Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 365 Old friends are like plum blossoms
Ungjin Castle.

Chen Qingsi completely ignored the movements of the Baekje rebels and concentrated on spring plowing.

There is not much arable land in Baekje, so spring plowing is a top priority for them.

Let alone a year of famine, even if the weather is good and the spring plowing is not arranged well, famine will still occur.

The first thing Chen Qingsi has to do is to make sure the people of Baekje can fill their bellies. If they can't even get enough food and clothing, how can they get them to return home?
For this reason, Chen Qingsi specially reunited the wealthy gentry in Xiongjin City.

There were originally nine great gentry, but now there are only seven. Two of them were eliminated directly, one was replaced by the Jie family, and two of them were in internal turmoil. Chen Qingsi chose the two obedient ones to be the heads of the family.

Chen Qingsi looked at the cowering gentry in front of him and said: "I called you here today for spring plowing. You know the situation in Baekje better than the governor. You each have a lot of land in your hands, so be sure to Do a good job in spring plowing. As I said before, you guys cooperate with me and I will ensure your prosperity and wealth. If you want to use tricks, I won’t mind replacing you. "

Xie Kang responded immediately. With the support of Chen Qingsi, the Xie family developed rapidly and completely annexed the business of the enemy Kun family.

After getting along for more than half a month, Xie Kang also vaguely understood the temperament of the Grand Governor of Baekje. Although the other party was tough, he was not the kind of person who only wanted to get what he wanted.

We understand very well that we can exchange interests and make profits together.

He exposed the Kun family, and the other party handed over the Kun family's business to him. She helped him appease the people, and he gave himself a tax break.

In short, as long as you do things for him here, you will get a certain reward in some way.

Xie Kang has already seen the brilliant future of Guijia.

Others also echoed, but their expressions were more or less complicated.

After all, they were tied aboard the ship by Chen Qingsi using forceful means.

With the current situation in Baekje, the outcome is uncertain, so they are naturally uneasy.

It's just that they didn't dare to disobey. Chen Qingsi's methods gave them a certain psychological shadow. They were cleared immediately, without making any sense.

In fact, they still miss the system of Baekje.

In Baekje, powerful people in these places are allowed to have private soldiers. They train private soldiers to increase their influence, and then go to the battlefield to perform meritorious deeds and obtain larger fiefdoms.

However, Su Dingfang defeated Baekje's army, and all the influential officials and generals captured Chang'an and dispersed all the private soldiers of the wealthy gentry.

Without the support of private soldiers, I can't even strengthen my waist.

This is also the key to many people secretly communicating with the Baekje Restoration Army.

But whether it was Su Dingfang at the beginning, Fang Renyu later, or Chen Qingsi now, there was zero tolerance for the private soldiers of the wealthy gentry.

Chen Qingsi would rather kill the wealthy gentry of Baekje than allow them to have private soldiers.

"Grand Governor, Mr. Cheng Wuting would like to see you!"

Chen Qingsi waved the gentry to retreat.

Cheng Wu stepped into the hall.

"Grand Governor, there is news about the Baekje rebels. They came out of the mountains and forests and directly sent troops to occupy Zhouliu City. They announced the restoration of Baekje in Zhouliu City and called on all the so-called 'patriots' to raise an army to resist and join them at Zhouliu City. "

Zhou Liucheng?
After hearing this, Chen Qingsi didn't know where Zhouliucheng was for a while, so she quickly found a map on the table on one side and searched carefully on it.

After searching for a long time, I found the words Zhouliucheng in the southwest of Baekje.

This is really not because Chen Qingsi has poor eyesight. The situation in Baekje is the same as that of Silla and Japan.

Their place is not big, but they have great reputation. They want to copy everything from the Central Plains.

Every big place has to have a town, so there is talk of hundreds of cities being captured in a few days.

Originally, Chen Qingsi felt a headache just looking at the names of hundreds of cities on the map, not to mention that Zhouliu City was still in the southwest corner of the map, a place where dogs didn't poop and birds didn't lay eggs.

Chen Qingsi pointed at Zhou Liucheng and said, "There's something wrong with this!"

He glanced at Cheng Wuting, waved him forward, and said, "Wuting, come here, let me test you."

Cheng Wuting came nearby and said, "Please give me some advice, Commander-in-Chief."

Chen Qingxi drew a circle on the map with his hand and said: "You now have no less than 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, but you are short of food. If it were you, where would you choose to attack!"

Cheng Wuting looked at the map carefully for a while, pointed his hand and said: "I will choose to attack Zhenxian City or Rencun City."

Chen Qingsi asked: "Why?"

