Guiyang and Lingling two counties are close neighbors, and Pang Ji and Zhang Zi also have some contacts on weekdays. It was almost dusk when Chongji's team arrived in Lingling City. Tonight, they must have a rest in Lingling City. Since this is the case, of course he will drop by Zhang Zi. Pang Ji knew in his heart that Liu Xin’s letter could not be given to him alone. At this time, Zhang Zi should have received Liu Xin’s letter a long time ago. His trip was not just to come to Zhang Zi to recount the old days, but also to see What are Zhang Zi's plans? Pang Ji was not sure what Zhang Zi would do. Maybe he had already set off to Wuling at this time, and maybe he was still at home thinking about a good plan. Therefore, Pang Ji arranged for the Clerk to go to the Taishou Mansion to report, and he himself led the team to settle down at the post house.
After entering the city, Pang Ji found that the atmosphere on the street was a bit tense. Rows of soldiers were walking by the street from time to time, and the people on the road were all in a hurry. Only then did I remember that the interrogation at the city gate just now seemed to be better. It was much stricter in the past.
Arriving at the post house, Pang Ji just sat down on the ground, and heard a loud voice from outside the door: "Where is the huge man? My old Zhang sees you coming."
Pang Ji hurriedly got up and greeted the door. He saw a white and fat middle-aged man standing outside, with three long beards and thin eyes. No matter who he looked at, he seemed to be smiling and hurriedly arched his hands: " How dare you come to the door in person and be rude and rude."
Zhang Zi still said with a spring breeze: "Where do the huge people say, you can come to Lingling, you can look down on the little brother. Walk around, I have prepared a banquet for you in the mansion, let's come to him tonight. Fang Xiu."
Pang Ji took a few entourages, followed Zhang Zi to the Prefect's Mansion, and the two sides were divided into guests and the host to sit down.
Zhang Zi put away his smile, backed away from side to side, and then asked, "Why is Dao Ren free to come here today?"
Pang Ji said with a smile: "Don't Master Zhang received the letter from the lord?"
Zhang Zi was surprised: "Lord? Which lord?"
Pang Ji arched his hands and said, "This is Master Muliu of Jingzhou."
Zhang Zi pondered: "So, Dao Ren is going to hand over Guiyang to Liu Xin? It turns out that Dao Ren didn't come to see my Lao Zhang, but passed by."
Pang Ji smiled and said, "Master Zhang's words are very bad. What is meant by giving Guiyang to the lord? As Jingzhou pastor, my Guiyang county is the land under his jurisdiction. Yes, I am at the call of the lord. Go to Wuling."
However, Zhang Zi laughed and said, "Huge people don't worry about the difficult and dangerous future?"
Pang Ji's heart tightened and asked, "What does Master Zhang say about this?"
Zhang Zi smiled and said, "Yes, I also received a letter from Liu Xinxiangzhao. If you and I go to Wuling like this, when the time comes, I will be a knife, and I will be killed by someone. Such a stupid thing, My old Zhang doesn't want to do it."
Pang Ji was silent for a moment, and said, "Is there any good plan for Master Zhang? Hear my advice, the examples of Jiangxia Huangzu and Wuling Cao Yu are there. They are in line with the power of your two counties, and it is difficult to resist. It is the best policy to vote for the lord."
Zhang Zi stared at Pang Ji for a while, and suddenly laughed, and said, "Huge man, what Lao Zhang said just now is just a test. What is the situation now, how can I see Lao Zhang clearly? It's just that I am really worried. I have already repaired a letter, and I am preparing to send someone to Wuling tomorrow, and I will invite Jingzhou Mu and his party to Lingling for a comment. Why don't the huge people stay here for a few days?"
Hearing this, Pang Ji's expression changed, and after a long time he said, "Pang still decided to go to Wuling to pay respects to the lord first. Please forgive me, Master Zhang."
Zhang Zi smiled and said, "If you and I want to go to Wuling first, what's the matter. If you and I will work for Master Zhou Mu in the future, then it will be your own family. In the future, you will have to get closer and closer. Come and come. Let's drink this glass."
Pang Ji didn't dare to stay in Lingling for a long time. The next morning, before the sky lighted up, he urged the team to go.
Zhang Zi did not continue to stay, but handed a letter to Pang Ji, saying: "Hua man, since you insist on going to Wuling first, please help me take this letter with you, we will have a period later."
Pang Ji immediately bid farewell to Zhang Zi, led the team to continue on the road, and after another two days, he arrived in Wuling territory.
Spring in Jiangnan comes early, although it is only February, the fields are already green, the unknown wild flowers on the roadside are blooming with smiles, the branches on the trees on both sides of the avenue have turned green, and the little birds are singing happily. . Such a beautiful scenery can't dispel Pang Ji's thoughts. Zhang Zi's words always linger in his mind, and he doesn't know whether this trip is good or bad.
Moving forward, more and more people were on the road. These people were neither merchants on the road nor early farmers. One by one, carrying a shovel and picking stones and earth, they were busy back and forth on the road. Pang Ji felt weird. After asking someone, he realized that these people were widening and building the road connecting Wuling and Lingling.
