The family banquet did not disperse until very late, except for Zhao Guo's insistence on returning to live in the camp outside the city, Tong Shengyang and Deng Chengzhi stayed in the palace for the night. As for Luo Lilang, he has a residence in Yidu, and his relatives are far from the relationship between Tong Shengyang, Deng Chengzhi and Deng She, so Deng She didn't deliberately keep him, and he didn't even send it, but just ordered the guards to return to his house.

It was late at night.

In the vast palace, most of the lights have been extinguished, at least there are still a few candles on the pavilions. The cold wind passed through the gaps between the houses, like a small icy snake, and the cold was biting. The starlight is dim, and there are many trees planted in the courtyard before and after, which have already lost their leaves, and when they are blown by the wind, they will make a whimpering sound from time to time.

arranged the residence of Tong Shengyang and Deng Chengzhi, and Deng She and Mrs. Wang returned to the room. He didn't feel sleepy at all, he lay on the bed for a while, he couldn't sleep, he simply got up again, refused the company of Mrs. Wang, called two maids, lit a lantern in front of him, turned into the courtyard, and walked on the moon.

Although at the night banquet and the family banquet, Deng She seemed to be talking and laughing, in fact, in the past two days, his mood was not too good, and he was a little heavy.

Hong Jixun's performance at the council that day has always been entangled in his heart. The more he pondered it, the more he felt that the problem was serious. At that time, Hong Jixun mainly put forward two opinions, one was in setting the tone, proposing that the reward should be mainly for the civil and military officials of the Shandong faction, and the other was in terms of specific implementation, vaguely revealing the intention of wanting to fight for Chen Yutou, Gao Yanshi, and Liu Guo.

Obviously, Hong Jixun wants to meddle in Shandong and want to plant wings in Shandong.

To tell the truth, Deng She is not afraid of his subordinates taking power, nor is he afraid of his subordinates forming a party. He understands very well that wherever there are people, there must be parties. As long as there is power, there will inevitably be struggle. He had heard a sentence in his previous life, which was very correct, eight words, it was enough to summarize the situation: "There is no faction in the party, and there are all kinds of strange things." So, he can understand that.

Even, from another point of view, the formation of a party among courtiers is actually a good thing for those in power. The way of weighing has always been the emperor's mental technique. Differentiation and disintegration are the only magic weapons for grasping power. If the courtiers really huddle together, it is not necessarily a good thing.

It is precisely because of this that although Deng She has actually been aware of the factions of his courtiers, he has never turned a blind eye. As long as he doesn't cross the limit, he just doesn't know. So, what are his limits? Or in his previous life, he heard another saying: "Power comes out of the barrel of a gun." He was convinced of this sentence. His bottom line is the army.

The sources of the various armies in Haidong are very mixed, including the Tuntian army, and most of the existing tens of thousands of horses and horses are from the surrendered army. Goryeo surrendered the army, Guan Duo surrendered the army, and Pan Cheng surrendered the army. Even the sailors, the foundation is mostly surrendered Japanese people. When it comes to authentic lineage, strictly speaking, there are only a few.

Although, after a series of adaptations and integrations, the difference between the army and the descendant line has gradually become smaller. Now those who can control the military power are all Deng She's cronies and confidants. It seems that the loyalty of the army has long been no longer a problem. But Hong Jixun's performance sounded the alarm for him.

Hong Jixun wants to plant wings in Shandong, so let's not talk about it for the time being. only said that he wanted to reach out to the army, did he only plan to reach out to the Shandong army, or did he also reach out to the Haidong army? If it was the former, had he already reached out to the Shandong army, or was he just ready to start reaching out? If it is the latter, will he already have influence in the Haidong Army? If there is already a force, how big is it?

To put it bluntly, in a nutshell: what Deng She is worried about is whether Hong Jixun is in the army and whether there is any power now. Today, Haidong's army is roughly divided into four parts, South Korea, Korea, Liaodong, and Yidu. Under the subdivision, it can be divided into eight pieces.

South Korea's armed forces are partly stationed in Hanyang, and partly on the southern coast, and the generals and colonels who lead the troops are varied.

