The world of mortals is bitter, disputes never stop, flowers bloom and wilt, autumn comes and leaves fall, cold and hot. If one does not admit defeat, how can there be evergreen trees, dancing in the clouds, looking back on the past to remember.
"Kill!"
The moment the order was given, countless arrows flew towards the Tubo Luftuta's tribe. The Tubo people immediately raised their shields and hid behind, hoping that they were not the unlucky ones.
Ever since Luftuta's army was ambushed yesterday, he had already dispelled the idea of sending cavalry to the front to attack the Tang army. Their morale was gone, and no matter how they thought about it, they could not win against the Tang army. The fire and passion in the soldiers had also been extinguished.
They clearly knew that there was a lass in the Tang army that humiliated the entire country, but so what? There was nothing they could do, they could not chase after her, they could not hit her. As long as they tried to trick her, there would be a loophole in their side. The lass would not let go of any opportunity.
They could still hold on if they hid, but once the battle formation changed, they would definitely be used. At most, the troops would advance a little faster, and in the end, the logistics would be ambushed.
The Tubo soldiers felt very sad. It was not that they were afraid of death and did not charge, but as a general, you should at least give them a chance to charge. It felt like they had met a strong opponent when playing polo. The opponent was clearly one man and one horse breaking through, but they could only retreat step by step. Even if the ball was right in front of them, they did not dare to use their poles. If they used their poles, they would be overtaken.
Luftuta saw that the opponent would take away hundreds of people every time they attacked, and he felt more and more frustrated. He could not think of a solution, so he could only look for Ke Mu Ke Hu, who was more accurate with his words.
Ke Mu Ke Hu's heart had long been numb. He watched the Tang army come and go like the wind. Every time the enemy attacked, they would attack from the direction of the wind. Whenever they were happy, they would come back and shoot another round. If there was a weakness before yesterday, it was that the Tang army did not have enough horses. There had to be someone running below.
After Mumu Hushu's cavalry was dealt with yesterday, the Tang army still had some men and horses left. The supplies that they sent over were all taken away by the Tang army. The bows that the Tang army used were from Tubo, the arrows that they used were from Tubo, the rice that they ate was from Tubo, and the horses that they rode were from Tubo. There was no need to continue this war. In the future, as long as the Tang Empire had Cuckoo, Tubo would not dare to invade their borders.
Just as Ke Mu and Ke Hu were sighing in their hearts that they were the ones who made Wang Juan famous, Lufututa came looking for them.
"Ke Mu Ke Hu, I regret not listening to you. The Tang army is indeed good at sneak attacks. If we were to face them head-on, I am confident that I can defeat them. Quick, give me an idea."
Lufututa was still unwilling to admit that he could not win against the enemy's general. He attributed the victory to the enemy's sneak attack tactics and hoped that Ke Mu Ke Hu could give him a good idea.
"Let's retreat and let the stronger people come over. Or we can withdraw our troops and enter the city to defend. Our forty thousand men are not a match for her. If she really leads the Tang army to face us head-on, we won't be able to return even if we want to. According to the new information, Pengzhou is preparing to leave the pass at any time. There won't be any reinforcements from other places.
There won't be many people escorting the provisions. If they can sneak attack once, they can do it again. Unless one group follows behind and the other group supports the supply team. Let's retreat, both groups retreat at the same time. Don't give her a chance. "
Ke Mu Ke Hu analyzed the situation in front of them and gave such an idea.
Of course, Lufututa was unwilling to listen. "We are being attacked by less than ten thousand Tang soldiers and we have to abandon our defenses? If the Tang army sends out a hundred thousand soldiers, won't our Tubo be destroyed? No, definitely not. Wouldn't that be admitting to a little girl that we, Tubo, won't dare to do it again? Ke Mu Ke Hu, are you scared after being beaten? "
"Yes, I'm afraid. I really don't dare to fight against them unless I have a more elite team and use soldiers to make up for the lack of generals. If you still want to fight against them, then stop and wait for the logistics. Let them shoot. When they run out of arrows, then slowly follow behind them. The two units must not be separated."
Ke Mu Ke Hu nodded in agreement. He was very clear that he could not compare to the little girl in terms of scheming. To deal with such an opponent, they could only rely on numbers and steadily advance. They must not have any devious thoughts.
*****
The Tubo people were hesitating. Wang Juan was much more relaxed. Everyone had a horse and they could fight and run as they wished. Although the enemy scolded them and said that they did not have the guts, so what? She was still a child. Adults should not lower themselves to the same level as a child and should protect her.
Zhang Xiaobao was still in charge of cooking. He caught a few wild boars and let him use the salt he stole to marinate them. He was going to make ham and bring it back for his family to try. He wanted to see if the taste of the Tubo wild boar's ham was different.
After seeing Wang Juan happily studying the map, he kept it and said to Wang Juan, "I am going to write a letter back and ask the imperial court to help spread the news that the one commanding the frontlines is not the nine year old Wang Juan but someone else. Wang Juan is just trying to anger the Tubo army. What do you think?"
