A year later, as Zhang Cheng said, Zhao Hui led the troops to the south, Jingzhou Fuzhou 200,000 and Qingzhou 100,000 troops sent troops in two ways, 300,000 troops attacked Yingzhou with lightning speed, Liu Tang was unexpected, and hesitated, left and right, missed the opportunity, plus Fuzhou iron cavalry is extremely strong, Yingzhou's cavalry is not an opponent at all, and Zhao Hui captured Yingzhou. Incorporate the 50,000 or 60,000 troops in Yingzhou!

In another year, Zhao Hui attacked Qingzhou with a victorious army, most of Qingzhou was taken by Zhao Hui, Liu Tang was defeated and retreated, and finally had to retreat to Lingzhou with an army of 200,000. With the rugged terrain of the Lingzhou Plateau, he confronted Zhao Hui. Zhao Hui captured Qingzhou and got another 30,000 or 40,000 troops. At the same time, Zhao Hui obtained hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and grass, which were stationed at the junction of the three states, in the city of Xucheng, Yingzhou.

In desperation, Liu Tang asked Runzhou for help, and Runzhou Gongsun Kai seized the opportunity to copy Zhao Hui's back road, and attacked Zhao Hui with Liu Tang, so that Zhao Hui could not care about each other.

But Gongsun Kai never expected that the 100,000 army he had finally accumulated, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet and sent 50,000 troops to Yingzhou to be cut off by the 10,000 troops that emerged from Taiyue Mountain, and the grain and grass of the 50,000 army were burned. The army of 50,000 is also in trouble!

The 50,000 army turned to Taiyue Mountain, but this elusive army of 10,000 was right out of the left and left out of the right, and it was unable to find the north, and its strength was constantly consumed, and a year later, this 50,000 huge soldiers and horses were exhausted.

In this year, Liu Tang asked for help everywhere, from Yanzhou and Cangzhou to ask for help, but he returned in vain. Yanzhou Assassin Shi Zhai Qian was a greedy person who was afraid of death, he was unwilling to provoke the behemoth of the Zhao family, and refused to send troops. However, in order to preserve his strength, Cai Tingkai, the assassin of Cangzhou, refused to send troops. Liu Tang was isolated, but he had an army of 1560,000 under his command, plus a total of 200,000 troops of young men who were temporarily conscripted, and with the danger of mountains and rivers, he had a stalemate with Zhao Hui for more than a year.

Until the spring of the following year,

Zhao Hui led an army of 400,000 to be stopped from attacking Lingzhou for a long time, Zhao Hui was angry, he said angrily: "Go, send a fast horse to Jizhou immediately, and find Zhang Cheng for me." Lao Tzu wants to see if this Lingzhou can be won! ”

Outside Zhenxiong Pass, horse farm.

Nearly 1,000 acres of vast horse farms, everywhere are war horses galloping on the grassland, a pile here, a pile there, the horse keeper is also very busy, a moment of horses are pulled out, a moment of horses pulled into the stable. There are also horse breeders galloping with herds of horses.

In the stables, there are countless excellent war horses locked in them, neighing vigorously, as if they can't wait to go out for a gallop. From a distance, there are at least nearly 10,000 horses in the horse farm.

In the horse farm, a young man in green clothes rode on a black horse and galloped happily. Behind, there were more than a dozen horsemen following closely behind, all of them quite jubilant.

After some galloping, the young man stopped at a stable, and two horse keepers hurriedly ran over and led his horse.

At this moment, a person galloped in the distance, and when he arrived in front of the young man, he quickly stopped his horse, knelt down on one knee in front of him, and said, "Lord County Guard, Lord Yang sent someone to say that there is a noble person in the new city who wants to see him!" ”

"Huh? Elegant? What nobles? Didn't General Zhao just send someone to take the last 10,000 horses away! Why, do you still need horses? The young man said.

"No, my lord, Lord Yang said, this person is not a thing in the pool, but a nobleman. Please, hurry back to the new city and meet him! The flying rider said.

"Okay, you go back first and tell Lord Yang that I will go back immediately." The youth said.

"Yes!" The flying knight took the command.

