"Under the surname right, a single name and a Chinese character, I came to Huguang with my friends to do business, and I went to Wuchang Mansion for the first time in my life, and asked my brother to point out the local customs and customs......"

This person's name is Quan Xi, he claims to be from Jiujiang Mansion, he is about thirty years old, although he is uninvited, his words are polite, polite and thoughtful, and he is not offensive.

"Meeting is fate, please sit down." Wang Kefan nodded in agreement and made a seat for him.

"I heard a few people just now talk about patrolling the imperial history Huang Shu, I don't know what is the reputation of the zodiac chief in Wuchang Mansion? ……”

After chatting a few words, Quan Xi brought the topic to the Huguang officialdom, and also cared about Huang Shu very much, from governing as a person to living in small sections, he repeatedly inquired.

When meeting for the first time, the most taboo thing is to talk about it in a shallow way, which involves the inside story of officialdom, Wang Kefan is reluctant to talk deeply, and only chooses some irrelevant things to say. Seeing that it was cold, Quan Xi got up to say goodbye, called a few companions to leave, and when he went out, he settled the account for Wang Kefan's table.

"This person doesn't look like a businessman, I don't know where he came from." Lu Renqing looked at his back and said thoughtfully: "His words are not true, looking at the appearance of those companions, it seems that they all have martial arts, and they behave like people in the yamen." ”

"This person, eighty percent is coming for Huang Shu." Wang Kefan had been in the army for many years in his previous life, and he was more familiar with the unique temperament of Quan Xi.

It was the imprint of years in the discipline department, and although this man wore civilian clothes and spoke and behaved like ordinary businessmen, he had a cold metallic texture in his bones, like a delicate screw in the state machine.

"Brother Yuntai, you said he came from Nanjing?" Lu Renqing was very surprised and a little excited: "If this is the case, his courage is not small, with Zuo Shuai's hundreds of thousands of troops to protect him, who dares to ...... Huang Shu?"

……

After lunch, Wang Kefan came to the Gongyi camp near East Lake.

The Gongyi battalion continued to expand, and the soldiers in the barracks shuttled back and forth, and there were a lot more people, and Wang Kefan's previous barracks were also occupied by others.

"Looks like we're going to be staying at the guest house tonight."

Wang Kefan looked around, after leaving for such a long time, the Gongyi battalion had not changed much, although the soldiers were well-equipped, there was a faint atmosphere of dissipation, compared with the four sentinels under him, it was like two troops.

"Go to my house and live, that ......, my house is spacious." Jing Liang cautiously suggested, for fear that Wang Kefan would refuse.

"Okay, since you've come to Wuchang, you can also take a look at your parents and family by the way." Wang Kefan nodded with a smile, and led everyone to Niu Zhongxiao's barracks (barracks and official quarters in the army, accommodation and office).

Hand over the notebook, the guards guarding the door went in to pray, and after a short time, Niu Zhongxiao came out with a few relatives, and raised his hand with a smile when he was far away.

"Brother Yuntai, I'm thinking about you, hey, what are you doing with these false courtesies, please come in, let's have a good chat today!"

Wang Kefan leaned over and saluted, but was helped up by Niu Zhongxiao, and under the surprised and envious gaze of everyone, he pulled him hand in hand and entered from the main entrance. Lu Renqing and the others greeted each other in person, went to the side hall to rest and wait, and he followed Niu Zhongxiao to the Zhongjun Hall.

"The last general is just biased towards the generals, and when the association is treated so favorably, I am afraid that it will lead to criticism and some inappropriateness." Except under special circumstances, Wang Kefan wants to keep a low profile. The most important thing in the army is the level of class, his identity is much worse than Niu Zhongxiao, and being familiar with informality is not a good thing for both of them.

"Hey, I can't stand these rules in officialdom! Intrigue all day long, but with a decent look of official authority, it makes people go crazy, it is better to be a guard for He Junmen......"

Niu Zhongxiao's hardship as an official, and the complaint that he is tired of being an official is not hypocritical. He has a generous personality, has no military background, and has no military management ability and communication skills, and he has been exhausted and overwhelmed for a few months.

Wang Kefan smiled and didn't say anything. Being an official is also a kind of talent, and some people's personalities are inherently unsuitable for being officials, so they barely come.

