To be able to have a place at the banquet in the house, in addition to the identity, basically all of them are old fritters, so many people are together, and they all want to ease the atmosphere, this atmosphere is not low, at least on the surface it looks very lively, but also very friendly.

Even, at the banquet, Li Jing and Ma Hongji directly called each other brothers.

In the end, if it wasn't for Old Man Zhang to stop them, they would have to bow down.

However, after being full of wine and food, Li Jing and Ma Hongji had a secret conversation.

No one knows the content of the secret talks, but after the negotiations, both sides came out with smiling faces, and it can be seen that the secret talks went smoothly and were very friendly.

However, Old Man Zhang frowned slightly, because he found that although Ma Hongji smiled brightly like a flower, his left thumb was always stroking the jade wrench on his ring finger - my old man Zhang's understanding of Ma Hongji, Ma Hongji has a particularly bad habit: once he has a puzzle in his heart, he likes to touch the jade wrench on his left ring finger.

Subsequently, Li Jing and others said goodbye, and Ma Hongji personally sent Li Jing and others to the gate, and specially asked the old housekeeper to lead Li Jing and others.

With a smile all the time, seeing Li Jing and the others disappear around the corner, Ma Hongji turned around and went back.

"Xiao Ji, how are you talking?"

"It's good. ”

Old man Zhang really took Ma Hongji as his own son, and when he heard this, he thought that Ma Hongji was unwilling to tell him, so he immediately glared: "What, don't believe me as an old man?"

"Daddy, it's not what you think, it's really good. After Ma Hongji hurriedly explained, he helped Old Man Zhang and said as he walked inside: "However, the child does have a big confusion in his heart, and I would like to ask Daddy for guidance...... Daddy, let's go to the study. ”

Old Man Zhang nodded with satisfaction.

In the house, there are three people, Mr. Zhang, father and son, and Ma Hongji.

After Ma Hongji personally served tea to Mr. Zhang, he also picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, and after putting down the teacup, he said to Mr. Zhang with a straight face: "Daddy, I talked with Li Jing about four points. ”

"First, they're going to stay here for a while, probably after the assault group drives the little devils away, they'll leave. I don't think it's anything about this, and besides, in this chaotic world, having an army by your side can also make everyone feel at ease, so the child agreed. Daddy, am I doing the right thing?"

"Yes! ”

"The second point is that they demand that the defense on the top of the back mountain be handed over to them. I pondered that we might be able to defend the back mountain by fighting bandits and other rogues, but if we want to deal with the little devils, it is estimated that with this little man in our village, I am afraid that we will not be able to hold it, so it is better to hand it over to them directly. One can use their power to protect us, and they can also show that we are honest, so I agreed. ”

Majiapo Village is flat on three sides, and it is a barrier on the back mountain. Moreover, the height of the back mountain is only about 160 meters, which is definitely within the range of fire control for firearms...... To put it bluntly, no matter who it is, as long as it controls the top of the back mountain, it is equivalent to mastering the commanding heights, which can form a huge threat to the surroundings. In other words, as long as the back mountain is defended, no matter where the little devil attacks Majiapo Village from, it will be useless.

Majiapo Village is naturally clear about this, therefore, for many years, it has been constantly strengthening the defense of the back mountain, especially the construction of permanent fortifications, and three fortifications have been formed on the back mountain, and people have been stationed for a long time.

At that time, the main reason why Li Jing attacked Majiapo Village three times, and the first two failures was because he could not break through the defense of the mountain behind Majiapo Village. The last time it was also not breached, but it sent a group of men and horses to attack the rear of the back mountain to contain the garrison of the back mountain, so that it could be regarded as barely attacking the village. And in the end, seeing that they were about to win the road, the reason why they were driven out of the village at once was also because the men and horses attacking the back mountain were repulsed, causing the defense force of the back mountain to turn around and shoot them condescendingly, coupled with the united counterattack of the villagers, they were forced to withdraw from the village immediately, otherwise, it would be a massacre.

This shows the importance of the defense of the mountain behind Majiapo Village.

That is, in the past six months, because the Eighth Route Army Assault Regiment controlled the three surrounding counties, after forming a confrontation with the little devils in Baoyuan County, they freed their hands to specially clean up the bandits and rogues in these three counties, which greatly improved the environment of the three counties, and the bandits and rogues became extinct, so that Majiapo Village's defense of the back mountain was relaxed...... Today, if it weren't for Zhang Jinlong taking the lead, if it weren't for the old man's face where he was, Li Jing and the others would not have been able to go up the mountain so smoothly.

Old Man Zhang thought about it and nodded.

