The first year of Guangxi. December 14th. Early morning.

The sky was overcast, and neither the sun nor the clouds could be distinguished, but it was like an iron-gray cauldron that was upside down on the ground, which made people feel depressed. Fine, snowflakes scattered in the wind. The snow had been going on for two or three days and showed no signs of stopping, and the snow on the ground had reached the surface of the feet, making a creaking sound when stepped on.

This is the former site of the Fenyang Pavilion in the north of the central capital, although it has suffered a military disaster, but the main building of the pavilion is generally intact. This time, it was specially repaired by the soldiers and used to entertain the representatives of the wealthy families who came from all over the world. Compared with the military camp not far away, the environment of the pavilion is quite good, but there are still people complaining and dissatisfied.

Zhang Zhaoshen stepped on the snow with one shallow foot. He noticed that some people were looking at him with contempt, others were whispering, and mocking words drifted into his ears with the cold wind.

"Patriarch Zhang, are you going to see that kid surnamed Lu again?" An older voice rang out.

Zhang Zhao stopped and turned around: "Yes." ”

"Alas......" The man walked slowly and grabbed Zhang Zhao's shoulder: "Patriarch Zhang, why bother? The Wen family took refuge in that Liu Kun and got a long history, so we have to get a county order and join the army, let alone a wealthy family, right? What did they give you? So much so that you are so enthusiastic? ”

Zhang Zhao felt a little unhappy. At no time do these people forget to stir up? What's more, I am the head of the Zhang clan in Zhongdu, although the scale is the smallest among the clans, but it is not something that you can only hook up with a house slave!

Zhang Zhao shook his head, got rid of the man's arm with his shoulders, and quickened his pace.

"Hmph......" A cold snort came from behind him: "I don't know how to lift!" ”

About half a minute on foot, around a grove of groves, to the barracks. The barracks are small in size, but they are meticulously built. Zhang Zhao walked all the way, the barracks were silent, the soldiers were resting, and there was occasional laughter in the tents. A hundred steps behind the gate is the Chinese military tent. Two soldiers were beating the snow on the tabernacle so that it wouldn't collapse. Zhang Zhao gestured to the two of them, and then the cat's waist entered the account.

When he had entered the tent, he turned back and closed the tabernacle, and closed the crack in the door so that the cold wind would not blow in. In fact, this did not do much, compared to the sharp drop in temperature, this military tent is too thin. Besides, the ground had not been leveled, so there was only some wild grass, a circle of felt blankets, and a fire pit was dug in the center. Even the flames in the fire pit were jumping weakly.

Although it is a Chinese military tent, there is almost no difference between it and the tent of ordinary soldiers; Several of the officers in the tent were also dressed in ordinary clothes. Zhang Zhao had never seen such a strange army.

An old soldier in his forties scooped out a bowl of hot soup from a pot hanging on the fire and handed it to Zhang Zhao diligently: "Patriarch Zhang, please use some soup to drive away the cold." The conditions in the army are poor, and I am really wronged. ”

Zhang Zhao couldn't take off his cloak, and hurriedly took the soup bowl with both hands: "Team Master Deng, you don't need to be polite." ”

Three days ago, General Lu Yao was ordered by General Shi Yueshi to appease the wealthy clans in the southern counties of Taiyuan State, and at the same time mobilize grain, materials and strong men. He immediately led hundreds of troops out of Jinyang City to the south, came to the Fenyang Pavilion in the north of the central capital to set up camp, and at the same time sent messengers to Qixian, Daling, Jingling, Zhongdu and other counties of the twelve surnames, 35 Hao clan forts all over the order, with a limit of three days, to convene the heads of the families, the head of the dock fort and others.

But the attitude of the wealthy family is very uncooperative. In their eyes, Liu Kun, the new assassin of Bingzhou, seems 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 to make the surnames of Bingzhou pay enough attention. And Lu Yao, the general under Liu Kun, is even more unbearable.

What is the position of General Pi? Well? Who is this Lu Yao, does anyone know? I heard that this Lu was originally the military leader of Dongyinggong's subordinates...... Since the defeated generals were lucky enough to be spared the axe, they should live cautiously from now on. Even if this generation comes to the door to ask for a meeting, it is still a matter of seeing or not seeing. How dare you summon us and others for a limited time? Could it be that he took the wrong medicine and lost his mind and went crazy?

Three days passed in a blink of an eye, and there were very few leaders of the Hao clan who responded to Lu Yao's call. The first-class high gate in Taiyuan, represented by Wang and Guo, did not have a master of the dock fort to attend the meeting. Even those who came to the barracks were not the patriarch of the Hao clan himself. It's just the children of their kinship, who are used as messengers to find out about the wind.

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

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

Sitting opposite Zhang Zhao was Lu Yao.

Seeing Zhang Zhao so humble, he immediately returned the courtesy: "Brother Taizhen once told me that the leaders of the wealthy clans in the south of Taiyuan, only the head of the Zhang clan is loyal and can share the glory and disgrace with the imperial court. The Zhang clan master has done his best, and Lu is very grateful. ”

Before Lu Yao sent troops this time, Changshi Wenqiao specially recommended to him the Zhang clan in front of him. According to Wen Qiao, the Zhang family was not a native of the state, but moved here from Fanyang in the late Han Dynasty. Over the years, the Zhang family has not been prosperous, and they have been favored by other families, but they are only friendly with the Wen family in Qi County. Therefore, Zhang Zhao had long been willing to respond to Yue Shigong's order. Such a family leader only needs to be above the middle people, and he will inevitably be of great use in the future.

