At night, in a certain room, Li Changmao and Gu Yanwu sat opposite each other, under the dim candlelight, their expressions were calm and calm.

"Brother Yanwu, you may not know, the boss is now in the Lushi Mountains of Henan Province, and yesterday he asked people to bring a message, let me prepare, take four to five thousand soldiers and horses, go to the Lushi Mountains, and open up a new base there."

"Really?!" Gu Yanwu showed a hint of surprise, exclaimed, then calmed down, nodded lightly in agreement, and continued as if he had some feelings: "It will be a good choice to open up a new base in the Lushi Mountains. Before I came to the base area, I had heard that although there were many mine thieves in the Lushi Mountains, most of them were from poor people. It would be great if the Boss could subdue them. ”

"Moreover, it is surrounded by mountains, the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there are several copper ore iron veins. If we can gain a firm foothold there, open up new base areas, and cultivate the agricultural tools and equipment needed for farming, as well as the weapons used in warfare, we will be able to solve the problem and alleviate some problems. ”

Speaking of this, Gu Yanwu stopped, as a smart person, he seemed to have sensed something, and realized Li Changmao's intention of calling him over, but he still asked instead: "Brother Li, you called Yanwu here to discuss late at night, what is the matter?" ”

"It's true that I'm looking for you, Yan Wu." Li Changmao responded vaguely, his words suddenly changed, and he said in response to the question: "Yanwu, you also know that the Lushi Mountain Area, with its dangerous terrain, is very suitable as our base area, and there are various mineral vein resources. ”

"However, we have never been to the Lushi Mountains, and we have not dabbled in anything. Therefore, to a certain extent, it is still a primitive place, waiting for us to develop, and we need to start from scratch. ”

"Shall we?" Gu Yanwu showed a puzzled look, frowned slightly, and then asked in an uncertain tone: "Brother Li, what do you mean is that you and I will go to the Lushi Mountains to develop there as the person in charge of the new base area. ”

"Yes, that's what I mean, I hope you will accompany me to the Lushi Mountains and open up a new base there. At the same time as mining, agriculture is also being developed, and like other base areas, it is striving to become self-sufficient as soon as possible. ”

Li Changmao answered Gu Yanwu without any hesitation, his eyes showed a look of expectation, and he further explained: "At the beginning of opening up a new base area, there was a lack of various things, and it was the most rare shortage of talents. Since I am good at managing accounts and taking care of all things, and I don't know anything about military affairs, agricultural affairs, and water conservancy, I urgently need such talents to go there and help me manage my new base area. ”

"You also know that the new base area is in ruins, and all aspects are in the initial stage, not only to prevent other rebel armies and official troops from attacking and harassing, but also to have a general to sit in charge and command the Li family's army, and also need talents from other aspects, such as agricultural affairs, canal irrigation, and so on. Looking at the various base areas, you are the only one I know, and you are the most suitable. ”

However, hearing Li Changmao's sincere words, Gu Yanwu did not answer immediately, he was silent, his face showed hesitation, and finally he shook his head lightly and said in a deep voice: "Brother Li, to be honest, Yanwu also wants to help you. However, Yan Wucai is shallow in learning, and in military affairs, agricultural affairs, well fields, irrigation, etc., he is only dabbled in, not to mention proficient, and he is really incompetent. ”

"But, Yanwu, then you are also stronger than me, I just don't know anything at all, I don't know anything at all, how to take care of the new base?" Li Changmao was still insisting, unwilling to give up, and said again: "Although Song Yingxing is proficient in these things, he is good at irrigation, well fields, smelting and other matters, but he can't leave." Moreover, he needs to preside over many experiments and research in the base area. Otherwise, he would definitely be the person in charge of the new base area in the Lushi Mountains. ”

Gu Yanwu still shook his head again and again, at this moment, he seemed to think of something to solve, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said faintly excitedly: "Brother Li, I have a suitable candidate, this person is not only strong in martial arts, proficient in the art of war, but also knows everything about astronomy, geography, canals, and well fields, and is a generation of Confucians." ”

Hearing this, Li Changmao, who was originally a little disappointed, suddenly became excited, and asked almost in disbelief: "Yanwu, what you said is true or false?" Is there such a person? ”

"There is indeed such a person, Brother Li, I didn't lie to you." Gu Yanwu nodded heavily and replied very firmly.

"That's... Who is this person? Where are you now? ”

Faced with Li Changmao's repeated questions, and seeing that the other party looked impatient, Gu Yanwu didn't shut down anymore, and replied directly: "This person's name is Lu Shiyi, one of the four gentlemen of Taicang, who is particularly interested in Western learning, and is now in the Zhongnan Mountain base to learn Western learning from those Westerners." ”

"In that case, Yanwu, then you hurry up and invite someone over, ask him, if you agree, go to the Lushi Mountains with me to open up a new base."

