Chapter 556

He Lingchuan walked out of the room and first counted the goldfish in the tank.

Number one to number nine, still alive.

But the colors of two of them seemed to have changed; I don't know if it was because of the fish insects fed by Sun Fuling that made them more vivid, or...

The jasmine hanging above the fish tank had withered like falling snow, so it was ruthlessly moved away, and what replaced it was a pot of osmanthus.

The residents of Panlongcheng liked to plant osmanthus trees, but He Lingchuan's courtyard was too small, and I don't know where Master Sun got such a small pot, and the flowers were blooming just right.

At this time, Panlongcheng had faded from the summer heat and was blowing autumn winds; it was a good time to enjoy osmanthus.

The fragrance of osmanthus overflowed from the courtyard into the room.

The sound of wind chimes came from next door. He Lingchuan climbed onto the wall and looked; Sun Fuling's door was tightly closed, and the owner was not at home.

He looked up at the blue sky; at this time, the master should be in class? There were messy footsteps coming from the neighbor's house on the other side, as well as the noise of moving heavy objects, and the complaints of children.

He Lingchuan opened the courtyard door and walked out, just in time to see a mule cart slowly starting, the neighbor's male owner sitting in the cart, waving goodbye to his family.

"Don't worry, at most half a year, at least three months, I'll be back!"

The female owner grabbed Little Fatty and watched her husband go away.

He Lingchuan didn't disturb their farewell, and until the mule cart disappeared at the corner of the street, he stepped forward and asked: "Why does even he have to travel far?"

The neighbor worked for the Panlongcheng government office; according to He Lingchuan's understanding, he was a civil servant, and his life was relatively stable, so he didn't need to travel far. Why did he have to go for three to five months this time? The female neighbor sighed: "Yuheng City is being rebuilt, and he has to go help."

The son, Little Fatty, didn't understand: "Dad is not a mason, nor a carpenter, and doesn't know how to build houses, why does he have to go too?"

The word "too" from the mother and son was very meaningful.

The female neighbor stroked his head and said: "Your dad is going to help people manage expenses and calculate accounts; otherwise, who will pay the masons and carpenters?"

The last time Panlongcheng sent troops, it directly destroyed the Xiji Nation. Although the Xiluo Monarch ordered that the Panlong army and civilians were forbidden to return east, it was impossible for Panlongcheng to spit out the territory it had finally swallowed.

So the original Xiji territory was also inherited by Panlongcheng. Yuheng City was the original border city in the east of Xiji, separated from the Jin Tao Nation by only one river.

Jin Tao was close to the Baling Nation and Beijia, and its relationship with Panlongcheng was also very bad.

As a border city, the original defense facilities of Yuheng City were old, and even the river embankment was in disrepair. After Panlongcheng destroyed Xiji, it had to consolidate border defense and had to repair Yuheng City well.

Of course, there were many Xiluo people in the original Xiji territory, and there was no lack of skilled craftsmen. He Lingchuan's neighbor went there to do some municipal service work.

In fact, this incident was just a microcosm; the entire Xiji region was under construction.

In addition to relying on existing city facilities, such as Longhou Pass, Yuheng City, and other checkpoints and border cities, Panlongcheng also had to build several places for cargo transfer and troop stationing in the Xiji region.

The plains of Xiji were also very fertile and suitable for crops. In this way, in addition to the Chipa Plateau, Panlongcheng had a new high-quality grain production area.

Because it was too far from the Chipa Plateau and too close to the Jin Tao Nation, the safety of Xiji was a big problem.

It couldn't be defended just by conquering it; Panlongcheng couldn't send troops there every day.

But the new trade route brought by Xiji was exceptionally important, so in the past two months, Panlongcheng had been transporting all kinds of talents there to help the Xiluo people in the Xiji territory become masters of their own affairs as soon as possible.

He Lingchuan found in his several entries into the Soul Village that many comrades-in-arms had been ordered to be stationed or reinforced in Xiji, and even Commander Xiao was sent to be an instructor, said to be training 50,000 new recruits.

It is said that Zhong Shengguang was also considering sending a general to Yuheng City, who would be responsible for stationing troops, training, and farming all at once.

It was autumn now, and after the autumn harvest, it was a good time for training.

He Lingchuan thought he would also be sent to Xiji, but the Broken Blade Squad had not received such orders for the time being.

As for the old royal city of Xiji, there was a large group of civil officials there, trying to get the post-war Xiji back on track.

Although Panlongcheng was rarely as peaceful as the Black Water City that He Lingchuan was used to, the changes brought about by the annexation of Xiji were beyond everyone's expectations.

Many people left Panlongcheng every day, and many new faces flowed in every day. This war machine started up again, but it was not busy for war.

Or rather, not for the time being.

Fresh things quickly distracted the residents and diluted the frustration of being unable to return east.

This Xiji transformation also stimulated the enthusiasm of the civilians, and the number of people volunteering to go for support was increasing day by day.

This scene might continue for a long time.

Now He Lingchuan casually stuffed a few pieces of cowhide candy to Little Fatty and chatted a few words, and not far away, a messenger soldier rode over and said to him:

"Pass on General Hong's order, He Lingchuan is to be on duty at the Gange Hall at the third quarter of noon."

He Lingchuan received the order and walked toward the south of the city.

