Chapter 185: Betrothal Gift

One hundred thousand people could finally be put into production.

Liu Zheng's greatest project in his life, Yintan City, had finally begun to take off.

Sure enough.

Under the unique Point Management System of Yintan City, the one hundred thousand slaves were full of drive, all just to strive for an early restoration to the status of free citizens.

Over here.

Du Biao's transport team had also been officially established.

The twenty brothers he brought from the Baiya Army all became logistics captains, and then, under them, a team of nearly a thousand people was recruited, equipped with horses, camels, and horse carriages; this logistics team, exclusive to Yintan City, was thus founded.

Liu Zheng bestowed the name "Ocean Logistics," and Du Biao was very satisfied.

Du Biao, from a Third Leader of the Baiya Army, transformed in one leap into the Chief Manager of Ocean Logistics, and could be considered quite high-spirited.

This first batch of goods was about to set off for Loulan, and Du Biao would travel alongside Mire, who was preparing to return home, which would count as having some mutual support on the road.

The people of Yintan City all came to see them off.

Liu Zheng looked at the "Ocean" flag fluttering in the wind, and his heart expanded: "Brother Du, the Silk Road is entrusted to you."

Du Biao knew the responsibility was heavy and dared not be the least bit negligent: "Young Master, rest assured, the name of Yinzhou will surely cross the oceans and spread far and wide across the world!"

"Set off!"

The team of one thousand five hundred people included five hundred soldiers with high martial arts skills; another five hundred people were transporting the goods bound for Loulan this time—weaponry and equipment, fine wine, Begonia Perfume, and so on and so forth... The remaining five hundred were slaves Liu Zheng had equipped for Ocean Logistics, specifically responsible for the food, daily life, and other matters of these people on the road.

Watching these people in high spirits, moving in a grand procession toward the Silk Road.

Qingyang Shuo could not help but laugh: "The name 'Ocean' shows the Young Master's ambition. It will not be a difficult task to level the Western Regions in the future."

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly: "Sir, the Western Regions are vast and sparsely populated; I fear it will not be easy to level them before the Lantern Festival."

Qingyang Shuo said leisurely: "Whether you level them or not is not important; as long as you can take one or two small countries, the Emperor will not care about your crime of seizing Hanzhong."

Liu Zheng listened and smiled bitterly again and again.

He had to admit that he was walking a tightrope at this moment, yet this was a tightrope he had to walk!

The trap the old Emperor had set for him could only be broken in this way.

If he did not choose this path, the only thing waiting for him would be a dead end.

As for which direction things would develop, that...

Let it be up to fate.

At this time.

Hanzhong.

During times of war, Hanzhong was a place that military strategists had to fight for. But in times of prosperity, this place was the Land of Abundance. Later generations often used "Land of Abundance" to describe the region of Chuan Shu.

Actually, that was not the case.

In the history of Huaxia, the first to want the title "Land of Abundance" was actually Hanzhong.

Because at that time, Hanzhong had more strategic status in the eyes of the northern regimes.

Later, with the expansion of the territory, the region of Chuan Shu snatched away the title of "Land of Abundance."

At this time.

Inside Hanzhong City, in a manor of no small scale,

A woman in white was reading a book quietly, while using fish food to tease the fish in the pond in the courtyard. This woman was a peerless beauty with fair skin, bright eyes, and white teeth, as if a red lotus had just emerged from the water.

Just at this moment.

"Miss, Miss, guess what Xiao Cui bought back for you?"

The woman put down her book and turned around in surprise: "Could it be that Begonia Perfume?"

The maid looked dejected: "Miss, why did you guess it right again!"

The woman smiled softly: "This Begonia Perfume is in limited supply; if it weren't for this, why would you be so happy, silly girl!"

Xiao Cui snorted: "The Master is the Hanzhong Commandant, after all, yet he won't even buy a few more bottles for Miss. He really doesn't dote on you enough!"

The woman laughed: "How could there be such abuse of power for private gain? Although the price has multiplied several times, it's not as if we can't afford it."

Xiao Cui looked left and right to see no one, then suddenly whispered: "Miss, have you heard? The Prince of Yong is discussing the matter of Miss's marriage with the Commandant!"

"What?"

The woman's face turned slightly pale, her mind in chaos, and the crystal bottle of perfume in her hand almost fell to the ground.

Xiao Cui was innocent and lively, and said excitedly: "Miss, that General Qin from Yinzhou, who beheaded the enemy among ten thousand men, is so imposing! Lord Commandant feels very satisfied."

