Chapter 75 Back to Daliang (7)

"Whoever saves the earth will turn the same way." This is a saying that Hou Dayong has often used to mock him recently. Hou Dayong has been the top leader in Zhengzhou and Fengzhou for a long time, and he has been talking nonsense and responding to it. He is busy every day, and many things are waiting for him to make the final decision. Although he is a little tired and busy, his life is quite fulfilling.

After arriving at Daliang, he had been leisurely and had nothing to do every day, even if no one came to ask for instructions and no important things to be decided by himself. He had few friends in the court, Wang Pu and Xiang Xun, after he had the friendship of landlords, almost no one invited him to dinner. Instead, he had a few dinner parties with his father-in-law Fu Yanqing.

Since July, Queen Fu's condition has worsened. Not only did Hou Dayong understand that Queen Fu might not be able to recover, but anyone who knows the inside story has guessed that Queen Fu's life is not much. Queen Fu is an absolutely important figure in the Fu family. King Fu Yanjie of Wei also guards Daliang City, so Hou Dayong naturally cannot leave at this critical moment.

Meng Shu was a frequent guest of the Hou Mansion, and the housekeeper directly brought him into the small hall. When Meng Shu entered the door, Hou Dayong was focusing on the familiar book "Taibai Yin Jing". This book was a military book written by the Tang people. The weapons and equipment, strategic ideas and other contents were in line with the actual situation of the army of Shu, Tang, Han and Dazhou. Hou Dayong read this book to increase his understanding of other armies. As the saying goes: knowing one's own and one's opponent, one will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

Meng Shu finished his tribute and said, "I will make an appointment with Su Wensen and Hu Ji tonight and get together at Chuanyun Tower."

Chuanyun Tower is a small restaurant opened by a wealthy shop. It tastes very authentic, but because it is small and biased, the dignitaries and nobles in Daliang City are basically not here. Most of the people who come to Chuanyun Tower are foreign businessmen who go to Daliang to do business. The shopkeepers are all from Feiyingtang. These businessmen who travel around the world like to talk nonsense after drinking. The waiter often hears a lot of news from all over the world without any effort.

When Hou Dayong heard that Meng Shu only mentioned Su Wensen and Hu Ji, and did not mention Wang Qingshui, he asked, "Is Wang Qingshui not in Daliang?"

Meng Shu said in a low tone: "Person Wang died in Huainan."

Wang Qingshui is a steady soldier and is very cautious in fighting. Hou Dayong did not expect that he would die in Huainan. He was surprised to put the "Taibai Yin Jing" on the table and looked up and asked, "Wang Qingshui died in battle?"

"After the imperial guards in front of the palace captured Qingliu Pass, they surrounded Shouzhou. Wang Jiawei led a battalion of soldiers to attack the city, and was shot into the throat by arrows on the city, and died on the spot." Meng Shu knew about this a few days ago, but he did not find a suitable opportunity to report to Hou Dayong.

When Hou Dayong heard this news, he was silent for a while. War would kill people, especially low-level officers at the level of the lieutenant, and the proportion of high-level officers was higher than that of senior officers. It was a common matter to kill several lieutenants in the Huainan Battle, which was a common matter. He asked again: "Are Su Wensen and Hu Ji still lieutenants?"

"Yes, both of them are lieutenants. They are veterans of the Palace Front Office, and they complain a lot."

Hou Dayong stood up, walked around the hall for a few times, and said to Meng Shu: "Although Captain Wang is the lieutenant of the Palace Front Division, he is a member of the Black Eagle Army. He once fought with Gaoping in Cangzhou. You have prepared some pensions to be richer. Tonight, let Hu Ji and Su Wensen bring them to Wang's family." He paused and said: "Shan Zongyuan and Kuang Cao, who are of the same qualification as Captain Wang, are now generals who lead the army alone. Wang Qingshui is still just a lieutenant before his death. The Palace Front Division is really unfair to them."

"The imperial guards of the Palace Front Office made great contributions during the southern expedition and promoted a group of young generals. As far as I know, the fastest promotions in recent years were the old subordinates of the Commander of the Zhao Du and his ten sworn brothers. The key positions of the Palace Front Office were all from the Commander of the Zhao Du. The other places also had a lot of opinions on this, including Zhao Wen. But everyone dared not say it out." Because it was in a very secret hall. Without outsiders, Meng Shu directly told the situation under the Feiying Hall.

