Chen Xiaoru was single-handedly picked up by Fang Jie. At the beginning, Luo Weiran transferred three people from the bodyguards to follow Fang Jie. Nie Xiaoju is now the deputy commander of Fang Jie's military camp. A large group of people. Yan Kuang is still working in Xiaoqi School, but Yan Kuang is too straightforward and simple, so Fang Jie didn't arrange any particularly important position for him, but only gave him the second place in Xiaoqi School after Chen Xiaoru.
A while ago, Yan Kuang protected Mu San and went to the capital, but Mu San separated from him after arriving in the capital. Mu San didn't know exactly what Yan Kuang was arranged for. Mu San couldn't contact Yan Kuang, but Yan Kuang could contact him at any time. It can be seen that the Ouchi Guard Office still operates a force that cannot be underestimated in the capital, and Luo Weiran, the real commander of the Ouchi Guard Office, is now sitting in Zhuque Mountain.
Chen Xiaoru is the most stable person among the three. As he experiences more and more things, he becomes more calm and decisive.
Let him say something is not good, then it must be taken seriously.
"What's up?"
Fang asked.
Chen Xiaoru approached, and said in a low voice: "The people who work in the world brought Andrew's younger brother and sister over from the country of Ross a while ago, and it took a lot of trouble. It was supposed to be a secret, and it didn't attract the attention of the local people. But after passing through the East When Chu was in Chu, the big ship replenished supplies. Unexpectedly, he met a few people from the country of Ross who actually knew Andrew’s sister. They thought they were helpless people who had escaped from the country of Ross. pause."
Fang Xie was slightly taken aback, this matter sounds very ordinary, but Fang Xie knows what a single spark is.
"If it was on the ground of the Central Plains, none of these Ross people would even want to go back alive. But in East Chu, people who are able to trade goods in the world should not be too presumptuous. After all, the relationship between East Chu and Ross people is very close. But East Chu It has been strictly controlled, and the Ross people are not allowed to directly trade with the Central Plains. The subordinates are just worried... "
Fang Jie felt a little uncomfortable. He heard San Jinhou mention that because he knew that the foreign country on the other side of the ocean was quite powerful, the Eastern Chu merchants did not allow the Ross people to come over. The Eastern Chu fleet has been blocking the coastline. But now, people from the country of Ross actually appeared in Eastern Chu...
"My subordinates have arranged for people to go to East Chu to investigate as soon as possible. What I am worried about is... Dong Chu has been suppressed by the Sui Dynasty. Except for the commendable navy, it is almost impossible for Dong Chu to defeat Sui on the mainland, even now. Yang Shunhui, one of the auxiliary ministers of the imperial court, went to the eastern border, and the Mu Mansion is located in the northeast, so even if the people of Eastern Chu knew that the Sui Dynasty was in chaos, they had no chance to take advantage of it."
"This time the Ross people appeared in Eastern Chu, and my subordinates are afraid that there is some collusion between the Eastern Chu royal family and the Ross people. With the power of a single country, Eastern Chu wants to take back the half of the territory occupied by the Great Sui. It is as difficult as heaven. The eastern border of the Great Sui Dynasty was not affected by the war, and the frontier army had a complete organizational system. The two guards controlled by the Mu Mansion, and the newly built left and right guards of Yang Shunhui are also there. Do the people of Eastern Chu want to use the people of Ross? firearms…”
Chen Xiaoru paused, and looked at Fang Jie's expression.
"Did you see the warships of the Ross people at the Dongchu Wharf when the people from the world of goods came back?"
Fang asked.
"No."
Chen Xiaoru replied: "Although the people from Hutong Tianxia did not deliberately investigate this matter, they were worried about any conflicts because they beat up the people of the country of Ross, so they made a special inspection. There was only one merchant ship with the logo of the country of Ross, and It is very small, and there is no official logo of the country of Ross. According to the analysis of the subordinates, those people from the country of Ross know Andrew's sister, and Andrew is a poor man in the country of Ross, so it can be seen that the status of those people will not be very high. "
Fang Jie felt a little more at ease.
