Chapter 1100 Choice

Chapter 1100 Choice

Chapter 1100 Choice
As the bone whistle sounded, the spear thrust forward.

The horn was blown and the bow was drawn to shoot.

As the war drums sounded, the entire army charged forward.

On the muddy ground that seemed to never dry up, thousands of soldiers from the Silver Spear Left Camp were conducting routine training.

They will leave by the end of September at the latest. It has been a full year since they left for the expedition, and it has been very hard.

But that's what recruiting is.

Recruited soldiers receive food and wages every month, rewards during festivals, and generous rewards in regular military competitions. The goal is to fight around the clock.

Both hereditary soldiers and government soldiers were restricted by agricultural production and could not go on expeditions for long periods of time, requiring a considerable period of rest and recuperation. However, the requirements for recruiting soldiers were that they could pursue the enemy in strong winds and snowstorms, fight in thunderstorms, not be burdened by the weather or farming, and be able to endure leaving their families for long expeditions for a year or two before returning home.

As a meritorious unit, the Silver Spear Left Camp was naturally able to do this. Perhaps, the only thing that could defeat them was the difficult climate to adapt to - the number of people in training was not full, and the sick soldiers were scattered in the homes of the people in Jinan City, and the people were responsible for taking care of them. The advantage was that they could get some food as subsidies.

In order to curb the epidemic in the army, Jiang Ke, the commander-in-chief of the Silver Spear Left Camp (and temporarily serving as the prefect of Nanjun), formulated strict military regulations. The core of the regulations was that no one was allowed to drink raw water, touch water bodies with snails at will, any illness must be reported immediately and must be reported immediately, and people should try not to go to undeveloped wilderness areas.

In a nutshell, stay in the city, don't run around, and just complete your mission of suppressing the local situation.

The location where the Silver Spear Left Camp is training today is to the west of Jiangling City.

A market has already opened near the lake.

Zhao had already sold the goods. At this moment, a large number of empty ships sailed to the west of Jiangling City via Xia Shui. Huan Wen and the princess's steward Liu Miao took a walk around the market town, preparing to buy some goods to bring back to the north for sale. Merchants who only made one trip were not qualified. The most important thing now was to spend the money earned from the sale of goods quickly and exchange them for goods from the south. This was the true meaning of the business of commerce.

However, they soon discovered that the merchants were so frightened by the training of the Silver Spear Left Camp that they were somewhat absent-minded, and even their shouting became a little quieter.

Huan Wen and Liu Miao smiled at each other.

To their surprise, there were quite a few Western Hu merchants in Jiangling West Market, but they didn't know where they came from.

As soon as Huan Wen approached a wooden house, he smelled a scent of frankincense.

This substance can be used as medicine or as a spice. Huan Wen knew that Princess Jingfu had this substance in her incense burner at home, and it was very refreshing when the incense was burning.

However, he did not stop here. He just took note of it and continued moving forward.

A bamboo shed was built next to the spice shop. In the shed lived a merchant from Xiangzhou, with wooden boxes placed on the table. When he saw Huan Wen and Liu Miao coming, he immediately stood up to greet them and opened a box.

The box contained rhino horns and Hepu pearls wrapped in moist cloth, both of which are best-selling products in the north.

Huan Wen looked at it for a while and said nothing, but Liu Miao's eyes lit up and he started bargaining for the price.

Huan Wen turned and looked at the other shops nearby.

A merchant from Shu had someone unfold a beautiful piece of brocade, which attracted many people to stop and look.

Merchants from Jingzhou brought in Kuaiji celadon, which they spread out on reed mats and arranged into exquisite patterns. There were even people nearby who tapped the porcelain with wooden hammers, and the clear sound could be heard from far away.

There were also merchants from the north who brought horses with red silk tied to their tails. The horses looked extremely majestic and were the favorite commodity of merchants from Wu. Horses, as a regulated strategic material, were basically sold out as soon as they appeared in the market.

There is a wide variety of goods.

