This time, the news was received from Wing Prefecture after the first two pigeons had flown for half a day. Perhaps the second pigeons had flown faster, and the first pigeons had arrived not long after.
The matters in the Imperial Court had already been discussed, but the court had yet to be dismissed. It was a good opportunity to see if there was any new news. It shouldn't be bad news. Even if they couldn't win against Juan Juan, they could still escape. The two people that were sent after her could escape with the eagle.
Sure enough, it wasn't bad news. In the letter, it was written that Yun Shuifei had made arrangements after arriving at Pengzhou. He wanted Pengzhou to take over the logistics and Tubo's four thousand people, as well as provisions, and send the commoners to Wing Prefecture. At the same time, he wanted the imperial court to go to Sanshui County to find the person who raised the eagle with Zhang Ying.
He wanted this group of people to go to Pengzhou, and when they arrived, they would cooperate with Pengzhou to make a feint attack against Tubo. This would slightly restrain the Tubo's armored cavalry. Then, he would transfer ten thousand elite troops from Jiannan Circuit to secretly go to the villages with tunnels under the cover of the feint attack.
Don't forget to go to Wing Prefecture to get things when you go there. It was the charcoal and vegetable oil that had been collected some time ago. Bring them to the villages and wait for him to come back. Hide well and don't be discovered. When he returned to the army, they would cooperate with him. He wanted to send a general who didn't need to be too capable, but had to be obedient.
When the officials in the imperial court heard this news, some of them sucked in a breath of cold air. Cuckoo, this little lass, was too formidable, right? She had already started making arrangements for the following matters. She was really bold. She actually wanted to ambush Tubo at that place. Didn't she already use that village once? Wasn't she afraid of being discovered if she used it again?
Didn't she start buying the vegetable oil and charcoal a long time ago before Zhang Zhong arrived? She even wanted to bring it to the villages. Could it be that she would need it at that time? What was it for? How was Cuckoo planning to use ten thousand people to ambush them?
Li Longji didn't expect that Cuckoo's arrangements would be so far away. She had already prepared provisions in Wing Prefecture, and even asked him to go to Sanshui County to find the eagle. She also made arrangements to send Pengzhou to make a feint attack. If this was the case, wouldn't his previous decree disrupt Cuckoo's arrangements?
This arrangement was no longer a tactical one, but a strategic one. Should he take the lead, or should he listen to the little girl?
Li Longji found himself in a difficult position.
At this moment, Lv Yanzuo felt that his opportunity had come. He looked enviously at the officials in the imperial court who had beautiful cups. Thinking that no one in his family had ever given him such a cup, he felt that he could build a good relationship with the Zhang family.
Thus, he stepped forward and said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, there's something that I don't know if I should say or not."
"If you don't know, then don't say it," Li Longji was still angry with Lv Yanzuo, so when he heard Lv Yanzuo's question, he didn't give him any face at all.
Lv Yanzuo was stunned for a moment. That wasn't right. What followed should have been "It's fine". Why did it change?
"Your Majesty, may I be so bold as to say something?" Lv Yanzuo shamelessly ignored Li Longji's warning. Seeing that the higher-ups didn't object, he continued.
"This subject thinks that Miss Cuckoo is a rarely seen general. She must have her reasons for making such arrangements. There is no harm in following her instructions."
"Then did We issue the wrong decree?" Li Longji asked.
"No, how could Your Majesty be wrong? Cuckoo isn't wrong either. This subject thinks that Cuckoo had Pengzhou feign an attack because she was afraid that the generals leading the army would be at a disadvantage. After all, the Tufan Cavalry was mobilized, so she had Falcon follow. She was worried about the other generals and didn't understand them well. She was worried that our court would suffer too many casualties. Does Your Majesty agree? "
Lv Yanzuo continued to explain to avoid being misunderstood.
Li Longji thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."
All the civil and military officials in the imperial court also admitted that they couldn't find a general as powerful as Cuckoo. There were generals who could win battles, but they couldn't find one who could kill so many enemies with so few casualties. It wasn't like in the past, when there were still many famous generals.
