When Wei Ba was stationed at Dongting Lake to train his navy, several important waterways such as the Xiang River were already full of sails. The cargo ships coming from the south to the north were filled with goods and enlisted soldiers. The size of the camp by the Dongting Lake was expanding day by day.
More and more soldiers joined in and began intense training. Wave after wave of military training was carried out on land and water.
In addition to Jingzhou and Jiaozhou soldiers under the rule of Wei Ba, who gathered from all directions towards Dongting Lake, there were also some inconspicuous cargo ships in those fleets. They came from the southwest and arrived with the Wuxi barbarians of Wuling. People who don’t know the inside story will
Because they are part of the Wuxi Barbarians, only a few people know that those boats come from Zangda.
They are special ores sent by Ma Bing, the governor of Xangxu, at the request of Wei Ba.
After Ma Bing arrived at Zanggang, with the help of technicians sent by Wei Ba, he quickly found the minerals Wei Ba needed according to the map. Those mines were not eye-catching, and the locals did not know that these items could be exchanged for money or that they could be obtained.
These stones are used to offset taxes, which is a great joy to the mountain people.
This matter went smoothly and was kept confidential. Ma Bing said to the tribes that if you leak this matter, it will be divided equally with other tribes in the future. It is up to you. So the leaders of those tribes immediately told
All the subordinates issued death orders. If anyone dared to leak a word of secrets, his whole family would be killed without any discussion.
Of course, transporting stones thousands of miles is not as convenient as processing them on site, but Wei Ba insisted on transporting these ores to Jingzhou for processing, and he wanted to keep the technical secrets. The discovery of the alloy was an accident, and even he himself did not understand these alloys.
The ingredients and mechanism, process and formula must of course be kept as confidential as possible.
During this expedition, Wei Ba needed to replenish weapons and armor at any time, and it would definitely not be appropriate to transfer them all from Zhuya, so he brought some craftsmen with him, and they would also bring them to the East China Sea in the future. With the iron ore resources in Liaodong, the source of pig iron would be
It can be solved, but other ores needed to produce alloys cannot be replaced in a short time. They can only be collected from the place where they were first discovered, which is Zangda. In order to prevent the problem of insufficient supply, he has to take away a certain amount of
reserve.
This was one of the reasons why he stayed in Dongting for nearly half a year.
Amid the intense military training, the 14th year of Jianxing gradually came to an end. At the end of the twelfth lunar month, Guan Feng and Xia Houhui took several children from Zhuya and Xiangguan to Dongting Lake respectively. This year's New Year's Eve was planned to be spent in Yiyang.
They gathered here first.
Including Wei Zheng, Wei Ba now has four sons and one daughter, and all three wives and concubines have given birth to children. Xiahou Hui has two sons, the eldest son Wei Zheng and the second son Wei An; Guan Feng has a son and a daughter, respectively.
The eldest daughter Wei Yu, the fourth son Wei Yang; Peng Xiaoyu has only one son, the third son Wei Dai. The children are the most similar in age, the eldest Wei Zheng is eight years old, and the youngest Wei Yang is three years old.
Of course, the family members were in a happy mood when they were reunited. Of course, Guan Feng was in the best mood. Her wish was fulfilled after she gave birth to her legitimate son Wei Yang.
In addition, Guan Xing has become Wei Ba's confidant. Although he has no military exploits to speak of and cannot be compared with Xia Houxuan who has been fighting on the front line, as long as Wei Ba goes out to fight, Guan Xing is the number one guarding the rear.
A heavy general, according to unwritten convention, this is already the treatment of a great general.
Seeing Guan Feng, Wei Ba was a little surprised: "Why are you, a rare nobleman, interested in coming this time?"
Guan Feng is not young anymore. She is thirty-five years old, which is already a middle-aged woman in this era. Although her appearance has not changed much, her mentality is a bit old. She seldom goes out and concentrates on
Take care of the children at home and take care of Wei Ba's family business. Now that Wei Ba's family has a big business, Xia Houhui can only take care of it. The burden is inevitably too heavy, and of course she, the housewife, has to shoulder the heavy responsibility. For things like traveling far away, she usually
Not very involved.
"I haven't seen my grandma in a few years, so I should go and pay my respects." Guan Feng said with a smile, "Besides, I also want to drop by to pay homage to my father and tell him good news."
"Dingguo has another baby?"
"Well, a boy and a girl are both very healthy." Guan Feng said with a smile: "The women of the Cao family are just like the women of the Xiahou family, they are really fertile."
Xia Houhui covered his mouth and said with a smile: "Sister, don't speak with hooks. I didn't offend you."
"I didn't say anything bad about you. I'm not complimenting you." Guan Feng said: "It is a good thing for a woman to have more children, not a bad thing. By the way, husband, when you go to Liaodong this time, take Yuanrong with you while she is still young.
, a few more, and by the time I get to my age, it will be too late to have a baby."
"Look at you, you look like you are seventy or eighty years old." Wei Ba scolded: "You are not an old person, but an old heart. You always feel that you will not be able to survive when you reach your age. Look at Zhang Xiangu, she is over ninety, and you still feel
I am young."
"She is a living god, how can I compare with her."
"Aren't gods made by humans?" Wei Ba waved his hand to stop Guan Feng from talking any more. "Can Dingguo be able to control the situation by himself?"
Guan Feng didn't say anything. Xia Houhui took the initiative and said: "General Guan is a steady man and treats his subordinates generously. He has been studying hard recently and gets along well with Pan Shijun. I think he can withstand the situation."
Wei Ba said nothing and looked at Guan Feng. Guan Feng smiled slightly: "Yuan Rong has said so, what else can I say?"
