Chapter 1 Gambling

The position is the same as the county Cheng, and it stands to reason that the Qinghe County Cheng Yang Shanhui absolutely does not have the power to give orders to Wei Deshen of Wuyang County and Liu Zihe of Xindu County. (But the former did not have his great credit, and the latter did not have his qualifications, so this official document that seemed to be a reminder and an order was not stopped by anyone, and was quickly sent to Wei and Liu.)

After receiving Yang Shanhui's letter, Liu Zihe didn't say a word, and immediately retreated north. He is now under the jurisdiction of Li Xu, the chief of the Boling Army, and his heart is naturally rising, and he does not pay attention to the bandits in southern Hebei at all. The reason why he responded to the call of his colleagues to come to southern Hebei to suppress bandits was purely in the nature of the situation. Things have been done, and Liu Zihe doesn't want to take any credit from them. Nothing has been accomplished, and Sintu County may not suffer any losses. Yang Shanhui and others may have no way to take the bandits, and put them in the hands of Li Xu, the general manager of the Boling Army, and Cheng Mingzhen and others are the remnants of frost on the tile. As long as General Li returned from Henan to quell the Wagang Rebellion, he could easily wipe them out with a casual sweep.

After the letter with the same content was delivered to the deep tent of Cheng Wei De in Wuyang County, the reaction caused was completely different from that of Liu Zihe. Wei Deshen first shook it for a moment, and then in front of the messenger, he threw Yang Shanhui's handwritten book on the ground and was silent. When the messenger trembled and begged for a reply, he simply slapped the table and ordered it to be forked out. From beginning to end, there was no face left for Yang Shanhui.

"Shaft, the shaft that has not achieved enough things, and has more than enough failures!" After blasting away the messenger, Wei Deshen couldn't hold back his temper anymore, and slapped the table and scolded. He was angry like this, not only because Yang Shanhui was pointing fingers at him, but out of helplessness about the situation in front of him. Without the strategy of Yangshanhui, Liu Zi and the two, it would be impossible to stop the Fengying of the Zhaozhou Army with the soldiers and horses of Wuyang County alone. Although the old general Yang Yichen was ordered to return to the Eastern Capital, he funded a large number of baggage and equipment in Wuyang County, but at present, the soldiers of Wuyang County are still not crowded into the elite. First of all, the brothers had never bargained for anything in all the battles with the Zhaozhou army, and before they could start fighting, their confidence had already been lost by three points. Secondly, although the strength of the county soldiers has been greatly enhanced, the opponent has also been showing strength. Without Zhang Jin's restriction, the Zhaozhou army was like a trapped beast that had broken free from its shackles, with its teeth and claws, roaring and roaring, and showing its unconcealable majesty in every gesture.

After the soldiers and horses of Qinghe and Xindu counties retreated in stride, the soldiers of Wuyang County were already lonely, and Deshen, who was not the opponent of the Zhaozhou army, could no longer pass the level of his own people. Last time, he also hurriedly drove the soldiers and horses to the bank of the Zhangshui River, and he was counting on the plough court to sweep ** and return the place to peace. The final result was that Wuyang County almost exhausted the treasury to collect compensation to the Zhaozhou army, and promised to double the humiliating condition of doubling the "security fee" that should not exist in the first place. At that time, Cheng Mingzhen's envoy put down his cruel words, saying that if there was a next time, the security fee would be doubled. This time, the county shou Yuan Bao and the chief bookkeeper Chu Wanjun and others originally did not agree to send troops, but it was he Wei Deshen who relied on the identity of the county to argue and invoke the provisions of the Great Sui State Law on "local civil and military affairs are not subject to mutual control", so he reluctantly forced Yuan Baobao and others to give in. If he returns again, even if the bosses and colleagues of Wuyang County do not impeach him afterwards, I am afraid that the local gentry who have been tossed and ruined several times will try their best to make him roll up and get out!

There was no way to advance or retreat, and Wei De couldn't wait to stumble on the ground to vent the frustration in his heart. After slapping the table and smashing the stool for half an hour, when the flame on his brain gradually became smaller, his gaze had to fall back to reality. As a military attache with a position that still has some integrity, Wei Deshen certainly can't use the names of these thousands of brothers under his command to get away with it for a while. Striding back is the inevitable result, but how to walk calmly and not be bitten hard by the Zhaozhou army in the back. How to regain a foothold and prevent the Xuzhou army from taking advantage of the situation to attack Wuyang County is the problem he must face.

"Call me Wei Changshi!" Pulling the table that he had messed up with hastily, Wei De ordered outside the tent in a deep voice.

"Obey the order, my subordinates will go and invite Wei Changshi!" Wei Ding is Wei Deshen's distant nephew, and he can't bear to see his uncle make a strong enemy again, so he agreed and reminded him euphemistically.