Before the war, Jiangling was an important commercial center, and now it is just slowly recovering its original nature.

Huan Wen couldn't help but walk out of the shop and stroll along the street.

The shops selling Jingxiang hemp cloth and Shuzhong yellow run fine cloth were crowded with merchants from the north.

Guangzhou honey-scented paper made from the bark of the honey-scented tree is popular all over the country because it can be used as book covers to prevent insects from getting infested.

It has a fragrance when used to make book pages, and the paper is very tough and does not rot when exposed to water. It has always been a precious gift from the emperor to his subjects. For example, Emperor Wu of Jin once gave Du Yu ten thousand pieces of honey-scented paper - in short, this is a high-grade paper with a faint fragrance, which is rarely seen in the north.

In addition, there are Jiangling local products such as Jiangling brocade, Jing satin, lacquerware, deer hair brushes, bronze mirrors, as well as foreign products such as Yiling cinnabar, Dangyang realgar, and Wudang Poria cocos.

There are even many agricultural products, such as Yunmeng celery, Dongting oranges, well salt, Wuchang fish (salted), Yunmeng turtle (turtle shell is used as medicine), etc.

The most outrageous thing is that a large number of Jingzhou rice appeared on the market. This rice has long and thin grains and is very famous for being soft and non-sticky when cooked.

Huan Wen was a little confused. Can grain be bought and sold in large quantities?
Daliang was developing the Yunmengze area because it was actually very short of food. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried every possible means to introduce merchant settlements and grant land. And now you come to sell food? And you sell it so cheaply?

Well, remembering that the northern merchants were also selling horses, everything seemed to make sense, and no one should feel that they were taking advantage.

"Yuanzi." A voice called out from behind.

Huan Wen turned around and saw that it was Liu Miao.

He was followed by more than ten people carrying bags on their backs, and it was obvious that they had bought the goods.

"Why are you still here? Go buy some oranges." Liu Miao said, "Give them to the Emperor, the Empress, and Concubine Liu when we get back."

"I'm afraid it will have rotted by the time it is sent to Luoyang," Huan Wen said. "There is a way," Liu Miao said, "Just now I saw a merchant selling oranges in the market, and he said that if you can afford it, there is a 'wax seal method'."

After that, he explained that the so-called "wax sealing method" is to wrap a layer of cloth or paper on the outside of the citrus, and then wrap it with melted wax. When it is sent to Luoyang, it will definitely be extremely fresh - the wax shell is waterproof, bump-proof, and anti-microbial, and it also prevents the citrus water from evaporating, which can effectively maintain freshness, but the cost is a bit high.

But Huan Wen was very happy to hear this and said, "Buy it!"

Liu Miao nodded approvingly.

He was a member of the Liu family, so he was naturally tied to Concubine Liu and the princess. The wax seal was presented as a filial gesture by the princess, and the emperor was very pleased, so he let the seal slip a little, and the benefits came out.

So the two of them excitedly went to the places where Jiangling oranges, Badong oranges and Dongting oranges were sold, compared prices and started bargaining.

At this time, on the top of Jiangling City, Shao Shen quietly withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the Navy Commander Yang Bao, saying: "The commercial taxes in Jiangling Market all go to the Commander's Office, and the Junior Governor's Office does not collect them. This tax is no less than 5 million coins a year. Counting the contributions from merchants, the annual income is more than 10 million. This money can support 2,000 soldiers in Nanjun (mostly stationed in Jiangling). During festivals, we can collect some taxes and levies from merchants, and rewards are also available."

Yang Bao opened his mouth, not knowing what Shao Shen wanted to say. If he was so reluctant to give up the benefits, why did he take the initiative to start a war?

The five thousand hereditary soldiers of Jingzhou can support themselves, but the two thousand existing soldiers of Nanjun are supported by the court, and the main source of income is the commercial tax waived by the Shaofu.

Not to mention the navy, which is a money-eating beast. Currently, it relies entirely on funds raised by the counties of Jingzhou for its support.

