Guiyang and Lingling County are close neighbors, and Pang Ji and Zhang Zhiping also have some contacts. It was almost dusk when Pet Ji's team arrived at Lingling City, and he was definitely going to rest in Lingling City for a while tonight, since this was the case, of course he had to stop by to visit Zhang Shi. Pang Ji knew in his heart that Liu Xin's letter could not be given to him alone, at this time, Zhang Zhi should have received Liu Xin's letter a long time ago, he was not only here to find Zhang Zhi to catch up, but also to see what Zhang Zhi had planned. Pang Ji wasn't sure what Zhang Shi would do, maybe he had already set off for Wuling at this time, or maybe he was still staying at home and thinking hard about what to do. So, Pang Ji arranged for someone to go to the Taishou Mansion to report, and he himself led the team to settle down in the post house first.

After entering the city, Pang Ji found that the atmosphere on the street was a little tense, columns of soldiers were walking through the street from time to time, and the people on the road were also in a hurry.

When he came to the post house, Pang Ji had just sat down on the ground when he heard a loud voice from outside the door: "Where is the huge man?" My old Zhang saw that you were coming. ”

Pang Ji hurriedly got up and went out of the door, only to see a white and chubby middle-aged man standing outside, with three long beards and thin eyes, no matter who he looked at, he seemed to be smiling, and hurriedly arched his hand and said: "How dare Lord Lao Zhang come to the door in person, rude, rude." ”

Zhang Zhi still said with a spring breeze on his face: "Where do huge people say, if you can come to Lingling, you can afford to look down on your little brother." Let's go, I've prepared a reception banquet for you in the house, let's get him drunk tonight. ”

Pang Ji took a few entourages and followed Zhang Shi to the Taishou Mansion, and the two sides sat down separately.

Zhang Shi put away his smile, retreated from his left and right, and then asked, "Why did the huge man have time to come here today?" ”

Pang Ji said with a smile: "Didn't Lord Zhang receive a letter from the lord? ”

Zhang Zhi was surprised: "Lord? Which lord? ”

Pang Ji arched his hands and said, "It's Lord Mu Liu of Jingzhou." ”

Zhang Shi groaned: "So, is the huge man ready to give up Guiyang to Liu Xin?" It turned out that the huge people didn't come to see my Lao Zhang, but passed by from here. ”

Pang Ji said with a smile: "Lord Zhang's words are wrong, what does it mean to give Guiyang to the lord, he is the pastor of Jingzhou, and my Guiyang County is the land under his jurisdiction." Yes, I was summoned by the lord to go to Wuling. ”

Zhang Shi laughed and said, "Huge people are not worried about the difficult future? ”

Pang Ji's heart tightened and asked, "What do you say about Lord Zhang?" ”

Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "Yes, I also received a letter from Liu Xinxiang. If you and I go to Wuling like this, then people will be swordsmen, and I will be fish and meat, and we will be slaughtered by others. I don't want to do such a stupid thing. ”

Pang Ji was silent for a moment and said, "Does Lord Zhang have any other good plans?" Listen to my advice, the examples of Jiangxia Huangzu and Wuling Cao Yu are there, even if they are in line with the strength of the two counties of you and me, it is difficult to resist, or it is the best policy to vote for the lord early. ”

Zhang Zhi stared at Pang Ji for a long time, then suddenly laughed and said, "Huge man, what Lao Zhang said just now was just a temptation. What is the situation now, how can I not see clearly? It's just that I'm a little worried. I have already repaired a letter, and I am about to send it to Wuling tomorrow, and ask Jingzhou Mu and his party to come to Lingling to talk about it. Why don't the huge people wait here for a few hours? ”

When Pang Ji heard this, his face changed uncertainly, and after a long time, he said: "Pang Mou still decided to go to Wuling to pay respects to the lord first, and ask Lord Zhang for forgiveness." ”

Zhang Shi said with a smile: "The huge people want to go to Wuling first, so what's there." If you and I are all serving the state pastor in the future, it will be my own family, and we will be closer and closer in the future. ”

Pang Ji didn't dare to stay in Lingling for a long time, and the next morning, before the light of day, he urged the team to set off.

Zhang Shi did not continue to keep it, but handed over a letter to Pang Ji and said: "Huge man, since you insist on going to Wuling first, then please help bring this letter over, we will have a date later." ”

Pang Ji said goodbye to Zhang Shi on the horse, led the team to continue on the road, and walked for two more days and came to the territory of Wuling.

Spring in Jiangnan came early, although it was only February, the fields were already green, the unknown wildflowers on the roadside were blooming brightly with smiling faces, the trees on both sides of the avenue were already green, and the birds were singing happily. Such a beautiful scenery could not dispel Pang Ji's full thoughts, Zhang Zhi's words always lingered in his mind, and he didn't know whether this trip was auspicious or evil.

Further on, there were more and more people on the road, these people were neither merchants in a hurry, nor early farmers, but they were busy up and down the avenue with pickaxes and stones and earthworks. Pang Ji felt strange, so he asked people from the crowd, only to know that these people were widening and building the road connecting Wuling and Lingling.

