"Lao Tzu is a fart general, but he is just a lackey raised by Xie Ai!"

For the compliments of those fangtou workers, Xiang Jian, the owner of the dock wall of Hewu, was not too cold, and even a little embarrassed: "In previous years, there were thousands of fierce pawns and wolves running to the four wilds, no matter how strong the slave is, there is no way to take Lao Tzu!" Since he was lured by the southern thief and got a few broken flags, he has become a calf and a local dog with a rope on it, just waiting for him Xie Shixin to spur him to cut meat! ”

Xiang Jiannian is in his early forties, with a burly physique, a thick beard under his forehead, and a weather-beaten jujube red. When he said this, he was sitting in the middle of the seat, holding the wine urn with one hand, and slapping the food table with the other, so shocked that the clay pots and pottery bowls on the food table were colliding with each other, and there was a deep indignation and chagrin in his expression.

Xiang Jian is not a lonely person in Hebei, especially in the Fangtou area, and his uncle Xiang Bing is the chief dock wall owner in Hebei and dominates Fangtou. In the early years, Zhao Zhushi Le Nankou fought unfavorably and crossed the river in the north, and it was because of the defeat of Xiang Bing to take his goods and subordinates that he began to crisscross Hebei and the establishment of the northern country.

Xiang Jian, as Xiang Bing's servant, although he was lucky to save his life, but because of this deep hatred, he naturally couldn't and didn't dare to throw himself into Shi Zhao, so he led some remnants of the troops to wander around Fangtou and loot to survive. Because of the influence of his father's aftermath, it has gradually developed into a strong beam around the fangtou.

Shi Zhao did not have the idea of encircling and suppressing Xiang Jian, whether it was directly sending troops or mobilizing other bandits to participate in the encirclement and suppression, but the real danger was skillfully avoided by Xiang Jian. Over time, Xiang Jian's reputation in the Hebei bandit community has become more and more famous, and more strong Liang is willing to take refuge in him, and even many powerful people in the country have secretly colluded with him, colluded with him to rob the goods and goods team in the country, and then sat on the ground to share the spoils.

But the robbers who block the road and rob are not on the stage after all, and Xiang Jian also has a burning ambition to recover the family business. But as his notoriety became more and more notorious, there was no possibility of being recruited, and he was worried that he would be booby-trapped.

And if he didn't consider the issue of decency, he was relatively satisfied with his current situation, and he didn't want to impose more constraints on himself, and he didn't even respond to Shi Kan's solicitation earlier.

With the strong northward movement of the Huainan Wangshi, and even the capture of Yecheng in one fell swoop, the situation in Hebei has also undergone great changes. At first, Xiang Jian only thought about taking advantage of the fire to rob, but the kind of tricolor flag order proposed by Xie Ai, the commander of the Huainan Army, still moved him a lot, after all, he didn't need to pay anything to be able to pull the tiger skin of the Huainan Army, which was also a help to him.

Sure enough, after his notorious bandit force got involved with the Huainan army, instead of being embarrassed by Wang Shi, he took advantage of this turmoil to reap its benefits.

When it was learned that Xie Ai would be the official head of the town as the Taishou of Jijun, because of the smooth cooperation before, Xiang Jian also hoped to take advantage of the momentum, and the heart that had been dormant for a long time and wanted to revive the family business became hot again.

The next thing is logical, Xiang Jian's team of bandits is more than 2,000 people, and most of them are skilled bandits with archers and horses.

Although the conditions for obtaining the black flag of the king division have become harsh, this is nothing to Xiang Jian, just taking out a part of the capture and beheading to successfully obtain a black flag, and even have the spare strength to increase the chips to choose such a strategically located station as Hekou Stream.

From a rogue to a strong beam with a base, this also means that he has struggled for half a life, and his career has finally been qualitatively improved. Although the Huainan Wang Division is strong, it is a guest army after all, and in many respects it is not as good as a native like Xiang Jian who has been crisscrossing for many years. With such a strong backer, Xiang Jian's dream of reviving the family business also looks promising.

In fact, Xie Ai not only assigned the area around Hekou Jian to Xiang Jian as a garrison with a stroke of his pen, but even offered to help build a fort as a garrison for his troops.

For such a request, Xiang Jian naturally will not refuse, he has also suffered enough in the past few years, including his subordinates, who are also eager to have a foothold. But according to their own words, they are still qualified to rob houses and houses, and building dock walls is really not their forte. For the assistance proposed by Wang Shi, he naturally would not refuse.

Of course, although Wang Shi helped, he only needed to pay attention to the specific consumption of money and food. There is no limit to the use of technical work, and the thrifty bandits naturally save a lot of money and food, and they naturally have to be extremely good and perfect for their first fortified territory, and they will not hesitate to work at any cost.

But when the dock wall was halfway through construction, Xiang Jian noticed that something was wrong, and the cost of the dock wall was far higher than he imagined. But there is no turning back from the bow, and if you stop halfway, the previous consumption will be wasted.

