Chapter 427 Fierce Competition

Who will succeed Yang Fu? This is a question that concerns countless people.

There was a military camp outside the city of Mianzhu, and a small military market had also developed outside the camp, which barely provided some living conveniences for the officers and soldiers in the camp.

Such as washing, mending clothes, or making some common side dishes.

Fa Zheng was sitting at an open-air wine stall. The vendor selling wine was a strong young man carrying a shoulder pole.

While Fa Zheng was drinking, the peddler looked around from time to time.

The alcohol he sold was legal in other places, but it was naturally banned in the military market.

In fact, selling alcohol in other places, especially in unfamiliar places, will also infringe on the interests of local related industries, and it is normal to be beaten or robbed.

The prices of alcohol in the military market were very high, and the vendors were worried and at the same time lowered their heads to cook vegetable soup in hanging pots.

On the surface, he came here to set up a stall to sell porridge and vegetable soup.

Although Fa Zheng followed Meng Dabai to meet the Grand Marshal several times, he has not held any official position so far.

The news that Yang Fu was exiled to Ba County has spread, and Fa Zheng is already getting impatient.

He could only drink from time to time to relieve his anxiety. In fact, the position of chief clerk was not that important.

But he had been in Shu for ten years, keeping his head down and enduring as a human being for ten years.

In order to survive, they have endured all kinds of overt and covert ridicule, sarcasm and exclusion.

After holding it in for so long, even if I have to leave Shu, I must achieve a high position and be among the winners.

If he couldn't let out this breath, he suspected that he would die with regrets.

The closer it got to this critical moment, the more Fa Zheng felt that the meaning of his life was to fight for this dignity.

He drank a little too much without realizing it. When he was drunk, Meng Da walked out of the military camp wearing a black casual suit, accompanied by several guards in the same casual clothes.

Seeing Meng Da coming, the peddler instinctively stepped back, and without realizing it, he took more than twenty steps back.

I really couldn't bear to leave the carrying pole and other things behind, so I just waited reluctantly at a distance.

When Fa Zheng saw Meng Da, he immediately took out a handful of new five-zhu coins and placed them on the hollow wooden table. He stood up and shook them: "Zijing, have you heard the news?"

"Have heard a little bit."

Meng Da led Fa Zheng to a wooden shed not far away. The shed was built under a guard tower, where stood the mayor who was responsible for maintaining order in the military city.

This type of mayor is staffed by military officers who take turns to serve on duty.

There were also guards on duty in the wooden shed, and two guards who were warming themselves by the fire took the initiative to go out on patrol.

Meng Da put some firewood into the fire pit and said to Fa Zheng, who was squatting opposite him and rubbing his hands, "Xiao Zhi, I heard that brothers She Jian and She Yuan have also come to Mianzhu."

Fa Zheng's expression immediately became unnatural: "Why are you so unbecoming?"

Then he laughed at himself: "It seems that I misunderstood Da Sima's intentions after all."

"Xiaozhi doesn't need to belittle himself."

Meng Da unpacked the bag he had brought with him. Inside was a piece of venison the size of a fist. It had already been braised and fumigated, and the surface was brown and dry.

The venison was handed to Fa Zheng, who took the dagger from Meng Da, cut a piece of venison, roasted it over the fire with the dagger, and then put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up and said, "It's delicious!"

"Yes, the Grand Marshal welcomed Generals Cheng and Cheng the day before yesterday and ordered me to accompany them. This was granted after the banquet." Meng Da took the second piece of meat handed to him by Fa Zheng, chewed it and swallowed it, and then said, "When the banquet was over, when I was leaving, the Grand Marshal grabbed my arm and asked about Xiaozhi's recent situation."

"What did Zi Jing say?"

"I said Xiaozhi packed his bags and made an appointment with his fellow villagers to return to Fufeng together."

Seeing Fa Zheng's eyes widen, Meng Da continued, "The Grand Marshal asked me to tell Xiao Zhi that the situation in Shu is going well, but Xiao Zhi is like a sharp blade. If Xiao Zhi is used, the people of Shu will be uneasy and disaster will arise."