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

"Among these twelve surnames, four of them have married my Zhang family, after all, there is some affection. I should continue to do my best to communicate and strive to live up to the expectations of Liu Yueshi and General Lu. Zhang Zhao sighed and continued: "Freezing three feet, not a day's cold. Over the years, the imperial court has repeatedly failed in its wars against the Huns, and its decrees have been limited to a few large cities, and the wealthy clans scattered throughout the villages and communities can only be restrained. Over time, they have developed the habit of arrogance and arrogance of this generation, and now the power of the court is declining more and more, and it is not easy to want them to support them sincerely. ”

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

The plainly dressed old soldier who brought soup to Zhang Zhao was Deng Gang. Hearing Shen Jin say this, he couldn't help but complain: "Yes." Looking at the appearance of those envoys of the wealthy clan, they simply regarded themselves as the emperor of the soil...... Alas......"

Most of Lu Yao's subordinates are fighting men, how can they know how to usher in this set. Therefore, in the past few days, Deng Gang has entertained the envoys of the Hao clan as Lu Yao's representative. He thought it was just an ordinary errand, but he was so angry. Except for the kind-hearted Zhang Zhao, the rest of the children of the Hao clan were all above the top, treating him, an officer, as a lowly servant, and shouting wantonly. After a few days of tossing, Rao is a good old man like Deng Gang, and he is about to lose his temper.

Shen Jin nodded again and again: "Those big surnamed wealthy families are all unclean!" You have to cut off the head with a sword to know whose world it is. ”

Lu Yao ignored them, and said to Zhang Zhao: "Since the heads of the various families do not come, it must be because it is difficult to walk because of the cold and snow. In this way, I also ask the Zhang clan lord to convey to the envoys of all families, I am willing to wait for another three days. In the afternoon of the third day, I will officially hold a banquet to entertain all the clan lords, and I ask everyone to be sure to attend the meeting. ”

"General Lu, don't say it's two days, even if you wait for another two months, I'm afraid no one will come again. After all, ......" Zhang Zhao tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and hesitated for a long time before saying: "After all, all the wealthy families are powerful families, and there are even many crowned characters in the clan, which are not comparable to idle villagers." For such a wealthy family, the successive governors of the state have been invited by high-ranking officials. Although General Lu is young and promising, he is above the name, cough, it is a little lighter! ”

Zhang Zhao was very cautious, and as he spoke, he looked at Lu Yao's expression with his eyes. Seeing that Lu Yao's face did not change at all, he continued: "I just talked to a few envoys, and I heard them say: Yesterday, Guo Rong, the castle master of Guojiabao in Tuomugang, sent a message to all the big names, inviting all family heads to gather in Guojiabao to discuss the future...... I'm afraid that all the clan lords will rush there when the time comes. ”

"Guojiawu Fort ......" Lu Yao muttered: "Is this true?" ”

Zhang Zhao explained: "There is no doubt about it. The Guo family of Tuomugang in Qi County is the ethnic group of Guo Huai, the general of the former dynasty and the Marquis of Yangqu, and the Guo family of Yangqu is separated. Although this group has no eunuchs in modern times, it is a powerful clan in the south of Taiyuan, with a prosperous people, a huge number of tribal forces, and several other Wubao to establish in-law relations. Guo Rongqi ...... Ahem...... He has always had some dealings with the Hu people. ”

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

Zhang Zhao is good-tempered, he doesn't have any irritability, and he will answer all questions. Speaking of details, he also took a pen and paper and wrote them down for Lu Yao one by one. This qi cultivation kung fu is really not bad.

After half an hour, Lu Yao got up and said, "I completely understand...... Patriarch Zhang, since the patriarchs of each family have important matters, it is really difficult for me to force them. Fortunately, there are envoys from all families here, who must be able to convey the meaning of the court to the ears of the patriarch. Lu's plan has been decided, no matter whether the heads of the family can arrive in time or not, I will officially set up a banquet to entertain the guests in the afternoon three days later. And the lord of the Lao tribe sent a message out. You don't have to worry about anything else. ”

Zhang Zhao was stunned, he wanted to remind Lu Yao that the matter of gathering the wealthy families this time had already failed nine out of ten, and as the representative of Yue Shigong, did he need to make other plans. More importantly, he also wanted to ask: The performance of the Zhang clan in Zhongdu in the past few days has angered some powerful local wealthy families, can Lu Yao find some way to shelter them? Otherwise, the future of the Zhongdu Zhang clan will be bleak.

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

Thinking so, he politely said, "Yes, yes." ”

Zhang Zhaoli said goodbye and left several times. Lu Yao sent him outside the Yuanmen, and then returned to the Zhongjun tent, he found the place name of Tuomugang on the geographical map, frowned and looked at it for a long time, and suddenly said: "Where are Xue Tong and Gao Xiang now?" Ask them to come over immediately. ”

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

Deng Gang answered. Shen Jin said eagerly: "Daoming, what are your plans?" ”

Lu Yao glanced at him: "As a young general under the command of Yue Shigong, I want to call on all the wealthy families, but it really doesn't seem to be enough. But Yue Shigong didn't expect those high-ranking surnames to look at the scenery, and was looking for an opportunity to kill chickens and monkeys. You see, the scheming people jumped out by themselves......" As he spoke, Xue Tong and the others arrived.

Lu Yao did not hesitate, and a series of military orders were issued like a stream, and in an instant, the entire military camp was in a shock.

The envoys of the wealthy clan who lived in the pavilion were about to investigate, but they were restrained by Deng Gang with dozens of people, and they could only cry out in vain. Seeing the large group of people set off, leaving only an empty military camp.