Since Dong Chun left Pengcheng, Liang Dezhong and Cui Deben have had a tacit understanding of "cooperation".

In the position of the supreme commander of the Xuzhou military, Liang Dezhong must be a transitional figure, which is well known. Liang Dezhong also knew himself and did not pursue "promotion", but focused on "making wealth" and used his short time to temporarily replace the military power of Xuzhou to make a fortune. However, he was from Guanlong and had an innate conflict with the local forces in Xuzhou. In addition, he was in the military and had too narrow channels for "making wealth". Whether it was to suppress the rebellion and suppress the thieves or to ensure the safety of the north-south transportation channels, the benefits he gained were very limited. Therefore, if Liang Dezhong wanted to achieve the goal of "making a lot of money", he had to win cooperation with the local forces in Xuzhou, so he found Cui Deben.

Due to its geographical location, the Xuzhou noble group has been wandering between the Shandong noble group and the Jiangzuo noble group. They are not in line with each other and are good at both sides. However, because of the existence of the "big figure" of the Lanling Xiao family, the people of Xuzhou are closer to the Jiangzuo people in terms of economy and culture, but in terms of politics, they are closer to the Shandong people. After the Shandong people arrived in Xuzhou, they naturally actively cooperated with the people of Xuzhou, especially after the unification of China and Turkey, the two sides had a common enemy, and cooperation became inevitable.

Liang Dezhong is a smart man. Through his cooperation with Cui Deben, he cleverly achieved cooperation with the people of Xuzhou. As a result, Xuzhou's military and political circles get along well, and the conflict of interest between various forces has been greatly eased, which is conducive to the stability of the situation in Xuzhou to a certain extent. He, a transitional figure, has been in the transitional position until now, and is directly related to the continued stability of the situation in Xuzhou.

However, when the good days came to an end, the situation in Xuzhou suddenly deteriorated, and the reason for the deterioration was not because of Li Fengyun's journey south, but because of the arrival of King Yang Nan of Qi. In fact, after King Yang Nan of Qi led his army to He and Si to suppress the rebellion, Xuzhou had a strong sense of crisis, and Liang Dezhong even wanted to retreat, but he was in a dangerous place and could not leave as soon as he wanted to. Soon, the crisis came and could not even hide. Liang Dezhong also lost the opportunity to escape, but he was never willing to let go. He was bound to struggle to win the best result for himself.

Obviously, as far as the current situation is concerned, if Liang Dezhong wants to win the best result for himself, he must cooperate with Xuzhou people. The losses of the interests of Xuzhou people in the current crisis are also completely foreseeable. The two sides have the conditions for working together, but the question is, are Xuzhou people willing to cooperate with Liang Dezhong? If Xuzhou people choose to cooperate with King Yang Nan of Qi, wouldn’t Liang Dezhong not even have the strength to fight back?

After Liang Dezhong met Cui Deben, he made a clear idea and explained his purpose directly, "The white-haired thief has gone south, and the King of Qi will chase him to death. Chaos in Xuzhou have appeared, and a certain ability is limited and it is difficult to deal with the crisis, so he came to ask for help.

Cui Deben had already expected Liang De to come to seek help in order to escape from the Xuzhou crisis, but he didn't expect that Liang Dezhong was so anxious and could not wait to leave. It can be seen that he had estimated that he might be trapped in the front and back attacks of the King of Qi and the people of Xuzhou. Once he was attacked from both sides, there would be a disaster of destruction. Therefore, he was very bachelor and directly "showed off". Only you Xuzhou people gave a certain way of life, and were willing to cooperate tacitly to help you Xuzhou people get the best interests.

Cui Deben hesitated for a moment and asked, "The King of Qi has told the Wei Mansion that he is going south to Xuzhou to suppress the thieves?"

The Eastern Capital's imperial edict made it clear that the three places of Henan, Qilu and Xuzhou jointly encircled and suppressed the white-haired thieves. The military commanders of the three places, Yang Nan, King Qi of Henan, Zhou Fashang of Qilu, and Liang Dezhong of Xuzhou, each held some of the power to suppress the rebellion and had no affiliation with each other. This caused an unfavorable situation of fighting each other, but effectively curbed the ambition of King Qi of Qi Yang Nan's development of strength by taking advantage of the opportunity of suppressing the rebellion.

