On the north bank of the Yellow River, in Weizhou (now Daming County, Handan City, Hebei Province),

In a large dock fort that had been breached, a faint smell of blood, fireworks, and scorching fire was still faintly diffused in the air.

A group of dejected Ding Zhuang were digging pits driven by knives and guns, transporting pieces of corpses and burying them one by one; During the period, there are also intermittent women's suppressed sobs, which represents what they are experiencing at the moment.

In the ancestral hall where half of the burned was burned, a temporary banquet full of battlefield flavor was set up, and more than a dozen newly opened fish floss, sauced meat, pig's trotters, preserved duck, roasted beans and sugar pears on the table, such as meat and vegetables, canned fruits, and a jar of mud-sealed old wine, were all of the banquet.

Chao Gai, Lu Junyi and Chai Jin, who rarely got together again, also sat around the table, but they had already changed their identities and became banners such as XX Yijun and XX Tutuan.

Over the years, they have their own opportunities and futures, so although they still maintain this degree of close contact, as the territory of Huaizhen is getting bigger and bigger, the places where they are stationed are far apart, and the opportunities to get together in private are becoming less and less.

For example, Chao Gai was stationed in the Silla Domain to guard the port for a long time, Lu Junyi was stationed in the Liaodong Peninsula to suppress the place, and Chai Jin stayed in the mainland more often, but was arranged to wait in Gaoyou in Huainan.

This time, thanks to the successive major battles in Pingludao and Hebei, most of the second-line and local troops on standby were mobilized to participate in the expansion of the army, which created the probability that they would appear in the same combat area.

Their task this time is to hide as the vanguard of the army, and take the lead in cleaning up those big and small powerful and clans that are more intricate in the local area, and then lay the corresponding foundation and paving for the follow-up resettlement and local population management affairs in the local area.

After all, after such a long period of turmoil, except for a few cases where they have the opportunity to hand over what they need to be preserved, under normal circumstances, not many people will willingly hand over the potential population and the number of acres hidden in their own names or register them in the official register.

And Huaizhen obviously doesn't have enough patience and time to slowly finish a long-term game and gradual transformation with these township party tyrants who are rooted in the local area, and on the local home field that they are familiar with; It's better to use the violence of the troubled times to knock everything down and overthrow it again; Anyway, there are all kinds of rebels and rogues who can carry this pot on their backs; And Huaizhen, which is to restore and rebuild local order and relieve the people of water and fire, is always pure and immaculate in morality and righteousness.

After losing these wealthy families with potential influence and hidden connections, as the appeal to take the lead in finding trouble and the potential backbone that is enough to guide the trend of public opinion, even if there are any opinions and dissatisfaction, it will be a situation where the dragons are leaderless and scattered, and the resettlement of immigrants and the management of local household registration will naturally be much less resistant and resistant.

After all, as a group of social animals, people are all submissive. However, in the relatively backward productive forces and social transportation and communication environment in ancient times, the so-called village sages and gentry strata composed of large and small landlords and powerful landlords relied on the social resources they had mastered, and under the influence and thinking inertia formed from generation to generation, they manipulated and guided public opinion that was beneficial to themselves under the banner of coercing public opinion, and even in the name of self-preservation, they raised and privately armed and colluded with and supported bandits to crack down on and eliminate the existence of dissidents, and even to resist policies and changes that were unfavorable to their own interests.

It can also be said that in the peaceful era, when the power of the regime was still able to play a limited role in restraint, none of the wealthy and powerful families who were able to survive from this chaotic era were clean and flawless; And after these potential obstacles have been eliminated from the physical level, the potential ideological positions in this area also need to be occupied, replaced, and filled, and it is time for the well-functioning management system to begin to play its role.

That is to say, the sloppy and backward social structure and its outdated and sluggish ideological atmosphere will still have some vitality and room for development for a long time to come, replacing the traditional old style of clan and land subordination with a relatively advanced (revolutionary) neo-militarist collective organizational life and a positive system of organizing and managing labor.

