Long Qian and Zhou Yi sent off a battalion and prepared to return to Zhengjiazhuang with Xu Shichang and Wang Shizhen. The main force has been assembled in Zhengjiazhuang, and according to the plan, the main force will leave the base area this afternoon and embark on a journey.

Zhou Yi came out of the ancestral hall and saw that the first platoon of guards (cavalry platoon) who followed them to Zhangqianzhuang had already formed a line outside the ancestral hall, and his war horse was led by the guards and was waiting for him. The horses snorted restlessly, scraping their hooves on the dirt floor. Zhou Yi stepped forward and stroked the war horse, and the horse stuck out his tongue to add to his palm.

The preparations for the expedition were made in an orderly manner, but almost everyone had doubts about the expedition. If the government doesn't recognize the Mengshan Army? Are we going to fight Zou County or even Yanzhou? There is a battalion of officers and soldiers stationed in Zou County, and it is not a problem to open it. But Yanzhou is much more difficult, and the situation is that Cao Kun is stationed there, at least three battalions.

Zhou Yi not only thought that Long Qian would not be so stupid to fight Zou County and Yanzhou, but also did not believe that the government would come to negotiate. Who knew that Lu Dao would be so fucking fast, the government would come as soon as it was said, and the conditions for Zhao'an were negotiated in one night, except for weapons, especially shells, all the requirements were not met, and the others, surnamed Xu, actually agreed.

What a fucking sinister one!

Zhou Yi was more entangled in his heart, and he didn't agree with Zhao'an from the original intention. There are many people who have the same thoughts as him, such as Feng Lun, such as Feng Guozhu. There are even more junior officers, even Wang Mingyuan, who has always been absolutely obedient to Long Qian, doesn't seem so reluctant.

These people are different from Ning Shijun and Shi Dashou, not to mention Situ Jun, the new celebrity. They came from poor backgrounds. They all hate the court, hate the officials and soldiers, and are unwilling to accept Zhao'an. It's not that it can't be defeated, after three months of replenishment, rectification and training, the current Mengshan army is more powerful than when it faced the three-way siege launched by the official army in the spring, why should Lu surrender? Why did you want to go to Tianjin for Yuan Shikai's dog official? Long Qian always said that this battle was related to the future of the Mengshan Army, and Zhou Yi couldn't see where the future was. It is said that the foreigners are powerful, at least more powerful than Yuan Shikai's soldiers, then, the Mengshan army went on an expedition to Beijing and Tianjin. The casualties were certainly greater than dealing with a three-way siege. Far from the base area, is this battle easy to fight? If you break your bones, what future is there?

But he could not speak out publicly about these doubts. He was the deputy commander and the second-in-command of the Mengshan Army. The seat is above Lu Shan and Ning Shijun. He can't openly sing Long Qian's anti-tune. Again. Follow Long Qianmeng Mountain to organize the army. Opening Zhengjiazhuang, the army has developed step by step to the present, compared to the original Mengshan Village. There are more troops, and the weapons are even more foreign guns, not to mention the combat power, it is estimated that with one battalion now, it can easily defeat the Mengshan Cottage of Sun Da's family. How did you know what kind of detours, rushes, ambushes, and elastic defenses before? Now these basic tactics have been mastered through actual combat and officer short training courses, and even artillery! These changes were mainly brought about by Long Qian, and he had to admit it. It was because of these that Long Qian established absolute authority in the army, especially among the soldiers.

In the past half month, Long Qian's main focus has been on doing the ideological work of the officers. This word was also brought by Long Qian, and large and small meetings were held continuously, repeatedly talking about the situation in Gyeonggi and the harm of foreigners invading our country. He talked about the benefits of the troops' acceptance of the imperial court's recruitment (Long Qian has always avoided using this word, but used it to cooperate with the imperial court). He concluded that if he did not take advantage of this opportunity, Yuan Shikai would definitely launch a strong attack on the Mengshan army after the end of the Gyeonggi War, and the base area would be destroyed, and the best outcome would be transfer. However, no matter where they went, they would be surrounded and intercepted by the officers and soldiers, and there would be no time to establish a new base area. Stick to Zhengjiazhuang? The statistics are there, and the number of young people who have joined the army in the base area is almost thousands! How many more young people are available for us to recruit? Do you still think about the future life of the villagers?

All of this is true. Zhou Yi admitted. But he still didn't want to accept the reality in front of him.

In fact, because Zhou Yi married Zheng Chan, he faintly still had some expectations for accepting Zhao'an. Wen, his de facto mother-in-law, was overjoyed when she heard that the troops were about to be recruited. Zheng Chan, whose belly was already bulging, was even more smiling, and Wang Yuechan, the goblin, was also very happy, and asked him several times about the inside story. Where does he have the inside story? The inside story is in Long Qian's belly. Zhou Yi understands the feelings of Wen, Zheng Chan and Wang Yuechan, he is in it, and he can't help but be influenced by them.

