Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 185: Hooked Claws, Saw Teeth, and Human Flesh

It can be seen from the name Dapingzheng that this guy is neither a Jurchen nor a Han Chinese, but is from the Bohai Da family.

Yes, this person's last name is 'Da'.

The Bohai people have been intermarrying with the Jurchens for generations. For example, Wanyan Liang's biological mother was from the Da clan, and the current Palace Guard Commander, Da Huaizhong, who was Wanyan Liang's most trusted confidant, was also from the Da clan.

When the Jin Dynasty was founded, there was also a Bohai general named Da Yan who made great contributions.

Da Yan's real name was Tabuye. After surrendering to the Jin Dynasty, Da Yan followed Wanyan Jiemu, Wanyan Zongmou, and Wanyan Zongbing in their campaigns in the south and the north, destroying the Liao Dynasty and conquering the Song Dynasty, and made great contributions to the Jin Dynasty.

It can be said that among the Bohai people of the Jin Dynasty at that time, Dazhan was undoubtedly ranked first in terms of military exploits, and even the veteran general Gao Jingshan was inferior to him.

During the reign of Wanyan Liang, Da Yan was appointed as the Right Prime Minister and Deputy Marshal of Henan Province. He later entered the court, was appointed as the Right Prime Minister, and was granted the title of Prince of Shenlu. He passed away a few years ago and went to see Wanyan Aguda with a smile on his face.

And Ohira Masaharu is the grandson of Daqian.

Of course, Da Yan had more than 20 sons and countless grandsons. As the unappreciated grandson of an unappreciated son, Da Pingzheng had a bright future in being able to become a county magistrate.

Logically speaking, Ohira Masaru should not have any complaints.

But after arriving in Yishui County, this guy found out: He came too late, the land in Yishui County had already been cleared.

Especially here there is Zhu Tianshou, a sitting tiger!
At first, Ohira Masaru wanted to compete with Zhu Tianshou, but after a few setbacks, he realized what was happening. Zhu Tianshou... or rather, the Shandong tyrants were fundamentally different from ordinary landlords. To be more precise, they were both soldiers and farmers, and could actually raise an army.

It would be fine if he lost the fight, but what if he won and Zhu Tianshou made up his mind to rebel?
It is a question whether the Jin Kingdom can send a large army to pacify Zhu Tianshou at that time. Dapingzheng will definitely be the first to bear the brunt and have his head chopped off as a sacrifice.

After waiting for a long time for the Wuxing Army's genuine army, Xing Meng'an, to enter Yishui County, Daping felt that he finally had a backbone to support him.

But who knew that Zhu Tianshou, relying on his brother-in-law who was the chief clerk, directly contacted Tu Shanzhang, the first general of the Wuxing Army. He also didn't know what kind of magic potion he had given the other party, but he actually made Tu Shanzhang hide in Yishui County with 600 elite cavalrymen.

Just live in the county town, but the key is that Zhu Tianshou can visit him at any time, but Da Pingzheng, the theoretical landlord and the legitimate county magistrate, cannot even meet with Tu Danzhang. Isn’t that infuriating?
But the key point is that it was not that Zhu Tianshou was "isolating himself from the outside world", but that Tu Danzhang did not want to see him, so the magistrate did not dare to express his complaints even if he had a lot of them.

Now that Ohira Masaru has this legitimate opportunity to pay a visit, how can he not be extremely happy?

The backyard of the county government office was connected to Zhu Tianshou's mansion in the county town. At this time, the courtyard wall had been demolished, forming a community of houses that occupied almost half of the county town.

Zhu Tianshou led Da Pingzheng through the gate guarded by the county chief clerk himself, and then walked around for a long time before meeting Tu Shanzhang, the number one general of the Wuxing Army, in a huge courtyard.

This guy was sitting on a chair with his upper body naked, drinking jelly and smiling as he watched his two mastiffs tearing meat.

Upon seeing Zhu Tianshou, Tudan Zhang shook off his muscles and said with a smile, "Why are you two here? You're so idle. Is it because you've harvested enough food? Or have you had enough laborers?"

Da Ping was about to bow and salute, but he saw Zhu Tianshou beside him kneel down with a plop and kowtowed heavily: "Zhu San wishes the general good health and happiness!"

Ohira was standing there in amazement.

Are you still the rebellious Zhu Laosan?
Are you really so servile to a marching Meng'an?

However, the disciple Dan Zhang who received the gift was extremely pleased with it. His face was full of smiles, but when he turned around, he saw Da Ping still standing there. He couldn't help but frown.

