Li He didn't expect that Li Bu and his second uncle would also come to Tanping Town.

However, as soon as the horses approached the fire unicorn, their legs immediately weakened, and even the best horses were no exception, and they all knelt on the ground at the same time. Feng Liusan, Mu Bu and others jumped off their horses one after another.

Seeing this, the surrounding Tiger soldiers and civilians cheered even louder.

"Li Erhu, Li Erhu, you can make us wait. This is what kind of divine beast fire unicorn, it's really majestic! Ha ha! As soon as he landed, he laughed loudly.

"Li Laohei, why do you have time to come here?" Li He also jumped off the fire unicorn from his horse.

Li Bu smiled: "You kid, why is your memory so bad." Have you forgotten that I told you when I left the capital that I would come to your wedding when I take office in Jinzhou? But I didn't expect you to come here without a wedding in Huyang.

Li He punched him with a smile: "Don't worry, you will have a cup of happy wine!" By the way, why didn't Li Ying come?"

"Do you think it's possible that my sister won't come? Now she's in your Xinhou Mansion with your celebrities. ”

Li He turned to his second uncle again: "Uncle, are you also going to come to my wedding?"

The second uncle nodded and said, "Yes, I originally planned to go to Huyang one step ahead of schedule to help you prepare for the wedding." But I didn't expect your mother to tell me that you went to Tanping Town, and said that your wedding was going to be held here, so I came non-stop. I said, Tielang, what the hell are you doing? Your wedding to the eldest lady of the Hua family is a big deal. Why don't you do it well in Huyang, but you come to this remote town?"

Li He secretly said that it was a fluke, if his uncle saw the former Tanping Town, it was estimated that the big teeth would laugh off, and his face would be lost.

"I'm afraid the wedding won't happen so soon. That's right. Uncle, is my cousin here?"

The second uncle smiled in Li Bu's tone: "Do you say that Yao'er may not come?" Now she's talking to your prospective ladies in your new mansion. Feng Liusan shook the golden fan lightly and said, "Second Prince, General Li, Little Prince, let's go back to the mansion and talk slowly, right?"

Li He nodded and said, "Yes, Brother Li, uncle." Let's go home. "The cheers on both sides of the street are shocking, and it's really not a good place to chat.

The second uncle glanced at the fire unicorn behind him. He stabbed him lightly and said in a low voice: "Tie Lang, the six women on the back of the fire unicorn, should they also be you, okay?"

Li He smiled, noncommittal.

The fire unicorn is here, and the horses ridden by the three people of Feng Liu are all weak. They could only go back to the house on foot, and the fire qilin followed closely behind Li He.

On the way, Li He found a vacancy. Pulled Feng Liusan and said in a low voice: What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Feng Liu San was stunned.

"Don't pretend to be garlic with me, I said, how did this Tanping Town become like this?"

Feng Liu San smiled and said, "Second son, isn't it good to be like this?" I'm going to do what you want, and I'm going to do my best to build this place. ”

"Good. How could it be bad. It's just that I've only been away for a few months. It's too fast, right, where did you get so many servants? And where did the merchants in this city come from?" Why don't you sell all the property I gave you?" Li He frowned and asked.

Feng Liu San said with a smile: "The time, the place, and the people."

"What's the explanation?"

"There are too many refugees in the southwest and in the northeast, and they are all going to the south of the Yangtze River. The prefectures and counties couldn't stand it, so they closed the city gates and forbade refugees to enter. At this time, the imperial court also didn't care about the money and food for disaster relief, and those refugees could only wander around, and in the north of the Yangtze River, they were hungry and miserable. So I ordered people to collect food at a high price to absorb the refugees. In this way, there will be free labor? Only 3 meals are required. Wouldn't they have the best of both worlds, both servant and inhabitant? And with the people, there will naturally be more vendors. ”

Li He was stunned when he heard this, this natural and man-made disaster has made the reconstruction of Tanping Town? Look at the people in and out of the city, there are tens of thousands, to say the least.

Although Li He's Wuwei Houfu is not luxurious, it is a bit ugly compared to his identity, but in this Tanping Town, it can be regarded as the number one building. At least there should be no less room and yard.

"Cousin!! Just arrived at the door. A red figure pounced on Li He.

He hurriedly held the person up, and looked at it, a pretty face with a smile like a flower, who was not Zhen Yao.

