Baoxian is small, and the shopkeeper Du followed He Lou Wuji and soon came to the outside of the county to greet the shopkeeper Du and tell everyone about what he has seen and heard in various places, but his gaze seems to be random, but he takes all the details into his eyes one by one, the trench has been filled with snow and condensed into ice, losing its defensive effect; The front of the barracks was dirty, and some broken pieces of wood were piled up haphazardly, which had affected the entry and exit, and the sergeants turned a blind eye; In the distance, the soldiers guarding the gate of the barracks were lazy, one leaned against the door, and the others squatted on the ground and took a nap. Drunken Dew Academy

Du shopkeeper smiled, with He Lou Wuji into the barracks, the camp tent is quite neat, it is now the afternoon, there is no one training, soldiers come and go, from time to time someone shouts and scolds, a few people run in front of him, Du shopkeeper glanced at He Lou Wuji, saw that his face was gloomy, obviously a little dissatisfied, the group walked through a tent, and suddenly saw three or four soldiers running behind the tent, the action was quite secretive.

At this time, He Lou Wuji couldn't hold back any longer, and he said apologetically to the shopkeeper Du: "Please wait a while, I'll come when I go." ”

After speaking, he rushed to the back of the camp tent angrily, and the shopkeeper Du also slowly followed, and he saw a group of soldiers gathered in a pile, about fifty or sixty people, shouting excitedly and in a low voice.

'It's a gamble! The shopkeeper Du suddenly understood, gambling has always been a taboo in the army, it is very easy to spread, and it is extremely difficult to control, it is impossible to have nothing at all, the key is to control the gambling style within a certain range, so that it will not affect the morale of the army, Du shopkeeper looked at it with interest behind his back, he wanted to see how Zhang Huan's first confidant would deal with this gambling matter.

I saw He Lou Wuji wait for a while, and when they started to bet, then he roared and rushed up to punch and kick, and the soldiers were so frightened that they fled, He Lou Wuji grabbed one of them and scolded: "Jiuhan." As a school captain, you still gamble and corrupt military discipline, and the governor will not kill you! ”

The big man named Jiuhan shook his arm and threw away He Lou Wuji's tugging. He also shouted loudly: "The brothers can't eat enough, and there are still people playing with women, why don't you care, are you stupid to be a brother?" What kind of bullshit craftsmen do we have to raise, and what kind of hearts do we have to win the hearts of the people, then what are we! Isn't it human? ”

A cold chill shot out of He Lou Wuji's eyes, and he knocked down this unscrupulous captain with a punch, and shouted: "Tie me up!" Five or six soldiers rushed up at once and threw him to the ground. Shopkeeper Du glanced at it and saw a few gambling chips scattered at his feet, all of which were folded small notes. He quietly trampled them under his feet, quickly picking them up and carrying them into his arms while they were unprepared.

By this time, the lieutenant had been dragged down. He Lou Wuji's anger did not subside, and he said to several of his own soldiers: "You go and inspect the camps immediately, if there are still people who gather to gamble." Write them all down for me. Settle accounts with them afterwards. ”

Several pro-soldiers led the order to run down. He Lou Wuji slowly walked to the shopkeeper Du, sighed and said, "Military discipline is not in order. Let the shopkeeper Du smile. ”

Shopkeeper Du arched his hand and smiled: "It's no wonder that these soldiers are all from the Central Plains, and when the year comes, they are all homesick." ”

He Lou Wuji smiled bitterly, and quickly came to the handsome tent with the shopkeeper Du, and after waiting for a while, He Lou Wuji came out and said in a low voice: "My family governor has been in a bad mood these days, and the shopkeeper Du has to be patient." Drunken Dew Academy"

The shopkeeper Du had just walked to the door of the tent, but suddenly heard a whisper coming from inside, ".|:.

"Yes!" A general hurriedly walked out, but almost collided with the Du shopkeeper, he glanced at it in surprise, and then bowed his head and went out.

