"Yanei, I'm sure Guo Jing and I are strangers and have no grudges against each other. There must be someone behind him directing him."
"Of course I checked. Guess who it was this time?"
"Could it be Wang Fu again?"
"Wrong, it's Liang Shicheng."
"Are you sure it's this old eunuch?"
Gao Yanei chuckled, "I found a few brothers from the Palace Guards and beat Guo Jing up. He confessed that it was Liang Shicheng's personal eunuch who paid him to cause trouble in the Lotus Pavilion."
"I see."
Zhang Shixun seemed to see the wicked smile on Liang Shicheng's face and the figure behind him.
"Brother, you'd better be careful. This is a warning to you."
"I know. You should be careful too. Don't take advantage of my status as General Gao to act lawless."
"Don't worry, I'm busy carrying on the family line every day and don't have time to do those bullshit things."
"Every day, if you have health problems, you'd better be careful."
"I have no choice. When I came back this time, my father said that there are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants. If I don't give him a grandson this year, I will punish him with a military stick."
After hearing this, Zhang Shixun couldn't help but burst out laughing.
…
May of the sixth year of Xuanhe.
King Yang was overjoyed as he fought against the local tyrants everywhere. As he fought, he came to Baiquan at the foot of Taihang Mountain.
Baiquan is named after Baiquan Lake. It dates back to the period of the Three Sovereigns and was famous in the Shang Dynasty. When King Wu of Zhou defeated King Zhou of Zhou, he stayed overnight in Baiquan.
The enchanting scenery of mountains and rivers has attracted celebrities from all generations to live in seclusion, travel and give lectures here.
Li Moulue had a conversation with Zhang Shixun through Shunfenger.
"Master Zhang, Heavenly King Yang has been a little unstable lately."
"What's going on?"
"Now that he has a strong army and strong horses, he has become a little arrogant and gradually stopped listening to me. Recently, he has ignored my advice and started killing people wantonly. He also secretly associates with the Sitting Mountain Tiger in Taihang Mountain without my knowledge... Master Zhang, I think he wants to escape to Taihang Mountain and get rid of your control."
Zhang Shixun pondered for a long time and said, "You stabilize him first and keep in touch at all times. I'll take care of the rest."
"good!"
We have to take action.
Yang Tianwang is a bandit after all. Although he is not as brutal as other bandits, he is still a bandit after all. It is difficult for him to change his old habits and he is unwilling to be manipulated by others.
Zhang Shixun used him, firstly to pull the First Army out of the capital and gradually make it his own backbone force, and secondly to use Yang Tianwang to fight against the local tyrants and observe the reactions of the government and the people.
Since King Yang no longer obeys orders, he has lost his value.
"Li Moulue, has King Yang ever left the camp and gone out alone?"
"Yes, he thinks I'm an eyesore, so he often leaves me alone and takes his cavalry out to fight the local tyrants. That way he can do whatever he wants. Just recently, he went on a killing spree, regardless of whether they were local tyrants or common people, killing anyone who resisted... Oh, and he also kidnapped a few women from the common people to be his concubines."
When Zhang Shixun heard this, he angrily asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I want to tell you, but sometimes my super hearing doesn't work well."
"Why doesn't it work?"
"Sometimes when I want to pass on a message to you, my ears will start to buzz."
Zhang Shixun understood what was going on. Baiquan was close to Taihang Mountain. When Li Moulue tried to contact him, he must have been in the valley, and the wireless signal was blocked.
"When you pass on a message to me next time, try to go to an open area, at least not in the ravine."
"Why is that?"
Zhang Shixun said vaguely, "Because the earth immortal living in Taihang Mountain has a strange temper and doesn't like being disturbed."
"So that's it!" Li Moulue believed Zhang Shixun's words without a doubt.
After ending the call, Zhang Shixun summoned the officers to the military tent.
"Everyone, we've been chasing Heavenly King Yang for over two months now. We've been running around after him all day. I'm sure everyone is fuming."
Han Shizhong said: "Who said it wasn't true? I'm almost suffocating to death."
He Ji also said, "Officials from Hebei Road and Hebei West Road have submitted petitions impeaching the military commander for his incompetence and ineffective suppression of the bandits, and they suggest that the court remove you from office. If this continues, we will have no way to explain ourselves to the court."
Commanders Hei Bie and Ba Jin also joined in complaining.
He Ji added, "Let me talk about logistics. Because we haven't been effective in suppressing the bandits, the counties and cities along the way are unwilling to provide us with rations. Now, our rations are almost gone. In a few days, the First Army will be out of food."
Zhang Shixun sat there, listening with a smile, and did not stop it.
When they had almost finished grumbling, Zhang Shixun slowly asked Han Shizhong, "Commander Han, have you ever picked peaches?"
Han Shizhong was stunned by the question. What did he mean? They were talking about suppressing bandits, but suddenly they turned to picking peaches.
No matter how puzzled I am, I still have to answer: "Yes, I have picked apricots, peaches, and walnuts."
"Let me ask you again, when you pick peaches, do you wait until they are fully ripe before picking them, or do you pick them when they are still green?"
"Of course, pick them when they are fully ripe."
Zhang Shixun nodded, glanced at the officers present, and said slowly, "Our First Army is like a man picking peaches. Yang Tianwang is like a peach. We didn't pick it before because it wasn't ripe. Now, the peach is ripe. If we don't pick it, it will fall from the tree."
After hearing this, everyone felt that this analogy was a bit forced.
He Ji asked, "Military Commander, even if Heavenly King Yang is a peach, what difference does it make whether it's ripe or unripe?"
"We've been apart for a long time. When Yang Tianwang first escaped from Weishi, he was as busy as a dog that had lost its home, as anxious as a fish that had escaped a net. He had nothing but a hoe in his hand. He was like an unripe peach on a tree. If I had picked it at that time, I would have received some insignificant praise and nothing else."
When everyone heard this, they nodded.
That’s indeed the case.
"Yang Tianwang is poor, and our First Army isn't wealthy either. The little food and wages the court gave us are barely enough to fill our bellies. After defeating Toushouhua, we barely had a bite to eat and also captured some war horses. However, this little gain isn't enough to satisfy our appetites. Fighting for our country means we must strive for victory and live up to our dignity, don't you agree?"
Everyone nodded.
"The court ordered us to hunt down Heavenly King Yang, but I really have no interest in that. He's just a poor guy. Killing him wouldn't even be enough to fill our teeth."
This made everyone laugh.
"After Yang Tianwang escaped from Weishi, he saw that we weren't chasing him closely, so he just did what he wanted. He was busy hunting down local tyrants every day. Silver and jewelry flowed into his pocket like water, and he made a fortune. Now, Yang Tianwang has money, people, and horses. Haha! He's like a peach on a tree... Everyone, are you jealous?"
Han Shizhong took the lead, and everyone shouted in unison: "Red!"
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