The current Black Banner Army is not yet capable of influencing Eastern Chu, nor is it capable of influencing Sui Dongjiang. The Mu Mansion's control over Eastern Xinjiang is unquestionable, and Yang Shunhui's new recruits from the two guards should not be underestimated. Coupled with the well-established frontier army in Eastern Xinjiang, the people of Eastern Chu were not stupid enough to declare war on Sui. Moreover, although Great Sui was in chaos, Great Sui was still the biggest source of profit for Eastern Chu merchants. Once Great Sui and Eastern Chu started a war and Great Sui blocked business routes, Eastern Chu would suffer great losses.
"The Eastern Chu royal family shouldn't be so stupid..."
Fang Jie thought for a while, and then ordered: "Send competent people to Dongjiang with my name card, and visit Mu Mansion and General Yang Shunhui respectively. Ask them to pay attention to the border defense of Eastern Border. No contacts, but I still had a few encounters with General Yang Shunhui."
"Here."
Chen Xiaoru responded, and took out the second secret letter and handed it to Fang Jie: "This is a secret report from Suzaku Mountain. Andrew and the others have successfully improved the configuration of gunpowder, and the power is much greater than before. The trial product of the artillery is also It has been successful, and after the test firing is completed, mass casting will begin. However, the conditions of the workshop are limited, and even if it starts working day and night, it is still difficult for the output to reach the firearms camp in a short period of time."
"in addition… "
Chen Xiaoru said: "Jin Shixiong seems to have vaguely known what we are going to do in exchange for a large amount of iron ore. Since last month, he has started to make things difficult. For more than a year, he has exchanged ore for food from us is enough. He's been using it for a while, so he's starting to be dishonest."
"Wealthy Southwest..."
Chen Xiaoru sighed and said: "But there are no iron mines, and the northwest is exhausted, but it must be more than the iron mine in Jin Shixiong's hands. Most of the military industry in the Sui Dynasty was built in the Northeast, and all the roads in the northern region and all the roads in the eastern region have iron mines If our firearms battalion wants to develop, relying on such exchange for iron ore is still too harmful after all."
Fang Jie nodded: "I'll clean up Nanyan first... There are no iron mines in the Southwest, but Nanyan has them. After killing Nanyan, I don't need to bargain with Jin Shixiong anymore. No one likes being blackmailed. So Jin Shixiong is really not a material for doing business."
"Teach him a lesson?"
Chen Xiaoru asked tentatively.
"Check first. The spies sent by Jin Shixiong in Huangyang Road can pull out as much as they can. In addition, let Duan Zheng's navy patrol back and forth in the Yellow Niu River to prevent all traffic in Hebei. Jin Shixiong has enough food for at most three Yue, still on the basis of not expanding the army. The reason why he wants to blackmail me with iron ore is precisely because he wants to expand the army... In addition, let San Jinhou order that all commercial firms are not allowed to provide any goods to the Northwest, it is nothing!"
"Here!"
Chen Xiaoru leaned over and said: "Then this subordinate will leave first."
Fang Jie waved his hand: "Go... Besides, after Xinyang City is broken, ask Dugu Wenxiu to come to Yongzhou to see me immediately."
"Here!"
…
…
Fang Jie poured a cup of tea himself and handed it to Sun Kaidao who was sitting opposite. Sun Kaidao, who had just rushed over from the Zhuque Mountain camp on Huangyang Road, was obviously not used to it, so he quickly got up and took the teacup with both hands. Since Fang Jie went south, this official who had been the number one Chinese official in the Black Banner Army, and was even second only to Fang Jie for a while, became idle. Except that Fang Jie used him when negotiating with Beihui Road, he has not been arranged to do anything since then.
As a result, his position in the Black Banner Army was gradually replaced by the rising star Dugu Wenxiu. Now Dugu Wenxiu has been released by Fang as the governor of Huangyang Road, the prime minister Huang Yangdao's civil affairs, and even the military affairs of mobilizing troops in Xinyang City have been entrusted to him and Chen Qianshan. Can't find the second one either.