So in the past few months, Xiang Jian gritted his teeth and went out to dig out his family's foundation, and at the same time led his troops to plunder in all directions, and finally maintained it until the dock wall was built. Although the cost of construction is high, this fortress is really worth the money, even more than the one he remembers to be run by his uncle Xiang Bing in his early years.

And with this fortified fortress stationed, his subordinates' support for him has also reached a new height, and looking at the entire fangtou, there are really not many bandits who can mix with him at this step.

The fort built at such a great cost, if it is only used as a camp for the tribes, it is undoubtedly a waste, and naturally it must be matched with enough production personnel, even if there is no income from the plunder, at least it can meet the daily consumption.

Therefore, the captivity of the population naturally became the main task of Xiang Jian and his subordinates, because the cooperation with the Huainan royal division needed to be maintained, and they could only start to the area of Yedi further north.

However, with the frequent sorties, the Kahu army on the Yedi side also became prepared, especially because they had to capture a large number of raw mouths, and the rogue fighting method of Xiang Jian and them who came and went like the wind in the past was no longer applicable, and even was chased by the Kahu cavalry on several occasions, not only were all the gains dispersed, but even the troops suffered heavy casualties.

After experiencing several failures, Xiang Jian also realized that since he had changed the way he stood up and survived, his past methods also needed to be changed. Instead of putting everything into the sword, it is better to attract the people to take the initiative to vote. Therefore, he also warned his subordinates not to make more killings, and strive to put on a kind attitude for people to vote, relying on the strong city to develop and grow.

However, the bandits around Fangtou are not only Xiang Jian, and he is not the only smart person who relies on Wang Shi to strengthen himself, and with the rise of some other dock walls built with the help of Huainan Wang Shi, this advantage is no longer unique to Xiang Jian. If you want to increase your competitiveness, you can only make a fuss about armaments.

If Xiang Jian still had any dreams of dominating the land before, then at this moment, he has already understood that he has indeed embarked on a road of no return. The huge family business he has accumulated over the years has become such a fort, which is the crystallization of his lifelong struggle, and will surely rely on it in the future to prepare for his achievements.

This fort was not so much a credibility as a cage that trapped him here, and since then, the mountains and rivers have been far away, and all that has been obtained is the four walls.

"Karma is a wolf's ambition, but the evil is all on his face. But the southern thief, especially that Xie Ai, he still doesn't stop skinning and tearing people apart! ”

Thinking that he had done everything for this dock wall, but he still had to make additional investments again and again, Xiang Jian was full of bitterness and had nowhere to confide.

Originally, he just wanted to maintain contact with the Fangtou Wangshi, taking advantage of the situation but not attaching to it, but now it is difficult to say. In the sky for the eagle, the ground for the chicks. What kind of land division and division of one side is not something that these bandit-born pawns can afford to play at all!

Even if he does everything he has, can he run Hewu as majestic as the East and West Fangcheng? But even these two fangcheng were attacked by the Huainan Wangshi, so thinking of this, Xiang Jian felt that the future was bleak.

In the final analysis, it is still a delusional movement of oneself, step by step into this bottomless pit.

"The general is also worried, in fact, ......"

Hearing Xiang Jian's emotion, one of the people in the banquet opened his mouth to comfort, but as soon as he said a word, he was interrupted by Xiang Jian's case: "Don't call me a general!" Lao Tzu's ancestors were strong beams, and he threw away his family wealth in exchange for a false name, which is so stupid that people laugh at it......"

When everyone heard Xiang Jian's anger, they all bowed their heads for a while and didn't dare to say anything, but they didn't think much of Xiang Jian's feelings. For the vast majority of people, it doesn't matter if they are ambitious, whether they plunder in the field or plough the fields, they are just seeking a way to live.

In previous years, no matter how arbitrary it was to be a bandit, it was the norm to eat and sleep in the open and be precarious, and many people could not even start a family until they died. But now, with such a safe dock wall shelter, there is no longer a fixed place to live, and even the things that were not expected to start a family and reproduce children in previous years have now become readily available.

The wife and children are hot on the kang, who will never forget the wandering spirits in the early years?

At this time, the fangtou officials who had completed the installation and commissioning of the machinery came in.

Xiang Jian no matter what he thought in his heart, but he didn't dare to slack off, he got up to greet him in person, and heard the various data of the other party's words and tests, although he felt distressed about the cost, but he also had to sigh that Huainan Machinery was indeed worth the money, with these four powerful killing weapons to defend the dock wall, the safety was undoubtedly more secure.

And being able to install such a powerful machine in the dock wall is also a status symbol after all. Looking at the whole of Hebei, a powerful city-defending equipment like a thunder crossbow can only be placed in Xiangjian's Hewu in addition to the East and West Fangcheng. With this advantage, it will definitely be more effective to collect and eat in the future.

