The next morning, after breakfast.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came to discuss this matter with Li Longji.
Wang Juan was not in charge of using Youzhou's soldiers. In theory, she was only in charge of her own servants and the soldiers of Bohai Sea's Commander-In-Chief's Office. She and Zhang Xiaobao were still regional commanders.
As for the soldiers of other places, although they would not dare to disobey her if she wanted to mobilize them, there was something wrong with the procedure.
"You want me to mobilize Youzhou's soldiers to gather hazelnuts and pine nuts? Then, you want me to send them to Lu Zhou as gifts? Let me confirm. Is that what you mean? "
Li Longji was confused when he heard Zhang Xiaobao's words. He looked at Zhang Xiaobao in surprise, trying to see if he was sick.
Zhang Xiaobao smiled honestly and nodded. "Yes, that's right. Did Your Majesty agree?"
Li Longji assessed Zhang Xiaobao once more before continuing, "Xiaobao, I won't say anything about your use of the army, but if it's really useful, feel free to use the soldiers of Great Tang. Even if it's my Chamberlain of Imperial Insignia, feel free to mobilize them at critical moments.
However, don't you think your reason is a little too far-fetched? You're the regional commander there, but you don't use your own soldiers and insist on mobilizing Youzhou's soldiers? You even want to gather pine nuts? Do you think you're joking with Xiaobei? "
"No, my soldiers are still training. Some are training in mountain warfare, some are training in naval warfare, and some are training in building fortifications. I can't spare any manpower, so I asked my brothers to help. I don't need too many, just twenty thousand people will be enough.
Just think of it as providing training for my brothers. They don't need to bring too many things. They just need to prepare their rations and weapons. It can be said that they're traveling light. When the time comes, I'll reimburse them for their rations. "
Zhang Xiaobao said as he gestured as if he was carrying a military backpack on his back. He meant that it would take less than 1 month for them to arrive at his place from Youzhou Province without weapons and only food.
Li Longji didn't immediately tell Zhang Xiaobao whether he agreed or not. Instead, he looked at Wang Juan, who was sitting beside Zhang Xiaobao. He saw Wang Juan sitting there like a soldier.
But why did he look like he was trying not to laugh? Li Longji gently rubbed his temples to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. Only then did he look at Wang Ju, who had also finished her meal and came over to chat.
"Ju, do you know about pine nuts and hazelnuts?"
"I know. The Bohai Commander-In-Chief's Mansion in the north of Hebei Province has good pine nuts. After last autumn, before the new year, Xiao Bao's family sent me a lot of pine nuts. I remember that there was a carriage with two horses. My family members and maids were tired of eating them. My tongue hurt after eating too much."
Wang Ju recalled for a while and revealed a satisfied expression when talking about last year. Although they weren't as close as now, the Zhang family didn't lack etiquette.
Moreover, not everyone could eat pine nuts in the north of Hebei Province. Before her grandson went there, she only got a little bit each year as a tribute.
It was not that the yield was low, but that the imperial court used to have poor control over that area. It was full of tribes and tribes. Besides, the road was difficult and there were many wild animals. Therefore, she couldn't get more pine nuts.
Now, there were not many mountain goods and pine nuts coming out of that area each year, which were almost sky-high in price.
Thinking about it, a satisfied smile appeared on Wang Ju's face.
Li Longji gently shook his head again as he looked at Wang Ju and asked, "Do you know why pine nuts and hazelnuts have been less since spring?"
"Ah? Less? Oh, they're only harvested in autumn. Don't you know, Your Majesty? "Wang Ju seemed to have thought of something, but she did not say it out loud.
"I'm smarter than you. They're only harvested in autumn. What's the point of sending soldiers there now? 20,000 soldiers to cut down pine trees, transport them to Lu Zhou, and plant them at the seaside. When autumn comes, we'll show the children of Lu Zhou how pine nuts grow. "
Li Longji glared at Zhang Xiaobao as he spoke to Wang Ju.
Wang Ju hastily chimed in, "You're right, Your Majesty. It's not the right time to cut down trees. Even if we cut them down and plant them at the seaside, I don't think they'll fit in with the local customs. Think about it, Your Majesty. There are coconuts, the coffee that Cuckoo used to plant, and kapok there.
