And the soldiers and horses that King Qian said were waiting at the foot of Luofu Mountain.
Luofu Mountain stretches for hundreds of kilometers, with majestic mountains, lush vegetation, towering ancient trees, and a more pleasant climate than outside, making it a good place to escape the summer heat.
Due to its topography, this mountain range has become a natural refuge for bandits.
The largest bandit den in Lingnan is hidden somewhere in this mountain range.
It has been five or six days since the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under King Qian entered this mountain range, and they have not seen even a shadow of the bandits, let alone a bandit den.
Facing the cunning bandits, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were helpless, so they had no choice but to ask Prince Qian's Mansion for help.
King Qian received the news and specially sent Mr. Yan to assist.
As soon as Mr. Yan came over, Xiang Rongrang, the commander-in-chief of Lingnan appointed by King Qian, informed him of the situation here.
After listening to his introduction, Mr. Yan knew that the bandits in Luofu Mountain were very cunning and could not come out of the mountain despite the siege by Lingnan soldiers and horses.
Let the officers and soldiers who don't understand the situation in Luofu Mountain wander around in the mountain like headless flies, but they can't find the way to their mountain stronghold.
It is not a long-term solution for tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to stay in the mountains. One is that they cannot adapt to the environment of the mountains if they stay here for a long time. In summer, there are many snakes, rats, insects and ants in the mountains. The other is that tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, food and grass are a huge consumption.
, there is no progress in staying on the mountain, and Prince Qian’s palace cannot afford it.
After understanding the general situation, Mr. Yan took one person away in the afternoon, pretending to be a businessman, and took his son to the farmers in the mountains to buy mountain products.
I stayed at the house of an Orion hunter in the mountains that night, and left the next day with the collected mountain goods.
After confirming that there was no one on the mountain road before and after, Xiao Song, the escort who came out with Mr. Yan, couldn't help but ask: "Since Mr. Yan came out to inquire about news, why did he not inquire about it from the time he stayed at Orion's house last night until he left today?"
?”
Moreover, Mr. Yan stopped him several times when he wanted to speak.
Mr. Yan looked back at the road behind him and shook his head: "You should have been with the prince for at least a few years. No wonder you are still an ordinary guard after so many years. Your observation ability needs to be improved."
Xiaosong blushed and said, "Sir, I respect you, but you can't attack me personally. Why is there a problem with my observation ability? If you don't make this clear today, we won't be finished!"
Mr. Yan did not blame him for his rudeness, because as a staff member of the palace, he always convinced people with reason.
He clicked his tongue and said, "Yesterday we came all the way and visited three villages. The amount of mountain products collected was limited. Although the villagers explained that it was because they sold the mountain products to other traders. But, have you ever thought about what they do to them?
Isn’t it a bit redundant to explain to strangers like us?”
Xiaosong frowned slightly, shifted the burden on his shoulders, and asked, "What does this mean?"
"It means that there are no three hundred taels of silver here, and it means that the villagers have something evil in their hearts, so I have to explain it here. It is too redundant." Mr. Yan's usually serious face became even more serious this time.
"." Xiaosong still didn't seem to understand, but he knew from what his husband meant that there was something wrong with these villagers, but he couldn't figure out what the problem was.
Mr. Yan ignored his reaction and continued: "Besides, our faces are unfamiliar, so you may not have noticed that as soon as we entered the village, the villagers seemed to be wary of us."
It makes sense for one villager to be vigilant, but the fact that villagers in three villages are vigilant illustrates the problem.
"Last night we stayed at Orion's house. Orion talked with me. He deliberately avoided my temptations. This shows that he is not a simple person."
After hearing what he said, Xiaosong suddenly said: "Sir, what do you mean, are these villagers colluding with the bandits on the mountain?"
Mr. Yan: "It is possible, but I am more inclined to think that they are bandits or they are in the same group with the bandits."
Good boy! Xiaosong clicked his tongue. The villagers are really good at playing these days. There is nothing wrong with farming, hunting and becoming bandits.
He seemed to remember something and asked nervously: "Then what should we do next? I originally wanted to find out the news, but it turns out that the old farmers in the mountains are not simple either."
There are hundreds of peaks in Luofu Mountain. They can't look for them one by one, right?
Mr. Yan pondered for a moment, cleared his throat and said: "If this road doesn't work, then we will find another way."
Xiaosong was curious: "How to say?"
"If we keep wandering in this mountain, we will definitely fail this time to suppress the bandits, and the best result will be to return without success. However, if we change our strategy, we may turn defeat into victory."
Xiao Song looked a little anxious after hearing this. It was his first time to go on an expedition. Could it be that he would get off to a bad start?
But he is just a pawn, there is no point in rushing.
At this time, he had expectations in his heart. How to change the strategy mentioned by Mr. Yan?
