In the heroic city of the Song Dynasty in the south of Lingnan, Song Zhi, the Earth Sword, found his brother Song Que and brought news that Fan Qinghui, the master of Cihang Jingzhai Zhai, came to visit him.
The word 'visit' is very interesting. When Song Zhi mentioned it, he also deliberately emphasized his tone and looked quite unhappy.
"What, you don't welcome Master Fan Zhai to your door?"
Song Que looked calm and spoke calmly.
"To be honest, I don't welcome it!"
Song Zhi spoke honestly and said: "Although the rumors outside are often unreliable, I admit that they have been affected!"
"Then what do you think the purpose of Master Fanzhai's visit is?"
Song Que smiled noncommittally and continued to ask: "Are you really just here to win over and establish a deeper friendship?"
"Is not it?"
Song Zhi said with a smile: "Could it be that Master Fan Zhai really only came here to inherit the swordsmanship at the Grand Master level? Why does she think we have to give it to us with both hands?"
"Second brother, you are upset!"
Song Que waved his hand and said directly: "Please step back, I will meet with the Master of Fanzhai in person!"
Song Zhi opened his mouth, but in the end he said nothing and retreated dejectedly.
No one knows exactly what Fan Qinghui, the master of Cihang Jingzhai Zhai, and Song Que, the Heavenly Sword, said. In short, when they left Song City in Lingnan, their faces looked quite relaxed and natural.
The chaotic rivers and lakes seem to have become a lot quieter because of this.
Wu Dong heard the news and released new rumors without hesitation.
Song Que, a powerful figure in the Song Dynasty, was so arrogant that he dared to "seek skin from a tiger".
I don't even think about it. In the entire Song Dynasty, only Song Que and Song Zhi can do the job. The rest are just mediocre people and will surely suffer backlash over time.
Song Que was obviously holding back his anger. Hearing the rumors in the world, he immediately spoke out through the channels of the Song Clan: What qualifications does a young man like this have to point fingers at the Song Clan?
If you are really capable, you should show your true skills directly to your subordinates, instead of just showing off your words.
This is the first time that a well-known gangster has issued a direct provocation to Wu Dong, who has been hiding behind the scenes and constantly stirring up trouble.
Apart from anything else, the world was filled with applause, as if Wu Dong was classified as a villain.
Wu Dong was not polite and directly told him that when the Heavenly Sword Song Que was promoted to the Grand Master level, he would go and loosen Song Que's muscles and bones.
These words were so crazy that they naturally caused an uproar.
At this time, Wu Dong gave up the idea of quarreling with Song Que and focused most of his attention on the expansion of his subordinates' territories.
Time has arrived in the early winter of the eighth year of Daye, and the weather has turned cold and everything is quiet.
Everyone else was resting for the winter at this time, but it happened to be the time when Wu Dong's troops were making great achievements.
Last year, relying on the common sense that it was difficult to mobilize troops in winter, his troops captured five or six manors and vast fields in one go, laying the foundation for encircling the city from the countryside.
From early spring to late autumn in the eighth year of Daye's reign, they took advantage of the turmoil outside and went out from time to time. With the help of the troops of the Wagang elders, they captured another fifteen or six manors piecemeal.
At this time, the number of fields under Wu Dong's direct control exceeded 200,000 acres, which was an astonishing number.
They are all fully developed mature fields, with constantly improving water canals, and most of them are fertile irrigated lands.
Coupled with some of the agricultural knowledge imparted by Wu Dong, Daye achieved a bumper harvest in the autumn harvest season of the eighth year.
The territory under his control alone helped the Wagang Army solve most of its food shortages. This was also the main reason why Wu Dong's status among the Wagang Army became more and more transcendent.
The so-called cannibals have short tongues. At present, most of the Wagang Army's food and supplies have to rely on Wu Dong's territory. Naturally, a group of Wagang veterans will not continue to be stubborn and engage in the disgusting behavior of holding a bowl in one hand while putting down their chopsticks to curse.
Not only were there grain harvests, there were also mountains, forests and rivers in Wu Dong's territory.
He personally inspected everything and carried out scientific planning and proper development. There are also many products in the mountains, forests and waters.
Don’t forget, Wu Dong also has superb medical skills.
Dense mountains and wild fields are treasures everywhere in his eyes.
Almost every village has established primary medicinal material processing and food processing workshops based on the surrounding environment. Some villages have also established other workshops.
All driven by water and wind power, plus some oil pressing workshops, flour milling workshops, etc. that are necessary for daily life. It can be said that the entire jurisdiction has formed a self-transfusion cycle.
Coupled with the basic school in the village, the secondary school where the manor is located, and the system of wandering doctors who have undergone simple training, Wu Dong's territory is full of vitality.
People living in difficulty around them continued to seek refuge, and the population in the territory grew rapidly.
Quietly, a ferocious beast is lurking. Once it shows its claws, it will definitely shake the entire hinterland of the Central Plains.
When Wu Dong issued the summons and saw the number of third-rate body-refining warriors in front of him, more than one hundred and fifty, he knew that the foundation of the territory was stable.
