored to be the general of the palace guard forbidden army. It was the tradition of the Great Song Dynasty to recruit rootless and loyal young warriors from the border pass to strengthen the Zhenguo power of the Beijing army. This is also an effective means for the imperial court to reasonably weaken the backbone of the Western Army in disguise and strengthen its control over the border army. There are more than three or five border generals like him who were born in the Beijing army. He has been in the border army for a long time, he knows the border affairs very well, and it is also the main reason why the emperor sent him, the time to Qingzhou is not long, but it is not short, with his familiarity with the border pass, he has seen the situation in Qingzhou and even the entire Cangbei.

The reason why the military and civilians in the Cangbei region, which is close to the sea, did not defect to the pirates on a large scale like other coastal areas; The reason why the officers and men in the army are willing to stay behind the dangerous and bitter border passes; Obviously, due to population loss, the southern region of the Great Song Dynasty has vacated a large area of ownerless land or real estate shops in the city that can be occupied for free, and it is more suitable for life.

The soldiers and civilians did not believe that the pirate country was really that good, and they did not dare to believe in the ability of officials elsewhere, and they did not think that they could really hold on to it and live a good life if they went elsewhere to take advantage.

They know that they are small people, and they have little ability to recognize big things, so they naturally follow the wise big people.

They only believe in their own eyes, and only believe in Hou Ye, who has clearly proved that his conduct, vision and ability are outstanding.

They relied on Zhao Gonglian.

If Zhao Gonglian is gone, I am afraid that the situation in Qingzhou or even Cangbei will be different.

Meng Dingguo quietly glanced at and observed the attitude of the soldiers and civilians in the city towards Zhao Gonglian, who abandoned the official and wanted to leave, and today finally saw the potential terrifying influence and control of this Hou Ye. It has nothing to do with identity and power, Zhao Gonglian is not an official and has no power, but he is afraid that he will still command the army and the people to respond enthusiastically and blindly obey if he greets him casually.

Other words

Regardless of whether Zhao Gonglian is an official or a citizen, as long as the person is here, it is the existence of the Dinghai God Needle. The army and the people are all interested in this Hou Ye, and they are willing to listen to the Hou Ye, and they may also be willing to follow him to rebel or even die. Dare to clean up this Hou Ye here, I am afraid that if I can't catch him, I will be killed, and if I don't do well, I will be torn to pieces by the soldiers and civilians who have lost their minds.

Meng Dingguo was deeply afraid of this.

He didn't want to be confused and unjustly die in this kind of matter, and he was even more afraid of triggering a conflict that would cause Zhao Gonglian to kill the official and rebel in anger or be involuntarily supported by the Qingzhou military and civilians.

If this kind of result happens, then no matter how loyal they are to the emperor and the court, no matter how much they do things for the country, the public and the righteousness, they are all the culprits who led to the catastrophe of the Great Song Dynasty.

Look at the eyes of the more and more soldiers and people surrounding here, who are nostalgic and even tearful, and even look at the fierce eyes staring at themselves and other officials.

Hey, it's a. Who dares to mess around easily?

Another main reason is that Meng Dingguo is worried that the imperial court is afraid that it will not be able to guard the border without the Marquis of Wencheng, and it still needs people to change their minds and continue to serve, but they are afraid that they will make a comeback, and they will finally have to make submissions and major concessions to this cold-hearted marquis, and they will compromise and invite people back.

In this way, it is even more impossible to arrest people, and it is better not to offend even if you are offended, so as not to have the face to face others when you get it, and you can't stay here and let the emperor down.

Take a step back and say,

Look at Zhao Gonglian's guards, which look like wolves and tigers. Although there are only about 200 people, they are afraid that no one can stop them.

He, a general, can see it clearly.

But Wang Kaidao, who is accustomed to the tradition of bullying military with literature, and does not understand the military and military hearts, and thinks that he can command the army to handle everything with a great sage's will, does not understand this.

Meng Dingguo looked at the imperial historian who was still coughing desperately and signaling his eyes to hurry up and cooperate, knowing that this guy wanted to be promoted and wanted to go crazy, and he also thought that the authority of the holy decree was too strong, and he disdained his virtue in his heart, and looked at this guy's actions, and suddenly felt that it was not only obscene, but also so despicable, shameless, ridiculous, and pathetic, villain, clown.

He himself was suddenly saddened.

Wang Kaidao is a scholar, lives in a stable hinterland, and is accustomed to the kind of self-conscious and noble eyes in the capital, and he does not understand the hearts of the people at the border gates, nor does he disdain to understand them. And there are too many vulgar and flashy bureaucrats like Wang Kaidao in the court, so the suffering of the border people and the strong psychological needs of the border army are always ignored by the court.

