Wuning Jiedushi Chang Huaiyuan stood at the head of Xiaoxian City, looking westward, with a hint of worry in his brows.

During this period of time, as the situation in the Central Plains changed drastically, he experienced several times of great joy and great sadness. His mood was as refreshing as if he were above the Nine Heavens, and then he was depressed and uneasy, as if he was in the abyss of the Nine Netherworld.

At first, when he heard that the leader of the four towns, Zhang Jing, was personally leading an army to attack, he was walking on thin ice and was so nervous that he had no sleep for several nights. The soldiers and horses of the four towns were against the soldiers and horses of one town. How could he not be worried?

Later, when he heard that Zhao Ning had broken into Zhang Jing's camp and wounded him in full public view, Chang Huaiyuan was so excited that he cheered, thinking that Zhang Jing would stop his troops and return to Bianliang to rest.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jing not only did not withdraw his troops, but instead ordered the army to attack. Chang Huaiyuan could only bite the bullet and fight, ordering the cities to defend to the death, and relying on generous gifts of money and silk to the soldiers, he finally avoided being defeated in one attack.

However, the gap in combat power between the two armies was really obvious. Even though the Wuning Army had never fought in the field with the Zhongwu Army and had been defending the city, it still suffered consecutive defeats. In a short period of time, the opponent was forced to fight decisively.

A decisive battle is a fight to the death.

Chang Huaiyuan could choose to retreat and return to Xuzhou City to defend, but that would just be a decisive battle in another place, and there was no essential difference. Moreover, Zhang Jing's troops had already surrounded him, and it was not that easy for Wuning's army to escape.

In those days, being surrounded by enemies and ambushed on all sides, Chang Huaiyuan almost couldn't hold it back anymore and fled back to Xuzhou City, abandoning his army and only taking his trusted masters with him.

Just when he was in despair, Wu Ning's army suddenly retreated and set up camp, put up a defensive posture, and did not attack Xiao County for several days! This surprised and delighted Chang Huaiyuan.

Later, when he found out that something had happened to the Jinguang Sect, Chang Huaiyuan was so happy that he drank three bottles of good wine in a row and almost fell unconscious on the spot. How could he let go of such a great opportunity? The next day, he ordered all his elite cavalry to go out of the city to attack the Zhongwu Army.

camp.

In the end, he really achieved some results. At least he opened up the road back to Xuzhou and solved the dilemma of being surrounded on all sides. The army no longer had no way to go to heaven and no way to enter the earth.

Just when Chang Huaiyuan was full of confidence and planned to pursue the victory, Zhang Jing suddenly returned from Bianliang. The Zhongwu Army, Xuanwu Army, Heyang Army, and Luoyang Army regained their fighting spirit and launched a counterattack.

Chang Huaiyuan suffered a head-on attack and suffered heavy casualties. He retreated to Xiao County in embarrassment. The results obtained in the previous days were recaptured by Zhang Jing one by one.

His mood hit rock bottom again, and Chang Huaiyuan was filled with worry and anger. He pointed in the direction of Zhang Jing's camp at the top of Xiao County and cursed for half a day.

Swearing can only vent anger and will not help the battle situation. Chang Huaiyuan now faces a difficult problem: whether to abandon Xiao Yan and retreat to Xuzhou City.

If they retreat, the morale of the army will inevitably drop. When Zhang Jing's troops approach the city, people in Xuzhou will inevitably be panicked, and changes may occur within Wuning.

After all, a feudal town is a feudal town, not an independent kingdom. In the final analysis, Chang Huaiyuan is a Shangguan, not a monarch. How many of his subordinates and generals are willing to die in service to him?

Moreover, Chang Huaiyuan had not been out of Xuzhou for a long time, less than ten years in total. The foundation of his rule was not close to being unbreakable, let alone the support of the people and the love of the armed forces.

Most of the officers and soldiers of the feudal army were refugees and were naturally unruly. They joined the army to eat, not to sacrifice their lives for others.