Dongdu used this edict to warn King Yang Nan of Qi, and also warned military and political officials in Qilu and Xuzhou not to get too close to King Yang Nan of Qi, and to keep a certain distance so as not to cause trouble for themselves.

After the imperial edict was conveyed, the military and political officials in the three places were suffering and very nervous. From the standpoint of suppressing the rebellion and suppressing the thieves, the military and political officials in the three places would inevitably have intersections with the King of Qi, and this "intersection" was uncontrollable, which depends entirely on the mood of Dongdu. Dongdu was in a bad mood and said that you were close to the King of Qi, then it would be over, so you could only hide. However, the King of Qi had the task of suppressing the rebellion and suppressing the thieves. In order to complete the task, he must ask local military and political officials for help. How do you hide? As a result, a "death situation" was formed. In desperation, the military and political officials in the three places became "shrinking turtles" in a tacit understanding. They avoided for a while, but they really couldn't escape, so they rely on the heavens to fight for luck.

The task of suppressing the rebellion and suppressing the bandits is mainly completed by the army, so the Chief Executive of the Fang Fang is easy to hide, so the officers of the Yingyang Mansion of the Weifu cannot escape. For example, Liang Dezhong is facing such a problem now, and it is difficult to suppress the bandits alone. After all, Li Fengyun is no longer the same as before. The King of Qi cannot eat him, so Liang Dezhong's Xuzhou Zhuyingyang is even worse. Under normal circumstances, he should take the initiative to contact King Yang Nan of Qi at this time and ask him to go south to help, but Liang Dezhong dare not cause trouble and dare not contact King Qi. However, once there is a problem in the suppression of the rebellion in Xuzhou, the King of Qi stands aside and watches coldly and ignores it. The King of Qi is guilty. Therefore, after Li Fengyun goes south to Xuzhou, even if Liang Dezhong does not ask King Qi for help, the King of Qi will take the initiative to go south.

In this way, Liang Dezhong's "disaster" came. If he worked closely with the King of Qi and successfully suppressed the rebellion and thieves, Dongdu would definitely believe that he was "close to" the King of Qi, and he would be done. On the contrary, if he and the King of Qi never interacted with each other, fought their own, lost, and failed to suppress the rebellion, he would still have to bear the blame, and he would also have to bear the crazy revenge of the political forces to which the King of Qi, and the result might be even worse.

What should I do? Liang Dezhong did have an idea. He wanted to fight Li Fengyun before he arrived on the battlefield. The result was his own. If he lost, he would throw the task of suppressing the rebellion in Xuzhou to the King of Qi. Although he would be guilty of being punished for the unfavorable suppression of the thieves, he would not be retaliated by the King of Qi. In addition, he drew a clear line with the King of Qi, and the Holy Lord would not attack him. The political forces he belonged to would try to protect him. In this way, the punishment would not be too heavy. Even if he could not protect his career, he would not lose his head. At most, he would be expelled for the people. In this way, he would be free and free. With the wealth he had been plundered over the years, he would not be a problem to go home and be a free and boastful rich man.

However, if this idea is to be turned into reality, Liang Dezhong must win the cooperation of Xuzhou people. If Xuzhou people "pull their legs" behind their backs, it will be troublesome, and there is no place to die. For this reason, Liang Dezhong decided to cooperate with Cui Deben frankly. In addition, he has always suspected that there is an ulterior motive between Cui Deben, Duan Wencao, Lanling Xiao family and Li Fengyun. Otherwise, it cannot be explained why Li Fengyun went far and went into the Central Plains to rob Tongji Canal. This is equivalent to helping Duan Wencao in disguise. Cui Deben stabilized southwestern Shandong and Xuzhou during the Eastern Expedition.