Seeing that the emperor agreed, Lv Yanzuo continued, "However, our court can't always let Cuckoo lead the army every time there is a battle. Wouldn't our court have no one? Your Majesty can send troops from Jiannan Circuit. At the same time, send ten thousand elite soldiers to follow Cuckoo's instructions. As for the deployment, Cuckoo is a famous general and will adjust accordingly.
If Your Majesty agrees, this subject will personally go to Sanshui County to train the falcon to coordinate with our court's march. This subject's neck was stiff last night and has already had someone check it. The effect wasn't good. This subject also wants to go to Deyi Hospital to have a look. "
In order to ease the atmosphere, Lv Yanzuo shook his head. He really felt that he couldn't move.
All the officials in the imperial court laughed. Even Li Longji didn't have a sullen expression like before.
"In that case, Minister Lv will be tired from the journey." Li Longji also wanted to see if Cuckoo could immediately adjust according to the layout. In his mind, Wang Juan was already a famous general. A famous general naturally understood that the situation was not constant, and the water was impermanent. In any case, the danger would be smaller if the troops were sent out.
Even if the matter was settled, Lv Yanzuo found an opportunity to ease the situation. Of course, he wouldn't take a carriage. There was a boat, and the river wasn't frozen yet.
*****
Wang Juan was still leading people to escape. This time, she was satisfied. After killing so many people, when the news spread to Shuzhou, the people there would definitely cry and then be very happy to avenge them.
The message from the eagle was written by Zhang Xiaobao. He also had his own arrangements.
Wang Juan didn't expect Zhang Xiaobao to have such a plan on the way to Yizhou. Riding on the horse, she said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Xiao Bao, I found that you are really suitable for logistics. You have arranged everything that you can think of and that might happen. Otherwise, you would have to do it now. I will reward you by making me red braised pork tonight."
"Women are starting to rebel when they have the ability, right? You want to reward me by making you food? Good idea. There are still 40,000 people behind us. I don't want to be buried in the sand. "
Zhang Xiaobao was very happy. He didn't have nightmares at night because of killing too many people. Wasn't it just a few people dying? His hands were also covered in blood. In the future, when he became a local official, who would dare to use the people to threaten him?
The surrounding soldiers were also more relaxed. Although close to a thousand people had died in this battle, they had still fought to show their might. What was the use of being a soldier if they didn't fight? Only when they killed their enemies until they became obedient and didn't dare to look for trouble would they be able to live a stable life. A peaceful life was built with their lives.
Just like the song that General Cuckoo taught, "You don't want to be a soldier, I don't want to be a soldier. Whoever comes will protect the motherland, who will protect the home." Which country was afraid of death, which country's people were waiting to be bullied.
Wang Juan didn't care about what Zhang Xiaobao said. In any case, the food she ate had to be prepared by Xiao Bao. Others suffered when they were fighting, but her food was not bad. She made a handful of wild vegetables, and Xiao Bao could wrap them into a box and fry them.
After hearing Zhang Xiaobao mention the arrangements, Wang Juan was not worried. This was her field of expertise. She said, "Take it slow. There are still a few days before we enter the desert. They won't dare to send light cavalry. That's good. I was worried about the lack of horses. All in all, we only have a little more than 8,000 horses. There are still 1,000 people who don't have horses to ride and take turns to run on the ground. Their speed is a drag and they are tired.
I know what they are thinking. They want to force us into the desert. They will block us outside and look for an opportunity to destroy us. This time, I will let them know that our army is a strong army that can fight in all weather and all terrain. Be prepared. Hunt more prey. I have use for it. "
Wang Juan did what she said. She sent people to see if there were any wild beasts around. If they encountered some small village, the poultry and livestock raised by the people were also fine. If they used weapons to exchange with the people, the people would be very willing.
The two groups following behind did think so. They didn't dare to send cavalry to chase and kill. It was easy to be schemed against. But it was easier to drive the Tang army into the desert. They would see what they could do when the time came.