They are good at teaming up. If the Jiedushi is a good official, the superiors and subordinates can live in peace. If the Jiedushi dares to offend their interests, he will be expelled and asked to be re-appointed by the court, or he will be attacked and killed and replaced.

For the army of the feudal lord, the brothers and sisters are their own people, and the Jiedushi envoys are just Shangguan. They have a family and business in Xuzhou and are locals, and the Jiedushi envoys are nothing more than outsiders.

During the National War, when faced with foreign races, everyone could still share the same hatred. Now facing the compatriots, why did the army of the feudal town have to fight to the death for Chang Huaiyuan and die in a battle with little chance of victory?

If Zhang Jing had a good reputation, was widely recognized and respected, and promised to treat soldiers like Wuning Army well, how many people in Wuning Army would mind changing their commander?

If Huaiyuan had been out of town in Xuzhou these years, he had been recruiting young men to cultivate his own wings, and established a new Ya army stationed in Yacheng. As the direct lineage and core of the army, I am afraid that it would not be able to strictly restrain the vassal army on weekdays, and also in wartime.

It is impossible for the feudal army to fight seriously.

Because of this, Chang Huaiyuan would impose excessive taxes and use any means to make money from the people.

You can't do it without making money. Without money, how can you instruct soldiers to mobilize and let the other side fight for you through life and death?

It is useless to talk about the righteousness of the family and the country to the army of the feudal lord. Chang Huaiyuan himself is not a loyal minister of the court, and Xuzhou is not an independent kingdom. It is useless to talk about loyalty and integrity. People only talk about this within themselves, and they only talk about interests to outsiders like Jiedushi.

If Wu Ningjun had not had his own relatives and family business in various parts of Xuzhou, and the current war was against attacks from other towns, he would have to worry about the consequences for his family and the loss of his own land and property after soldiers and horses from other towns invaded.

I am afraid that everyone will not work hard when they arrive on the battlefield, but they will retreat if there is an unfavorable situation.

It is not an easy task for Jiedushi to obtain the loyalty of the feudal army and command the feudal army to conquer in all directions.

"How much money does the army have?" Chang Huaiyuan asked the confidant who was following him.

"There are only 30,000 guan left." The chief clerk sighed.

Thirty thousand guan is a huge wealth for ordinary people. What can it be used for in the army?

"Why hasn't there been money sent to Xuzhou yet? Didn't I give a strict order to send the newly raised military funds in the near future?! After such a long time, can't there still be hundreds of thousands of money?"

Chang Huaiyuan was very dissatisfied and uneasy.

The secretary in charge of the army was in charge of this matter. Hearing this, he stepped forward and said bravely:

"I came from Xuzhou to report that it has become more and more difficult to raise food and fodder recently. I only have 90,000 gu of silver and I am planning to transport it... It is not that the officials and others are not working hard to carry out the errands, but the local officials and the big families in the prefecture and county have gained too much from it!

"Over the past few days, there have been some troubles and lawsuits over raising military funds. If we continue to increase our efforts, I'm afraid there will be chaos in the prefectures and counties..."

After hearing this, Chang Huaiyuan was so depressed that he wished he could go back to Xuzhou to kill people, clean up all the local officials and local wealthy families, and restore peace to Wuning.

He angrily slapped a large piece of the female wall in front of him and shattered it: "These bastards are really lawless. Why is it so difficult for me to have a career?!"

To raise military expenses, of course, the common people have to foot the bill. Local officials, wealthy landowners, and wealthy businessmen will not pay out of their own pockets. Even if Zhang Jing asks them to pay, they will pass on the burden to the people by increasing land rent and deducting wages.

On the head.

——This is still the most ideal situation.

The reality is that most of the "raised" money and grain will go into the warehouses of local officials and wealthy landowners. Everyone takes advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, and if three out of ten taels of silver go to Zhang Jing, it is considered very good.