If we plant a bunch of pine trees at the seaside, people will be puzzled and confused. Moreover, it's hot there, and there's a lot of oil on the pine trees. The oil will keep flowing down, right? "
"Have you become stupid as well?" Li Longji said as he looked at Wang Ju. Then, he was amused. Perhaps, he was angered. "You're saying the same thing when I'm talking about pine trees? Can the pine trees survive there? What I'm asking is, if the season isn't right, why are they harvesting pine nuts? They're even mobilizing soldiers from Youzhou. Are they rebelling? "
"Tell me, are you and Cuckoo rebelling?" Li Longji asked Zhang Xiaobao again.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head solemnly. "No, we're not rebelling. Your Majesty, you don't know this. Although the season isn't right now, there are pine nuts on the ground that weren't eaten by the squirrels last year. If we go there and pick them up, we can still eat them."
"Oh!" Li Longji stared at Zhang Xiaobao and pretended to be enlightened. He chuckled and said, "Good, it's good that you're not rebelling. Go ahead, I agree. You'll be in charge of the money for the provisions. Let them pick up more pine nuts. I'll also taste the pine nuts that fall on the ground."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. This subject estimates that the taste is not much different from the ones that didn't fall from the trees. Even if they're contaminated with the earth's air, we might be able to pick a thousand-year-old ginseng and send it to Your Majesty."
Zhang Xiaobao replied with a smile.
"Okay, We will wait. Twenty thousand people. We'll just treat it as training. Let's set out. We have to travel a bit more today. Based on the census distribution of the Great Tang, it will be two days before we see any signs of human habitation. The earlier we see people, the earlier We can ask about the local situation."
Li Longji narrowed his eyes and spoke as if he really supported the idea of picking up pine nuts.
Wang Ju was confused. Why were the emperor and his subject speaking like this? One found a very lame excuse, while the other supported the idea despite knowing that it was wrong. Were they both sick? Either they were sick, or they were sick.
If they were sick enough to need an injection, they would need an intravenous drip. Otherwise, they might see some celestial being crashing down from the sky. Anything was possible.
With Li Longji's order to go, the entire group began to slowly move, and then they began to pick up speed. Li Longji sat on the pole, a leisurely expression on his face. It was as if he was no longer worried about the complaints of the Youzhou soldiers.
Other than Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, the others were also carried away. Without the common people, they wouldn't get down and walk.
After walking for an hour, Empress Wang heard someone mention this matter. She called Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan over and asked them to walk beside her. She turned her face and asked,
She turned around and asked, "Xiao Bao, what are you and Cuckoo playing at? You're actually mobilizing soldiers for no reason. Although this isn't the era of feudal vassals, you can't let the Youzhou soldiers think that you're playing with fire beacons. Morale is important, so you should at least tell them what you're planning. "
Before Zhang Xiaobao could reply, Li Longji said, "There's no need to ask. If they want to play with the feudal vassals, then let them. Let alone mobilizing twenty thousand soldiers, even if they ordered the entire Great Tang's beacon towers to be lit, We would still agree. What's the big deal about picking up pine nuts? Even if they transferred the soldiers of Gongji Province to Lingnan Province and asked them to build snowmen, We wouldn't refuse. What's there to be afraid of? "
As Li Longji spoke, he even raised his chin at Zhang Xiaobao, clearly implying that if I don't ask you, you think I'll be curious. I'll just take your words for real.
Zhang Xiaobao raised his thumb to show that you're awesome, and Li Longji raised his chin even higher.
Seeing the appearance of the two, Empress Wang shook her head helplessly. Then, she turned to Wang Juan and said, "Cuckoo, tell your mother what's going on."
She was Wang Juan's adoptive mother, but she had never mentioned the word 'yi'.
Wang Juan smiled and replied, "It's nothing much. We're just letting them wander around. There are a few places in the mountains where there are many wild beasts, and it wasn't easy for a small group of people to gather there. A few days ago, we asked our local troops to clean up the wild beasts so that they could live a peaceful life.
After our troops went there, we drove away and cleaned up a portion of the wild beasts, but to us, it wasn't very useful. It was better to train the troops and waste time.
