stubborn thief

Chapter 532 Locust plague
Zhang Xianzhong.

Minister of Rites.

These two things, Liu Chengzong instinctively felt that they belonged to antonyms in his mind.

Even if Chengyun nominated Wei Qian'er, who had an extremely bad mouth, to be the head of the Grand Marshal's Mansion, Liu Chengzong felt that he was more reliable than Zhang Xianzhong.

But after thinking about it carefully, Zhang Xianzhong can manage the five or six thousand ferocious eaters, drinkers, and marchers in Xiying in an orderly manner. A mere head of the yamen who manages schools, sacrifices, vassals, and death and injury may even be a bit murderous. The chicken is overkill.

Liu Chengzong thinks that under the current situation, it is very suitable for Zhang Xianzhong to accept this official position, because he has to find people like Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and He Yilong to have a chat.

Back in Lanzhou, Liu Shizi told Zhang Xianzhong this idea, and Lao Zhang seemed a little awkward.

Zhang Xianzhong thought that he knew Liu Chengzong very well before, but now, he is a little confused about why Liu Chengzong's brain has grown... Let us be the minister of the Ministry of Rites, what do you think?
The reason why he thinks he understands is that Zhang Xianzhong fully understands the meaning of Liu Chengzong's personnel arrangements since he was demoted to the Marshal's Mansion.

He has also recruited other little brothers, and recruited a group of people. What is he most worried about?It is because they are afraid that the people below will be disobedient and they will not be of one mind with themselves.

so what should I do now?
First pull a group, then hold a few more, and finally catch a person and step on it to death.

Those who pull are willing to be obedient. When people surrender, the benefits are given first, and the general benefits are all given. There are those who are grateful and some who are not grateful within the group.

The leaders of Xiying were all promoted to one or even two ranks, and the soldiers were all paid, food and clothes, just to pull.

What is praised is those who are capable but vacillating. In an army, capable people are generals and small leaders like Liu Tichun, Bai Wenxuan, and Feng Shuangli. There is no need to distinguish who is capable and who is not.

They are different from the official army. At this time, the Ming army is full of generals. Of course, those people are very capable, but their communication skills account for a large part of their overall strength; This kind of small group of rebels who failed to establish a government, and those who can become small leaders are all desperadoes, and they can't survive now if they don't have the ability.

Zhang Xianzhong knew that these people would be sent by Liu Chengzong to do some seemingly difficult but actually very simple tasks in the future.

For example, Feng Shuangli was sent to Wusi Tibet, and Bai Wenxuan was sent to Mobei.

It is indeed difficult to advance into Uzang, but the difficulty lies not in fighting but in marching. How the army gets to Uzang is a problem, and how to fight when they arrive in Uzang is not a problem at all. Zhang Xianzhong said sincerely: Don’t talk about those small fortresses of chieftains, Feng Shuangli That donkey ball followed Laozi to break through cities and plunder counties. As long as soldiers are at the bottom of the city, fighting is nothing at all.

The shepherd boy Bai Wenxuan ran to Mobei. It sounds scary, but it's the same situation. He still has Yang Qi and his gang on his head. It's their fault that they lost. No wonder Bai Wenxuan brought 500 people there. Wenxuan, even if he lost the battle, as long as he could bring his troops back, it would be an inevitable compliment.

As for stepping on, Zhang Xianzhong knew very well that he, the leader with great prestige in Xiying, didn't have to do anything, just sit on the bench.

When one of the former old subordinates does a job, they will do a damn good job. Others can only be a general at his side, but he will become a general with Liu Chengzong, and the prestige of his old boss will come down.

They are all army leaders who kill Yingye, who can be a good man and a faithful woman, as long as you Liu Chengzong has an idea, our eighth king is a big fool?
Basic operation, my old Zhang is just pretending to be stupid and don't care about it, let's play with you for now, we have real skills, and sooner or later it will be useful!
Of course, Zhang Xianzhong's reluctance to fight with Liu Chengzong is one aspect, and another aspect... He has lived in Lanzhou City for more than ten days, and these days are not easy, he really has no energy to fight.

For more than four years, it has been more than four years since Zhang Xianzhong started the incident. He spent only a handful of days sleeping in the city, in the house, or on a wooden bed. Lying on the soft bedding, I can always sleep deeply at first, but the quiet night can't make people sleep well.

Every night, those flashbacks to the quiet and peaceful dreams of childhood will always be shattered by the sudden burst of gunfire and fighting cries. Every midnight dream, Zhang Xianzhong, who is sweating profusely and drenched, looks out the window and stretches out his hand. The city of Lanzhou, where no fingers can be seen and needles can be heard, is as quiet as a large army of officials is lurking, and there are warning signs and dangers everywhere.

