Only Zhou Shixiong could come up with this idea of ??bringing three thousand soldiers and horses each to attack a territory. Zheng Dong was not that stupid. Therefore, the two could only rest outside Xuanguang City for a few more days and wait for Van Gandhi to recover from the joy of massacre before discussing the division of troops.
Van Gandhi was not blinded by the pleasure of revenge. One day later, he ordered the sealing of the sword, cleared away the corpses in the city, and invited Zheng Dong and Ji Hongchang into the city. The three of them stepped on the bluestone slabs that had just been washed with water and walked slowly towards the government office. Zheng Dong felt uncomfortable with the bloody smell that hit his nose. The expression on his face kept changing, as if he was about to vomit. Zhou Shixiong's performance was pretty average, and the smell of blood had little effect on him. He just looked at the smoke rising from many mansions and compounds in the city, and was a little disdainful of Van Gandhi's methods. []
"Master Zheng, Master Ji, a little thank you is not respectful." Walking into the gate of the government office, Zhou Shixiong saw dozens of women occupying the courtyard. Fan Ganji's so-called thank you gift may have something to do with these women.
"I am ashamed to accept Master Fan's kindness." Zheng Dong was not polite to Fan Ganji at all. He thanked the other party casually, then walked up to these women and looked at them carefully. Judging by their posture, he knew they were professionals.
"Hongchang thanked Palace Master Fan for the reward." Zheng Dong's manner reminded Zhou Shixiong that it was useless to pretend to be innocent. This was a common practice.
"These women are all noble daughters of the Ruan Phuc clan. I saw that they are quite pretty, so I can barely give them as gifts. The two palace masters must not dislike them." Van Gandhi specifically explained the origins of these women. It was obvious. I want to tell Zheng Dong and Ji Hongchang that these women are not the trash in the hook bar and cannot be valued according to the market price.
"Lord Ji, these women are very good. I am too old and weak to handle them, so I will give them to you." Van Gandhi divided the women into two parts and divided them equally between them. Zheng Dong selected a few women from one team and asked them to stand in the other team.
"Master Zheng, how can Hongchang be loved by others? Since you said it is good, you should keep it." Zhou Shixiong does not have high requirements for women, as long as the quality is acceptable.
"Alas, these women are of the coquettish type. If you want to feed them, most people can't do it. Only a pervert like Mr. Ji can handle it. I won't cause this trouble." Henan Mansion's business Among them, human trafficking is a big project. As the master of the palace, Zheng Dong has long developed a pair of golden eyes. It is clear at a glance which women can be touched and which women cannot be touched.
"Oh, Hongchang has only heard of the term Nei Mei, but he doesn't know the specific situation. Please ask Palace Master Zheng to explain." Zheng Dong deliberately wasted his time on women. Zhou Shixiong wanted to cooperate even though he didn't know the intention. He believed that Zheng Dong It can't be so boring, he must have his intention.
"Inner charm can only be understood but not expressed in words. Lord Ji wants to know it, but it is better to practice it personally." Van Gandhi also came over to chime in, as if he was very experienced in this area.
"Master Fan, are all these women from the Ruan Phuc clan?" Zheng Dong suddenly became interested in the origins of these women. Zhou Shixiong's heart skipped a beat, and he understood what Zheng Dong wanted to express.
Fan Gandi¡¯s expression changed slightly, but soon returned to normal, ¡°Why did Palace Master Zheng say this?¡±
"I have met these two women in Prince Ping'an's Mansion. They should be Zheng Du's concubines. They seem to have nothing to do with the Ruan Fu family, right?" Zheng Dong pointed to the two most beautiful women in the group and said with certainty. .
"Oh, this happened?! Fan Xitong, how did you do things!" Fan Gandi did not question Zheng Dong's words, but scolded Fan Xitong who was following him.