Pang Ji has been a Taishou for many years, so he naturally knows that building roads is a huge project. Some of these roads were built during the reign of Qin Shi Huang and were already dilapidated, but no one in the local government was willing to bother to do this money-burning thing. Pang Ji is the same, he has been in Guiyang for many years, and he also knows that the road is difficult, but he never thought of repairing it, but he didn't expect Liu Xin to occupy Wuling, and the first thing was to build a road!

Further on, in the fields on both sides, you can already see farmers working hard in twos and threes, sweating like rain, and at the same time not forgetting to lead the singing, as if they are not engaged in hard work, but doing a very happy thing. As a relatively competent Taishou, Pang Ji often has to go to the fields to take a look and understand the people's suffering, but he has never seen farmers farming so happily.

He couldn't help but restrain his horse and ask an old man who was carrying a hoe and walking past them happily: "Dare to ask this old man, do you have any happy events here today?" Why are they all so happy? ”

The old man stopped, looked at Pang Ji, looked at his dress, and knew that he was a big official, so he smiled and said, "Your Excellency is from out of town." You don't know that we can't even think about the rent and tax reductions that were implemented in those places in Xiangyang in the past. Now that the state pastor is sitting in Wuling, now our people have a way to live, and they no longer have to worry about their livelihoods, do you say that everyone can be unhappy? ”

Pang Ji nodded thoughtfully and said, "That's, that's." Thank you, uncle. ”

The old man hurriedly said: "No thanks, no thanks, my lord has a good journey." ”

Pang Ji watched the old man walk happily to the field again, no longer hesitated, turned back to the team and said loudly: "Everyone hurry up and strive to rush to Wuling tonight." ”

The advance speed of the team increased suddenly, and a cloud of dust was raised. The closer to Wuling City, the smoother the road becomes, the road here is obviously just repaired, it can be seen that it is only a roadbed, and it will definitely be further heightened and widened in the future, but it is much better than the road in Guiyang and Lingling.

After noon, Wuling City was already in sight, and Pang Ji's mood became tense, both a little apprehensive and a little expectant. The closer you get to the city, the more pedestrians on the road become, the city gate is already close in front of you, and the entrance is bustling, and it can be seen that there are many caravans mixed in.

Pang Ji's party was outnumbered, with many horses and vehicles, and the soldiers guarding the gate became alert and blocked their way.

He didn't dare to hold it up, so he quickly jumped off the horse and said, "I am Guiyang Taishou Pang Ji, and I am called by the lord to come to meet me. ”

The soldier guarding the gate did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly reported to the officer, and after a while, a person who looked like a captain hurriedly came, hugged his fists and said: "It turned out to be a huge person, and the last general Sun Ke, the captain of Wuling City Gate, was ordered by the lord to wait here for a long time." The lord has decreed that no one shall enter the city on horseback, and he will also ask a large number of people to dismount and accompany me. ”

Pang Ji reached this point, there was no way to retreat, he did not hesitate at all, turned over and dismounted, did not hand over the reins to his entourage, and led the horse to walk with Sun Ke.

Seeing this, Sun Ke glanced at the soldiers on the side, and the soldiers hurried over, took the reins from Pang Ji's hand, and helped him lead the mount.

Walking on the streets of Wuling, you can see busy people everywhere, and the shops on both sides also have people coming in and out from time to time, it seems that the business is not bad, and the whole Wuling City is peaceful, and it seems that there is no uneasiness and panic because of the change of owners here.

Pang Ji looked at everything in front of him, pretended to think of something inadvertently, and said: "This Wuling City, I also came a few years ago, I remember that in the past, there were not as many shops on both sides of this street as there are now, and the business is relatively light, but I didn't expect that in just a few years, such a big change has occurred, and it is much more prosperous than Guiyang." ”

Sun Ke smiled and said, "Huge man, if you had come half a month earlier, this would not be the scene here. Since the lord came, the market has really become more and more lively day by day. ”

"Oh, I see, no wonder, no wonder." Pang Ji snorted, changed his words, and asked, "General Sun was resting at high school?" I look at it tightly. ”

Sun Ke said embarrassedly: "Don't hide it from the huge people, the last general was only a commander in the Wuling army in the past, so naturally you haven't seen me anymore." After the lord came to Wuling, the army had been reorganized, and the original Wuling army of 7,000 people was screened layer by layer, leaving only 2,500 people. The 500 men were the guards of the Taishou, and they were directly dispatched by the Taishou. There were also 2,000 men under the command of Lord Lieutenant, who were responsible for the defense of the city and the guard of the granary. The last general had to be promoted by the official because of his rough martial arts, so he achieved the position of captain of the city gate. ”

In fact, some of what Sun Ke said has already involved secrets in the army, and although the level of secrets is not high, under normal circumstances, he still won't tell so much to outsiders. It's just that Liu Xin has an order, if Pang Ji or Zhang Shi comes, they must answer all questions, and try to answer in detail.

Liu Xin had already stated in the letter that he wanted to take back Pang Ji's military power, so Pang Ji was not surprised that Liu Xin would reorganize Wuling's army, he wondered how there were only so few troops left in the entire Wuling City.

At this moment, there was a sound of horses' hooves in front of me.