"Little Jiuzi, what are you going to do!" As soon as he returned to his camp, Cheng Mingzhen immediately ushered in a complaint that was split into his face. The first one to jump up and chatter was Du Scar, such a big decision, the son-in-law didn't reveal a little bit to him in advance, which made his old man very angry. In addition, Dou Jiande swept half of Hebei a few days ago, which also fully demonstrated his strong strength. Keeping up with such a good fate and such a powerful boss, Cheng Mingzhen did not lead the Zhaozhou Army to establish the founding of the country, but chose to retreat in stride, in addition to being blinded by lard, what other explanation can there be?

"I made a decision on the fly. There are a lot of dopings here, and when I take a breath, I'll explain it to you carefully! Cheng Mingzhen took the saber at his waist and handed it to Du Juan, and responded in a low voice. From today on, he will be a civil official through and through, and he no longer needs to put a knife behind his head every day. The killing and competition on the rivers and lakes are gradually drifting away from him, and he is a little nostalgic, but he will never regret it.

"You too, why didn't you persuade him earlier!" Du Scar couldn't rush his son-in-law's fire too much, turned his head, and was very unhappy to pile up the cuckoo and count them. "Lao Dou is sincere in wanting to increase Xiao Jiu's soldiers, Xiao Jiuzi is doing this, doesn't it make Lao Dou's hot face cold**?"

"Don't be angry, drink a drink and take a break. He must have his own reasons for doing this! The cuckoo put away his weapon, then stepped forward, pressed his father on the stool with a smile, and stuffed another cup of tea into his hand.

Du Scar was so suffocated that he could only pant heavily, but he had nothing to do with his daughter and son-in-law. The Zhaozhou Army was founded by his daughter and son-in-law, and he, the elder, was just a housekeeper who watched for others. On the surface, he has a lot of power, but in fact he has no power to make any important decisions.

At the beginning of the side, he unwillingly found Wang Ermao, "What about you, aren't you usually very clever?" Why didn't you even stop it today? ”

"The place where I'm standing is already outside the big tent, and I can't hear what is being said inside?" For the sake of Cheng Mingzhen's husband and wife's face, Wang Ermao was unwilling to worry about him, so he casually found an excuse to prevaricate.

With the current scale of the Zhaozhou battalion, there is indeed no place for Wang Ermao in the Dou Jiajun's big tent. Du Scar couldn't find the stubble from Wang Ermao's answer, so he snorted coldly and gritted his teeth.

Looking at his father's burning appearance, the cuckoo couldn't help but smile and shake his head. For Cheng Mingzhen's choice today, she also felt very abrupt. But after so many years of getting along with husband and wife, Du Juan has some understanding of her husband's temperament and temperament. On the whole, Cheng Mingzhen is a very casual person, likes to back down, and is unwilling to compete with others. If there is no pair of hands pushing him behind his back, he will instinctively take a step back when he is under pressure, in order to really open the sky. However, this retreat is not without limits, and once external pressure threatens him and those around him, he will not hesitate to fight back, and will do everything in his choice of means.

Therefore, Du Juan does not think that Cheng Mingzhen's choice to give up the post of head of Xiangguo University is impulsive. Maybe he is really tired of licking blood with knives and wants to live a peaceful life for a few days. Perhaps he sensed a new danger and had to take precautions. Who knows? What he does, he follows. Anyway, he hasn't seen the problem clearly yet, so it's better to close his eyes and end up idle.

"Look at it, look at it, this is the benefit of raising a daughter!" Du Scar's laughter was even more depressed by his daughter's laughter, and he pulled up his grandson to find a helper.

"Third brother, just be quiet for a while, I don't think there's anything wrong with Xiao Jiu doing this!" Sun Huozi refused to buy his account, glanced at him, and whispered.

"What's wrong, what's right?" Hearing that Sun Huozi refused to echo himself, Du Scar snorted and asked.

"At least he kept the three counties of Ping'en, so that he would not become a rootless Ping!" Sun Huozi thought about it and explained very seriously. "What kind of chief manager, general, people can give it to you today, and they can take it tomorrow. If you hand over the territory in your hand, you won't come back later! ”

"Is Lao Dou that kind of person? He is taking the initiative to increase Xiao Jiu's soldiers and horses! ”

"Who is Lao Dou, you should know better than us about the three! Besides, he knows people and faces, but he doesn't know his heart, of course he is good now, but who can guarantee what will happen to him in the future! Sun Huozi frowned and responded-for-tat.

