mtl008 Chapter 196: Persuade her to become a bandit?
Chapter 196: Persuade her to become a bandit?
Zong Yanli's original idea was simply to reach a mutually beneficial cooperation with the Wuhuan.
She didn't expect that Princess Wuhuan had such far-sighted views, and was even willing to gamble the entire Wuhuan to make this deal with her.
Sai Ya said in a firm tone: "General Zong Yan, I can fight for you. All the Wuhuan soldiers will be at your disposal during this period!"
Sai Ya had said so much, how could Zong Yanli refuse this piece of fat meat that was delivered to her door? However, she did not agree to it blindly. After all, Sai Ya wanted not only the defeat of the Northern Kingdom, but also the recovery of the Wuhuan kingdom.
Zong Yanli asked Princess Saiya to take Duzhe back to recuperate for the time being, as this matter was of great importance and she needed to report it to the emperor.
"Father, do you think this is feasible?" After Saiya and Duzhe left, Zong Yanli looked up at Zong Yanhongjing and asked.
"This move will only benefit us and not harm us." Zong Yanhongjing nodded slightly and said, "Princess Sai Ya is right. The current situation in the world is roughly like this. Although Daqian has a new king, but..."
"One day you and I will both embark on the journey north."
"Wuhuan may be a great opportunity."
"Ali, your father has high hopes for you."
Zong Yanhongjing's eyes were filled with satisfaction and admiration, as well as a sigh of hope that his son would eventually become successful.
You have to know that his original expectation for Zong Yanli was just to become a general who commanded all the tribes and that was all.
It was Zong Yanli who climbed up step by step on his own. Now Zong Yanhongjing is no longer able to support him. He is like an old father standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up, watching his child walk out a path that he had imagined countless times when he was young.
Zong Yanli was fully aware of the seriousness of the matter, so he wrote a secret letter without hesitation and sent it secretly to Gao Jiayue in Kyoto.
The northern land that was once out of reach is now within their grand vision.
Gao Jiayue could hardly describe her feelings when she received Zong Yanli's secret letter. She just sat upright on a high seat, reading Zong Yanli's letter over and over again, with complicated emotions in her eyes as she looked at her handwriting.
Perhaps Gao Jiayue's feelings for Zong Yanli can be more than just admiration. She admires Zong Yanli's bravery in fighting the enemies, is fascinated by her appearance in her life like a savior, and is even more grateful for her support and help along the way.
Now I am even more impressed by the smooth road she has paved for Daqian.
The world is unified.
These words made her dizzy.
Gao Jiayue looked up deeply, put away Zong Yanli's secret letter carefully, and after thinking for a long time, she picked up the pen and wrote a reply, which showed her unconditional trust and strong support for Zong Yanli.
"Empress Dowager, the Emperor is here." Hong Jian beside him reminded in a low voice.
"Yes." Gao Jiayue sealed the letter, turned around and handed it to Hong Jian, asking her to send it out secretly. Then she stood up and walked out of the hall to meet He Honglang.
"Mother." He Honglang had grown a little taller this year. As an emperor, he had a very hard life.
Gao Jiayue never had the intention of doting on her young son. Soon after the situation stabilized, Gao Jiayue began to recruit talents for He Honglang. She inquired around about those great scholars of the time who were hiding in the mountains. She wanted to invite those great scholars to serve in the court, whether it was for wealth or high positions.
He Honglang's schoolwork was also increasing day by day. Gao Jiayue did not just let him study hard, but also began to put archery, horse riding and shooting on the agenda.
If he had free time, he would take him out of the palace to see his people and his subjects with his own eyes.
"Are you hungry?" Gao Jiayue never asked him about his homework after class. Instead, she would care for him like a loving mother and chat with him about everything and interesting things.
He Honglang is seven years old this year.
He gradually understood his own identity, began to be sensible, and was quick to accept new things. This is the best stage for him to learn.
When Gao Jiayue's reply came, Zong Yanli was counting the military supplies that had been delivered. She felt a little upset when she saw that the military supplies and food had been reduced by at least 30%. Seeing that the Wuhuan had formed an alliance and the food supplies had not increased but decreased, this would be very disadvantageous for their next war!
"It is said that many places have been hit by disasters this year, and the food that Qing Kingdom sent over after conquering is too much." Gao Feilin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Everywhere is in urgent need of food now, and it is really difficult to gather more military rations to send over."
"It's already midsummer, we just need to hold on until the autumn harvest." Gao Feilin turned to Zong Yanli and said, "General, this is the only way we can do now."
