Qingzhou, Lingshui County.

In the county government of Lingshui County, Xiao Jiu listened to the report of the cavalry battalion soldiers returning from Yuzhou with a blank face, and everyone else around him invariably showed excited expressions.

The advance army to Yuzhou has successfully taken Yangcheng County, and they no longer have to be trapped in the small square inch of Lingshui County.

On that day, the rebel army in Yangcheng County went out of the city under the leadership of Hu Biao to attack the new army, and the leader Hu Biao was directly killed by the explosives buried in advance.

Later, more than 20,000 rebels were crushed by the new army led by Kaneko, and when they besieged the county town, they received a request for surrender from the defenders of the castle before they even attacked.

Things went very smoothly, and after that, I just waited for Xiao Jiu to send people over and settle the people of Yangcheng County.

Although the county town was defeated, Xiao Jiu did not take it lightly, the reason why the new army was able to defeat the Yangcheng County rebel army was that the most important thing was that the entire Yuzhou was now in a food crisis.

If there is not enough food to fill the stomachs of the people of Yangcheng County in the future, even if Yangcheng County has been occupied, it will not be able to last long after all.

The news that Yangcheng County was occupied by Qingzhou soldiers spread far and wide, and the Shenhuo Sect rebel army in Yuzhou naturally got the news.

In addition, Jinzi, who captured the county town, also accidentally captured a batch of rebel army rations, and the escort was indeed a merchant who claimed to be a treasure jade money village.

……

Yuzhou City.

In the city lord's mansion of Yuzhou City, many rebel leaders gathered in the back hall, but the atmosphere of the scene revealed a strange quiet.

Finally, Gu Chong, the high priest of the Vulcan Sect, who was still sitting on the throne, broke the peace with a hoarse voice.

"Yangcheng is lost, and those soldiers below are going to be in chaos."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present lowered their heads in embarrassment, for fear that the high priest would let them lead the soldiers and horses of their headquarters to Yangcheng County to harden the Qingzhou soldiers.

Seeing that the scene was still as silent as death, Gu Chong shook his head helplessly and sighed.

"That's it."

Seeing that all the leaders of the rebel army in the house were huddled in the corner like quails, Gu Chong only felt a sense of powerlessness hit his heart.

According to reports from the front, there were not many soldiers and horses attacking Yangcheng County in Lingshui County, Qingzhou, and more militia were gathered from the local people.

Gu Chong couldn't understand why the people of Yuzhou, who had firmly supported the rebel army a few days ago, would turn against the defenders of Yangcheng County and deal a counterattack.

It wasn't until I heard that my subordinates reported that the cavalry battalion of Lingshui County had transported a large amount of grain from Qingzhou and distributed it to the people of Yangcheng County that it dawned on me.

From the words of his subordinates, Gu Chong realized that Xiao Jiu, the county commander of Lingshui County, was not as good as the officials he knew before.

He knew the foundation and weakness of the rebel army, and he was willing to give up his own interests to others, which was a terrible enemy.

What Gu Chong couldn't accept the most was that the Yangcheng County Guards hoarded all the food they supported to the other party as military rations in the city.

And the merchant who was in charge of delivering grain from Baoyu Qian Zhuang didn't know whether he was alive or dead at this time, which made Gu Chong deeply worried in his heart.

Faced with the predicament of Yuzhou, Gu Chong chose to cooperate with Baoyu Qianzhuang, who had secretly contacted the rebel army before.

Gu Chong is considered to be the initiator of the most senior group of the Shenhuo Sect, and he is even more indispensable in the Yuzhou Rebel Army, but he has always maintained an estranged attitude towards this mysterious Baoyu Qianzhuang.

Although the entire rebel army in the northern part of Great Xia would kill corrupt officials and rob local landlords and wealthy families in the course of the uprising, these members of Baoyu Qian Zhuang were not affected.

The reason for this is that the members of these Baoyu Qian Zhuang are not only local large landowners, but also a large number of members from a large family who control the local bureaucracy and cultural system, just like the scholar clan that existed in Xiao Jiu's previous life, but they are not exactly the same.

Now that the imperial court has lost its grip on the localities, the original system of government is no longer suitable for today's situation.

The situation becomes more and more delicate when the big officials of the court or the state capital squeeze them like ATMs.

On the one hand, these families were false to the imperial court, and on the other hand, they secretly supported the local peasant army uprising and caused trouble.

When the situation was completely stirred into a muddy water, these families, who had a lot of money and food in their hands, changed from fish on the chopping board to knife-wielding.

Now that Yangcheng County is easily taken by the cavalry battalion belonging to Xiao Jiu's subordinates, it will not only cause riots in the rebel army in Yuzhou, but also those families in Baoyu Qianzhuang will also consider whether the rebel army in Yuzhou still has the value of investment.

A civil organization like the Shenhuo Sect can rise up, but the fundamental reason is the support of these local nobles, and the rebel army is more like a sword from Baoyu Qianzhuang against the imperial court.

If a knife is no longer sharp, will it still have the value of continuing to be used? The outcome is bound to be negative.

In addition, there is also a crucial point that Gu Chong is not sure whether Xiao Jiu from Lingshui County is from those families in Qingzhou.

The rebel army was able to sweep Yuzhou like a spark before, and part of the reason was that those families in Qingzhou wanted to take advantage of the famine year to extend their hands to Yuzhou.

And the local Haoqiang in Yuzhou is naturally unwilling to hand over the interests in their hands to others, and the rebel army is able to stand up straight and have enough money and food to recruit troops and horses in this situation.