"You know a fart except for medicinal herbs!" Du Scar was furious, and his eyes were pricked up and he sneered.

Sun Huozi was too lazy to meet him in general, so he packed up the things in front of him and prepared to get up and leave. Seeing this, Cheng Mingzhen hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Sun Huozi's arm, "Sixth uncle, don't be in a hurry." Today's matter, I need to explain it to everyone. And I also need your help to plan and plan, what should we do next! ”

"I just know a medicinal herb! And your father-in-law's fart! Sun Huozi rolled his eyes and responded angrily. That being said, in the end, he still sat down, picked up the teacup, and waited for Cheng Mingzhen's statement angrily.

"The number of soldiers and horses on hand is the amount of responsibility to bear. With our current strength, I'm afraid that I won't stay long in the position of head of Xiangguo University! Cheng Mingzhen pondered the wording and explained in a low voice.

"It's not your business to fight? Li Zhongjian really led the army south, Lao Dou, can he still let his territory be robbed? Du Scar's anger did not subside, and his eyes widened and retorted.

"I didn't mean that!" Cheng Mingzhen sighed and shook his head slightly. "Our threat is not only from the west and north, these days by Dou Jiande's side, I think a lot!"

"You mean Old Dou?" Du Scara didn't expect his son-in-law to have the same idea as Sun Huozi, so he first shook his head for a moment, and then jumped up from the stool. "How is that possible? If he tries to work against you, how can he take the initiative to increase your troops? Besides, we really have to guard against him, and the more soldiers we have, the safer we are! ”

"How impossible! I've seen his appearance, there are diagonal lines under his eyebrows, he seems to be a loyal traitor, and his temperament is narrow! As if he was deliberately fighting with Du Scar, Sun Huozi sneered.

"You also said that Xiao Jiuzi and Zhou Ning's girl have husband and wife!" Du Scar's head glared at Sun Huozi sideways, and unceremoniously revealed the other party's old bottom.

As soon as the words came out, he immediately began to regret it. Because all the eyes around him were turned around, almost every pair of eyes had blame in them.

"I'm not, I'm not that meaning, Ermao, I ......." Du Scar was seen by everyone as weak, lowered his head, and muttered an explanation. Since Zhou Ning's death, Wang Ermao has never provoked any more women. The brothers of the Zhaozhou Army are also very considerate, and they never mention that embarrassing past in front of Wang Ermao's eyes. But despite this, every year around the Qingming Festival, there are always a few days when everyone will see Wang Ermao riding a horse alone to go for a ride in the wilderness, he himself said that he was going hunting, but his lonely back could not hide any attention.

"It's fine. It's been so many years! Wang Ermao shrugged his shoulders and made an indifferent appearance.

Seeing that the other party was so open-minded, Du Scarqi felt even more unhappy in his heart. "I, hey, I'm old and confused! I can't control my own mouth, I, I really, alas......"

"Alright, third brother. The two of us are old, so don't mess around, let's listen to Xiao Jiu in everything! Sun Huozi sighed and suggested with a smile.

This time, Du Scarred didn't have a hard top with him. Nodding, he sat up straight.

"Don't say that, two old men, let's discuss something with each other. After all, you both eat more salt than we eat rice! Cheng Mingzhen hurriedly interfaced and took the opportunity to turn the conversation back to the topic. The main reason why our Zhaozhou army has been able to survive in the troubled times is because everyone knows each other and works together. If, in accordance with Dou Dangjia's suggestion, the number of qualified officers is increased from more than 5,000 at once to more than 15,000, I am afraid that there will be no qualified officers. If Dou Da took the opportunity to propose to arrange a few people to come over to help, I can't think of any reason to refuse! ”

"That's right!" After all, it is an old Jianghu, calm down and think about it along the lines of thought of guarding against Dou Jiande, Du Scarqi immediately understood Cheng Mingzhen's approach. But the premise of this kind of prevention is based on Dou Jiande's lack of peace with the Zhaozhou army, and judging from the current situation, Cheng Mingzhen's guess is very likely to catch the wind!

