Fufeng Song

The first year of Guangxi.December fourteenth.early morning.

The sky was gloomy, neither the sun nor the clouds could be seen, it was just like an iron-gray cauldron lying upside down on the ground, which made people feel depressed.The fine snow flakes are scattered scattered under the strong wind.This snow has been going on for two or three days, and there is no sign of stopping at all, and the snow on the ground has covered the feet, making a crunching sound when stepping on it.

This is the former site of the Fenyang Pavilion in the northern part of the central capital. Although it suffered from military disasters, the main buildings of the pavilion are generally intact.This time, it was specially repaired by the soldiers and used to entertain the representatives of the wealthy clan who came from all over the place.Compared with the military camp not far away, the environment of the pavilion is quite good, but there are still people complaining.

Zhang Zhaoshen stepped forward on the snow with one foot shallow and the other shallow.He noticed that some people looked at him with contemptuous eyes, and some people whispered, and the mocking words drifted to his ears with the cold wind.

"Patriarch Zhang, are you going to see that kid surnamed Lu again?" A slightly old voice sounded.

Zhang Zhao stopped and turned around: "Yes."

"Hey..." The man walked over slowly, and put his arms around Zhang Zhao's shoulders: "Patriarch Zhang, why is this necessary? The Wen family took refuge in Liu Kun and got a long history. Then we, the big surnames of wealthy families, have nothing to say. Get a magistrate, join the army? What did they give you? That you're so keen?"

Zhang Zhao felt a little unhappy.Don't these people forget to provoke at any time?What's more, I am the head of the Zhang clan in the central capital. Although the scale is the smallest among all the clans, I am not something that a mere house slave like you can hold on to!

Zhang Zhao shook his head, heaved his shoulders away from the man's arm, and quickened his pace.

"Hmph..." A cold snort came from behind: "I don't know how to flatter you!"

After walking for about half a minute, we walked around a small forest and arrived at the military camp.The scale of the barracks is small, but it is meticulously built.Zhang Zhao walked all the way, the barracks was silent, all the soldiers were resting, chatting and laughing occasionally came from the tents.A hundred steps behind the gate is the tent of the Chinese army.Two soldiers were patting the snow off the tent to keep it from collapsing.Zhang Zhao nodded to the two of them as a gesture, and immediately paid for it.

After entering the tent, he turned back and closed the tent, and tightly closed the door to prevent the cold wind from blowing in.In fact, doing so did not have much effect. Compared with the sharp drop in temperature, this military tent was too thin.Besides, the ground has not been leveled, it is only covered with some weeds, a circle of felt blankets was spread, and a fire pit was roughly dug in Zhongyang.Even the flames in the firepit were dancing weakly.

Although it is a Chinese military tent, it is almost the same as the tents of ordinary soldiers; the clothes of several officers in the tent are also very ordinary.Zhang Zhao had never seen such a strange army.

An old soldier about forty years old took out a bowl of hot soup from a pot hanging on the fire, and handed it to Zhang Zhao graciously: "Master Zhang, please use some soup to drive away the cold. The conditions in the army are poor. , Your Excellency is really wronged."

Zhang Zhao didn't care to take off his cloak, and quickly took the soup bowl with both hands: "Captain Deng, you're welcome."

Three days ago, General Lu Yao received an order from General Yueshi, the governor of Bingzhou, to appease the wealthy families in the southern counties of Taiyuan, and at the same time mobilize grain, supplies and young men.He immediately led hundreds of troops out of Jinyang City to the south and set up camp at Fenyang Pavilion in the north of Zhongdu. Orders were circulated throughout Wubao, a wealthy family, to summon the heads of all families, Wubao chiefs and others within a three-day limit.

But the attitude of the big surnames of the wealthy family is very uncooperative.In their eyes, Liu Kun, the new governor of Bingzhou, seemed to lack both prestige and status compared to his predecessor, Ma Teng of Dongying Company.Even if Liu Jing was defeated in the Battle of Banqiao, it was still not enough for the people of Bingzhou to pay enough attention.But Lu Yao, the general under Liu Kun's command, was even more unbearable.