Once you go to war, the markets in Jiangling and Yangkou will certainly be greatly affected. I'm afraid Le Hongxu will be so worried that his hair will turn white.

"However, if you only think about money, then don't do anything." Shao Shen changed the subject and said, "After nightfall tomorrow, you will lead a part of the navy to transport more than 3,000 people to Badong. Be quiet and don't let anyone notice. After entering the river, if you encounter the Jin navy, don't fight, just retreat."

"Yes, sir." Yang Baoying said.

According to the plan, Jiangling will dispatch one thousand county soldiers, two thousand hereditary soldiers and hundreds of sons of the Right Cavalry Guard, and send them to Badong on naval warships.

This plan was proposed a long time ago, but it has never been implemented. Now it seems that Shao Shen has finally made up his mind. In his opinion, entering Shu is more important than anything else. For this, he can give up everything, including the little tacit understanding between him and Zhuge Hui.

"After you leave, I will petition the court to dispatch a group of troops to the south, and arrive at Nanjun and Jingling in early winter. With these people, Jiangling will have no worries. The shogunate will also send people to Yidu and Jianping counties to recruit them." Shao Shen added: "I have made up my mind, it's settled."

"Yes." Yang Bao saw Shao Shen's determination, so he no longer hesitated and answered loudly.

On the first night of September, when Huan Wen and his companions were returning north with a full load of goods, the naval commander Yang Bao drank a bowl of farewell wine with everyone and then boarded the ship at night.

For a moment, shouts, footsteps, the collision of equipment and even the faint neighing of impatient war horses were heard one after another.

After working for half the night, more than 3,400 people boarded the ship one after another - they were led by Wang Shuang, the son of Wang Que'er, the governor of Jiangling Shogunate.

Then came food, equipment, medicine and other supplies, especially arrows, which were a powerful weapon for defending the city. They brought as much as possible, filling almost every gap in the cabin.

Seeing that it was not long before dawn, the ships anchored in the water city began to leave the port.

First, the two boats sailed out quickly, and after entering the wide lake, they negotiated with the patrolling small wooden boats. After learning that there were no enemies nearby, they began to send signals with fire.

Soon, one ship after another sailed out of the water city.

They kept adjusting their direction on the lake, gradually forming a loose fleet. With Yang Bao's command, the dark shadows of the boats began to move.

The seconded soldiers from the Silver Spear Left Camp maintained order on land and did not allow anyone to enter within a five-mile radius, ensuring the suddenness of the navy's departure from the port.

They succeeded.

Until noon, the navy fleet had long lost track of where they were, and no one had noticed the change in the situation here.

On the fifth day of September, the fleet passed through Shimen Beach and let a group of people go ashore to pull the boats.

Some people in Jiangbei were very surprised when they saw this large fleet.

On the fifth day of September, the fleet passed Yiling.

It was the next day when the prefect of Yidu in Jin received the report. His first reaction was to close the city gates in broad daylight, strictly prohibiting entry and exit, and then conscripted servants of the wealthy families and strong men of the barbarian chieftains to guard the city.

On the tenth day of September, the fleet passed Jianping County.

The army of this county was even weaker than that of Yidu, and they completely watched the Daliang navy sail westward. However, they were still responsible and quietly sent a small boat down the river to Wuchang to report the news.

On the evening of September 12, the Daliang navy docked outside Yufu County.

Wang Shuang led more than 3,400 infantry and cavalry to land overnight. After a secret talk with Badong military supervisor Guanqiu Ao, he divided his troops into two groups, one to guard Baidi City and the other to the county city.

On the 13th, a large amount of supplies were unloaded.

The navy led by Yang Bao left that night to avoid being seen on the river and being left without a burial place.

At this time, the news that Cheng State was about to move eastward was spreading like a dark cloud hanging over the heads of the military and civilians of Badong.

This news was also sent to Luoyang as quickly as possible.

(End of this chapter)