Youzhou is relatively close to our area, and it's also very important. The local soldiers there have already lost a lot of killing. Since we can't use people to train the troops, we'll have them go further north.
One is to help the local soldiers hunt wild beasts, and the other is to train their physical strength. At the same time, they can find problems during the march and correct them in time. After Xiao Bao and I set out, there might be some empty areas in our army, and the troops in the various regions will have to enter a state of combat readiness. "
Wang Juan didn't say anything about picking pine nuts. Unless it was to deceive people who didn't have common sense, this was something that she had considered when she helped Zhang Xiaobao fill in the blanks last night.
She wanted to make use of this opportunity to mobilize the soldiers of Great Tang and try to familiarize them with the surroundings. In the future, if the two of them were to go out and someone wanted to cause trouble, they would be able to send soldiers from the vicinity. The more familiar the nearby soldiers were with the surroundings, the more advantageous it would be for the battle.
Empress Wang nodded. Although she still had doubts in her heart, she didn't ask anymore. Instead, she signaled for Wang Juan to sit on the pole she was sitting on. Wang Juan looked at the person who lifted the pole and shook her head. Then, she walked nearby and talked about other things.
Zhang Xiaobao still had things to do, and he didn't want to listen to his wife and Empress Wang talk about clothes. Thus, he walked to Li Longji's side and followed them.
He also had a pole to sit on, but he had never sat on one before. It was tiring to be carried by others, but he didn't need to. His walking speed wasn't fast either, so he took it as a form of training.
Walking beside Li Longji, Zhang Xiaobao didn't idle around. Occasionally, he would see some plants by the side of the road, and he would run over to dig them up or pluck them. Then, he would return to Li Longji's side and introduce the characteristics and uses of those plants to him.
He even caught a hedgehog and explained the differences between the hedgehogs here and those in the capital to Li Longji. Then, he got someone to give it to his younger brothers and sisters who were sleeping on the poles after eating.
He spoke for a full two hours, and there wasn't a single repetition. It was as though Zhang Xiaobao could continue talking for several days and nights.
Li Longji was worried about the purpose of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's mobilization of troops, but he endured it and listened to Zhang Xiaobao's incessant explanation. He also put on a curious expression and cooperated.
He really didn't know much about the things that they passed by. He only knew a little about the things that could be used as tributes.
"Are you thirsty? Do you need me to send people to Tubo to get you some snow water from the snowy mountains? You can use it to make tea. I can transfer 50,000 people over to help you deliver the tea. What do you think? "
Li Longji listened to Zhang Xiaobao's incessant explanation and pointed to the northwest as he joked.
Zhang Xiaobao spat out a piece of grass that had a sour taste in his mouth and replied, "We can't go to Tubo. Tubo's soldiers are still used to scare people. Not to mention the long journey here, people will think that we are afraid.
Since Your Majesty mentioned the mobilization of troops, I have an idea. There are oranges in Shannan East Circuit that were plucked last autumn. They've been preserved using a special method, and they haven't gone bad even now. Why don't we transport more and send them to Huainan East Circuit? We'll send about 10,000 soldiers there. When the time comes, we'll send them to Lu Zhou as well.
"Lu Zhou doesn't have oranges? Can't we just transport them from Huainan East Circuit? Lu Zhou doesn't lack fruits. 10,000 soldiers? Send oranges? Alright, I agree. "
Li Longji asked a few more times, but he did not say anything else. He nodded and agreed. He was letting Zhang Xiaobao do whatever he wanted. After all, Zhang Xiaobao would not rebel.
Zhang Xiaobao was still finding excuses for himself. He said, "Oranges from different places taste different. For example, the oranges from Henan Circuit are sweet, and the oranges from Jiangnan East Circuit are sweet. Isn't that obvious?"
"I've learned something new. As it turns out, the ancients were wrong when they said that Huainan was the orange and Huaibei was the orange. The oranges from the north are sweeter than the oranges from the south? I'll have someone write this in the school books so the children can understand it. Is there anything else? Go on, I'll definitely agree. "
Li Longji chuckled as he played along with Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao smiled as well. "It's true, Your Majesty. Indeed, there's something else I need to do. To be honest, the reason I've asked someone to send the items to Lu Zhou is because I received a message from my mother last night. She wants to go to Lu Zhou.