Cheng Wuting said: "It couldn't be simpler. There are 30,000 to 40,000 mouths. Just relying on plundering and feeding game and wild vegetables cannot solve the problem. There must be food and grain-producing land. Only in this way can we gain a stable foothold. Really Xian City and Rencun City both meet this condition.”

Chen Qingsi asked strangely: "Then why did the rebels in Baekje choose Zhouliu City? It is easy to defend but difficult to attack?"

"It shouldn't be just like this!" Cheng Wuting said: "When it comes to being easy to defend and difficult to attack, why choose Zhouliu City. If you are the last general, you will choose Jiuchi City, Coral City, and Yulai City. These three are located in Baekje. The northernmost point, if you continue going north, you will enter the territory of Goguryeo. Everyone knows the relationship between the imperial court and Goguryeo. If you establish a stronghold here, you can gain support from Goguryeo and retreat into Goguryeo territory to seek its protection. One side faces the sea, and only one side faces the wilderness. The environment is the most complicated, and I really can’t understand why the rebels chose to attack here.”

Chen Qingsi's current tactics are to give up some unimportant places, stabilize the position first, and look for opportunities to defeat the enemy. Instead of being like Fang Renyu, he sent troops wherever the enemy appeared. Although he won the victory, he also stepped into the opponent's rhythm and was led by the opponent.

There are many forests in Baekje, and there is not much arable land. Chen Qingsi believes that as long as he can only hold back the fortress, protect the grain-producing areas, and then cut off the support of Goguryeo, Wa, and Silla to the Baekje rebels, he can turn passivity into initiative. .

Now he has blocked the support routes of Goguryeo and Japan, and forced Silla to give up supporting Baekje. According to his vision, the Baekje rebels can only choose to attack the grain-producing areas.

For this reason, Chen Qingsi prepared great gifts for them near Zhenxian City and Rencun City.

As a result, the Baekje rebels ran away to a remote place where dogs didn't poop and birds didn't lay eggs and declared their return to the country.

What a waste of feelings.

Chen Qingsi was a little confused, more than anything, she felt strange.

Chen Qingsi really can't see anything special about Zhouliucheng. If there is anything special, it can only be along the coast.

Moreover, the coastal area of ​​Zhouliucheng is not suitable for anchoring large ships.

There is an island group there, which are all uninhabited islands with limited resources. Because the uninhabited islands are connected and the underwater reefs are densely covered, they are not suitable for sailing.

Otherwise, with the advantage of being near the sea, Zhouliucheng would be a little bit interesting. Cheng Wuting thought for a moment and said: "The general thought that the Baekje rebels should have been reminded, knew the layout of the governor, and knew that attacking the grain-producing areas might be plotted, so they chose Zhouliu City. That's not right..." He himself He said: "There is no food in Zhouliucheng!"

Chen Qingsi looked at Zhou Liucheng, but the world map hanging in his future office came to mind.

On that world map, the locations of South Korea, North Korea, and Little Japan came to mind one by one.

Look at the map in front of you, think about the map in your mind, and compare the two.

He drew a circle on the lower right corner of the Baekje map with his hand and said: "I understand! There are many islands here, the largest of which can be called Jeju Island. This is the island of the Japanese country, let's call it Nagasaki Island. . From Nagasaki Island to Jeju Island, and then from Jeju Island to Zhouliu City, we can avoid our army’s blockade against Japan.”

Chen Qingsi didn't know what Jeju Island and Nagasaki Island were called at this time, so he simply named them later.

Cheng Wuting looked at the direction pointed by Chen Qingsi and said, "In this way, everything will be explained."

Chen Qingsi took two steps back and forth and said, "Someone has to go to Jeju Island to find out the situation." There was an uncontrollable excitement in his tone.

Cheng Wu looked at the man in front of him who was only slightly older than him strangely.

Chen Qingsi gave him the impression that he was calm and steady, with magnanimity and wisdom beyond his years. He was usually very talkative and could talk and laugh. But when he talks about business, he is very energetic, just like a big shot who has been in the officialdom for a long time, but now it feels like he is suppressing his excitement.

But I don’t know why?
Chen Qingxi muttered: "The shipbuilding technology and navigation technology of the Japanese country are not developed. They cannot move directly across the sea, so they must have a stronghold to build a foothold. If they are just transporting supplies, they can find a remote uninhabited island. But if If they want to send troops, they cannot satisfy the uninhabited island. They must attack Jeju Island first and use Jeju Island as a stepping stone.”

It is early spring now, the early spring in Haidong, and there is still frost, but Chen Qingsi feels like her blood is gushing, her whole body is hot, and she has endless strength.

Chen Qingsi thought for a while and asked someone to call back Xie Kang, who had left shortly, to ask about the situation on Jeju Island.