When he spoke again, his tone was more respectful: "How do you think we should change our strategy, sir?"
Mr. Yan pursed his lips and lowered his voice, "Give up the attack on Mount Luofu."
When Xiaosong heard this, he was shocked: "What? If you give up attacking Luofu Mountain, wouldn't that mean you are giving an advantage to those beasts on the mountain?"
"If you go by what Mr. said, then aren't we in vain and all our previous efforts in vain?"
After hearing this, Mr. Yan said with a serious face: "The problem now is that we cannot touch the mountain gate of the Luofu Mountain bandits. The most taboo thing between the two sides is that they do not know the details of the other side. If they are led by the nose, they do not know why. Knowing yourself and the other side is the best policy.
Young man, you don't need to be emotional when dealing with the enemy."
Xiaosong couldn't help but be silent after hearing this. He found that what the gentleman said was very reasonable and he could not refute it.
After returning to the camp, Xiaosong handed over the collected mountain goods to the gang leader, feeling dejected. When his colleagues asked him what was going on, he sighed and shook his head. Mr. Zhang did not tell him any specific strategies, so how should he answer?
Can't answer.
When Mr. Yan returned to the camp, he found Xiang Rongrang and said, "I didn't gain much from going out this time, but I gained something, that is, we understood our situation clearly."
Xiang Rongrang had expectations in his heart, but now he felt a little disappointed after listening to his words, "Even sir, we didn't get anything from our expedition. Are we going to return to the mountains without success this time?"
Mr. Yan took a sip of tea before continuing: "There are no tigers in the mountains, and monkeys are the kings. We are new here, so it is normal for us to be teased by monkeys. Now that we know our shortcomings, we will retreat to the outside of the mountains and avoid them."
Attack the strong enemy and look for the enemy's weaknesses from other aspects."
"What exactly do you plan to do, sir?" Xiang Rongrang asked.
Mr. Yan spoke eloquently, "Luofu Mountain stretches for hundreds of miles, and there is more than one bandit den. We can attack and destroy the enemy at multiple perimeters. Once the outer areas are wiped out, it will be equivalent to cutting off the ears, eyes, and left and right hands of the Luofu Mountain bandits. We will weaken the bandits."
After defeating the enemy, we finally encircle him and attack him. That will be our victory."
Based on limited data analysis, Mr. Yan feels that the bandits in Luofu Mountain cannot live alone. The numerous bandit nests within a few hundred miles of Luofu Mountain must be inextricably related to them.
After Xiang Rongrang understood Mr. Yan's plan clearly, he was filled with admiration. He thought that he was indeed the most popular plan in front of the prince, so cunning, so cunning.
A person without real ability would never be able to say this, and it would be impossible for him to become a popular person in front of the prince.
With this thought in mind, Xiang Rongrang sat upright and poured a cup of tea for Mr. Yan himself, "Sir, thank you for your hard work coming here. I still need your guidance for the next battle. How to do it specifically? Please tell me, sir, when I figure it out."
Just follow the arrangements sir said."
Xiaosong didn't know exactly what Mr. Yan said to the Commander-in-Chief. He only knew that the next day, the team broke camp and retreated.
Many soldiers in the army who had suffered in the mountains were happy to pack up their tents and finally be able to leave this deadly forest.
What was surprising was that as soon as they retreated to the outskirts of Luofu Mountain, they encountered many defeated soldiers.
After asking, I found out that these were the servants of the Lingnan family. They were jealous of Li Chengmu's gains from suppressing the bandits a few days ago, so they were sent out to suppress the bandits. They also heard that there were many bandits in Luofu Mountain, so they came here to make money.
But what is unexpected is that the bandits here are real tough bandits, not just ordinary servants who can kill them.
No, these servants tasted some sweetness at first, but when they actually met the tough bandits in Luofu Mountain, they were defeated and fled in a hurry, but they didn't want to meet the soldiers of Prince Qian's palace here.
The servants breathed a sigh of relief when they found out that they were safe.
Mr. Yan came to the servant for questioning and learned the specific location of the bandit's den. He excitedly said to Xiang Rongrang: "When the opportunity comes, Xiang Bing, the bandit's lair cannot be found. Attack the weak points of the outer bandit.
There is still no problem, and the rest of the battle will be left to you. Once we have cleared away the surrounding bandit troubles, it will be time for us to have a decisive battle with the main force of the ruthless bandits."
After hearing Mr. Yan's words, Xiang Rongrang was overjoyed. After being frustrated in the mountains for several days, he finally found someone to vent his frustration to after coming out of the mountain.
This time he vowed to get back all the grievances he had suffered these past few days with profit.