"Mr. was so tired, I planned to let you rest for one night first, and then invite him to talk tomorrow, but I didn't expect him to come to me directly when he arrived in Yongzhou."
Fang Jie smiled, pointed to the chair and said, "Sit down and talk, there are so many rules between you and me."
Sun Kaidao's expression was a little strange, and his hand holding the cup trembled slightly.
"General, find your subordinates, but what are your orders?"
Sun Kaidao asked in a low voice.
"It's nothing..."
Fang Jie smiled gently: "It's just that I haven't seen you for a while, so I miss you. I remember that when I first went north from Huangyang Road, I was able to gain a firm foothold in the northwest with the help of my husband. Later, I led the army to Rescuing the late emperor from the east, Mr. led the troops to guard the Langrushan camp. Whether it was military affairs or civil affairs, he was extremely safe. It was because of Mr. that I was able to boldly lead my troops out to fight."
"Later, my husband pointed out that I would go to the grassland to develop, which coincided with me. If there hadn't been that trip to the grassland, there would have been no cavalry of the Black Banner Army. After returning to Huangyang Road, the husband still took care of the farming. In the first year , and opened hundreds of thousands of acres of wasteland. If there is no husband, the logistics supplies of Zhuqueshan camp will not be so complete."
"The general praised it. That's what the subordinates should do."
"Yeah... It's my job..."
Fang Jie repeated it as if talking to himself, and Sun Kaidao's face immediately became ugly again. Originally, Fang Jie's previous warm words made him relax a little bit of worry, but this soliloquy made his heart tense again.
"General... subordinates..."
Fang Jie glanced at him: "Why, sir, do you have something to say?"
Sun Kaidao was silent for a while, and finally shook his head: "No."
"Um."
Fang Jie hummed, seemingly a little disappointed. He stood up and walked to the window, facing the night outside without speaking for a long time. Sun Kaidao sat on the chair, staring at the cup in his hand in a daze.
After an unknown amount of time, Fang Jie turned his head and smiled at him: "Sir, I'm tired from the journey, so let's go back and rest. If there's anything else, we can talk about it at dawn."
Sun Kaidao opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, then stood up and saluted: "Then my subordinate will leave."
"Go."
When Sun Kaidao reached the door, Fang Jie suddenly said in a very soft tone: "Sir, take care of your health in the future. The climate in the north and south has changed a lot. Yongzhou is even more humid than Huangyang Road. You are from the north, sir. Be careful..."
"ah?"
Sun Kaidao was stunned, then thanked him and left quickly.
After Sun Kaidao walked away for a long time, Fang Jie sighed and said to himself: "If you don't say something, of course I can't say it. If you mention it yourself, you can talk about everything well... If I mention it first, I won't say it." Will I kill you or not?"
…
…
Sun Kaidao didn't fall asleep all night, pacing back and forth in the room. He thought about the things he had done with Fang Jie in the past few years from the beginning to the end, thinking about how many contributions he had made and how many mistakes he had made. For a whole night, he made a wrong comparison of one credit and one fault, and then found that if all the credits were deducted, he should still be beheaded.
Accepting bribes, buying and selling official positions, and having connections with Jiangnan aristocratic families. Any one of these things on others is enough to be killed by Fang Jie once. So the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became. Finally, when it was almost dawn, he finally made up his mind to go to Fang Jie again and explain all these things clearly.
Just as he was about to go out after changing his clothes, he saw Chen Xiaoru and several people waiting for him at the door.
"By order of the general, sir, please go to the south of the city to see your new house."
Chen Xiaoru said with a smile: "The general bought a big house for you at the foot of the southern mountain of the city, and it has already been cleaned up. From now on, sir, you can live there for a long time. You don't need any money, so the servants are here. Choose by yourself, the general said, he will not ask about these matters.”
"Also... the general asked me to tell my husband something."
Sun Kaidao asked with a pale face: "What did the general say?"
Chen Xiaoru said seriously: "The general said, thank you sir."