In late April, the rain falls intermittently, which means the rainy season...or to be more precise...the Jianghuai region will routinely enter the rainy season again, and it should spread rapidly to the north, making the Jishui Basin also rainy at this point in May.

On time it started to rain continuously.

During the slight pause in the rain, Niu Da, the leader of the Deposed Dragon Gang who was firmly ranked among the top four in the Western Front camp, led his troops into Dang County. After settling his subordinates for a while, he hurried to look for Zhang Dalongtou, who was in charge of the city, and found him.

At the time, the other party was looking at his head with his head tilted.

It's the human brain.

There are hundreds of them, some are fresh and bloodshot, and some are white, black, and blue that have been washed away by the rain. They are piled together, and their hair is knotted with mud and blood stains, which makes them look particularly visually impactful.

But there is no way, this is military merit.

During the battle that evening, Zhang Dalongtou personally shouted that everyone under his banner shared honor and disgrace. At least there was no need to make unnecessary distinctions. However, in subsequent battles and pursuits, military merit would inevitably be determined by their heads... And these people from the Eastern Region

The powerful, descendants of the military aristocrats of the former Eastern Qi Dynasty were naturally expert at these things, but Zhang Xing seemed to be out of touch with the masses.

"If you save a certain level of head, you will definitely be promoted?"

After watching for a while with his hands behind his hands, Zhang Xing suddenly turned around and asked Niu Da behind him. His mental state was surprisingly good.

"right."

Niuda, who was already a little cautious, immediately responded. "Cultivation is just an underwater rule, but the military merit of the head cannot be changed."

"This is natural." Zhang Xing also suddenly realized. "The head is the goal, and the cultivation is the means... so the former is an iron rule, and the latter is a water rule."

Niu Da responded repeatedly, but glanced at the other person again. He really felt that the big dragon head in front of him had become much more energetic after not seeing him these days.

Of course, Niu Da is ignorant. People like Wei Taoist, Jia Yue, Yan Qing, and Zhang Jinshu are really knowledgeable and know what it means to be radiant overnight. They almost thought it was someone applying wax to prevent mold in the rainy season.

.

"Xu Dalang wanted to collect Ma Hu's surrendered troops. Last night, he blocked hundreds of surrendered troops in a small village. There were almost two thousand surrendered troops. There were more than expected." The heads were still being counted over there, Zhang

Xing lowered his head and said directly, "Do you want some surrender troops?"

Niu Da hesitated to speak, but his eyes only lingered on the pile of heads over there and on Wei Xuanding, who was filling out some form with a face full of impatience.

This meaning is very clear, he really wants it, but it is obvious that he has followed this wave of war from beginning to end. Not to mention military achievements, he has not even touched a hair, so the superficial spoils are not bad.

He couldn't even get this kind of actual high-level trophy.

If you take it, who will be convinced?

"It doesn't matter."

Zhang Xing immediately understood and continued to lower his head to explain. "Those white knights and I are the first to win this battle. As long as I come forward and say hell, Xu Dalang can't get over me and monopolize it... and I am opposed to this matter."

, but Xu Dalang wanted these elites so much that he reluctantly said it, and I didn't want them, but couldn't stop them, so I might as well accept them in my name and put them at your place for use, or at least put them in Chanyuan.

Make preparations for Hebei."

Niuda took a deep breath and thought for a moment. After all, he couldn't resist the temptation of the warriors from Dongdu and the Guanxi garrison, so he nodded heavily.

"Then assist Duke Wei in checking the head for me!"

Zhang Xing didn't say much when he saw this, he just patted the other party on the shoulder. "Watch out for anyone who kills good people and takes credit for their merits. You are better at this than me. If you encounter someone, just chop him off and replace his head with his own..."

After finishing the order, I buried it quickly to prevent the plague from spreading."

After saying that, he immediately left with his hands behind his back, leaving only Niu Da, Wei Xuanding and a bunch of heads, as well as blood all over the ground, and a large group of deposed dragon sergeants carrying their heads waiting for inspection.