Zhou Yi thought of the child in his wife's womb, and his desire to go on the expedition was much lighter. After playing with his life for so many years, a stable and peaceful life is obviously more meaningful. If Zheng Chan gives birth to a boy, the old Zhou family will also have a queen. Therefore, Zhou Yi hoped that he would stay and preside over the affairs of the base area and not go on the expedition. But Long Qian decided to follow the main force himself, and handed over the task of guarding the base to Feng Guozhu, Song Jinguo and Deng Qinghua. Obviously, relying on Feng Guozhu to fight with Deng Qinghua, and relying on Lao Song to watch the family. Feng Guozhu is Long Qian's cronies, and his biggest characteristic is that he is obedient and never disobeys orders, but his ability to fight, not to mention Bilu Mountain, is better than Feng Lun and Ye Yanbing, and he is afraid that he is not as good. Isn't Long Qian afraid that Yuan Shikai will turn his face and copy his nest? So he proposed at the meeting, should he let Lu Shan stay and preside over the overall situation? Lu Shan's ability to fight is not as good as that of the commander, but it is much better than ours.

Long Qian didn't accept it, saying that this time, King Qin, against foreigners, was about to use Lu Shan's wit and bravery. Don't worry, if Yuan Shikai doesn't agree to our conditions, we won't leave.

This is nonsense! There is no movement on the side of the court, and his side has been tossing day by day, isn't it just for the sake of going on the expedition? Zhou Yi figured out Long Qian's thoughts, this is a matter of currying favor with the court, if it is done well, his fame and wealth are all gone, no wonder he is so anxious. As for the source of the news - Lunan is hundreds of miles away from Gyeonggi, how could he know what happened in Gyeonggi? He didn't have clairvoyance, it must have been the news sent back by Jiang Yun, who had been gone for a few months.

Zhou Yi was thinking blindly here, but Long Qian came over, but he didn't notice it.

"Brother Zhou," Long Qian whispered, "I thought about it for half the night, you better stay." You can't live without a backbone at home. Relying on the national pillar alone, I am a little worried. You stay, let Guozhu and Lao Song be your deputies. After we leave, you don't care about the agreement. Don't expand the army openly, but train the militia, as we have discussed before, not to wear military uniforms, but to organize and train them. After Zou County receives the silver taels, I will send most of them back, and your task is to guard the base area, train at least one battalion of militia, and help the village develop production. The people are well. will not change their minds, and will always be towards us. ”

"This?" Zhou Yi was stunned.

"That's it. Zheng Chan's body is heavy, you stay. Long Qian shook Zhou Yi's hand hard, "Waiting for my news." As little as one year. Up to two years. The main force will definitely come back, and when the time comes, we will establish a regiment-level establishment. At least two regiments. Five thousand people, at that time, no one dared to underestimate our Mengshan army. Seeing Xu Shichang and Wang Shizhen coming over, Long Qian stopped, just shook Zhou Yi's hand and shook it.

"Lord Xu, Lord Wang, let's go to Zhengjiazhuang." Long Qian said with a smile.

"Okay, good," Xu Shichang said with a smile on his face, "Your department is so fast, you will definitely be able to become famous in one battle." In the morning, Xu Shichang saw the Mengshan Army's infantry battalion gathering and departing, because it was summer, and the soldiers did not have many clothes, but Xu Shichang, who had been in the army for a long time, still concluded that they had already prepared for the expedition, and judging from the assembly speed of the battalion, it was indeed an elite soldier, everything was orderly, everything was carried out in silence, except for the horn and the shortest password of the commander, there was no other sound.

This is estimated to be the most powerful battalion under Long Qian, no wonder it was chosen to be a demonstration, and it can be regarded as a dismount for me. Xu Shichang made a judgment on this.

"Thank you, Lord Xu, for your words." Long Qian said with a smile.

Several people turned over their horses and drove towards Zhengjiazhuang under the escort of more than 20 cavalrymen.

"Comfort Pavilion actually suffered a big loss on this person!" Xu Shichang was half a position behind Long Qian, and he kept looking at Long Qian who was running in front of him from the side, and sighed in his heart, "It's so young," At the reception banquet last night, Xu Shichang asked Long Qian's age, and was stunned to learn that he was born in the first year of Guangxu, and he was only twenty-six years old this year.

"The crops are growing well, huh?" Xu Shichang looked at the green corn on both sides of the road and sighed.

"That's because they dug a canal to bring in water from the river, and they used the terrain to build a small reservoir." It was Wang Shizhen who replied, and he sighed in his heart, the crops are growing well, and it is still the credit of his captured officers and soldiers, who have done the labor of digging ditches and diverting water for more than two months. It was supposed to be a matter for the benefit of the people, but it was unspeakable, and thousands of people were captured on the battlefield to serve as this free labor__

"It is said that there is a lot of opium planted in the southwest of Lu, but I haven't seen one?" Xu Shichang pulled the reins, slowed down the ride, and enjoyed the scenery on both sides.

