Chapter 1 Gambling

At this moment, Cheng Mingzhen, who was in the middle of the game, was completely unaware of the cold arrow coming from behind, just as Yuan Baobao expected, and now after Yang Shanhui retreated, he immediately changed his established plan and chased after him with the tail of the Qinghe County soldier.

Since his debut, he has never been as high-spirited as he is today. It's not because of the clarity of the situation, there are almost no opponents in all directions. In fact, the strength of the heroes near Juluze is almost the same, and the situation they face is extremely similar. They are all in a situation where it is difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, and they may be attacked by several other troops and horses at any time.

What makes Cheng Mingzhen feel relaxed is that he can finally let go of his ideas without any scruples. In the past, when he was under Zhang Jincheng's command, although he didn't suffer too much. But after all, the other party is his life-saving benefactor and big boss, and many of his ideas have to be approved by Zhang Jincheng's nod before they are implemented.

Even after Zhang Jin was forced away, its influence still existed in the Zhaozhou army. For this former life-saving benefactor, it is impossible for Cheng Mingzhen to ignore all his circumstances. In the case of taking care of it, we will help when it is time to help, send money and food when it is time to send money and food, and take the lead for it when it is time to stand for it. However, he couldn't control it too much. First, Zhang Jin said that when he left, he once made it clear that he didn't want to owe him Cheng Mingzhen any more favors, and he didn't want to be raised like a waste by Cheng Mingzhen. If the Zhaozhou army takes care of everything too much, it will cause contradictions between the two sides. Secondly, and most importantly, Zhang Jin said that his old man's reputation in the land of Hebei was really rotten to the extreme, and it could almost be compared to the soul seductor in front of the Yama Palace. The Chaozhou army is entangled with it too much, which will inevitably affect the name of "righteous thief" that Cheng Mingzhen has worked so hard to create.

The name of the person does not play much role in wartime, but in peacetime, it greatly affects the cohesion and attractiveness of the team, as well as the turnover of the people and money and food. With the increase in the prestige of the Zhaozhou army, after the beginning of spring, a large number of displaced people came to participate in the reclamation, and many of them still had surplus money in their pockets, and tried to buy the ownerless deserted houses in Ping'en City from the hands of the Zhaozhou army, and used it as their own shelter after cleaning it up. At the same time, many traders and hawkers saw the opportunity and invested in the sale of the storefronts on the street, cleaned and painted them and reopened them. The arrival of the latter two groups of people has greatly restored the vitality of Binh En County. It can be said that in today's Wu'an County, in addition to the ancient city of Handan, Ping'en County is the second prosperous place. The order of its market and the abundance of goods are not even on the county seat for eternity.

Two years ago, Ping'en County was still a ghost domain where wild wolves roamed the deserted houses. Human beings are the primates of all things, and their ability to recover from trauma is unparalleled in the entire world. Light taxes, short-term exemptions, and renting farm tools and seeds are modest good governance that Cheng did not anticipate when he was formulated. The good reputation of the Zhaozhou Army quickly magnified this effect, and for many people, an order that can make them survive is more important than "light taxes and thin taxes". As long as the government is willing to be reasonable, does not follow the law to loot, does not bully others, and robs men and women, they are good people, and the master of the blue sky. As for whether this group of Qingtian lords is wearing official clothes or thief robes, they don't care at all.

At the same time as the number of ordinary people, there are all kinds of talents who can be used as low-level officials. Not all scholars were loyal to the Great Sui Dynasty, and not all literate people had the lofty ambition to govern the country and level the world. The reason why students from humble backgrounds study poetry and books hard is just to better support their families. Now that the Great Sui Dynasty is almost over, anyone with a discerning eye can see it. But who does the world have a surname after all? For a while, it was difficult to explain clearly. It is good to find a true son of heaven to take refuge, establish the merit of the dragon, and then make a name for history. But the first requires real skills, and the second is to take the risk of following the wrong person and losing your life.