I've thought about it and decided that it's not good to go empty-handed. Hence, I'll have to bring more things for Lu Zhou. It doesn't matter how expensive the items are; they're just a token of our sincerity. At the same time, to ensure my mother's safety, Lu Zhou's fleet has been stationed there to guard against her.
I'll have to mobilize more of my family's logistics to transport the items to the seaside. I don't have a choice. Time is tight. My mother has to be there by the time we reach Lu Zhou. Otherwise, I'll be worried. Do you understand, Your Majesty? "
"Oh?" Li Longji's interest was piqued. He looked at Zhang Xiaobao and asked, "You're saying that you and Cuckoo are going to mobilize a lot of people to prepare the items for Lu Zhou? All of them are going to move quickly to the seaside? In fact, they're going to include the various armies as well? "
"That's right. Some of the people are busy farming, and some are busy working. If we let the people work, it'll cost us more. Moreover, we'll be delaying their work. Since the soldiers have nothing to do, they'll just take it as a form of exercise. Just like what I'm doing now."
Zhang Xiaobao pointed at his legs. What he meant was, 'You're sitting while I'm walking. It's been almost four hours. Shouldn't you slow down? I still have to cook lunch for you.'
Li Longji clearly did not care if Zhang Xiaobao was tired or not. He turned away and closed his eyes to think for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he said to Zhang Xiaobao, "You're a good person. It's no wonder Lu Zhou only knows about the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. As it turns out …"
"Stop, you can't say that. The people of Lu Zhou know about Your Majesty. Moreover, they always praise Your Majesty. You can't accuse me of being disloyal. If this was in the past, I would've had my family confiscated and exterminated."
Zhang Xiaobao interrupted Li Longji's words and grumbled.
"Now, it's also a crime of confiscation and extermination. You and Juan are putting on a show to tell the Japanese that you're going to beat them up. You're going to confiscate their homes and exterminate their families."
Li Longji said with a chuckle.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head and denied, "No, there's absolutely no such thing. I'm just sending gifts to Lu Zhou and tormenting the soldiers of my dynasty. If we attack Japan, I have to withdraw our people from Japan first. Otherwise, if we attack them, they will kill our people as soon as they see that we're fighting. Who can I complain to then?
Oh, right, I've discussed with Cuckoo yesterday. We'll temporarily stop the ships we're leasing to Japan as long as we can contact them. We're willing to pay compensation for the breach of contract. For the sake of my mother, money is a small matter. "
"Alright, I understand. You continue to torment them. In order not to let the Japanese misunderstand, it's best if you contact them first. Tell them that you really sent people to the Commander-In-Chief's Office in Bohai Sea to pick pine nuts, and that the fleet was really there to protect my mother.
Tell them that I'm not going to attack them. I'm busy with my own business, and you can continue with your own business. For example, I believe that the Japanese will definitely believe you. "
Li Longji had a wicked smile on his face. He no longer had the usual solemnity of an emperor. He cooperated with Zhang Xiaobao, and the more he spoke, the happier he became.
Zhang Xiaobao also had a wicked smile on his face. He chuckled at the same time as Li Longji, causing Empress Wang, who was standing at the side, to be very surprised.
The speed and amplitude of the carriage carrying Li Longji were obviously different from before. The four Golden Guards carrying Li Longji lowered their heads and looked at the road, as though they did not hear Zhang Xiaobao and Li Longji talking.
"Hehe, if I don't hit them, they will definitely believe me. Hehe, is there anything else?" Li Longji laughed wretchedly. With a straight face, he asked Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao was stunned. He opened his mouth and shook his head, "No, I'm just helping my mother."
"Even if the Japanese believe you and don't hit them, I don't believe that you don't have a backup plan. You're going to cook lunch. I want to eat an all-fish banquet. Forty-eight fresh saltwater fishes, not one less. The saltwater fishes in the mountains are even more delicious."
Li Longji reverted to his emperor appearance and ordered Zhang Xiaobao.
