Late Tang

Song Wentong stood up and took a pastry made from this year's newly bloomed sweet-scented osmanthus. "Brother Guangming said that the King of Qin is now requesting the Office of Supervision, especially the CIA and the Military Intelligence Bureau, to send outstanding people to Chang'an, Luoyang, and other towns all over the world. I heard that the plan this time is extremely huge, and the entire Office of Supervision is operating at full capacity. , and even the General Staff Council, the Governor’s Office of the Five Armies, and the Ministry of War are fully cooperating. He also said that this is a rare opportunity.”

"Oh, such a big plan is suddenly made at this time. Could it be that the King of Qin is preparing to march south? Is he going to march into the eastern capital Luoyang, or the northern capital Taiyuan?"

"No, some of the news I heard is the opposite. I heard that the joint meeting between King Qin and the provincial cabinet and the meeting of the political affairs hall are being held during this period. It seems that we have heard that the situation of our Qin Fan is not optimistic. The war has almost wiped out the family fortune. Li Qilang, Minister of the Household Department, even submitted his resignation letter at the Zhengshitang meeting, intending to quit the job, saying that King Qin asked him to take care of the house, but now Qin Fan is under his management , but already waited until there was not enough food for the autumn harvest, and said that the arsenal is now empty, armor, weapons, gunpowder, and arrows are all used up."

"Is it really so serious?" Song Wang didn't know about the situation, she just felt that Qin Fan was as powerful as ever, especially Yanjing City, which had changed too much in the past few years.Although the original Youzhou City was also very large, it was far from what it is today.The original Youzhou City is only a small part of the current Yanjing City.Youzhou Yacheng has become the expanded royal city, and Youzhou City has become the inner city of Yanjing.Yanjing City also built a huge city wall outside the original city, enclosing a huge outer city, and built a new splendid palace city to the north of the original Yacheng.

Yanjing City is several times larger than the original Youzhou City, and its population has also increased countless. It is said that the total population of Yanjing City has reached one million, the second largest city after Dengzhou City.And if only the registered population of Yanjing City is counted, it has reached 80 people.

Every day, there are people coming and going on the street, people from all over the world, Chinese and foreign Han, people of all colors and races, and all kinds of goods gather here, which is indescribably prosperous and stable.She really didn't expect that Qin Fan had such a big problem due to continuous wars.

"It sounds a little strange when you say that. The price of food has risen now. Since the king of Qin entered Youzhou, the price of food has been very stable. This is the first time the price has increased, and the limit of food stamps has also increased. , Our food stamps for this month have been reduced by [-] catties, and each person has lost [-] catties."

Song Wentong nodded thoughtfully. Although he is a new Yanjing native, he has heard about some situations in Qin Fan. He knows that in Qin Fan, food is an official supply. stable.It can be said that food is the foundation of Qin Fan's prosperity today.Now that the price of food has risen, the limit of food stamps, and the food supply per person have decreased, it really shows that Qin Fan's foundation is almost beaten.

They are all those barbarians, now there are hundreds of thousands of troops, and five legions are still fighting outside the pass, and it is even possible that they will have to fight against each other for a year or two.Under such circumstances, it is a bottomless pit, and a large amount of food, horses, livestock, ordnance, etc. are continuously transported outside the pass.And because of the long distance, too much food and grass have been consumed on the road.In addition to these, because of the continuous wars, Qin Fan has continuously recruited united soldiers and rural soldiers to the battlefield over the past two years, and even recruited civilians to transport food and grass.

These young and strong laborers have been away from home for many years, which has also caused great damage to local production.It will not be obvious for a while, but when the Qin army launched wars one after another, or even fought on two fronts or even three fronts at the same time, the inventory accumulated by the Qin army over the years was constantly decreasing.

In addition, the Qin army's continuous military victories, continuous expansion of territory, and increase in population are naturally excellent on the surface.The speed of expansion is too fast, and the population and territory cannot be digested, which eventually leads to the accelerated consumption of the Qin army's food and materials.

After the end of this battle on behalf of the North, Qin Fan's family fortune finally bottomed out.

Under such circumstances, Qin Fan was indeed unable to continue to expand if he had to maintain the bottomless giant hole outside the Northern Pass.For Qin Jun, continuing to expand, too fast expansion speed, will make Qin Fan who can't digest it die.

