Lord of the Desert

Chapter 313
The Yao River hangs on the window.

Large and small river boats enter and leave from the left and right of the wooden window, like a dynamic decorative painting.

No need to get drunk, the atmosphere during the banquet is already very harmonious.

After all, the people sitting here, regardless of their official positions, have fought side by side on the Jinhai City Wall and have a life-long friendship.

Wen Zhongguan mentioned his plane.

Ten days ago, when Hong Fan was still at the Huaiyang border, the equipment supervisor organized a public flight display.

It used a newly modified two-seat aircraft, and was flown by Wen Zhongguan and Zhu Jingfu - the former was at the helm, and the latter was responsible for scattering a lot of gold foil when it passed the Yao River.

A total of [-] taels of pure gold were collected and expanded into a thin sheet with a total area of ​​more than [-] square meters using the sandwich hammering process, which earned it a sensational reputation in Liangzhou.

Within the surveillance system, Wen Zhongguan is already a hot name.

When Jinhai people get together, it's impossible not to talk about snake people.

"Several tribes on the other side of the swamp have made a truce. I'm afraid there won't be peace in the next year."

Liao Zhenghao said, stroking his broken arm.

The atmosphere cooled slightly.

Hong Fan brought up the matter of muskets at the right time.

Liao Zhenghao immediately agreed to go to Kaimingxing with Qian Hong tomorrow to test the gun.

"If the things are not bad, I will help you run them."

He patted his chest and drank a drink.

"To be honest with you, Liao and Commander Lu, the second-in-command of the Liangzhou Camp, both have successful careers and have similar temperaments. Now their words have some weight."

"First buy a few hundred and try them. It won't be a big problem."

Of course, these guns will definitely be equipped to the Jinhai City Defense Department.

So the topic turned to Hu Ang, the current guard of Jinhai.

"Hu Ang is not on good terms with us so far."

Hong Pan didn't shy away from it.

"But over the past year, he has not refused any gift of money. He has received more than a thousand taels from my Hong family alone."

"Humph."

Liao Zhenghao sneered when he heard this.

"The defense of a city requires innate cultivation. It's okay to love money. Just don't be afraid of death."

"You have short hands. If you have something to do with the Hong family, he won't support you. If you think about it, it won't be a hindrance..."

It took a long time to have a lunch.

After several jars of Aged Fire Jade were drunk, the drunken crowd joked and changed the name of Jinhai Sect to Hongfan Sect.

The banquet was over.

After seeing off the guests, Hong Fan used his true energy to relieve his drunkenness.

After leaving the Xingsheng Hall, what comes into view is the prosperous scene on both sides of the Yao River.

The waves on the river sparkled, like newly sprinkled gold foil.

In the Xijing City Chronicles, the page belonging to the 29th year of Zhenghe will definitely leave a mark when hearing about Zhongguan and his flying over the Yao River.

But there is more to the world than Xijing.

Hong Fan remembered Gongsun Shi's chat during the dinner.

Twenty years ago, Huaiyang had a population of 20 million.

Two years ago, when the last household registration was completed, only 400 million people were left.

······
Two days later, June nineteenth.

Hong Fan arrived at Zhangwuyuan early, sat at Gongsun Shi's place for a while, and then went to see Xu Guinian on time.

This time it was in the tea room of the study.

After a brief greeting, Xu Guinian asked Hong Fan to sit down and took the initiative to make tea for him.

Undrinkable as always.

"You are still three months away from turning nineteen, and you are already on the list of geniuses."

Xu Guinian said, his attitude was somewhat serious.

"Looking at the Kyushu Tiqi, it is the only one."

When Hong Fan heard this, he said that he "depended on the admiral's cultivation".

"My turtle son is still in the realm of harmony now, and I have cultivated him like a fool."

Xu Guinian replied abruptly.

Then both of them laughed.

The atmosphere is a little more relaxed.

"I came to see you this time for something important."

Xu Guinian waved his hand, indicating that he would save the empty ones.

"Have you ever thought about becoming a full-time member of the hospital?"

He asked vigorously.