Xie Kang didn't know where Jeju Island was, but when he saw the place marked by Chen Qingsi on the map, he immediately realized it and said, "It's Danluo! I know, I have had transactions with them before!"

The biggest feature of Ungjin Castle is that it relies on Ungjin Port, which is Baekje's largest external port and maritime trade center.

The wealthy gentry in Xiongjin City are all familiar with maritime trade.

Chen Qingsi asked: "I want to know the current situation of Danluo. Do you have a way to avoid being noticed by others?"

"This is easy!" Xie Kang said with a smile on his face: "Danluo Island is rich in raspberries and schisandra. When my family was still in the medicinal business, we sent people to buy them. Now, with the help of the Governor, My Jie family has regained the medicinal materials business and went to the island to purchase medicinal materials. No one will doubt it. "

"Okay!" Chen Qingsi said: "Send alert and reliable people immediately to investigate the situation of the Japanese people on the island. Once the task is completed, I will be rewarded heavily."

He said the words "everything comes with a reward" very seriously.

Xie Kang smiled brightly and said loudly: "Serve the Governor without expecting anything in return."

He went happily.

Facing the Baekje rebels headed by Fu Yufeng, Chen Qingsi was very calm. He did not send troops to encircle and suppress the enemy like Fang Renyu did, but stood still.

Seeing that the Tang army had not made any move, Fu Yufeng boldly sent troops to all directions and captured more than ten surrounding cities.

They were all remote places with no Tang troops stationed there, and the local officials were also served by local elders. Most of them thought of Fuyu Yici's good deeds, so they surrendered one after another, and their morale was like a rainbow.

Chen Qingsi, however, continued to stand still as if he had not heard anything.

Until this day, Chen Qingsi suddenly heard the news that his old friend asked to see him.

Chen Qingsi was still wondering where his old friend came from.

Cheng Boxian handed over the sword in his hand and said, "The other party said he would know it when he saw the sword."

Chen Qingsi snatched the sword from Cheng Boxian's hand, a bit of joy and a bit of nostalgia flashed in her eyes. It was her, Li Hongqing's sword.

Thinking about the pretty heroine who made his heart flutter for the first time, the words "Beware of the assassin" came to mind again. No wonder it sounded so familiar, it turned out to be her.

But why did she hide herself from herself?
Chen Qingsi walked quickly to the outside of the Governor's Mansion. As soon as he left the mansion, the pupils in his eyes focused on one spot, and it turned out to be her.

but……

Chen Qingsi paused slightly, and the smile on his face that was reunited after a long separation faded away, replaced by a touch of sadness.

The woman in front of her was as heroic as ever, but she was not wearing the red dress she liked, but a white plain dress, the kind of dress worn to express mourning for loved ones.

Apart from his biological parents, the only person who could make Li Hongqing wear this filial piety dress was Zhang Zhongjian.

Li Hongqing's mother died young and her father lived in Suzhou, where she was. It was Zhang Zhongjian who died later.

It is rumored that after Zhang Zhongjian and Li Jing separated, thousands of ships and 100,000 armored soldiers entered Fuyu State, killing their masters and establishing themselves on their own.

Chen Qingsi knew, however, that the real situation was that Zhang Zhongjian and his party settled on an unknown island in the northeast. The aboriginal people on the island were short in stature, could not understand the language, had gonial heads like those of Xianbei, and dressed like ordinary people.

They settled on the island, and many of them had special skills. They taught the islanders how to survive. Zhang Zhongjian was also respected as the owner of the island. It was a paradise.

Chen Qingsi only heard Zhang Zhongjian mention it, but he didn't know which island it was on. At first, he blindly guessed whether it was Qushan Island, Daishan Island, or Jeju Island.

Now it seems that it is the latter.

"Lady of the Li family!"

Chen Qingsi bowed and asked, "But Senior Zhang?"

A trace of sadness flashed in Li Hongqing's eyes, and he nodded and said, "My grandfather passed away not long ago."

Chen Qingsi heard Li Hongqing say about herself that her mother died young and her father was influenced by Li Chengqian. His official career was hopeless and his ambitions were difficult to achieve. He got drunk to drown his sorrows and ignored worldly affairs. He ignored Li Hongqing and was the one who stayed by his side to teach him. Martial arts taught her how to behave in the world, and she was as close as a grandchild. She immediately felt the same, took a few steps forward, and said softly: "My condolences, Mrs. Li."

Li Hongqing shook his head and said, "I came here to tell you something."

Chen Qingsi said: "Let's talk inside!"

He led Li Hongqing into the mansion and took a seat in the hall.

Chen Qingsi calmed down her mood and looked at Li Hongqing, who was dressed in plain clothes, with a rare hint of weakness in her heroic face, like Ling Xue's proud plum, lonely and strong... beautiful.

(End of this chapter)