The reputation of Jinyiwei is not that great, at least among other princes, it is not famous. People just know that Liu Cong has such an organization.
Zhang Song couldn't help but be curious, "What is the official position of the commander of the Jinyiwei in the Jinyiwei?"
Duan Kun smiled and said, "As the name suggests, I am the leader of Jin Yiwei!"
At this time, Zhang Song was moved, "Well, tomorrow we will turn south and I will meet the Marquis of Chu."
"I'll give you medicine first."
In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, on February 3, Zhang Song left Xudu and headed south, arriving at Wancheng on February 5.
"Wancheng Guard General Wenpin/Zhao Yun, I have met you sir." Twenty miles outside the city, Wenpin and Zhao Yun came to greet him!
"I have met the two generals." Zhang Song saluted.
"We are specially ordered by the lord to come to greet you and invite you to enter the city for a brief talk."
Zhang Song smiled and declined, "No, I'm anxious to go south to meet the Marquis of Chu."
"Then let's see you off, sir."
On February 8, Zhang Song arrived in Fancheng, and Gan Ning personally led a fleet to pick him up across the Han River.
"This ship?"
Seeing Zhang Song's curiosity, Gan Ning smiled and explained, "Water warfare is nothing more than long-distance archery and close-range swordsmanship."
"My lord ordered that the ships be wrapped in iron armor and equipped with giant crossbows, so that our army will be invincible in water battles. In addition, the lord also unified the sizes of the ships to make them look uniform and convenient for command."
Zhang Song was a little surprised. Xichuan also had a navy. Although it was not as large as Jingchu and Jiangdong, he knew that no prince in the world had a navy with such unified ships and such advanced ships.
"All ships are jointly manufactured by the Ministry of Industry and the Research Institute. Some people are responsible for the keel, while others are responsible for the armor, sails, hulls, etc. They are all manufactured separately and then assembled. My lord calls this an assembly line."
"How is the output?" Zhang Song asked.
Gan Ning proudly replied, "It is no exaggeration to say that Jingchu's shipbuilding speed is five times that of Jiangdong!"
"Five times!?" Zhang Song exclaimed in disbelief.
They crossed the Han River in a short time, and sitting on the boat, Zhang Song and Gan Ning had a lively conversation. However, when he asked other questions, Gan Ning obviously couldn't answer them. He claimed that he only focused on fighting.
Full of doubts, Zhang Song continued to Xiangyang under the guidance of Duan Kun. As soon as he got off the ship, Wei Yan and Huang Zhong were already waiting here.
"Wei Yan/Huang Zhong, on the order of my lord, I am here to greet you sir. My lord has already gone out of the city thirty miles to greet you. Sir, please get on the carriage."
Zhang Song ignored the two of them, but looked at the boats on the Han River! The entire Han River was covered with sails, and at each ferry there were shouting sailors, coolies, and cars and horses.
They left here and came from the south!
After being stunned for a moment, Zhang Song came back to his senses and returned the greeting, "Thank you, generals, please mount your horse quickly. Don't let the Marquis of Chu wait in a hurry."
"My lord, Zhang Song is less than ten miles away from here!"
"Zhang Song is less than five miles away from here!"
After two rounds of scout reports, Liu Cong didn't wait long before he saw smoke and dust billowing in the distance.
"Lord, Zhang Biejia will bring you here!"
As soon as Huang Zhong finished his report, Zhang Song got off the carriage. The Zhang Song who caught Liu Cong's eyes was indeed ugly, but his eyes were full of wisdom.
Walking quickly to Liu Cong, Zhang Song cupped his hands and said, "Zhang Song of Yizhou is paying homage to the Marquis of Chu. How dare you bother the Marquis of Chu to welcome him from afar?"
Yizhou Zhang Song, not Yizhou Bijia Zhang Song, Liu Cong captured this very keenly, smiled and stepped forward to hold Zhang Song's hand and said, "I hope Yongnian will last forever. Mr. Yongnian was tired from traveling and traveling all the way.
Follow me into the city first!" (Zhang Song's given name is Zi Qiao in the official history, and Yong Nian in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The more widely circulated Yong Nian is used here.)