The young man turned around and looked at this large horse farm, but his face was full of a sense of achievement, in the past three years, from only a thousand horse breeds and a thousand war horses, to today, this horse farm has delivered 30,000 war horses to the Daqian Empire, and now there are more than 10,000 war horses stored here, and there are also three of the best sweat and blood horses here. What a credit!

And the one who owns this horse farm is none other than Zhang Cheng.

"Song Ge, after General Zhao has led 10,000 war horses, how many war horses are left in our horse farm?" Zhang Cheng walked towards the rest area of the racecourse and asked the stableman who was following him in the Sima Farm.

Song Ge said happily: "Lord County Guard, after our horse farm was transferred by General Zhao with 10,000 war horses, there are still 10,000 war horses left, in addition, there are 5,000 stallions, in the spring of this year, the stallions can regenerate 5,000 war horses, and if they are cultivated properly, at least 4,000 war horses will be added." Using the horse breeding strategy of half horses and half grass that you gave us, I can guarantee that in a few years, you will have a horse farm with tens of thousands of war horses again! In addition, in the horse farm, 5,000 riding masters have been trained, and all of them are good at riding and shooting. ”

"Okay, good, I can have such a big horse farm, you are indispensable! Come, and reward him with a hundred taels of silver. Zhang Cheng said without hesitation. After glancing at the horse farm again, Zhang Chengcai reluctantly said: "Tie Zhu, Boss Zhang, Qi Tian, Li Hao, Yao Han, Huang Ling, Qin Chao, Fan Zhong, see it, I said, I will have a horse farm with tens of thousands of war horses!" Hehe! Let's go and see what kind of noble person it is! ”

While following Zhang Cheng's iron pillar, the other brothers smiled when they heard this, and followed Zhang Cheng out of the racecourse.

Leaving the horse farm, a cup of tea, came to a city in front of the city, only to see that the city wall of this city is enough to stretch, extending to both sides, the city wall is five zhang high, three zhang wide, on the city wall, the guards on duty stand in the warm spring breeze, standing majestically, majestic, solemn and standing.

The city gate is three zhang high, one zhang wide, and above the city gate, the word new city is written impressively. There is also a team of guards on duty at the gate of the city, and there are many people coming and going at the gate, some from the grassland in the north, there are also merchants from the Daqian Empire, and there are also people who live in the new city. Most of them were people who had been plundered by the steppe tribes, and a small number of them were people who had moved here from the Daqian Empire.

Here, this is the back road left by Zhang Cheng for himself. Three years ago, he had already started building a city!

Remembering that the new city was only a few thousand people, in order to build their city, but he was so vigorous, with thousands of people in the new city and the brothers of the Beidi Division, as well as stonemasons and carpenters who knew how to build walls and cities, they went up the mountain to cut down wood and open up stones, every brick and tile here were built by their hard work, and later more and more people were redeemed from the grassland, and everyone worked together, after three years of construction, there is today's city! The people of Xincheng also cultivated the land next to it, planted wheat and corn, and harvested it every year, but they could barely survive. Some people live by hunting, some people make a living by striking iron, and some people even open medical halls, salt shops, grain shops, ceramics, inns, silk, medicinal materials, and so on.

Moreover, Zhang Cheng also spread the news to the grasslands and the Jizhou, Zezhou, and Gyeongju of the Great Qian Empire, including Wuzhou, that anyone who went to Xincheng to do business could be exempted from commercial taxes. The key is that the new city can ensure fairness and peace when trading between the grassland people and the Daqian people.

There are the leaders of the tribes of the Yunyan grassland, and they all went to the new city to trade, and many big cadres have benefited and have begun to do business in the new city. Zhang Cheng himself is also openly doing business in Xincheng. Leather goods, tea, salt, mink coats, and horses were all brought to the new city for sale. With the development of several years, the climate has gradually formed.

Zhang Cheng glanced at the city gate, and he drove his horse into the city. Although Zhang Cheng was wearing ordinary clothes, the guards on duty recognized it as their city lord at a glance, and hurriedly bowed and saluted.

After entering the city lord's mansion, Zhang Cheng dismounted, and someone came out to greet him, leading the horse to fall.