"Palace Master, I don't know why this happened. Please forgive me, Palace Master." Fan Xitong knelt down quickly to reply, refusing to bear any responsibility.
"Master Fan, it's best to find out the origins of these women, otherwise this palace will not be able to take the responsibility if something goes wrong." The double act performed by Fan Gandhi and Fan Xitong was fake. Zheng Dong was not even in the mood to join in the fun, with a cold face. Enter the main hall. Zhou Shixiong stretched out his hand to Fan Gandi and signaled to go ahead. Fan Gandi kicked Fan Xitong angrily and walked in with a dark face.
Zheng Dong refused to accept this gift. It turned out that he didn't want to take the blame. It was estimated that the soldiers of the Taiyuan Prefecture had bloodbathed the Xuanguang Prefecture and killed people who should not have been killed. Fan Gandi gave these people's concubines to the two of them. If they accepted it, they would be in trouble in the future. If there is any dispute, the two of them can't talk about it.
"The people below are doing things badly. I ask the two masters of the palace to forgive me." When Zheng Dong and Ji Hongchang sat down, Fan Ganji apologized to them and dismissed the matter completely. Zheng Dong and Zhou Shixiong looked at each other. They both understood that now was not the time to argue with Van Gandhi, so they could only accept this statement against their will.
"Master Fan, there is no need to worry about it. Your servants are always careless when doing things. I am used to it. Don't mention it again. Let's talk about the attack on Anpei Mansion and Ajiang Mansion." Zheng Dong didn't want to get involved in this matter. Things were mentioned in a light word. Zhou Shixiong is inevitably a little reluctant. He has already taken a liking to several women and plans to??for use.
"Master Zheng Kuanhong has thanked me. It is not difficult to divide the troops. Beijiang Prefecture's 10,000 soldiers can be commanded by two of them at will. I believe Zheng Lisheng will not have any objections." Fan Gandi's words shocked Zheng Dong and Zhou Shixiong, and Zhou Shixiong couldn't help but ask. He said, "Master Fan, this is inconsistent with the agreement. Didn't we agree that the three palaces would join forces to attack the Ruan Fu family?"
Fan Gandi patiently explained to Ji Hongchang, "I had no choice but to mobilize troops from Taiyuan Prefecture to attack Xuanguang Prefecture, but most of the soldiers and horses in the mansion went with me on the expedition, and the rest were just civilians who wanted to help." It's okay to defend the city for a while, but it's really impossible to capture the city." Fan Gandi's incoherent explanation clearly told the two of them that I had broken the contract!
Zhou Shixiong and Zheng Dong have been plotting against Fan Gandhi, so Fan Gandhi is no different. It's just that Fan Gandi suffered huge defeats in the previous encounters, which made the two lose their vigilance. Now that Fan Gandi has been so cruel, Zheng Dong and Fan Gandi can't do anything else except smile bitterly.
"Master Zheng, it seems that dividing the troops is no longer possible. Why don't we follow Hongchang to Lang Son Palace?" Zhou Shixiong and Zheng Dong returned to the military camp outside the city and sat in the big tent to reflect. The reason why Van Gandhi suddenly broke the contract is unknown, but at last he did not have any evil thoughts towards the two of them. The reason for this is of course not that the Lord Van is soft-hearted and caressing about his old relationship, but because the Nguyen Phuc family has not yet been settled and Zheng Zai's strength has not been damaged. If Van Gandhi moved After killing Zheng Dong and Ji Hongchang, he and the Fan family of Taiyuan Prefecture are guaranteed to be the next ones to die.
"That's all." Zheng Dong was also at a loss. No matter how clever he was, he couldn't do anything without soldiers.
