As the state government and Zhongzhou Xingtai reached an agreement, the Liangzhou people stationed in Longshang also began to evacuate one after another, but the scene was inevitably a little lonely, in stark contrast to the scene of singing and advancing more than a year ago.

Long before the retreat of the armies, Zhang Qiang, as the general of the army, withdrew to the rear first. The past few months have not been a good experience for him, at first when the army was strong, it was admittedly majestic, and all sides were ambushed, but then he was first constrained by the rear and then the king's master, which made his situation take a sharp turn.

In the process of deadlock negotiations in the past few months, the governor ordered him not to provoke recklessly. Even the team he sent to Hexi to escort goods and people was harassed many times, and no one in the entire Longshang took him, the general of Liangzhou East Road, in his eyes.

"Tear it down for me, take it all down!"

On the way back, Zhang Qian commanded the soldiers to destroy some of the fortifications and warehouses built during the previous eastward march, and all the materials that could be recovered were carried to the cart, and a large amount of labor was used to transport them back.

If he hadn't taken the first step, there would still be men and horses on the back road who would have to withdraw, and he even wanted to order the people to block the Taoshui River, so that the border area of Di Daozhou would be silted up and flooded.

The process of retreat was not all smooth sailing, although there were many miscellaneous people in the team, Hu Yi never had to pay too much attention to the death of his beings, but the elite soldiers of the Liangzhou army also needed sufficient food and grass to march. The heroes of Longshang have already completely stood on the side of the Xingtai Wangshi, and they will no longer provide material subsidies to the Liangzhou Army.

Although Zhang Qian was also indulging his soldiers in plundering the countryside along the way, his income was unstable after all, even if he was very resistant, he had to turn to Jincheng, where Song Ji was stationed, to extract grain and grass for use after passing Di Dao.

When he was about to arrive in Jincheng, the state sent another envoy into the army, which was Zhang Tan of the Zhang clan. Probably because they were worried that they might have a deep grudge against each other, or that there might be a fire.

"Song Ji dog thieves are really hateful, brother don't stop me, after arriving in Jincheng, I will step on his tent door and ask if the dog thief is worthy of the courtesy of several generations of ancestors!"

In Zhang Qiang's view, whether it was the previous constraints of the Liangtu families that dragged him down on his march, or the subsequent Song Ji who led the crowd to Jincheng and failed to advance, it made him fall into great passivity, which was the main reason for the unfavorable confrontation in Longshang this time.

Seeing that Zhang Qian was angry, Zhang Tan only sighed and advised: "This time the labor is huge, and the situation in the state is also difficult, even if there are disputes, it is not appropriate to make noise at this moment, which makes people's hearts even more uneasy......

When Zhang Qian heard this, his expression was even more displeased: "I led my troops to fight bravely in Longshang, occupy an area and capture the people, deter the ugly, and show the majesty of my Liangfu." However, there is a ** inside, there are strong enemies outside, the left and right Longmin fox fake tiger might, and there is Hu Chou waiting for the opportunity to make trouble, even so, I still make people drive the people of Longshang to fill my cool land. How about hard work, there is no need to show much in the house, how can I be a narrow-minded and irritable, unprovoked and like? Song's dog thief, relying on his Dunhuang giant room, hindered me from ......"

"How can the lord of the state not know how your toil is? This defeat in Longshang is not the crime of recruiting soldiers. When they return to Hexi, the soldiers will be rewarded for their hard work. ”

Zhang Tan continued to speak.

Hearing this, Zhang Qiang's face gradually eased. The anger in his heart was true, but half of the anger he was showing at the moment was faked, aiming to reclaim his merits in order to obtain more rewards. And Zhang Tan replied like this, obviously he also heard the meaning of his words.

Now that such a tacit understanding has been reached, Zhang Qian no longer behaves so angrily, and his emotions gradually converge, and then he asks again: "Brother is from the state, I don't know who is guarding Caohan, does His Highness have a heart?" ”

This time to negotiate with Zhongzhou Xingtai, the Liangzhou army needs to retreat to the west of Didao, which means that the Tianshui, Longxi and other places occupied before must be surrendered, and in addition to Jincheng in Henan, Caohan is the most important military town.

Although Zhang Qian did not think that this concession was his own fault, he also knew that he really lacked a brilliant performance in it, and he was inevitably worried that the state lord would be angry with him and that he might be left idle after returning to Hexi.

For Zhang Qiang, this is not only the gain or loss of power, but also the possibility of being suppressed by those local tyrants in Liangzhou, and his life cannot be guaranteed.

Therefore, he naturally had to bargain with the state lord while he had not lost the power in his hands to ensure his own safety. As for the important town of Henan, Caohan is one of his few choices, which is far away from Henan, which can not only stay away from the power disputes in the state, but also have heavy troops in his hands, which is also convenient for him to continue to operate and cultivate his own forces.