At this time, Gao Jiguang broke the silence, took the lead in hugging his fist to Zhao Gonglian, and said respectfully: "This farewell, please cherish it, I hope there will be a period in the future." ”

The general judge, who has automatically become the supreme governor here, also immediately saluted and solemnly said: "Filial piety is the normal feeling of people." Nothing to say. Only the marquis takes care. ”

Without waiting for Zhao Gonglian's eyes to turn around and respond, the two of them had already circled their horses and left with their guards and entourage.

Many of the soldiers and civilians gathered around the area immediately dispersed. Some even called out: "The handsome man is precious." ”

Meng Dingguo looked at the rest of the people, their eyes were staring at him, but they also said goodbye solemnly, and they dismounted and marched on one knee, and saluted with a handsome voice.

Zhao Gonglian stared at him expressionlessly, but nodded slightly.

Meng Dingguo immediately flew on his horse without hesitation and shouted to everyone: "The marshal has something to leave Cangbei for a while, then we should guard Qingzhou and the whole marshal." ”

After roaring, the horse also left.

Immediately, the officials and soldiers rumbled and left.

Wang Kaidao, who was only dumbfounded, looked at the person and walked away, and suddenly felt helpless and frightened when he was empty, and hastily hugged Zhao Gonglian and ran away, as if he was afraid that if he walked late and walked slowly, he would be regarded by Zhao Gonglian as an obstacle to going home and filial piety.

His villain and clown attitude made Hua Rong and others despise it even more.

Zhao Gonglian immediately rode out of the city, and whispered to Hua Rong between the lines: "This person turned out to be a character." ”

Of course, Hua Rong knew that Zhao Gonglian was not talking about Wang Kaidao.

He said with a smile: "Meng Dingguo, a person with excellent arm strength, is good at using double hammers, although he has lost his blood when he becomes a Beijing official, but his martial arts have not been pulled down, I didn't expect there to be Neixiu." ”

The Hou Mansion and his party either rode war horses or fast cars, and soon disappeared into the southbound field after leaving the city.

On the way back to Yamen, Wang Kaidao was embarrassed, and the more he thought about it, the more unwilling he became.

After he caught up with Meng Dingguo and the others, he entered the yamen together and began to open and close the big mouth of the imperial historian, angrily, accusing the generals of why they wanted to indulge Zhao Gonglian.

Meng Dingguo ignored him, upset, and was busy discussing with the relevant civil and military forces sent by the emperor how to deal with the following situation.

It is necessary to report this matter to the imperial court as soon as possible.

There are a lot of things to discuss with Gao Jiguang and the two chief officials.

Also, do you want to send a messenger to inform the Cangzhou army to keep an eye on Zhao Zhuang and prepare for contingencies?

What's more, the Qingzhou army is afraid that Zhao Gonglian can't help it, so should the Cangzhou army, which not only has no relationship with Zhao Gonglian but may also be very hostile to the Cangzhao family, intercept and arrest Zhao Gonglian's family in time in the middle of the road and escort them to the capital to ask for guilt?

While discussing enthusiastically but expressing their opinions as usual would not come to a conclusion quickly, Meng Dingguo overheard a panicked report from his cronies: "Report, general, my lords, it's not good, the military camp has been bombed." ”

"What?"

Meng Dingguo jumped up in shock.

His biggest fear was that it would happen.

"Report to the general, the soldiers of the Beida Battalion are suddenly in chaos. Many people shouted that the court couldn't tolerate such an official as a marshal, and the Great Song Dynasty had no hope, and it would be stupid to wait to die if he stayed here as a soldier again. robbed all the horses in the camp, rolled up money and food, and covered the bed, etc., and abandoned the camp in full armor and ran away, and I am afraid that there will be as many as seventy or eighty percent of the runs. The generals of the garrison did not dare to stop it at all. Moreover, it was many officers who took the lead. ”

Meng Dingguo gasped, his legs weakened and he sat down again.

He expected the soldiers to have an adverse reaction, but he never expected it to be so terrible.

There are nearly 30,000 soldiers in the Qingzhou army, of which 12,000 are guarding the border gates such as Jinsuo Pass. The rest of the whole camp is in the north camp of Fucheng to prepare for flexible response to all parties.

Now nearly 20,000 soldiers have defected, how many people are this? There is money and food, there are war horses, and they are all armed, what a terrible force this is.

Other officials were stunned and speechless.

Only Wang Kaidao was actually very calm, like a person who could take on big things in the face of danger, and at this time he could ask very soberly: "Where did they flee?" But went south to follow Zhao Gonglian? ”

The words were not only not panicked, but seemed to be mixed with irrepressible excitement.

He doesn't care about whether the border is passed or not, and the country's safety is not in danger.

He only saw that if Zhao Gonglian led the army away, then he was also preparing to rebel, and then the scene where he bravely blocked Zhao Gonglian at the South City Gate would be transformed into a dazzling achievement of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, not afraid of power, and not afraid of personal life and death, honor and disgrace.