It's hard to live this day, he can't sleep all night, he's going crazy.

It wasn't until yesterday that he came back from Chengyun for a boss named Zhang Kewang. Babies who grew up in the war rarely saw anything, so everything they saw was normal. The bloody and cruel life of bandits was normal in their eyes, peaceful and peaceful The Marshal's Mansion is not surprising to them either.

Death is commonplace and numb. Zhang Kewang is not like his father-in-law, who is terrified on the surface and secretly afraid of death. Zhang Kewang is not afraid of death. He lies on the big soft bed, comfortable for a while, snoring It was loud.

Putting Zhang Kewang to sleep in the outer room of the bedroom, Zhang Xianzhong in the inner room finally had a solid sleep.

Just after solving one problem, another problem came——Zhang Xianzhong wanted to know what Liu Chengzong wanted to do.

Our old Zhang is ready to sit on the bench for a year and a half. It's only been a few days, and you, Marshal Liu, suddenly changed the script and got us a book from the Ministry of Rites to let us do it. What do you want to do?

Zhang Xianzhong rolled his eyes and understood that he was highly praised, but he was actually assigned a job he was not good at, which was exactly the opposite of his subordinates, increasing the effect of suppressing prestige.

Liu Chengzong was quite puzzled, why did he tell Zhang Xianzhong about this matter? , speak directly."

"Master, I'm not worried."

Zhang Xianzhong came back to his senses, and said with a smile: "The commander-in-chief's mansion is full of talents, even if there are no ready-made officials, it is not easy to find a Jinshi to be the head of the Ministry of Rites, no, isn't it easy to be the head of the Rites? Don't hesitate; this is a big event..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Xianzhong leaned forward slightly, and said mysteriously: "Could it be that the commander-in-chief wants to go to the imperial court with a humble job and hack the pig emperor to death with an axe on the Golden Luan Hall?"

"Hahaha, do you dare to go?"

Liu Chengzong applauded and laughed, but his heart was like a bright mirror. Although Zhang Xianzhong didn't read much at present, and his personal conduct and quality were not high, he was really not a rough person.

A rough man can't say that.

Liu Chengzong laughed, and before Zhang Xianzhong came up with an embarrassing response, he waved his hand and said seriously: "No need, the affairs of the Liya are indeed heavy, but the affairs are not so heavy that the chief should go to Beijing to assassinate the emperor, handsome The government has been fighting for years, and up to now the six yamen have not been completed, while we are in Lanzhou, I need you to help me set up the shelf of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites."

"As for finding a Jinshi you said, the prime minister starts from the state department, and the fierce general is sent to the army. Those who read a lot may not be able to do things well, and those who do things can also read more." Liu Chengzong said: "Brother, the Xiying Take it well, and it should be no problem to govern the etiquette."

Although Liu Chengzong's words were sincere and serious, Zhang Xianzhong was still full of suspicion, and asked: "Then the commander, the successor of the commander of the West Brigade?"

To his surprise, Zhang Xianzhong originally thought that this would be the point of dispute between him and Liu Chengzong, but he did not expect Liu Chengzong to answer naturally and easily: "You can do it concurrently, and being the brigade commander will not delay you from being the head of the ceremony. There is nothing that can be separated from the military, and it is the same with the Li Ya.”

Liu Chengzong didn't care.

The official position of the commander-in-chief of the West Brigade is that Liu Shizi sells Zhang Xianzhong's face, which means that you are not surrendered generals.
Furthermore, the Marshal's Mansion itself is a regime with a particularly strong military background. Zhang Xianzhong is not a family member like his father Liu Xiangyu, teacher Yang Dingrui, and younger brother Liu Chengyun. Be looked down upon.

In fact, Zhang Xianzhong was not to blame for being suspicious, he felt that Liu Chengzong treated him strangely from the very beginning.

Those commander-in-chiefs who were in charge of the tens of thousands of Ming troops who ate, drank, and scattered were surrendered as soon as they surrendered, and they were raised in Hehuang. They were activated when they should be activated, and they were not worried at all; Back then Zhang Xianzhong was more powerful than Zhang Xianzhong, he said that he would be a joint venture, and now he is assigned to the Kangning Mansion as if he could do anything.

It's Zhang Xianzhong's turn, we don't have many troops, and our record is not strong, so why are we so defensive?The only thing we have done is to capture a few cities, and we will not hesitate to play tricks, but this... Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, who in the world has as many giant cities under Liu Chengzong as you?
It's strange to pay attention to it, as if we are sure that Zhang Bingzhong is the one who handles big things-that's the generalissimo who knows talents, but where does Cao Cao's feeling of guarding against Liu Bei, his strange desire to conquer and guard against him come from?
This feeling of attention, affection, and defense is not very pleasant.