"I understand." Zong Yanli frowned, asked his men to count and distribute the military supplies, and then turned around and returned to the camp.
After Wuhuan decided to stay, Zong Yanli specially summoned his generals to discuss the matter, which was also a formal introduction of Princess Wuhuan and Duzhe to everyone, and they would become allies in the future.
Monkie and the others were all carefree people, and since the general said it himself, they didn't show any resistance and walked forward to greet him openly. However, Duzhe saw the royal sword hanging on Kuang Xingquan's waist at a glance.
Kuang Xingquan paused, took off the royal sword from his waist and said, "General, this royal sword is your favorite sword, I can't take it away from someone else, so I will return it to its original owner today."
Du Zhe stared at the royal sword handed to him by Kuang Xingquan, took a deep breath, smiled bitterly and said, "I lost the sword because of my inferior skills. Since I am incapable of keeping it, it is better to find a new owner now."
Du Zhe shook his head and rejected Kuang Xingquan. When he raised his eyes again, he said with a smile on his face: "I hope the general can carry forward the name of the king's sword."
"Haha!" Kuang Xingquan didn't really want to give it away. It was given to him by the general, and he was just being polite.
Fortunately, Du Zhe is a sensible person, otherwise Kuang Xingquan would have been very disrespectful and made trouble.
Huo Wenqi, Jie Hu and others who were watching this scene nearby also laughed. They all gathered around Du Zhe and praised General Du for his kindness. After just a few words, they had become good brothers.
Zong Yanli didn't know about this until Gao Feilin told him about it afterwards.
Zong Yanli just smiled when she heard it. Why should she take care of such a trivial matter?
What Zong Yanli is worried about now is how to get the military rations. Although the military rations are scarce, as long as he lets his brothers eat sparingly, they can survive by going hungry one day and having a full meal the next.
However, the most important thing that Zong Yanli has done since she took over the army is to give away food. She deeply understands that if she doesn't feed the soldiers, how can she raise such elite soldiers?
"General, General Fu is outside asking for a meeting." Just when Zong Yanli was at a loss as to what to do, Fu Jiashi suddenly came to him on his own initiative.
"Greetings, General." Fu Jiashi's Tianlei Army is becoming more and more famous.
At first, the brothers in the military tent were still full of banditry.
Now following Zong Yanli and with the help of Huo Wenqi, his Tianlei Army has become a regular army.
Zong Yanli raised his eyes to look at Fu Jiashi and asked, "What's the matter, General Fu?"
Fu Jiashi stepped forward and said, "I heard that the general is worried about the food and grass?"
"Yes, do you have any good ideas?" Zong Yanli straightened his back slightly, raised his hand to motion Fu Jiashi to sit down and talk, and even helped Fu Jiashi pour a cup of tea.
This is how she always treats her subordinates, and she never deliberately puts on airs, especially when they are together in private, she is much more casual.
Fu Jiashi was also used to it. He looked at Zong Yanli and nodded, saying, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the general. You know I started out by establishing a village in the mountains. I often encounter this embarrassing situation of having no food..."
Fu Jiashi scratched his head and said, "Our military rations are all obtained from farmers or government farms, but General, have you ever thought about how much private grain there is out there? The grain hoarding in the hands of merchants is even more terrible..."
"You can say that I'm immoral, but I think the things I did in the past to rob the rich and help the poor can still be put to good use now." Fu Jiashi said with confidence.
Zong Yanli: “…”
No, is this brother persuading her to become a bandit?
Zong Yanli was in disbelief for a moment. She had lived two lives as a general, and this was the first time she was being persuaded to become a bandit! ?
Zong Yanli raised his hand to stop Fu Jiashi from speaking: "Wait a minute..."
She calmed down and grasped the key points of Fu Jia Shi's words.
Now the land in Daqian has not been unified. Some of the lands owned by the noble families and officials are hundreds of acres. Due to the war, they lose land today and cities tomorrow, but they are taken back within two years, so the land situation has never been unified.
The previous emperor, Zong Yanli, remembered that after the unification of the southern countries, it took the new king nearly ten years to finally propose a policy of unified measurement and land.
"It would be too embarrassing if we did something like 'robbing the rich to help the poor'." Zong Yanli took a deep breath, and his thoughts turned around. He smiled and said, "But you did give me a warning."
"Go and ask Mr. Gongsun and Mr. Wujiu to come over." Zong Yanli looked up and called Gao Feilin in and said.
"Yes." Gao Feilin agreed and went out.
