Wushan County is a small area, it is the Yangtze River in the northeast, Wujiang River in the west, Fujiang River in the south, the county seat is located in the place where the three rivers converge, and it is the throat of eastern Chongqing since ancient times.

After arriving in Wushan County, Fang Chongyong finally knew why the imperial court had moved the garrison here. Because compared to the ships near the capital city of Kuizhou, where countless ships queue up for customs clearance, the river here is narrow and the channel is single, which is obviously much easier to control, and it is easy to block the river.

The contraction of the imperial court simplified the defense of the southwest, and naturally the most cost-effective method was also chosen. As the place of garrison, Kuizhou Capital City and White Emperor City naturally gave up most of their military functions because of the prosperity of the commercial port.

Of course, Wang Zhongsi was not looking for Fang Chongyong just to "recruit a son-in-law", but there was something very urgent, there were many people in Kuizhou Mansion, and it was inconvenient to do it, so he could only come to Dongyang Mansion in Wushan County to do it.

The suburbs of Wushan County are humid and densely vegetated, and there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants. Wang Zhongji ordered people to imitate the architectural habits of the bureaucrats, and set up many stilt houses (i.e., dry stilt structures) in the field camps, which looked no different from the residences of the bureaucrats.

I have to say that even if this general was reprimanded, after he went to the local level, he was also attentive to military affairs.

The two climbed up to a simple stilt house, and the bamboo walls were furnished with bows and crossbows and swords. After the two sat down, Wang Zhongsi handed over a letter sent from Chang'an to Fang Chongyong to check.

While Fang Chongyong was reading the letter, Wang Zhongsi sighed and said: "I was demoted to Dongyang Mansion, and I didn't have a staff member by my side. Nowadays, when it comes to major events that are difficult to choose, there is no one to make a decision. It's also sad to say, I care about the small family, and sometimes I really envy your father for acting decisively and doing great things at any cost. ”

This letter was written by the crown prince Li Ying.

Li Ying wrote a letter to Wang Zhonghe, which was very strange. Because the latter grew up with Li Heng and had a great relationship, he didn't have much contact with Li Ying, and he couldn't talk about any friendship.

And now Li Heng can't help Wang Zhonghe, and even after being demoted to Dongyang Mansion, he hasn't even written a letter.

Li Ying told Wang Zhongsi that he could find a way to let the latter return to Chang'an smoothly and serve as the commander of the guards in the palace, but I don't know what Wang Zhongsi thinks.

And Li Ying also emphasized that Li Heng already knew about this and did not object, everything is up to you.

Meaning this, the original text is written very politely and warmly, and basically the tone is to treat Wang Zhongsi as a brother in the Ten Princes' Mansion. To be honest, when Wang Zhonghei was raised in the palace, it was true that all the treatment was not much different from that of the prince.

The letter left Wang Zhongji in a dilemma.

On the one hand, he has no future here in Dongyang Mansion, and he doesn't even have the opportunity to go to the battlefield, looking forward to returning to Chang'an day and night.

On the other hand, even Wang Zhonghe, who does not have a good political sense, also senses that Li Ying is planning something big!

The Tang Dynasty's father laughed at his son, and the repertoire of killing his brother and killing his brother was really too much, which made people can't help but think about it. Wang Zhongsi would rather believe Fang Youde's son's words than believe Li Ying's promise.

Unless the situation forces it.

"The prince wants to rebel."

Fang Chongyong said four words that made Wang Zhongsi tremble.

"Be cautious, although you are smart, you can't talk nonsense about this kind of thing."

Wang Zhongsi exclaimed in a low voice.

"General Wang, isn't this matter obvious? If it weren't for rebellion, what would it be necessary for the prince to say to a general in the army who had quite a lot of military achievements but was belittled in the southwest? ”

Fang Chongyong's words silenced Wang Zhonghe. A lot of things are separated by a layer of window paper, and after they are pierced, that's it, he just deliberately didn't want to think about it before.

"Li Ying has been the prince for 20 years, and I have heard some rumors from Zheng Shuqing about the current situation. The saint favored Concubine Wu Hui, loved the house and Wuxia, and was also extremely fond of Concubine Wu Hui's son Shouwang Li Xuan.

Will the prince feel that the saint has plans to abolish the prince? ”

Fang Chongyong asked in a deep voice.

These words are reasonable, if Li Longji really wants to abolish the crown prince, Wang Zhongji will not be surprised at all.

"What should I do with this letter?"

Wang Zhongsi pointed to the "solicitation letter" on the table.

This is just Li Ying's plan to ask for directions, and maybe he wrote it to others. For Li Ying, if General Wang replied to the letter, it would be an unexpected joy; If he doesn't go back, it doesn't matter, anyway, he has already decided to embark on this path, and there is nothing to scruple about. ”

I didn't expect the matter to be so serious, Wang Zhongsi suddenly didn't know what to say. A general like him who leads troops into battle, in the face of similar things, is actually testing his own shortcomings, and those rich battle formation experiences can't be brought into play at all.

