There was indeed no trace of horses around Daming Mansion. Xu Xian had no choice but to listen to Zhao Kuangyi's suggestion and investigate from the source. He asked Zaozi to disguise himself and go to the border between the two countries. Zaozi did not come back until half a month later.

It was actually said that the trade route between the two countries was completely strangled after Chai Rong's southern expedition, and no horses came at all.

When Xu Xian heard this, he couldn't help but look at Old Mutou, "Your Majesty, shouldn't you be happy with me, or have you listened to someone's slander and misunderstood Fu Yanqing?"

But Old Mutou said categorically: "Impossible, Daming Mansion has been purchasing a large amount of grain, horse feed, saltpeter, and pig iron. This amount far exceeds the entire Tianxiong army. Only a few of these items are stored in the warehouse, and the rest are not

It’s just an account.”

"His Majesty has placed an informant in the Tianxiong Army?"

"Hehe... If I say no, you probably won't believe it! Fu Yanqing must have a place to raise horses somewhere, and even a workshop for making armor and weapons."

Xu Xian shook his head and said: "It's just that the trade routes between the two countries are cut off. How can he transport the horses to the territory of Da Zhou? Unless... he takes the sea route. Is there a dock in Tianxiong Army's territory?"

"The Tianxiong Army does not have a dock, but there is one at the nearby Henghai Navy!"

Heng Haijun is a narrow strip along the Bohai Bay. It is based in Cangzhou. Because the area under its jurisdiction was too small and there were few major generals, it was merged into Youzhou in the Later Tang Dynasty. In the Later Jin Dynasty, because Youzhou was ceded to Khitan, Heng Haijun became an independent army.

.

Old Mu Tou patted his head vigorously, "How come I didn't think of Heng Haijun until now? When Fu Yanqing's father was Lulong Jiedushi, Heng Haijun was the territory of Youzhou! Tianxiong Army and Heng Haijun bordered, Heng Haijun

Isn't the navy just like Fu Yanqing's private territory? I'm really a stupid donkey."

Xu Xian looked at it amusedly and said, "You don't have to belittle yourself. I didn't expect His Majesty to be wise and wise."

"Your Majesty is young and has never experienced those things, so he doesn't know what's going on! Let's go and rob Heng Haijun!"

Xu Xian pressed Old Mu's head down, "Why are you so anxious! Let's ask someone to investigate first! If what we want is not in Henghai Navy, it will be embarrassing."

"That's fine! You can send someone to Henghaihai again!"

After losing hundreds of jars of wine, Meng Jun finally realized that he was not a businessman and handed the business back to Xu Xian. Xu Xian handed it over to Zhao Kuangyi. In just two days, the remaining four thousand jars of wine were ordered.

It was all empty, but the merchants couldn't come up with so much money at the moment, so they had to ask the soldiers to deliver the goods door-to-door every day. When they came back, they always brought back a cart full of copper coins.

Meng Jun grabbed a few heavy strings of copper coins with both hands and said excitedly: "I haven't seen piles of copper coins for a long time. The last time I saw so much money was when I followed the late emperor to go shopping in Tokyo. I pity my second brother for so many coins."

I'm looking for some good stuff and I'll kill some bitch for calling you."

Xu Xian subconsciously touched his nose. He had killed several soldiers of the Tianxiong Army that time, and he didn't know if any of Meng Jun's brothers were among them.

The other people looked at the cart full of copper coins and secretly swallowed their saliva, "Marquis Meng Yu, please share it with everyone."

"Split it! Business is about long-term business. After all the money is divided, what will be used to purchase goods? Deputy Commander Xu, can you tell me if this is true?" Meng Jun said to Zhao Kuangyi again: "Bookkeeper Zhao, please give all this money to me.

You are in charge, and it is up to you to purchase and ship goods, but don’t blame me for being rude if there is nothing."