After Zhang Xing left, he did not return to his residence. Instead, he took advantage of the rain to go to the city for a short inspection.

Dangxian County is not a big county. It has changed hands four times in a short period of time. Each time, the army swarmed in. The first time the army entered, they even let go of looting. So when Zhang Xing first arrived that day, he felt that the place was lifeless.

.

But I don’t know if I’m in good spirits and can see everything. Now I’m walking casually, but I feel that there seems to be some life again in the humid weather. Some houses are being repaired, and there are small smoke smokes independent of the military garrison.

It started to appear... When I walked to a slightly off-road intersection, there was even a rice shop with its door open and a sign hanging, and there were a few shivering women and children queuing up to buy rice.

Zhang Xing was rarely surprised and walked in.

After entering, I found that the store owner actually recognized me. He was a local merchant from Jiyin. There was a brother who was the protector of the gang and one of the previous white knights... This store was originally the property of his own clan. Others

He was afraid of deposing the dragon army and worried about another round of plunder. He knew in his heart that he was not afraid of it. Instead, he smelled a business opportunity and came directly to open a store.

Zhang Xing asked about the source of the food and found out that they had some brains. He searched for old connections in Chuqiu and Yucheng, and found two familiar large households. He promised to start from Jiyin, exchange big buckets for small buckets, and then directly

The grain from Yucheng was transported here and sold at a higher price. The price was about three times the market price in Jiyin.

Moreover, all the items sold are old rice and semolina that are difficult to preserve anymore.

But there is nothing to say... When the food that the Dragon Army is preparing to provide some relief has not yet arrived, this is the so-called valley of famine. It doesn't matter if the life-saving food is a little more expensive, as long as it is edible.

It can only be said that the committee was thorough and comprehensive, and Zhang Xing could only encourage him.

After I came out, I felt even more emotional: People's livelihood is really like water. As long as the top maintains a fair stance and basic order, the bottom can adjust itself.

Of course, this is only when the water is shallow. When the water is shallow, the water is filled in holes. When the water is deep, all kinds of problems will appear... But at this time, I can actually think of the time when the water is deep.

, it can only be said that Zhang Sanye was used to doing politics before time travel, and he was stunned.

Going further, Zhang Xingfu went into the streets and alleys to check the smoke, check how many houses were vacant, eavesdropped on the conversations behind closed doors, and even just looked at whether the alleys were passable. He waited until the rain fell again, and then he stopped.

The hand got out and returned to the street.

By this time, someone had been looking for him for a long time.

"Eunuch Wang is here." Zhang Jinshu panted heavily and reported.

"It came very quickly." Zhang Xing sighed, neither happy nor angry. "I think I have made a decision... I just don't know whether it is good or bad?"

"It should be bad." Zhang Jinshu couldn't wait to add. "The prince only brought seven or eight horses over. It doesn't look like he wants to take over the place."

Zhang Xing glanced at the other party, did not say a word, but went directly to his residence and the county government where the head examination was conducted. Zhang Jinshu shrank his neck and quickly shut up to follow... When he arrived there, he saw Wang Eunuch.

He and seven or eight tall and heavy white-faced knights without beards stood outside in the drizzle, looking at the heads in trance. It was not until Zhang Dalongtou came up that he came back to his senses and saluted.

When the two parties met, Zhang Xing didn't say much and just got straight to the point in the rain: "Dang County will give it back to you, do you want it?"

The prince was silent for a while, and then answered word by word: "If the Deposed Dragon Gang stops at the Yucheng line, or even at the Chuqiu line, we can come back, but if it retreats to the Zhouqiao line, or even at the Jishui line,

How dare we come back to Jiyin City? Five thousand people can't hold it back, and if Han Yingong comes over, it will only make us more embarrassed."