"Your Majesty, how can you bully a child like this? Unless it's a celestial mountain and the weather is hot, you can just eat a few cool dishes for lunch. Xiaobao, tell me quickly, don't let His Majesty bully you."
Empress Wang advised when she heard Li Longji's voice.
Why don't we send someone to buy saltwater fishes there? Apart from the saltwater fishes, the local specialties are quite good as well. We'll ship them back and leave them in Lu Zhou's hands. When we return to the capital, we'll ship them to the capital and sell them there.
We've spent a lot of money on this trip. If we can make up for it, it's better than nothing. Moreover, the lives of the people there aren't easy. Send a report and ask Lu Zhou to send someone to discuss the construction of a smelting factory there. We'll help them if we can. "
Zhang Xiaobao pointed in the southwest direction as he spoke to Empress Wang. In truth, he was speaking to Li Longji.
Li Longji nodded in satisfaction and said, "I'm relieved to hear Xiao Bao's words. Our neighbor is in trouble, and we can't not help it. I agree. I won't eat saltwater fishes for lunch. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, there's nothing else," Zhang Xiaobao replied.
"Nothing else? If there's nothing else, I want to eat the specialties of the southwest for lunch. There are 48 dishes. I want to eat them. "Li Longji suppressed his laughter and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
"Your Majesty, you have to be reasonable. You can't do this." Zhang Xiaobao was happy to tease Li Longji as well.
"Reasonable? Have you ever seen an emperor being reasonable? As the saying goes, if the emperor wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. How can there be such a saying? "
Li Longji said. Weiwei swayed her body. She looked as though she was saying, "What can you do about it?"
'As the saying goes? Is that a saying? ' Zhang Xiaobao inwardly criticized Li Longji for being uncultured. Then, he said, "Your Majesty, if you want to eat the specialties of the southwest, it's simple. When we're helping them, we'll buy them from the Japanese. The Japanese have boats that go out to sea to catch fish in the southwest. We'll buy them back while we're at it.
The sea route isn't too far away. The Japanese can row their boats diligently. Moreover, they have the help of our first-generation steam engine boats. We'll help them transport the people who buy the things over. After they're done, they can just board the boats and come back. "
Li Longji nodded and said, "That's right. We won't eat their food for lunch. You can just make two dishes. Is there anything else?"
"Is that really it? Why don't you eat mine for lunch? I think my meat tastes good. "Zhang Xiaobao shook his head. He had a look on his face that said, 'I won't say anything even if you beat me to death.'
"Forget it. That's all for now. We'll talk about dinner later. I need to think about it. Who knows, I might be able to figure it out on my own."
Li Longji felt that he could not ask everything. If he did, he would seem too stupid. It was better for him to follow Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's train of thought. If he could figure it out, it would be his own ability.
*****
Li Longji and the others had a pleasant journey. Moreover, they could joke and joke along the way. They also ate the local specialties and wild game that they passed by. They were gradually getting closer to Lu Zhou.
However, when Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came up with the idea of helping their mother's safety and bringing something to Lu Zhou, some of them were displeased.
Takeshita Junichiro had been keeping an eye on his country's plan to work with several other countries to secretly sabotage Tang. He was aware of this plan from the very beginning. However, when he wanted to participate, the other party did not allow him to do so. They said that he had always failed and had never succeeded in scheming against Tang.
When the dissatisfied Takeshita Junichiro found out about this plan, he suddenly had a strange thought. Without him, the plan would fail in the end. Moreover, everyone involved in the plan would not be able to escape. All of them would be captured.
Sometimes, he would even dream of everyone being captured. Occasionally, he would wake up with a start. However, he regretted having such thoughts.
No matter what, if the plan succeeded, it would be a huge blow to Tang. However, it was not that Tang would lose a lot of money.
Even if they poured something into a river or a lake, it would only cause the things in that place to die. It would be difficult for them to harm anyone.
In the worst case, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could just move the things in their homes and deliver them to the places that suffered losses. Even if it was drinking water, the two of them could bring it in basins from other places. It was as though there was nothing in the world that could stop them.
The real blow to Tang would come from the hearts of the people. They would have to let the people know that Zhang Xiaobao and Cuckoo, who had never failed and never made mistakes, had their moments of weakness as well. This would cause the people of Tang to no longer respect the two of them as they did in the past.