"Don't worry, King Qin is so wise, he must have seen the problem long ago. As long as we adjust the direction in time, our giant ship will always be the safest and strongest. However, it is very likely that we will not be able to expand aggressively in the next few years. , It will take a long time to digest and absorb. It is precisely because of this that a large number of people need to be sent to the towns. From now on, maybe we will have to fight with the towns instead of fighting with each other for a long time."

"That's good. It's been a few years. I've been fighting every year and every month. It's really annoying. I don't sleep well at night. I'm always worried that the Qin army will lose one day. , Youzhou City has been breached again, and this good time will come to an end.” Song Wang’s family doesn’t understand too many principles, but they are so satisfied with the stable and well-fed life under King Qin’s rule that they There is always a sense of unreality.

There was a bang on the courtyard door, followed by the sound of fast and steady footsteps. Undoubtedly, this was Chen Lun, the son of Song Wentong's boss Chen Bing.He walked into the corridor, holding a Juju ball in one hand, and greeted them very familiarly, "Hey! Brother Zhengchen, sister-in-law."

He was wearing a set of gray sports cotton shirt and trousers. Because he had just finished kicking Cuju, his tanned and thin face was radiant. A piece of tea cigarettes, it looks like the kind of child who is not bound by the family and has received the new education of Qin Fan.Song Wentong still wonders how Chen Bing, who is only 20 years old, has received traditional education before, how can he change so much after studying in Qin Fan's Dengzhou Academy for a few years.

In particular, I heard from Chen Bing that Allen was a bit frail, but he studied in Dengzhou for several years, and this year he just joined the navy and marine forces in Tianjin. He spent most of his time at sea and trained on warships. Eating the military food, how can I grow stronger and stronger.The originally slender figure gradually became tall and burly. Song Wentong was a little envious of Chen Lun's tanned skin, because it explained a lot of things.

Blue sky and sea, naval warships, Cuju.

He greeted him with a smile, "I heard from your father that you are going to Ryukyu?"

"Yes, Brother Zhengchen. The navy has recently received a new mission. A fleet will go to Ryukyu, the big island opposite Fujian. The Staff Council plans to send two navy and marine troops to accompany the fleet. This is a good opportunity, I report My father hasn't agreed yet, Zhengchen brother has to help me persuade my father. He is going to Chang'an himself, but he won't let me go to Ryukyu. It's not fair." Song Wentong is commensurate with Chen Bing brothers, Chen Bing Lun called Brother Song Wentong, who was only five years older than him. This generation was a bit chaotic, but everyone didn't care, and called each according to his own.

Song Wentong chuckled. Young people like Chen Lun, who have received a few years of new education in Dengzhou, are at the age of enthusiasm. It is naturally normal for them to want to go further afield.However, he is not familiar with this Ryukyu, and he only heard that it is a big island across the Fujian Sea in the southeast.It is said that the big island is huge, almost larger than the Shandong Peninsula or the Liaodong Peninsula.But it was a barren land, with only some uncivilized natives.During the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang once sent troops to float to Ryukyu, and even captured many aborigines to Chang'an.

However, I heard that the climate in that place is hot, but the island is suitable for planting sugar cane. In recent years, with the prosperity of the business of the Qin Dynasty, many families from the Liaodong side of Dengzhou have gone to Ryukyu Island to reclaim sugar cane gardens and plant sugar cane. Then build a cane sugar factory there, extract frost sugar and rock sugar, and then transport them directly to Guangzhou, and send them to the inland or overseas through there, which is very profitable.

"What is the fleet doing in Ryukyu? Planting sugar cane?" Mrs. Song asked, pouring a glass of iced bayberry soup for Chen Lun.

Chen Lun smiled, "Ryukyu is a big island, equivalent to several states. Now our sea trade is very important to Qin Fan, so it is very important to establish a stable and powerful naval base in the southeast sea. I heard Our captain said that Ryukyu Island is a big place, and it is just across from Fujian, and not far from Lingnan and Annan. Setting up a naval base there can greatly improve the safety of our maritime trade routes. Moreover, Ryukyu is separated from the mainland by a strait. , Compared with the original Huduzhou base, it is safer. In the future, it will gain a foothold there, and even a transshipment station for ocean trade goods can be established there. Moreover, food can also be grown on the island. I heard that growing rice there can even Three crops a year, if done well, it can still be a grain production base.”