Concubine Wu Hui's background stirred up the sensitive nerves of the princes. If Shouwang Li Xuan becomes the crown prince, he will ascend the throne and become emperor in the future...... What will happen, I can't imagine it.

It can't be said that Li Ying is "harming the people", because Li Longji is really dissatisfied with him!

"At the beginning of this year, the saint was still in Luoyang. But for some reason, I ended up returning to Chang'an ahead of schedule, and I was relegated to Wushan County not long after. ”

Wang Zhongsi said thoughtfully, feeling that these things are nothing to look at alone, but if they are connected together, they are somewhat meaningful. Li Longji returned to Chang'an ahead of schedule, did he notice any change in the crown prince Li Ying in Chang'an?

Fang Chongyong didn't dare to overestimate Li Longji today, this person's discipline has already fallen!

"In your opinion, how should you reply?"

Seeing that Fang Chongyong hadn't spoken for a long time, Wang Zhongsi couldn't help but ask.

After receiving Li Ying's letter, there are many ways to deal with it.

The stupidest way is to "read it back" and act as if nothing has happened.

On the surface, it looks safe, but in fact it is the riskiest way to deal with it. "I can't read it back", on the surface, Wang Zhongsi understood the situation, but he wanted to sit back and watch. This kind of attitude, in Li Longji's eyes, is the worst. It's even worse than being involved.

Involved, just brainless. And not being able to read it back is ill-intentioned. A general who leads the troops has ill intentions, and it makes people's hairs stand on end when they think about it!

"General Wang......"

Fang Chongyong stretched out his hand and looked at Wang Zhongsi like this.

"What do you mean by that?"

Wang Zhongsi asked with a stunned expression.

"The so-called intimate intimacy, the saint Yu General has the grace of nurturing; King Chung and the general have a brotherly relationship. I'm just the son of a colleague, and as the saying goes: you can't get close. A lot of words, you have to have the right identity to say it. Otherwise, how could the general believe what I said? ”

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly.

Hearing this, Wang Zhongsi was overjoyed, and hurriedly took out the red paper from his arms and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

"For the time being, you can call me uncle, and I can call you a good nephew. After returning to Chang'an, you lived in the Wang family's house. ”

Wang Zhongsi took out another letter from his arms, making Fang Chongyong wonder if the other party was a humanoid mailbox.

When the letter is opened, it is still Daddy Fang Youde's handwriting, and the characters are stiff and powerful.

Fang Youde said in the letter that he and Wang Zhonghei had a relationship with him, and now he is going to Youzhou to do a big business, and it is estimated that he will not return to Chang'an, so he has no time to take care of Fang Chongyong, so he can only foster him in the Wang family, and everything can be arranged by Wang Zhongsi.

The consistent style of the scumbag father never asks if Fang Chongyong is good or not, anyway, he will talk about it after he finishes it.

"Uncle, this matter is very important, and you must not know what to do."

Fang Chongyong naturally changed his title and said.

Wang Zhongsi nodded slightly, he also thought of this.

"How do you deal with that?"

He replied directly to the letter and refused, and then in the letter he denounced that the prince should abide by his duty, and the court has its own laws, not a bargaining chip he uses to buy people's hearts. As for this letter, there is no need to send it to the saint, and if it is sent, it will be suspected of being a thief. ”

Fang Chongyong expressed his opinion.

Not replying to the letter is ill-intentioned, and transferring the letter to Li Longji is a thief. Only by judging the facts and categorically refusing can we prove our innocence.

"It makes sense, and it should be."

Wang Zhongsi nodded slightly.

In fact, many things are discussed and dealt with by people who lack competence, so it is easy for the parties to be confused. As long as you can find a confidant who has always had an idea, it is easy to make a correct judgment. Regarding how to reply, Wang Zhongsi already had an idea in his heart, but Fang Chongyong just confirmed his thoughts and strengthened his determination.

"Uncle, I want to learn the art of war."

Fang Chongyong folded his hands and saluted, bowed deeply to Wang Zhonghei and pleaded.

"I know the things in my own heart, but I can't teach you. If I just try to deal with it, it may kill you. ”

Wang Zhongsi said with some annoyance.

This future son-in-law is really good, firstly, the background is the son of an old friend, so he will not develop a white-eyed wolf; Second, he is resourceful, calm and calm at a young age, and will become a great tool in the future! If he could, Wang Zhongsi would certainly be willing to teach him the art of war.

But no matter how smart Fang Chongyong is, he can even export poetry, he is just a child who can't even ride a horse.

The real experience of the battle array, which cannot be described in words, at most when you are immersive, mention it more, the ability of war needs to be learned in the war, Zhao Kuo is not talking on paper, but there has always been no shortage of waste in history that can only talk on paper.

If Wang Zhonghei is digging out his heart, it depends on whether Fang Chongyong can understand his hard work.