While speaking, Li Changmao had already stood up, and he was about to go out with Gu Yanwu to find Lu Shiyi.

However, Gu Yanwu stopped it, just smiled bitterly, pointed to the dark night sky outside, and said helplessly: "Brother Li, look at it, it's so late, people should have gone to bed a long time ago, let's not go, let's go again tomorrow morning, okay?" Anyway, there are still three or four days to go, not in this moment. ”

Immediately, Li Changmao put down one of Gu Yanwu's arms, showed an embarrassed look, smiled brightly, and promised, "Okay, I'll go back early tomorrow morning." ”

Early the next morning, in a thatched hut in the village of Zhongnanshan Base Area, a clay stove with a little charcoal was burning, and an iron kettle was burning. The sound of boiling water and steam baked everything in the room.

It's warm in a thatched house.

It was Lu Shiyi who was eating on the side, wearing a long robe, with an elegant face, looking very quiet, eating quietly.

"Seyi... Seyi... At home? See who I brought in? ”

With a burst of shouting, Lu Shiyi put down the dishes and chopsticks, and when he raised his eyes, there was a "squeak", the door was pushed open, and a cold wind swept in, making him shiver, and then said dissatisfiedly: "Gu Yanwu, what are you shouting, close the door quickly, it's winter, it's cold!" ”

Lu Shiyi's words stopped abruptly, his face was a little stiff, and then he stood up stubbornly, hurriedly greeted him, and said in a daze: "Mr. Li, I didn't expect you to come, please come in, please come in!" ”

While speaking, Gu Yanwu had already closed the door with his hand, walked forward with Li Changmao, and said with some jokingness: "Hey... Shiyi, you don't mean that every day is idle and boring, and heroes are useless. Blame me for abducting you here, unable to display your talents, now that the opportunity has come, it's up to you, it's up to you to be willing? ”

"Yanwu, how do you say that?" Lu Shiyi hastily cleaned up the table, got a cup of tea for the two of them, and sat down, his eyes were rolling between the two, and he asked puzzledly.

"Shiyi, here's how it ......"

Immediately, Gu Yanwu retold last night's conversation, and told Lu Shiyi the important and key content in a summary manner, and the latter hit it off without any hesitation, and immediately agreed.

After some conversation, Li Changmao fully recognized Lu Shiyi, but the latter showed hesitation, with a look of hesitation, as if he was speechless and taboo, embarrassed to say, there were some difficult things to say, but Gu Yanwu understood this expression.

"Brother Li, Lu Shiyi and three friends, the four of them are also known as the four gentlemen of Taicang, namely Chen Hu, Jiang Shishao, and Sheng Jing, all of whom have the talent to govern the world, but now they are all doing nothing in the base area, and they can't display their talents. Moreover, they are all here after hearing the prestige of the boss, and they want to show their ambitions here, so they will be coaxed by me here. ”

After saying this, Gu Yanwu showed a hint of apology, coughed lightly twice in embarrassment, and was a little embarrassed, but didn't say anything more.

"Oh, I see." Li Changmao did not immediately agree, but said: "During this time, there will be an examination in the base area to recruit people for the required positions in each base area, and if the other three people are interested, they can participate in it, and I will be the witness." ”

As soon as he said that, as if he had thought of something, Li Changmao added: "Shiyi, don't get me wrong, among the various base areas, even if there are countless military exploits and no corresponding talents, no matter who they are, they can't hold the corresponding positions. ”

"Mr. Li, I know this." Lu Shiyi nodded lightly, echoed, and said further: "According to the local regulations, unless there are military merits and corresponding talents, everyone must pass the examination before they can be selected for the corresponding positions, and everything must start from the bottom. Only by gaining the recognition of the people, having a certain number of votes, and meeting the corresponding standards, can they be further promoted, which I can understand. ”

"And, Mr. Li, that's why I, along with the other three people, came here to build and maintain a new system, the law of employing people. The reason why Yan Wu said this was that the four of us lacked an identity certificate, or lacked a guarantor. Otherwise, you won't be able to take that assessment at all. ”

"Shiyi, all I can do is to make them temporarily qualified for the exam." Li Changmao showed a look of deep approval, hesitated for a moment, nodded lightly, and continued: "After the incident, if they pass the assessment, they still need to move their families into the base area, and the living pattern is low. As for the reason, you must know that. ”

"Well, I know that." Lu Shiyi immediately responded, and then replied: "This is not only to dispel everyone's worries, but also to prevent spies from the imperial court or other forces from getting involved." ”

"Yes, that's it." Li Changmao did not express it in a vague way, in order to alleviate the somewhat stiff atmosphere, he said again: "Moreover, although you can rest assured, you might as well tell the other three that if they are willing, someone will pick up their family members to ensure their safety, and there will be no worries about their lives on the way." ”