Chen Lun said excitedly, in fact, he knew more than that.In fact, at this time, the Qin army sent navy to Ryukyu, although it had the intention of protecting the maritime trade routes and establishing a safe cargo transfer station, but more importantly, the Qin army was strengthening its penetration and control of the southeast coastal area.Now the Qin army is sending a fleet and two marines. Once they gain a foothold, a huge self-sufficient sea base can be established here, radiating the entire southeast coast, and maintaining a deterrent force at any time.When the time is right, when the Qin army goes south, this sea base can even threaten the southeast from the rear.

This is a long-term chess piece. Although the Qin army is in the north of Haikou on the Yangtze River, it still has Yuzhou Island in Haizhou and Hu Douzhou in the Yangtze River.But Hu Douzhou is too small, too many soldiers and horses are stationed, logistics supply is difficult, and there are few garrisons, and it is inevitable that the surprise attack on Hu Douzhou will repeat itself.Moreover, in the coastal towns in the southeast, Li Jing's communication with them was not smooth.Now that the long coastal areas of Hangzhou Bay, Fujian, Lingnan East, and Lingnan West have all become Li Jing's allies, Li Jing needs to send a force to Ryukyu to play a role in liaising with and leading the towns.

There was a knock on the door, and the blind old man Chen Bing took his wife out of the carriage outside the door and came in behind several servants.

Song Wangshi stood up, brushed her hair with her tender white hands, and lightly dusted her clothes, "Ah Lun, your parents are here."

Chen Lun got up and looked at Song Wentong with a sad face, "Brother Zhengchen, I will depend on you for a while."

"Brother Guangming's visit to the humble house really makes the walls of the humble house shine." Song Wentong got up and strode forward, stretching out two thick arms.Chen Bing also strode over with a smile, also stretching out his hands.He was wearing a well-fitting military uniform, a blue jacket with gold buttons, pinned to it were several battle medals, and a badge marking his newly promoted rank of lieutenant lieutenant.

"Has Zhengchen thought it over clearly?"

"Brother Guangming invites you, so I'd rather be respectful than obedient." Song Wentong laughed, and Chen Bing nodded, very happy.With a capable subordinate like Song Wentong following him to Chang'an, he felt a little more confident this time.

"Father!" Chen Lun also came forward to greet his father.

Chen Bing glanced at his son, looked at his attire, and glanced at him with some displeasure, "You are welcome, you came as early as you went back to your own home."

"I talked to brother Zhengchen, we are brothers."

"Is your name Zhengchen? I am considered his peers. You should call him uncle, no matter how old or young, this is what you learned in Dengzhou Academy and the Marine Corps?" A Bing's thin face , the squinted eyes suddenly opened, with sharp eyes, "Drink, I'm still drinking." He glanced at the table, saw that there was also a glass of wine in front of his son's place, and said involuntarily.

"Father, what kind of old ideas are you talking about? I'm already 20 years old, and I've already been a private in the Marine Corps, and I can be promoted to a corporal soon. Is there any soldier who doesn't drink? In the Marine Corps, If you don't drink, you won't be laughed to death by all your colleagues."

"Really? I remember that alcohol is not allowed in the academy. But what is that in your hand?" A Bing really had a headache for this son, and he wanted to send him to the academy so that he could become a young boy in the future. An elite who became a civil servant after taking the national examination.But who would have thought that after studying in the academy for a few years, he didn't discuss with him at all after graduation, so he ran to sign up for the Marine Corps.Now, at the age of 20, he still refuses to get married, but he is going to some Ryukyu, and he has already learned how to drink.

"This is tea smoke. It is made of tea leaves and some Chinese medicinal materials. Smoking this cigarette on a fire is similar to drinking tea, but it is much more convenient. You don't need to boil water to make tea, and it also has the effect of refreshing your mind. This is a new tea cigarette from Dengzhou Cigarette Factory. It is Mustang brand. It costs [-] cents for a pack of [-]. It is not cheap. But now this tea cigarette is very popular, especially in the army. Welcome, if you have money, you may not be able to buy it. I got this bag from our team leader. My father and brother Zhengchen will also pay for it. I promise that after you smoke it, you will never forget the taste. .” (To be continued.)