"Sure, I know. You don't want to push me up now. If that happens, our peaceful life will be gone. At the very least, we can't let the people talk about us all the time. Don't worry, I don't want to be Wu Zetian or Empress Dowager Xiao. My goal is not to be like them, dancing on the tip of the blade and contending with the various powers.
I want to hide behind and make Tang Empire stronger and stronger together with you. Some people like to be heroes and some people are willing to create heroes. I belong to the latter. What about you? When we go back, what do you want to do? "
Wang Juan understood the meaning behind Zhang Xiaobao's words, and she agreed. If one pushed one's position too high, one would sometimes lose sight of one's original ideals. In order to maintain one's position, one would have to pay too great a price. At that time, although many people still knew of one's abilities, the people of the Great Tang would gradually forget about it, and one would be able to return to their original lives.
"Me? I haven't thought about it yet. I want to make a county with you. I will be the county magistrate and you will be the chief registrar. Let's wait for a few years. When Tang Empire's economy is prosperous, we will find a new way. Wars with foreign countries are inevitable. Otherwise, when the material life is good, people's pursuit will increase and the internal pressure will be too great.
Zhang Xiaobao did not have a definite plan. He needed to wait for the imperial court's attitude to make a decision.
Wang Juan nodded. "Then when the time comes, we will find a poor county and slowly govern it. I don't think it will work. Let's talk about the future later. First, help me analyze the current situation. They are like turtles. They are too annoying."
*****
The weather gradually turned cold. The people who worked in the fields began to prepare their tools, waiting for the autumn harvest.
The commoners in Yizhou's stronghold were much more relaxed than the commoners outside. There was only so much land that could be used for farming. They would be content if they collected enough to eat for a year. There was no shortage of salt at home, and there was enough cloth to make clothes. The children had more candy in their hands, and the women had more jewelry.
The men organized to go to the snow mountain with Governor Zhang to build a ski resort. The businessmen who came to participate in the investment also sent money to Yizhou. Each of them was given a membership card. With this card, they could enjoy a 50% discount. Spending was spending, profit was profit. They could not enjoy it for free just because they had invested money.
Originally, not many people really wanted to come to this place for recreation. The sport of skiing had not yet become popular. Who would be willing to come to the mountain to suffer from the cold?
They could not stand the reputation of Bi Gou and Yao Chong. They also wanted to make friends with Zhang Zhong. However, when they saw people demonstrating skis and sledges on the mountain, and the laughter of adults and children, they felt that this place was not bad. Especially when they were tired, they could take a hot bath and have someone massage them. Their whole body would feel comfortable from inside out.
At the same time, there was a place for hunting in the ski resort. There were many kinds of wild animals on the mountain. With the local people protecting them, there was no need to worry about accidentally dying.
Zhang Zhong organized people to build a restaurant at the top of the mountain and at the bottom of the mountain. It was in the form of a self-service restaurant. There were corresponding well-enclosed suites for people to discuss secret matters. He did not even refuse the people from the brothel when they came to cooperate.
The ski resort also adopted a membership system. It seemed that people who came to the resort would not just pay the fee to play. They had to be members first. After paying the annual fee, part of it would be used to manage the resort, and part of it would be deducted when they played. The membership card was also different from other places. It was made of tortoiseshell, and it showed one's identity when one held it in one's hand.
Zhang Zhong also asked people to secretly advertise that "the really rich and the really rich people would not like to look for lively places to eat, drink, and play like bumpkins."
Zhang Zhong himself liked to go to lively places very much. He did not want the so-called identity that was flattered. He was independent of the circle that others had set for him, and he was aloof.
Then Zhang Zhong started to build a winery. It was a very big winery. Before the wine was brewed, the reputation would be built first. A lot of money was spent. He did not need to recruit people who had experience in brewing wine. He first trained them, and during the training process, he would also get a salary.
Naturally, the winery needed to have things to brew wine. Zhang Zhong and Wang raised a lot of money and prepared to buy food. After the autumn harvest, they first talked to the people and ordered the food. The price was much higher than the current price. A bushel of wheat was 30 copper coins, and a bushel of rice was 45 copper coins. The price of other things was also increased.
But at this time, the imperial court suddenly issued an imperial edict, ordering Zhang Zhong to prepare money, to build roads from Yizhou to Yizhou, and to strengthen and widen the roads connecting to Yizhou.
It was not known who leaked this imperial edict, but many people knew about it. Zhang Zhong was dumbfounded. He immediately stopped the winery and began to transfer money from other places to Yizhou. It was estimated that it would take at least four months to escort the grain from the capital to Yizhou.
Zhang Zhong was helpless. He borrowed money from merchants and used his family's assets as collateral. At the same time, he went to talk to the people who had agreed to harvest the autumn harvest. He delayed it until one month after the autumn harvest. He bought the grain at the price of 35 copper coins per bushel of wheat and 50 copper coins per bushel of rice. He also wrote a written agreement. If the people did not accept the grain at that time, he would compensate the people half of the money and use the ski resort's' shares' as collateral.
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