With such a courageous, knowledgeable and loyal courtier, how could the emperor not be reused and quickly promoted and rewarded?

As for the trouble and danger of Qingzhou, he was promoted and left, and it is very likely that he will return to the capital and become the emperor's new favorite retainer, and enjoy happiness in a safe and prosperous place, and the border pass has nothing to do with him.

Meng Dingguo also came back to his senses, and also noticed Wang Kaidao's careful thoughts, and couldn't help but cover his forehead in pain.

This man used to feel like just a common shameless clown in officialdom, but now I know that he is still an ignorant and fearless super big idiot.

Damn, if Zhao Gonglian is reversed, do you still want to be promoted and return to Beijing to enjoy?

What will the imperial court think of this, don't say anything, you open your dog eyes and see, Cangzhou in Cangbei, and even the army of Hejian Mansion, who can stop the army led by Zhao Gonglian?

Unconsciously, Marquis Wencheng's influence on Cangbei and even the entire Gaoyangguan Road was too deep, I was afraid that not only the Qingzhou army, but also Cangbei could mutiny in the blink of an eye. Who else can turn the tide of the situation? The four military states have all fallen into the territory of the Cangzhao family, and they are stabbed to death on the way south, and you are an officialdom villain and a waste scholar still want to live?

But he didn't care about scolding the king for opening the way, and asked his cronies urgently: "Tell me quickly, do you know clearly which direction the deserter is running in?" ”

The cronie said, "It's going east." It seems that it shouldn't be chasing after the big (handsome) cough, not following Wen Chenghou. But I'm not sure. ”

"To the east?"

Everyone was surprised, but Meng Dingguo's face became more and more anxious and dark, patted his thigh with hatred, and wailed: "It's over." They went to the pirates. ”

Some of the slow ones didn't feel anything, didn't care, and even breathed a sigh of relief.

If the mutinous army did not follow Zhao Gonglian to rebel, the danger of Cheongju would be much less, which may be a good thing relatively speaking. As long as you don't follow the south to Zhaozhuang, it's good.

The quick reaction was shocked when he heard the sound.

Fuck you, you're a fucked calf.

Following Zhao Gonglian's rebellion, I am afraid that there will not be too many people willing to take the risk of going against the imperial court, but defecting to the pirates is only afraid that it will be a trend of military and civilian groups. After all, the pirate can be a good citizen who does not have to fight and risk wars, and it is said that he can live a peaceful and happy life overseas, which is undoubtedly more attractive, and the disaster in Cangbei is more serious.

The pirates are much more powerful and terrifying than the Cangzhao family led by Marquis Wen Cheng.

If the rebels attract pirates to kill and rob Cangbei as they did in summer......

Zhong Wenwu covered his forehead, oh my mother, I don't dare to think about it.

Just when he was at a loss, the six gods had no master, and he was even paralyzed with fright, he heard another panic report.

This one was even more horrified than the one before.

"Report to the general, uh, and my lords, the people in the city have abandoned their homes and run away. The four gates were unguarded. The officers on duty, along with the leaders, and the officers of the first class fled with the civilians. ”

"Aha"

All the civil and military forces were so shocked that they all lost their voices. Some were so shocked that they were so nervous dysfunctional that they almost choked to death with their own saliva.

Don't even have any soldiers to guard the gates?

Cheongju City became an undefended border city?

It's broken, it's broken, it's really a calf.

Some of them were stunned, some were paralyzed, some were angry, and some were angry and scolded Zhao Gonglian, scolded the soldiers, scolded the people, spit splashed and scolded all the time, complaining about this and complaining about that, but he didn't think about how he was a traitor and a bad thing.

At this moment, Gao Jiguang came.

He entered the door and glanced at the messy room, pressed his sword and shouted angrily, "Shut up." What are you panicking about? ”

Wang Kaidao was stomping his feet and scolding the hardest, and when he heard this, he glared at Gao Jiguang and immediately scolded Gao Jiguang, the lord of Qingzhou, for being incompetent and disloyal to the emperor.

He was conceited to be a noble scholar and doctor, and he didn't take any martial arts in his eyes at all.

Gao Jiguang is a fart again, he scolds and scolds, and he scolds him because he can afford it.

Unexpectedly, Gao Jiguang's sword immediately pressed against his throat, and he shouted in disgust: "If you dare to spray and disturb people's hearts, I will let your blood squirt enough." ”

Seeing Gao Jiguang's wolf-like eyes that were overflowing with blood and wanting to devour blood, and feeling that the cold sharpness of the sword had pierced the skin of his throat and bleeding, Wang Kaidao felt the dignity of martial arts and Gao Jiguang's terribleness for the first time, and his big mouth that had been opened was immediately frightened and not closed, and he was so out of control that he opened wide, but he didn't dare to breathe, let alone scold.