"Also, they handed over the defense around us to them, so that they could agree to arrange patrols, and I agreed, for the same reason as the second point, anyway, our strength is not as big as theirs, so it is better to settle down easily. ”

Old Man Zhang pondered for a moment and asked: "I think they are just this little bit of a man, they can really defend the periphery? Why don't you concentrate a little bit to defend the back mountain? In that case, if they are condescending and join forces with us, in this way, as long as the back mountain is saved, even if the little devil wants to attack our village, he will definitely suffer a big loss." ”

"Daddy, don't you know yet, do you? Li Jing and the two hundred people are just taking the lead, and then they will gather the militia elites of the three counties to our Sanqiao County to jointly help the assault group to assist in defense, and the most important thing is to deal with the little devils who slaughter villages around the county. Ma Hongji smiled bitterly and said, "By the way, Daddy, on the way here, Li Jing mentioned to me about temporary land acquisition...... Li Jing and they planned to take our Majiapo Village as the central point, sit in the center, command thousands of militia, and put on a big formation to round up those little devils who dared to harm the village. And there are 1,000 militiamen stationed in our Majiapo Village alone, plus these more than 200 people, they really have to fight with the little devils. ”

At this moment, even Old Man Zhang was shocked: "There are really so many people?"

"Daddy, think about it, this assault regiment's early propaganda caused the villagers to move away, most of them were old and weak, women and children, and most of the people who stayed were young and strong men, how could there be tens of thousands of people. In addition to the necessary defensive manpower in the other two counties, I am afraid that the elite militia that can be transferred will not be less than this at the minimum. ”

As he spoke, Ma Hongji spread out a slap.

"Oh my God!" Zhang Jinlong, who had been listening silently on the side, couldn't help but exclaim, and said: "In this way, this Li Jing is really a shotgun for a cannon—it's not what it used to be! In just half a year, he has gone from two or three hundred men and horses to being able to command more than 5,000 soldiers and horses?"

"This is still the least I estimate, and it is definitely only a lot more, because the commander of the assault regiment, Zhang, gave him an order to fight this battle at all costs, and to ensure the safety of the lives and property of all the people, for this reason, he was specially appointed as the commander-in-chief of the militia of the three counties, and the militia of the three counties were all under his command. ”

Speaking of this, Ma Hongji sighed with some emotion and said, "Don't say five thousand, I believe in twenty or thirty thousand horses." ”

"It's not surprising. Old man Zhang figured it out and sighed: "In the past six months, the assault regiment has done a lot of good things for the people, not to mention anything else, just the suppression of bandits has won the support of the people, and naturally won the strong support of the people." Now, the commando group and the little devils are fighting to the death in Sanqiao County, also to protect the safety of this side, and the people naturally support it enthusiastically...... Hey~!This is the general trend, so, Xiaoji, this is also the fundamental reason why I want you to take a long-term view. ”

Ma Hongji immediately stood up, saluted Old Man Zhang, and said, "Thank you Daddy for your advice." ”

"What are we father and son doing so politely, let's talk about the third point. ”

"Yes!" Ma Hongji sat down and continued, "Third, they want to mobilize the villagers, saying that it is to unite everyone to kill the devil together. I didn't agree with this, but I agreed to try to help them resolve their grievances with the villagers. He was still a little unhappy, and in the end, I had to promise him that I could only start something about fighting devils, and nothing else could be involved. ”

"Well, it's right!" Old Man Zhang nodded happily and said, "Although we support them in fighting devils, after all, this is also beneficial to us, and the two sides have the same goal." However, I have heard that there is a division of land in their policy, and this point is not to be dealt with by us. Therefore, I estimate that when the little devils are defeated, we will not cooperate so happily with them again. ”

This is a class antagonism, a natural position that does not deal with each other, there is nothing to say.

"Anything else?"

"It's gone. ”

"Then why do you still have a puzzled face?"

"It's not. Daddy, do you think that this Li Jing used to be a big bandit, talking and doing things, how could he not try his best to benefit himself? However, now the conditions he proposed are actually beneficial to us, don't you think it's strange?"

Seeing that Old Man Zhang frowned and pondered, Ma Hongji immediately added: "For example, I feel a little uncomfortable, and I think that I have to pay a sum of money to reward the army anyway, rather than waiting for them to say it, it is better for me to do it first, which is good for everyone." So, I offered to donate some money to them, but he didn't want it. At my insistence, he said that he would sell them some grain at the market price...... Daddy, this Li Jing's personality has changed too much, it's like a different person. It makes me wonder if this is another person dressed up as Li Jing. ”

"Didn't he say why not?"

"Having said that, he also gave me one by one what the three major disciplines and eight points of attention should be paid attention to, and he also told me that he would not take a stitch from the masses, and if he dared to violate this, he would be imprisoned at least and shot at worst. I was embarrassed. ”

Old Man Zhang thought about it, sighed, and said, "Perhaps, this is why the Eighth Route Army can get strong support from the people. ”

When the other two heard this, they were also full of emotion in their hearts.

For a while, the three of them were out of business. It was Zhang Jinlong who took the initiative to ask a few questions, and he barely resolved this little embarrassment.

Then, everyone talked about the situation in Mr. Zhang's village and other things...... are all waiting for the old butler to come back.

"Knock! knock!"

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in. ”

After the housekeeper entered the door, he first bowed to Mrs. Zhang, and then saluted Ma Hongji and Zhang Jinlong: "I've seen the old lady, the old man, the third master." ”

"Alright, old butler, you are not an outsider, so you don't need to be so polite. Sit down!"

The old butler thanked him, but he did not dare to sit down.

Ma Hongji asked lightly, "How are you observing?"

"Back to the master's words, I basically saw it clearly. ”

"Tell me!"

"Yes!" replied, but the old butler's face was a little strange......