(PS: This chapter is a reward for updating. Thank you to a nameless reader for your support!!!)
Before Lin Jing left, she gave Ouyang Shuo the blueprints of the Bell and Drum Tower, the Confucian Temple, and the Martial Temple, which she had spent three thousand gold coins to buy.
Ouyang Shuo turned around and handed them over to Bai Nanpu. He asked him to transfer them to the Construction Department and urge them to hurry up with the construction. According to the plan, the Confucian Temple and the Martial Temple would be built on the left and right sides of the Yellow Emperor Shrine. As for the Bell and Drum Towers, they would be built in front of the Black Tortoise Gate, at the southernmost end of the commercial street.
Once the Bell and Drum Towers were completed, they would become another landmark of Shanhai County.
On the 26th of August, after two months of construction, the Southwest University China Hall was finally completed. Ouyang Shuo led a group of officials to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Southwest University China Hall in high spirits.
Compared to Ouyang Shuo's initial plan, Xu Shuda suggested that the basic building of the second-class county, the Qiyuan, would also be incorporated into the Southwest University China Hall, becoming the fourth building of the Southwest University China Hall.
At the inauguration ceremony, Ouyang Shuo pointed out that Southwest University's motto was "Be Inclusive, Accept All Rivers into the Sea." In the future, Southwest University would have to be a place where all flowers blossomed, turning it into the holy land of learning in the southwest region.
After the unveiling ceremony, Ouyang Shuo went to visit Jiang Shang accompanied by Xu Shuda.
After Fan Zhongyan and Xu Shuda's coaxing and pestering, Jiang Shang finally agreed to live in seclusion at the Southwest University China Hall. At the same time, he rejected Xu Shuda's proposal to become the honorary dean of the School of Classics.
It was early autumn, and the campus was filled with lush trees and fragrant flowers. In the northwest corner of the Southwest University China Hall, there was a small man-made lake called Full Moon Lake. The lake water was drawn from the inner city river, and there were lotuses growing in the lake. There was a small island in the middle of the lake called Fallen Star Island. Jiang Shang lived on this island.
Fallen Star Island didn't have a water corridor connecting it to the outside world. One could only reach the island by boat. The water rippled on the side of the boat, and lotus flowers bloomed. Through the clear lake, one could even see the fish swimming in the water.
A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, and the droplets of water struck the lotus leaves with a pitter-patter.
Jiang Shang was already an old man in his eighties. In order to take care of his daily life, the Department of Culture and Education had specially arranged for two servants to serve him. The two servants assisted Jiang Shang in cultivating vegetable fields on Meteor Island, planting vegetables and fruits, and raising poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese. The Full Moon Lake was the best habitat for ducks and geese.
After Ouyang Shuo came ashore, he raised his eyes and gazed at the surroundings. The island was extremely simple and elegant, there were no carved railings or painted rafters, nor were there any precious flowers, plants, or trees. A row of low thatched cottages stood in the middle of the island. In front of the cottages, there was a small fenced yard. The open space was filled with vegetable fields, some of which had already sprouted. Beside the small courtyard was a bamboo forest that was verdant and luxuriant. A cool breeze blew past, and the bamboo forest rustled.
On the other side of the courtyard was a well. Beside the well, there was a stone. The stone was no more than half a meter tall and was in the shape of a couch. Its surface was extremely smooth. According to the servant, Ouyang Shuo often leaned on the stone to read.
Under the servant's guidance, Ouyang Shuo held an oil-paper umbrella and passed through the cottage courtyard to the back of the mountain. There was a small path in the forest paved with pebbles, winding into the distance. Following the pebbles, they arrived at the other side of the lake.
On the shore of the lake, Jiang Shang was wearing a straw raincoat and a worn-out straw hat. He was holding a fishing rod and fishing by the lake. The fish house next to him was empty, and he didn't catch anything. Ouyang Shuo wondered if this old man was playing a trick of 'Jiang Taigong's fishing, and those who are willing to take the bait'.
"Great Grandfather, the Marquis is here to visit you," Xu Shuda said.
Jiang Shang didn't move at all. He turned around and made a shushing gesture to Xu Shuda, indicating that he shouldn't scare away the fish that was about to take the bait. Xu Shuda had no choice but to accompany the Marquis and wait patiently.
The servant was smart enough to bring a small stool and invited the Marquis to sit down.
The wait lasted the entire morning. The rain was getting heavier, but Jiang Shang still didn't move. He didn't say a word and held the fishing rod. He didn't change the bait for the entire morning.
Ouyang Shuo was helpless. He knew that Jiang Shang was determined to live in seclusion, so he could only bid farewell and leave. "Great Grandfather, I've taken the liberty to visit you. I'll take my leave now. I'll visit you again next time."
Just as Ouyang Shuo turned to leave, Jiang Shang suddenly said, "Marquis, during the battle of Muye, King Wu was killed by you, right?"
Ouyang Shuo's heart skipped a beat, but he said calmly, "Why do you say that?"
"When I came back, I saw the Marquis's personal guards riding on horses. Strangely, the Marquis's personal guards weren't with him when he was intercepting them. Isn't that strange? The only explanation is that the personal guards were sent by you to intercept King Wu. "Jiang Shang's insight was frightening.
Since he was seen through, Ouyang Shuo was calm. He looked at Jiang Shang in the distance and said calmly, "That's right. King Wu was killed by his personal guards and his head was sent to King Shang of Shang. If you've decided to live in seclusion because of this, I have nothing to say. Farewell! "From this moment on, Ouyang Shuo completely gave up on asking Jiang Shang to become an official. He was a lord and the Marquis of Lian Province. He could only act according to his heart. There was no need to feign civility for an NPC.