The bandits in the periphery faced hundreds or thousands of servants, and they were not afraid. But when faced with tens of thousands of soldiers from Prince Qian's palace, they did not need to be attacked by the enemy. When faced with the attack of a powerful enemy, they did not need the enemy to persuade them to surrender, and simply fled.
Xiang Rongrang looked at Mr. Yan in disbelief at how easily he captured a cottage, "Sir, is there a trick here? It was too easy to capture this cottage."
Mr. Yan laughed out loud: "You didn't even take action on this cottage. They had already escaped before we had time to attack."
Xiang Rongrang nodded: "It's unbelievable that victory can come so easily! This is so disrespectful. Why do they have to resist before escaping? They don't even have the courage to confront us. It's so disrespectful."
It’s disappointing.”
Xiaosong covered his mouth and snickered. What did the general say? Oh, it's called being a good boy after getting an advantage!
"The victory in the first battle after coming out of the mountain can be regarded as boosting the morale of the soldiers. Next, we will circle around Luofu Mountain. When the surrounding area is cleared, it will be the time for the decisive battle."
Mr. Yan set the tone with his opening words, and then everyone worked hard in this direction.
——
A few days later.
After King Qian received news about the bandit suppression on the front line, he took this opportunity to find Xia Jing again.
"Princess, do you have any good ideas for dealing with these gangsters in Luofu Mountain?"
Xia Jing took the letter and read it quickly. She put the letter on the table and said, "Sir's strategy is very good. According to his arrangement step by step, it is only a matter of time before this bandit is wiped out."
After hearing her words, King Qian asked helplessly: "I know that your strategy is very good, but what I want to ask you is, do you have any better and faster strategies to suppress the bandits?"
The sun outside was too strong, so Xia Jing leaned lazily on the waterfront chair of the waterside pavilion, feeling a little drowsy.
After hearing King Qian's question, she steeled herself and replied: "In the face of force, all gangsters are paper tigers. As long as your fists are strong enough, even the gangsters in Lingnan are no match for you."
After hearing this, King Qian's face darkened, "Aren't you talking nonsense? If I, the king, had strong enough force, I would still be chatting with you here, and the front line would have captured Luofu Mountain long ago."
Xia Jing yawned and spoke lazily: "My lord, if you ask me sincerely and I answer sincerely, why is it nonsense? You don't know that I have been so busy lately that I have taken time out of my busy schedule to answer you.
Do you still have any opinions on this issue? Where is your conscience? Was it eaten by a dog?"
The corners of King Qian's mouth twitched, this was not just telling lies, it was just perfunctory.
He couldn't think of a way to do this for the time being, so he would temporarily act according to the strategy provided by Mr. Yan.
After a while, when Xia Jing was about to fall asleep, King Qian asked again: "Princess, you have been very busy recently. Your Huaxia Real Estate Company has become popular all over Lingnan."
Xia Jing closed her eyes and said lightly, "Yeah," "You know I'm busy, but you still bother me all the time. It's really slowing down my money."
Her Huaxia Real Estate Firm has completed its publicity work on its investment in the north of the city.
The next step is to build momentum. After the momentum is built up, and she becomes popular, her cashier will become soft.
Through paintings, the future prosperity of Chengbei is depicted. With this propaganda, basically everyone in Fucheng knows about Chengbei Commercial Street.
Many of them are waiting for the commercial street to start pre-sale.
By this time, King Qian finally understood the business model of Xia Jing Commercial Street.
She was completely relying on the property owner's money to make money in the north of the city. Before the house was built, she started selling it, collecting the money and then building the house. This kind of business without capital was only Xia Jing's idea.
King Qian said it was impossible not to envy her way of making money. It was so enviable. Why didn't he think of such a good idea? He had to pay for the new government office himself.
"When your property is pre-sold, remember to leave a few shops for me."
Xia Jing was amused by King Qian's arrogance, "It's a trivial matter to leave a few shops. Even if I leave you a few shops with the best locations, it's okay, but I have a request. I heard that you have hung up the old government office and are planning to sell it."
If you really want a shop, you can use the old government office to pay for it."
King Qian looked at Xia Jing unexpectedly: "The princess likes the current government office?"
"Yes!" Xia Jing nodded.
King Qian was in a dilemma, "However, the government office had been privately sold to others some time ago. You are late and there is nothing I can do."
Xia Jing said regretfully: "Well, since someone has already bought it, forget it. I just thought the location in the government office was good, but I didn't expect someone else to take it first."
As she said that, she glared at King Qian with dissatisfaction, "You are just a prodigal man. You sold such a valuable area to others at a cheap price, and you didn't even say a word to us!"
King Qian was unconvinced, "I didn't even tell you how much money I sold it for, how do you know I sold it cheaply?"
Xia Jing rolled her eyes at him unceremoniously, "You can tell by looking at your stupidity, no need to ask."