Therefore, Xiang Jian also thanked him again and again, and the head official was also polite, and said respectfully to Xiang Jian: "Before leaving, the prince ordered me to tell General Xiang that he would govern Hebei as a guest, if it were not for the help of the general and other township chiefs, it would be difficult to be calm." In this case alone, it should not be compared. But after all, the prince is ordered by the king, and many things are rarely capricious, so he can only compensate the general in other places. ”

As he spoke, he beckoned to the hall, and asked people to hold a brocade box several feet long, open it and show it to Xiang Jian, inside was a split crossbow machine: "The thunder crossbow used at the head of the city before, although it is extremely powerful, can only be used to defend the city. This Yuan Rong Divine Crossbow is different, it is simple and easy to carry, with multiple arrows in a row and amazing shooting power......"

Xiang Jian's heart subconsciously began to twitch when he heard the official's introduction, but when he heard his voice and color describe the use of this divine crossbow, he still couldn't help but ask: "I want to ask Lang Jun, how much does this crossbow cost?" How much can you provide for me? ”

"This kind of weapon is a military secretary, even if the envoy does not dare to use it outside, he can only lose a small amount to the people close to him. In the middle of next month, Huainan will be transported, and 30 bodies can be drawn up and down to supply good friends. The prince also felt the sincerity of the general's diligence in helping the king, so he asked me to inform me in advance, hoping that the general would be prepared. After all, what everyone wants, you can't be overly favoritism. ”

It was not the first time that the official had sold ordnance, and when he saw Xiang Jian's hesitation, he smiled again: "The general is often in and out of the armor, and the left and right appointments are brave, if this strong weapon is used again, even if there is occasional danger and is surrounded by ten thousand armies, he can also fly and ride lightly, and he can go back and forth without taboo!" ”

"But, but Lang Jun should also know that the loss of the Thunder Crossbow I purchased this time is quite huge, and it is really difficult to ...... in the short term Alas, the king naturally knows that I am diligent in helping the king's life, and he should also know that I am honest in my heart, and I don't know if I can do a little ......."

Xiang Jian was indeed moved, but he was helplessly shy, so it was inevitable that he would be a little shy and hesitant.

"If it's someone else, it's fine, but since it's General Xiang...... In fact, the general is heroic and majestic, and he is also kind to the public, but in fact, in my opinion, the general is still too benevolent. For example, there is no need for the thunder car crossbow, and there are few thieves around Hewu, if the real people come to commit it in a big way, and there is also the king of Fangcheng as a strong reinforcement, so that the heavy goods can only be used for nothing, it is too wasteful......"

Xiang Jian was already very distressed, and he couldn't help but feel even more remorseful when he heard this, but soon his attention was attracted by the official's words: "Others may have no plans, but General Xiang is strong, and it is not without workarounds." The prince is about to use his troops in the near future, and he may have to take a false path at that time, and if the general can do it, it will be convenient for him......"

Xiang Jian heard this, his heart was already shocked, although he didn't know the story of the false way, but he also had a lot of understanding of the danger of people's hearts, and he was worried that the Hewu run by his coolies would be plotted by others, and he didn't dare to open the door and rob the thieves to take the initiative to let the strong army of Fangtou in.

"This, this, so that you have something to call, I naturally have everything. But Hewu is really empty right now, I, I'm just worried that I've missed the king's plan......"

When the official heard this, he laughed: "The general is too worried, and the prince also knows that all places are in trouble, and he will never forcibly drive the poor." However, the location of Hewu is indeed the main route for the army to enter, and it cannot be avoided. The prince hoped that the general would be able to scout outside, calm the surrounding ears and eyes, and temporarily transfer the resources to this realm, when the army would easily take advantage of the transit and collect the effect of a surprise attack. I know very little about the prince's plan, if the general has the idea of helping, please go to Fangcheng to discuss with the prince in the near future. ”

When Xiang Jian heard this, his nervousness eased slightly, he was most worried that Fang Tou would bully the weak and directly take away the foundation he had put all his energy in, since there was still a discussion, it can be seen that Xie Ai is not a person who blindly fights.

"In fact, there is a secret matter, the prince felt that there are many strong and righteous people in Hebei earlier, so he made an appointment with the tricolor flag order Lixin, hoping that all those in Hebei who have strong righteousness have a way to serve the king's life. But now, although there are generals who are as zealous and righteous as the king's affairs, there are also many despicable people who use them to cover up the atrocities, which greatly corrupts the justice of the covenant and makes the princes mistake their good thoughts. Therefore, the prince also intends to take such an opportunity to judge the evil and sweep away the scum. ”

Xiang Jian was already thrilled when he heard this, he was feeling that the situation has been too stable recently, and there are many opportunities to take advantage of the chaos to make profits, and now it is obvious that Xie Ai is planning to purge the area, which is a good opportunity for him to annex dissidents and strengthen himself, so naturally there is no reason to object.

Moreover, he was also sure that the Fangtou Wang Shi would not be targeting him, otherwise he would never have sold him a weapon to defend the city such as a thunder crossbow before this.