The warm wind blows and the river flows slowly. With the mountains and rivers as witness, Gan Ning and Su Fei swear an oath to heaven and become brothers of the opposite sex.
After that, I continued to drive the boat southward, not looking for speed, but just drifting along the current of the Li River. Everything was focused on being happy and recuperating.
By the time the two arrived at Cangwu County, it was already past mid-May. The climate in Jiaozhou was hot and humid. Fortunately, Gan Ning's wound had already scabbed and there was no risk of recurrence of suppuration. Su Fei was very happy.
"Brother's injury is finally healed. If he can recover for a while and make up for his shortcomings, he will be a dragon again."
Gan Ning smiled boldly and said: "Hahaha, even if I fight with others now, I am not afraid."
Seeing that he was in high spirits, Su Fei finally put aside his worries about his injury. He felt happy and said with a smile: "Brother, you are indeed brave, but there is one thing you have to answer for me."
"What did you say, brother? I consider you my brother. Naturally, whatever your brother says will be whatever you say. Don't say one thing, even a hundred or a thousand things. I will also accept it."
"There are so many things, and I am not a blasphemous girl!" Su Fei laughed and said: "When I entered Cangwu, I was unfamiliar with the place. We brothers are alone and we must not show off in anything. We only say that we are selling lacquerware.
A businessman who was killed by water bandits barely escaped with his life, but lost his capital and could not return to his hometown.
How about you just rest in peace, go get some information for your brother, and then make further calculations?"
"Okay, everything will be arranged by my brother."
The two came to an agreement and continued rowing south. A few days later, they arrived outside Guangxin City and found a farmhouse to stay in. The host family heard that they had been in trouble and saw that someone was indeed injured. Su Fei also got a few blows from Su Fei.
Since he had a lot of money, he agreed and gave them a hut.
Gan Ning rested peacefully, while Su Fei went out early in the morning and came back late every day to go to the city to find out news.
After several days of hard work, he finally figured out Cang Wu's situation and got an important piece of information.
"The imperial court once sent envoys. Some people saw them entering Guangxin City, but then there was no news. I thought they were detained by Wu Ju." Su Fei held a wooden bowl and drank water while talking to Gan Ning.
.
"Why wasn't he killed?"
"He didn't dare. A certain person and Wu Ju had worked together under Liu Jingzhou for many years. He was domineering, but not very courageous. If he killed the envoy, he would force the court to conquer Cangwu and kill him to thank the world. This is not
His style of doing things.
Moreover, this Guangxin County is the ancestral home of the Shixie family. Their family is very famous in the Jiaozhi area. The Shixie brothers have served as the governors of four counties and are very powerful, just like the princes who split the earth and sealed the king.
But under their rule, they advocate culture and education and have not used weapons for many years, which shows that they do not like fighting. Killing the messenger will only cause trouble and no good for them.
In my opinion, I am afraid that I am hesitant and have not yet discussed how to deal with the court, so I detained the envoy to delay time."
Gan Ning was a good man in leading the army. When it comes to political wisdom, he can't say that he is nothing, he can only say that he knows nothing. Su Fei's words were half-understood by him, and he asked in confusion: "Then let's kill Wu Ju and seize the world."
Wu?"
"To kill Wu Ju, we must kill him, but to seize Cangwu, we have to take a long-term plan. Wu Ju's troops may not be able to capture Cangwu. Even if they temporarily occupy the city, they may not be able to stop the Shixie brothers' counterattack." Su Fei
He frowned, somewhat undecided.
"Brother, why do you think the imperial court sent envoys to the Jiaozhi Governor's Department?"
"It must be to persuade him to surrender."
"Then why don't we rescue the envoy, capture the Shi's family, and force Shi Xie to surrender? This will definitely be a great achievement." Gan Ning felt that his idea was good.
Su Fei was also moved. Although he felt that it was not that easy to take over the Shi family's territory, he was very tempted by his contribution to forcing Shi Xie to surrender. He hesitated and asked, "Save the envoy?"
"Kill Wu Ju! Save the messenger!" Gan Ning decided to give it a try.
The two agreed and began to discuss the details. They couldn't rush into Guangxin City rashly with two swords, right? How could they gain Wu Ju's trust and find out where the envoy was being held?