Since he killed the Jindu cub and saved Wen Daolun in Panlongcheng, the trust of Zhong Shengguang and General Hong in him had grown day by day. In the Xiji national war, he led the Broken Blade Squad to successfully complete the mission at Longhou Pass, performed outstandingly in the Battle of Xiji Royal City and the Battle of the Xianba Allied Forces, made repeated military contributions, and his distance from the Panlongcheng high command was getting closer and closer.

The activities he participated in had higher and higher security levels, and Zhong Shengguang and General Hong did not avoid him in their conversations.

Going on duty at the Gange Hall like this was a special honor for the Great Wind soldiers. Only the most trusted warriors were qualified to guard the war secrets of Panlongcheng.

With plenty of time, he had time to go around the South Gate Square first.

The Juluo tree by the river had not changed, and the monster-headed Nightmare entangled by the branches complained as soon as it saw him: "When will you let me go! I have completed the task you entrusted."

"You are a weakling now." He Lingchuan smiled, "Wandering around, it's easy to be eaten by other Nightmares."

"I need a dreamland, otherwise I will be weak to death!" The Soul Village was not a place where it should stay for a long time, let alone here... what exactly is this place! "I'll find one for you when I have time." He Lingchuan appeased it. This Nightmare had already seen the inside of Panlongcheng and could be considered a semi-insider; He Lingchuan could never let it go.

The Great Fang Hu and Panlongcheng were his biggest secrets; once leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He turned a deaf ear to the Nightmare's sorrowful roar and soon passed Wang Lin Street.

Passing by Yunling Island, he found that there were more guests coming in and out, not to mention rubbing shoulders, at least it was like guests coming to the door. Although it was a cool autumn, the Fat Fatty was sweating on his forehead, not knowing if it was sweat or oil.

The shop hired two more assistants, and there were many fresh goods on display.

Like a profiteer like Bai Guo, the goods displayed in the prominent position of the shop were either very expensive, rare in quantity, powerful in function, or very trendy.

He Lingchuan saw a snail shell in the whole row of goods at a glance, oil-yellow, larger than a palm, the texture on the surface was like tiger stripes, and the snail mouth had small serrations.

Although he was mixed in the crowd, Bai Guo had sharp eyes and recognized the landlord, running over in small steps:

"You are here!"

This fellow had a way of receiving guests, and he deserved to make money. He Lingchuan smiled: "Boss Bai is making a fortune, and the business is booming. Look, shouldn't the shop rent..."

Hearing that the unscrupulous landlord wanted to raise the rent, Bai Guo complained bitterly: "Oh, you don't know, there are more new things recently, but the cost is also high, and the competition is fierce. The shop across the street imports goods according to what's in my shop, and the price is lower than mine. If it weren't for the many repeat customers in my shop..."

He Lingchuan squinted at him: "If I hadn't leaked the news to you in advance, would you have dared to take down that shop at the west corner of Wang Lin Street?"

When rumors of returning to the country were flying everywhere, he told the Fat Fatty that the Panlong army and civilians would definitely not move east. At that time, people were restless, and someone was transferring the shop on Wang Lin Street. The Fat Fatty listened to his "inside news" and not only gave up the idea of returning the rent, but gritted his teeth and took down that shop.

This is called starving the timid and stuffing the bold.

Now it's good, the Panlong army and civilians are not leaving, the other party regrets to death, and can only watch the Fat Fatty make money every day.

Bai Guo hurriedly took out a box, which contained five ghost cicada sloughs: "Brother He, no, Master He is amazing, a small gift is not a respect."

He Lingchuan was not polite, grabbed them and put them into his bosom, then asked strangely: "Usually I ask you to import a few cicada sloughs, and you push back and forth saying it's difficult. Why are you so happy today?"

Bai Guo wiped his sweat: "This used to be a rare thing, with a price but no market, and you couldn't necessarily get it even if you wanted to."

"And now?"

"Didn't we take down Xiji?" Bai Guo's mouth was about to split to his ears, "Kicking away this stumbling block, the trade route to the south is smooth, and it can even be opened to the seaport of the Song Nation! Goods from outside can come in, and the varieties are complete."

He Lingchuan understood.

Panlongcheng had always been an enclave, and development in all directions was hindered. Taking down Xiji also opened up the trade route to the south, which was very beneficial for Panlongcheng's communication with the outside world.

Bai Guo was right; the trade route extended further, and could even reach the seaside!

He Lingchuan even suspected that this was the real purpose of Zhong Shengguang and others to take down Xiji—to strive for external communication and get rid of the enclave dilemma.

If he guessed correctly, Panlongcheng would spend more effort to consolidate and operate Xiji later.

For Panlongcheng, this was a brand new opportunity.

"In other words, you can sell me cicada sloughs cheaper in the future?"

"Uh..." The landlord's heart is so black! "Can, can! Another, another 10% off!"

Stingy, He Lingchuan shook his head and pointed to the conch: "What is that?"

"Oh, this is a magic conch." Bai Guo smiled, "If used as a military horn, the sound can reach ten miles away, basically the entire battlefield can hear it; it can also remember different sounds, and can be blown out directly next time, such as bird calls, tiger roars, etc... Do you want one? It's easy to use when performing tasks."

"No." He Lingchuan saw the price tag.

(End of chapter)