"Lord Yang is in the house?" Zhang Cheng entered the door, and the housekeeper Tao Hong hurriedly stepped forward to wait, and he said, "I have been waiting for the big city lord in the house for a long time!" ”

The city lord's mansion is modeled after the Beidi county guard's mansion, the city lord's mansion is wide and deep, in addition to the basic office office, there are pavilions and water pavilions, rockery ponds, flowers and wild grasses, stone steps twist and turn, to really a good place.

When he came to a flower garden outside the living room, Zhang Cheng saw the door of the living room, Yang Wenzhao was standing at the door and walking around, with his hands behind his back for a while, and his hands clenched back and forth, looking absent-minded. Zhang Cheng thought in his heart: What kind of person is here, which actually makes Yang Wenzhao so uneasy. Even General Zhao has never seen Yang Wenzhao feel so uneasy.

He straightened his head and looked inside, finally seeing the person sitting inside. I saw that the man was wearing a brocade dress, wearing a scarf, a Chinese face, a pair of sword eyebrows, his eyes were full of wisdom, a high nose bridge, a tiger's mouth, he looked quite heroic, and there was a faint aristocratic aura lingering on him, holding a cup of tea in his hand and leisurely sipping tea, even so, Zhang Cheng could feel a calm temperament from him. And next to him, there stood an elegant old man with gray hair. From him, Zhang Cheng clearly felt that the ravine in this person's heart was probably more than ten times greater than that of his master. And from his eyes, Zhang Cheng felt a divine light as sharp as an eagle. And he stood there as steady and unrelenting as if it had nothing to do with him.

Zhang Cheng pouted, and said to the iron pillar who followed up: "See, these two people are not simple!" Tie Zhu stretched out his head and glanced at it, retracted his head and said: "I don't think it's anything special, there is no blood, but the book is full of anger, isn't it just a very rich boy." I've seen a lot of people like this! The old man next to him was even less scary. ”

"No, there is an indescribable calmness in that young man, and the city is very deep. This person is not simple. Be careful, maybe it's some prince of the Zhao clan or something. And the old man, I'm afraid, is even more remarkable. Warriors with butcher knives are not terrible, but those who are behind the intrigues are your great enemies! Speaking of this, Zhang Cheng suddenly thought of who might be sitting inside!

With his eyes rolling in his sockets, he stepped out of the flower garden and walked towards the living room. The iron pillar also followed with tiger steps.

"Yo, Mr. Yang, hehe, I just went to Flower Street for a visit, ouch, you don't know, Mr. Yang, the women there, but they are all as beautiful as flowers. Come to think of it, ah, I can't stand it! Zhang Cheng said, saliva about to flow.

After Yang Wenzhao saw Zhang Cheng, he was originally nervous, but he didn't know why, but calmed down. He walked up and said, "I'm sorry to disturb your leisure." I asked you to come back because there is a distinguished guest visiting the house. ”

"Oh? Guest? What distinguished guests? Zhang Cheng pretended not to know.

Yang Wenzhao retreated from the left and right, pulled Zhang Cheng and said: "The eldest son of the lord, the head of the hundred officials, and the Shangshu Ling Zhao who is in charge of all the imperial court affairs!" When Zhao Jingyu heard Yang Wenzhao's introduction, he didn't get up, still tasting the tea.

Zhang Cheng heard that he was actually the eldest son of the Zhao family, and Zhao Jingyu came, isn't that the future prince. I didn't think I could really let myself guess.

"Yo! I'm really embarrassed, Lord Zhao, I didn't know it was you who came, if I had known that you were coming, I would definitely rush back! Mr. Yang, look at it, you don't say it clearly, fool me for a long time, don't you think this is snubbing Lord Zhao! Zhang Cheng first kowtowed to Zhao Jingyu to make compensation, and then falsely scolded Yang Wenzhao.

Yang Wenzhao didn't know the reason, and hurriedly pretended to be taught, nodded and said: "Yes, yes, it's all to blame for the bad officials." Please punish you! ”

Zhao Jingyu stood up and excused Yang Wenzhao: "Lord Zhang, I didn't let him tell my identity. I came to see you this time, hoping that Master Zhang would help me! ”

"Yo! Lord Zhao's words are serious, if you have any orders, just say it, I will do it! Zhang Cheng said resignedly.