The shopkeeper Du smiled faintly, entered the tent, and saw a black and thin young general standing in front of the map of Hexi, staring at the map silently. ”

"Get up!" Zhang Huan turned around and sat down, waved his hand and said, "Please take a seat!" ”

He watched the shopkeeper Du sit down tremblingly, and said with a slight smile: "The shopkeeper Du sent two hundred stone rice, although the amount is not much, but it can also solve my urgent need, thank you here." ”

Shopkeeper Du hurriedly stood up and bowed and said, "The governor doesn't have to be polite, kill the villain." ”

Zhang Huan smiled again and asked him to sit down, and said in a gentle tone: "Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you, whatever price you are selling out, I will also give you the same price here." ”

"Thank you, Governor!"

At this time, the soldiers brought two cups of tea, Zhang Huan took a sip lightly, and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Du is from Jincheng County?" ”

"Yes!"

"Then I'm a little strange, Wuwei County has completely blocked the delivery of materials in Tianbao County, how did you get here?" When Zhang Huan said this, his eyes suddenly became sharp, and he stared at him without blinking.

"There's something famous here." Shopkeeper Du still maintained a humble posture, he didn't want to say, but under the pressure of Zhang Huan's distrustful gaze, he hesitated for a long time, and he still muttered the reason.

"The price of rice in Jincheng County sells for 100 wen and a bucket, and here it is 500 wen and a bucket, in fact, it is not that our hearts are black, it is really because there are 200 wen to be sucked away by the defenders, this is a rule, the people above are not clear, but in the past, Xin Yunjing was a hundred wen, and now he is smoking two hundred wen.

”

Zhang Huan walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and he suddenly smiled coldly and said: "It sounds reasonable, but you said to my subordinates that you can get 500 stones in ten days, and 3,000 stones in a month

Is it? ”

The sweat on the forehead of the shopkeeper Du had been densely discharged, and after a long time, he finally sighed, stood up and knelt down to Zhang Huan and said, "I am willing to tell the truth and ask the general to spare my life." ”

"Speak!"

"Earlier this year, the imperial court strictly forbade the transportation of iron tools to the border, but opened up the grain trade, in fact, we had a grain trade with the Western Regions a few years ago, in Dunhuang, there are large granaries in Anxi, if the general wants grain, we can transfer grain from Anxi, not to go to Longyou, so I dare to boast about Haikou." After the shopkeeper Du finished speaking, he kowtowed again and again.

Zhang Huan looked at him coldly, and after a while, he smiled faintly and said: "I, Zhang, like people who dare to take risks, if what you say is true, I can cooperate with you." ”

Shopkeeper Du wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, and said with palpitations: "Even if the villain has the courage to go against the government." ”

"That's right, I just forgive you for not daring to deceive Pontus." Zhang Huan sat down again, and he muttered, "I want 3,000 stone of grain, but I want 1,000 stone in ten days." Drunken Dew Academy, you might be able to do it? ”

Du's face was embarrassed, and he pondered for a long time and said: "I can transfer rice from Zhangye for 500 stones, but I have to transfer part of it from Dunhuang for 1,000 stones." It will take at least twenty days, and it will also require a small deposit from the general. ”

"How much deposit do you want?"

Shopkeeper Du hesitated, stretched out a finger, and said slowly: "A thousand runs." ”

Zhang Huan turned around and gave the soldiers a look, and the soldiers quickly brought out a plate, on which were eight ingots of gold from Huang Chengcheng, Zhang Huan smiled and said: "This is two hundred taels of gold, minted in the Shaofu Prison, and the black market price is one to twelve." I will give you the official price of 1 to 10, 2,000 yuan, including the current price of 200 stone of rice. ”

The shopkeeper Du was overjoyed. He put away the gold and immediately said to Zhang Huan: "Please rest assured." Within 10 days, I transferred 500 stones from Zhangye, and within 20 days, another 500 stones were transported from Dunhuang, and the remaining 2,000 stones gave me a little time to raise. Guaranteed delivery within 40 days. ”

Zhang Huan smiled and said nothing. I've been waiting for the shopkeeper Du to go away. Only then did he smile at He Lou Wuji and said, "What is my plan?" ”

"The general pays great attention to details, and his subordinates admire him very much. However, in the use of small buckets and the payment of deposits, his subordinates felt that there were slight flaws, which might make him suspect that the general was plotting. ”

"But my purpose is to make him guess what I'm up to."