Pang Ji has been the prefect of many years, and naturally knows that road construction is a costly project. Some of these roads were built during the time of Emperor Qin Shihuang and were already in dilapidated condition, but no one in the local government was willing to bother to do this money-burning thing. The same is true for Pang Ji. During his years in Guiyang, he knew that the roads were difficult, but he never thought about repairing them. He didn't expect Liu Xin to occupy Wuling. The first thing he did was to build a road!
Going further, in the fields on both sides, you can already see the hardworking farmers in twos and threes. While sweating like rain, they still don’t forget to sing and sing. It seems that they are not engaged in hard work, but are doing a very happy thing. . As a fairly competent prefect, Pang Ji often went to the fields to take a look at the fields to understand the sufferings of the people, but he had never seen farmers so happy that they could plant land.
He couldn't help stopping his horse, and asked an old man who was carrying a hoe and happily walking past them: "Dare to ask this old man, do you have any happy events here today? Why are everyone so happy?"
The old man stopped, looked at Pang Ji twice, and saw his clothes. Knowing that he was a high official, he said with a smile: "My lord came from a different place. You don't know that it was practiced in those places in Xiangyang in the past. We can’t even think about reducing rents and taxes. Now it’s alright. Master Zhou Mu is in Wuling. Now we people have a way to survive, and we don’t have to worry about livelihoods anymore. Can you say that everyone can be upset?"
Pang Ji nodded thoughtfully and said: "That is, that is. Thank you, old man."
The old man said hurriedly: "No thanks, no thanks, my lord is going all the way."
Pang Ji watched the old man walk into the ground happily again, no longer hesitating, and turned around and said loudly to the team: "Everyone, hurry up and try to get to Wuling this evening."
The team's advancement speed suddenly accelerated, raising a cloud of dust. The closer you are to Wuling City, the smoother the roads. Obviously, the roads here have just been repaired. It can be seen that they are just roadbeds. In the future, they will definitely be further heightened and widened, but compared to the roads of Guiyang and Lingling. It's much easier to walk now.
Not long after noon, Wuling City has already been seen in front of him, and Pang Ji's mood is tense, a little nervous and expectant. The closer you get to the city, the more pedestrians there are on the road. The city gate is already in front of you, and the entrance is bustling. It can be seen that there are many caravans in it.
Pang Ji and his entourage were large, there were many horses and vehicles, and the soldiers guarding the gate became alert and blocked their way.
He didn't dare to entrust him, so he hurriedly jumped off his horse and said, "I am Pang Ji, the prefect of Guiyang, and I am called by the Lord to come and see him."
The soldier guarding the gate did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly reported to the superior. After a while, a man with the appearance of a school lieutenant hurried over, clasped his fists and said: "It turns out to be a huge man, the final general Wuling City Gate Lieutenant Sun Ke was ordered by the lord. I have been waiting here for many days. The lord has ordered that no one is allowed to enter the city, and I am also invited to dismount the horse and walk with me."
When Pang Ji reached this point, there was no retreat. He didn't hesitate to turn over and dismount, and without the reins, he took the horse and walked with Sun Ke.
Upon seeing this, Sun Ke winked at the soldier on the side. The soldier hurried over, took the rein from Pang Ji's hand, and helped him hold the mount.
Walking on the streets of Wuling, busy people can be seen everywhere. The shops on both sides are coming in and out from time to time. It seems that the business is pretty good. The whole Wuling city is peaceful, and it seems that it has not been changed because of the change of owners. Bring any anxiety and confusion.
Pang Ji looked at everything in front of him, pretending to think of something inadvertently, and said: "This Wuling city, I have been here a few years ago, I remember that there were not as many shops on both sides of the street as there are now, and the business is relatively good. Calm, I didn't expect such a big change in just a few years of work, and it is much more prosperous than Guiyang."
Sun Ke smiled and said, "Human man, if you come half a month earlier, this is not the case here. Since the lord came, the market has really become more lively day by day."
"Oh, it turned out to be like this, no wonder, no wonder." Pang Ji slapped, and changed the front of the conversation, and asked, "General Sun used to be resting in high school? I look so tight."
Sun Ke said embarrassedly: "Don’t hide from the huge man, the final general was just one of the leaders of the Wuling army. Naturally, you have never seen me. After the lord came to Wuling, he had reorganized the army. It turned out to be seven thousand. The Wuling army has been screened at different levels, leaving only two thousand five hundred. Five hundred are the guards of the prefect, who are directly dispatched by the prefect. There are also two thousand under the command of the captain, who is in charge of urban defense and the granary. Guard. In the end, the general was able to gain the support of a superior because of his rough martial arts skills, and only then did he become a captain of the city gate."
In fact, some of the things Sun Ke said have involved military secrets. Although the level of secrets is not high, in general, he still wouldn't talk so much to outsiders. It's just that Liu Xin has orders. If Pang Ji or Zhang Zi comes, they must answer all questions and try to answer them in detail.
Liu Xin had already stated in the letter that Pang Ji's military power would be recovered, so Pang Ji was not surprised that Liu Xin would reorganize Wuling's army. He was surprised that there were only so few troops left in Wuling City.
At this moment, there was a sound of horseshoes in front of him.