Ang Lee nodded his head in satisfaction when he saw so many bandit corpses placed neatly together. Although these corpses gave off a strong smell of blood, it did not cover up the smell of wine and food in the air. The smell of wine and food mixed with the smell of blood made the place smelly.
"The smell here is too strong. Let's go downwind."
Ang Lee did not want to stand beside the bandit corpses and smell the unpleasant smell.
"Assistant Minister Li, we are really lucky this time. Most of these bandits are drunk. Even the bandit on sentry duty drank a lot. This luck is enough to make people jealous!"
Chen Long said impatiently as he walked upwind.
It was clear that this fellow's excitement had yet to pass, and he was still very excited in his heart at this moment.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "That's right. Our luck is really too good. However, why are these bandits so drunk for no reason? Could it be that something good happened?"
"Aiya! I killed all the bandits on a whim. So, I don't know why they are celebrating here. "
Chen Long said with a smile.
"Assistant Minister Li, we killed five hundred and sixty bandits in this battle. We seized more than ten carts of treasure and six hundred grains of food."
A soldier ran over to report.
Ang Lee and Chen Long were delighted to hear this. To be able to reap such a huge harvest naturally made them very happy. This was not a small harvest.
"Assistant Minister Li, the bandits actually have so much food. It looks like they just robbed recently. If that's the case, we can guess why the bandits are celebrating so excitedly."
Chen Long guessed.
Ang Lee nodded in agreement and said, "Your analysis is right. It is indeed possible. However, you should have at least left one alive! You didn't leave a single one alive. How ruthless! "
Obviously, if they had left one alive, they could have interrogated him directly. But now that there were no survivors, they naturally could not figure out anything.
"Assistant Minister Li, capture one alive."
At this time, someone actually managed to capture someone alive. This made Ang Lee very happy, but Chen Long was very surprised. They had clearly killed all the bandits, so how could there still be a bandit alive?
"Where did you find it?"
Chen Long asked.
"He was found in the latrine. Our soldiers went to relieve themselves and found some movement in the latrine next door. They went in to investigate and found this fish that escaped the net."
The soldier replied.
This bandit had obviously drunk a lot of wine, but in such an environment, he was naturally sober. He was so scared that his legs kept shaking.
"Speak! What are you celebrating? "
Ang Lee asked.
The bandit trembled as he said, "We robbed a rich family a few days ago and got a lot of treasures and food. The leader is very happy …"
This little bandit was pretty good, telling him everything he knew. However, Ang Lee did not intend to forgive this little bandit. After using me as a bandit, he executed this little bandit.
"Assistant Minister Li, these bandits have a lot of pine oil. Why don't we burn all the corpses?"
Chen Long suggested.
Ang Lee nodded in agreement, "No problem, then let's burn all the corpses! Also, burn all the bandits. Of course, the food and treasures have to be transported back to the city. Take out a portion of the treasures and distribute them to the soldiers. Keep the rest first, it will be used as a reward for the soldiers in the future. "
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li."
Chen Long replied happily. This time, they had made a great contribution and seized a lot of treasures. However, Ang Lee did not treat them unfairly. Every soldier received great benefits and no one returned empty-handed.
Soon, after the food and treasures were transported out, the soldiers lit a big fire and burned all the bandits' corpses and the entire Nine Dragon City to ashes.
Looking at the big fire behind him, Ang Lee smiled with satisfaction. From now on, Nine Dragon City would be history forever. There would be no more bandits here.
After the bandits were eliminated, Ang Lee led his men back to Guichang City. He had the soldiers take off their armor and prepare to do farm work. Ang Lee gave the soldiers two choices. They could either cut grass in the mountains and come back to feed the rabbits, or they could reorganize the terraced fields and plant some crops.
These arrogant soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army were not willing to do either. However, since Ang Lee doubled their salary, they could not say anything. In comparison, they were more willing to farm. After all, cutting grass to feed the rabbits was more embarrassing. The smell of rabbit feces was not good. They would rather dig mud in places with good air than smell the stench of rabbit feces.