"Sigh!" Jiang Shang's sigh came from behind.
On the 28th of August, under the mediation of Tian Wenjing, the mountain barbarians finally agreed to Ouyang Shuo's conditions. They sent a thousand elite soldiers down the mountain to join the army of Shanhai County.
The thousand mountain barbarian soldiers were organized into the First and Second Battalions of the Third Brigade of the First Division. The Battalions were led by the mountain barbarians. As soon as the Third Brigade was formed, it began to attack the bandits in the east under the leadership of Brigade Commander E Lai. They strived to eliminate all of them within a week.
At this time, the operation to eliminate the bandits in the west was coming to an end. Some of the players' territories bordering Shanhai County had also been eliminated. The vanguard of the First Brigade of the First Division was directed at the Heavenly Blade Alliance's Evernight Town.
The lord of the Evernight Town, Black Cloak, turned pale with fright. He hurriedly asked for help from the Heavenly Blade Alliance. He asked his allies to send troops to help defend his territory and resist the attack of Shanhai County together.
After receiving Black Cloak's request for help, Alliance Master Ba Dao and Elder Dawn Wind Waning Moon called for reinforcements. Except for Guangshui Town, which was struggling to protect itself, the other allies sent reinforcements.
Ba Dao and Elder Dawn Wind Waning Moon each brought 500 troops. Gushan Town and Yishui Town each brought 300 soldiers. Together with the troops from the Evernight Town, the total number of troops reached 2,100.
Just as the Heavenly Blade Alliance mobilized everyone and decided to fight to the death with Shanhai County in the Evernight Town, Shi Wansui suddenly received an order to retreat. He had no choice but to lead the First Brigade back to the camp.
Following the expansion of the territory, the Western City Barracks also moved westward. As the bandit camps in the west were wiped out, the Western Barracks moved westward again. They set up camp on a small hill less than 10 kilometers away from the border of the territory.
Ouyang Shuo naturally had his reasons for choosing to retreat.
If he chose this time to fight, the Heavenly Blade Alliance's morale would be high. The two Alliance Masters, Ba Dao and Elder Dawn Wind Waning Moon, wanted to use a victory to unite the alliance. It would not be easy for the First Brigade to take down the Evernight Town, which had already built a city wall. They did not have enough siege weapons. Even if they took down the town, they would suffer heavy casualties, which was not in line with Ouyang Shuo's strategy.
On the contrary, if they chose to surround the town and not attack, the Heavenly Blade Alliance would not dare to take the initiative to leave the town and fight the First Brigade. As time passed, the Heavenly Blade Alliance's reinforcements would not be able to stay here for long. In the long run, the people would be anxious.
The time was not ripe yet. Ouyang Shuo was waiting. He was waiting for the War Preparedness Division to produce enough scaling ladders. He was waiting for the Third Brigade to wipe out the bandits in the east and complete the training for new recruits.
After suppressing the bandits, Ouyang Shuo's main goal was still to attack the bandit strongholds and help the mountain barbarians get rid of their greatest threat. He wanted to guide more mountain barbarian tribes to leave the mountains and settle there.
August 29th, Evernight Town.
"Shanhai County has retreated. What should we do?" The person who spoke was the leader of the Gushan Town.
The leader of the Yishui Town, Ruoshui Three Thousand, had been feeling uneasy. Her territory was not far from the east of Shanhai County. She was worried about being attacked by Shanhai County. She said resolutely, "Since the enemy has retreated, we should go back."
"No!" The leader in the black cloak turned pale with fright. "If you leave, what if Shanhai County attacks again? I'm sure this is Not Wu Yi's plot. "
"Even so, we can't keep wasting time like this. Why don't we just leave the town and fight the enemy?" The leader of the Gushan Town was the most impatient. He felt that staying in the town was too useless.
Ba Dao frowned and looked at Elder Dawn Wind and Waning Moon. He asked, "What do you think?"
"With our current strength, giving up the advantage of the city wall and fighting outside the town is courting death. It's not like you didn't see that Shanhai County's famous heavy infantry is in the opposite army, "Elder Dawn Wind and Waning Moon said helplessly.
Ba Dao nodded and said solemnly, "You're right. However, there is a reason for them to go up on stage and worship the general. If they sit back and wait for death, they will eventually be defeated by Shanhai County. "
"If that's the case, we can only ask for outside help." Elder Dawn Wind Waning Moon's face darkened, "The Yan Huang Alliance has always been at odds with the Shan Hai Alliance. If we can get Di Chen and the others to help, the Shan Hai County will be nothing to worry about."
Ba Dao was startled and spat out, "You can't. You're inviting a wolf into the house. Di Chen and the others aren't philanthropists. It's easy to invite them in, but it's hard to send them away. Aren't you afraid that they'll take over? "
"I also don't think it's appropriate." Three Thousand Ruoshui and Ascending the Stage Worshipping General echoed.
No one noticed that the black-cloaked man had an indescribable expression on his face, and a malicious glint flashed in his eyes. He was a cruel and merciless person. Now that his territory was in danger, even if he was inviting a wolf into his house, he would not hesitate. Black Cloak had already decided that if the Alliance did not agree, he would contact Di Chen alone.
Dawn Wind Waning Moon's expression was one of defeat. "This won't do, that won't do. Ba Dao, tell me, what should we do? In any case, I don't know what to do. "
For a moment, the atmosphere was somewhat depressing. (To be continued.)
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