Ohira Masa also knelt down quickly and called him "Grand Marshal", but he didn't want to be too embarrassed.

Tu Danzhang's eyes became sharp, but he immediately leaned back in his chair boredly: "Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Zhu Tianshou was still kneeling on the ground, but he didn't say anything specific. Instead, he smiled flatteringly and said, "I wonder if the general is satisfied with the dancer I gave him a few days ago?"

Tu Danzhang nodded calmly: "I like it very much, especially this kind of delicate skin and tender flesh. I am not the only one who likes it..."

As he said this, he pointed at the two mastiffs tearing at the meat and said, "My two babies like it too."

Dapingzheng couldn't help but look back, and saw something like a finger in the meat. He was shocked and turned around to kowtow.

Zhu Tianshou also seemed stunned, his voice stagnant for a moment, then he continued, "I came to see the Grand Marshal this time because of something. Today, when we were collecting grain and laborers, the county lieutenant of our county was killed by rioters, so the county lord wants to..."

He was halfway through his words when Ohira Masaru interrupted him, "General! I will personally collect grain and recruit laborers to ensure the army's expenses. I hope you can give me a few soldiers. Otherwise, my death will be the least of my worries, but delaying your important tasks will be the biggest problem!"

Zhu Tianshou looked at Dapingzheng in surprise again, wondering what was wrong with this guy.

Tu Shanzhang crossed his legs and ignored Da Pingzheng. He just turned his head to look at Zhu Tianshou and said, "Zhu San, do you think so too?"

No wonder this guy doesn't want to bother with the magistrate.

Although everyone was acting under the banner of the Jin Dynasty, the interests of both parties were not necessarily the same.

From Tu Danzhang's perspective, it doesn't matter who the county magistrate is, or who the local tyrant family is. He will get close to whoever can help him succeed.

It is obvious that Zhu Tianshou has the final say in this county, and you, Dapingzheng, are just a clay official. Do you have the ability or wisdom to help me defeat the enemy?
If you don't have any, just stand aside.

As for who is the official head of a county, does it matter?
Wanyan Zijin, the governor of Juzhou, was surrounded and turned into a bastard. How can you, a county magistrate, be considered a loser?
Zhu Tianshou looked Da Pingzheng up and down, then said to Tu Shanzhang, "General, this is feasible."

Tu Shanzhang said, "If it weren't for your Zhu San's plan to lure the enemy, we six elite cavalrymen would have been hiding like turtles in Yishui County. How could you allow our soldiers to show up today? Aren't you afraid that the enemy's spies would notice?"

Zhu Tianshou bowed and said, "To be honest, the reason I came to see the Grand Marshal today is because the County Magistrate was frightened by the murder of the County Marshal, and wanted to take refuge in the Grand Marshal's army to secure a safe future. However, judging by the County Magistrate's sudden change of heart, he is even more afraid of the Grand Marshal. We cannot let him leave now. He might just pack up his valuables and run for his life once he returns to the County Office."

If the county magistrate returns to his home in Bohai, it's fine. But if he's captured by the bandits, or even surrenders to them, the military intelligence will be safe, and then it might be leaked. Therefore, it's only right for the Grand Marshal to send a trusted confidant to keep an eye on him."

"you you you……"

Halfway through his words, Da Ping Zheng was already stunned. In the end, he simply jumped up, pointed at Zhu Tianshou and wanted to curse, but because he was extremely angry, he couldn't say anything for a long time.

Tu Shanzhang sighed deeply, "Great Magistrate, how did we get to this point?" Zhu San's words made some sense, but they were a bit too much trouble.

Well, I have a permanent solution."

As he said this, Tu Danzhang put his fingers into his mouth and whistled.

The two mastiffs gnawing on the corpse raised their heads at the same time.

Tu Danzhang pointed at Dapingzheng.

The next moment, the two mastiffs pounced on the magistrate of Yishui County, and screams mixed with the sounds of bones breaking and chewing rang out.

The scream did not last long. The mastiff quickly bit Dapingzheng's throat, turning the scream into a strange hissing sound.

The splattered blood splashed on Zhu Tianshou's face, but he didn't dare to move, not even to change his expression.

"Zhu San, do you think it's too arrogant of me to kill a county magistrate so easily, especially one from a prominent Jin family?"

Tu Danzhang looked at Zhu Tianshou in front of him with interest and asked.

"I don't dare."

"It's not that I don't dare, but that I don't want to." Tu Shanzhang nodded and said, "Well, I'll tell you the trick."

