Chapter 733: The Trouble of Longchuan

After saying that, he turned and took a brocade box from the shelf and handed it to He Lingchuan. Inside was a document and a token.

"Congratulations, from now on, you are Commander He."

He Lingchuan thanked him and took it, holding the token and playing with it back and forth. The day after he entered Panlongcheng, Zhong Shengguang and General Hong left the city, leaving only orders for him to go to Yuheng City to take up a new post.

Receiving the token meant that he was on the same level as Xiao Maoliang. Even in Panlongcheng, such consecutive jumps were rare.

Wen Daolun saw that he was overjoyed and couldn't help but pour cold water on him: "Don't be happy yet; breaking the rules for promotion often means the work is not easy to do."

He Lingchuan didn't care: "Where would it be my turn if the work was easy?"

In one year, he was promoted from a small patrol guard to a Great Wind Army Commander; wasn't it enough for him to be smug? But he also understood that once he was promoted to lead troops, the work and tasks would not be simple fighting and killing.

The new trial had begun.

Wen Daolun laughed: "Commander Xiao did a great job, but Zhong said that the northern line is still in urgent need of people, so it's just right to leave you here to gain experience."

He Lingchuan was very open-minded: "Master Wen, teach me."

Wen Daolun, the Commander-in-Chief, was in charge of the planning, finance, economy, culture, and education of Yuheng City and its subordinate towns, almost grabbing everything, except for the military and political affairs, which were to be placed in He Lingchuan's hands.

Yes, the garrison of Yuheng City, from recruitment to training, to patrol and combat, would all be controlled by He Lingchuan from now on! In such chaotic times, military power is greater than heaven.

From this, it can be seen how much Zhong Shengguang trusts He Lingchuan.

Such honor and grace were difficult for ordinary Great Wind Army soldiers to enjoy.

Wen Daolun took him to the adjacent guard camp to watch the sand table and explained:

"Our Yuheng City is in the easternmost part of Xiji, a border town, separated from the Jin Tao Nation by a river. This

He Lingchuan nodded.

Small nations like Jin Tao and Xi-Ji originally thought they had the backing of Ba-Ling and Beijia, and made things difficult for Panlongcheng with all sorts of accusations. Xi-Ji was suddenly destroyed by Panlongcheng, and Jin Tao was terrified, so it was hard to guarantee there wouldn't be some extreme reactions.

"If it were only to defend against Jin Tao, we wouldn't need to go to such great lengths to build Yuheng City." Wen Daolun didn't beat around the bush and cut straight to the point, "What Commander Zhong cares about is this Xi-Ji trade route—it has now been renamed the Longchuan trade route."

Zhong Shengguang hoped that the two characters 'Xi-Ji' would disappear completely from history, so even the place names and trade route names had to be changed.

He Lingchuan said at the right moment: "I heard that bandits are rampant in southern Xi-Ji?"

Before Zhong Shengguang took office, the Panlong Wasteland was originally a nest for bandits. Later, this fierce man single-handedly created the Great Wind Army and spent less than two years sweeping across the entire Panlong Wasteland.

After defeating Zhu Erniang, the current Panlong Wasteland was basically firmly controlled by Panlongcheng, and there hadn't been news of bandits for a long time.

"That's right. Xi-Ji originally only had superficial prosperity. Although the south had richer soil and water, they couldn't reclaim wasteland or collect taxes there, so the original Xi-Ji nation focused on managing the central and northern parts, turning a blind eye to the bandits in the south. As time passed, the bandit problem became increasingly serious, even threatening the trade route between Xi-Ji and Baishawan."

Having bandits on the side of a trade route was not a strange thing. Light and shadow accompany each other; every merchant understands that there are risks in trading.

But when every bandit was baring their teeth waiting to take a big bite out of you, and when the risk outweighed the profit, merchants would naturally consider changing routes or giving up.

Then the profit this trade route brought to the host would be greatly reduced. Not only would trade be affected, but the towns along the route would also lose their source of vitality.

This was originally Xi-Ji's trouble; after conquering Xi-Ji, it became Panlongcheng's problem.

"The Xi-Ji officials and soldiers couldn't beat the bandits; there must be some reason for that, right?"

"The crux of it all is in Longchuan." Wen Daolun pointed to the southeast on the sand table, "The bandits you captured also came from Longchuan, as expected."

He zoomed in on the sand table, and He Lingchuan saw a large expanse of marshland in the southeast corner of Xi-Ji, which was the east side of the trade route.

"This is... a lake?" Good heavens, there must be one or two hundred lakes here, large and small, scattered like stars.

The southeast of Xi-Ji was actually an out-and-out water town.

"Yes, this was originally a land of fish and rice, with an area about half that of the Chipa Plateau. It was equally rich in products and even had salt wells. Later, it encountered several upheavals, and Xi-Ji couldn't manage it properly, resulting in today's situation." Wen Daolun smiled bitterly, "Longchuan has 176 lakes, and there are over 50 bandit gangs holed up in them. It can be said that chaos is rampant!"

He Lingchuan didn't even move an eyebrow: "Do they all make a living by robbing the trade route?"

Wooling from a single sheep?

"They live in Longchuan, farming and fishing in normal times, and when they mount their horses and roar in and out, they are bandits. Of course, they don't just rob the southern trade route; they also rob the villages in the central and northern parts, and sometimes even go to the Jin Tao nation to take advantage." Wen Daolun shook his head, "The people and the bandits are one; this is the difficulty in suppressing them. The Xi-Ji nation tried many times, but all returned in defeat. It is said that two great generals of the Huyan family were lost in Longchuan. Later, they simply let it be."

These bandits were not weak in combat; He Lingchuan had just had a fight with them on the way here and experienced it personally.

Although the Great Wind Army won... nonsense, the Great Wind Army had been through a hundred battles and didn't flinch against the regular coalition forces of Ba-Ling and Xian-You. If the original Xi-Ji army had come to suppress them, the win rate against the bandits would be about four to the bandits, because their equipment and weapons were worse.

If the battle took place in Longchuan, that was the bandits' home turf, and the situation might reverse.

"These bandit gangs must also have big and small, high and low, right?" Where there are people, there must be distinctions of high and low, noble and base; He Lingchuan had no doubt about this.

"That is of course." Wen Daolun nodded, "There are several big gangs in Longchuan. It is said that other bandit nests have to pay tribute to them, whether it's loot or fish."

He Lingchuan sneered: "They really think of themselves as local emperors."

"But Xi-Ji hasn't bothered with them for a long time, and we are new here, so we don't know much about the internal situation in Longchuan."

He Lingchuan understood: "This is my duty."

Wen Daolun added: "By the way, since the destruction of the Xi-Ji nation, there are a few more bandit gangs in Longchuan."

He Lingchuan reacted quickly: "Those who refused to surrender led their remnants into Longchuan?"

"Yes. We conquered the Xi-Ji palace too quickly; some Xi-Ji generals didn't react before the nation was gone, and they refused to surrender. For the past few months, Commander Xiao has been busy leading the army to suppress rebellions, defeating several units. But these remnants gathered again and hid in Longchuan."

"It really is that everyone goes to Longchuan." He Lingchuan stroked his chin, "Interesting."

(End of chapter)