Ke Mu Kehu had no right to make a decision. In fact, according to his idea, they should fight now. Even if the Tang army died, it was still a little bit. How could 40,000 people lose to less than 10,000 Tang soldiers? But the army belonged to others. He couldn't command it. He was only allowed to go with the troops because they pitied him.
Ke Mu Kehu gathered his remaining soldiers. In total, there were less than a thousand people. He barely managed to form a battalion. Half of them were injured. They were given to him by the two groups. It turned out that Tatatatu's soldiers were taken in. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to form a battalion.
After following behind for two days, Ke Mu Kehu had enough rest. As long as he didn't think about the deaths of so many of his men, he would be like a normal person.
He always wanted to take revenge for the deaths of so many of his men. Seeing that the Tang army in front was not moving fast, he felt that this was an opportunity. Hence, he found the leader of the other group, Lufu Tuta. He discussed with Lufu Tuta about borrowing some soldiers. He didn't need a lot. He just needed 3,000 cavalry. He brought his men and ran to the front to attack.
If he did this, at least the Tang army's deployment would be disrupted. Otherwise, why would the Tang army be walking slowly in front of them? Could it be that he and his men were so scared that they didn't have the courage to go up against the 9,000 soldiers?
After Lufu Tuta heard Ke Mu Kehu's idea, he decisively rejected it. He meant that Ke Mu Kehu, how dare you say such a thing? Don't you know how your own soldiers are being taken care of?
Ke Mu Kehu returned to his tent gloomily. Looking at the 700 soldiers in the battalion, he shook his head. He could only give up on this idea.
He felt like he had lost an opportunity, but Lufututa was tempted. The reason he rejected Ke Mu Ke Hu was because he didn't want Ke Mu Ke Hu to succeed. If that happened, Ke Mu Ke Hu would be able to make up for his loss. That wouldn't do.
The reason why he let Ke Mu Kehu follow was because he had fought with the Tang army before. Even if he lost, he would still understand the Tang army in some aspects.
Thinking about Ke Mu Kehu's plan, Lufu Tuta decided to follow it.
*****
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao were still busy with their preparations when Shui Yun flew to Pengzhou. It would probably take another two hours before it returned with news.
Very quickly, night fell. Zhang Xiaobao baked spring pancakes for Wang Juan, braised some wild vegetables with salt, stir-fried some shredded meat with rabbit meat and made a bowl of soup with some bird's egg that he picked up.
Although the ingredients were few and simple, the taste was not bad. Wang Juan rolled up a pancake and said to Zhang Xiaobao, "When we go back, why don't we open a small shop and find two people to be workers? I'll be in charge of the accounts and you'll cook."
"We have a big shop, why don't you say that I'll be in charge of the accounts? I'm familiar with this. If I don't do it well and just lose money, won't I die of exhaustion if the food is delicious? Shui Yun is back, let's see what it says. "
Zhang Xiaobao watched Wang Juan eat. He was happy that Wang Juan was enjoying it. Of course, he felt that it would be better if Wang Juan could watch him eat.
At this time, Shui Yun flapped its wings and landed. It rubbed its head affectionately with Zhang Ying and cried twice. No one knew what it was trying to say. They just watched Zhang Ying stroke Shui Yun's head and feed it something. Then, he took off the thing tied to his leg.
"Little Young Master, Little Miss, this is a letter from Master." Zhang Ying could read quite a few words and knew who it was just by looking at the cover. He said as he passed it over.
"My father? What happened to my father? Did something happen in Wing Prefecture? "Zhang Xiaobao took the letter and was puzzled.
"Maybe he wants us to go back early. Xiao Bei and the others probably miss us. Let's take a look." Wang Juan stuffed the last bit of the cake into her mouth and said vaguely.
Zhang Xiaobao was also a little homesick. He didn't ask for much, as long as he could see his family every day. That kind of happiness was something that ordinary people couldn't understand. He opened the letter, scanned it from beginning to end, and threw it to Wang Juan. He tapped his face with his hand and thought about something.