"War is about to break out, and the world is about to be in chaos. This is the place where warriors like us can show our skills. If this Da Pingzheng still had a future in the army, even if he was just a marching commander, I would not be able to kill him as easily as I did today. But he has been blinded by greed and instead of pursuing a career in the army, he has become a local official, which has completely tarnished the illustrious name of his grandfather Da Yan!"

After saying this, Tu Shanzhang stood up and pointed at the gnawed corpse. "And today, this fellow doesn't even have the courage to requisition food and fodder for the Jin army. Tell me, what's the point of keeping him around? You'd better be the magistrate!"

Zhu Tianshou kowtowed heavily, and followed with the snake-beating stick: "Thank you for your grace, General!"

"Where are the military documents?!" Tu Danzhang finally nodded in satisfaction and shouted loudly.

A soldier came up with a document, bowed to Tu Danzhang, spread the paper on the table beside him, ground some ink, and waited for Tu Danzhang to speak.

"Two documents!" Tu Shanzhang shouted, "The first one is to report that the magistrate of Yishui County, Da Pingzheng, was corrupt and abused his power. He even dared to embezzle the military rations of my Wuxing Army. After the incident, he tried to defect and was executed on the spot.

The second letter is to write: Zhu Tianshou, a kind-hearted man from Yishui County, is very understanding and has made great contributions to our Wuxing Army. He should be made the county magistrate!

After saying this, Tu Shanzhang said to the clerk, "Send the first letter to the governor immediately. As for the second letter..."

Tu Shanzhang stepped forward, stroked Zhu Tianshou's head and said, "If your plan to lure the enemy succeeds, I will send the second letter along with my victory report. If not, forget about becoming a county magistrate and go feed the dogs!"

Zhu Tianshou kowtowed again, his forehead reddening, "Thank you, General, for your appreciation. I, Zhu Sanwan, will not refuse even if I die."

The two documents were written in a moment. Tu Shanzhang came forward and glanced at them briefly before stamping his seal on them. He placed them in two envelopes and sealed them with mud. The military clerk then stuffed them into his arms and left, bowing.

Tu Shanzhang watched the document disappear into the distance, then turned back to Zhu Tianshou. "Zhu San, there's still one thing I don't understand. You're a man, why are you so determined to follow our Wuxing Army? Logically speaking, aren't those bandits your reliance?"

Zhu Tianshou was silent for a moment this time, and then he spoke angrily in response to Tu Danzhang's amused expression.

"General, the closeness of relationships isn't determined in this way. Take me and this great magistrate. He's from Bohai, while I'm a Shandong Han. He's much closer to the Jurchen people. Why did the general want to kill him and spare me? Isn't it because, although I'm Han, my interests are aligned with yours, while he, although a Bohai, is alienated from you?"

"I dare not lie to the Grand Marshal in person. If it were just a different master, I might have already obeyed. But these loyal thieves not only want me to contribute money and labor, but also want to divide my family's land. This is absolutely intolerable."

Zhu Tianshou grew increasingly indignant. "General, do you know that these lands were accumulated bit by bit by our ancestors? My grandfathers even died in the civil unrest, leaving only two of them, barely leaving behind this little bit of family property. How can they be divided up based on the words of those loyal traitors?"

Tu Shanzhang's smile remained unchanged: "Aren't you afraid that our Wuxing Army will seize your property?"

Zhu Tianshou shook his head: "Of course I'm not afraid. The Wuxing Army can only rob gold, silver, valuables, food, and women. If they go too far, they will just kill a few people. It's impossible for them to take away these thousand acres of fertile land! Moreover, after the Wuxing Army defeats the loyal and righteous bandits, they will naturally go south to attack the Song State. Isn't the colorful world of Jiangnan much better than the poor and remote areas of Shandong?

As for the fact that a few people died in our village, what's the big deal? Shandong doesn't have much else, but there are plenty of people starving to death! We can have as many tenants as we want!"

Tu Shanzhang finally burst into laughter, patted Zhu Tianshou's shoulder and said, "What a good Zhu Sanlang! I have always underestimated you. Why don't you join the army? I promise to give you a promising future as a marching general. How about it?"

Zhu Tianshou said helplessly, "Of course I want to go, but if I leave, who will collect food and labor for the general?"

"Hahaha, you're so cunning, you're really cunning."

At this point, Tu Danzhang finally felt relieved and pointed at Zhu Tianshou and laughed out loud.

(End of this chapter)