"Don't worry! My brother-in-law has a rich family, so I won't be greedy for you." Xu Xian saw Zhao Kuangyi's erratic look in his eyes and his reserved expression and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Meng Jun laughed and said, "I don't know, Deputy Xu, but today a restaurant owner invited Secretary Zhao to drink wine at a brothel."

Zhao Kuangyi blushed and argued: "Don't talk nonsense, Marquis Meng Yu. I just drank with that shopkeeper. I just drank and signed a long-term supply contract by the way."

Xu Xian laughed and said, "Why are you nervous? You are a man and I can't understand you. Don't worry, I won't tell Xiaocan."

Dakui came over quickly and whispered to Xu Xian, "The kid is back and says there is important news."

Xu Xian nodded and quickly returned to the tent, only to see Old Mutou sitting behind the table and listening to the report. Seeing Xu Xian coming over, Old Mutou said happily: "You came just in time, let us guess this time, Fu Yanqing's

As expected, all the family’s wealth is at stake in the navy.”

"really!"

Xiaozi reported: "On a deserted beach, horse feed is delivered every day, and there are soldiers watching around. Occasionally, black smoke will appear, like the sound of forging iron."

"Eighty percent is correct! Do you know how many soldiers and horses this navy has?"

"The Hengjun Navy has a small population and a small territory, less than 5,000 elite soldiers, and only a few thousand of the rural corps can be trained," said the disciple.

Xu Xian looked at Old Mutou, "I don't have the strength. I think the best way is to ask your Majesty to change the military commander of the Henghai Navy and directly take over Fu Yanqing's family assets."

"Why look for someone else!" Old Mu Tou stood up and rummaged through his package, then took out a yellow scroll and spread it on the table. Xu Xian stepped forward and saw that except for the emperor's jade seal and the seals of the Privy Council and the Ministry of Personnel, there was nothing on it.

Xu Xian was astonished, "How dare you forge an edict!"

"Don't talk nonsense. The big seal on this is real. Your Majesty gave him to me just to make it easier for me to do things!"

Xu Xian sighed and said with a smile: "Many people say that I am His Majesty's confidant. Over time, I have come to believe it. Now it seems that you are the only one."

Old Mutou waved his hands and said: "We are different. My friendship with the late emperor is far better than that of my biological brothers. I have watched His Majesty grow up. My wife and children also suffered in the Guo Mansion. I have nothing to think about in this life.

, As long as you have a mouthful of wine, you won’t give it to the emperor. Your Majesty can’t even trust me, but who else can you trust? Is there anyone here who has good calligraphy?”

"I can write it myself!"

"Forget it, His Majesty said your handwriting is ugly more than once!"

Xu Xian had no choice but to find Zhao Kuangyi. When he heard that he was asked to write the edict, he couldn't help but trembled and waved his hands: "I don't dare to do this!"

Old Mutou pushed him behind the desk and said, "Don't worry, this blank yellow scroll was given to me by His Majesty. I won't find it on your head even if it's in the basket."

Zhao Kuangyi wrote and sat behind the case and asked: "What should I write?"

Old Mu stroked his beard and said: "Let's ask Hu Yuan, the military commander of the Henghai Navy, to guard Ma Bujun as the deputy capital commander, and Xu Xian will take over as the military commander of the Henghai Navy."

Xu Xian said hurriedly: "I just gained a foothold in Tianxiong Army, and you asked me to go to Heng Haijun again!"

"It's just a temporary measure. A deputy governor is not good enough for you, so you still want to straighten it out! Once Fu Yanqing's family is stolen, His Majesty will send someone else to take over."

"I am working in vain making wedding dresses for others!"

"Then Heng Haijun is poor and poor, what is there that you should be curious about!"

…

While the two were talking, Zhao Kuangyi had already started writing. At first, his face was full of nervousness, and the wrist holding the pen was shaking slightly, but gradually his breathing calmed down and his writing became smoother.

His face was slightly red, not nervous but excited, his eyes wide open, bright and full of desire...

With such an edict, there is no need to go to war, and the Henghai navy can be easily received. The soldiers of the Red Scarf City are enough. Asking the people of the Shangtianxiong Army to hold down the formation will make people suspect that the edict is false, and he is deeply concerned about it.

