Chapter 1223 A helping hand!
Jiangnan, Lin'an

In the evening, Zhang Meng returned to his residence somewhat tired. Although Ye Mingsheng had not yet arrived in Lin'an, Lin'an was already busy with activities. The governor was busy arranging the welcome ceremony, while the censor of the Coordination Office was busy with security work.

The army was also busy preparing a military parade for Ye Mingsheng to review, in order to pay tribute to the great commander-in-chief of the Great Zhou army!
Originally, the military parade plan was for the First Army and the Fourth Army to form a joint formation to demonstrate the unity within the Fengwu Army. However, due to some issues, there were some problems in coordination between the two sides. Originally, this matter should have been coordinated and commanded by He Jingyun!
But unfortunately, He Jingyun already knew that his crime had been exposed by then, so he no longer cared about whether to hold the military parade or not. He just handed the matter over to Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng!

Therefore, after discussion, Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng cancelled the idea of ​​a joint formation and still conducted the military parades separately according to their respective organizations, with the First Army parading first and the Fourth Army following suit.

After making this decision, Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng were each responsible for their own affairs. As Ye Mingsheng was about to arrive in Lin'an, the burdens on Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng became heavier. In order to ensure that there would be no mistakes during the military parade, the two of them were busy from morning to night...
After working all day, Zhang Meng was very tired and went straight to bed when he got home. He didn't even want to eat and just wanted to have a good rest!
At this moment, with the sound of footsteps, a fragrant breeze blew around Zhang Meng. Smelling the familiar scent, Zhang Meng immediately turned around and saw his mistress Sun Xianger standing in front of the bed, looking at him with a sweet smile.

Looking at Zhang Meng who looked exhausted, Sun Xiang'er said with some distress:
"My Lord General! You are really exhausted!"

Listening to Sun Xianger's words, Zhang Meng also opened his arms and said:
"Be good! Xiang'er, let me hug you!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiang'er obediently crawled into Zhang Meng's arms. The commander of the Fourth Army of the Fengwu Army also hugged this weak and boneless woman tightly, feeling her warmth and fragrance. However, when Sun Xiang'er smelled the sweat on Zhang Meng's body, a fleeting look of disgust emerged in her beautiful eyes.

After holding Sun Xiang'er for half a cup of tea, Zhang Meng gradually calmed down, sorted out his emotions, and said to Sun Xiang'er with a smile:

"What did you do tonight?"

Sun Xianger smiled and said:

"Godfather is hosting a banquet at his residence tonight to chat with the general!"

Hearing Sun Xiang'er mention his godfather Sun Wenheng, Zhang Meng raised his eyebrows and said:

"What's wrong with him?"

Ever since he got in touch with Sun Wenheng and obtained shares in Dadechang Company, Zhang Meng has been using his connections in the Fengwu Army to try to help Dadechang Company obtain a banknote exchange license.

But unfortunately, the Yijing court was extremely strict in examining the licenses of the Piaohao banks, and Zhang Meng’s connections in the court were not very strong, so the Dadechang Company did not get the Piaohao license as they wished·························
But even so, Sun Wenheng, the owner of Dadechang, did not lose out. He used Zhang Meng to eliminate his rival, the Lin family, and took over many businesses under the name of the Lin family. It can be said that he made a huge fortune!
After dealing with the Lin family, Zhang Meng realized that although there was indeed some contact between the Lin family and the Zhennan Army, the contact between the two was not deep. Much of the evidence that Sun Wenheng gave him was specious!
Zhang Meng was very angry after realizing that he was being used as a knife by Sun Wenheng, but things could not be reversed. Moreover, he had taken the silver shares of the Dadechang Company and slept with Sun Wenheng's goddaughter Sun Xianger, so Zhang Meng could only grit his teeth and accept this loss. Zhang Meng, who did not want to be used as a knife by Sun Wenheng again, had kept his distance from Sun Wenheng for some time.

Although he kept his distance from Sun Wenheng, Zhang Meng did not have much resistance to Sun Wenheng's goddaughter Sun Xianger. As Zhang Meng found a mansion in Lin'an, Sun Xianger moved in too!

Sun Xiang'er is also a smart person. She also noticed that Zhang Meng had some complaints about her godfather Sun Wenheng, so during the time she was with Zhang Meng, she tried her best not to mention Sun Wenheng's name.

