Cui Shang is indeed facing an extremely difficult choice now.

No one can help him.

According to the principles established when Jiang Feng left Xuzhou, as Sima, the governor of Xuzhou, he did not care about daily government affairs, and he left all the power to the chief Chen Wei and Du Tuo, the chief officer of the military officer. His main work was daily military affairs.

But this is limited to daily military affairs. Cui Shang understands his scope of power and his strengths and weaknesses. No one can compare to his daily planning, but if he decides on war, he is definitely not his strength.

Therefore, when Jiang Feng left, he made it clear that if he was determined in a war, he should focus on Yang Kan's opinions, and Qin Zaidao, Zhang Yue, Xu Ziqing, Ding Man and others as supplements.

With Yang Kan as the main focus, it is not all necessary to listen to Yang Kan and the others. In order to make Yang Kan make a decision, it is also necessary to provide enough information for Yang Kan and the others.

This matter is indeed too abrupt.

Although he had been planning for Shouzhou, when such an opportunity suddenly came to him, Cui Shang was caught off guard.

"The Shouzhou Army currently has five armies, plus the Ya soldiers, which are about 14,000 to 15,000. Due to the special geographical location of Shouzhou and the complex force structure in the state, two of the five armies are naval forces, Umeda's two armies are one army, and the remaining three armies are infantry, Umeda's three armies are each in charge of one army, and the Ya army is controlled by the Mei family. There are currently no cavalry in Shouzhou."

Zhang Wanshan's report was orderly.

The collection of information in Shouzhou has always been the top priority of Wuwentang, so Zhang Wanshan is also well aware of the internal situation of Shouzhou.

"How effective is the Shouzhou Army?" Cui Shang asked further.

"According to detailed observations, the naval forces of the five armies are familiar with the combat effectiveness of boats and are quite good at fighting, but the infantry of the three armies are not good at it. In comparison, the first army controlled by the Zheng family is slightly stronger in combat. Well, it is probably the same as the Second Army of the Wuzhou Army, slightly stronger than the Third Army, but it is far from the First Army and the Ya Army, but it has been buried in the hands of ant thieves."

Zhang Wanshan's answer also met Cui Shang's expectations.

The ant thieves in Han Baling's army roamed Shouzhou, but the Shouzhou army was always afraid of a battle, which resulted in the loss of the two major granary counties of Huoqiu and Anfeng. The army under the command of Zheng was also completely wiped out by the ant thieves during the attack on Huoqiu. This probably also caused the Zheng family to feel that the balance was broken, and it was difficult for the Zheng family to gain a foothold in Shouzhou again and find a new backer.

"So, Zheng's current situation in Shouzhou is very difficult?" Cui Shang rubbed his cheeks and frowned.

"The Shouzhou pattern itself is mainly based on the three Umeda Zheng families, but the Umeda two are based on Shouchun and Anfeng. Although they are also considered large grain merchants in Shouzhou, they are still far from the Zheng family, which dominated Huoqiu. Moreover, the Zheng family has a large-scale blacksmith shop in Shouzhou. The Umeda two monopolizes the transportation of Huai River, from Haosi and Chu provinces, and even Yangzhou, Suzhou, to Yingzhou, Caizhou, the entire Huai River, Wo River, Yingshui and the canal. The fleets of Umeda two are all passing through, among which the main ones above Sizhou are the main ones.

If the Mei family is the main one, and the two states below Sizhou and Yangsu are mainly the Tian family. In addition, the Mei family is the largest salt merchant in Shouzhou, and the Tian family is the largest cloth merchant in Shouzhou. The tea merchant has monopolized the brewing industry. The Mei family and the Shi family are children's relatives, and the Tian family's legitimate daughter married the brother of King Yang Pu of Wu to be a wife. Therefore, the power of the Umeda family is far better than the Zheng family. The Zheng family is also a difficult situation in Shouzhou. Now that the disaster is encountered, it is estimated that if the Zheng family does not seek change, it will be really difficult to survive in Shouzhou."

Zhang Wanshan's words also made Cui Shang feel a little relieved, which shows that there are reasons and motivations for the Zheng family to move closer to Shizhou. Huoqiu, who was based on the Zheng family, was destroyed by the ant thief and could not be recovered in the short term. In Shouchun, Umeda's two families have their own backers and intend to squeeze the Zheng family out of Shouzhou, which will inevitably cause the Zheng family to rebound.

The competition between the gentry and the wealthy families was also extremely fierce. Once the Zheng family lost power, the Zheng family knew very well that under the joint attack of the Umeda family, everything the Zheng family would be completely divided, and the army on which the Zheng family depended on had been destroyed. The grain business and iron smelting business were salivating from the Umeda family. There was not much time left for them. Without a strong backer, the Zheng family would undoubtedly be destroyed.

Zheng Hong, who was lying on the bed in the inn, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Of course, he knew that this trip to Xizhou was an adventure. Once the Umeda family knew that he had contact with Xizhou, he was afraid that the two families would no longer argue about how to divide the Zheng family's business, nor would he be afraid of the ant thief who was still rampant in Ying, Bo and Si prefectures in Huaibei, and would soon be ruthless against the Zheng family.