Li An knew that these fellows would definitely not choose to feed the rabbits, so he had already prepared farm tools and flatbed carts for them. Everyone had a share of them.
"Assistant Minister Li, how long will it take for us to do farm work? We can't keep doing this forever, right? "
Chen Long carried a hoe and said helplessly.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Of course not. There is a serious shortage of food here. When there is no shortage of food, you won't need to help. Just work for a few months first!"
"Yes."
Chen Long seemed a little reluctant, but Ang Lee had already given the order. He could only choose to follow Ang Lee's orders.
Soon, a team of three hundred people joined the transformation of the terraced fields. They were responsible for an area alone. After the transformation was completed, they had to plant vegetables and grains in all the terraced fields in the transformed area. It would take a few months to complete all this work. After a few months, the shortage of food here would be almost solved. In this way, the three hundred soldiers could be liberated. They could only be farmers for the next few months.
Perhaps some soldiers were right. 300 people joining the ranks of farmers would not have much effect on improving the shortage of food here. However, the actual help that they could provide was not very important. The most important thing was their attitude. Ang Lee and his team represented the imperial court of the Tang dynasty. If these people could join the ranks of the workers, they would naturally play a very good role in setting an example. It was also very conducive to winning the hearts of the people here. They would have a good impression of the Tang dynasty and completely lose their resistance. They would willingly submit to the big family of the Tang dynasty and become a part of the Tang dynasty.
Annexing a region by force was called annexation. If the other party was willing to do so, it could not be called annexation. It should be called submission. The meaning of this was completely different. When the East Maiden Kingdom became the East Maiden State, it was submission, not annexation.
Ang Lee's move was really effective. Although the soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army had some complaints, all the people and nobles in Dongnu Province were in awe when they saw how hard the Dragon Martial Army worked. They believed that it was right to follow the Tang dynasty. Many people actively joined the ranks of production to save themselves. More and more people began to transform the fields and replant grains and vegetables. Even many bandits took the initiative to go down the mountain and surrender. Of course, those bandits who had done all kinds of evil were not among the people who surrendered. Most of these people were eliminated. There were some who hid in the mountains and were really difficult to find, so they could only be temporarily abandoned. Anyway, a very small number of bandits could not do anything at all. They would not restrict or damage the agricultural production too much.
"What do you think? Farming is quite interesting, right?"
A month later, Ang Lee asked with a smile when he saw the Dragon Martial Army in charge of growing green vegetables and crops in advance.
Chen Long nodded with a wry smile. "Yes, Assistant Minister Li is right. Although the soldiers are working hard, we don't feel tired when we see these green vegetables. Our mood is much better. These vegetables have grown up and should be ready to be harvested."
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Of course. Since the vegetables have grown up, they naturally have to be harvested. In the future, the soldiers' problem of eating vegetables will be completely solved. They can eat as much as they want. However, after harvesting, the empty land must be immediately replanted with vegetables. Don't waste any land."
"Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. We are very skilled now. We know how to grow vegetables, hehe!"
One of the Dragon Martial Army soldiers who had opposed farming said with a smile.
There were more than ten types of vegetables. Actually, with the climate here, it was entirely possible to plant more varieties of vegetables. However, the more varieties one planted, the more energy one would expend. The fewer varieties one planted, the less energy one would expend. In addition, some varieties were easier to plant and grew faster. There were also some varieties that not only grew slower, but would also wither after being submerged in water. These kinds of varieties that were not easy to raise were naturally not planted. Priority was given to planting varieties that were easy to raise and grew faster. A single variety was also not suitable. After all, eating the same type of vegetable every day, even the most hardworking person would get sick of it. Planting a few varieties would also allow for an appropriate change of taste. It was very suitable.
It was very suitable. Because the rainstorm season was not over yet, the sky was still raining frequently. Therefore, the vegetables planted were mainly those that were resistant to flooding. For example, some vegetables that were soaked in water all year round were more suitable. Vegetables that were more prone to drought could not be planted.