This is the same as the history that Hou Dayong has learned. Hou Dayong nodded and said, "Your Majesty personally ordered the commander of Zhao Du to rectify the imperial guards. It is normal for him to arrange for the people familiar with the land to take important positions. However, in this way, the commander of Zhao Du has deep roots in the imperial guards in front of the palace."

"Zhang Yongde trusts Zhao Kuangyin very much and basically does not care about specific matters. Therefore, although Duanjian is the highest commander of the Palace Front Office, Zhao Kuangyin has the final say. Only Han Tong and Zhao Kuangyin, deputy commander of the Palace Front Office, dare to give some opinions." After Meng Shu finished speaking, he took out a thin piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Hou Dayong with both hands, and said: "This is the establishment of the two imperial guards of the Palace Front Office and the Guards Office and the list of officers above the school lieutenant. The basic situation of officers above the school lieutenant is also on it."

Hou Dayong sat back at the table, looked carefully at the list, after a long time, raised his head and praised: "Flying Eagle Hall is really good. Menglang, you have made great contributions, but you have lost your reputation. If you stayed in Fengzhou, you would not be able to escape the position of the governor. Now, you can only be an unknown hero."

Hou Dayong said that it hit a small scar in Meng Shu's heart. He was a scholar and had a deep-rooted idea of ​​glorifying his ancestors. Although he had both power and money, his reputation in society was definitely not as good as that in the governor, general and other positions. Seeing his former colleagues all promoted one level one, he saw it and was slandered in his heart. However, Meng Shu knew that the two positions of Feiying Hall and Fujia Store were for Hou Dayong.

It is far more important than the governors or generals. Cheng, stairs, Feng, Qin, and several governors and generals, while Feiying Hall and the rich shops are unique. Meng Shu has always had the desire to repay Hou Dayong. He said sincerely: "The governor has great grace to save Meng Shu's family, but Meng Shu cannot repay him even if he dies. The woman is to please him, and the scholar is to die. Meng Shu is a cold-hearted person and is valued by the governor. This is Meng Shu's honor."

When it was dark, Hou Dayong and Meng Shu took four followers to two carriages, walked through the winding alley, and arrived at Chuanyun Tower.

Chuanyun Tower is an ordinary two-story building. From the outside, it is no different from hundreds of small restaurants in Daliang City. When you walk into Chuanyun Tower, there is a unique world inside. There is a more local garden in the backyard, and the upstairs room is also elegantly decorated. Most of the people entering and leaving Chuanyun Tower are businessmen, and they all have voices in the south and north.

Turn left and right. Meng Shu stopped at the door of a hidden and unique private room. Su Wensen and Hu Ji had been waiting for a long time. When they saw Meng Shu pushing open the door, they immediately stood up.

Hou Dayong was wearing a long, light green round-necked gown he often wore and had a very short beard. Men in this era all had beards, but the eunuch's chin was naked. Hou Dayong didn't want to be regarded as a eunuch, so he had a little bit of beard, and his hard beard was very short-fitting, which was extremely energetic.

"Meet the governor." Su Wenqing and Hu Ji turned over and bowed.

Hou Dayong received the courtesy calmly, then helped the two of them up, and smiled and said, "The Battle of Gaoping, after two years of separation, we met today in Chuanyun Tower. It was such a great pleasure in our life."

When the Black Eagle Army was first established, there were only more than a thousand people. Su Wensen, Hu Ji, Kuang Cao, Shan Zongyuan and Wang Qingshui, who died in battle, were famous five lieutenants at the beginning of the Black Eagle Army's founding. Hou Dayong trained, fought, drank, and had fun with them almost every day, and everyone was intimate. After the Battle of Gaoping, the Black Eagle Army was brave in combat, especially shooting Zhang Yuanhui, which left a deep impression on Chai Rong. In order to strengthen the power of the imperial guards, Chai Rong put the imperial guards in a deep impression.

The Black Eagle Army was divided into two parts, leaving behind a member of the Returning Palace Front Office, Su Wensen, Hu Ji and Wang Qingshui. At the beginning, they became the Imperial Guards, and many people were envious of the Black Eagle Army. Later, Hou Dayong led the Black Eagle Army to defeat powerful enemies repeatedly. The Black Eagle Army's lieutenant was promoted very quickly. Shan Zongyuan and Kuang Cao all became generals one after another, while Su Wensen, Hu Ji and Wang Qingshui were still the lieutenant, which was something that no one expected.

Seeing Su Wensen, Hu Ji was a little restrained and smiled and said, "You don't have to be polite. Today, there is only Hou Dayong, the commander of the Black Eagle Army, and there is no military governor Hou Dayong. I think about it. We were together. It was unrestrained and really happy. It was fascinating to think about it."