Similarly, if Huaibei or Huainan know that he has a connection with Xuzhou, no matter what the result is, neither Huaibei nor Huainan will allow the Zheng family to survive in Shouzhou.

In front of giants such as Huaibei and Huainan, the Zheng family's strength is not enough to fill the gaps. This is not enough to be mixed with Umeda's. Before that, the Zheng family never thought of going against Huaibei and Huainan, but now, does the Zheng family still have a choice?

With Huoqiu being captured, the Zheng clan members, including Zheng Hong, knew that the disaster was coming.

What the Zheng family lost was not only the foundation of the Zheng family, but also the Fifth Army of Shouzhou with the Zheng family as its core. Without this army, what would the Zheng family use to defend its own industry in Shouchun City?

It was only then that Zheng realized the danger of not hanging out with a big tree in the troubled times.

Even though the Umeda family lost its army for a while, as long as Huaibei or Huainan can provide them with moral support, the Zheng family dare not covet the business industries of Umeda family. However, the Zheng family does not have a big backer behind it. Although it has a close relationship with some important officials and nobles in Huaibei and Huainan, it is nothing in the face of such a big thing. No one will rush to you, and the Umeda family can unscrupulously divide the business industries of the Zheng family.

Coming to Xizhou was a gambling, but Zheng Hong had no choice.

My eldest brother is in poor health and lacks energy. He is already a little confused. He only knows to show kindness to the Umeda and his family, but in this case, how could the Umeda and his family miss such a good opportunity?

I have long been coveting Zheng's business industry in grain and iron smelting. How can I let it go when I encounter such a good opportunity?

If I had changed myself, I wouldn't have stopped. If I didn't swallow the Zheng family, the Umeda family would have been in vain for so many years in Shouzhou.

Now that I came to visit Zhouzhou by myself, it was a helpless move. Looking around, who can help the Zheng family, who is in desperate situation?

In fact, before going to Huoqiu, Zheng Hong had never thought about finding Wenzhou. Because the impression of Wenzhou gave him was too vague. Even though Jiang Feng took away the prosperous Tang and Huoshan counties from Shouzhou, the prosperous Tang and Huoshan counties were never taken by the three surnames in Shouchun City. In the eyes of the three families, the prosperous Tang and Huoshan were more like wild places, and there was no mention of it.

But after seeing the current situation of Huoqiu with his own eyes, Zheng Hong lost his remaining lucky intentions.

With the current situation in Huoqiu, it is not possible for the Zheng family to rebuild Huoqiu to be able to do it. The ruined county town, a white suburb, and one-tenth of people can rebuild Huoqiu?

It is impossible for Umeda's two families to support the reconstruction of Huoqiu. What they are thinking now is how to make trouble for the Zheng family's industry and business.

In this case, how can you live without death?

Looking around, it seems that there is only one unreliable option like Wuzhou.

To say that Wuzhou is unreliable is not that Wuzhou is not strong enough. In fact, the combat effectiveness of the Wuzhou army has proved its strength. Han Baling's troops failed in Gushi, but they broke Huoqiu and swept across the entire Shouzhou. This is enough to show the strength of the Wuzhou army. However, the Wuzhou army had just expanded from a county to a state, and had just taken over the Shengtang and Huoshan counties. Do they still have the power to interfere in Shouzhou?

Zheng Hong did not doubt Jiang Feng, the helmsman of Xuzhou, was interested in Shouzhou, and no one could remain indifferent to Shouzhou.

Although Xuzhou has four counties, it is not on the same level as the three counties of Shouzhou. Whether it is the quantity, fertility, or the degree of commercial development, Xuzhou cannot be compared.

Perhaps the only thing that Shizhou is stronger than Shouzhou is that it has a strong enough army, which may not be a good thing for Shouzhou under the control of Umeda and the two families, but it is a blessing for the Zheng family.

Zheng Hong still came to Xizhou with a nervous mood, and the importance of Xizhou's attention to it also made him see a glimmer of hope.

But after the reception and understanding, Yuzhou entered into substantive negotiations, his vague attitude made Zheng Hongxin hang up again.

The most important thing is that Jiang Feng was not here and went to Chang'an, which disappointed Zheng Hongda.

Sima Cui Shang of Shizhou did not conceal the purpose of Jiang Feng's trip to Chang'an and discussed the issue of Guangzhou's ownership and power division. Zheng Hong was quite moved, especially after learning that the original Gushi County Magistrate Chen Wei had already served as the governor of Shizhou, he became even more moved.

This shows that Jiang Feng, who was born in a commoner, is willing to share power with local gentry and prominent families. This also means that if the Zheng family can reach an agreement with Jiang Feng, Jiang Feng may not mind that the Zheng family will gain some of the power in Shouzhou like the Chen family. If the Umeda family can be squeezed out, the Zheng family may really become Jiang Feng’s basic power support point in Shouzhou.

If I could achieve this, it would be a waste of my efforts to travel to Xizhou.

Tossing and turning, Zheng Hong got up and paced in the room.

Zheng Hui from the neighboring room also heard the movement of his second brother in the next room, and also got up and knocked on the door, "Second brother, haven't you rested yet?"
Chapter completed!