Chapter 773 Entering the city to eat chicken The Black Flag Army did not stay in Peicheng for long. Fang Jie handed over all local affairs to Wei Xiting. This man knew what to do to satisfy Fang Jie. This was after Dugu After Wenxiu, he was the second civil servant to be promoted like a rocket by Fang Jie. From a county magistrate to the prime minister responsible for the affairs of three big cities, this change in role was actually difficult for ordinary people to adapt to. Most people complain that they have done enough but not received enough. Whenever they see someone in a high position, they think that if they were sitting in that position, they would be able to do it, or even do better. But, Only when I got to that position by chance did I realize that it was not as simple as I thought. Wei Xiting doesn¡¯t have a very broad vision in doing things, but he has one advantage, that is, he knows what Fang Jie wants, and just pursuing this goal is enough. Relatively speaking, Dugu Wenxiu has a better view of the overall situation than him, so Fang Jie leaves more important things to him. In fact, when Fang Jie took Dugu Wenxiu's mother over from the old house, he was already making arrangements. At that time, Fang Jie knew that he needed someone outside the Black Flag Army's power structure to do the work, because the scope of this matter was too large. Once touched, it may not be as simple as breaking the muscles and bones. Having reached this point, Fang Jie cannot be careless in doing things. Although the current Black Flag Army has not completely controlled the entire southwest in a true sense, those three kingdoms are actually in Fang Jie's hands. Although these three roads, Beihui Road, Nanhui Road, and Yongbei Road, are still in the hands of local aristocratic families, what else can they do now besides obey Fang Jie? When Fang Jie went south, he forced each of them to mobilize 10,000 county soldiers, and the cards they held in their hands became fewer and fewer. Through the continuous squeeze from the north and the south, and the simultaneous efforts of Huangyang Dao and Heping Business Dao, the living space of the three wealthy families was squeezed smaller and smaller, and the threat to the Black Flag Army became smaller and smaller. When Fang Jie was in Yongzhou, he forced the three governors to relocate the people to Pingshang Road, and then continued to send people to recruit new soldiers in these three governors, which fundamentally shook the foundation of these three governors. If Fang Jie is willing, the Black Flag Army can now take these three into his pocket at any time. But Fang Jie doesn't plan to completely break with all the aristocratic families in the southwest just yet. The purpose of retaining those people is that they still have room to exploit. After staying in Peicheng for two days, Fang Jie immediately led his army to set off. More than 200 miles south from Peicheng is Jin'an. Precisely because the distance is so close, the scale of Jin'an City is far inferior to that of Peicheng. Peicheng is the ancestral land of the Murong family, so the status and power of the city lord of Peicheng seems to be higher than that of other cities. Jin'an, which is close at hand, was especially bullied by Bai Kaishan. Ning Hao, the lord of Jin'an City, because of the The troops were limited, so they dared not speak out in anger towards Bai Kaishan. Jin'an's geographical location is quite embarrassing. It is only 600 miles from Peicheng to Dali City. Jin'an is caught in the middle, and there is no room for development. One is the ancestral land of the Murong family, and the other is the capital of Nanyan. Jin'an is suppressed from the left and right in the middle, and Ning Hao can only swallow his anger. It can be said that Ning Hao is the most aggrieved of the Nanyan city lords. The other city lords are as powerful as the local emperors, especially the city lords far away from Dali City, who can even ignore the decrees of the Nanyan court. But Ning Hao can't do that. He is a person who lives in the cracks. In order to keep his position as the city leader, he has to live with his tail between his legs. But speaking of which, if someone else had been the Lord of Jin'an City, he might have been eliminated long ago. Only because he could show his weakness and humility, Murong Shai would allow such a meaningless city lord to continue to exist. And Ning Hao knew that he was weak, so he knew how to take advantage of the situation. After Murong Shai ascended the throne, he tried to deprive the city lords of some rights in order to centralize power. Ning Hao was undoubtedly the best choice for Murong Shai to show the majesty of the emperor. Jin'an is not big and has limited troops. In addition, it is the closest to Dali City, so it is in Murong Sha's hands. If you want to establish your authority, there is no more suitable place than Jin'an, and there is no more suitable person than Ning Hao. Ning Hao knew that he could not stop Murong Shai's army, and the city lords who were used to watching dramas would never lend a helping hand. So at this time it seemed that he had no choice but to passively accept it, but he didn't. He did one thing to keep his position. He sent people to lobby everywhere, convincing the city lords that he was the first person to be slaughtered by Murong Shai, but he was by no means the last person. He made the city lords think that if he was dismissed by Murong Shai without resistance, then the next one would come next. If the city lords did not have a tough attitude on this matter, then they would be gradually cannibalized by Murong Shai. . In this way, he actually persuaded many people to join forces to put pressure on the Nanyan court, forcing Murong Shai to change his mind. Ning Hao knows how to take advantage of the situation when he is weak. So he is still the city lord. On the third day after the Black Flag Army captured Peicheng, the messenger sent by Ning Hao to Dali City entered the Dali Palace in a dusty atmosphere. He sent people to ask for help, and he had to convince Murong Shai to send troops. And what he has to do is wait and delay the Black Flag Army. When Ning Hao stood on the city wall of Jin'an and saw the mighty troops coming from the north with his clairvoyance, he was sure that even if he defended to the death, he would never be able to stop the powerful Black Flag Army. Jin An was inferior to Peicheng. The height and width of the city walls limited the deployment of defensive forces, and the enemy's siege equipment was so complete. In this case, he made a decision with almost no hesitation. "Du Mu" Ning Hao looked at the middle-aged