This is also one of the greatest results and long-term goals sought by the land reform movement, which became the cornerstone of the new socialist country in the new democratic movement carried out before and after the founding of New China. However, this set of measures carried out by Huaizhen was similar to that of the party organization in later generations in the villages, but it could not achieve such a precise and meticulous comprehensive division of labor and overall mobilization from the militia to the women's and children's regiments.

Of course, most people in this world can't pay attention to and perceive the intentions and deep meanings behind it, and it is precisely because of their life experience and expertise before they defected to Huaizhen that they were additionally selected to take on the disgraceful responsibility in this regard.

Therefore, the dock fort and walled city, in addition to not being killed indiscriminately, will be divided into three parts, one is mainly grain and coarse benzene that cannot be moved, which is used to distribute to the poor households in the local area to coerce and buy people's hearts, and by the way, they are hired to tear down the redundant dock fort wall; One is a soft and expensive product, which will be their reward; Finally, all kinds of privately stored armor and storage materials are left to be handed over to the subsequent takeover of the thief catcher.

Therefore, their drunken mood is more focused on their own development, and their hopes and expectations for the future.

After all, judging from the development trend of Huaizhen today, no one feels that they will only stop at their current position, but they must also be able to seize every opportunity in time with the vision and luck, which requires them to maintain mutual communication and support each other for a longer time.

。。。。。。。

And on the south bank of the Yellow River is in the territory of Dugandao.

Although the man-made flood has receded for many years, the traces left by the irresistible power of nature are still everywhere.

The Guanluo Plain is dotted with abandoned villages, towns, and forts, as well as large and small remnants of water deposits, as well as mudflats and marshes formed by the siltation of torrents.

During this period, the only thing that could be called lush was probably the wild grass and shrubs that rose wildly, and the greenery was scattered across the once densely populated and prosperous area.

It was only in the vicinity of the still-dilapidated city of Nadodo that large areas of trampled fields had been harvested, which represented the proximity of the local garrison.

Wang Duanchen, the head of the northern capital who was inspecting the south pass of Heyang Bridge, was also looking at his subordinates who were hiding vegetables in front of him; Although the good voice comforted them gently, their minds had already flown to the far south.

With the secret envoy from the shogunate, the fourth arrival soldier urged him to go south as soon as possible, and was responsible for presiding over the situation in Jiangnan and Lingwai.

However, as the lord of an army, how could he easily give up and abandon these and follow his troops who had fought thousands of miles in the mountains and seas of blood, and only a few people returned south alone.

Although there was an edict from the imperial court, it was for them to move to Shannan to quell the rebellion and suppress the place; However, the embarrassment and predicament of the troops under his command who are now in short supply of funds are not something that the court elders in the rear can easily understand.

Therefore, although he knew that some of his subordinates had always secretly communicated with Huaizhen, and even maintained long-term private business dealings, he pretended not to know and even mentioned and covered up.

And for those friendly troops who openly interacted with Huaizhen and used it through his territory, they were also in a dilemma and turned a blind eye to it, and turned a blind eye to it.

But this kind of thing will come to an end and a choice must be made one day, once the Huai army swept Hebei, he, who was only a river away from the lonely army in the north and the former friendly army, did not know how to deal with himself;

However, the documents urging the imperial court to move the defense were in a hurry, but the road to the south of the army and the channels for obtaining supplies had actually been cut off, and it was necessary to send troops to attack all the way to forcibly open it back; But in fact, the army that can support the movement of so many people and horses "before the army moves the grain and grass" does not know where to land.

Suddenly, a messenger who seemed to be burned out of sweat rushed out of the Beiguan City on the opposite bank, and passed through the middle city of Hezhou non-stop, and finally appeared in front of Wang Duanchen with a hoarse voice, bringing an unexpected bad news.

"Tongguan has changed."

"The Shu army is in danger."

(End of chapter)