North Korea's troops, partly stationed in Pyongyang and partly in Kanbuk, are nominally owned by Pyongyang's president, Munhwa, and Jang Gil of Kwanbuk actually has the power to supervise Pyongyang. The army of Liaodong was partly stationed in Liaoyang and partly in Liaoxi. President Chen Hu of Liaoyang, but Qing Qianxing and Li Ye of Liaoxi also have corresponding independence.

The army of Yidu, after a major war, is currently stationed in Yidu and Tai'an. Not counting the reinforcements of Wenhuaguo, one of those who hold military power is Zhao Guo, the nominal president, and the other is Chen Yutou, a heavy general who guards the local area.

A discerning person can see at a glance that Deng She's arrangement of garrisons actually has the meaning of containing each other. If you put it another way, for example, North Korea's Wenhuaguo and Zhang Xiao'er are actually the same boss and deputy marshal, and these two people, one is Deng She's uncle, the old man of the horse thief, and the other is Deng She's own hand-raised, and has nothing to do with the horse thief. For another example, Chen Hu and Qing Qianxing in Liaodong are the same. An old man who got on the horse and a thief, a Goryeo army.

——, Qingqianxing was supposed to rush to Haidong with Wenhuaguo, but before Wenhuaguo set off, there was another battle in western Liaoning, and Shijiabao launched an attack on the front line. In order to prevent Polo from cooperating with it, Qing Qianxing went back to Liaoxi to sit in town. Although Shi Jiabao's attack was quickly repulsed, and Polo withdrew his troops to Datong soon after, since he did not have the opportunity to catch up with Haidong, he simply did not move again.

The same is true for Yidu. A Zhao Guo, an old man who got on the horse, a Chen Rutou, Shandong surrendered the army.

Such an arrangement should be relatively reliable.

However, since even the head of civil servants like Hong Jixun has begun to be dissatisfied with the existing power and status, he has the intention of interfering in the army; So, the local important generals who control the military power of a place have developed a habit of life and death, will they also be dissatisfied with the status quo and have the idea of wanting to go to the next level? If so, will he hit it off with Hong Jixun?

Deng She thought about it, walked in the courtyard for a long time, the wind was very cold, but he didn't feel the coolness at all, muttered to himself, and said: "Vested Long, look back at Shu." No man is content. ”

He thought: "No matter what the local generals are, Hong Jixun's trouble now needs to be solved as soon as possible." It's just that I don't know when Li Shousheng will be able to send the results of the investigation to me. If Hong Jixun already has power in the Haidong Army, what should he do? Shandong is good to say, he wants to stretch out his hand, so I will beat his hand back. Liu Guo, Liu Guo. Since he specially proposed Liu Guo at the meeting that day, and even compared Liu Guo with Monk Li and Bi Qianniu, and when he talked about merit in the coming day, I will arrange this Liu Guo well. By the way, I can take this opportunity to give him and the civil and military personnel of Shandong a warning.

"......, having said that, now in Yidu, Hong Jixun's power is indeed a little too great. It's all in a league of its own. At tonight's banquet, I asked Hong Jiyin and Li Lan over, and although he agreed, he obviously showed dissatisfaction. This person is too arrogant. Now that Chahan has retreated, it is time to rectify Shandong. Perhaps, it is time to find someone to divide his power? Who should I look for?

"Yan Zhixi? No way. The qualifications are too shallow. Luo Lilang? No, although this person's qualifications are enough, he is too timid and afraid of things and has no responsibility. Ji Zongzhou? No, it doesn't. This man is more than wise, not enough to take on great responsibilities. Huh? No, it doesn't. Although his temperament is becoming more and more serious, his strength is not in government affairs. Ju Sheng, Li Yi, Liu Mingjiang, Guoyongan, Zhang Yu? Neither.

"In Yidu, there is really no one who can compete with Hong Jixun. It seems that the only way to get promoted from other places is to get promoted as soon as possible. But who should be promoted?

"Hong Jixun has qualifications, talents, and ordinary people, and he is insignificant in front of him. Yao Haogu is good, but he is in South Korea, and he is afraid that he will not be able to leave for a while. Deng She stopped in the courtyard, pondered for a moment, and remembered someone, "Wu Henian." ”

Wu Henian has qualifications and talents, although he is sleek, he gives Deng She the feeling that he is a little bit hidden. Naturally, this hidden needle in the cotton is not to hide the needle in Deng Shemian, but to others.