Top priority.
Gan Ning and Su Fei deduced that the envoy was being detained, and wanted to rescue the envoy and exchange their merits for their crimes.
.The imperial court also speculated on the same answer.
After all, he had been traveling south for four months without any news. Even if he was killed along the way, his followers would have enough time to report back.
"Your Majesty, if Xun You is bound to be detained, Chen Bing will be sent to the border to oppress the Shixie brothers. Without pressure, they will not surrender." Guo Jia was finally able to return to the emperor to make plans. He was left out in the cold in order to give Xun You an eye.
for a long time.
This makes sense. If there is no existential crisis, who is willing to surrender? Several important ministers who were summoned to the imperial study room for discussion also tended to increase troops at the border of Jiaozhou.
Detaining the envoy would damage the imperial court's dignity. If he did not make a strong response, he would definitely be despised by the people of Jiaozhou, and persuading him to surrender would become a joke.
Liu Xiang nodded and agreed with this view: "Send an order to Guan Yu to mobilize 5,000 troops from the front army to garrison in Shi'an and intimidate Cangwu County in Jiaozhou."
Shi'an is modern Guilin. Going south along the Li River, it can directly threaten Guangxin County, the county seat of Cangwu County, and it can also hit Panyu County, the county seat of Nanhai County, along the river, which is the modern city of Guangzhou.
The number of infantrymen sent was a bit small. There was really a shortage of food and grass. The main reason was that Jingnan had just been recovered and production had not yet resumed. Food and grass had to be transported from the north bank of the Yangtze River. This supply line had to go through the entire Xiangjiang River, then cross the Lingqu Canal and enter the Li River. Taite
So long.
If you can't walk on water, you won't be able to support it at all.
But how much pressure can five thousand people have?
It's no different than being beaten, just protesting and condemning a few times.
Liu Xiang was not satisfied with such intensity.
"Order the pioneering families in Lelang County to prepare 120,000 shi of grain. One hundred and twenty-eight families have been pioneering on the four plains of Lelang for six years. Each family has at least hundreds of hectares of land. I have knighted them.
, one thousand shi of grain per family is not much, right?" This question was asked of Xun Yu, who was in charge of the land reclamation in Lelang.
"I will order someone to arrange this matter."
Opening up wasteland is a huge investment. It is even more difficult to open up wasteland in frontier areas because of the lack of manpower support and the intrusion of barbarian tribes. In the first three years, we basically lost money. It would be good to get back the money within five years.
Already.
Liu Xiang knew these difficulties. He had presided over land reclamation more than once or twice. The tens of thousands of hectares of fields that were opened up in Youzhou were all created by him who tightened his belt and gritted his teeth.
"It must be prepared within one month. I will send the Liaodong fleet there and then ship it directly to Dongye County in Kuaiji County. Tell them that if they ask for it in vain, each family will be given a place to enroll in Taixue. If they can learn it, then
Let’s see if their children can live up to their expectations.”
Lelang's pioneering family has taken root and started to make profits. We need to give them another hope and open a channel for upward growth. Otherwise, they will concentrate on entrenching themselves in the place and the idea of separatist rule will breed.
Although it is not difficult to destroy them, it will bring a bad reputation. They responded to the emperor's call to reclaim the frontier, and after the land reclamation was completed, the emperor destroyed them.
What will others think?
Kill the chicken to get the eggs, cross the river and destroy the bridge, and kill the cook after dinner.
It's easy to say but not nice to hear.
Once this happens, who will be willing to spend their own money to replenish the border?
As for the one hundred or so places in Taixue, even though they are human beings, they are not directly appointed as officials. Many officials' children are studying in Taixue.
As for the Liaodong fleet transporting grain and grass south to Dongye, it is because half of the main fleet of Yunfan camp is assembled there.
The sea route going south has been explored from the mouth of the Minjiang River in Dongye to Quanzhou Bay, and it will reach the boundary of Nanhai County in Jiaozhou in a few hundred miles.
"Send orders to Tai Shici that once the sea route is opened, the main fleet will immediately go south and capture Jieyang County, Nanhai County."
If you detain the imperial envoy, you must be beaten!