Chang Huaiyuan, as a military envoy, had no family, country or court in his heart. When the world situation changed, he supported his troops and established his own regime in order to build his own achievements for his own selfish interests.

Why should the officials under his command and the wealthy families under his rule be more loyal, more honest, and more dedicated to justice than he is? Why don't they make a fortune quickly when they have the opportunity, and make a handful of it?

Chang Huaiyuan wanted to rectify Xuzhou's officialdom and eliminate officialdom.

But does he dare?

He cut off other people's wealth and wealth, and provoked the officials to attack him. How could he continue to be a military governor? He had no endorsement from the court and no support from the country, so why should the officials and people under his rule give him face?

Chang Huaiyuan felt heavy and felt a little breathless.

At this time, if we continue to allocate more money and food, and impose excessive taxes, the people of Wuning will rebel!

Judging from Zhang Jing's posture, he should have solved the internal problems. Now that he returns to the military camp, he will probably command the army to attack again and set off a decisive battle between the two sides. How should he deal with it?

Chang Huaiyuan was worried.

...

Chang Huaiyuan was worried about Zhang Jing's attack and swallowed him up, but in fact Zhang Jing himself was not easy.

Sitting in the Chinese army's tent, Zhang Jing was discussing with his close advisers what the army should do next.

In short, whether to continue the attack or withdraw the troops.

"Although the crisis of theosophy has been temporarily resolved, after all, 30% of the religious altars have been destroyed. There are almost no believers of theosophy there, and the people are also very dissatisfied with the government's inability to supervise theism. This has become our internal flaw.

"These places are like a piece of rotten flesh that cannot be cut out, so we can only find ways to treat them. Whether it is the government or the religious sect, to reorganize the people's hearts in those states and counties, it must be done step by step, and it will definitely take a long time."

The person who spoke was the mastermind Guo Huai, who advocated withdrawing the troops now, "The important thing is that Zhao's troops have entered the Central Plains and are still hiding in various states and counties!

"What will they do next? What is Zhao's plan?

"If the army continues to fight, once the practitioners of the Zhao family are dispatched again, turmoil will be caused in various places, the government will be hit, and the civil order will not exist, how can the soldiers of the three armies still have fighting spirit?

"Even if the three armies are barely able to fight, if the turmoil happens again and we don't solve it in time, how can we continue to fight if we are rotten and rebel internally? What we have gained by then will be lost in the east, which will not be a blessing to the vassal town.

.”

Speaking of this, Guo Huai said to Zhang Jing with a serious look on his face: "The most urgent task is to concentrate our efforts to track down the practitioners who have infiltrated from the Zhao family, and either surround them or drive them away, in short, make them disappear from the feudal town!

"As long as these practitioners are still among us, we will never have peace. Don't hesitate, Lian Envoy, and please make a decision quickly, otherwise the night will be long and you will have many dreams!"

Zhang Jing nodded and asked other counselors what they thought.

The vast majority of people support the immediate withdrawal of troops.

Are you kidding me? If there is a robber in the house, who has the heart to fight outside? It is only right to go back as soon as possible.

"In that case, let's withdraw the troops." Zhang Jing also knew in his heart that this was the situation and there was nothing that could be done about it.

After getting to the bottom of it, it turns out that the Jin Dynasty had a deep foundation and had too many masters and strong men, while Zhang Jing was not powerful enough. The practitioners that Zhao had infiltrated were enough to cause him huge trouble.

If Zhang Jing's own power is strong enough, in addition to the army, the internal practitioners can easily suppress the Zhao practitioners, so that they can no longer cause chaos and cause trouble everywhere on a large scale. Why should the army return?

In fact, the Jinguang Sect should shoulder this responsibility. Unfortunately, not to mention the Jinguang Sect, no one in the four towns can check and balance Zhao Ning, an absolute master in the late Wangji Realm.

If Zhao Ning takes action himself, who can stop him from doing anything?

And the Zhao family has already begun to take action in the Central Plains. Will the practitioners of the Wei family and Yang family also end up next?
Chapter completed!