"Brother Boqi, you made an appointment with me today, but what happened to Yue'er?" Gong Zhen asked urgently.

Luo Dayong nodded and sighed: "Brother, you gave birth to a good son!" Gongsun Jian's nephew wrote to the imperial court to ask him to be crowned the governor of the three northwestern provinces. According to our eyeliner report in the palace, Qian Zhuo agreed to his request, but asked him to bring his own money and food to bring 20,000 horses to serve in front of the army of King Chu. ”

"Oh?" Gong Zhen couldn't help frowning when he heard this.

"It seems that Qian Zhuo'er still doesn't give up. He only dared to stab us if he dealt with me. ”

"Well, so we have to think of a plan, not to let the old nephew fall for Qian Zhuo'er, and to help him continue to grow. As long as his threat is greater, then the life of our family will be better. Luo Dayong nodded and said: "I have already agreed with those other families, and I am going to raise five million taels of silver to send people to Gongsun Jian's nephew secretly to help him recruit troops and horses." ”

"Brother Boqi's kindness, my father-in-law remembered. Everyone is in the same boat, and we should be in the same boat at this time. I won't say more about thanks. When I go back, I will repair the book and go to Linshui County, so that my son can beware of the conspiracy of the imperial court. ”

"Well, there is another thing, that is, the one in the palace seems to have moved, and people quietly sent a lot of things to Princess Ningguo. It seems that he is not giving up, and he is still haunted by his third son taking the throne. And according to the news from the north, someone once secretly met with the Metropolitan Governor Xu Hu, although I don't know the identity of the other party, but I estimate that there is a good chance that it should be the person who sent it. ”

"Hehe......" Gong Zhen sneered a few times and said, "This is the best." Maybe we should help him. Let them make a fuss between father and son. In this way, we will have the opportunity to reap the benefits of the fishermen. ”

"Well, that's what I thought with those guys. Therefore, this matter still needs to be done by Lao Xiangguo. That Xu Hu is a disciple of the boss, maybe he can help bring him over. ”

Hearing this, Gong Zhen stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to do." Xu Hu was loyal, and although he was my father's disciple, he was always loyal to the Zhou State and was unwilling to participate in the court struggle. This is also the reason why he has been able to sit as the governor of the Northern Army for so many years. Well, you have to try everything to find out. I'll talk to my father about this when I get back, and I'll see if I can make it happen. In addition, Brother Boqi, after you have prepared the money, inform me that there are my son's people in the capital, and you will have your own way to send the money to the northwest safely at that time. ”

"Okay, that's for the best. The old man has been out for a long time, let's not go over it for the time being, I will find a way to inform you and Lao Xiangguo if there is something. ”

Gongsun Jian knew everything about going to the capital through Gou Xiaowu, who was lurking there. Looking at the holy decree sent by the imperial court, Gongsun Jian couldn't help but smile contemptuously. That Qian Zhuo and Liu Wenhua are really a waste couple, and they just couldn't find a reason to go south, so they sent it to themselves.

However, Gongsun Jian was not in a hurry to go south, because the new policy of the three northwestern provinces is now in full swing. The liquidation and demarcation of acres of land, compulsory education, public medical care and sanitation are all actively underway. So at this time he doesn't have much energy to expand. The task now is to get your own fundamentals right.

To tell the truth, the land of the three northwestern prefectures of the Zhou State is too barren, so it has always been a chicken rib in the eyes of the Zhou State. This is also one of the reasons why the state of Wu did not invade the state of Zhou for many years. But in the eyes of Gongsun Jian, this is undoubtedly a treasure land. Linshui County and Fubo County downstream are close to Fenshui, with convenient water transportation, and are two indispensable transportation hubs for trade along the Fenshui coast. The Hezhou Mansion in the south is rich in mountain and forest resources, and the Jiazhou Mansion in the east seems to be mountainous and unsuitable for cultivation, but it is rich in mineral resources. In particular, the coal and iron ore required by the steel mill in Linshui County, and some associated copper and tin metal ores are also a lot, and what is especially precious is that there is also a gold mine here, although the output is not much, but it can produce at least three or four hundred thousand taels of silver worth of gold every year. These are invaluable to the three provinces in the northwest that are developing.