Judging from the situation of his work in the Twin Cities Governor's Mansion and the Provincial Left and Right Divisions, he is still very skillful and a little capable. Especially he was an official in Mengyuan, and he has been up and down in the sea for more than 20 years, he can be described as an old fritter in the officialdom, familiar with the world, and can handle his subordinates.

"It's just that if Wu Henian is transferred to Yidu, who will take over Pyongyang's government affairs?"

Deng She had two choices, either to directly select one person from the provincial left and right divisions, or to directly promote one person from the Korean region, or to select one person from another department or other place.

He thought, "The tree dies, but the man lives." The best policy is the latter. If Wu Henian comes to Yidu, he can't be promoted too high, and he must have a transition first. How to transition? It's better to appoint him as the prefect of Yidu first. As for Yan Zhixi, he simply transferred him to the left and right divisions of the province, still like Wu Henian, and was also in charge of the provincial affairs of North Korea. ”

In doing so, there are two benefits.

First of all, most of the local officials in Shandong were still appointed by Mao Gui and Wang Shicheng. Although for the sake of stability, for the time being, appointments and dismissals cannot be carried out in a drastic manner, but there is no problem with partial adjustments. Deng She had already had a heart and wanted to transfer some of them to Haidong. Yan Zhixi is for his descendants, and transferring Yan Zhixi away first can alleviate the subsequent resistance.

Secondly, Wu Henian has been operating in the provincial left and right divisions, as well as North Korea and other places for a long time, and his influence is not small. If officials are directly promoted from the left and right divisions or the DPRK localities, it is inevitable that they will still be under the control of Wu Henian. Since he decided to transfer Wu Henian to Yidu, Deng She naturally would no longer leave the left and right divisions of the province to him for remote command. And if Yan Zhixi is transferred over, it will naturally be different. He has no roots in the left and right divisions or in Pyongyang, and if he wants to sit firmly in the position, he has to rely on Deng She's support.

Best of both worlds.

As the moon sank in the west, Deng She was still sleepy, and he walked around the courtyard, until he thought about a few things repeatedly and maturely, and then he gave up.

"Two things," he thought. First, give Liu Guo a good place; Second, Yan Zhixi was transferred away and Wu Henian was transferred. With these two countermeasures, coupled with the attitude I showed towards Hong Jiyin and Li Lan at tonight's banquet, as long as Hong Jixun is smart, he will probably know my thoughts.

"......, and the big issue of the various factions in the Haidong Army, and whether Hong Jixun has influence in the Haidong Army, although this matter is important, it cannot be impatient. At the same time, through the temptation of Uncle Wen and Ah Guo, it seems that there is no big problem for the time being. And the war has just passed, and for a while, it is indeed difficult to start, so we can only wait for Li Shousheng's investigation results to be sent, and then think about it in the long run. ”

Looking back, he noticed that the two maids had already frozen their lips blue, and the candle in the lantern had already been replaced. He has always been very sympathetic to his subordinates, and at this time he came up with a solution to Hong Jixun's troubles, and he was in a much better mood, smiled slightly, and said, "I froze you to death." Why don't you say it when it's cold? Let's go back to the house. ”

The two maids fought with their teeth, looking at the direction in which Deng She went, but it was not Mrs. Wang's residence, and one of them plucked up his courage and asked, "Palace, Palace, Your Highness, didn't you go to the lady's room?" ”

"Didn't Tian Feng send me two beauties a few days ago? Said to be a Semu man. I haven't seen it yet. Ah Shui was already asleep, so he didn't bother her. Let's take a look at what kind of beautiful woman she is. ”

When Chahan was there, Tian Feng was at both ends. As soon as Chahan withdrew, he immediately changed his attitude. Especially after Gaotang Prefecture suffered another loss from Chahan, he was even more condescending, and wrote several letters to Deng She one after another. Not long ago, he sent a special envoy to send a big gift. These two women are part of the gift.