What is the position of General Pi?Um?Who is this Lu Yao, does anyone know?I heard that this Lu was originally the military leader of Dongying Gong's subordinates... Since the general of the defeated army was lucky enough to escape from the axe, he should live with caution from now on.Even if this generation comes to ask for an interview, it is still uncertain whether to see or not.How dare you call me to wait for a limited time?Could it be that he took the wrong medicine and lost his mind and went crazy?

Three days later, there were very few leaders of the wealthy clan who responded to Lu Yao's call.For the first-class families in Taiyuan represented by Wang and Guo, there was not a single master of Wubao who attended the meeting.Even those who came to the barracks, most of them were not the patriarchs of the wealthy clan.It's just that their relatives and children are used as envoys to inquire about the wind.

Zhang Zhao, who is the leader of Zhang's Wubao, is actually the only one who has enough weight.

Zhang Zhao finished the hot soup in a few sips, wiped his mouth, and bowed deeply to another person in the tent: "The Zhang family in the central capital has limited power, and I am young and weak, so I can't persuade other clans. I am really ashamed of General Lu. .”

Sitting opposite Zhang Zhao was Lu Yao.

Seeing Zhang Zhao's humility, he immediately returned the courtesy and said: "Brother Taizhen once told me that among the leaders of the powerful families in the south of Taiyuan, only the head of the Zhang family is loyal and can share honor and disgrace with the court. The head of the Zhang family has done his best. Lu Very grateful."

Before Lu Yao sent troops this time, Chang Shi Wenqiao specially recommended Zhao, the advocate of the Zhang clan in Zhongdu, to him.According to Wen Qiao, the Zhang family were not natives of Bingzhou, but moved here from Fanyang at the end of the Han Dynasty.In recent years, the Zhang family has not been very prosperous, and has been squeezed out by other families, but they only have good friends with the Wen family in Qi County.Therefore, Zhang Zhao has long been willing to respond to Yue Shigong's order.The leader of such an aristocratic family only needs to be above the average person, and he will definitely be of great use in the future.

Because of this relationship, Lu Yao is quite humble to Zhang Zhao.

"Among the twelve surnames, four have been married to my Zhang family. After all, there is some affection. I will continue to communicate with my best and strive to live up to the expectations of Liu Yue Shigong and General Lu." Zhang Zhao sighed and continued: "Frozen three feet is not a one-day cold. Over the years, the imperial court has repeatedly failed in the battle against the Huns. The government orders are limited to a few big cities, and they can only restrain the wealthy families scattered in villages and communities. Over time, they have developed This generation has a habit of being arrogant and arrogant, and now the power of the imperial court is declining, it is really not easy for them to sincerely support them."

Shen Jin, who was sitting next to Lu Yao, said viciously: "Those people are self-confessed and look down on us!"

The plainly dressed veteran who brought soup to Zhang Zhao just now was Deng Gang.Hearing what Shen Jin said, he couldn't help complaining: "That's right. Looking at the appearance of those envoys from the wealthy clan, they simply regarded themselves as the emperor of the earth... Sigh..."

Most of Lu Yao's subordinates are fighters, who know how to greet and send them off.Therefore, Deng Gang served as Lu Yao's representative to entertain the envoys of the wealthy clan these days.He thought it was just an ordinary errand, but he was exhausted.Except for the kind and honest Zhang Zhao, the rest of the wealthy children all looked up to the top, and regarded him as an officer as a lowly servant, shouting wantonly.After a few days of tossing around, even a good old man like Deng Gang was about to lose his temper.

Shen Jin nodded repeatedly and said: "Those wealthy families with big surnames are all in trouble! You have to cut off the head with a shovel knife to know who is in the world."

Lu Yao ignored them, and said to Zhang Zhao, "Since the heads of the families could not come, it must be because of the cold and snowfall, making it difficult to travel. How about this, please tell the envoys of the families, I would like Wait for another three days. At noon three days later, I will hold a formal banquet to entertain the clan leaders, and please be sure to attend the meeting."