Seeing the doubts in everyone's eyes, Cheng Mingzhen continued to explain: "If I become the general manager of Xiangguo, I will have to level the newcomers and the old brothers in Zhouzhou. In the event of a war in the north or in the west, all the brothers must be drawn up regardless of their affiliation. There are not many such battles, and after three or two battles, the Zhaozhou Army will no longer be the Zhaozhou Army. If the boss of Dou wants to change someone, if he wants to dispatch that general, or even transfer me to another place, there will be no obstacles! ”

"Mix sand first, then dig the corners of the wall, and draw the beams, we all know this trick!" Du Scarred sighed and responded in a low voice. After all, I still felt that Cheng Mingzhen was a little too cautious, thought about it, and said in a low voice: "But since we know these methods, we will naturally be careful to take precautions, and we will not easily fall into the way of others!" It is better to have more soldiers in hand than to have fewer soldiers. If something unpleasant happens, it can also make people have more scruples. Besides, how can you tell that Lao Dou is not well-intentioned? I've been careful these days, but I don't notice it! ”

"I don't see it either. But I don't want to give people that chance! Cheng Mingzhen shook his head and admitted very frankly. Dou Tianwang is a person, I have never been able to understand. So, before I understand it, I don't want to give anyone a chance to break up the Yuzhou Army. I don't want to bring too many soldiers, and then attract other people's scruples. As at present, thousands of soldiers and horses are the best to guard the three counties of Ping'en and Juluze. After all, this is our foundation, no matter how the situation changes outside, others can't easily swallow it! ”

A few words are old-fashioned, and they don't seem to come from a young man's mouth at all. When Du Scara heard his son-in-law say this, he knew that the matter was irreparable, pursed his lips, and sighed: "Anyway, as long as it's not your impulsiveness, I have nothing to say." I'm so old, what else do I want, don't I just want to see you and the cuckoo safe? ”

Looking at his daughter and son-in-law regretfully, he continued to add, "Now that you have done your part, even if Lao Dou suspects you in his heart, he can't kill them all without a firm handle." But what do you do with the brothers? You yourself are willing to be a little county guard all your life, are the brothers also willing to be a village warrior forever? ”

"As long as you are old, the sixth uncle, the fifth uncle, Juan Zi, and Ermao understand my thoughts. The others, I'll gather them together later and discuss where we're going from here. Cheng Mingzhen nodded and responded in a low voice.

Du Scar's reminder is very correct, if he can't provide a better future for his subordinates, many people will inevitably fight for it themselves. However, being attached to Dou Jiande's banner and maintaining the relative independence of the Zhaozhou Army is the best way out he can think of for himself so far. He had to grasp this trunk, and as for other details outside the trunk, it was not that he could not think of it, but that he did not have the ability to take care of it at all for the time being.

"I've said it all, I'm so old, what else do you want!" Du Scar agreed abruptly, and then turned his head to Sun Huozi. "What about you, Sixth?"

Sun Huozi had already made a decision, and said with a smile: "I won't tell you, I have always felt that some places in the Dou family army are very awkward, but I can't say where the specific awkwardness is, anyway, it is not as comfortable as our Xuzhou army!" ”

"Old thing!" Du Scar pouted angrily, "If you dare not stay, I will break your legs!" ”

"I'll follow Little Brother Jiu!" Without waiting for Du Scar to turn his head to himself, Wang Ermao took the initiative to express his position. "It's also quite enjoyable to be a magistrate, and when others see me, they have to call me Mr. Wang. Didn't Dou Jiande say that you would be given four county orders today? Leave me one, and let me be addicted to prostrations in two days! ”

"It's not in shape!" Cheng Mingzhen smiled and counted a sentence, but he felt very warm in his heart. Since the beginning of Guantao County, the two have been almost inseparable. If Wang Ermao had been a little hesitant today, it would have been difficult for him to be sure if his choice was correct.

In fact, from entering the Dou family army to the present, Dou Jiande has not done anything out of the ordinary to the Yuzhou battalion. It's just that Cheng Mingzhen is very uneasy in his heart, just like Sun Huozi said, he always feels that there is something wrong in the Dou family's army, but he can't say what is wrong. This uneasy premonition became stronger as Dou Jiande arranged for him to be strict with military discipline twice, so strong that he was like a knife blade against his back, and if he didn't escape immediately, he would be in danger of dying at any time.

As for whether this premonition is due to excessive anxiety or an intuition developed by living in a dangerous environment for a long time, Cheng Mingzhen himself can't tell clearly. Therefore, he can only take precautions cautiously, preferring to believe what he has rather than what he does not have. After all, in this troubled world, any fame and wealth are fleeting, and only survival is the only last word.