"Shut up!"

The woman gave a cold shout.

Xiao Cui was startled and rolled her eyes in grievance.

The woman smiled bitterly, lovingly stroking her maid's head with her hand, her clear eyes looking leisurely at the fish in the pond: "Binding the fuel, walking at night for ten miles strong. Carrying the clothes bag, casting aside the poem bag. The weather is cold, the road is slippery, the horse's hooves are stiff; originally it was the Yong gentleman, coming to send off the Xie gentleman. Drunk with wine and ears hot, talking of literature. Startling the neighbor's wall, pushing over the Hu bed. Bystanders clap their hands and laugh at the eccentricity. If it is eccentric, what does it matter? If it is wild, what does it matter?"

Even if Xiao Cui was foolish, she could hear the sentiment in this; wasn't this poem the evaluation of the Prince of Yong by the world-famous Prefect Liu when he was commenting on the heroes of the world? It had spread throughout all of Hanzhong!

"Miss..."

Xiao Cui said with a sobbing tone: "I heard that Young Master Liu is very ugly!"

The woman in white burst into laughter, and her mood improved.

This woman was none other than the daughter of the Hanzhong Commandant, Sikong Zhen, named Sikong Jing. She was sixteen years old and quite famous for her talent. She was the woman of choice for Qin Zhangfeng among several candidates.

Sikong Jing was clever and intelligent, and she knew that she was only the daughter of a Commandant; in this era of solidified class, she could never be a match for the rising star, Prefect Liu.

Moreover.

Her feelings for Prefect Liu were merely admiration.

Just the idol of a young girl's first awakening of love.

Having never even met, what is there to speak of liking?

And what is there to speak of love?

She was merely feeling melancholy, wondering what kind of person that General Qin might be.

The three heads and six arms from the rumors?

That fierce, malevolent, and vulgar brute when he kills?

As a woman of this era, it seems one can never escape such a marriage.

"Originally it was Master Liu, now here comes Master Qin..."

"What does it matter if it is Liu, what does it matter if it is Qin?"

"Is it fun? Tee-hee-hee..."

"Young Lady..."

Hanzhong Prefecture.

The Prince of Yong, a fat man weighing over two hundred catties, was curled up in a ball, looking as if he would never wake up.

"Prince of Yong, this is a grand gesture from Yinzhou!"

"Indeed, among the betrothal gifts are five thousand fine steeds, twenty thousand saber-staffs, twenty thousand Divine Arm Crossbows, and fifty thousand Yinzhou Coins! If our Hanzhong obtained such military equipment, how would the Prince of Shu dare to harass our borders!"

"Prince of Yong, you must make a prompt decision!"

"I hear that Pei Yanran of Shu is also quite eager for an alliance with Yinzhou..."

The others in Hanzhong Prefecture had already begun to chatter all at once.

Seeing the Prince of Yong still half-asleep and yawning repeatedly, the group was anxious to the point of desperation.

The Prince of Yong waved his hand impatiently, looked at Sikong Zhen, and asked lazily, "What does the Minister think?"

Sikong Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "General Qin's valor is peerless under heaven; my daughter is truly reaching too high."

The Prince of Yong glared at him coldly: "Mandarin asks for the opinion of my Minister, not the father of Sikong Jing!"

Sikong Zhen shuddered, let out a deep sigh, and remained silent for a long time.

The Prince of Yong's spherical body suddenly sprang up, and he cursed in a fit of exasperated rage: "A bunch of idiots, a bunch of idiots!"

"Can you not see it?"

"Hm? Can none of you see it?"

"This is that brat from Yinzhou setting a trap for Hanzhong!"

"What?"

The crowd was shocked and looked at one another in dismay.

What kind of trap?

This marriage proposal letter was sent by us in Hanzhong to Yinzhou first, with the goal of befriending Yinzhou.

Sikong Zhen sighed from the side: "Everyone, this Prefect Liu has set his sights on our Hanzhong..."

"If he were just an ordinary general's betrothal gifts, that would be one thing, but this gift..."

"We cannot accept it, and we cannot refuse it!"

【Author's Note】

There are negative reviews saying I haven't made the exchange rate between gold and silver clear. In ancient times, one tael of gold was twenty taels of silver... not ten. The concept of Yinzhou Coin is not a stock market, nor is it futures. It is simply a product of the era and the plot; everyone, don't overthink it, and there is no need to delve into it deeply.