"Cousin, oh, let my cousin see it." Li He looked at Zhen Yao, who was dressed in a red dress and even had a red hairband, and said with a smile: "Well, Yao'er has grown taller and become more beautiful." But why are you wearing this red?"

Zhen Yao smiled sweetly: "Does my cousin like it?" This is what I asked Sister Yue'er to do for me. ”

"It turned out to be Yue'er's craftsmanship, no wonder it fits so well. Of course my cousin likes it, and my cousin likes whatever Yao'er wears. ”

Hearing her cousin's praise, Zhen Yao smiled even more happily, and her heart was happy.

"Humph!" At this time, there was a cold snort from the door, Li He turned his head to look, and saw that all the daughters in the family: Qianqian, Yue'er, Qingqing, Yan'er, Ziyan, etc., had all arrived at the door. And the woman in military uniform standing next to Qianqian is Li Bu's sister Li Ying. The cold snort came from her mouth.

"Isn't this Li Ying's sister? Heh, your armor also fits well, it looks heroic, and it's also Yue'er's craft, right?" Li He said with a smile.

When all the women saw Li He coming back, they all looked happy and happy.

"Don't stand at the door, let's all go in."

With the help of Xiangxiang and Xiaolan, Li He took Ling'er and her daughters off the back of the fire unicorn, and walked towards the house while introducing Mingyu and Xiaolan to the daughters in the family. Mingyu is a little shy, but her mouth is quite sweet, those who should be called sisters are called sisters, and those who are called sisters are called sisters. Xiaolan was still wearing a black veil and looked indifferent. just corrected her when Li He said her name wrongly, and nodded lightly to the girls to say hello.

Yue'er and Ziyan couldn't help but turn their heads and ears, Li He had to bring a few beauties every time he went out and came back, this time the bright rain didn't look as fragrant and beautiful as Qianqian, but it also had a unique flavor of small jasper. And that maple fire orchid. Although she is masked, she must be a big beauty when she looks at her posture and eyebrows. That character is so cold, it's simply the second ruthless grandson.

On the surface, the two women were warmly welcomed. But the women were already slightly dissatisfied with Li He's flowering heart.

Li He suddenly felt that the corners of his clothes were pulled down. Turning his head, it turned out to be Li Ying who came to the side and said in a low voice: "Don't forget what you promised, no matter what you do this time, you have to take me with you."

Li He was puzzled for a while: "Where am I going?"

Li Ying blinked and said, "You'll know later, you have to take me anyway."

"Good. Bring you, bring you, bring you. Li He thought she was talking about where to play, so she responded casually, and after Li Ying got the answer, her pretty face that had been stiff immediately thawed. Giggled and said, "This is my big brother Li!" ran away, making Li He confused.

In the study in the backyard of the Marquis Wuwei Mansion, Li He, Second Uncle, Feng Liusan and Li Bu sat opposite each other at a table, with only Xiangxiang and Qianqian standing aside.

Although it is a book house. There were not many books on the shelves, most of them were dossiers and other materials. The furniture in the room is smooth and shiny, and you can see that it is brand new, pay attention to it, and even have a faint smell of varnish.

Li He took a sip of the tea brewed by Qianqian, pursed his lips, and said with a smile: "Good tea, good tea, or the tea brought by Huyang is still used to drinking." Brother Li, what can't you say in the hall, you have to come here?"

Li Bu said: "Brother Li, I'm really sorry, I can't wait for the wine here this time."

Li He was stunned: "What? Is there anything urgent for Brother Li to do?"

Li Bu looked at him and said slowly, "Not only me, but you also have to go with me." And your Tiger Army. As he spoke, he reached into his bosom and took out a piece of yellow brocade cloth and handed it to him.

Li He took the yellow cloth and opened it to take a look, the competition was a holy decree!