man standing next to him and said slowly: "Whether you can keep Jin An depends on you." Du Mu clasped his fists and said: "City Lord, this time is no better than before. The subordinates can delay the Black Flag Army's offensive for at least three or four days. If there is still no reinforcements from Dali City within three or four days, even if the subordinates try their best, it will be of no avail. " "It can only be delayed for one day. I'll think of a way over to Dali City. Murong Shai knows better than anyone that now that all three cities in the north have been lost, Jin'an is the gateway to Dali. Once Jin'an is lost again, Murong Shai will be on pins and needles. " "This Du Mu is extremely powerful in Jin'an. Although he was not from a wealthy family and did not have any extraordinary talents, he had always been the person Ning Hao valued most. It was only because of his adaptability and eloquence that Ning Hao's position as city leader was not taken away. It was this person who persuaded all parties with one mouth and united the city lords to put pressure on the imperial court. "How do you plan to talk?" Ning Hao asked. Du Mu sighed and said: "Jin An has no bargaining chips with the Black Flag Army, so if he wants to negotiate, he can only talk about surrender. Let me give it a try and try my best to act like the city lord really intends to open the door and surrender. Same. Use surrender as an excuse to delay for a few days. " "Go!" Ning Hao patted Du Mu on the shoulder: "If you can save Jin An once, I believe you can save Jin An a second time. This time you succeed, I am willing to give you half of Jin'an for everything in Jin'an City from now on." Du Mu's expression changed, but he still sighed heavily in his heart. He looked outside the city and murmured in his heart Talking about anything is fine, the first thing is the other party is willing to talk. Fang Jie jumped off the back of the white lion, looked at the city a few miles away and asked: "Is there anything famous in Jin'an?" Chen Xiaoru replied: "The most famous thing in Jin'an is the lotus leaf. The chicken is made of local chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and then wrapped in special soil and roasted. It is said to have a unique taste. It is said that the emperor of the Shang Dynasty selected Jin'an's lotus leaf chicken as a tribute. I don't know whether it was the local chicken that was special or the soil. Especially, they say the taste of Jin'an Lotus Leaf Chicken can't be tasted anywhere else. ""I'll have a day off and eat Lotus Leaf Chicken in the city the day after tomorrow."" Fang Jie said with a smile, and the generals burst into laughter. For the current Black Flag Army, they are used to winning. It is said that Jin'an City does not have more than five or six thousand people, and its population is only sixty or seventy thousand. If such a small town cannot be dealt with in a fight, there is no need to fight in Dali. "There is another famous person in Jin'an City" Chen Xiaoru said with a smile: "There is a man in the city named Du Mu. He was a cowherd boy when he was a child. He didn't read much when he was young, but he was born with good eloquence and knew how to lobby best. "The reason why Jin'an City was not swallowed up by Murong Shai was all because of this person's lobbying and the pressure from the city lords." "People who live by their mouths" Fang Jie thought of the two famous people in history in his previous life. One is a man who lives by his mouth, one has the seal of the Six Kingdoms, and one has served Qin twice and Wei twice. They are all great figures. "This Du Mu's family was poor when he was a child. He worked as a herdsman when he was young. Later, when he grew up and got a wife, he stayed at home all the time. All the money at home was used to buy books. His life was extremely difficult. He was determined to become an official, but he failed to take the exams many times. Third, in the end, there was no food to eat at home, so he asked his wife to go to her parents' house to borrow some. But his wife simply went back to her parents' house and never came back. He just studied at home. When he was very hungry, he went to his brother's house to get some food. Once he was beaten with a stick by his sister-in-law and became the laughing stock of the village. " Chen Xiaoru was sorting out the news that the Xiao Riding School had found out a while ago: "In the next few years after Murong Shai ascended the throne, he planned to gradually take back the rights of the lords of each city. First. Jin An was going to be operated on. Ning Hao frowned after hearing the news. At this time, Du Mu, who heard about the incident, asked for a meeting outside the city lord's palace and shouted that he had a solution.?? method. Ning Hao asked who was outside, and was told that it was Du Mu who even looked down on his wife and sister-in-law if he didn't work. " "Ning Hao also knew this person's name and asked people to drive him away. However, Du Mu knelt outside the door and said that the city lord had nothing to do anyway, so he might as well give it a try, and the city lord wouldn't lose anything. Du Mu thought that this was indeed the case, so he sent Du Mu: If you can keep my position as the city lord, I will give you glory and wealth. Du Mu stood up and left, but he actually convinced several city lords to jointly submit a letter to Murong Sha, and Ning Hao's position as city lord was preserved. " Fang Jie was slightly startled, thinking that there were people like this in this era. Du Mu's life trajectory was quite similar to that of one of the two lobbyists he knew well. "The most interesting thing is that after he succeeded, he prepared After receiving an important position, he went to pick up his wife to go home, but his wife didn't even open the door. In the end, it was Ning Hao who came to the door in person, and his wife believed that he had become successful. " Just as he was talking, several soldiers from a distance came over with a man. "My lord, someone came out of Jin'an. He said his name was Du Mu and he wanted to see him for something important. " Fang Jie couldn't help but laugh: "This is City Lord Ning's way of defense" He turned his head and looked into the distance, towards the famous Du Mu. "Tell him that you can talk if you want. Ning Hao will prepare 20,000 lotus leaf chickens within two days and we can talk about it if they are delivered. If he cannot deliver them, just wait for my black flag army and horses to step into the city lord's palace. " "Do you really want that much? " Chen Xiaoru was a little surprised. "Of course, but again, go to the city to eat! "