"Why should Yuntai worry too much, you defeated the water bandits, and you have the highest combat achievements in my Gongyi battalion, you should open the main gate and greet him with courtesy, if anyone dares to chew his tongue, see that I don't have big ears to scrape him!"

Niu Zhongxiao smiled and clapped his hands, and a package was sent by his relatives, and when he opened it, it was a document, a set of official uniforms, and a small copper seal.

"With your merits, it is also appropriate to give a guerrilla general, but ......, but the future is long, let's be promoted to a garrison first, and there will be opportunities in the future." Niu Zhongxiao was a little embarrassed, and the garrison was also a sesame mung bean official, and he treated Wang Kefan a little badly.

"Thank you Niu Xietai for your support, the last general will work diligently and kill the enemy bravely!" Wang Kefan was very satisfied, although the garrison was not yet a serious general, but in the battle array, he could already play his own general flag, and more importantly, the garrison and above could form an independent army, and he had the qualifications to guard in other places.

"The generals under you, Wang Sheng, Tan Xiao and Zhou Guodong, have also been promoted to thousands of generals, and the documents are here." Niu Zhongxiao said with a smile: "At the beginning, someone said cool things and looked down on you talented soldiers. I can't imagine that Zuihou still shows off his talent and makes meritorious contributions, saving some face for the Gongyi Battalion......"

This battle against the Dashun peasant army fully exposed the weakness of the Ming army, and the hundreds of thousands of troops did not have the upper hand against Bai Wang's 780,000 horses.

The 36 battalions under Zuo Liangyu were all frightened by the Dashun army before, fearing the enemy like a tiger, and fleeing from the wind. Jin Shenghuan, Li Guoying, Xu Yong and other units had strong combat effectiveness, but they had the intention of preserving their strength, did not listen to the dispatch, and passively avoided the war.

He Tengjiao was afraid that the Fubiao Battalion and the Gongyi Battalion would suffer losses, so he simply hid them in the rear, and did not even see the shadow of the Dashun Army. Niu Zhongxiao first stayed in Wuchang Mansion for a month, then led thousands of men and horses to cross the Yangtze River, went to Hankou Town to make a circle, and then crossed the Han River, and came to an armed march in Hanyang Mansion.

Of course, this is not a glorious thing, Niu Zhongxiao wants to lead the Gongyi battalion into an elite army and fight two victories to repay He Tengjiao's kindness, but he also knows very well that if the Gongyi battalion really encounters the Dashun army, it will definitely collapse at the touch of a button, and it is not as good as Zuo Liangyu's subordinates.

Unexpectedly, there was good news from Chongyang's side, Niu Zhongxiao was overjoyed, and his waist was much straighter in front of people, and he became more and more serious to Wang Kefan.

"Brother Yuntai, you are a person who can fight, and I will help more brothers in the future." Niu Zhongxiao said: "He Junmen has made it clear that the whole battalion of the Gongyi Battalion will send troops soon, recover Tongcheng and Linxiang as soon as possible, and exterminate the remnants ......of the Song River, Yuntai, you won't blame me for robbing you of your credit, right?" ”

"The last general is a pawn under the Xietai tent, and he is willing to drive the horse forward!"

"Good, good! If you and I kill the enemy side by side, we will definitely win a big battle! ”

The two of them talked about the battles in Chongyang and Tongcheng, and discussed the gains and losses in them. Niu Zhongxiao listened very carefully, asked about every detail repeatedly, and when he arrived at Zuihou, he sighed in disappointment.

"Alas, although this method of training troops to fight a war is good, it is not easy to imitate. You are all well-read people with a lot of eyes, and you can learn the ability to lead soldiers to fight, and the soldiers are also honest and obedient, but the generals in our camp are all rough embryos, and the soldiers are all slippery and stubborn......"

Just like building a house without choosing a good cornerstone, the inherent defects of Gongyi Camp are difficult to overcome.

The two chatted for a while, Wang Kefan got up to say goodbye, and Niu Zhongxiao was sent outside the gate.

"Oh, Yuntai, there is one more thing I almost forgot, He Junmen is about to be promoted to the governor of Huguang, do you know?"

Niu Zhongxiao asked, saw Wang Kefan nodded, and said: "The angel of the imperial court has arrived in Wuchang Mansion, and the governor's yamen will put up a flag tomorrow, He Junmen specially named your name, and will go to watch the ceremony with me tomorrow......"