Hu Ji was a straightforward person. He touched the back of his head and laughed: "You were the commander at the time, and we were the captains, only one level away. Now, it is a hundred and eight thousand miles away. It is difficult for us to be restrained." After he said that, he stretched out his hand hard and gestured at the distance between the captains and the governor.

Everyone laughed at his funny look. After sitting down, Meng Shu waved his hand to let the servants in the restaurant go out.

Hou Dayong suddenly had a clear face, stood up, poured three glasses of wine in person, raised it up seriously, and said, "I will first toast the brothers who died in the battle between the Hei Diao Army. From Cangzhou, Gaoping to Fengzhou, there are quite a few old brothers of the Hei Diao Army who died in battle. For this glass of wine, I will first toast them." After that, I slowly poured the wine on the floor."

Meng Shu, Su Wensen and Hu Ji all stood up, with serious faces on their faces.

"The second glass of wine is to toast the disabled Black Eagle Army soldiers, Fengzhou and Zhengzhou, hundreds of disabled soldiers. I wish them good health in this glass of wine."

"The third glass of wine is toast to all the soldiers and generals of the Black Eagle Army, and I wish them good luck and all the best."

Then, Hou Dayong poured four more bowls of wine, one bowl for each person, and with a "ding bell", the four bowls touched each other hard.

A series of good dishes were passed one after another. Hu Ji was a small lieutenant and had few silver dollars. He couldn't eat such a sumptuous banquet on weekdays. After a few glasses of wine, he completely let go. After a few mouthfuls of braised beef hoofs, he sighed: "Today, I followed the governor, and I ate the delicious and spicy food in the military camp. I ate the big pot rice in the military camp on weekdays, and my mouth faded out of my bird."

He picked up a bowl of wine and said to Hou Dayong: "Can I call you boss like the same as ever?"

Hou Dayong also picked up the wine bowl and said to Su Wensen and Meng Shu: "When the Black Eagle Army was first established, you lieutenants called me the boss. When there were no outsiders, it would be okay to call me."

Hu Ji's face turned slightly red and said, "Boss, I'll give you a cup."

After the two of them drank it all, Hu Ji said: "What I miss the most is my time in the Black Diao Army. Boss, I really want to go back to the Black Diao Army. In front of the palace, we are really cowardly."

Su Wensen was calm. He heard Hu Ji's words a little out of style and kicked Hu Ji hard with his feet. Hu Ji said, "Su Lang, the boss is not an outsider, why are you afraid of? You said that in the past two years, we have lived a cowardly life. After several battles, there were not many soldiers left in the Black Eagle Army in the front office of the Palace. There were only less than two hundred of them now. This time, when he attacked Shouzhou, Wang Xiaowei also died. His two sons were twelve years old and the other was eight years old. How could this family live?" Hu Ji said the next few words. He was already crying.

Su Wensen said helplessly: "This is our fate. From the day he joined the army, death on the battlefield is our fate."

"I'm not afraid of death, but why do we rush forward every time we fight, but we don't have the right to be promoted? If Wang Qingshui becomes the commander, he doesn't have to rush to the front. Why should we always be the little captain who rush to the front forever?" Hu Ji said this, staring with his eyes, his face flushed.

Seeing this, Hou Dayong said, "You two listen to me."

Hu Ji took a big sip of wine and looked at Hou Dayong.

"After the Battle of Gaoping, I really can't bear to transfer you to the Imperial Army, but Your Majesty said, I have no choice. This year and next year, I guess that the main force of the Imperial Army will go south to fight against the Tang army. You must take care of each other. I don't want to hear bad news like Wang Jiaowei. As for Wang Jiaowei's funeral, I think the Imperial Army can't pay a lot of money. I have a decision here. All hundreds of soldiers from the Black Diao Army to the Imperial Army will enjoy the treatment of the Black Diao Army after they died and died in battle. Meng Shu is the military officer of the Black Diao Army. You are very familiar with each other. After Su Wensen returned, he issued the list of the dead soldiers and went to Meng Shu to receive pensions. Hu Ji listed the list of disabled soldiers. If they were willing, they could enter the Black Diao Army Invalides' Courtyard built in Zhengzhou and Cangzhou to support their elderly care. This matter must be absolutely confidential, otherwise it will cause trouble."

After Hou Dayong finished speaking, he glanced at Meng Shu. Meng Shu took out a cloth bag and said to Su Wensen and Hu Ji: "This is five hundred taels of silver, and it is the pension of the Jiedushi Wang to the lieutenant Wang."