"General Lu, don't say it's two days, even if we wait for another two months, I'm afraid no one will come. After all..." Zhang Zhao tapped the table lightly with his fingers, hesitated for a long time before saying: "After all, all the wealthy families They are all powerful and tyrannical families, and there are even many crowned figures in the family, which are not comparable to ordinary peasants. For such a wealthy family, the successive governors of Bingzhou have always been invited by senior officials. Although General Lu is young, but above the fame, Cough, it's a little lighter!"

Zhang Zhao was very cautious, while speaking, he looked at Lu Yao's expression.Seeing that Lu Yao's face remained unchanged, he continued: "I just talked with several envoys, and I heard from them: Yesterday, Guo Rong, the owner of the Guojiabao in Tuomugang, sent a message to all clans to invite the heads of all clans to join us. Gather together in Guojiabao to discuss where to go in the future... I am afraid that all the patriarchs will rush there."

"Guojiawu Fort..." Lu Yao mused, "Is this true?"

Zhang Zhao explained: "There is no doubt. The Guo family in Tuomugang, Qi County is the ethnic group of the former general and Yangqu Hou Guohuai. Ding Xingwang is a powerful family in the southern part of Taiyuan, who has a huge trilogy power and has established marriage relations with several other Wubao families. Guo Rong... ahem... has always had some contacts with the Hu people."

Lu Yao's expression moved slightly, and he questioned carefully about the matters related to Guo Jiabao's invitation to gather the heads of various families, and some questions were even asked several times.

Zhang Zhao has a good temper, he doesn't feel irritable at all, and he answers every question.When it came to the details, he also took a pen and paper, and Lu Yao wrote them down one by one.This nourishing skill is really not bad.

After half an hour, Lu Yao stood up and said, "I fully understand... Patriarch Zhang, since every patriarch has something important to do, it's really hard for me to force it. Fortunately, there are envoys from every family here, so I think they can Convey the meaning of the imperial court to the patriarch's ears. Lu's plan has been made. No matter whether the patriarchs can arrive in time, I will formally hold a banquet to entertain the guests at noon three days later. There is a word from the patriarch Lao. You don't need to worry about other matters .”

Zhang Zhao was stunned for a moment, he wanted to wake up Lu Yao, this gathering of the rich families, [-]% out of [-] has failed, whether it is necessary to make another plan to be the representative of Yue Shigong.More importantly, he also wanted to ask: The performance of the Zhang family in the central capital in the past few days has angered some powerful families in some places. Can Lu Yao think of a way to protect them?Otherwise, the future of the Zhang family in Zhongdu will be very bleak.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided not to say more.This army general is kind, but his means and character are a little weaker.The future of the Zhang family still rests on the in-law relationship of the Wen family in Taiyuan.

Thinking of this, he said politely: "Yes, yes."

Zhang Zhaoli bid farewell thoughtfully and left.Lu Yao sent him outside the gate, and then returned to the central army tent. He found the place name of Tuomugang on the geographical map, frowned and looked at it for a while, and suddenly said, "Where are Xue Tong and Gao Xiang now? Please come here immediately."

Xue Tong, Gao Xiang, together with Shen Jin and Deng Gang, are the four leading officers currently under Lu Yao.Lu Yao asked the four of them to get together, naturally he had important orders.

Deng Gang responded.Shen Jin said eagerly, "Daoming, what are your plans?"

Lu Yao glanced at him: "I am a young general under Yue Shigong's command. I really don't have enough weight to call on the powerful families. But Yue Shigong didn't expect those high-ranking people to look after the scenery, and was just looking for an opportunity to make an example. You Look, the people with ulterior motives jumped out by themselves..." While speaking, Xue Tong and others arrived.

Lu Yao didn't hesitate even more, a series of military orders were issued like a stream of water, and in an instant, the entire military camp was shaken.

A group of envoys from the wealthy clan living in the pavilion wanted to inquire, but Deng Gang led dozens of people to restrain them tightly, and they could only do nothing.Seeing that a large group of people and horses set off in single file, only one barracks was left empty.