"Understood, that's without further ado, nephew will go back to Kuizhou City, the matter over there is related to when I can go back to Chang'an. When I return to Chang'an, I will operate my uncle's promotion and release. Uncle can only protect himself if he holds the military power in his hands. Otherwise, even Li Ying and others would have to show their fangs to their uncle. ”

Fang Chongyong said solemnly, his tone and demeanor made Wang Zhongsi not doubt whether this matter could be done at all.

"So...... It's okay too. ”

Wang Zhongsi nodded slightly, it was not that he was in a hurry to recognize his son-in-law, but now he smelled a smell of mountain rain coming.

He also knows that he is not the kind of person with a keen sense of politics.

Li Ying's letter made him understand that it does not mean that hiding in a remote place can avoid political guns and arrows.

Fang Chongyong's words are not bad at all.

"I'll send you back to the capital city of Kuizhou."

Wang Zhongsi sighed, looking melancholy.

……

"Good! Good! ”

Zheng Shuqing saw that Fang Chongyong had only returned in one day, and he was even more excited than seeing his beautiful concubine.

He walked over and whispered in Fang Chongyong's ear: "I checked the accounts today, and I have collected 150,000 yuan." Many people did not redeem the 500 kan deposit after returning, but added 500 kan shipbuilding. This month, we should be able to scrape together enough money to send back to Chang'an......"

Seeing Zheng Shuqing so excited, Fang Chongyong interrupted weakly: "Envoy, I have an ominous premonition, haven't you noticed that General Wang and his party are going too smoothly in White Emperor City?" ”

Smoothly? I'm invincible in the world, and I'm just exterminating a few bandits, do I need to make a big move? Isn't that the way it should be?

Zheng Shuqing was stunned, he didn't understand what Fang Chongyong wanted to say.

"To speed up the progress, call all the businessmen in the shipyard today, speed up the construction period, recruit more people, and rotate three times a day."

Fang Chongyong said eagerly.

He remembered that there was a huge loophole in his trick, and he didn't know if the imperial court had found it. With Li Longji expressing his support for Zheng Shuqing, it is temporarily impossible to change customs clearance back to the original system, but the fact that the system cannot be changed does not mean that some people have no other way to recover their losses.

Resetting such a big piece of cake as Caochuan, how can the people here in Kuizhou eat it alone?

Half a month later, Fang Chongyong and Zheng Shuqing were so busy that they tried their best to speed up the progress and speed up the renewal of the ship, and finally, including the advance payment, they finally got together 300,000 yuan! Almost at the same time, a new decree of the imperial court arrived.

In the study room of the Lotus Pond Courtyard in the north of Fucheng, Uncle Zheng paced back and forth in a frustrated manner, holding the imperial decree documents in his hand, and wanted to throw them to the ground several times and step on his feet, but finally held back.

"It's too much of a deception! It's just too deceitful! What do you say now? ”

Zheng Shuqing began to be anxious again, once he was anxious, he liked to go to extremes. I thought about it all night last night, and today I have a lot of headaches in my head, and I even thought about the bad idea of pretending to be a bandit and robbing merchant ships.

"The decree requires us to adhere to the policy of customs clearance after the restructuring, but it also says that Kuizhou is located in a remote area, and once something happens to the shipyard, it will affect the transportation plan. Let us deliver the ship type drawings suitable for crossing the Kuizhou Jiangguan to the imperial court, and implement a quota system every year, so that the dockyards of Jianghuai can also build such ships, so as not to make the ships built in the end of vicious competition unusable.

Honestly, I think it's a pretty reasonable move. ”

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly, and after realizing it, he finally knew why that group of "thieves" deliberately came to White Emperor City to send people away.

Many ministers on the side of the court have also formed a "logical closed loop".

Because the Kuizhou dock was almost attacked, it is very risky to throw all the ships that can clear customs to Kuizhou for production.

Because the production of ships is threatened, the transportation between Shu and Yangzhou is also threatened.

Because changing or expanding the production area does not affect the customs clearance system, it is also acceptable to produce the same type of boat elsewhere.

Because the risk is dispersed by diversifying production, the imperial court should issue an edict to Kuizhou to force it to cede some orders for the production of ships.

Plan to pass! Perfect!

Everything is as Fang Chongyong expected, as long as it is a loophole, it will definitely be exploited. can delay for so long, he estimates that Li Longji must have exerted his strength in it. But the power of the emperor is not unlimited, what the emperor needs is a dog that is capable and able to do things, not a dog that needs to be maintained or even protected by himself all the time.

Now Fang Chongyong and Zheng Shuqing have landed with one foot, and the other foot is still in the water.

How to get the remaining 100,000 yuan, that is, the extra money asked by Li Longji?

Zheng Shuqing showed Fang Chongyong the so-called "quota" of the imperial court, and the orders received by Kuizhou this year have long exceeded the standard!

Is it a reckless attempt to treat the imperial decree as non-existent, or is it ...... Finding a different way?

Another seemingly insurmountable mountain was placed in front of Fang Chongyong.