coobybook Chapter 222: Chang Shou Juntun
Chapter 222: Chang Shou Juntun
Xie Ling thought for a moment, "I understand. It's not just a soil fertility issue. Using manure can help improve soil fertility, but it's only a temporary solution."
Because the land lacked nitrogen and potassium, Xie Ling told Shi Hua about this but he didn't understand, so he simply didn't say anything and just said, "I'll give you a solution in a few days. You can first tell the farmers to apply some manure."
Shi Hua nodded and hurried off, eager to spread the news.
As an official in charge of agriculture, he was the one who most hoped that farmers would increase their grain production.
A few days later, the court's verdict came down.
All the members of the Feng and Si families were taken to the Changshou military camp and executed in the autumn.
As for property and wealth, of course they were all confiscated.
However, Gu Wei doesn't want to give all these good things to the public.
By using some tricks, the Feng and Si families' assets were reduced by three quarters, and only one quarter was reported.
Anyway, with a genius like Gao Cunyi in the Ministry of Revenue, making falsified accounts is really easy for him.
As for the three quarters of the property, Xie Ling bought them at a low price and registered them under his own name.
On the second day, Gu Wei was ordered to escort people from the Feng and Si families to Changshou Military Village.
Gu Wei really had no good impression of this Chang Shou military settlement.
Because when they first came to Lingnan, the soldiers who were stationed in the military settlement committed crimes under the name of another military settlement, and he happened to catch them.
The leader of the Changshou military settlement is probably a difficult one.
Gu Wei brought Xie Ling, Wu Daqiang, Gao Cunyi and Xu Xingzhi along.
There are always military garrisons in Lingnan.
It is said to be a military settlement, but in fact it is a city. Its original name was Changshou City, but it was managed as a military settlement.
Thousands of tents were stationed on the flat ground, and from a distance they looked like big bulging mounds. The sun was hot at this time, and the soldiers were eating lunch, squatting beside the tents in groups of three or five.
In the distance, the prisoners were storing canal sand, so tired that they could not straighten their backs. Further away were the low wooden houses where the prisoners lived, which were densely packed.
Inside the commander's tent, Wang Shouyi, the commander of the military garrison, was looking at the documents sent from the court, his sword-like brows furrowed tightly.
He has a face that can be described as elegant and easy-going. His face is slightly long, his nose is high, and his deep double eyelids reveal a bit of ruthlessness, letting people know that he is not a simple character.
"Oh, this Zhou Shijing is really amazing. He has been in Sinan County for half a month and has uprooted the two local snakes of the Feng family and the Si family."
The scholar standing nearby nodded, "He is indeed a character, and we must be careful in dealing with him. Also, the soldiers who were sent out to cause trouble in the Changning military settlement came back a few days ago and said that they met the magistrate of Sinan County..."
Wang Shouyi narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashing in his eyes, "Were you discovered?"
The scholar nodded and sighed, "The county magistrate is very clever. He discovered that those soldiers are from our regular military camp."
Wang Shouyi was so angry that he slammed the document on the desk and cursed fiercely: "Useless!"
The scholar bowed and said respectfully: "General, please don't be angry. I have a plan..."
----
Gu Wei and his men set out in the morning and arrived at Changshou Military Village in the afternoon.
There are three county towns in Lingnan, Sinan, Lingshan and Yong'an.
There were two military settlements, Changshou Military Settlement and Changning Military Settlement.
Three of the county towns are very far away, and only Changshoujuntun is the closest to Sinan County.
But the territory of Changshou Military Tun is much smaller than that of Sinan County. Sinan County is the largest city in Lingnan, with a vast territory, mountains and seas. It is also adjacent to Canglan Prefecture of Nanzhao Kingdom. Its geographical location can be said to be the best.
At this moment, Gu Wei and his men were standing at the entrance of the military settlement, listening to the neat slogans of the soldiers training in the distance, which were overwhelming and louder than the last.
Xie Ling looked into the distance and said, "There are quite a lot of soldiers stationed here."
Xu Xingzhi nodded. "Changshou Military Station and Changning Military Station occupy almost all the troops south of Beijiang River. If there is a conflict with Yunqin or Nanzhao, troops will be transferred from these two military stations."
Xie Ling glanced at Gu Wei and said, "Then doesn't this military commander have certain abilities? Does he know Gu Wei?"
Gu Wei shook his head, "Probably not. I was in Mobei and spent every day training soldiers. I seldom went out to socialize. When I returned to Shangjing, I only showed up at the imperial palace banquet and left. If I really know him..."
Gu Wei lowered his voice when he reached this point.
Everyone understood.
If you really recognize him, you have to take the initiative.
There were nearly a thousand soldiers and prisoners in total. They formed a huge crowd at the entrance of the military settlement, and their presence was quite noticeable. The soldiers who usually guarded the military settlement were looking out curiously.
