In November, late autumn has faded, and there is light rain falling in the sky.
As soon as Zhang Yangquan got up, his bodyguard came to report that Liu Bowen asked to see him.
He washed briefly and came to the study.
Liu Bowen had been waiting for a long time and immediately stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the disciples sent by Master Cizhao have arrived in Jiangdu."
"Finally here!" Zhang Yangquan smiled slightly, slowly walked behind the desk and sat down, and asked: "Where is he?"
"At my house."
"Can they agree to serve in our army?"
Liu Bowen said: "Master Cizhao has only one condition. He hopes that after our army takes over Hangzhou, Lingyin Temple and the five thousand acres of fertile land in the temple will be returned to him."
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "Do they have so many fields in the temple?"
Liu Bowen said: "Yes, most of the fields have been occupied by Yuan soldiers!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a long time and said: "Promise him first."
Liu Bowen added: "Master Rutong also made a personal request."
Zhang Yangquan wondered: "What request?"
"He hopes to replace his father in the army!"
Zhang Yangquan said blankly: "Expelled from the army? Who is his father?"
"Master Rutong's lay name is Sun. He is from the Sun family in Wu County. He was ordained as a monk later."
Zhang Yangquan nodded and asked again: "Have the Sun family been expelled from the army?"
Liu Bowen nodded: "Yes, it is also because he incited the tenants to resist the distribution of their fields."
Zhang Yangquan was silent for a long time and praised: "This man has a good character. He did not use his cooperation with us as a condition, but chose to serve in the army for his father!"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "What does the king mean?"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said: "Go and tell him that as long as Lingyin Temple can help our army capture Hangzhou, he will have merit. I can reduce his father's punishment as appropriate and make up for the merit!"
Liu Bowen nodded and said: "I understand!" He bowed his hands and stepped back.
Zhang Yangquan stood up and went to the back hall, where he saw Qin Lingsi and Qin Lingjun having breakfast.
He was about to go over to eat together when Yang Sanqiang came to report again and Bian Yuanheng asked to see him.
Zhang Yangquan had no choice but to say hello to the two girls before turning around and heading back to the study.
Qin Lingjun said hurriedly: "Just ask Bian Yuanheng to come directly, why bother!"
Zhang Yangquan thought about it. Bian Yuanheng was an old friend and was familiar with the Qin sisters, so it would be okay to let him come to the back house.
So he turned to Yang Sanqiang and said: "Go and ask General Bian to come over."
Yang Sanqiang hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, General Bian also brought a woman."
Zhang Yangquan was surprised: "Who?"
Yang Sanqiang said: "That woman is a famous lady from Hangzhou, her name is Cao Miaoqing."
Qin Lingsi, who was immersed in cooking, suddenly raised her head.
"Isn't Bian Yuanheng trying to give a woman to his brother-in-law?"
Qin Lingjun glared at her and said, "Don't talk nonsense, Bian Yuanheng is not that kind of person." She turned to Yang Sanqiang and asked, "Do you know why that woman is here?"
Yang Sanqiang nodded.
"It is said that Yang Weizhen, a famous scholar from Hangzhou, was arrested by Yang Tongguan for persuading Yang Tongguan to surrender to our army. Cao Miaoqing hopes that our army will postpone the attack on Hangzhou to prevent Yang Weizhen from being killed by Yang Tongguan!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said, "Isn't Yang Weizhen the famous person with the same name as Lu Liangzuo?"
Yang Sanqiang said: "Yes."
Zhang Yangquan waved his hand and said: "Let them come together."
Yang Sanqiang agreed, turned around, and soon led Bian Yuanheng and Cao Miaoqing to the back hall.
"Your Majesty, Bian Yuanheng, pays homage to the King, and pays homage to His Royal Highness the Princess!"
"Cao Miaoqing, the daughter of the people, pays homage to His Royal Highness the King of Chu, and pays homage to His Royal Highness the Princess!"
Zhang Yangquan raised his hand and said: "No need to be polite, have you two eaten?"
Cao Miaoqing looked surprised and looked up at Zhang Yangquan.
Bian Yuanheng said hurriedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will come after the two of you have eaten."
Zhang Yangquan nodded and said: "I already know your purpose of coming, but I want to ask, you asked me to suspend the use of troops. How long will this suspension be? How long will it take for you to rescue Mr. Yang?"
Cao Miaoqing said hurriedly: "There are many people in Hangzhou who, like my daughter, hope to rescue Mr. Yang from trouble. As long as His Highness gives us a month, we will definitely try to rescue him!"
Zhang Yangquan asked again: "What if you can't save anyone within a month?"
Cao Miaoqing was stunned and suddenly speechless.