If Zhang Xianzhong had known that this was the case when he voted for the Marshal's Mansion, he should have told Liu Chengzong at that time that the 6000 people in Xiying had been reduced to [-], and he could just be a general himself, and set up a garrison to finish the job.

Liu Chengzong let him have no excuse to refuse, so he had no choice but to rush the ducks to the shelf, accept the official position, and asked: "Then what is the air that the commander needs to be put up by a humble position?"

"I have already found a three-entry courtyard in the city. It used to be the mansion of General Sufan Fuguo. It has been vacant, and it has been designated as the yamen of the Ministry of Rites. I know that you have a lot of staff, and you have many scholars around you. "

After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he raised his finger and pointed: "Li Ya, there is only one hall, two bureaus, and four divisions."

"The hall is the Secretary's Office. It is in charge of receiving documents from all over the country, presenting them to the court, and sending them to the department. The chief officer will transfer the two captains and lieutenants."

This Office of Siwu is established by all six ministries of the imperial court. It is similar to an office. Captain Zhechong is the lowest among the ranks of the third and ninth ranks of the captains of the Marshal's Mansion. He is usually the head of the Huben Battalion. Put it all together.

"There are two bureaus, one for printing and printing, and one for clothing and crowns. The former is in charge of casting seals, and the latter is in charge of making official robes. This job is not complicated. Just assign two Xiaoqi as chief officials."

"The four divisions are Ritual System, Sacrifice, Host and Guest, and Refined Meals. They are the main tasks of the Ministry of Rites. Four first-class captains of the strong army are required to be the chief officers, and four second-class captains of the martial arts are to be assistants. Members, it depends on how many people you need, report the paperwork to me."

Zhang Xianzhong wrote down these requirements one by one, thinking that this matter is not as difficult as he thought, at least Liu Chengzong's requirements are very clear, and he knows the departmental structure, saving him from asking further.

Finally he heard Liu Chengzong say: "The first mission of Li Ya is to send people to contact the leaders of various walks of life, invite them to come to Lanzhou, gather with me to reach a covenant, agree on the direction of sending troops in future wars, and avoid internal strife. It's up to you to arrange things."

Zhang Xianzhong complied very calmly, saying that this mission is easy to handle, but also difficult to handle.

In the south of the Qinling Mountains, there are now anti-kings all over the place. Cats and dogs all claim to be kings without authorization.

But on the other hand, the name of the big leader is a gold-lettered signboard. It only needs to find a few people, and the mission is half completed.

Zhang Xianzhong's actions were very fast. In a few days, he sent people to contact the leaders of the various rebels, and at the same time completed the construction of the Liyamen in Lanzhou, and managed things in an orderly manner.

Liu Chengzong's life became more fulfilling. He was busy planning the positions of officials, households, and soldiers, as well as building military bureaus and several warehouses outside Lanzhou City. Iron and lead factories.

The degree of development and population density of Lintao Prefecture is far higher than that of Qinghai. When the track connects Xining and Lanzhou, it can use countless tributaries of the Yellow River to build water conservancy projects, connect the whole of Longxi, and create a war with drought resistance function. machine.

But it’s not enough to go further east. In Liu Shizi’s hometown, the Yellow River will stop flowing at any time.

On the third day of September, in order to prepare the military supplies for the Marshal’s Mansion’s army going north to attack Liangzhou, all kinds of armaments, guns, gunpowder, military rations and jars of oil arrived in Lanzhou from Qinghai and Gansu, and everything was going according to plan.

Liu Chengzong was reading exercises on Fulongping outside Lanzhou City, and a huge army array was set up on the south bank of the Yellow River. Suddenly, he heard Yulin Qi coming to report: "Commander, someone broke into the exercise field!"

The man who rushed over sat slumped on the ground, wearing the cavalry armor of the Ming army. His hair was disheveled and his helmet disappeared. Although he was not riding a horse, he could see that his legs under the armor skirt were worn bloody by the horse's back.

When such a commotion occurred, the parade parade at Fulongping was stopped, and the military music ceased. After a little questioning, Habayashi came back and said, "Commander, this is a soldier of the Lintao Brigade stationed at Jiekou, ordered by the general Zhang Yunqi. , report the locust plague in Shaanxi to the commander-in-chief."

"Plague of locusts?" Liu Chengzong stood up and asked, "Where are you going...no need."

He had just got up, and there was already an unreal sound of wind in the distance, and when he raised his head again, he felt that his eyes were darkened, and countless small black shadows in the sky were connected together, like moving black clouds, or like a huge black net that opened , covered the noon sun, and then fell overwhelmingly towards Lanzhou City, filling up all the ditches outside the city in just a moment.

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)