At the same time, if the plan succeeded, it would give the people of his country and the other countries a boost of confidence. In the future, when the country made decisions against Tang, the people would support them.
Hence, the ultimate goal of this plan was to break Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's invincibility.
Thus, he should support them. Since they were not allowed to participate, it was not a bad idea to help them in secret.
With this thought in mind, Takeshita Junichiro really did carry out his plan. He arranged for many people under his command to go to Hangzhou, intending to lend a hand when needed.
However, just as he arrived in Hangzhou with his people, he heard that his people had been captured. Moreover, the news spread so widely that almost all of Hangzhou knew about it.
Just as he was hesitating whether he should find a chance to save them, he heard that someone had been captured at the reed marsh in the lake next to Dou Chang.
Not long after, the people from the Lushan Alliance were also captured. All of their arrangements had just taken a small step, and before they could achieve more, they were all cut short.
When Takeshita Junichiro received the news, he finally stopped thinking about saving people. He knew that if he went to save them, he would definitely be captured as well. Perhaps Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were waiting for someone to save them.
Takeshita Junichiro also felt that he had lost in the past not because he was not capable enough, but because Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were too powerful.
From the news he heard, he understood more or less. The main thing was that this news was deliberately spread by Zhang Xiaobao. His purpose was to let the intelligence personnel of other countries know about it, so that their confidence would be damaged.
Takeshita Junichiro was obviously shocked. He really could not understand how Zhang Xiaobao could find a loophole in such a good security system. Moreover, he could follow them and listen to the storyteller talk about it. However, when he heard it, it felt like a dream.
Zhang Xiaobao was almost a god. However, the truth was that if Zhang Xiaobao was not capable enough, he definitely would not have been able to capture them.
Takeshita Junichiro sighed. At the same time, he felt that if he could find a chance to kill Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, even if he had to sacrifice a thousand or ten thousand people and use up several years of Japan's income, he would definitely do it.
Otherwise, if the two of them were left in Great Tang, who knew what they could do.
However, it was too difficult to kill the two of them. When they personally took action, they would disguise themselves so that no one could recognize them. When they stopped disguising themselves, they were followed by thousands of guards.
Moreover, there were people secretly in charge of protecting them. Taking their lives under these layers of protection was harder than ascending to the heavens.
If he had known that the two of them would be so capable today, he would have sent people to Sanshui County when they were still children and directly slaughtered the two of them in Zhuangzi.
Although at that time, according to the current investigation, their families also had many defensive measures, they did not have many people. Moreover, they did not have the current weapons at that time.
Killing the two of them when they were young was a hundred times, no, a thousand times, ten thousand times easier than killing them now. If only there was a medicine in the world.
Takeshita Junichiro changed his name and dressed like a person from Great Tang. Moreover, he had been in Great Tang for several years, so no one could tell what his habits were.
While he was feeling sad, he also avoided the people who were still patrolling in Hangzhou.
Of course, he was not stupid enough to hide in the restaurant Between the Clouds and the Water. It was not that he did not have money. He had enough money to eat and live there. Not long after the New Year, someone in China sent him a lot of goods and asked him to sell them. The money from selling them was also his responsibility.
He was afraid. He always felt that if he acted like ordinary people, the most dangerous place was the safest place. If he ran to Between the Clouds and the Water and stayed there, he would definitely be caught.
Hangzhou was not a place where people from other countries who had not committed crimes in the Great Tang would not be caught. If someone from another country was caught in Hangzhou, even if they did not die, they would at least lose a layer of skin.
After enduring several days of fear, Takeshita Junichiro made his decision. He boarded a passenger ship and sailed against the current, intending to go to Xunyang and see the situation. He thought that if he went there later, he would not be suspected of anything.
But when he arrived at Xunyang, Takeshita Junichiro realized that what he had heard about Xunyang being in chaos had nothing to do with what he was seeing now.
Xunyang was in chaos, but it was not a riot. It was the kind of chaos that came when people were busy. Many people were coming and going, and all of them had smiles on their faces. Nothing bad had happened.
The feeling it gave was that it was thriving.