Zhang Huan raised his head and laughed, he walked to the tent door with his hands behind his back, looking at the dark clouds rolling in the north, a snowstorm was coming, he smiled faintly, "Those who can see through our county to lure the enemy are not idle people, the so-called soldiers are not tired of cheating, it depends on who is better." ”

.

Wuwei County, this is the last fortress of the Tang Dynasty in Hexi, year after year, the imperial court has to allocate a huge amount of money to repair the city, up to ten zhang of the city wall are all built with huge stones, the city head is polished to be extremely smooth, the moat is four zhang wide and three zhang deep, this is a solid fort, in the previous attacks of the Tubo people, it has not been breached.

The population of Wuwei County is about 100,000, and the garrison has 10,000 troops, stationed in two military camps outside the city, of which there are more than 7,000 people in the southern camp, which is the main force of the Hexi army.

In the evening of that day, a long-awaited blizzard began to sweep through the west of the river, and the wind whined and roared, and in an instant, the dark sky merged with the sea of snow, and the heavens and the earth became one.

The commander of the Chinese army in the southern camp is unusually warm, and he does not feel the wind and snow outside, Lu Sigong, the deputy envoy of Hexi Jiedu, is slowly pacing with his head down, he is about forty years old, his face is fair, and his half-foot-long green beard makes him appear elegant and elegant, quite a bit of bookish atmosphere, he was originally the deputy envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, in May this year, when rescuing the surrendered city in the west, the Hui army ambushed and was defeated, although it was Wei Ge's means of eliminating Xin Yunjing's troops, but also because of the excessive losses of the Shuo Fang army, Wei Ge was dissatisfied with his land, and then transferred him to Hexi.

Unexpectedly, only in the past half a year, an uninvited guest broke into his territory, and on his handsome case, there was a warrant from Wei Gedi, ordering him to conquer Huijun before spring and cut off Duan Xiushi's passage to the south, but Lu Sigong was more worried about Zhang Huan from Tianbao County.

"You mean to say that Zhang Huan's eagerness to ask for food is a trick?" Tuan, he never believed that Zhang Huan could bring enough food into Tianbao County.

Under him, there was a chubby businessman-like man, he was the shopkeeper Du who had just returned from Tianbao County, of course, he was not a shopkeeper who sold grain, nor was he called Du Huaishui, his real name was Du Mei, Qingzhi six years jinshi, and now Lu Sigong's chief staff.

He is a very careful, and very strategic strategist, Zhang Huan crossed the Yellow River three times to occupy Huijun, and wanted to lead Lu Sigong out to participate in the encirclement and suppression, it was his persuasion that made the already tempted Lu Sigong always stand still, and finally let Zhang Huan's strategy fail.

This time he disguised himself as a grain merchant and went to Tianbao County to investigate carefully, he was confident that he had mastered Zhang Huan's details, only to see him smile slightly: "General, Zhang Huan is indeed a powerful character, just look at his subtle arrangement, it makes people admire his good intentions, first a menacing ruffian officer came to grab grain, the people next to him were very surprised, obviously he is not usually like this, and then I secretly asked a soldier, only to learn that this person is Zhang Huan's tooth general Li Shuangyu, can become Zhang Huan's personal guard leader, It shouldn't be this virtue, that's one of them. ”

Du Mei saw that Lu Sigong could hear it, and there was a look of admiration in his eyes, this was the effect he wanted to see. He was really a little proud in his heart, so he coughed lightly and continued: "Then there is the military camp and military discipline, Zhang Huan's layout is very real.

Ming, the messy barracks gate, the slackness of the sentries, the messy camp, the subordinates insulting the commander for food, these are all invulnerable, if it is placed on the Longyou army, I will definitely believe it, but this is the Tianqi camp. It turned out that the most elite army of the Hedong Army had defeated the Hui people, and it was able to travel thousands of miles into Hexi. How much loyalty and bravery is required to do this, and will such an army be such a discipline? ”

Speaking of which, Du Mei's emotions were a little excited. He does admire Zhang Huan as an opponent, not because he has any impressive records, but because he appreciates his tenacity and perseverance. For the sake of his dreams, he refused to be wooed by the Cui and Pei families. Abandon the bustling Kyoshi. is willing to go to the most marginal place to establish his own foundation, and it is this persistence that makes Du Mei see a kingly temperament in him.