Liu Cong's hospitality made Zhang Song a little excited. Liu Zhang was indeed kind to him, but Zhang Song wanted to be appreciated by the hero even more.
What makes Zhang Song even more surprised is that Liu Cong is so young! Calculating his age, Liu Cong is only 19 years old this year.
Perhaps due to his career in his previous life, although Liu Cong is now a prince, he is full of righteousness. Coupled with the nourishment of being in charge of Jingchu in the past two years, he has formed a noble aura!
Zhang Song recalled that when he met Cao Cao in Xudu, although Cao Cao was also full of domineering and majestic, Zhang Song could see the worry hidden in his eyes!
Zhang Song, who has been alienated almost since he was a child because of his ugly appearance, is very good at observing words and emotions, and is even better at reading what others are thinking from their eyes.
And Liu Cong's eyes were full of confidence, full of yearning for the future, and full of ambition to embrace the world!
While Zhang Song was thinking about it, Liu Cong spoke again, "Gu is in charge of Jingchu, and I have heard of your name for a long time. It's a pity that the mountains and rivers prevent me from meeting him. Today I finally fulfilled Gu's great wish!"
"It's just a false reputation for me. The Marquis of Chu is so kind and gracious, which makes me ashamed."
"Hahaha," Liu Cong looked up to the sky and laughed, "Sir, you are so humble. I believe that there is no good person under the reputation! Let's go, sir, ride in the same car with me!"
Entering Xiangyang City, Zhang Song began to be shocked again. Meeting Zhang Song naturally did not result in a scene of empty streets, but the population density on the streets still amazed Zhang Song.
Between Wancheng, Fancheng and Xinye, due to several wars, the population is not very dense, it can even be said to be sparse. After Cao Cao went south, the people also moved to Xiangyang, and some people voluntarily stayed in Xiangyang, so the area north of the Han River
The population is not large.
But the population near Xiangyang, including the entire Xiangyang City, is as high as nearly 700,000! The population of Xiangyang City alone is no less than 450,000!
There are vendors selling goods on both sides of the street, and there is a stone lantern every five meters! The bluestone street is flat on the ground! The whole street is almost crowded with people coming and going!
If Liu Cong's bodyguards hadn't cleared the way, the team wouldn't have been able to move forward! But the people who were driven away didn't have any dissatisfaction. They looked at Liu Cong's carriage with eyes full of respect and support!
Such a grand occasion has not occurred even in Chengdu, the land of abundance. This is almost a situation that can only be achieved in the prosperous times!
Seeing Zhang Song's shock, Liu Cong smiled softly and said, "There are already 450,000 people in Xiangyang City, and I have been very busy recently. I have to deal with various things and prepare to expand the city."
Xiangyang has a population of 450,000 in a city! Zhang Song exclaimed in his heart again. It seems that the population of 3 million mentioned in the newspaper is true!
Liu Cong defeated Sun Quan, resisted Cao Cao, expelled Liu Bei, and recently captured Wancheng. After entering Wancheng, he still felt that Liu Cong was not good at governing the country.
Sending someone to contact him also shows that he is also good at maneuvering and has the ability to recognize people.
Now it seems that he is narrow-minded, he is simply a born wise master!
After entering the Houfu, the banquet had been set up long ago and was just waiting for everyone to take their seats.
"Yongnian, I would like to introduce you to an important minister under my command. This is Pang Tong Pang Shiyuan, known as Feng Chu. He is currently serving as the Secretary of the Zhongshu Ling and the Minister of the Ministry of War, and is also the Governor of Gu. Like you, his appearance is not very beautiful!" Liu Cong said!
Finally, there was a somewhat teasing tone.
Pang Tong bowed his hands and saluted Zhang Song, "I have seen Zhang Biejia."
Zhang Song wasn't angry either. The moment he saw Pang Tong, he understood why Liu Cong didn't mind his appearance. His most important minister is like this, why would he care about you?
Zhang Song replied, "Feng Chu defeated Cao Jun in Fancheng and his fame spread throughout the world. I have long been fascinated by him."