It has to be said that only after experiencing hardship can one realize how hard-won a peaceful life is.
There were more than 150 accomplished guys in front of them, almost all of them were young and strong men in their twenties to thirties.
That's right, they were all under Wu Dong. After they started to attack the manor, the tenants and the children of the hermits in the manor, or the young refugees who defected one after another.
They cherish the learning opportunities in the basic school and are even more active and diligent in practicing martial arts.
Wu Dong provided them with complete logistical supplies, and in return they spent more than a year training themselves to the level of a third-rate warrior.
Even though the number of third-rate body-refining warriors seems to be small, their training time is also short. If they are given a few more years, with the physical talent they have shown, it will be natural for them to enter the second-rate level.
Behind them, there was a large number of body-refining warriors who had already entered the mainstream, probably numbering in the thousands, and the combat power of the army they formed was absolutely astonishing.
These are still young adults. Their physical foundation has been completely formed and their potential for rapid development is limited.
When the students in the school graduate, Wu Dong will have a great harvest.
But now, the expansion cannot stop.
As for the tenants and hermits from nearby manors who defected to him from time to time, Wu Dong also had to teach the owner of the manor where they lived what the pain of loss was.
As the great cause of eight years came to an end, as far as Wu Dong could see, the hinterland of the Central Plains was in ruins, which caused serious harm to Yang Guang and his men.
Once again, both sides of the official road were littered with the corpses of laborers who had died of exhaustion and illness, and the local situation was getting worse and worse.
Even though the aristocratic family did not openly oppose Yang Guang, they kept making small moves in private, shaking the foundation of the Sui Dynasty bit by bit.
Large tracts of refugees appeared, many fertile fields were left uncultivated, and wealthy families quietly started to annex new lands.
Wu Dong saw this and naturally understood what was going on.
At this time, if you don’t know how to take a piece of the pie, then there is something wrong with your brain.
His purpose is naturally to continue to expand his territory, and the direction is opposite to the canal.
Using troops in winter is against common sense. As long as the movement is not too loud and the manors captured are all in the countryside, it will not attract too much attention.
That is to say, the powerful locals whose interests have been harmed will pay special attention to the actions of Wu Dong's troops.
But Wu Dong had too many methods to deal with local powerful people.
Even if you use force, the power you have in your hands at this time can make the opponent unable to survive, and Wu Dong does not need to personally come forward.
At present, the Sui Dynasty can barely intimidate the local area. No matter whether it is aristocratic families or local powerful people, they dare not take too much action.
It was the right time for Wu Dong to increase his expansion efforts at this time.
When Yang Guang's second expedition to Goguryeo failed and the authority of the court was severely damaged, and he could no longer effectively restrain the local powerful and aristocratic families, they would blatantly start supporting the warlords to participate in the struggle for the dragon.
At this time, any aggressive expansion can easily attract the attention of the world.
It's not that I'm afraid of anyone, but I don't want to get into trouble.
The Wagang Army is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and the power of the aristocratic families and local tycoons here is terrifyingly powerful.
Once it attracts their attention and suppresses it with all their strength, every step of expansion will be quite difficult.
Wu Dong now understood clearly that behind the rapid development of Wagang Army after Li Mi joined, he didn't believe it if they said they didn't have any tricks.
As for the tyrannical forces of aristocratic families in the hinterland of the Central Plains, if they really want to fight against the Wagang Army, a single Rongyang Zheng family can slow down the development of the Wagang Army several times.
As for allowing the Wagang army to easily seize Luokou Cang and Xingluo Cang, thinking about it at this time, it is obvious that there is also the support of local aristocratic families and powerful people.
During the period of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty and the early days of Yang Guang's accession to the throne, the Sui army's combat effectiveness was quite powerful. It could end the confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties and suppress the powerful Turkic Empire. Obviously, the Sui army's combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.
But after Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo three times, the entire Sui military system seemed to have collapsed.
Damn, how long has passed? Although those strong soldiers at the time were old, they couldn't even defeat the newly emerged Wagang Army, right?
Yang Guang was able to mobilize millions of troops at will. He made three expeditions to Goguryeo, and the number of soldiers mobilized was absolutely beyond imagination.
You know, the third expedition to Goguryeo was successful. Although Goguryeo only surrendered and did not destroy the country, the accompanying army basically suffered no battle losses.
That group of Sui troops had at least more than 500,000 troops.
With a profit of 100,000 yuan, it may be difficult to sweep the rebel armies across the world with the strong foundation of the Sui Dynasty, but it should be no problem to press the Wagang army to the ground and rub it.
Many times, the battle between the Wagang Army and the Sui Army was like child's play. No matter how Wu Dong thought about it, he felt something was wrong.
But if aristocratic families and local tycoons secretly took action to hinder the rebellion of the Sui army, many things would be explained.
Wu Dong's plan is very simple. Before the powerful families and local powerful people exert their power, Wu Dong will occupy enough territory and population, and he will have room for choices when troubled times come.
The best thing is that he chose the strategy of surrounding the city from the countryside, and the sites he seized were rural areas that were looked down upon by wealthy families, giving Wu Dong enough space to display and maneuver...