At this time, facing Zhang Meng's question, Sun Xiang'er also sat next to Zhang Meng, holding Zhang Meng's hand and whispering:

"There are mainly two things. The first is that my godfather has decided to distribute dividends to the shareholders of Dadechang. General, you can get three thousand taels!"

Although he didn't like Sun Wenheng using him as a gun, Zhang Meng's expression changed when he heard that he could get three thousand taels of silver.

At the same time, Sun Xiang'er was preaching in a mysterious tone:

"Compared to the first thing, I think you, General, care more about the second thing..."

Zhang Meng was stunned when he heard this, and then he said to Sun Xianger with some expectation:
"Did your godfather get any news?"

Under Zhang Meng's gaze, Sun Xiang'er also nodded with a smile, and then spoke meaningfully:
"For this little piece of information, my godfather has done a great favor and paid over a thousand taels of silver. So, my general, don't you want to hear what this news is?"

Zhang Meng took a deep breath after hearing this, then hugged Sun Xianger and gave her a big kiss before saying in a deep voice:

"Xiang'er, change my clothes for me!"

Half an hour later, Zhang Meng and Sun Xiang'er, dressed in casual clothes, arrived at the Sun Mansion together. Sun Wenheng's son Sun Teng even came to the gate of the mansion in person to greet Zhang Meng and gave Zhang Meng enough face!

Although this was nominally a family dinner, in order to serve Zhang Meng well, Sun Wenheng simply invited the chef of Lin'an's famous restaurant Louwailou to his home and served Zhang Meng a total of eighteen dishes. However, Zhang Meng, who had something on his mind, looked at the delicacies in front of him and felt that they tasted like wax and he couldn't eat them at all!

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, everyone had almost finished eating. Zhang Meng's patience was gradually exhausted, and he was ready to get to the point with Sun Wenheng. But just as he was organizing his words, Sun Wenheng saw through his thoughts and immediately gave a look to his son Sun Teng beside him.

Sun Teng immediately took out a prepared envelope, handed it to Zhang Meng with a smile on his face and said:

“With the joining of General Zhang, our Dadechang Company’s fortunes have improved a lot. We have made a lot of money this year. This is your share of dividends for General Zhang…”

Looking at the envelope handed over by Sun Teng, Zhang Meng knew that the envelope must contain the banknotes of Dadongsheng. Although he was a rough man and had not read much, Zhang Meng still had some brains after rising from a private to his current position!

He knew that most businesses distribute dividends at the end of the year, and it was only June, which was not the time for businesses to distribute dividends. It was obvious that Sun Wenheng knew that he was resentful about the Lin family, so he used this dividend to shut himself up and resolve his resentment! Realizing this, Zhang Meng did not immediately take the envelope handed over by Sun Teng, but glanced at Sun Wenheng who was sitting in the main seat. He saw that this old fox in the mall was still drinking soup calmly and calmly. At this time when the atmosphere was a little subtle, Zhang Meng slightly nodded. Seeing this, Sun Xianger beside him immediately stood up to smooth things over, took the envelope and said with a smile:

"With Godfather and the General, the two gods of wealth, here, I believe the future of our Dadechang Company will get better and better!"

After Sun Xiang'er finished speaking, Zhang Meng was too lazy to beat around the bush and directly asked Sun Wenheng:

"I heard that Master Sun, you got some news. Why don't you tell me?"

Facing Zhang Meng's eagle-like sharp gaze, Sun Wenheng, who had been sitting on the Diaoyutai, also felt the pressure. He pondered for a moment and said:

“This time, Shen Quan beside the Marshal will replace one of you, General Zhang, and General Ma Zhongjunma!”

Zhang Meng narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing this, but his expression did not change at all. The news that Shen Quan followed Ye Mingsheng on the southern tour was no secret. As early as when Ye Mingsheng was still in Qi and Lu, the news had already spread to Jiangnan...
Although Ye Mingsheng holds personnel and financial power very tightly, in order to prevent a general from staying in a certain unit for too long, Ye Mingsheng has always had the habit of rotating troops and generals. This is both an unwritten rule and an open secret within the Fengwu Army!
So even though some people speculated that Ye Mingsheng brought Shen Quan to Jiangnan, it was very likely that he wanted Shen Quan to replace a senior general in Jiangnan.

