Zhu Wen and Meng Kai gathered their subordinates to discuss for two days and finally compromised.
Zhu Li's move was clearly an open conspiracy. Now, the news among the Cao army that there was a miracle doctor in Yiting City who could cure the plague had spread widely.
No matter at what time, the desire for life is unstoppable. Even Zhu Wen and Meng Kai, as the commanders of the Cao Army, could not stop the soldiers' desire to survive.
Even during the two days of their discussion, relatives and friends of the patients were clamoring, wailing, and even begging desperately outside the general's tent, which made the other soldiers of the Cao army feel sympathetic.
They cannot afford the cost of losing military morale, this is one thing; more importantly, leaving the patients in the camp is like a source of disease. The longer the time, the more people will be infected. If no solution is found, the Cao army camp will sooner or later become a dead place.
Since the decision had been made, Zhu Wen and Meng Kai did not dare to delay and immediately sent someone to send the patient to the north gate of Yiting City.
Naturally, there were many people infected with the plague among the Cao Army. The Cao Army guards who were sent to Yiting one after another amounted to more than 8,000 people. Zhu Li used the magic of Shan Hai Jing to quickly cure their plague, but these people fell into Zhu Li's hands. Although most of them were disabled, there were still more than 2,000 people who were elite soldiers with intact limbs.
Zhu Li handed over these two thousand people to Shi Yan and Meng Juehai, asking them to recruit them into the army as soon as possible and use them for their own purposes.
After all this trouble, it was already December.
Since guards in the Cao Army were infected with the plague one after another, the Cao Army has not launched any sieges since then. It seems that there is no possibility of continuing the war this year.
Although the winter in Fuping is not as cold as that in the north, it is still not suitable for fighting.
Since the truce began, a strange sight has appeared in Fuping City, that is, the Wang family's mansion. To say that it is bustling with people is an understatement. There are even rumors that the head of the Wang family has changed the threshold three times in less than a month, because the previous thresholds were all trampled to pieces by the guests coming and going. Of course, most of these guests are here to propose marriage or to act as matchmakers.
But ever since the three warlords had a fierce fight at the gate of Wang's house, no one who entered the Wang's house had ever seen Wang Yueyao, the elf-like woman, again.
On the contrary, there was a handsome scholar in Zhu Li's military camp. He followed Zhu Li all day long and wanted to talk to Zhu Li about his ideals in life whenever he had nothing to do. Anyway, he always wanted to get to the bottom of everything about Zhu Li.
The story begins on the day Zhu Li met Zhu Wen and others and returned from outside the city.
As soon as Zhu Li returned to the tent that day, a guard came to report: "General, there is a scholar outside the camp who wants to see you. He said he is an old friend of yours?"
"Old friend?" Zhu Li frowned. He didn't have any old friend like a scholar, any familiar scholar. Guo Qizuo, Guo Chongtao and Wang Quan were in Shuozhou. It was impossible for them to come all the way here. Then who could this person be? Forget it, he would know after meeting him.
"Bring him in." Zhu Li instructed calmly.
"promise"
A moment later, the guard brought in a person. Zhu Li looked at him and was stunned for a moment. He saw that the person was wearing a moon-white tight silk robe, a crown on his head, his eyes were like autumn water, and his figure was as pure as a lotus. Who else could it be but Wang Yueyao
"Mrs. Wang, why are you here?" Zhu Li asked puzzledly.
"Ahem, ahem." Wang Yueyao was seen through by Zhu Li, but she remained calm. She coughed lightly and said clearly, "Yao'er came here to protect herself. Is the governor surprised?"
Zhu Li heard this and looked foxy.
Suspicious, he said calmly: "With a frown and a smile, you can play with the officers of the three armies in the palm of your hand. My lady still wants to protect herself. I am afraid you are joking."
Wang Yueyao was not discouraged when she heard this, and said calmly: "If they come to snatch Yaoer openly, Yaoer will not be afraid, but these governors have limited patience. If they attack secretly, with the power of the Wang family and Yaoer, a weak girl, how can they escape?"
This seems to make sense. After all, the Wang family started out as a merchant family. No matter how many assassins they have, it cannot exceed the number of an army. A thousand people is already the maximum. And if Li Xiaochang, Wang Chongrong, and Tuoba Sigong are the three of them, who are filled with lust and act secretly, it would be difficult to guard against them.
"Madam, do you want me to help you?" Zhu Li thought for a moment and asked directly.
"That's right. But Yao'er also knows that the governor has the fewest soldiers and is slightly weaker in Yiting City. If Yao'er comes here rashly, she will naturally not let the governor confront them head-on. Therefore, Yao'er tied her hair up and dressed simply, disguised as a man, and came to join the governor." Wang Yueyao seemed to be afraid that Zhu Li would not accept her because she was in a weak position, so she explained.
"Surrender? Madam, don't you know that this is a military camp? There seems to be no precedent of recruiting women in the army?" Zhu Li frowned. He really didn't want to get involved in this mess. Beautiful women are also the source of troubles. Although it is not necessarily their fault, after all, beauty can move people's hearts, let alone a beauty like Wang Yueyao.
Wang Yueyao saw Zhu Li's frowning expression, which made her more determined to join Zhu Li. Ever since she could remember, she had never found anyone who could resist her beauty, but the person in front of her was an exception.
Sometimes women's minds are so wonderful. If countless people fall at her feet, she will not be surprised and will even despise them. But when she suddenly finds someone who is not bewitched by her beauty, it will arouse her desire to win and conquer. This is the case with Wang Yueyao now.