When they returned to Guichang City with a cart of vegetables, a large batch of food from Central Sichuan had also arrived. These were all purchased by Ang Lee privately in order to further reduce the pressure of the shortage of food here. In addition, there was news from the front that Yang Xuan's troops were about to arrive. They would arrive in Guichang City in about a month. This guy was still a little too slow, much slower than Ang Lee had expected. After all, the road was too difficult to travel. Yang Xuan's troops were ten times more than Ang Lee's. The more people there were, the slower they would be. This was not strange.
"In a month's time, Dongnu Province will officially be renamed Dongnu Province. His Majesty's decree will be sent soon. We won't be able to stay here for long. We will have to leave in two months at most."
Ang Lee looked at Chen Long and said.
"Just one or two months! We have to leave so suddenly. I'm quite reluctant. "
Chen Long suddenly said.
Ang Lee smiled. "What's there to be reluctant about? If we leave, we won't have to farm anymore. Don't you hate farm work the most?"
"Hehe, at first, I didn't like farm work. However, now that I'm used to it, I don't hate it as much. The main thing is that the young ladies here are too interesting. I'm a little reluctant to leave."
Chen Long did not hide it.
Ang Lee naturally understood what was going on. He said with a smile, "There are young ladies everywhere. Is there a lack of young ladies in the capital?"
Chen Long smiled and said, "This is different. The young ladies here are hotter and bolder. They are completely different from the young ladies in the capital."
"Of course, I know that. However, I don't plan to return to the capital next. I'm going to the Pyu Autonomous Region and explore the terrain there. I'll see if I can build a railway to the Pyu Autonomous Region and then go straight to the Indian Sea."
Ang Lee said.
"Oh, you're going to the Pyu Autonomous Region next. This is really interesting. The women of the Pyu Autonomous Region have hotter temperaments. I must go and take a look."
The corners of Chen Long's mouth curled into a faint smile as he spoke excitedly.
Ang Lee smiled and did not say anything more. He knew that this guy was interested in women. After all, this guy was younger than him. Naturally, he had a special need for young and beautiful women. He also had a special feeling for women who were fresh. The hotness of the women of the Pyu Autonomous Region was stronger than that of the women of Dongnu Province.
However, if he wanted to go to the Pyu Autonomous Region, he had to pass through Nanzhao in the south. Although Nanzhao was also a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, the king of this vassal state was not very obedient. At least, the chaos that occurred in Dongnu Province previously had the shadow of Nanzhao. Wasn't the Duan Jianwei an important minister of Nanzhao? Although these people were dead and there was no direct evidence, Ang Lee's guess could not be wrong. Nanzhao did have the intention to rebel, or it could be said that they were temporarily intimidated by the strength of the Tang Dynasty. However, they were not very convinced in their hearts. Entering such a place naturally had a little risk, which made Ang Lee feel uncomfortable.
It seemed to be a better idea to directly annex Nanzhao. However, the other party did not cause any trouble. If he directly annexed Nanzhao, it seemed to be a bit too ostentatious. This would make the surrounding vassal states nervous. He had to think about it at length.
However, this matter was not urgent. There were still a few months left. It would not be too late to think about this problem when he set off.
This trip to the south was not a temporary idea. It was to build a railway to the Indian Sea, and the railway had to pass through the Pyu Autonomous Region. No matter which route he chose, he could not avoid the Pyu Autonomous Region. Similarly, he could not avoid Nanzhao Autonomous Region. If these two regions could be completely subdued, the southwest territory of the Tang Dynasty could directly reach the Indian Sea. In the future, the Tang Dynasty would have a real West Sea. This was obviously very beneficial to increasing the influence of the Tang Empire.
As long as the western territory of the Tang Dynasty reached the Indian Sea, the Maritime Silk Road would have a bigger fulcrum. This road would also be more stable, thus obtaining a steady stream of various resources for the Tang Empire.
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