The Mr. Zhao that Gu Chong had visited in Yuzhou City before was a representative of the wealthy family in Yuzhou, and Gu Chong's behavior of borrowing grain from the other party would naturally cause dissatisfaction in Qingzhou.

Therefore, Gu Chong didn't dare to act rashly, and now he could only let Xiao Jiu take it to Yangcheng County to gradually grow, but it was a pity that those grains were lost.

Everything is like a coincidence from heaven, and at this time, the rebel army in Yuzhou City can only scold the incompetence and greed of Hu Biao, the defender of Yangcheng County.

……

Qingzhou, Lingshui County.

Xiao Jiu stared at the young man dressed as a Confucian in front of him, and frowned slightly.

On the other hand, although the Confucian student opposite Xiao Jiu was stared at by a group of people, he seemed a little calm and relaxed at this time.

"Since Lord Xiao is not the blade in the hands of those people in Qingzhou, why should he fight to the death with Yuzhou? The ideal of the Tao of the dead lips and cold teeth must be understood by adults in their hearts. ”

Listening to the frivolous tone of the young man in front of him, the generals in the army present couldn't help but want to step forward and slap him with two big mouths, but seeing that Xiao Jiu, who was expressionless, was still pondering in place, he could only hold down his excited hand.

In the end, Xiao Jiu dismissed everyone and arranged the arrogant Confucian student to a side room in the county office, leaving only Zhou Jin, Zhang Ben, and Lao Ma to discuss.

"What do you think?"

Listening to Xiao Jiu's deep question, Zhang Ben and Lao Ma were still silent, and at this time, only Zhou Jin stepped forward to express his opinion.

"Although this Confucian is arrogant, it is not unreasonable."

Xiao Jiu didn't answer when he heard this, he still looked frowning and contemplative.

Just now he learned from the Confucian scholar that there were some dirty things in Yuzhou and Qingzhou, although the two belonged to the same organization called Baoyu Qianzhuang, but with the continuous chaos in the world, factions also arose from it, and gradually evolved into infighting.

Even the deaths of Jizhou Governor Xia Cheng and Yuzhou Governor Meng Qinghao have the shadow of these families.

Prior to this, Xiao Jiu had never imagined that there would be such a large organization controlling the coups and wars of the Great Xia Dynasty and not being known to the public.

As for the root cause of the infighting in Baoyu Qianzhuang, Xiao Jiu can also understand that when the control of the imperial court is sufficient, the local wealthy families scattered everywhere will also unite to deal with the exploitation of the imperial court.

But when the world is changing greatly and the situation is turbulent, as the loose alliance of Baoyu Qianzhuang continues to grow, these wealthy families within it also begin to have gaps.

The question now in front of Xiao Jiu is whether to cooperate with the rebel army in Yuzhou or the families behind it.

Xiao Jiu had a feeling in his heart that the reason why Lu Yaoliang of Qingzhou dared to disobey the will of the imperial court repeatedly was very likely to be supported by those scholar groups in Qingzhou.

At this time, cooperating with Yuzhou, Xiao Jiu also had the capital to compete with Lu Yaoliang.

However, if this is the case, it is obvious that it will deviate from its original intention and will no longer receive the support of the imperial court.

And Xiao Jiu really can't have a good impression of this group of families who like to poke and poke behind their backs and engage in some ghost tricks.

However, the rejection of direct and righteous words will be subject to pressure from both Qingzhou and Yuzhou.

Although Xiao Jiu already has a Yangcheng County now, it is really difficult for him to contend with the power of the two states.

"How to choose?"

Xiao Jiu fell into a deep hesitation, although Zhou Jin supported Xiao Jiu's cooperation with Yuzhou, but he also knew that once the two sides reached a consensus, they would inevitably be restrained.

So Zhou Jin simply didn't say anything more, and stood aside with his hands tied to the side to be the door god.

Everyone discussed every word of the matter until the night, and Xiao Jiu could only temporarily put the scholar under house arrest and wait until a decision was made.

For today's plan, the most important thing is to digest the Yangcheng County that has just been obtained from Yuzhou.

For Yangcheng County, Xiao Jiu directly copied the land reform policy in Lingshui County and began to directly distribute land to the local people.

Unlike Lingshui County, Yuzhou is short of grain in a large area, and in the process of land reform, it has to rely on the grain delivered by Lingshui County to survive.

After surviving this Spring Festival, the people of Yangcheng County will naturally support Xiao Jiu's Lingshui regime.

At that time, Xiao Jiu's prestige will be in full swing, and he will officially become the fourth force in the north after Qingzhou, Yuzhou and Jizhou.

Xiao Jiu has gone from a mountain bandit leader to the present, relying not on resourcefulness and bravery, but on his advanced strategic vision.

Although everyone understands this truth, it is very few who really remember it in their hearts and put it into practice.

Just when Xiao Jiu was preparing to show his strength in Yangcheng County, the long-forgotten former Lingshui County Lieutenant Daniel Zhang quietly came to Lingshui County with a handwritten letter.

"Why did the Wen County Shou help me?"

Xiao Jiu looked at Daniel Zhang, who was a little restrained in front of him, and was a little undecided, not sure if it was Qingzhou Lu Yaoliang's scheme.

But Daniel Zhang responded in a low voice at this time: "My brother-in-law was assassinated, and it is very likely that the assassin was sent by Lu Dufu." ”