It is another autumn harvest, and the grain output of the three northwestern provinces has increased significantly because of the promotion of new planting technologies. The living standards of the people in the area under their jurisdiction have also gradually improved, and everyone is grateful to Gongsun Jian for the good life they have brought them. After seeing that his rule was starting to get on the right track, Gongsun Jian set his eyes on the south. At this time, the urging of the imperial court had been issued six or seven times in a row. If it drags on any longer, it is estimated that Qian Zhuo may really turn his face.

After preparing to attack, Gongsun Jian held a high-level meeting. Even Cao Liang in Jiazhou Mansion and Zhang Yi in Hezhou Mansion were called back to participate.

At the beginning of the meeting, Gongsun Jian first inquired about the three prefects' harvest and people's livelihood today. And then we started to get into the topic in earnest. The first was to decide which teams would follow him. Because this time the stakes are very high, and it is not as simple as the last time to subdue the three mansions, Gongsun Jian must go out in person. Secondly, the arrangement of the personnel left behind, this is not just as simple as maintaining the security of the three provinces, there has been no movement on the Wu side recently, but it cannot be taken lightly. In addition, the court of the Zhou State also had to guard against it, and it was possible that after Gongsun Jian took people away, the court would suddenly attack the three mansions. Although the current situation in the imperial court is very passive, it is not impossible. Finally, after the autumn harvest, the three prefectures must all be mobilized, each city needs to be fortified, the militia groups in various places must be drilled, and the mineral resources of Jiazhou Prefecture must be intensified exploration and exploitation.

After discussion, Gongsun Jian finally decided to take the second, third, and fourth divisions, plus Xie Wu's reconnaissance battalion and Wei Meng's independent garrison regiment to go out together. In addition, on the Wenchen side, Huang Wenyuan and Cao Liang also acted with the army. Xu Huaizhi was transferred to Jiazhou Prefecture as the temporary prefect and commanded all the troops of the First Division, and Qi Shi stayed in Linshui County to command the reserve brigade. Feng Huaidao also stayed in Linshui County to control the overall situation of the Grand Governor's Mansion.

Everything was arranged, and the army set out three days later. Before that, Hezhou Mansion, which was located at the southernmost tip of the three prefectures, had already mobilized part of the grain, grass and baggage needed by the army in advance. The follow-up will be raised by the three states and sent to the front-line battalion, and the establishment of the logistics force of 1,000 people will be a temporarily convened militia group, led by Cao Gang.

The most convenient way to get to Hezhou is to take a boat along the Fenshui River to the south, for which Linshui County has mobilized a large number of cargo ships in advance to transport troops. And Xie Wu's reconnaissance force had already set off the day after the meeting.

Five days later, the first batch of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions had all reached the southernmost part of Hezhou Mansion, which was only less than 50 miles away from Huazhou Mansion, the target of their imminent attack. The army was stationed, firstly, to wait for the Fourth Division, which had not yet arrived in the follow-up, and secondly, to wait for the information from Xie Wu and Zhao Changle.

As a result, Xie Wu and the others had not returned, but Gongsun Jian met with an unexpected person, Shi Fangheng, a staff member of the prefect of Huazhou Prefecture. The person who came was quite eloquent and knowledgeable, Gongsun Jian just came out to meet the other party, and then asked Huang Wenyuan and Cao Liang to deal with each other. As a result, after talking about Hu Chuihai for a long time, Gongsun Jian finally understood what the other party meant, that is, the general manager of Gongda wanted to go to the front of the King of Chu to help in the battle, so the most convenient thing was not to pass through Huazhou Mansion, but to transfer to Liuzhou Mansion next to it. In order to express gratitude to the army, if Gongsun Jian's army did not transit through Huazhou Mansion, then Huazhou Mansion was willing to provide 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 stone of grain and grass.

Gongsun Jian, who figured out the situation, kicked over the handsome case in front of him on the spot. Nai's one, what about sending a meal and a flower child? Do you know that Lao Tzu is fighting for the court? And it was Lao Tzu who paid out of his own pocket. What's wrong with passing through your Huazhou Mansion, does it mean that your Huazhou Mansion is not under the rule of the Zhou State?