……

That night, Wang Kefan and his entourage stayed overnight at Jingliang's house.

Seeing his benefactor come to the door, Jingliang's father Jingfu was very enthusiastic, and set up a sumptuous banquet to entertain everyone, and called out his daughter during the banquet to thank him for saving his life.

Wang Kefan was a little absent-minded, and after a few drinks out of politeness, he shirked the fatigue of the boat, retired and went back to the room, thinking about the information he had received in the past two days.

Judging from Niu Zhongxiao's reaction, the battle exploits of defeating the water bandits have been recognized by everyone, but He Tengjiao has a very strict control over the Gongyi Battalion, and he wants to set up another door, and there are still many obstacles in the middle.

Calculating the time, in less than two months, Li Zicheng will be defeated and go south to Huguang, the Qing soldiers will follow, the war will spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River, and the Gongyi battalion will face a cruel test.

These days, I have been busy training troops and suppressing bandits, and I have not made full use of the advantages of understanding the trend of history, and the pace of layout has slowed down a bit......

The door suddenly rang twice, and Kingford leaned in, revealing a smiling face.

"General Wang, haven't you rested yet? ......" Jingfude said a few polite words, and suddenly asked: "I heard that General Wang and Long Maochang have some festivals?" ”

"It's not a holiday, Long Maochang's semicolon in Chongyang is a little illegal, and it happened to hit my hands, just teach him a lesson." Wang Kefan replied.

"Hehe, there are some problems with doing business now. However, Long Maochang did go a little too far. ”

"What's the matter, Jingyuanwai is very familiar with Long Maochang?"

"I've had a few dealings in the business field." Jingfu said: "If General Wang wants to deal with Long Maochang, I have some evidence here, all of which are felonies of colluding with bandits, selling illicit salt, and bribing the government. ”

Wang Kefan's heart moved, but his body leaned back in the chair, and said nonchalantly: "There is always a little leeway for people to do things, the matter between me and Long Maochang has passed, and there is no reason to stare at it." ”

"General Wang is magnanimous and contemptible, but as the saying goes, if you don't die, you will be bitten if you fight ......a snake."

"The snake is too big for me to die, and if I kill the snake, the rabbit and the boar will be scared away."

Wang Kefan's metaphor is completely modern thinking, and Jingford is a little uncomfortable, and it took a long time to understand the meaning of his words.

"In that case, it's a lot of contempt. However, Long Maochang has a deep background, and I am afraid that he will not give up, and General Wang can come to collect these evidence at any time when he needs it in the future. Jingford bowed and was about to leave.

"Outside of Jingyuan, you are in the private salt business, right?" Wang Kefan asked suddenly.

"It was Kyora, right? Hehe, I'm just a pawn, and now the world is too chaotic, so I have to think of something to eat. Although it is illegal to sell illicit salt, Jingford admits it calmly and is not afraid.

During the Southern Ming Dynasty, the salt monopoly system had collapsed, the imperial court was completely out of control, and the feudal kings, eunuchs, warlords, officials, salt merchants, and ...... were all selling illicit salt.

Wang Kefan smiled and asked again: "If I'm not mistaken, Jingyuanwai wants to squeeze out Long Maochang and seize the private salt business in Chongyang and Tongcheng, right?" ”

"General Wang is discerning, and the contemptible person does have such a little thought." A look of embarrassment flashed on Jing Fu's face, but he quickly regained his composure: "If General Wang can do this, the contemptible person will be grateful!" ”

"Jingyuan has misunderstood! I'm just a military man, I don't care about being used as a gunman, and it's nothing to help you once. Wang Kefan still smiled: "But this matter is not urgent, now is not a peaceful and prosperous era, Huguang may fight at any time, and the stall for doing business should not be too big." ”

Even if Long Maochang is squeezed out, two months later, everything will be in shambles, and Jingford's hard work will be in vain.

"What does General Wang mean ......?" Jing Fude couldn't understand it again, and asked hesitantly, "Could it be that the thieves will still attack Wuchang?" Shouldn't it, with Zuo Shuai in charge, they still dare to come to find death? ”

"It's inconvenient to say this, in a word, be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years." First, there is the possibility of cooperation in the future, and secondly, looking at Jingliang's face, Wang Kefan pulled him by the hand.