Zhang Xiaobao's words at first made the three old men happy, but when they heard that they were going to dock, they didn't know what to do. They all looked at Zhang Xiaobao, waiting for his answer.
The three old men knew that Zhang Xiaobao had just gone back to ask the expert, so now they were waiting for an answer. Why did they have to stop the ship? The fleet of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family had been floating on the water for two months without any supplies. They had just come out for a few days, so there must be a reason. Could it be that there were more conditions?
"It's all your fault. You only told me now. If you had told me earlier, I would have prepared earlier. The preparation for taking office is definitely different from the preparation for logistics. It will be too late to gather supplies when we arrive. We'll stop for one night and one morning tomorrow, and then we'll speed up."
Zhang Xiaobao was much more relaxed this time. The new exchange conditions were good, better than the previous ones. The main thing was that they could help the people of Shuzhou to avenge.
If his family didn't go to Shuzhou, maybe the two mines would continue to be secretly mined, and no one would destroy the river embankment.
Zhang Xiaobao couldn't help but admire the two judges who had lurked and waited for an opportunity. After so many years of ambush, their families were established, and they even became officials, but they were still willing to sacrifice everything for the interests of the country.
After all, they were not people of the Tang Empire. They had to be prepared for revenge. If you drown my people, I'll slaughter your people. There was nothing to say.
As for the praise from the imperial court, Zhang Xiaobao didn't take it to heart at all. Something practical was more attractive than words. What was the use of ten thousand words of praise?
*****
After discussing with the three old men, Zhang Xiaobao happily found Wang Juan, who was playing with the little ones, and hurried back to his cabin.
Taking out the map, Zhang Xiaobao said to Wang Juan, "Good news. Now we can make a lot of money from the war. We've also gained a lot of benefits. We're going to war. You're good at this. Help me figure out how to deal with logistics."
While Wang Juan was puzzled, Zhang Xiaobao told her about his conversation with the three old men.
The map in front of him was very precious. Even the imperial court didn't have it. Only Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had a few copies. It was a military map of Tubo. It included mountain ranges, rivers, fields, roads, as well as various villages and shops. There was even a map of the layout of Tubo's Jinchuan City.
This was all thanks to Sonrini, who had been doing business with him all this time. He had also told him about the new game and even gave him the map of the entire Tang Empire. In exchange, he had added a few more people to his team that Song Jinggong had sent to draw the map.
Song Jinggong said that he would help him come up with a set of rules and let him operate the game in Tubo. In the end, after the map was done, the military map was given to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. After some changes, it became a map of the game and was sent back to him. It was said that the effect was not as good as that in the capital. Many people didn't follow the rules and mostly carved the characters and goods themselves.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't care about how much money he earned. With this map, it was enough.
Wang Juan looked at the contour lines on the map and the marked roads. She whispered, "The road is too difficult to walk on. They arranged for your father to go to Yizhou. It must be to find gold. It's a little far. It would be more convenient if your father went to Zhezhou to be the provincial governor. It's close to Tubo.
Yes, Li Longji was also afraid that something would go wrong, so he moved back dozens of miles. There's a province in front of him in case the expert died and there was no one to help him. From the date, this war was prepared in a hurry, especially in terms of logistics. According to the information you received, in order to numb the enemy and give them a warning and revenge, they didn't even gather the local food in Chengdu.
The Emperor who can mutiny is indeed daring. He's betting that we can organize a complete logistics system under such circumstances. Unfortunately, this matter is only known to the two of us now. We can't tell anyone else, including our family, in case the secret is leaked. "
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. He also knew how difficult it was, but since he had accepted it, he had to do it well. Basically, everyone knew that before the troops and horses moved, the provisions had to be prepared first, let alone him and Wang Juan.
Looking at the roads on the map that shouldn't be used by humans, he held his chin and thought hard. When Wang Juan started to make military deductions, he said,
"When we get to Jiangxia tomorrow night, think of a way to pass the news to the fleet in front through the land route. Send five members of Team Zero. There are many places where there are no roads, only mountains. We need them to block the ships in front of us on the river section where we need to pull the cable.
Don't sleep tonight. You make your deductions, and I'll do mine. Li Longji really thinks highly of us. No wonder Grandpa Bi and the others were busy building roads. They were planning to build a supply route. What a joke. Isn't Li Xun going to participate in the war? Good, count him in. We really can't send any troops. "
"Then don't disturb me. It's very difficult, especially when we don't have any data to support it. I don't even have any information on the enemy's generals and our own generals, let alone understand their personalities."
Wang Juan took a map and hid in a corner to get busy. She also knew that she didn't have many soldiers in her family. There were only 56 people that she could bring out. The rest of the guards had not seen blood yet. They were far inferior compared to Li Xun's guards.
*****
While Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were busy, the three old men couldn't sleep. They were already old, so they didn't sleep well. Coupled with the fact that they had something on their minds, they tossed and turned in bed.