Wei Deshen realized how bad his mentality was, sighed, and added with a wry smile, please, you go and invite Wei Changshi over, just say that I have something important to ask for advice in person! ”

"The subordinates obey the order, and the adults are also discouraged, and there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain!" Wei Ding smiled and bowed his hand, and then called a few powerful subordinates and ordered them to enter the military tent to help Wei Deshen clean up.

The brothers were very considerate of Wei Juncheng's difficulties, and after entering the account, they did not say a word, and neatly put all kinds of utensils back in their original places. Looking at the busy backs of everyone, Wei Deshen let out a long sigh again, and a complete sense of powerlessness surged in his heart.

He was tired and tired of it. The fame and wealth he once cherished no longer made him feel honored, on the contrary, it was so overwhelming that he could hardly breathe. As a local military officer, it was his duty to catch rapes and thieves. But now? The suppression of bandits and bandits, the more serious the banditry is, and the highest military attache in this place has to bow his head to the bandits again and again. He was not reconciled to this, but there was nothing he could do. The decrees of the imperial court have always been a hammer in the east and a mallet in the west, and they can be smashed wherever they want, and there has never been a beginning and an end. However, the local colleagues ate and waited for death, and the corpses were vegetarian, as if it was a matter of paying food to the bandits, and they were not ashamed of it at all. He tried to cheer himself up, but he was powerless to stir up the stagnant water. He was like a fool pushing a stone up the mountain, the more he pushed, the more tired he became, and as soon as he slackened, he was pushed back by the big stone and retreated dozens of miles......

Except for a few brothers around him, almost no one in the entire Wuyang County understood what he was doing. Yuan Bao only cares about the present, and always feels that more things are better than less things. Chu Wanjun and the others only cared about whether they could deduct a share of the money and grain paid to the bandits to fill their pockets, and they didn't care at all about whose officials they were in front of and whose money they were eating. The feeling of everyone waking up alone is very uncomfortable, and among a bunch of drunks, that sober will definitely become the laughing stock of everyone and the target of concerted efforts. Even if you don't strike, you still look sideways. Now, the only person in the entire Wuyang County who can occasionally say a few words to him is Wei Zheng, Changshi, and Wei Zheng is a servant of Yuan Bao Private Placement, and he belongs to the cronies among his cronies, and he is mostly for Yuan Bao personally, not for the public and the country!

"I don't know what kind of trick Xuancheng has to teach me this time!" While sighing, Wei Deshen speculated in frustration in his heart. He remembered that before sending troops, Wei Zheng had kindly persuaded himself, saying that without famous generals such as Li Zhongjian and Yang Yichen in the center, it would be difficult for the county soldiers in various places to coordinate. This time, the Wuyang County soldiers made a big move, I am afraid that they will not be able to beat the fox, but they will make a fuss. And Wei Deshen thought that the reason why Wei Zheng said this was to open his eyes for Yuan Treasure, so he didn't listen to a word. Now it seems that Wei Zhengzhi's words are indeed quite far-sighted, but even if he Wei Deshen regrets it now, it is a little too late.

In his frustration, the soldiers had already invited Wei Zheng to arrive. Seeing the messy appearance in the Chinese military tent, the guest smiled slightly and joked in a low voice: "What's the matter, did there just happen to 6 whirlwinds?" Why don't I see even a speck of dust over there? ”

"Hyun Sung, don't laugh at me again!" Wei Deshen couldn't raise the strength to fight back, so he gave up his hand to forgive. Yang Shanhui took the lead in retreating. Our Wuyang soldiers have once again become the rafters. For the sake of me already sitting in the city of sorrow, your brother should hurry up and help get an idea! ”

"What attention?" Wei Zheng smiled easily, and it was difficult to get rid of the suspicion of revenge. "The soldiers will block, and the water will cover the earth. Is it up to you to fight or go? Why bother asking me about this irrelevant literati? ”

"Xuan Cheng must stop making jokes, who doesn't know that you have countless strategies hidden in your chest! Besides, since the Yuan County Shou ordered my brother to come and supervise the army, can your brother bear to watch me being chased by bandits all over the mountain? Wei Deshen didn't care about the short and long of his words, and he stretched to the ground, and begged each other again.