The soldiers led by Wu Daqiang all stood up straight, neither arrogant nor impatient, looking straight ahead, and they won first in terms of temperament.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Wang Shouyi finally arrived, followed by a tall and thin scholar.
He was wearing light armor, with his arms open, and walked straight towards Wu Daqiang. After hugging Wu Daqiang, he laughed and said, "County Magistrate Zhou, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. There have been too many things to do recently. Not long ago, the court sent another batch of exiled prisoners. Alas, now you've sent another batch. I'm really..."
Wu Daqiang was confused, he pushed Wang Shouyi away, pointed at Gu Wei and said: "General Wang, you must have made a mistake, that is Lord Zhou."
Wang Shouyi was stunned for a moment before he turned his gaze to the noble young man standing beside him.
He laughed dryly, "Ha, ha, ha, I was blind. I didn't expect County Magistrate Zhou to be so young. It's true that heroes emerge from youth!"
Gu Wei chuckled, "No problem."
Then he pointed backwards and said, "Behind me are the prisoners from the Feng and Si families. Please take them away and discipline them properly. We'll leave first."
Wang Shouyi grabbed Gu Wei's sleeve and said, "We are all comrades, why are you leaving right after you arrived? Come in and have a seat. We in Changshou Military Station have nothing but hospitality."
Gu Wei thought that Xie Ling needed raw salt to refine salt, so he thought for a moment and followed Wang Shouyi in.
Xie Ling and the others followed behind.
As for the soldiers brought by Wu Daqiang, Wang Shouyi called a captain to receive them and placed them in the military camp of Changshou Military Village.
Gu Weigang and Wang Shouyi took two steps and then stepped back to Xie Ling's side, with a hint of apology in their eyes. "I still prefer to walk with my wife. General Wang, please forgive me."
Wang Shouyi hid the contempt in his eyes, thinking that a man would value a woman so much, and it seemed that she was just an embroidered pillow. He smiled and said, "The county magistrate and his wife are so loving, and others are envious."
After walking a few steps, a large punishment platform appeared in front of us.
Three soldiers on the stage were lying on a bench and being beaten with boards. Their bodies were covered in blood. Many soldiers were watching below the stage.
Wang Shouyi hurriedly said, "Let's go quickly so as not to scare you."
But he didn't get what he wanted. A tall and strong soldier ran over and said, "General, the three soldiers who escaped to play a while ago have been punished. Should we throw them out or throw them into the prisoner pile?"
Wang Shouyi sighed, "Can't you see I'm entertaining guests? Throw away those tactless people. I'm the commander of the Changshou Army. These soldiers and prisoners must know my orders!"
Xie Ling took a quick look and immediately recognized the three soldiers lying there. They were the same three soldiers they had run into when they first came to Lingnan.
She sneered in her heart, thinking that Wang Shouyi was really an old fox.
Do you think they will believe it if you deal with it in front of them?
Wang Shouyi naturally knew that Gu Wei and the others might not believe it, but he just needed a statement.
After walking a few steps, I heard the prisoners shouting from afar.
Everyone looked into the distance and saw centurions standing by with long whips in their hands, scolding the prisoners who were carrying mud and sand. If they disagreed with something, they would whip them and the prisoners would scream one after another.
Autumn is coming soon, and the prisoners' task now is to move mud and sand to reinforce the city.
Some of these prisoners were exiled, while others were from Lingnan.
If Gu Wei and his men were successfully exiled to Lingnan, they would probably be sent here to work as coolies.
The people from the Feng and Si families had been led by several leaders to where the prisoners were located. They were immediately given tasks to do and were not allowed to rest for a moment, waiting only to be executed in the autumn of next year.
The two families have caused so much trouble over the years, and they probably have a lot of enemies inside. It will definitely not be easy to go in.
Wang Shouyi took Gu Wei and the others to the small pavilion outside his tent, and placed a plate of peanuts and a pot of wine on them. He said with some guilt, "In order to support so many soldiers, we in Changshou Military Village really don't have the money. We are sorry to have to bear with it for a while."
He is really stingy.
There were so many people, but only so little food, not even enough to fill the gaps between our stomachs.
Gu Wei and the others wisely did not eat, mainly because they had no appetite to eat here.
Xie Ling looked at the hygiene of Changshou Military Village and felt sick.
The military settlement was populated only by men, who had no concept of hygiene. Although there were toilets, they still had to urinate on the spot.
The weather was hot, and the whole military settlement was filled with the smell of urine under the sun. Add to that the smell of fermented feces in the toilets and the soldiers' stinky sweat, and it was almost hard to breathe.
Xie Ling held her breath, thinking that she would tidy up the military camp in Sinan County when she returned.