Deng She was busy at the time and didn't have time to receive his envoy, so he sent Ji Zongzhou to meet him. Ji Zongzhou came back to report that Tian Feng was nothing more than a gesture of goodwill and hoped to continue the alliance.

In this regard, Yidu has two opinions. One opinion is that in order to take into account the overall situation, it is better to give up the past suspicions and accept Tian Feng's overtures. After all, Tian Feng still has some territory in Dizhou and Hejian Mansion, there are not many military horses, and there are still thousands, so he can resist the pressure from Dadu and Hebei for Yidu.

The other opinion is diametrically opposed, thinking that there is no revenge for the non-gentleman, when Chahan besieged Yidu, since Tian Feng refused to come to help, there was no need to give him a good face. If he is not benevolent, why should Yidu be righteous? It's better to take the opportunity to swallow it up. As for using him as a barrier for Yidu, he is so many, even if he continues to form an alliance with him, what role can he play? What you eat in your mouth is affordable.

Those who support the former view also pointed out that although Tian Feng has few people, he is a native of Shandong, and he is still very influential in the local area, so it cannot be said that he is completely useless. Moreover, in the end, he and Haidong are both Anfeng's courtiers, if he is really annexed and spread out, the impact will not be good.

Those who support the latter opinion do not think so, Monk Li is the main force supporting this faction's opinion, he is open-mouthed, he didn't say anything at the time, but he said to Deng She in private, Tian Feng is An Feng's courtier, isn't Wang Shicheng?

Although it is said that the reason why I, Haidong, got rid of Wang Shicheng, was because he held Xiao Mao Pingzhang hostage with self-respect, he was unobedient and disloyal, and I Haidong responded to Xiao Mao Pingzhang's request. However, when Chahan attacked, Tian Feng sat back and couldn't save him, didn't he have the suspicion of waiting and watching to join the enemy? Grasping this statement, it is expected that even if he is done, An Feng will have nothing to say. How can a big husband look forward and look backwards?

Moreover, if Dizhou and Hejian Mansion are captured, Yidu's defense line can be pushed forward by one or two hundred miles. The most important thing is that since then, there has been no second one in Shandong, and Haidong has a good name and can concentrate on dealing with Chahan. Why not?

Both of these opinions are valid. Dunsher was in no hurry to make a decision.

What he considered was not only simple tactics, but also an overall strategic layout. The significance of Dizhou and Hejian Mansion is not that if they are captured, they can push the Yidu defense line forward by one or two hundred miles, and they can concentrate on dealing with Chahan. After defeating Chahan, if Tian Feng is eliminated again, what kind of impact will it have on Dadu, Chahan, Polo, Anfeng, and Jiangnan Qunxiong?

Will it make Yuan Ting feel that Haidong is too sharp? Will it make Chahan and Polo feel that although Haidong has been through a fierce battle, his vitality has not been damaged, so it will put pressure on them? What are the consequences if you stress them?

Will it make An Feng feel that Haidong is too rebellious? Of course, Anfeng has nothing to do with Haidong, but if King Xiao Ming can't bear it anymore and directly reprimands Haidong, will Haidong's reputation not be good?

Although Deng She never had the idea of surrendering to An Feng, Haidong was not yet ready to stand on his own. Zhu Yuanzhang has developed well in Jinling, but isn't he still respectfully serving King Xiaoming as his lord? Haidong's situation is similar to Zhu Yuanzhang's, it seems to be powerful, but in fact it is full of dangers.

As the saying goes, "It's good to enjoy the shade under a big tree." "Although the strength of King Xiao Ming and Liu Futong is no longer a big tree, under their banner, at least they can reduce some pressure and increase their momentum. You must know that Liu Futong's three-way Northern Expedition has only passed not long ago, thinking that back then, hundreds of thousands of Song troops marched in multiple ways, one person called, and millions of people responded, rolling half of the northern country, how powerful it was! He is still not low in the Northland Folk Sect, the White Lotus Sect, and the Red Turban Army.

These need to be carefully considered.

Deng She thought in his heart: "After repelling Chahan, it can be regarded as a little stable on the outside. Wait until Hong Jixun's trouble is solved, and the interior will be stabilized. Then, let's think about Tian Feng's matter. While thinking, he came to the courtyard where the two beautiful women lived.