When Hu Ji and Su Wensen heard this, they both left the seat and knelt in front of Hou Dayong. Hu Ji said, "I will thank the Jiedushi for serving as the soldiers of the Black Eagle Army and the Captain Wang Qingshui."

Su Wensen is a person who is in love. He had tears in his eyes and said, "I don't thank you for your kindness, but I'm driven away. Su will never refuse."

This banquet basically achieved the effect that Hou Dayong needed. Hu Ji and Su Wensen were a chess piece in front of the palace, and maybe it would have a huge effect on that day.

"Zhao Kuangyin is very close to the center, and he can be said to have the moon first when he is close to the water. However, he has no ability to predict the future. He has arranged his confidants in the imperial guards just to further consolidate his position. This is the usual style of military generals since the late Tang Dynasty. He never thought that Chai Rong, a powerful lord, would suddenly die of illness, and would not have thought that the governor of the northwest would set up a big net to deal with him. He is in the light and I am in the dark, and this is my advantage." Hou Dayong drank a lot of wine. He leaned against the shaking carriage and ran towards the Zhang family compound in the south city, thinking about his own thoughts.

The Zhang family compound was Fu Gong who secretly bought land. After the incident in Fu Gong was exposed, he returned to Cangzhou and became the housekeeper of the Cangzhou Marquis' Mansion. For Fu Gong, he was once so close to the huge wealth of the Fu family shop, but because of his greed, he was knocked back from the peak of his wealth. After Qian Xiangnan returned from Zhengzhou, he quietly moved into the Zhang family compound. Qian Xiangnan was the head of the Black Eagle Army Military Information Camp, and his external position was to observe the judge. In Daliang City, there were many officials of his rank, and no one noticed him.

"Zhongmu County Magistrate Wang Tingxiang is the nephew of Wang Rao, the governor of Zhangde Army, and the cousin of Wang Tinghu, the defensive envoy of Zhengzhou. In the past, when you were in Zhengzhou, the Wang family also donated a lot of food. Now the Wang family has increased its power in Zhengzhou. Huo Zhixing, the magistrate of Zhongmu County, has worked hard to build silted fields, and more than half of them fall into the Wang family."

Qian Xiangnan has found Changshi Fu Yanhui and learned some basic situations in Zhengzhou.

After hearing this, Hou Dayong sighed: "I am now the governor of Xiongsheng Army. I am beyond the reach of Zhengzhou. I hope Zhengzhou will be in good weather and will not encounter a famine. The refugees from Zezhou and Cizhou can barely eat a bite of rice. I originally wanted to participate in Wangtinghu to Your Majesty. It is useless to think about it. Now the situation in various places is similar. Your Majesty is very smart and knows these situations. However, the country has decided that the meal should be eaten one by one, and many things must be done one by one. Many things can only be taken slowly."

Meng Shu controlled the Feiying Hall, and it was created by some accident. Fu Ying ordered him to monitor the organizations created by shops in various places. After learning about the Feiying Hall, Hou Dayong slowly took over the Feiying Hall, expanded the scope of the Feiying Hall's work, and increased the manpower. An action group was built in the Feiying Hall, including three institutions, Information Group 1 and Information Group 2. Information Group 1 mainly collected the situation of civil and military officials in the Dazhou. Information Group 2 mainly collected the situation of shops in various places. Hou Dayong asked Meng Shu not to tell Fu Ying all the inside story of Feiying Hall for the time being, but only informed Fu Ying of the Information Group 2. After all, some things in Feiying Hall were shameless.

Qian Xiangnan, the head of the military camp, and Meng Shu, the head of the Feiying Hall, sat on both sides of Hou Dayong. Hou Dayong thought for a long time and decided to make the identities of the two people clear. He did not want the two departments to cooperate, but let the two departments know the existence of each other. In this way, one party would not have the power to dominate. This is the strategy of Hou Dayong's mutual checks and balances. Any unrestrained force will inevitably mutate from the inside when it is strong to a certain extent. Fu Gong is a best example.

Qian Xiangnan and Meng Shu knew each other in the Black Eagle Army. They didn't expect that there was another identity hidden behind each other's identity.

"Flying Eagle Hall is mainly internal, and the military intelligence camp is mainly external. You are my left and right hands. Today I will give you a briefing. I am mainly worried that the flood will rush the Dragon King Temple in the future, and the whole family will not know the whole family. However, this matter is limited to the three of us who know that after leaving this house, no one is allowed to disclose any sentence."
Chapter completed!