The situation, Duan Wencao and Cui Deben did not take advantage of the emptiness of the Mengshan bandits' nest to capture Mengshan and cut off Li Fengyun's retreat when Li Fengyun was in trouble. Why is this? Liang Dezhong had no evidence, but he knew that behind Li Fengyun's flag-raising and rebelling, there must be Shandong nobles behind Li Fengyun's development and growth. So he believed that as long as he expressed enough sincerity, Cui Deben would definitely help him escape unscathed, and he would escape unscathed, which would be good for Shandong people. On the contrary, if he died in Xuzhou, the benefit would be from King Yang Nan of Qi.

Liang Dezhong took out the letter from King Qi and handed it to Cui Deben, "The King of Qi is heading south."

"So fast?" Cui Deben pretended to be surprised. In fact, he had expected that he knew that there was a tacit understanding between Li Fengyun and King Qi, and Li Fengyun's trip south this time must be the product of the "tacity" between the two sides. The King of Qi had a great goal. Liang Dezhong was just one of the many goals of the King of Qi, and he was also the King of Qi. From the position of the King of Qi, the best way to control Xuzhou was to replace the military and political chiefs of Xuzhou with his own people. Therefore, before leaving Xuzhou, it was indeed necessary to cooperate with Liang Dezhong "faithfulness", but this "faithfulness" was unilateral. He had to win Liang Dezhong's "faithfulness" and thus save Liang Dezhong at a critical moment. Liang Dezhong cannot die, let alone die on the battlefield in Xuzhou. This is crucial for Shandong people, especially Xuzhou people, who are in charge of Shandong people, especially Xuzhou people.

"I want to set off to Xia Pi immediately." Liang Dezhong said, "I need your help."

Cui Deben frowned slightly and asked, "How many troops do you plan to take to Xia Pi?"

"The three Yingyang Mansions in Pengcheng County, and one Yingyang Mansion that has just been transferred from Xiapi County to Pengcheng, totaling four Yingyang Mansions and 16 regiments." Liang Dezhong did not hide it and informed in detail.

Cui Deben looked at him in surprise, "You have to go out in full swing, transfer all the troops stationed in Feng, Pei, Changwu, and Tengcheng? In this way, you not only have to abandon the northern defense line of Pengcheng, but also set up an empty city plan in Pengcheng. Wouldn't this open the gate of Pengcheng and let the rebels drive in?"

"I need your help." Liang Dezhong said solemnly, "I need you to call on all local villages and clans to guard Pengcheng."

Cui Deben hesitated for a long time and asked, "If the purpose of the white-haired thief going south is to attack the east and west, it is Pengcheng, and his main force is now ambushing the southern foot of Mengshan Mountain, then you will be in full swing, will you be caught in the plan of the white-haired thief

"The King of Qi is heading south. With his troops, he can not only guard Pengcheng, but also severely damage the thieves from the south. Therefore, even if the white-haired thieves attack Xia Pi, the purpose of attacking Xia Pi is to attack the east and the west, and to lure someone out of Pengcheng, it will be difficult to do what they want." Liang Dezhong shook his hand disapproved, "The one who really threatens you and me is not the white-haired thieves, but facing a real opponent, someone is unable to compete with him. In desperation, someone has to go out and go to Xia Pi to suppress the thieves. You have to mobilize all the strength of the village clan regiment to defend Pengcheng, with the purpose of avoiding direct confrontation with the opponent. However, this is a temporary measure after all, and it is for Dongdu to see it. Just wait for Dongdu to see it, and prove his loyalty to the Holy Lord, and someone can escape from the crisis in Xuzhou and escape unstoppable."

Liang Dezhong's frankness suddenly made Cui Deben's sense of crisis suddenly become stronger. Thinking of Cui Hongsheng's bleak prospects and the deteriorating situation of Cui's rivers, cooperation between Cui and Xuzhou people will become increasingly difficult. The deliberate delay in sharing secrets by the Xiao family in Lanling is a clear example. It can be seen that Xuzhou people are adjusting their strategies. Although they will not cooperate with the King of Qi, they will also be cautious in their cooperation with the Cui family, which is in a political crisis and cannot extricate themselves from the protection of their own interests, so as not to cause unintentional disasters to the people of Xuzhou.

Cui Deben resolutely made a decision and reciprocate his favor and also revealed some secrets to Liang Dechong.