However, if she wants to convince Zhu Li to accept her, she must offer a price that will make Zhu Li excited. Among the four warlords stationed in Yiting, Zhu Li is the weakest. She must first ensure that her arrival will not bring more trouble to the other party. Secondly, she must make herself useful to Shuozhou and Zhu Li, otherwise there is no hope at all.
But this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that she admires Zhu Li very much. Although she has not reached the point of falling in love at first sight like Yuchi Jin, it still cannot stop her curiosity to find out more.
Wang Yueyao thought for a moment and then said, "The governor is stationed in Shuozhou. He must have understood the poverty of Shuozhou. The Wang family started out as merchants, and my father has only one daughter, Yao'er. If the governor accepts Yao'er's surrender, it would be equivalent to accepting the loyalty of the Wang family."
"If Shuozhou has the full support of the Wang family, it will surely prosper in ten years at most, or four to five years at least. Yao'er is confident that she can help Shuozhou achieve this."
Zhu Li's expression tensed when he heard this, and he immediately said, "It will take at least four or five years to make Shuozhou prosperous?"
"That's right." Wang Yueyao raised her neck high, very confident.
Zhu Li narrowed his eyes, staring at this extraordinary woman, and asked in confusion: "I have three scholars under my command. I am not bragging, but each of them has the talent to make the country prosperous and secure. But even they can only guarantee that it will take at least ten years to make Shuozhou prosperous. I don't know where your confidence comes from."
The people Zhu Li was talking about were Guo Qizuo, Wang, and Guo Chongtao. Guo Qizuo was the reincarnation of Guo Jia. Although Guo Jia's talents were mostly in military affairs, his insight and vision were certainly not bad.
Not to mention Wang and Guo Chongtao. In Zhu Li's opinion, these two
They are all prime ministers for a day, and with their abilities, none of them make such bold claims that Shuozhou can be prosperous in three to five years. Why is Wang Yueyao so confident
Facing Zhu Li's doubts, Wang Yueyao was calm and said calmly: "In business, let's talk business; in politics, let's talk politics. If we only look at it from the perspective of governance and development, it will take at least ten years, or at most twenty years, to make Shuozhou prosperous."
"But our Wang family is a businessman. We do business. For example, to increase the population, from the perspective of governance, it is undoubtedly to encourage childbirth, implement effective measures, attract refugees, etc. But from the perspective of businessmen, the increase in population can also be bought and sold. The people we buy are ready-made. Many of them are ordinary people who can't survive in one place. As long as we send these people to Shuozhou, and Shuozhou implements policies that benefit the people, it will be difficult for them not to stay."
Zhu Li's eyes lit up when he heard this, but then he thought of something and asked, "Doesn't the Tang law prohibit the buying and selling of human beings? How dare you do this?"
Zhu Li's words made Wang Yueyao stunned. She said in surprise, "Commander-in-chief, the Tang law prohibits the buying and selling of human beings, but has never restricted the buying and selling of slaves. The Tang law even clearly states the taxation clauses for the buying and selling of slaves. If we Tang people have the ability to sell foreigners to the Central Plains, we don't even have to pay taxes and regard them as immigrants."
Wang Yueyao's words made Zhu Li feel embarrassed. It was forbidden to traffic in human beings, but the regulations of later generations made it unexpected that the Tang Dynasty actually openly condoned the trafficking of human beings. From what Wang Yueyao said, the Tang law actually advocated the trafficking of foreigners into the Central Plains. This really opened his eyes.
The world was in chaos and many people could not survive. Selling children was common. At this time, selling slaves was equivalent to saving these people from the fire. Why not do it
To avoid embarrassment, Zhu Li pretended to frown and pondered for a while, then sighed, "But buying and selling people requires money after all. My Shuozhou is so poor now, how can I have the spare money to buy people?"
"Hehe, the governor doesn't have to worry about this. If the governor accepts Yao'er's surrender, my Wang family will naturally be under the governor's command. If the governor gives certain conveniences to my Wang family, Yao'er can promise here that the governor will not have to pay a penny for the money from human trafficking." Wang Yueyao said excitedly, showing two rows of white teeth like a little fox.
"Will your Wang family bear this expense?" Zhu Li was puzzled. You know, Shuozhou only has a pitiful 30,000 subjects, and the population gap is very large. How many people would need to be trafficked to fill the gap? He didn't believe that the Wang family could afford it.
As if she saw Zhu Li's suspicion, Wang Yueyao continued, "Don't worry, Governor. The Wang family also started out as a merchant family and will never do business at a loss. The furs and jewelry outside the Great Wall are all valuable items. As long as my Wang family manages it carefully, not only will we not lose money, but we will make a lot of money."
Zhu Li felt helpless when he heard this and sighed, "The furs and jewelry are all from the Hu people. I can't make the decision."
"Hmph." Wang Yueyao rolled her eyes at him and snorted, "We can first purchase a batch of luxury goods such as silk and tea from the inland areas, go north to the border areas, and sell them to the Hu people. Then we can obtain valuable items such as furs and jewelry from them and return them to the inland areas. In addition to purchasing more goods, we can use the money we earn to buy a large number of slaves and maids and send them to Shuozhou. If we go back and forth several times a year, we can at least bring thousands of slaves and maids. If the scale can be expanded, the number of slaves and maids sent to Shuozhou in a year will be even greater."
“As long as the governor gives the order to protect the safety of our caravan along the way, everything else will be handled by our Wang family. The Wang family will definitely not ask the governor for a penny.” Wang Yueyao said carefully and charmingly.