For many unambitious readers, compared to leaving a name in history in the future, they will be crowned with a wife and a son. It is the most serious thing to find a place to eat and tide over the difficulties in front of you. Cheng Mingzhen has a good reputation in southern Hebei; Cheng Mingzhen is angry and restrained, and he is not good at killing innocents; Cheng Mingzhen is a person who stresses righteousness and attaches great importance to feelings, and even Zhang Da, who once lived up to him, was protected by him when he was unlucky, and the people who followed him naturally did not suffer any losses. For all the above reasons, some down-and-out students who had no family background and no way out mixed among the displaced people and came to the rule of the Zhaozhou army. Due to the lack of talents in various parts of Ping'en, these students soon found good jobs at the bottom of the Zhaozhou army, or were responsible for managing the grain and grass baggage, or assisting local officials in directing the displaced people to reclaim the famine, chanting a few crooked poems and playing with ink in their spare time, although they could not become emperors' assistants, at least they did not have to look at the family's face full of dishes and be helpless.

Therefore, Zhang Jin's death was a blow to Hebei Lvlindao, but to a certain extent, it was beneficial and harmless to the Zhaozhou army. He is like a sturdy cage that once protected Cheng Mingzhen when he was young, but it has long been detrimental to this fledgling eagle. His death allowed Cheng Mingzhen to completely get rid of the fetters, and since then he has soared into the sky and soared wantonly.

The feeling of being unfettered is relaxed, so easy that Cheng Mingzhen thinks about it casually, and he has a lot of tricks. After taking Jingcheng as scheduled, his now sinister and cunning Yang Shanhui actually withdrew from the battlefield one step ahead of schedule, which completely frustrated his wishful thinking of forcing him to fight hard with Lu Fangyuan. Immediately adjusted the deployment, and ignored the soldiers and horses of Wei Deshen and Lu Fangyuan, who had abandoned the flank, and chased after the tail of the retreating soldiers of Qinghe County.

Yang Shanhui is not a master of using soldiers, and he has been going too smoothly recently, so it is inevitable to neglect to take precautions. The forward had already retreated to the bank of the Zhangshui River, but the rear team transporting grain and grass was still dragging its feet at the Gaojiamiao fifty miles away. The rangers of the Zhaozhou army effortlessly showed a "gale", and after sending a signal to the rear, they immediately pounced. The two sides fought fiercely for nearly an hour, and the advance of the Zhaozhou Army led by Xiong Kuohai rushed to the first step and locked the victory. When Yang Shanhui heard the bad news, the more than 1,000 county soldiers and all the people who were escorting the baggage had been forcibly dispersed by the Zhaozhou army, most of the grain, grass and heavy equipment were plundered, and a small part of the majestic sea could not eat for a while, so they simply poured the vegetable oil they had just grabbed and burned it clean.

"Lord Xie Yang's reward!" If you get cheap and sell well, through a wide fire belt, Xiong Kuohai took the lead and shouted.

"Lord Xie Yang, brothers have made a fool of your old man!" What generals bring what soldiers, none of the commands of the majestic sea are fuel-efficient lamps, and they raise their throats and lengthen their voices to thank the enemy.

Yang Shanhui was so angry that he jumped like thunder, ignoring the remaining baggage in the burning, waving the military flag to bypass the burning area and break the corpses of Xiong Kuohai and others into pieces, and at this moment, Cheng Mingzhen's banner also revealed the distant horizon.

"Come over if you have a kind, grandpa is waiting!" Although it was still far away, the vast sea and its men were greatly encouraged, and they stopped retreating and jumped to the battle.

"Thief, there will always be a day when you will be taught!" Out of the importance of the enemy general, Yang Shanhui quickly suppressed his anger and responded to the other side of the smoke.