Takeshita Junichiro muttered, could this be another skill of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan? If this were his own country, and a place like Xunyang was in a similar situation, it would take at least one or two years for it to recover.
Moreover, it hadn't even been half a month yet. Seeing this person bustling about, he seemed to give off an even more ambitious feeling than Xunyang had in the past.
He had understood this from the intelligence reports he had gathered, and he had personally experienced it once. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not care about anything happening in the Great Tang. Whenever there was a man-made or heaven-sent disaster, the two of them would be able to resolve it in a very short amount of time.
At the same time, what was even more shocking was that after each disaster, the situation in that place would be better than before the disaster. It had always been a heaven-defying battle, and the stronger the opponent, the stronger the opponent.
With this helpless thought, Takeshita Junichiro decided to take a good look at Xunyang and stay a few days to understand how they had changed so that he could send this information back to his country so that his country could learn from them.
However, Takeshita Junichiro did not dare to stay any longer. He had his own communication system. First, he received a secret message from the north.
It was said that Serene Province had mobilized 20,000 troops and was moving northeast. Their destination was Jili Province, but they were marching at the fastest speed in the name of picking pine nuts there.
How was that possible? Where were the pine nuts to pick now? Even if they were going to pick them, why would they mobilize 20,000 troops? Even if they mobilized the troops, would the original troops of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan not be enough? Who were they kidding?
Just when Takeshita Junichiro felt that something was amiss and that they were targeting his country, he received a secret message from Lu Zhou's people.
It was said that one of Lu Zhou's fleet of gunships and a conventional fleet that had been docked at the port had been mobilized. According to the information they gathered, the two fleets' destination was Hangzhou. To be more precise, they were on the coastal road to Hangzhou.
The madam of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family wanted to take a ship from Hangzhou to Lu Zhou. Hence, the two fleets were tasked to protect her.
Nobody believed that the two damned women who gave birth to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan would have fewer guards around them. If that were the case, they would have been killed by the people who worked together.
Was there a need to mobilize two fleets? If they were here to protect her, why were the gunships deployed? Who did not know that Lu Zhou's navy was the most elite force in Great Tang?
Perhaps, they were here to attack their own country.
While Takeshita Junichiro was feeling fearful, he received news from other places. It was said that tangerines were being sent to Huainan by the army from the east of Shannan. Then, they would be transported to the coast and loaded onto ships. They would follow the madam of the Zhang Family to Lu Zhou so that Lu Zhou's people could taste them.
Most of the logistics teams of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family began to gather. Those who were close to Hangzhou were moving toward Hangzhou while those who were close to Huainan were moving toward Lu Zhou.
Hot air balloons filled the skies as well. It was said that they were rushing to deliver the goods from the inland as quickly as possible.
The armies of the various regions also followed suit, constantly switching out their positions.
With so much information gathered, Takeshita Junichiro was frightened out of his wits. Huainan Circuit and Lu Zhou did not have tangerines? How many things did Lu Zhou lack? Did he need so many people from the logistics teams of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family? The hot air balloons and the armies were deployed as well.
Everything pointed to his own country, Japan.
"Yamamoto, you're the one who deserves to die the most. Look at what you've gotten yourself into. You didn't do a good job of causing trouble, and now, they've found out. Now, they're going to start a war. They're not going to attack Duoshi anymore, they're going to attack our country instead. "
Takeshita Junichiro grumbled in pain. He opened all the windows in his room, but he still found it difficult to breathe.
Two hours later, Takeshita Junichiro mustered the strength to stand up and take a cold shower. He changed into a set of short clothes, pocketed the money, and walked out of his room.
When he arrived at the lakeside, he found a boat that seemed fast. He tossed ten strings of cash and ordered the boatman to row toward the other side of the lake as quickly as possible. The faster they rowed, the more money they would be given when the time came.
When the boatman ordered a few people to row the boat, Takeshita Junichiro, who had spent money to buy medicine, took it. He sat at the bow of the boat and looked at the blue sky and blue water. He thought to himself that he had to catch up to Zhang Xiaobao and the others as soon as possible. Then, he would apologize to them and give them all the hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. He hoped that they would give his country a chance.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