Seeing his compromised appearance, Wei Zheng couldn't bear to continue to make fun of him. He smiled and reminded in a low voice, "It's not that bad, is it?" Didn't Yang Juncheng say that he would avoid it first and give the rogues a chance to kill each other? Let's step back fifty miles and watch from the wall! If the rogues refuse to be fooled, why should the three join forces again? ”

"It's a matter of people not aligning their hearts. In one go, you may be able to seize the opportunity. Wei Deshen smiled bitterly and shook his head, not daring to agree with Wei Zheng's point of view, "Now I haven't waited for the war to start, and I have retreated dozens of miles one after another." The hearts of the people were immediately scattered, what else could be done next? ”

"The Liukou side, it must be the same!" Wei Zheng smiled and lightly pointed out the enemy's disadvantage. "We are each pregnant, and Cheng Mingzhen and Lu Fangyuan are probably even more wary of each other. Although Yang Juncheng's strategy is not very clever, in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with it. But if you want to quell the bandits, I'm afraid there is no such possibility in the first place! ”

If he retreats slightly, he will not be attacked immediately, Wei Deshen has already seen this layer, but the difficulties he is about to face are far from being comparable to Yang Shanhui and others. "Even if there is no victory or defeat, I am afraid that Yang Juncheng's side will not have any losses! But Xuan Cheng, let's see, on my side, is there anything to retreat? Once the Zhaozhou army takes advantage of the situation to invade the door, it will fulfill the previous threat. What do we pay for in Wuyang County? What face do I have Wei Deshen to see the local fathers again? ”

"Before the war started, how did Brother Deshen know that Cheng Mingzhen would definitely come to the door?" Wei Zheng shrugged his shoulders and asked rhetorically with a sneer. "Why does the thief's next target have to be Wuyang County? Since it doesn't have to be Wuyang County? Why should Brother Deshen worry about it in advance? Everyone else lives a day, so why should Brother Deshen wake up alone? ”

The words with anger came out of Wei Zheng's mouth one after another, and Wei Deshen was overwhelmed by the questions. "Right? Zhang Jin said that he didn't kill him, since he took revenge for Zhang Jin as the banner, how could he be the first to find me first? Following Wei Zheng's words, he said to himself. Immediately, he felt that it was too irresponsible to say this, frowned, and sighed in a low voice: "The lips are dead and the teeth are cold, although Yang Shanhui's guy doesn't care about us, but if that guy is defeated, how can Wuyang County be alone?" ”

"At that time, the meat in the county will naturally urge you, Lord Wei, to send troops to resist. How can you care about losing an inch? As if any tendon in his stomach didn't turn right, Wei Zheng's words seemed to be angry with others.

The Zhaozhou army had fought in Zhangshui, and the officials and gentry of Wuyang County naturally would no longer think that Wei Deshen was looking for trouble. Even if it is a lot of ingots and Chu Wanjun who have elbows for Wei Deshen, I am afraid that at that time, they will still ask for money for money, and grain and grass for grain and grass. At present, all the problems that Wei De thought of were solved. But if these words come out of other people's mouths, they will definitely be regarded as a clever plan by Wei Deshen. And Wei Zheng, as a henchman of Yuan Baobao, had no reason to roast the mastermind on the fire at all, so how could he suddenly give people such a bad idea?

"Hyun Sung?" It was unclear whether it was out of shock or confusion, Wei Deshen raised his head and sighed into Wei Zheng's eyes.

As if guessing his reaction, Wei Zheng sighed and explained helplessly: "Lord County Shou just sent an urgent document for eight hundred miles. Order me to help you to retreat calmly, and don't be brave for a while. Then watch across the river on the east bank of Zhangshui, and drag the Xuzhou army out of the old nest, which must not be violated! ”

"Yuan-sama's order?" Wei Deshen couldn't believe his ears. This order could not have come at a very timely time, and it was the solution to his immediate predicament. However, this place is hundreds of miles away from the Wuyang County Governor's Office, and it is impossible for the change in the situation to be transmitted back to the county guard within half an hour. The only reasonable explanation is that before Yang Shanhui decided to retreat, Yuan Baobao expected that he would play this hand. Therefore, a retreat was prepared for the Wuyang soldiers in advance.

But there are many inconsistencies in this explanation. No matter how good the treasure is, it is not good enough to take the initiative to send a pillow when he is sleepy. Moreover, the county guard did not approve of sending troops at the beginning, but he Wei Deshen insisted on going his own way. Now that he Wei De is in a deep dilemma, doesn't it just prove that the county keeper is prescient?

"Master Yuan is in the next big game of chess, as for the specific goals and steps, you and I can't guess." Wei Zheng's words came again, with a bit of bitterness in his voice. "Brother Deshen is on order. As long as the team is safely evacuated from Zhangshui, there is no responsibility for you. The county keeper will take the initiative and take care of everything. As for the future, I believe that the county keeper has his own arrangements! ”

"It's okay to retreat!" Wei Deshen sighed and agreed, "But ......" Seeing Wei Zheng's lonely face, he took the second half of the sentence back. If even Wei Zheng can't be heard, the next move of Yuan Treasure must contain a big secret. A big, big game? Just with his Yuan Treasure? Is it possible? It's better to be gambling with an unpredictable ending, right?

But what exactly are the chips in the hands of Yuan-sama?

Where are his chances of winning?

Wei Deshen can't see it, and Wei Zheng, who is known for his wisdom and reputation, can't see it either. In the chaos of the times, both of them were tired, so tired that they didn't even want to struggle.