Lu Sigong saw that his chief staff was a little out of shape. He even belittled Long Youjun, he was very dissatisfied in his heart, so he coughed heavily and reminded in a lengthened tone: "Mr. Du! ”

Du Mei woke up suddenly, and he smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, I'm a little out of shape." ”

"Although what Mr. said is reasonable, it is all based on subjective assumptions, what if Zhang Huan's army really reached the end of the strong army because of lack of food?" It was the first thing to do, but there was no evidence, and Lu Sigong also knew very well that if the soldiers were short of food, no matter how high the morale would drop sharply, he sneered and said: "Since Mr. has blown Zhang Huan so hard, what evidence is there?" Don't say anything about small buckets for big buckets, that's the ancient method, it's normal, as for buying grain, give a deposit first, if the marshal would do that, these are not flaws, I just hope the general will come up with evidence. ”

Du Mei also heard the dissatisfaction in Lu Sigong's tone, he smiled faintly and said: "Of course there is evidence, and there are two, I first went to Tianbao County, and found that there were almost no men in the city, all women and children, I even asked a few people, and they all said that their husbands went to work in the barracks, went to cut trees and shovel snow, took care of a meal every day, and gave money, I felt strange, the barracks have been set up, and the food is so tight, what do you want to do with wood and snow shoveling?" I sent one of my men to check on the situation, and he told me that he had noticed that the locals were maneuvering with the army, General, do you understand? Is it to drill the army, that is, to expand the army, if he is short of food, he may do this? ”

Lu Sigong took a breath of cold air, his confidence began to shake a little, maybe Du Mei was right, he thought about it, and asked in a deep voice: "You said there are two evidences, what is the second one?" ”

Du Mei smiled slightly, he took out a few folded notes of the same shape from his arms, handed them to Lu Sigong and said: "This is the bet placed by their soldiers when they gambled, I secretly picked up a few while I was in chaos, general, please see!" ”

Lu Sigong took them and spread them out on the desk, only to see a line of words written crookedly on the first sheet: Liu Sanmao bets on lunch on the 21st.

Look at the second one again, the handwriting is neat, and it reads: Wang Ping bets on dinner on the 22nd.

The rest of the handwriting is either scribbled or clumsy, and it is not the same.

"This is them betting on food, which just means that they are short of food!" Understandably, how can this prove that there is no shortage of food? He looked at Dume suspiciously.

Du Mei stroked his beard and smiled proudly, "Zhang Huan thought very carefully and thoughtfully, but it's a pity that the people under him who carried out this strategy neglected one of the most critical points. ”

"Where?"

Du Mei gently tapped the notes with his index knuckles, "General, have you seen it, the four sides of these notes are neatly cut and smooth, the paper used is the same and the size is the same, and the shape of the fold is also the same, and I can see it very clearly, they are all taken out of their pockets, not made on the spot, general, please think about it, only under what circumstances would it be such a coincidence?" ”

Lu Sigong pondered for a moment, and suddenly realized, "You mean that these bets are made in batches?" ”

"Exactly!" Du Mei smiled faintly, "This is the most definite evidence that Zhang Huan arranged in advance!" ”

Lu Sigong finally believed Du Mei's judgment, Zhang Huan was indeed not short of food, the so-called lack of food was just a pretense of pretending, he frowned, "Then what is his real intention in doing this?" ”

"I think it's for Huijun!" Du Mei strode to the map, pointed to Huijun and said: "Duan Xiushi occupies Lingwu County, echoing with Huijun from afar, threatening the safety of the entire Longyou, so Wei Dashuai ordered you to take advantage of their unstable foothold to take Huijun first, Zhang Huan is also very aware of this, so he pretended to be short of food, so that the general thought that he would come to attack Wuwei County at any time, so as to contain the general and buy time for the army of Huijun." ”

"Sir, you mean he won't come to attack Wuwei County?"

"No!" Du Mei shook his head slightly, "He will definitely come to attack Wuwei County, but not now, if I guess correctly, it should be after the beginning of spring, that is, his new army is almost trained." ”

Du Mei walked to the tent door, looked at the howling north wind and the heavy snow outside the tent, and said with great confidence: "Besides, such a big blizzard, he can't come even if he wants to." ”