Neither the enemy nor the enemy was ready for a decisive battle. The fire in the middle happened to be the best excuse for each of them to gather their troops and horses. A moment later, Cheng Mingzhen, who rushed to the battlefield, took the lead in blowing the horn and summoned Xiong Kuohai and others to move closer to the main force. Yang Shanhui, who had been gritting his teeth and insisting, also accepted it when he saw it, and led the dejected county soldiers to slowly retreat to a high slope not far away.

The guy has a lot of skills, and he actually wants to fight with us! Xiong Kuohai, who was rushing to the Chinese army, saw the situation on the other side of the fire and grinned.

"I'm afraid it's not up to him!" Zhang Pigskin's experience in fighting is far richer than that of Xiong Kuohai, shook his head, and said with a smile. "He can ignore us and go back and arrange for the river crossing immediately. When half of the people got on the boat and the other half were still on the shore, we led the brothers to hula and rush up, and we didn't need to kill the head of the labor camp. Just the two of us, we have solved all the problems! ”

"The strong enemy is on the side, regardless of the crossing" is a taboo for the ancient soldiers. Zhang Zhupi, a person who has never read a book, can see the danger with experience, and Yang Shanhui can naturally see it. That's why he had to stop retreating and put on a posture that could be used for a decisive battle with the Zhaozhou army at any time. At the same time, he sent messengers to the camp of Liu Zihe and Wei Deshen in the starry night, and ordered the two to lead their troops to move closer to him.

"How far is Liu Zihe from here?" Cheng Mingzhen did not intend to give the enemy a chance to gain a foothold, so he quickly summoned the generals to discuss military affairs.

"It's about half a day. Counting the time the messenger spent on the road, I'm afraid that even if he arrives, he will not be able to enter the battle until tomorrow afternoon! Wang Ermao stepped forward and gave the answer with a smile.

"Fifth Uncle Hao, they're already out!" Cheng Mingzhen smiled gratefully at his good friend and continued to ask.

"It's already out, and it is estimated that it has already invaded Xindu County!" Wang Ermao and Xun interface.

The main purpose of the two questions and answers was not to understand the enemy's situation, but to strengthen the confidence of the group in a decisive battle. After all, when there are worries and when there are no worries, the fighting power of the brothers will not be exactly the same. Sure enough, after listening to the words of the two main generals, the emotions of the others immediately rose. This braggart shameless old boy! "Cut off his head and pay tribute to Zhang Da's family!" In an instant, the sound of battle became one.

"What's going on over there with Wei Deshen?" Cheng Mingzhen hesitated for a moment and continued to ask.

"It has receded from Zhangshui. But after crossing the river, they don't move. It looks like you can rekill it at any time! "This time it was Duan Qing, who was in charge of monitoring the movements of the Wuyang County soldiers, and just received the latest report from the scouts.

"Lu Fangyuan also followed, keeping a distance of about twenty miles from us. Not far away, not close, the intention is very unclear! Zhang Jin was in charge of the back road and reminded worriedly.

It is still a situation of fighting tigers at the front door and guarding against wolves on the back road. It's almost exactly the same as a few days ago on the edge of Jushizawa. As soon as the battle between the Zhaozhou army and the Qinghe county soldiers began, which side Lu Fangyuan invested in could become the key factor in the victory of that side. For this inscrutable guy, the generals have little confidence. After listening to Zhang Jin's report, he raised his head almost at the same time and looked at Cheng Mingzhen.

"Send a letter to Yang Shanhui and tell him that he can sleep with peace of mind tonight and that I will not attack him. Tomorrow the sun rises, and the two sides will fight to the death! Cheng Mingzhen frowned, and then quickly made a decision.

The generals first shook for a moment, and then responded with a smile: "No! ”。

Yang Baiyan wants to sleep well tonight, Cheng Mingzhen promised not to attack him, the question is, does Yang Baiyan have the courage to believe this kind of words from the mouth of the commander of the Zhaozhou Army, who is famous for his night attacks?