The military camp in Sinan County is slightly better than the Changshou military camp, but not much better. There is still a strange smell if you smell it carefully.
Infrastructure! Infrastructure is a must!
Wang Shouyi had been bragging, and Zhang Rongchang's face was full of pride. He raised a glass of wine and nodded to the north, "You all should know General Gu Wei, right?"
Gu Wei raised an eyebrow, "I know, what's wrong?"
Xie Ling and the others suddenly all looked at him, quietly waiting for his next words.
Seeing so many people looking at him with burning eyes, Wang Shouyi smiled and said shamelessly: "I used to be a soldier in Mobei. When winter comes in Mobei, it is so cold that people's bones ache. The snow falls so heavily that you can't walk on the road. Our training was so tiring at that time. We had to run around the mountains all the time. It's not as easy as the soldiers now. Why are they still complaining about being tired?
You all know the brilliant General Gu Wei, right? To be honest, I used to be his deputy general! In order to protect us, the general dismissed us, his confidants, in advance. I didn’t expect that after a few years, he would... "
When Wang Shouyi said this, he lowered his eyes symbolically, looking very sad.
Gu Wei held his mouth tightly to hold back his laughter and asked, "Oh... I also admire General Gu Wei. Do you still remember what he looks like?"
Wang Shouyi looked Gu Wei up and down and said calmly, "General Gu Wei is a rare talent among men, so he is naturally tall and mighty, unlike a weak and frail young man like you."
Gu Wei nodded: "Indeed, indeed."
The soldiers standing behind Wang Shouyi all looked at him with admiration. They guessed that he often used this to brag about it.
Xu Xingzhi, Xie Ling, and Gao Cunyi were okay. They managed to hold back their laughter and listened calmly to Wang Shouyi bragging about his and Gu Wei's experiences in fighting in many battles, such as how he blocked the sword for Gu Wei on the battlefield, how he fought against thousands of enemies alone, and how Gu Wei and he were sworn brothers.
Wu Daqiang couldn't hold it in any longer, so he ran away and laughed wildly over there.
Gao Cunyi quickly covered up and said, "People have three urgent matters. Deputy General Wu may have something urgent to do."
It seems that no matter how the imperial court tries to discredit and suppress Gu Wei, it cannot change one fact.
Gu Wei has become the biggest definition of a hero in the hearts of Beijiang soldiers.
He is a god-like existence in the hearts of every Beijiang soldier.
After enough pleasantries, Gu Wei got straight to the point and asked, "General Wang, I remember that you were in charge of the salt factories in Sinan and Changshou, right? I want to go and see the salt fields in Sinan."
Wang Shouyi's face suddenly turned cold, and his tone was also very bad. He said with a fake smile: "Why are you looking at the salt field? If you are tired, go back and have a good rest. Come on! Send him out."
Gu Wei narrowed his eyes and found that there was something fishy.
The salt field in Sinan County was managed by Chang Shoujuntun. The previous county magistrate probably did not dare to say anything, so he simply let Wang Shouyi manage it without interfering at all.
The emperor is far away in Lingnan, and Gu Wei doesn't believe that Wang Shouyi will not embezzle money and sell illegal salt.
The amount of salt required by the imperial court every year is 8,000 dan. There are so many prisoners in Wang Shouyi's military settlement, which is equivalent to free salt workers who don't have to pay wages. The amount of salt must be more than 8,000 dan.
Of course, the excess ones were sold privately by him.
Wang Shouyi said this and stopped pretending. He called the soldiers on the upper side to come over and drive the people away.
Gu Wei's purpose was not to see the salt field, but just to test Wang Shouyi's attitude. He stood up and left with everyone.
When they were about to leave the military settlement, Wang Shouyi patted Gu Wei on the shoulder with a cold look in his eyes, "Young man, you have to know that some things can be touched and some things cannot be touched. I am not the same as Feng Si, a local family."
This sentence is a naked threat.
Gu Wei's expression did not change, and he said calmly: "The higher you stand, the farther you fall. General Wang, be careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, he kicked a small stone at Wang Shouyi's feet. Wang Shouyi was not careful for a moment and really fell down. He only managed to avoid falling flat on his face by supporting himself on the ground with his hands.
He raised his head and glared at Gu Wei fiercely.
Gu Wei crossed his arms over his chest, tilted his head, and said condescendingly: "I'll tell you."
Wang Shouyi got up, spat, and was about to speak when a soldier ran over and shouted:
"General, General! A fight has broken out! The soldiers from our military settlement and the soldiers brought by the county magistrate are fighting!"
Wang Shouyi glared at Gu Wei and sneered: "Mr. County Magistrate, the soldiers you lead are really capable. They dare to act wildly in other people's territory. Let's go and take a look!"
Gu Wei and others also hurried towards the military camp.
In the blink of an eye, Wu Daqiang was gone.