"Well, leave the affairs of Jiangnan to Dingguo. I'll tell Zhaoming again and ask him to take care of it more. There should be no problem. You go to Donghai with me and stop meddling in government affairs. Government affairs are complicated and easy to deal with.
It makes people feel tired. Going to the East China Sea may open your mind a little bit and stop feeling so sorry for yourself."
Guan Feng pondered for a moment and nodded.
Wei Ba immediately sent someone to recruit Jin Dongliu. Jin Dongliu has been stationed in Guiyang for these years, but has not made any meritorious service or been promoted. Seeing some rising stars fighting on the battlefield, it is wrong to say that he has no idea in his heart.
It was too realistic. However, after hearing Wei Ba's request, he immediately agreed without saying a word.
As Wei Ba's confidant for many years, he knew that Wei Ba's intention was not just to allow Guan Feng to leave and go to the East China Sea to relax. Having Guan Xing stay behind was not only a comfort to the Guan family's sisters and brothers, but also to the Xiahou family.
A balance of power. Letting him assist Guan Xing is not only a trust in his ability, but also recognition of his loyalty. If nothing else happens, Wei Ba's career in the Central Plains will be inherited by Wei Yang, his legitimate son. Guan Xing is the future
The first choice for the general. Assisting Guan Xing and ensuring the stability of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou is the top priority, even more important than fighting on the front line. If it were not for the strong strength of Jiaozhou and Jingzhou as the backing, after the Battle of Pengcheng,
How could Wei Ba recover so quickly?
After Jin Dongliu accepted the order, he did not return to the station immediately. Instead, he temporarily stayed in Dongting Lake and took over the command of the tens of thousands of troops assembled in Dongting Lake to continue training on behalf of Wei Ba. With him doing the work, Wei Ba was able to escape and go north to Yiyang.
Reunion with family.
After Wei Yan died in battle, the Wei family was now divided into three. Although the head of the family was taken over by Wei Ba, Wei Yan's title was inherited by Wei Wu, so Wei Wu lived in his hometown in Yiyang. The eldest son Wei Feng lived in Xiangyang.
Ba himself is far away in Zhuya. His mother-in-law Zhang
His biological mother, Deng, both lived in Yiyang. Wei Ba went north from Dongting. They could have gone east along the Yangtze River to Wuchang, and then traveled north to Yiyang. However, Guan Feng wanted to pay homage to Guan Yu's tomb along the way, so they had to arrive first.
Dangyang, then take the road to Xiangyang and go with Wei Feng.
Although Guan Yu's tomb has not been seen for several years, it is well maintained. Chen Dao, who was stationed in Jiangling, took great care of him. Guan Feng also specially arranged for twenty families to keep the tomb. These tomb keepers are all old or injured in the sword and shield hands of the Guan family.
Those who are disabled and can no longer fight, Guan Feng will do it for them
They purchased family property and fields and asked them to guard Guan Yu's tomb. They did not pay taxes, and their only task was to guard the tomb and clean up the weeds on it in time. When Guan Feng and Guan Xing came to worship every year, they would also give them a special banquet and reward them.
A certain amount of money as a token of gratitude.
With such benefits, Guan Yu's tomb has been properly taken care of and is now a scenic spot in Dangyang.
Standing in front of Guan Yu's tomb, Guan Feng solemnly expressed his condolences and was filled with emotions.
Wei Ba, Xia Houhui and their five children also sacrificed in turn. After the ceremony, Wei Ba put his arm around Guan Feng's shoulders and said: "This matter is not over yet. After I defeat Cao Rui, I will take my uncle's head."
Please come back from Luoyang."
"Why bother to invite you back?" Guan Feng said with a smile: "It's not bad to rest your head on the Yellow River and step on the Yangtze River."
Wei Ba blinked his eyes, thought for a while, and said with a smile: "Well, then we will build a road from Luoyang to Dangyang and call it Guandao. How about it?"
"Thank you, husband." Guan Feng pulled Wei Yang over, touched his head and said, "However, the road construction project is huge and expensive. The world is currently uncertain, and there is no spare money to do such a thing. Husband, I still concentrate on the war. Wait.
It’s not too late to do it now that the world has been pacified and people’s livelihood is stable. I think maybe by then Yang’er will have grown up and it might be safer for him to do it. My father will be very happy if he knows about it. Husband.
, what do you think?”
Wei Ba touched his nose, leaned into Guan Feng's ear, and chuckled: "Sister, you are too obsessed."
Guan Feng glanced at him and said softly: "Can't you give me an accurate answer?"
"The big deal has not yet been decided, how can I give you an accurate answer?" Wei Ba knelt down, picked up Wei Yang, and pecked his little face: "Son, do you know who this is?"
"I know." Wei Yang said in a sweet voice, "It's my uncle."
"What else?"
Wei Yang rolled his dark eyes: "He is a great hero."
"Then what kind of person is a great hero?"
Wei Yang bit his fingers and didn't know how to answer. This question was obviously beyond his cognitive scope, so he had to ask his mother for help. Before Guan Feng could speak, his daughter Wei Yu, who was leaning against her, jumped up and stood tall.
He raised his hands and said loudly: "Dad, I know, I know."
"What kind of person is a great hero?"
"You will be a great hero if you retreat to cultivate your body and mind and pursue the Tao, and make progress to bring peace to the world and the people." Wei Yu clenched his fists and screamed: "My eldest father is a great hero, my eldest father is also a great hero, and my father is also a great hero. I
I also want to be such a great hero.”
Wei Ba sighed with emotion: "Four dragons are not as good as one phoenix. I have a golden phoenix at home."