"Do you think the Zhang family will succeed?" Old Man Chang wasn't as knowledgeable as Old Man Pi and Old Man Yao. He also couldn't compare to them in terms of political knowledge. However, he was also anxious. As long as one wasn't stupid, they would know how big of a problem the Zhang family was going to face.
They didn't give them any time to prepare and immediately mobilized. This was because they really couldn't keep it a secret. Otherwise, they would have only told them when they were about to reach Yizhou.
In fact, it was useless now. There wasn't enough time. The transportation of military equipment couldn't be delayed. They could only see the situation along the way. If it were him, even if he was forced to die, he wouldn't be able to organize the logistics without solving the local problems.
Old Man Pi and Old Man Yao were also uncertain. It was too risky. Perhaps the Zhang family's organizational skills had reached a frightening level, or perhaps the Zhang family had never compromised in the face of difficulties time and time again. That was why they had made such a plan.
Old Man Pi pulled up the thin quilt covering his body and exposed his arms. He looked at the dark cabin ceiling and said, "I don't know if it will succeed. That will depend on whether the Zhang family has an undeserved reputation. If it succeeds, it will probably be difficult to arrange an official position for Zhang Zhong.
Should he be placed in the Ministry of Revenue, which is in charge of local governance, or the Ministry of War? One person can't be divided into two halves. If he doesn't have an official position, the expert behind him won't do anything. Oh, it seems like it's also possible to put him in the Ministry of Works. "
"Then let's use Cuckoo's father as well. Why do you insist on giving him an official position? Give him an actual position. Anyway, there's someone behind him helping. I don't believe that he can't do it well. I think it won't be too big of a problem. Otherwise, Xiao Bao wouldn't have agreed so easily when he went to ask. I'm looking forward to his family's actions and see how capable they are.
In the past, they always ran to the local areas to build. This time, they will be in charge of logistics. It's different from building. It's not as simple as taking out the family's money to give the people a job and then starting business. There's not much time for them to do this. "
Old Man Yao simply sat up and turned on the lights in the cabin. As he spoke, he picked up the thermos and made himself a cup of tea. He also took out a handful of sunflower seeds and started munching on them.
Old Man Pi looked envious. He also came over and helped Old Man Chang make a cup of tea. He held the teacup in his hand and said,
"It's a loss. If I knew this would happen, I would have discussed with the Zhang family in advance. Now, there are even more conditions in exchange. After giving out all the benefits, when the children of the Zhang Family and Wang Family grow up, with the marriage alliance between the two families, it won't be difficult for the six of them to support the two families. Moreover, there are still two adults."
"It's not good to tell them in advance. If they know the news and go to Chengdu in advance to make preparations, there will always be flaws. Zhang Zhong hasn't become an official yet, but there are already people buying grain in the area. Plus, with the incident in Shuzhou, as long as the people of Tubo aren't fools, they will be able to see through it.
I don't know much about other things, but I also know that usually, wars are fought after the autumn harvest. If we go now, it will be the hottest time of summer. It won't be the autumn harvest yet. After the war with Tubo, even if they want to counterattack, they will have to wait for some time. It's enough for Tang to make arrangements.
What we rely on is to catch them off guard. Who would have thought that they would send troops at this time? However, the burden will be on the Zhang family. Let's see if they can bear it. Once they do, it will be impossible for them to become local officials in the future. Who can rest assured that such people will be released? "
Old Man Chang didn't drink tea as gently as Old Man Pi and Old Man Yao. While it was hot, he drank it in one gulp. He exhaled hot air and expressed his thoughts.
*****
Early the next morning, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan rushed to eat breakfast and ran to the deck to sleep in the sun. It had rained yesterday, so now the weather was good. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't hot.
The little ones were waiting for their older brother and sister to come and play with them. However, after waiting for more than an hour, they still didn't see anyone. They angrily threw away the toys in their hands and went out to look for them. When they found the two people lying there sleeping, they became interested and tried hard to express their thoughts. They asked someone to wake them up and let them sleep next to their older brother and sister.
The three old men woke up early in the morning and began to observe the people in the inner courtyard of the Zhang Family and Wang Family. When they found that nothing had changed, they were relieved. After breakfast, they called Li Xun over.
"Your Highness, you know why we went there this time. Don't think about going to war. Your guards, Yuanzhi's and my guards will be responsible for protecting the people in the Zhang Family and Wang Family. Don't look at the distance. It's a hundred li away. If something happens to them, this old man won't have the face to live."
Old Man Pi heard Zhang Xiaobao mention yesterday that Li Xun wanted to be a star. Today, he had to tell him in advance in case something happened and disturb the Zhang family's arrangements.
Li Xun was still not convinced. "I, I have a special force."
"Stop. What kind of force must be left behind to protect. Otherwise, this old man will tie you up and send you back to the capital. Let the Emperor see your special force."
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