That night, the Lang Son Prefecture camp was quiet. The Lang Son troops fled after nightfall. The Taiyuan Prefecture soldiers who were responsible for monitoring the camp found nothing. The reason why he chose to leave without saying goodbye was because Zheng Dong came up with the reason why Fan Ganji changed his face. Zheng Dong believed that Van Gandhi must have done this because he wanted to embezzle 80,000 prisoners of war, but he could not really kill two people and attract revenge from the two governments. Van Gandhi can still maintain a trace of rationality, but it does not mean that he will not go crazy. In order to avoid this mad dog, running away is a necessary means.
Regardless of whether what Zheng Dong analyzed was true or not, Zhou Shixiong understood that the 40,000 Nguyen Phuc prisoners of war would not come back. Why did he stupidly agree to Van Gandhi's suggestion and give up his spoils? He was so stupid as a grandma.
Seeing that Ji Hongchang was very upset, Zheng Dong could only offer words of comfort, "Master Ji, it may not be a good thing for Van Gandhi to corrupt these 80,000 prisoners of war. Let's not mention the people of He Binh Mansion and the Nguyen Phuc family for the time being. Just the 20,000 liters The soldiers and horses of Long Mansion are enough for Fan Ganji to drink a pot, Lord Ji can just relax and watch the show."
Zheng Dong¡¯s words make sense. Eighty thousand prisoners of war came from three places. Heping Mansion has been occupied by Zhou Shixiong. If he wants to take revenge, he can only wait until he becomes stronger. Nguyen Phuc was on the verge of collapse and did not have much ability to cause trouble for Van Gandhi. But Zheng Zai is different. The foundation of Thang Long House has not been damaged. Zheng Zai¡¯s reputation is growing. No matter what other houses in the Northern Dynasty think, Zheng¡¯s identity as the co-owner of the Zheng family is almost impossible to escape. If Van Gandhi wants to rely on the strength of his family to fight against the Zheng family, it will definitely not be easy. stand up.
"Master Zheng, this matter is so easy to compare. It's a blessing in disguise." Zhou Shixiong also has a strong ability to comfort himself, and he quickly found reasons to excuse himself.
Zheng Dong echoed continuously and helped Ji Hongchang find the steps. In fact, both of them knew how much losing these soldiers would hurt Ji Hongchang. First of all, Heping Mansion lost 20,000 young people out of thin air, which was a very fatal blow to Heping Mansion, which was mainly farming. At the same time, without 20,000 young men, the idea of ????expanding the army in Lang Son Palace can only be shelved, and manpower must be transferred from the palace to Haap Binh Palace to help, causing huge losses when advancing and retreating.
As for the 40,000 Nguyen Phuc prisoners of war, Zhou Shixiong was even more heartbroken. With these 40,000 people, Zhou Shixiong can do many things. For example, speeding up the construction of pavilion cities, reclaiming wasteland, repairing roads, etc. These jobs require a lot of labor, and prisoners of war are the best labor force. There is no need to consider their personal feelings or their families, as long as they are given food. Now that these 40,000 best coolies are gone, it would be strange if Zhou Shixiong didn't cry.
On October 15th, Zhou Shixiong finally returned to Lang Son City with 5,000 Lang Son troops, accompanied by Zheng Dong, the lord of Henan Prefecture, and his 1,000 guards. Ruan Phuoc Ajiang personally went out of the city to greet him. She had already learned from Ma San that Tuyen Quang Mansion was captured by the coalition forces of the three provinces, and Ruan Phuoc Luo died in a massacre. Although the Ruan Phuc clan has not yet been completely eliminated, these two pieces of news can already give her some comfort.
"Hongchang, you're back." Ruan Fu Ajiang looked at Zhou Shixiong with a smile on her face. Behind her stood a group of women, each of whom cast a sad look at Zhou Shixiong. Zhou Shixiong had been away for several months, and all the letters and oral messages from home were not received. How could Li Jie, Zhu Ying and others not be worried. You Min and Shimazu Nan even sent people to inquire about the news from time to time. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they went to Li's Villa to escape the summer heat and reprimanded several women, saying that they had not fulfilled their responsibilities as wives and concubines.