"If the white-haired thief goes south and is one of the arrangements for King Qi to enter Xu, then the idea of ​​someone who escapes unscrupulously may become an unrealistic luxury."

Liang Dezhong's expression was slightly stagnant, and hesitated for a long time and said, "The King of Qi is not strong enough, and he dares not break with Dongdu in the end. Even if he wants to kill someone, he can only use a knife to kill someone."

Cui Deben understood Liang Dezhong's meaning and immediately issued a warning, "Don't underestimate the white-haired thief. Dong Chun's defeat is a lesson from the past."

Liang Dezhong sneered secretly and sneered, not taking Cui Deben's warning to heart. Then he discussed some specific details with Cui Deben, and then said goodbye.

After Li Fengyun commanded the main force of the alliance to capture Tancheng, he quickly moved south along the Yishui River, attacking the city and catching the villages, and heading straight to Xiapi City.

At the same time, Meng Haigong led three armies from the South Central Road to the East China Sea along the Shushui River, burning, killing, and looting all the way, quickly approaching Shuyang City.

At the same time, Liang Dezhong led his army to advance along the Sishui River to support Xia Pi City, while Li Fengyun was faster. Before the official army arrived, the main force of the alliance surrounded Xia Pi City, captured Yishan Jinkou, and cut off Liang Dezhong's way into the city.

The two sides encountered each other in Yishan and immediately started a fierce battle.

Liang De importantly captured Jinkou to cross the river to rescue Xia Pi, while Li Fengyun wanted to block the official army at the foot of Yishan Mountain and gain enough time for the main force to conquer Xia Pi.

Li Fengyun urgently sued Meng Haigong, more than 200 miles away, immediately crossed the Shushui River and killed Suyu City, the capital of Xia Pi, to restrain the official army in Suyu direction, in order to prevent the main army from falling into the dilemma of being attacked from both sides on the front line of Xia Pi.

Shuyang was less than 200 miles away from Suyu. Gong Meng Hai went day and night to kill the city of Suyu as quickly as possible, surrounded it without attacking, and led his troops to plunder the surrounding areas of the city.

Just as Liang Dezhong and Li Fengyun fought fiercely in Yishan, King Qi led his army to Pengcheng.

Cui Deben led the county officials to welcome him and reported the military information. The King of Qi asked in detail, but Cui Deben had no intention of concealing it and told him one by one. During the conversation, the King of Qi suddenly mentioned something. On the eighth day of the 10th month, Yuwen Kai, the Minister of Works, passed away.

Yuwen Kai was the fifth important official of the central core decision-making level since the inner historian Ling Yuanshou, Guande King Yang Xiong, Duan Wenzhen, and Nayan Yang Da. If the general of Zuo Tengwei, Mai Tiezhang, and General Xu Tengwei of the commander of the Guard, was killed, the highest military and political ranks in Zhongtu this year have suffered unprecedented damage. These military and political officials are basically the backbone of the sage masters, and the backbone of the reformists with the sage masters as the core. They concentrated on their explosive deaths during the Eastern Expedition, which had a fatal blow to the reformists, the morale of the military, the foundation of the country, and the development of the general trend of Zhongtu.

Cui Deben was shocked. The central officials and commanders of the Weifu were all the pillars of the country. During the Eastern Expedition, they died one by one. This was not only an ominous sign for the Eastern Expedition, but also an ominous sign for the fate of the country. Compared with the great defeat of the Eastern Expedition, the intensive death of these pillars of the country had a more serious impact on the national prosperity and had a more profound impact.

The hidden meaning of King Qi’s announcement of this news is self-evident. The political situation in Dongdu is in amidst drastic changes, but there is a trend that is clearly visible, that is, the strength of the Holy Lord and the reformists who support him is declining rapidly and is irreversible.

If the Eastern Expedition is defeated, you can fight again, but you cannot be resurrected when you die. Especially for Yuanshou and Yuwen Kai, the nobles of the nobles of the surname of the Lu, Yang Xiong and Yang Da, the old generals of the army with brilliant achievements such as Duan Wenzhen and Mai Tiezhang, and after many years of training and tempering, they reached the peak of power. They are all elites among the elites, leaders of the political forces they belong to, and are rare people. They die and disappear, as if they are looking for a replacement.