Zhao Jingyu glanced at the iron pillar on the side, Zhang Cheng understood, and said: "Don't worry, the iron pillar is my own brother, and he won't say it." ”

Zhao Jingyu nodded, and he said with a smile: "Master Zhang, your threshold is high now. Selling salt, buying and selling leather goods, building horse farms, buying and selling grain, tea, and building new cities. You can say that you are really rich now! ”

"What do you mean by this, General Zhao knows all these things, and I did it on the orders of the imperial court. I didn't do it myself! Zhang Cheng hurriedly pushed Zhao Hui out and shirked responsibility.

"Hmph, did he let you sell salt to the prairie people? Did he let you sell the tea to the grasslands? Did he let you take over the Gyeongju Salt Works? Zhao Jingyu looked at Zhang Cheng and said with a smile.

"This, this, this ......," Zhang Chengcheng said with trepidation. Glancing at Zhao Jingyu, he suddenly stood up straight and said, "Hehe, Lord Zhao, I'm afraid you didn't want to find a little trouble when you came this time, right?" ”

"Humph! Now that the general trend of the world, I'm afraid you are also clear. The second brother Zhao Hui led an army of 300,000 to fight in the south, and the troops in our rear were slightly insufficient. At this time, there is no room for the slightest movement in the grassland, and my Jizhou can't stand the invasion of the Northern Barbarians five years ago. I heard that Master Zhang has a military talent, and it was you who defeated the 50,000 army of the grassland back then! Well, at this time of crisis, Zhang Cheng, you can't be sloppy! Zhao Jingyu sat on the chair and said lightly.

"Lord Zhao, you are wrong, now this town is closed, there are 50,000 troops of Tian Haitao to guard it, and I am a small Beidi county guard, and there is not a single soldier under my command, you ordered me to defend the frontier, isn't this difficult for the next official!" Zhang Cheng said.

"Lord Zhang, listening to your words, it seems that you have a grudge against Lord Tian? But why? Zhao Jingyu knew that there was a gap between Zhang Cheng and Tian Haitao, so he asked deliberately.

"There's nothing, and I'm not afraid of your jokes. To tell you the truth, when I was serving in the Jizhou Army, I had some unpleasantness with General Tian. Later, when he attacked Gyeongju, he also had a lot of troubles. If it weren't for General Huo Han's bullet pressure, I'm afraid that when I was in Ganyang Road, it wouldn't have been so smooth! Let's just say that it is in Lingxian, I am afraid you have also heard about this, the daughter of Lord Shifang of Jizhou was captured by the rogue and plundered, and also occupied the county seat of Lingxian, I asked General Ta Tian to send troops to destroy the thieves, but he shirked and did not send me a soldier. Forget it, let's not talk about it. Zhang Cheng pretended to be angry and said.

When Zhao Jingyu heard this, he was overjoyed, but his face did not show it at all, he stood up, walked to Zhang Cheng's side, and said: "In this case, General Tian is stationed in Zhenxiong Pass, you are afraid that you will also be stuck in your throat!" You're probably dreaming of getting rid of him! ”

"What do you mean, sir? I've never said that! Although Tian Haitao had a holiday with me, he is still a good fighter and a good general. Zhang Cheng seems to understand a little bit what the other party wants to do, Tian Haitao was originally Huo Han's person, and now he has been promoted by Zhao Hui to be the general of Jizhou Zhenxiongguan, although there are only 50,000, but he has been promoted. From a small division commander, skipping the commander, and directly becoming a state general, such a grace of heaven, Tian Haitao must be grateful to the five and remember it in his heart. Dead heart to Zhao Hui! But Zhao Jingyu wants to kill Tian Haitao, fundamentally speaking, Zhao Jingyu wants to cut off Zhao Hui's wings. At the same time, getting rid of Tian Haitao for Zhang Cheng also wanted to win over Zhang Cheng and cultivate strength for himself. It's a two-pronged solution!

"Hmph, you also said just now, Tian Haitao has a gap with you, but he uses official affairs for personal gain, and harms public interests for personal vendettas. How can such a person be worthy of great responsibility? Handed over such a critical place as Zhenxiongguan to such a person, the lord is also quite uneasy! Zhao Jingyu looked at Zhang Cheng's eyes and patted Zhang Cheng's shoulder and said. The meaning is a little intriguing!