Tiqi is a "disciple of the emperor" and has no rank or salary.

The so-called official positions are those who joined the Eight Ministries as officials like Gongsun Shi and Wu Hongling.Hong Fan didn't reply immediately, looking like he was deep in thought.

"I heard that Zhuang Liren planned to give you a master craftsman position a year ago? I can now directly give you the position of a seventh-grade master craftsman."

As expected, Xu Guinian skipped the temptation and directly "quoted".

"Liangzhou Zhang Xue Si Cha, you can choose any of the four lines, there is no need to worry about the future."

"With your ability, you will at least be in the position of Qianshi in the future. If your combat power can keep up, it is very possible for you to become the admiral of a state's martial arts."

"Because of this treatment, I have informed the mountain chief and obtained a special permission."

"Forehead……"

Hong Fan looked confused.

"Are you worried about martial arts?"

Xu Guinian obviously knows where the joints are.

"The martial arts hidden in the courtyard are not limited to categories. After you have been in office for three years, you can be taught the following parts of Yuanci."

"It takes ten years to teach the entire novel."

This condition is already extremely favorable.

Normally, even if Hong Fan had a 100% mission success rate, it would still take seven or eight years to replace half of the top martial arts books.

Among the four departments in the Zhangwu Academy, the "Division" and "Inspection" offices have even greater power.

The former manages violent organizations such as Rangers, Luxes, and Tiqi; the latter manages sects, large and small, and has the authority to review and arbitrate the establishment of sects and the inheritance of sect leaders.

"Hong Fan is extremely grateful to be favored by the admiral."

Hong Fan stood up first and bowed.

"The Admiral may also know that although I resigned as a supervisor, I actually cooperated a lot..."

“Tianhe Xing and Enlightenment Xing, right?”

Xu Guinian nodded and replied, obviously he had done his homework.

"Tian He Xing is fine, but Kai Ming Xing involves arms and must be stopped."

He saw Hong Fan's expression change.

"This is not because the mountain leader and I are being harsh."

Xu Guinian refilled his cup of tea and explained patiently.

"You are too young. It is the time when you are showing off in the forest, so you must abide by the rules."

"The Martial Arts Master and the Weapon Master are the top two among the eight divisions. You have resources and money in your left hand, and martial arts combat power in your right hand."

"If I marry another legitimate daughter of the Shen family, I don't know why she will become the king of Liangzhou in 20 years."

He laughed loudly, but his expression was serious.

"The Liu family has just come to an end."

The hall became quiet.

Hong Fan weighed it again and again, and finally rejected this promising path.

It's not because of Ti Qi's "freedom", but because he really can't let go of enlightenment and another future besides martial arts.

"Admiral, I have invested a lot in firearms and I really can't let them go..."

Hong Fan stood up and bowed again.

"Hey, I can guess a little bit of what you are thinking, but firearms are just for fun."

Xu Guinian sighed and replied.

"The world is like the flow, and even as great as the Holy Prophet, in the end, only the Xianzun Bridge is left."

"That's all, think about it yourself."

He glanced at the empty cup across the table and stopped adding tea.

Hong Fanben wanted to resign.

But at this time, he remembered the solitary column of smoke that penetrated the setting sun in Huaiyang Kingdom.

He gritted his teeth and sat down again.

"Anything else?"

Xu Guinian asked.

"Admiral, I want to ask about Huaiyang Kingdom."

Hong Fan said in a low voice.

"After this trip, I saw the devastation caused by the disaster, the streams were diverted, and the trees had no good bark. Doesn't the imperial court have an explanation?"

When Xu Guinian heard this, he raised his eyebrows.

"Since you asked, it doesn't hurt for me to tell you."

"What happened in Huaiyang Kingdom seemed like a natural disaster, but it was actually a man-made disaster."

"The King of Huaiyang conscripted and extorted money and was unyielding in his evil deeds. Not many people in the world could stand him."

"With the temper of the mountain chief, if he was not threatened, he would have come to kill him long ago."

"But there is a huge threat in this matter."

(End of this chapter)