Chapter 528

"That son of a bitch Lu Ping'an actually dares to attack Hezhou? Does he really not know who he is anymore?" Qian Fugui cursed aggressively, "My lord, I request to be the vanguard!"

"That old scoundrel thinks that because he's a rebel Jinglue Shi, he's a head taller than everyone else, appointing this and that all day long. But how many people in Nan Jun truly acknowledge him?"

"My lord, I won't take many troops. Leave all the new recruits behind; I will take my three thousand veterans to meet that Lu Ping'an, and I will pull out all his dog teeth."

"Don't get excited yet, listen to me!" Chen Wuji pacified Qian Fugui and briefly explained the cause and effect of the matter to him.

After listening, Qian Fugui said, "My lord, based on my shallow experience, I suspect that Lu Ping'an really does have the intention of using the pretext of a joint military campaign to actually seize Hezhou."

"No matter how this battle is fought, my lord, I've claimed the vanguard position first. No one should have said it earlier than me, right?"

"Fine, it's yours!" Chen Wuji laughed and agreed to the matter.

He knew very well why Qian Fugui was so obsessed with being the vanguard, but what surprised him was that this guy still hadn't changed; it seemed it had truly become an obsession.

But to truly become a vanguard general whose name remains in history and is remembered by countless descendants, these few battles were far from enough.

The way history was made in this era was almost identical to how his predecessors in his former time and space made history.

They thought what they were doing in Hezhou was remarkable, but if it were truly written in the history books, it would probably be just one sentence: In such-and-such year, Chen Wuji of Hezhou raised the banner of righteousness, gathered ten thousand people, and occupied the prefecture.

With his current achievements, Chen Wuji's name could occupy three characters in the history books, but Qian Fugui would still remain unknown, just one of the ten thousand under his command.

Having received a definite answer from Chen Wuji, Qian Fugui grinned with excitement and immediately cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you, my lord! Qian Fugui will certainly not fail your trust and will pull out all of Lu Ping'an's dog teeth!"

"Let's go, eat first, and then we'll go to the military camp to take a look!" Chen Wuji said.

"Yes!"

Yang Yu lingered in Hezhou for a full ten days before finally bidding farewell to Chen Wuji.

Chen Wuji still held a banquet at Dingqing Lou to see Yang Yu off.

This time, in addition to him, Qin Feng, Qian Fugui, Zhang Xun, and Cheng Zhiheng accompanied them.

Yang Yu had come quietly, but when he left, Chen Wuji had to make it a grand affair.

No matter what happens in the future, this relationship must be tied down in the open for now.

"Why not stay a few more days, Yang Gong? If nothing goes wrong, Lu Ping'an's reply should arrive soon," Chen Wuji asked after everyone had a drink.

Yang Yu said with a hint of emotion, "I've spent ten peaceful days in Hezhou, it's time to go. If I don't go back, I'm afraid the situation in San Guan Pass County, which I've finally stabilized, will fall into chaos again."

"But before I leave, I want to do business with you, Chen Xiaoyou."

Chen Wuji asked seriously, "Yang Gong, please speak your mind."

"I've walked around Hezhou City a few times these past few days and discovered some very interesting items," Yang Yu said, taking out a piece of paper. "I heard these are products from the government-run workshops you established, Chen Xiaoyou. I wonder what the cost is?"

"One wen per sheet, and one sheet can be cut into eight pieces the size of the one in your hand, Yang Gong!" Chen Wuji said, "Compared to bamboo slips, I think this price is very cheap."

Yang Yu was a bit surprised, "It is indeed cheap, but San Guan Pass County is beset by internal and external troubles, and the treasury is truly empty. I wonder if I can exchange Qiang captives for a batch of paper?"

"Yang Gong, you are making it difficult for me. What would I do with those people? I have always had them killed; not one is left!" Chen Wuji shook his head and said.

Yang Yu opened his mouth, somewhat shocked by Chen Wuji's answer.

"Killed directly... that is indeed a profitable method, but unfortunately..." Yang Yu muttered softly, but he didn't say what followed.

But even if he didn't say it, Chen Wuji could guess what it was.

Nothing more than it being harmful to heaven's harmony or something similar.

However, this was not a problem he needed to consider; the root of this matter had to be asked of the Qiang people themselves.

If they didn't engage in that kind of genocidal looting and slaughter, he wouldn't kill them without mercy.

Every cause has an effect. He didn't care about others, but here, he was the effect of the Qiang people.

An evil effect!

"San Guan Pass County produces iron. I wonder if you are interested in iron, Chen Xiaoyou?" Yang Yu thought for a moment and asked.

Chen Wuji's eyes lit up, "This, I am indeed interested in, and the more the better."

"Paper is good, but the usage won't be that great. If you want more and more, Chen Xiaoyou, I'm afraid you'll need to ask me for silver to buy it," Yang Yu said with a smile.

Chen Wuji said with difficulty, "But Hezhou is poor too. Supporting the army makes me calculate every morning how long the grain will last. If I had known San Guan Pass County had iron, I wouldn't have agreed to your proposal to send troops, Yang Gong; it would have been better to exchange it for iron directly."

"You shouldn't calculate it that way, Chen Xiaoyou. My sending troops should be more cost-effective than iron!" Yang Yu said in surprise. In his view, his troops assisting would mean fewer deaths on Chen Wuji's side, so how could the value of soldiers be compared to iron blocks?

Chen Wuji nodded, "You are right, Yang Gong. I won't hide it from you; I am actually very short of iron right now, and I need a large amount. Let me see what else Hezhou can provide. Do you want pots or inkstones, Yang Gong?"

Yang Yu laughed, "My family is already using your pots, and the army is using them too. Your caravans are very powerful; now every household in San Guan Pass County almost uses pots for cooking. As for inkstones... for me, this item is temporarily useless."

Qian Fugui proudly puffed out his chest.

In the matter of selling pots, their Qian family's Hengtong Business Business Trading Firm had put in a lot of effort and made quite a profit.

Chen Wuji, however, was a bit bewildered, "Are our pots selling that fast now?"

He hadn't been back to Yunan for a while, and he really wasn't clear about many things that had happened recently.

To distinguish between public and private, he had handed over the management of the blacksmith shops and the sheepskin accounts of Xiao Yuji and the others to Huo Sanniang, and he hadn't even asked about them.

"My lord, I am clear about this. The shops have been expanding their scale since Commander Yang left, and now the whole street is almost becoming a blacksmith area," Qian Fugui said.

"Mainly because the orders from all over are just too many, forcing the workshops to keep increasing manpower. Now, it basically maintains a state where new apprentices become masters as soon as they finish their training, and then they take five or six apprentices to continue teaching."

Chen Wuji:...

In his impression, it hadn't been long, but the changes were indeed quite large.

But thinking about it carefully, it had already been almost two months.