Bian Yuanheng raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Yang has a high status in Hangzhou. If we can save him, we will win the hearts of the people of Hangzhou!"
Zhang Yangquan glanced at him and said: "General Bian, when we first captured Zhenjiang and Pingjiang, did we win back the hearts of the people in both places?"
Bian Yuanheng said blankly: "Probably not."
Zhang Yangquan said: "Now the people in these places have been divided into fields, prices in the city have been controlled, and everyone can live a peaceful life. Do you think they support our army now, or reject it?"
Bian Yuanheng whispered: "Support our army."
Zhang Yangquan said slowly: "So if you want to win the hearts and minds of the people, you don't rely on the prestige of a certain person, but you must enact policies that are beneficial to the people so that they can live a good life!"
Bian Yuanheng held up his hands and said: "I finally understand."
Cao Miaoqing said anxiously: "But Your Highness..."
Zhang Yangquan waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, I didn't say I wouldn't save Mr. Yang!"
Cao Miaoqing was stunned for a moment and said: "Then what you just said..."
Qin Lingjun suddenly said: "The king wants to tell you that he did not save Yang Weizhen to win the hearts and minds of the people of Hangzhou."
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "The princess is right. Mr. Yang is willing to take the risk to persuade Yang Tongguan to surrender. Based on this alone, I will save him! You please retreat, I will arrange for someone to handle this matter."
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Cao Miaoqing was surprised and happy. He bowed and said, "Thank you so much, Your Highness, King Chu!"
Bian Yuanheng held up his hands and said: "I will retire at the end." The two of them resigned and left together.
When Qin Lingsi saw Zhang Yangquan staring at the door, she smiled strangely and said, "Brother-in-law, isn't that Miss Cao quite handsome?"
Zhang Yangquan glanced at her sideways and said, "Do you know what your expression looks like now?"
Qin Lingsi tilted her head and said, "Little fox?"
Zhang Yangquan said angrily: "Like a fool!"
Qin Lingsi didn't understand what idiot meant, but she also knew that it was not a good word, so she snorted: "You look like an idiot!"
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After a pause, she suddenly rolled her eyes and said, "Brother-in-law, are you not planning to attack Hangzhou in the near future?"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "It depends on the timing!"
Qin Lingsi smiled apologetically and said, "That means we won't use troops immediately? Can you lend me 30,000 naval troops?"
Qin Lingjun scolded: "What are you trying to do again?"
Qin Lingsi pouted and said, "Who are you kidding? I borrowed troops and horses to help my brother-in-law!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "What do you want 30,000 troops for? Let me tell you first!"
Qin Lingsi hurriedly asked: "Have you ever heard of Jeju Island?"
Qin Lingjun was stunned. She had never heard of this place.
Zhang Yangquan touched his chin and said, "Are you talking about the small island near Korea?"
Qin Ling said happily: "Yes, that's the island. It's a natural pasture. I sent someone to inquire about it. There are more than 50,000 horses on the island. Let's grab them all!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "Do you know where Jeju Island belongs?"
Qin Lingsi nodded: "It is jointly managed by the Tatars and the Koreans. Both families have stationed more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, a total of 60,000 people. They should not be the opponents of our 30,000 navy troops!"
Zhang Yangquan shook his head and said: "It's not 60,000, but 600,000!"
Qin Lingsi said in shock: "How is that possible? I heard that the Goryeo Kingdom only had 600,000 troops in total!"
Qin Lingjun glanced at her and said: "What your brother-in-law is referring to is the 600,000 soldiers and horses of Koryo! Jeju Island is so close to Koryo. As long as you attack, they will provide a steady stream of rescuers. Can you eat it in one bite?"
”
Qin Lingsi said with a bitter face: "Then why don't we send someone to discuss with the King of Goryeo? We will only fight the Tatars. After the Tatars are eliminated, we will jointly manage Jeju Island with them!"
Zhang Yangquan shook his head and said: "There is no need to send people, the King of Goryeo will never agree!"
Qin Lingsi said unconvinced: "How do you know?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "Do you know Prince Yuan Ting?"
"I know, what's wrong?"
"He has half Korean blood, and his mother, Queen Qi, is Korean. Do you think the Korean National Congress will be on our side?"
Qin Lingsi was stunned for a while and said: "But brother-in-law, if you want to reach the north, you need more horses. We only have more than 20,000 horses now, which is not enough!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about attacking the north. When we unify the south of the Yangtze River, many things will naturally fall into place!"
Qin Lingsi whispered: "I think you just don't pay attention to war horses!"
He stood up and said angrily: "I'm done eating and going to the racecourse." He strode out of the house.