Li Bu continued: "We are all our own brothers, so we won't come to the complicated festival of the imperial court." As you watch, I'll talk about it briefly. The Tianya Cult of the Southwest Cult launched a rebellion against the Meteoric Clan, and dozens of continents in the southwest were in danger overnight, and the imperial court sent Xiao Han as the commander of the 300,000-square-meter army, and Weng Yuan as the deputy commander. You already knew this when you were in the capital. ”

"Originally, this sentence didn't have anything to do with us. It is expected that the imperial court has pulled 300,000 troops, so how can it easily suppress the judgment chaos in the southwest. Who knew that the strength of the southwest cult far exceeded the expectations of the imperial court, and it not only intercepted the grain and grass of the lithographic army, but also designed to encircle and annihilate the 70,000 main forces in Liangcheng. Deputy Marshal Weng Yuan was forced to commit suicide in Liangcheng. ”

Since then, the imperial court has not won another battle against the southwest. Defeated and retreated, and now the army even pointed its troops directly at the capital, claiming that the Han dynasty would be destroyed within a year, and Xiao Han was also transferred back to the capital and imprisoned due to unfavorable command. The army was completely replaced, but the decline did not change at all, and it was still impossible to win a battle. ”

"The imperial court raised grain and transferred the army, but it happened to encounter a major drought in the northeast, and locust plagues were repeated. Because the government offices in many localities used to falsely report the amount of grain in stock, the actual amount of grain stored was far from the figure of the imperial court's household department, and now not only could they not supply military food, but they could not even get food for disaster relief. At the beginning of the Southwest Pacification Judgment, the brothers Mao Yuanfeng and Mao Yuanyue summoned nearly 100,000 Northeast Army. Originally, there was a war in the imperial court, and with the permission of the emperor, it was nothing to increase the number of recruits and expand the army. But now there is a shortage of food, and there is no way to get military rations. The grain stocks of several major grain depots in the south of the Yangtze River could not be adjusted for a while, or some people shirked and obstructed them, causing the northeast army to be disheartened and almost mutinied. In the end, more than half of the Northeast Army became deserters and went south with the refugees. ”

"Now in this situation, the emperor and the queen mother can't care about balancing the military power, so let Taishi Li order the Jiangnan Army to be transferred to battle, and order you to be the commander of the three armies, and lead the troops to the southwest as soon as possible. Hehe, this time I also became a deputy marshal, look at my armor, the emperor gave it himself, and he also gave you a set. ”

"I can't imagine that a group of stupid thieves in the southwest will cause such a big storm." Li He put down the holy decree in his hand, pouted and said: "The armor given by the emperor may not be a good product, I still wear the armor made by my family Yue'er comfortably." If it weren't for the fact that my grandfather was also in the capital, I wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to them, and I wouldn't have to send an idle official outside to stay when we didn't have to. Fake feelings!"

The second uncle also smiled: "The emperor's orders are like this, the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked, and the bird is hidden by the bow, all of which are virtuous." Your father also asked me to send you a message, telling you to be careful when the judgment is even, this time you are the boss. Don't try too hard. The Jiangnan Army is all your father and grandfather's people, and the troops who went out with you this time are all their selected troops, so you have to fight this battle with your heart. If this battle is won. The Li family's position in the court and in the Great Xia Kingdom will be further consolidated. Li He said: "Uncle, don't worry, it's just that group of small thieves in the southwest." I'm not taking it seriously yet. ”

"By the way, Brother Li, if my sister-in-law asks you later, and asks you to promise a piece of the western expedition, you must not agree. On the road, I was so worn out that I had to say that you are the manager, and if you have no opinion, I will agree. Li Bu said again.

Li He was stunned. Remembering what Li Ying told him when he just entered the door, Deng Shi was worried and slapped his forehead: "Why didn't you say it earlier." I've said yes!"

"Huh?" This time, Li Bu was dumbfounded.

Li He shook his head: "Go and tell her about this, your own sister, shouldn't you be able to handle it?"

"Wow! I'm sure I'll have to count on you to be my brother-in-law, right? I can't make it this time, I really have to take the girl to the west. Li Bu sighed with a bitter face.

They deliberated for a while. It was decided that the preparations would be made tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they would set off for Huyang to join the main force of the Jiangnan Pingju army and march westward. Originally, Li He was very reluctant to leave as soon as he arrived home, and he didn't even have time to make love with the women. But thinking that the army going north might threaten the capital, and the grandfather and eldest brother were in the capital, they had to agree to set off after the big one.

After Li Bu and his second uncle left, Feng Liu San got up and went to the desk to pick up a file and put it in front of Li He, and said, "Second son, these are the population, houses, and cultivated land in Tanping Town, as well as the current business status of your industries in Huyang, Yandong Mansion, and Jiangnan Prefectures."