Wang Juan hadn't read the letter yet. When she saw Zhang Xiaobao's actions, she knew that something had happened. Someone had been marked by Xiao Bao, and it was a very serious kind. The consequences wouldn't be good.
She took the letter and read it. The first part was written by parents to their children. They said that it was cold, so they should be careful outside, eat more meat, and go back early. If they couldn't win, they should run. Don't foolishly fight with others. Everything at home was fine.
The second part was written about recent events. It said that the people of Wing Prefecture were very cooperative. Merchants from other places also came to invest a lot. It was estimated that after the New Year, they would be able to build a foundation here. Even if they weren't here in the future, the people of Wing Prefecture could continue to live a good life.
They harvested quite a lot of fruits and used them to make fruit wine. They also harvested grain. Recently, the price of grain was much higher than before. In the past, a bushel of millet cost 16 copper coins. Now, it had risen to 24 copper coins. Perhaps, the price would fall after the autumn harvest. Their family did not lack money, so they accepted the expensive grain. It was important to plan early to make wine.
The growth of hemp this year was good. Originally, they thought that the price would be cheaper, but it also rose by half. Many merchants here heard about the matter of set breeding and began to buy livestock and poultry. Fortunately, their family had bought a lot of mules in advance. Should they buy more? Or let the people of Wing Prefecture raise chickens in the mountains, just like in Sanshui County?
This was what was written in the letter. It didn't mention who was scheming, who didn't cooperate, or what kind of decree the imperial court had sent. It seemed very normal.
Wang Juan was puzzled. What was in the letter that made Zhang Xiaobao do such a scheming action?
After waiting for a while, Wang Juan saw that Zhang Xiaobao was still meditating. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Bao, are you in trouble? You've never thought about things for such a long time before. "
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head, took the letter, and read it from beginning to end. He threw it aside and said, "Troublesome, it's really troublesome. If I were at home, it would be easier. I ran so far away and can't do it at any time. Say, in an economic war, how slow is slow, and how fast is fast?
When it's slow, it can be done for a year and slowly plan. When it's fast, it's a race against time. If it's slow, it can't be done. If it's a step late, it can't be done. Isn't this troublesome? "
"Ah? I asked you to read the letter. Did the letter say that it's an economic war? " Wang Juan took the letter and read it carefully. There was nothing wrong with it. It was normal for the price of grain to rise. Now that the autumn harvest was coming, it was the time for the last round of price increases. Then, the price would drop, drop a lot.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded and said, "Yes, an economic war, and it's coming fiercely. If I'm not wrong, it must be someone from Tubo behind the scenes. He's a master. Why haven't I heard of such a talent in Tubo? If I were in Wing Prefecture now, I wouldn't be afraid. Can he overturn the heavens? "
"Why can't I see it?" Wang Juan didn't doubt Zhang Xiaobao's judgment. When a person like Xiao Bao operated, it was like fighting a war. It was hard to predict, but it was hard to figure out what was wrong with the ordinary information in the letter.
After asking, she saw Zhang Xiaobao's eyes looking at the night sky in a daze. Wang Juan thought about it again, but she still couldn't figure it out. She nudged Zhang Xiaobao and asked, "Don't tell me that's your perception?"
"Perception? Oh, perception is sometimes right, and sometimes wrong. I believe in perception, but I believe in data analysis more. Let me tell you. Look, the price of grain has risen. It's normal. It's the last price increase before the autumn harvest, and then it should fall. Fortunately, we can make a profit in the process and buy the farmers' grain at a low price.
The price of hemp has risen. It's normal. Hemp is also a crop, and it's spread. Ordinary people don't see any problems. After all, my father's reputation is there. Looking at it separately, everything is under control, but it's not normal when they are put together.
In the simplest way, the oil companies in our country are carrying out a unified rectification in order to obtain greater profits in the future, so as to improve the oil refining technology and standardize it. What do you think the consequences will be? "
Zhang Xiaobao asked Wang Juan after analyzing a little.