Therefore, without waiting for Zhang Tan to reply, Zhang Qian said hatefully: "Zhongzhou Xingtai is really unkind and mean, and he doesn't put us and other cool people in his eyes. My family has been based on the west for several generations, operating Hexi, preserving the lives of the people in this realm, Zhuxia Hu Jackal is raging, there are still crowns and belts in the world, and the great merit is so, how can it be paid for the public position! Looking at the universe, Hu Lu has a few usurped the emperor's order, and the ugly group competes to be lonely, the so-called Zhengshuo in Jiangdong is just a distant relative of the Dianwu Sect. ”

"This time, I will fight in Longshang, expand the territory for hundreds of miles for the state lord, but I hate Wu Er for taking the righteousness of the people, so that my Liang Shi's blood is wasted, and now I am even more mean to the lord, and the human feelings are really unbearable! I swear with the soldiers, today's humiliation, I will never forget it, just wait for the opportunity to rise up and repay it, otherwise it will be a shame to return to Hexi! ”

When Zhang Tan heard this, his demeanor changed again, and he muttered for a moment before he spoke: "So, are you determined to stay in Caohan?" ”

"I'm just an eagle dog at home, and where His Highness points me, I naturally don't dare to look back. But the tigers and wolves under the tent are ashamed and brave, hoping to be used by the shame! ”

Zhang Qian said in a deep voice, although he had a lot of grievances in the turmoil in Longshang this time, he also recognized a fact, that is, the power struggle in the state was complicated, and even the state lord had to make concessions on many things, just to maintain a stable situation. At present, in order to ensure his position and security, he also had to use his military power to coerce a little.

"Yes, very good. In this way, it is really morale. ”

Zhang Tan bowed slightly after hearing this, and then waved his hand to signal the attaché to step forward and offer wine: "I came here with an order this time, but the state lord did not explain who was guarding the town, but you have such bravery, the state lord must not be careless." ”

Zhang Qian was so naked and frank about his heart, in fact, there was no lack of apprehension in his heart, but when he heard that Zhang Tan did not turn his face and reprimand him, he was relieved, and then grinned: "Although Longshang is thinner than what he obtains this time, he also took a few urns of fine wine, and I ordered the accountant to take it and drink it with my brother, and I hope that my brother can dissect my loyal and brave heart to His Royal Highness." ”

"It doesn't have to be, let's drink this urn."

Zhang Tan raised his hand to stop Zhang Qiang's move, and personally stepped forward to fill the wine vessel for Zhang Qiang.

"How dare you bother ......"

Zhang Qian was about to say a few polite words, but he soon noticed that Zhang Tan's expression was different, there were chaotic footsteps outside the tent, and there was even a hidden sound of gold and iron mixed in it, especially after the wine was poured out, there was a strong smell rushing to his nose, which also made Zhang Qiang's face change suddenly, and he subconsciously pressed the saber.

"Conggui, don't resent His Highness for being ruthless. It's true that this time, you have a great sin in the judgment, even if Your Highness has the heart to protect it, but ......"

Seeing Zhang Qian like this, Zhang Tan withdrew from Zhangyu, and the surrounding armor soldiers stepped forward to protect him, and there were also Zhang Qiang's cronies in the tent, after seeing this scene, they also drew their blades, and the atmosphere was suddenly tense.

Zhang Qian was only suspicious, but after hearing Zhang Tan say this, his face suddenly turned cold, and he frowned and said, "The state wants to kill me?" He, why is he? ”

As he spoke, Zhang Qian drew his saber, his face was hideous and furious, and the whole person seemed to be an enraged beast.

Zhang Tan took out a warrant from his bosom and read it aloud to Zhang Qian and his subordinates in the tent: "The state government told the soldiers of the army that Zhang Conggui was ordered to supervise the army to the east of Henan, and the order was to conquer the disobedient thieves in Longbian and should be from the king of Xingtai to set Longbian. Zhang Conggui disobeyed the order, accepted the slaughter of the thieves Hu to enrich his wings, and later supervised the neglect of the order, causing the slaughter of the king to attack and block the thief department......"

"Shut up, dog thief! You're ...... again."

“…… Zhang Conggui was derelict in his life and dereliction of duty, and the officers and men of the army were not involved in this crime, so as to abide by the prohibition of the various departments, and not to be bewitched by the criminals, so that they could protect their wealth and family......"

Zhang Tan ignored Zhang Qiang's heavy drinking, and also raised his tone, and then looked around at the soldiers in the tent, and said quickly: "You are all loyal and brave in Liangfu, and the state lord personally ordered this, don't be impulsive and make mistakes!" ”

After saying that, he pointed at Zhang Qian and shouted: "Conggui, today's disaster is all self-inflicted." Your Highness doesn't want the sword soldiers to humiliate you, and you don't want my court to bleed, so why should you be fierce again? The people of Jincheng have long been set up outside, blood and bones, I will send you a ride in the account, if you are not willing to submit to the law, come forward with a knife. But this knife is not only a life and death severance, but also a ......"

How can that be? Outrageous! I have tried my best for my family, and I have worked so hard, how can I talk about it with the people who are talking? If I am not in a hurry to fight for the whole matter, why should I drive the king to ......"

Zhang Qian was already in a state of madness at this moment, roaring and waving his knife at Zhang Tan. However, there were several people flashing out in front of him, stopping Zhang Qian strongly: "The general thinks twice......

"If the thief wants to kill me, don't you have time to think about it!"

Zhang Qian was even more annoyed when he heard this, but soon found that his movement was no longer free, and it was not the attaché brought by Zhang Tan who trapped him, but the cronies in his tent.

These people are also ashamed on their faces, but they don't dare to make trouble with Zhang Qiang, you must know that their respective families and dependents are still staying in Hexi, and this time it is the state that kills Zhang Qiang, even if they kill Zhang Tan in front of them, Jincheng's army will not let them go.

"You are all faithful, and this time the sin is in one person, and not the others. Each of you will return to the camp to restrain the soldiers, and after the golden city has taken food, there is still a great use to appoint. ”

Zhang Tan dismissed these soldiers from the tent, and then glanced at Zhang Zong, who was struggling after being captured in the tent, and sighed: "Let's drink." ”()

.。 m.