When these people were alive, they were loyal to the Holy Lord. The strength they possessed was used by the Holy Lord, and they tried their best to safeguard the authority of the Holy Lord and protect the reform. Now that they are dead, the Holy Lord lost not only those of them, but also the huge strength they possess.

Taking the noble group of the Lu surname as an example, once Yuanshou and Yuwen Kai died, can the Yuan family and Yuwen family still be used by the Holy Lord? Will they still be loyal to the Holy Lord? The internal branches of the wealthy family are rich and conflicts are already full of contradictions. There is a respected person as a leader, taking into account the interests of each branch and branch, and there is still a possibility of unity in major decisions. However, there are few such people in the wealthy family. Once they die, it is impossible to find a replacement in the short term. In this way, internal conflicts will inevitably be fierce. At that time, the problems within the family will not be solved, let alone a unified decision. A loose wealthy family will certainly not be used by the Holy Lord, and the Holy Lord will not believe their loyalty.

From this, we can see that the loss of the Holy Lord this time is so great. If the Holy Lord fails to find a suitable replacement who is loyal to him in the shortest time, then it can be foreseen that some of the Guanlong nobles who originally supported his reform will quickly leave him. The Guanlong noble group is the foundation of the country's destiny, the main ruling force of Middle-earth, and an important source of power to promote the unified reform of Middle-earth. Once the Holy Lord loses them, the consequences will be devastating. Even if the Shandong people with ulterior motives and the Jiangzuo people who actively support him will invest more and greater efforts to maintain their authority in the future, this will further intensify the sharp contradiction between them and the Guanlong people. Once this fundamental contradiction breaks out, it will surely shake the foundation of the country's destiny.

The Holy Lord knew this clearly, so the most urgent task was that he wanted to find a replacement for Guanlong elders such as Yuanshou. He wanted to firmly control the political legacy left by Yuanshou and others. He wanted to ensure that the Guanlong nobles who supported the reform continued to be loyal to him and used it for him. For this reason, he needed time. In order to win time, he had to make compromises and concessions to the conservative forces in the Eastern Capital. Otherwise, the two sides fought and the conservative forces took the opportunity to launch a large-scale counterattack. The Holy Lord lost the other and was in a hurry. Where did he have time to consolidate his political power?

But how could the conservative forces miss such a once-in-a-lifetime counterattack opportunity? Therefore, the development of the political situation in Dongdu is completely foreseeable. The reformists will fall into trouble and have to struggle to death. They have to make great gambles in politics again and again. The conservative forces will become stronger and stronger, set up obstacles everywhere, and dig holes everywhere, and eventually force the Holy Lord and the reformists to the cliff step by step.

King Qi is in a good mood now and is full of expectations for the future. He himself cannot believe that he fled from Dongdu regardless of consequences and actually reversed his destiny in one fell swoop. If he hesitated, afraid, and did not dare to escape from Dongdu, then he would have been stuck in his throat by the Holy Lord and became his tool to threaten his political opponents. But now the situation has been reversed, and he has threatened the Holy Lord. The local nobles led by Wei can use his "sword" to kill the Holy Lord.

Cui Deben was in a bad mood, and the county officials were also uneasy, so he said goodbye and returned to the city.

Cui Deben politely invited the King of Qi into the city, but the King of Qi refused. The quelling of rebellion was a big deal and there was no delay. The army must rush to the battlefield as soon as possible. For this reason, he made a request to Cui Deben to replenish food, grass and supplies for the army.

Cui Deben agreed very readily, but there was no news after returning to the city. The next day, the King of Qi sent someone to urge him. Cui Deben hummed and vaguely spent a long time, and finally gave him some money, grain, silk, and even cried and kept calling him poor, as if he had cut his flesh into his heart.

The King of Qi was furious, but the time was wrong, so he could only bear it temporarily and slowly advance towards Xia Pi with his army.

News came from Xia Pi that day that Liang De won again, captured Yishan, and regained Jinkou. Li Fengyun retreated. The alliance army immediately evacuated Xia Pi City and ran along the Sishui River to Su Yu, the capital of Xia Pi.
Chapter completed!