Li He casually flipped through the two pages, glanced at them, closed them, and said, "I'm too lazy to look at these things, so you should tell me." But I don't need you to say that I saw that this Tanping town has undergone such a huge change in just a few months, not only has a small town been built, the population has increased tenfold, and all industries have also made a good appearance, Mr. Feng, you have made a great contribution. As he spoke, he looked at the golden fan in Feng Liusan's hand and said with a smile: "The golden fan is still easy to use, right?" When I come back from this expedition to the west, I will go to Huyang to give you two or three as a backup. This time, the spring palace diagram above is up to you. ”

When Feng Liusan heard the last few words, he couldn't help but look embarrassed, and closed the golden fan that was originally fanning with a few dry coughs, and said, "One is enough, the second son doesn't have to bother, don't bother." This one...... At this time, I was able to rely on the flow of refugees from the southwest and northeast to get so much cheap labor and voluntary immigration, and I originally wanted to buy more food so that I could bring more refugees to the northern part of Jiangnan. But now that there is a catastrophe in the northeast and a war going on in the southwest, grain is needed everywhere, but those grain merchants and big landlords are stockpiling grain for themselves, raising the price to a ridiculously high price, and even having money and nowhere to buy grain. We now have so many people to support, and the grain can only last for three or four months, so I don't dare to absorb refugees anymore and expand the construction of Tanping Town. By the way, the cash at your disposal and me, the second son, has basically been spent, and in addition, you have sold a few shops in a small southwest city without authorization. ”

Li He waved his hand and said, "It's okay, that little money is nothing." Let me tell you, I am going to the west now, and the affairs of Tanping Town will be left to you with full responsibility. The city still has to be built, and the current scale is far from enough. If you buy food, it doesn't matter if you sell all my properties, anyway, I run them myself, and if I don't have enough money, I can ask my second uncle and father for more, they are much richer than me. Our goal is to strive to build Tanping Town into a big city like Huyang, and it will be called Tanping Mansion in the future. Well, looking at the surrounding boundaries, even if you expand two Huyang, it's enough. ”

Feng Liusan was stunned when he heard this, he thought that his idea was bold enough, but he didn't expect Li He's ambition to be even greater, and it was simply impossible to build such a broken place like a small village into a city comparable to Huyang, the largest city in the south of the Yangtze River.

"Second son, it's not that Feng is arrogant, it seems unlikely. First of all, this grain is a big problem, and now the big grain merchants and big landlords in the south of the Yangtze River can't get enough grain, and no matter how much silver they have, I'm afraid they won't be able to buy grain. Without food, how can we feed more refugees?"

Li He squinted and smiled: "Mr. Feng." Your way of thinking is still stuck in the situation when you were in Nalan's house. You have to think about it, what am I?"

"Identity......" Feng Liusan frowned and pondered, and subconsciously snapped the closed golden fan open, and the spring lifelike palace picture on the fan was shining with golden light.

Li He took a sip of tea and leaned on the waist of Qianqian's little man behind him. Cocking Erlang's legs, Xiangxiang sat beside him knowingly and kneaded him for him.

Li He exhaled comfortably and continued: "If we want to buy it, we will buy it." And at a low price. Do those landlord grain merchants want to sell it or not, can they do it?"

Feng Liu San was stunned and said, "We...... Forced to buy and sell?"

"No, no, no." Li He said three words slowly. With a fox-like smile, he said: "Of course they are voluntary, forced buying and selling is the behavior of bandit bullies, do you think we look like bandit bullies?"

Feng Liu San muttered in his heart, you are not a bandit bully, but you are a bandit bully more than a bandit bully. He said, "How can this make them voluntarily sell their grain at a low price?"

Li He said: "Knowing it with courtesy, moving it with affection, showing it with benefit, and then threatening it with power."

"I want to hear about it."

"First of all, we are in the name of settling refugees and providing disaster relief for the country. If you want them to help, you can afford them. As long as they are willing to sell grain to our grain merchants and tycoons at a low price, and the amount of grain sold reaches the amount we have set, they will all be awarded a plaque written by the emperor himself, 'For the country and the people.' Those merchants. Although it is mercenary, it is also very face-oriented, and this kind of honor will definitely impress many people. ”

Feng Liusan was puzzled: "How could the emperor be willing to help us write this plaque?"