Because Shen Quan was originally only the general of the Fourth Division, and He Jingyun's crime had not yet been exposed, some people believed that Ye Mingsheng brought Shen Quan to Jiangnan, most likely intending to let Shen Quan replace Ma Zhongjun or Zhang Meng!

After all, Ma Zhongjun, the general of the First Division, and Zhang Meng, the commander of the Fourth Army, have been in their respective units for several years. According to the rotation rules in the Fengwu Army, the two of them should also change places!

Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng had their own ideas about this, but as He Jingyun's crime was exposed, the two men's ideas changed drastically after they realized that He Jingyun was likely to leave Jiangnan!

Although Ye Mingsheng never appointed He Jingyun as the governor-general of Jiangnan to control the military and political affairs of Jiangnan, after the capture of Jiangnan, He Jingyun, who was stationed in Jiangnan, became the de facto governor of Jiangnan by virtue of his status and prestige as a veteran and meritorious official of the Fengwu Army!

So after He Jingyun left, Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng reached a consensus that Ye Mingsheng would most likely choose one of them to replace He Jingyun!
Although they could not become the de facto governor of Jiangnan like He Jingyun, being able to succeed He Jingyun as the commander of the First Army was a huge step forward in their careers for Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng.

It was precisely because of this realization that Ma Zhongjun and Zhang Meng, who had originally had a good relationship, had a rift between them. This also led to a huge disagreement between the two of them on the issue of the military parade. Both of them wanted to leave a good impression on Ye Mingsheng through the military parade, so as to gain an advantageous position in the competition.

That's why Zhang Meng attaches so much importance to this military parade. He makes himself exhausted every day because of the parade. He has made up his mind to surpass Ma Zhongjun in this parade!
Seeing that Zhang Meng didn't say anything, Sun Wenheng couldn't help but take out another trump card.

"Marshal Ye is preparing to mobilize troops against Baiyue!"

If the news just now was within Zhang Meng's expectations, then when he heard Sun Wenheng's words at this time, Zhang Meng could be said to be really shocked!
Zhang Meng stared at Sun Wenheng with a serious expression and said in a deep voice:
"Master Sun, where did you get this news?"

Facing Zhang Meng's question, Sun Wenheng did not give a clear answer but just said lightly:

"General Zhang, I have my own way!"

Zhang Meng frowned slightly when he heard this, but he did not dwell on the source of the information and instead asked:
"Master Sun, is this information reliable?"

“We are 70% to 80% sure! General Zhang, one of you, General Ma Zhongjunma, or General Shen Quan Shen will command this operation in the next two to three years…”

Zhang Meng was also somewhat tempted when he heard this. As the saying goes, a military general's achievements must be made on horseback. Now the Fengwu Army has unified the Great Zhou, and the Luobi and Golden Horde Khanate on the northern grasslands have been defeated by Ye Mingsheng. Therefore, the opportunity to make achievements is already very rare!

At this time, Sun Wenheng continued:

"General Zhang, Shen Quan's replacement for one of you and General Ma has been a foregone conclusion since the Marshal brought General Shen to Jiangnan!"

"But I see that Marshal Ye seems to have not yet decided whether to let Shen Quan take over your position as the commander of the Fourth Army, or to take over General Ma's position as the general of the First Army!"

Listening to Sun Wenheng's meaningful words, Zhang Meng seemed to realize something. After a little thought, he spoke:
"You mean the battle against Baiyue will be the key to the matter?"

Sun Wenheng nodded with a smile and said:
"I have also heard about Marshal Ye's style of doing things. I believe that Marshal Ye will talk to you and General Ma after he arrives in Jiangnan.
By then, as long as you express your support for the war against Baiyue and show that you know enough about Baiyue, I am afraid that General Zhang will be promoted to a higher level!"

Listening to Sun Wenheng's words, Zhang Meng's eyes suddenly brightened, but after a moment he also said with some embarrassment:

"But I'm from Liaoyang, and I don't know anything about the Baiyue region!"

Sun Wenheng smiled and said:

“This is where you need our Sun family, General Zhang. Our Sun family has been doing business in Baiyue for more than ten years and is familiar with the customs and geography of Baiyue. We can definitely lend a helping hand to you…”

(End of this chapter)