Fa Zheng was chewing venison. After listening to this, he said in a serious tone, "The Grand Marshal is so confused. How can the disaster disappear on its own? The people of Shu have lived in remote places for a long time and do not know how vast the world is. Therefore, most of them are arrogant and do not easily submit to others. If they do not rebel today, they will surely rebel tomorrow."

After swallowing the meat, Fa Zheng looked at Meng Da and said, "It is impossible that all the officials in Shu are traitors. There are always two or three among ten people who hold grudges. Now that the army is strong, it is time to provoke the traitors to rebel. Killing them can bring peace to Shu for several years. I want to see the Grand Marshal. Can Zi Jing help me?"

"If I can help, why would I just sit there and watch?"

Seeing that Fa Zheng had no appetite, Meng Da took back the venison and cut it himself, and continued, "Xiao Zhi also knows that the Grand Marshal has strict laws. I am the commander-in-chief and cannot leave the camp without orders. Without orders, I cannot write to the emperor to discuss matters. Unless the Grand Marshal inspects the camp in the near future, I will have the opportunity to make a statement in person and recommend Xiao Zhi."

Naturally, he was happy to help Fa Zheng, as the position of chief clerk was much more important than his position as captain.

However, the shogunate system inherited the Han system, and officials were responsible for different tasks according to their positions.

There were no military officers such as colonels and lieutenants who would submit memorials to discuss political affairs. Discussing political affairs was something that court officials or other officials of corresponding positions should do.

He forced himself to submit a letter to discuss matters other than the military affairs of the camp. In the mildest case, the documents would be confiscated and he would be reprimanded. In the most serious case, he would be punished and removed from his post.

The training experience during this period also made Meng Da understand one thing: as a captain in charge of seven elite battalions of Dongzhou soldiers, the power he could actually exercise freely was very limited and was limited to the area near the military camp.

In terms of control over the soldiers of the Seventh Battalion, he is not as good as his previous three hundred subordinates.

The seven battalions of Dongzhou soldiers elected centurions and team officers internally; the battalion supervisors, military commanders, and grain officers at the battalion level were all personnel sent by the shogunate.

Without the consent of these twenty or so battalion-level commanders and adjutants, he could not transfer any of the hundred-man teams.

He also has Sima, Dianjun and Changshi by his side, but these three positions are currently vacant.

After the vacant positions around him were filled, Meng Da could not easily transfer troops, let alone a team of ten people wearing armor and carrying weapons out of the barracks.

Without military orders and tokens such as the tiger talisman, Meng Da would not be able to mobilize troops with his face.

This is fundamentally different from his understanding over the past decade.

Although he didn't like this rigid system, he also knew that if there really was a rebellion to be quelled, all his seven battalions of Dongzhou soldiers could do was to stay in camp and wait and see, rather than rush out to quell the rebellion.

Therefore, Meng Da no longer likes military power. If he can jump to the level of county governor if he has the chance, it would be like a fish in water.

If Fa Zheng was pushed up, if there was a chance in the future and Fa Zheng made a little effort, he would be able to make Meng Da leave the army and become a county governor.

Anyway, Meng Da had given up hope of fighting wars, gaining military merits, and being awarded titles and appointed as a general, ever since he witnessed the scene that night when the personal guards of the Grand Marshal jumped onto the cliffs one after another to lay the plank road.

As a surrendered general, I have no chance of competing for military merit with such a group of fearless people.

That group of people are not afraid of death. If you behave more conspicuously, some of them will definitely have the courage to kill themselves.

When Fa Zheng saw Meng Da promised to recommend him, he couldn't help but look up and observe carefully.

Meng Da also sincerely said so, and nodded seriously to Fa Zheng: "In this vast world, only Xiaozhi is my confidant and brother. If I avoid this risk, I will not be able to rest assured in the future."

Fa Zheng's expression was moved, and he stared at Meng Da's handsome and elegant face: "I have such a brother, what else can I not be satisfied with?"

(End of this chapter)