Li He smiled: "Because we're helping him." Think about it, the imperial court doesn't have the energy to take care of those disaster victims, if you let it go, something will happen sooner or later. Didn't we help him a great way by absorbing and organizing refugees to build new homes? He doesn't have to contribute money or effort, as long as he just takes a pen and waves a few words, he can get a good reputation of benevolence, righteousness and clarity, and can solve the resettlement problem of some disaster victims, why not do it? For example, I asked my father to give them the right to sell grain at a low price for as much as he wanted, and then give them the right to clear all businesses in the two provinces for one to two years. And I will also give them the right to be exempt from tax for ten years in Tanping Town. In this way, there will be more people willing to sell grain. ”

Feng Liusan thought for a while and said, "Then what if there are still people who refuse to sell?"

Li He laughed twice, suddenly straightened his face, and said in a dark voice: "Then it will be powerful." You send people to secretly buy some refugees or beggars, and go to the mansions, warehouses or shops of those grain merchants who refuse to sell their grain to make trouble and rob them of their grain. I said hello to my father again, and when they went to the yamen for help, Hengmen said; Oh, we can't do anything about those refugees, the imperial court urgently needs military rations for war, and we can't distribute disaster relief food, so it's not good to suppress it too much, otherwise it will be difficult to provoke a popular uprising. Hmph, I don't believe they won't sell. ”

Feng Liusan couldn't help but nod when he heard this: "The second son's strategy is feasible, and he is clever and clever." But...... Will we offend all those business tycoons in this way?"

"Offended?" Li He smiled: "Who is the official and who is the businessman?" Who is afraid of offending whom? Mr. Feng, it's not that you can't think of this, but you don't think about it in that direction. Since I have made you fully responsible, then you should no longer think about the problem in your original capacity, but in your current capacity, from my point of view. I believe that with your intelligence, there is no problem that can be difficult for you. I hope that when I come back from my expedition to the west, Tanping Town can surprise me again. ”

"The second son can rest assured, his subordinates will do their best."

In November of the 28th year of Xuanhe, Li He, Marquis of Wuwei, was appointed as the general of Pingxi, appointed as the commander of the army of the southwest Pingju, and Li Bu was the deputy marshal, leading the 200,000 Pingju army, including 110,000 elite troops in the south of the Yangtze River, to the southwest.

On this expedition, Li He's mentality was much easier than the last Northern Expedition. There are two women in the army, one of which is naturally Li Bu's sister Li Ying, and the little girl finally got her wish and rode on the battlefield with armor and guns. and the other is Li He's maid Xiangxiang. Our Coach Li believes that Xiangxiang will have more ways to deal with those crooked cults in the southwest. Of course, there is also a small part of the reason because the little fox demon can relieve his loneliness on the road, and it can also help him practice to maintain his physical strength. However, the daughters of the family and even Li Bu agreed that the second reason was more.

General Huwei's name is different, knowing that after going out with Li He, even if the original imperial army has been defeated repeatedly without a single victory, the morale of the Pingju army is still unprecedentedly high.

In the middle of January of the first year of Yongde, Li He ordered the 150,000 people of the Pingju army to be divided into six main forces to attack several important grain and grass bases in the rear of the southwest Juan Army, and he himself led 1,500 cavalry of the Huwei Army to meet the large army of the Juju Army, and released a message to take the leader of the Juju Army and the leader of the Tianya Sect Amohdi from among the ten thousand troops.

Originally, such a strategy was very simple and risky, and the success was almost less than one percent, but now it is Li He who is facing the large army of the judgment army, so the matter will be another matter.

Li He's prestige during the Northern Expedition was too great, and his image of being invincible, invincible, and omnipotent had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the Southwest Judgment Army also knew it. Now Li He released such words, it is impossible to be hairy in his heart. The judgment army has not yet encountered Li He's western expedition to the Pingju army, but it has stopped moving north, stationed in the line of Gongcheng and Yancheng in Yangping Province, and built defenses there. Whether there is a reason for intimidating General Huwei or not, I'm afraid only Amohedi himself knows.

At the beginning of February, the winter rain continued, and the southwest only entered the coldest time of the year at this time, but what made the judgment army great panic was that a large number of winter clothes, quilts, weapons, grain and grass escorted by heavy troops were all wiped out by the lithographic army that appeared out of nowhere.

In the heavy rain, the judgment army of Gongcheng ushered in a thunderous sound of horses' hooves, and an unknown number of black-armored cavalry appeared outside the city.