"Consequences? Of course, the price of refined oil will rise. But this behavior is wrong. The rectification can't be unified. It needs to be done in batches. Otherwise, it will have a bad impact on society. Isn't it obvious that they are shouting at the state? "Wang Juan followed Zhang Xiaobao's train of thought.
"That's right. The reason why the oil companies are doing this must be because of the political faction behind them, especially when they're about to change industries. This is because it doesn't just affect refined oil, but also the overall economic environment of a society. The stability of prices is supported by productivity and the transportation industry.
The unified rectification of the oil companies is using their own losses to threaten a certain faction. What if they restrict electricity? The transportation costs increase, and the energy consumption increase. Just these two factors at the same time can cause the price of social goods to rise by more than 40%. "
Zhang Xiaobao analyzed the things that might happen to him and Wang Juan at that time, and then said, "What I want to say now is what my father wrote in the letter. Our plan to rearing livestock includes livestock, but only pigs. The rearing of sheep and cows is still under experiment.
My father said in the letter that the price of livestock and poultry will rise, and so will the price of grain and hemp. The problem lies in my father's words. Fortunately, my family bought a lot of mules in advance. Tell me, how do we rearing mules? Mules can indeed give birth occasionally, but normal people can't use mules for rearing mules, right? "
Wang Juan nodded. Indeed, who would raise mules for? Could it be that they were not preparing to give birth?
"If it's according to what you said, it's really the Tibetans behind the scenes. They want to attack our transportation industry, and through this, make the price of goods in Jiannan City rise, and make the people unable to make a living?" Wang Juan shivered. She knew the power of economic warfare. For example, Zimbabwe in the past, and the Soviet Union before that.
"No, if that's the case, I really don't care. What's there to attack in the transportation industry? We don't have trains, cars, or planes here. We don't need animals to pull the goods. Don't we still have boats to transport them by water? "
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head.
When Wang Juan heard Zhang Xiaobao's words, she suddenly realized that it was impossible to do things that were not in her field. When it came to war, Xiao Bao could only think of ways to replenish his supplies. He was unable to give timely and reasonable commands, and he could not come up with too many tactical arrangements. But when it came to economics, it was definitely Xiao Bao's world. When a letter was sent over, he could see the traces of war in it with just a glance.
"Then tell me quickly, what are they trying to do? Do you care about it now? " Wang Juan humbly leaned beside Zhang Xiaobao and asked with a smile. She understood that whoever was in the field would speak, but she did not believe that Xiao Bao was really afraid.
As expected, Zhang Xiaobao laughed contemptuously and said, "Him? I'm just too far away, and it's not convenient for me to give commands. He dares to use such petty tricks on me? When I tried to play tricks, he … he would have already died. Don't laugh.
Cuckoo, shouldn't we be more proactive? The best would be to launch a sneak attack on the logistics of the Tibetan army. The Tibetans have no money, they can't afford to fight. If my guess is correct, the imperial court must have made a new move, and it's bigger than what we thought. At the very least, the move in Pengzhou is obvious.
War is a battle of money, the Tibetans don't want to lose. Some of them have already noticed that something is wrong, so they want to make money. The purpose of the acquisition is not to restrict us, but to develop them. That's why I said that the person behind the scenes is not bad, he can be considered a little talent. What a pity, sigh ~! "
"I know what you want to say. You want to say that it's a pity that we met you, so stop bragging. Come, I'll give you a flatbread, I'll eat less. The taste of your flatbread is not bad, it's just that it's not chewy."
Wang Juan leaned on Zhang Xiaobao and rolled a flatbread for him, then gave it to him and said.
"It's broken, how do you want me to make it chewy? It's fine if you give me some big rice noodles, or I'll make you steamed noodles tomorrow. After fermenting, it's better than the steamed noodles now. En, let's do it like that, I'll make soup dumplings for you. "
Zhang Xiaobao took a bite of the flatbread. It was indeed like what Wang Juan said, the taste was not good.
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