After a while, Gongsun Pu and Zhan Haoyue came over. Zong Yanli briefly told them about Fu Jiashi's proposal, then he leaned back and looked at them and said, "Gentlemen, what do you think I can do to keep my dignity and reputation intact, and at the same time force those merchants to send food here?"
Gongsun Pu and Zhan Haoyue: "..."
I knew that the general called them here for no good reason!
Gongsun Pu frowned in a slightly awkward manner, and Zhan Haoyue also looked thoughtful. This might be a difficult thing to do.
Zong Yanli was not in a hurry, letting them think slowly. He finished his tea, stood up and said, "I'll go find Wen Nian and see if there's any hunting in the nearby forests. I can get some snacks."
The Northern Army and the Jin State in Liangcheng now have no time to harass them. It is a good time to recuperate. Zong Yanli will naturally let his soldiers recuperate.
"General, I'm going too!" When Monkie and the others heard that they were going hunting, they all became itchy and clamored to go.
"Who will guard the tent when everyone else leaves?" Zong Yanli cruelly refused to let the others go with him. He lowered his eyes and looked at them and said, "Everyone stay still. We'll take turns to go tomorrow."
No matter how eager they were, Monkie and the others did not dare to go against Zong Yanli, and in the end they could only stay in the military camp obediently.
Zong Yanli took Wen Nian towards the forest.
They said they were going hunting, but the main reason was that the weather was extremely hot and humid. It was really inconvenient for Zong Yanli to be in the army these days, so he found an excuse to leave the camp and take a good bath in the stream.
"You go and set up hunting traps." Zong Yanli and Wen Nian walked for about half a day before they entered the bushes in the mountains. They followed the flow of water and found a secluded place. Zong Yanli prepared to take a bath here.
"General, be careful." Wen Nian said with some concern, "I'll go cut some wood to make tools and stay outside.
"Yeah." Zong Yanli waved his hand. There was no need to be polite with him.
Wen Nian obediently turned around and left.
Zong Yanli took off her clothes and walked into the water. The cold stream water cooled her down for a while. She lowered her head and dived into the water, scrubbing her hair which was almost greasy.
Wen Nian sat with his back to the stream, under the cover of bushes behind a tree. He was sharpening a branch with a short blade in his hand. He seemed to be able to hear the sound of water splashing in the stream by moving his ears slightly, so as to determine whether Zong Yanli was in danger.
After taking a shower and changing into clean and refreshing clothes, Zong Yanli immediately felt refreshed.
She let her wet hair casually spread out and let the summer breeze dry it. Then she asked Wen Nian to wash it as well. She squatted on the place where Wen Nian had just sat and helped to carve wood.
"These things are quite exquisite." Zong Yanli can't hunt, he can only hunt in a circle, so today he just followed Wen Nian, watching him set traps, occasionally helping to dig holes or something, and most of the time he just stood by with his arms folded and watched.
"When I was young, I didn't have any hobbies except practicing martial arts. I just liked hunting." After Wen Nian carefully set the trap, he stepped back, stood up and looked at Zong Yanli.
"Did you have any friends when you were a child?" This was the first time Wen Nian mentioned his childhood, and Zong Yanli asked casually.
Wen Nian was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Not really."
He showed great talent in martial arts since he was a child, and no one of his peers could match him. He didn't talk much and rarely smiled, so over time no one wanted to associate with him.
So when they were in Pingnan Camp, when Zong Yanli was able to practice with him like this, and even his martial arts were far better than his, Wen Nian was impressed from the bottom of his heart.
Zong Yanli laughed and sighed, "I am the same as you."
Zong Yanli and Wen Nian chatted casually, then they set the trap and retreated back to the stream.
"Can any shrimps or crabs really be found in this damn place?" Zong Yanli frowned and imitated Wen Nian to turn over stones. The general who had always been omnipotent would actually have a day of failure.
"General, you'd better sit down." Wen Nian couldn't help laughing when he saw Zong Yanli kicking the boulder away.
"..." Zong Yanli came ashore, wrung out the corners of his clothes and stared at Wen Nian with a stern face.
Wen Nian caught a lot of shrimps and crabs, and then skewered them one by one with wooden sticks.
When it got dark, Zong Yanli was already sitting by the campfire waiting for the shrimps and crabs to be roasted and enjoyed.
Wen Nian was just about to help Zong Yanli peel the shrimp shell, but Zong Yanli had already stuffed the whole shrimp into his mouth and chewed it, then turned his head and spit out the shrimp shell.