"This is also the merit of Long Biaotong," Wang Shizhen also replaced the official position that Long Qian had just obtained, "In the area controlled by the Mengshan Army, there is not a single opium plant, and all those who grow opium are destroyed, and they are also heavily fined and even shot a few opium dealers." Wang Shizhen expressed deep appreciation for Long Qian's tricky anti-drug efforts, "It would be nice if the whole province was like this." The people are stupid, they only see the immediate benefits, and they make money by growing opium than growing food, but they don't think that that thing is harmful. As for the traffickers, they should be killed. ”

"Well, good, well done. Our country has been miserable by it. Xu Shichang stared at Long Qian, "Long Biao's talent is not limited to military affairs." ”

"Lord Xu praised falsely, and Long was ashamed. The land in this area is barren and the people are poor, and the life of the people is too hard. I just hope for a good year, and in order to fill my stomach, I will do whatever it takes. Our people are really the best people in the world, if Long has the opportunity to return to Yizhou in the future, he will definitely help the people get rich and get rid of poverty__"

Xu Shichang still wanted to speak, and saw Wang Shizhen beside him raising his horsewhip, "Brother Juren, there is Zhengjiazhuang in front." ”

When I entered the gate, I saw more than 20 carts parked on the street, and soldiers wearing Mengshan army gray cloth uniforms were carrying bags and boxes of objects onto the car. It seems that the Mengshan Army Brigade can really be pulled out today__

"Lord Xu, I have passed down the military order last night, and I can leave after lunch today." Long Qian also waved his horsewhip, "The soldiers are fast, since you are talking about fighting, then put it on the battlefield earlier, otherwise you will be passive." ”

"That's exactly how it should be." Xu Shichang said.

"Commander Dragon, Commander Dragon," a short old man suddenly ran into the middle of the road and stopped the horses, "Commander Dragon, are you really leaving?" ”

"It's Lao Qin," Long Qian jumped off his horse, "Yes, the imperial court has recognized our army, so let's set off and go to Beijing to fight the foreign devils." ”

"What should I do when you leave, and the government comes back? What should I do when Zheng Jing comes back? Do you want to take back the land that was given to me? Commander Long, you can't ignore us. Behind Old Qin's head, a bunch of people instantly gathered, gossiping about their opposition to the Mengshan army's expedition.

"Folks, don't worry. Let me introduce to you, this Lord Xu is a senior official from the provincial capital of Jinan, and he can speak better than my Longqian. Lord Xu has already promised us that even if our Mengshan Army Brigade is on an expedition, the officers and soldiers will not send a single soldier into the base area. Master Xu, you said yes, right? Long Qian said with a smile.

Xu Shichang had no choice but to jump off the horse at this moment, he was not used to meeting with the people, except for asking questions in the yamen, but at this moment he had to say a few words, "I was sent by Lord Yuan of Futai to recruit the Mengshan army, and in the future, the Mengshan army will be the army of the imperial court, and Long Qian is already the standard." The signed agreement will be followed by the imperial court. ”

"Look, Lord Xu has already agreed. Folks, not to mention that our Mengshan Army is not all gone. Deputy Commander Zhou will stay here, and there will be a lot of troops left, please get out of the way, I still have a lot of things to deal with. We'll be back in a few months. Long Qian bowed his hand to the people again and again, and the people around him finally got out of the way, "Commander Long, we can't trust the court, we can trust you, you have to count." ”

"Old Qin Tou, look at what you said, when does our commander stop talking and counting? Commander Long said that the imperial court would make peace with us, so wouldn't this be peace. Get out of the way, the commander is really in a hurry. Our brigade will start in the afternoon. There's a lot to do with the commander. Jiang Cunxian shouted in a loud voice.

"Isn't Commander Zhou going?" Wang Shizhen turned his face and asked Zhou Yi.

"Well, his daughter-in-law is about to give birth, and there is also a person in charge of family affairs." Long Qian replied for Zhou Yi.

When the group came to the gate of the Zheng family's mansion, they saw a row of officers standing solemnly to greet them, and there were several squire-looking people behind them. Long Qian said to Xu Shichang, "Let me introduce you, let's introduce Master Xu first." Brothers, this is Lord Xu Shichang Xu sent by Yuan Futai, and he is Yuan Futai's chief of staff. Yesterday, Lord Xu had reached an agreement with our army. The imperial court officially incorporated our army into the Qinwang detachment of the Wuwei Right Army. Lord Xu, this is Wang Mingyuan, the commander of the second battalion of the Mengshan Army. Well, Feng Lun, the commander of the third battalion of the Mengshan Army, Feng Guozhu, the commander of the left-behind battalion of the Mengshan Army, this brother is called Shi Dashou, who was originally from the New Army and the commander of the fourth battalion of the Mengshan Army. Oh, this Mr. Chen Chao is the owner of Chenjiaya Village adjacent to Zhengjiazhuang, this is Mr. Shen Wuzhi Shen__Lord Xu, let's go in and talk, this is the headquarters of Long. (To be continued......)

PS: Make up for yesterday's.