Gongsun Jian lost his temper, and he pulled out the sword at his waist and was about to cut someone. Cao Liang hurriedly hugged Gongsun Jian's waist, and Huang Wenyuan also stepped forward to hold Gongsun Jian's arm holding the sword and persuaded him bitterly. In the end, Gongsun Jian put away his sword and snorted out of the handsome tent, leaving a sentence before leaving, the matter was handed over to Cao Huang and the others to discuss, and even the two of them were killed together.

Cao Liang and Huang Wenyuan sighed bitterly, and sat in the handsome tent with Shi Fangheng and began to grind their lips. Fortunately, Gongsun Jian's performance just now was very good, in fact, this also benefited from his reputation for being stingy. The frightened Shi Fangheng didn't dare to bargain, but just said that he would go back to report to his lord, and he quickly gave a reply. But the troublesome army stayed here for the time being, and did not advance towards Huazhou Mansion again.

Early the next morning, Shi Fangheng came again, and said that Gongsun Jian's request for one million taels of silver and two million stone grains and grass was too high, and he hoped to let some more. Gongsun Jian sneered, sat on the chair and looked at Shi Fangheng without saying a word. At this time, Huang Wenyuan shouted softly outside the marshal's tent, and then the door curtain was lifted from the outside, Xie Wu and Zhao Changle walked in together, and after saluting Gongsun Jian, Zhao Changle threw a burden in his hand to Shi Fangheng, who was sitting on the side.

"Mr. Shi, open it and take a look."

Shi Fangheng shook his hands and opened the baggage, and was suddenly taken aback, although he had been mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but tremble when he saw the bloody human head.

"This ...... This is ......" Shi Fangheng knelt down without finishing his words, kowtowed to Gongsun Jian and cried like garlic: "Boss, the villain is just an errand runner. Please bypass me for a little life. ”

"Hehe, Mr. Shi. Aren't you the one who came up with the idea? Didn't you come up with the idea of delaying the army? Zhao Changle said coldly.

"Ahh This ......" Shi Fangheng was speechless, he didn't expect the other party to even know such a secret thing, so it would be useless for him to quibble.

After a long time, Gongsun Jian slowly spoke: "Mr. Shi, let me ask you, it is not difficult to spare your life, but are you willing to serve me from now on?" ”

"Boss. What do you mean......" Shi Fangheng didn't expect Gongsun Jian to ask such a question, and he was stunned for a while. Look at the head on the ground, his former employer, the prefect of Huazhou Prefecture, is dead. Originally, it was good to hope that he could escape his life, but Gongsun Jian sent a solicitation to himself.

"In Xia Shi Fangheng, he originally served the lord!" After a while, Shi Fangheng stumbled in front of Gongsun Jian and didn't get up for a long time.

"Hahaha, good! Sir, please get up. As he spoke, Gongsun Jian motioned to Huang Wenyuan with his eyes to help the other party up.

"Mr. Shi, there is something that I haven't figured out. I'd like to ask you about it. ”

"The lord just asks, Shi knows everything."

"Okay, I'll ask you. Why would the prefect of Huazhou think that I want to pass through Huazhou Mansion to capture this place? ”

"This ......," Shi Fangheng hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and replied, "Actually, I saw your intentions from below?" ”

"Oh?" Gongsun Jian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Shi Fangheng with interest and asked, "Sir, can you solve my doubts?" ”

Shi Fangheng smiled bitterly a few times, and said slowly: "Now that the Zhou Kingdom is already in chaos, everyone is still obeying the orders of the imperial court on the surface. But everyone is secretly playing their own minds. Many families in Huazhou Mansion have been in business for hundreds of years, and although the prefect has only been in office for three years, he has already colluded with these wealthy families. And the new policies you have implemented in the three northwestern provinces, as long as you pay a little attention to it, you can know it. Your dispatch of troops this time is definitely not to help Emperor Yue to fight, the most likely purpose is to take the four prefectures of Xizhou in one fell swoop, and then continue to conquer the four prefectures in the southwest. In this way, the western line of the Zhou State occupies a quarter of the territory of the Zhou State, and all of it is in your hands. Speaking of this, Shi Fangheng looked up at Gongsun Jian who was smiling, and did not continue.