I can't trust these veterans.

At night, the five hundred riders left the camp and galloped eastward. Although there would be checkpoints along the way, by the time Fu Yanqing received the news, Xu Xian and Lao Mu Tou should have accepted Heng Haijun and copied Fu Yanqing's legacy.

Although Heng Haijun and Tianxiong Army were close to each other, the journey was not close. They had only traveled three hundred miles until dawn. Everyone found a cheap suburb and slept with blankets all morning. After lunch, they set off on the road again, all the way until

It was just in the evening that the horse slowed down.

Both sides of the official road were waist-deep with withered grass. The cold wind of late autumn swept through the undulating waves. Under the red sun, there was a sense of desolate beauty. Xu Xian couldn't help but sigh: "This is the boundary of Cangzhou. The scenery is quite beautiful."

Very beautiful!”

"What a beauty! There's no one around anywhere you look!"

"Yes, I'm also wondering why there is so much wasteland here with no one cultivating it. It seems that the Henghai Jiedushi did not carry out His Majesty's decree."

Chai Rong was not idle when he returned from his expedition to Huainan. He ordered people to repair the calendar, repair the Yellow River, compile classics, and repair the Yellow River. The most important decree was to divide the fields. In troubled times, many people left their hometowns to escape the war, and a large number of fields were abandoned.

, there are many fertile fields in it.

The government has never taken it back by force. It has always left these lands uncultivated and no one else dared to cultivate them. Once the landowners came back, their work would be in vain. The ancients valued the land very much, no matter who planted the crops or whose fields grew them.

Whoever comes out belongs to you.

Chai Rong didn't care about that. He issued an edict that anyone could cultivate on the wasteland. If the landowner came back within three years, he would only return half of the land, and if he came back after five years, he would return 30%. If the landowner came back after five years, the land would have changed its owner.

"The land in Henghai is too thin to grow food. If you don't have the time to take care of it, why not go to Henan to find a piece of good land!"

“Look, don’t these grasses grow very luxuriantly?”

"It seems like you have never planted any land. Can the land with grass be the same as the land with crops?"

"As if you had planted it!"

Old Mutou said with a hint of pride: "No, before I joined the army, I was a serious farmer." Seeing that the speed of the horse beneath him dropped sharply, he added: "The horse is already tired.

Why don’t we just spend the night here and rest.”

"That's fine! These horses have traveled hundreds of miles, and they won't be able to slow down even for ten and a half months. When you get Fu Yanqing's old horse, you have to stick with me to pick it out."

Xu Xian ordered everyone to rest. Zhao Ke suddenly came up to Xu Xian and said, "Manager, I have something to say and I don't know if I should say it... or if I should say it... say it!"

"Then let's talk! When did it become so annoying?"

"Well, there is an ambush three miles ahead... there is an ambush..."

Xu Xian immediately looked forward, only to see desolate weeds rising and falling, and no human beings to be seen.

But Old Mutou laughed loudly and said to Zhao Ke: "That's nonsense. Your eyes are so long that you can see things three miles away."

Xu Xian looked solemn, "His eyes are not that easy to use, but his ears are."

Xu Xian was well aware of the capabilities of this humanoid radar. He calmly ordered everyone to drink and feed the horses, and also ordered people to make fires and prepare torches for cooking.

"Jiubao, fifty of you took torches and went two miles away to light the weeds on both sides of the official road!"

After hearing the news, Jiubai immediately led fifty people on horses and held torches. They rushed to a place two miles away and threw the torches in the grass.

The yellow weeds burned quickly, and with the help of the wind, the fire turned into a huge fire in an instant. Soldiers jumped out from the grass one by one, rushed to the official road, screamed in terror and fled eastward.

Seeing them escaping in embarrassment, everyone in the Red Scarf City laughed and laughed, but Xu Xian's thick eyebrows were knitted together, and he was filled with doubts.
To be continued...