mtl008 Chapter 109 Preliminary Plan
Chapter 109 Preliminary Plan
"We'll take as much as we can." Sima Yang took out the banknotes. "Don't worry, Second Madam. We're different from that guy named Lu. We buy, not occupy."
Xu Siyu pushed the booklet aside and replied, "My family sells rice and salt ourselves, and we also travel across mountains and rivers to resell timber, stone, medicinal herbs, cloth, and tea. It looks like a fancy business, but none of it can satisfy Miss Sima's appetite. Miss Sima, why don't you look for other merchants?"
"Second Aunt Lin, if other businessmen knew the background of my Sima family, they would either help them with all their heart or be killed by my family..." These words sounded a bit funny coming from Sima Yang's mouth, but it was indeed her family's usual practice.
Since the Linjiang Palace has decided to accept an important merchant like Xu Siyu, it will not give her the possibility of defecting to the opponent.
Xu Siyu nodded, pretending to be indifferent: "So, go ahead!"
"Oh, why don't you understand?" Sima Yang became anxious again, which made Xu Siyu want to laugh, and the stuffiness in her chest finally eased.
Okay, okay, no more jokes about the little girl. It’s good to be alive. She doesn’t want to die yet.
"Can your Sima family always be stronger than everyone else and keep my family safe?" Xu Siyu took out two lava egg yolk pastries from the pastry drawer and offered them to the little girl.
Sima Yang saw the cakes and didn't answer.
Thinking of the drug last time, she just threatened someone again, ah...
"People who achieve great things never show their emotions on their faces. There's no need to waste time talking to me about a problem that you can solve with a knife." Xu Siyu was still provoking her.
From Lu Zichong's example, Sima Yang learned that forcing people to do things is a bad idea.
My father said, we must lure, lure, and lure by seizing the core interests...
Sima Yang finally picked up the egg yolk pastry and said, "A knife can only kill the enemy, but not you. You are the one I want to recruit, so we must protect your safety."
After saying that, Sima Yang took a bite. The salty, sweet and smooth filling completely whetted the girl's taste buds. She praised with squinting eyes, "Mm, delicious."
"It's delicious. I'll pack a few more for you when you leave." Although she advised people to think more before doing things, Xu Siyu still liked people who were direct and simple.
"As for the goods required for this booklet, I will discuss it with my husband. After we work out the quantity and price, I will report it to Miss Sima."
Xu Siyu’s core interest has always been personal safety.
She is a businessman, and everything she gives is in exchange for profit, not danger.
From business to donations, she can even give up her interests, but putting her family and herself in danger is her bottom line.
Therefore, as long as Sima Yang promised to take care of her family's safety, she would be willing to cooperate with Sima Yang for a long time.
……
From the day they entered Jiangling, the Meng family began planning to change their surname to Wang Tu.
In the quiet Linjiang Palace, Meng Shuci stayed alone in the dark room, looking at the map of the country and counting the preparations in various places.
The Shenwei Army that was besieging the eastern part of Jiangling was originally a trusted army of the Song family.
This once mighty army followed the Song family in their battles across thousands of miles. The Song family stationed them on the banks of the En River, granting them land and providing them with honors, but in reality, they were following Song family orders to monitor and contain the Linjiang Palace.
If the Linjiang Palace wants to start a rebellion, the Shenwei Army is the first hurdle.
But who would have thought that after gaining control of the country, Song forgot his promise to the military generals, and allowed the civil officials to take charge of government affairs, emphasizing civil officials over military officials, which hurt the hearts of the military generals and made it possible for them to get together.
When Taizu founded the country, the Shenwei Army had a total of more than 258,000 people, making it the largest army in the Li Dynasty. However, by this generation of monarchs, the Shenwei Army had been reduced to only 93,000 people.
Not only did the number of personnel drop sharply, but after the Song family sent them to the banks of the En River west of Jiangling, they no longer cared about them. Withholding military pay and shortage of military rations gradually became commonplace.
The Shenwei Army also understood the Song family's disloyalty.
On the contrary, their "caretakers" of the Linjiang Palace often used the palace's funds to support them. Over time, the Linjiang Palace evoked memories of the older generation of soldiers. During those difficult years of fighting, General Meng ate and slept with the soldiers on the battlefield, talked and laughed with them, and boosted their morale...
For military generals, the word "righteousness" is worth a fortune.
The king they want should be someone who never forgets the friendship between his comrades!
Thus, the Linjiang Palace and the Shenwei Army, under the Song family's defense, went from confrontation to support...
The cold mountains of Northeast China were where most of the soldiers of the Meng family army who were separated and taken away were sent to resist foreign enemies.
That was not a battlefield they were familiar with, but they still held their ground there in accordance with their military mission.
But after each charge, they were not given supplies and were repeatedly slandered for using their troops poorly and missing opportunities. Even the dumbest generals understood that the Li Dynasty, which was playing with their lives, was not worthy of loyalty.
They died in battle and could not return to their hometown.
But they hoped that their descendants would one day return home in glory, no longer suffering in unnecessary battles. From that time on, old friends from north to south would always come to Jiangling to spread news, and the King of Linjiang began to adopt adopted children...
Meng Shuci noticed that the flag signs disappeared in the northeast of the map, and he felt a little regretful for the old friend.
But thinking of his adopted children, Meng Shuci was pleased that each of them had grown up very well over the years and had their own strengths.
The eldest son, Pingxia, has been hiding his identity in the Baoping camp west of Chang'an. He now controls half of the troops and it is no problem for him to quickly launch a surprise attack and capture Longxi.
The second son, Pingxiang, disguised himself as a bandit and set up camp on the top of Hua'an Mountain. He had his own army and could move east and west. If he went straight west, Changjia Prefecture would be in his pocket.
If the two men, after accomplishing their respective tasks, one attacks southward from the newly opened Beichuan Road in Zhong'an Prefecture, while the other continues to attack westward, and they meet in Jincheng Prefecture, then the southwestern basin can be taken over.
And then there's the third son, Ping Chi, who excels at discussing chess and military strategy, boasting the eloquence of a top scholar. He understands the importance of prioritizing courtesy over force, and can sometimes defeat his opponent simply by chatting about life. If he were to go first, perhaps the eldest and second sons would have fewer opportunities to shine...
Prince Linjiang was playing with the ring on his finger, thinking in his heart that he was old, the soldiers at home were well trained, and the children had grown up. It was time for them to take action.
The Southwest Basin was the initial plan for the Linjiang Palace.
The children can establish a regime here, and King Linjiang will take advantage of the location of Jiangling Prefecture connecting to the southwest and cooperate with the Shenwei Army to secretly help them.
……
Lin Yiqing told Xu Siyu about the dispute between the Song royal family and the Meng family of Prince Linjiang. She roughly understood why Prince Linjiang had rebellious intentions.
The Meng family of Linjiang Wang is a family that has conquered the world with the current royal family, the Song family.
Although he had made great contributions to the founding of the country, he was driven out of the capital by the dying Taizu more than ten years after he ascended the throne. He was granted a title in the place of exile of the previous dynasty and was humiliated with the title of King of Linjiang, which was recorded in history books as an unfortunate end.