This is the place where military merit points are calculated, and the county government is behind it. Taoist Wei and Niu Da preside over it here. Many other leaders, gang members, sergeants, and officials are all here, and they have come to eavesdrop long ago... At this time, I heard that

If you have to speak, whisper more and laugh in a low voice.

Although these people did not dare to speak loudly because of Zhang Xing's increasing authority, they could still understand what they were saying.

Zhang Xing thought for a while and responded seriously: "If you are willing to take it down, we will merge with the Meng rebel army, advance to the Chuqiu line, and use the Bianshui River as the defense line... Of course, it is only the primary line of defense. If Han Yin Gong really comes,

, it’s enough if you can delay a little bit... Correspondingly, I don’t want you to do too much and use all kinds of methods. As long as you can divide his troops and delay his time, it will be worthy of the conscience of heaven and earth."

"In that case, we are willing to take over these two counties, but we can only take down Dang County and Xiayi. If there are too many, we don't have the strength." Wang Gonggong felt relieved, but after a pause, he asked again, "What about Yucheng?

Woolen cloth?"

"How about handing it over to the government?" Zhang Xingyi said sincerely. "Please ask Governor Cao to send troops and drive us to Chuqiu. At the same time, we can recapture Yucheng and separate our two families. This way you can talk to Han Yingong."

Eunuch Wang was startled for a moment, and then he realized that this was the benefit of Eunuch Beiya. This kind of thing could be revealed at once.

"In that case, let's arrange it this way." Zhang Xing sighed and made a decision.

This was of course a very perfunctory arrangement, but Meng Shanggong died in a hurry, the Meng family collapsed too quickly, and the situation changed three times a day. It would be ridiculous to expect any proper arrangements to be made at this time.

At this time, it is better to be fast rather than slow, and to be simple rather than complicated.

"Then I'll go back and prepare to send someone to pick him up?" Wang Gonggong didn't waste any time and was about to leave.

Zhang Xing nodded, waved again, letting the other party come closer, and then responded in a low voice: "Han Yingong is negotiating with Uncle Cao. This may be a good thing, but it may also be a bad thing. You have to be aware of it."

The prince understood immediately and left.

Zhang Xing stood there, watching the other party leave in the rain. Next to him, Zhang Jinshu was already gearing up. It was obvious that he had thoughts on annexing the Meng family.

However, as soon as the people over there left, Zhang Xing suddenly turned back and asked an unexpected question: "Isn't Yan Qing back yet?"

Zhang Jinshu immediately shook his head.

Zhang Xing thought for a while and finally sighed.

Obviously, an improvement in his mental state cannot lead to an immediate improvement in the real situation. The things that made him anxious before, as well as the problems that he has to face, will not be less. The troops withdrew immediately. He hoped to see Wang Zhen once before leaving, and Xiao

Zhou is away, so Yan Qing is the best candidate to go to Mangdang Mountain.

Not only that, Ma Ping'er and Wang Xiongdan, the guest generals who performed well in this battle, also followed Xu Shiying south to pursue them, because further ahead was the territory of the Huaiyou League.

At the same time, Bai Yousi also left early in the morning without even showing her face... It was not that she was asked to go to Xuzhou to monitor Sima Zheng's conspiracy, but that she hoped that she could help Xiao Zhou come out.

After all, although no one can clearly see the specific changes in the situation, the concept of military conflict, and large-scale military conflict is still increasing, and the plan to defend Jiyin City has not fundamentally changed, and the more times like this

, Zhang Xingyue needs a reliable and capable confidant like Zhou Xingfan by his side.

Thinking like this, Zhang Xing finally looked at Zhang Jinshu, who was full of expectations.

He actually wanted to hit the head of the military spy who was becoming more and more impatient recently, but since the matter was here, he didn't have the time to deal with these things, so he directly arranged the task and asked the other party to obtain it from Songcheng, the governor of Liang County.

Get in touch and be prepared to retreat.

Then, this busy leader returned to the backyard of the county government office alone.
To be continued...