Chapter 411: Advisers and generals come one after another
Just recognition!
But if he wants to truly enter Cao Peng's circle, Su Shuang still needs more efforts.
At least on the second day, Su Shuang showed this awareness of hard work. Of course, as a businessman, Su Shuang could easily conceal his emotions and show appropriate concern for Hexi in front of Tan Zhe.
.
"General Bei Zhonglang is a pillar of the imperial court. When he was in Haixi, he brought Haixi to great power, turning a remote place into a prosperous place in the east today... Alas, I only hate the double blessing, but I missed a great opportunity.
Opportunity……"
Tan Zhe blurted out: "In that case, why not settle in Hexi?"
He just said it casually and didn't care too much.
Su Shuang had not had time to tell Tan Zhe before that he was planning to escape from Zhongshan Kingdom and go to Mobei with Tan Zhe. So in Tan Zhe's view, Su Shuang was just talking. Who knew that his opening immediately aroused Su's anger?
Dual interest.
So he kept chattering at the banquet and asked Cao Peng about his plans in Hexi.
Tan Zhe asked doubtfully: "Mr. Su, do you really want to come to Hexi?"
"Yes, the Yuan family in Hebei will be defeated sooner or later! If Benchu Gong was still there, he could still compete with Cao Gong. But now that Benchu Gong is gone, the Yuan family's young masters can't work together and are fighting among themselves. It's really difficult.
Resist Duke Cao.
The Su family and the Yuan family are too close. If we stay in Zhongshan Kingdom, we will be destroyed sooner or later.
I know that Bei Zhonglang will be very generous, but I wonder if he can arrange a place for my Su family in Hexi?"
Cao Peng showed his acceptance just right.
Next, everyone talked about the issue of the Hexi trade route.
After thinking about it for a long time, Cao Peng finally reluctantly agreed.
"Brother, I can open the Hexi trade route, but the labor problem I mentioned yesterday..."
"This is simple. I can give my brothers six hundred...eight hundred, no, a thousand people. What do you think?"
Su Shuang reminded Cao Peng yesterday that, despite Tan Zhe's willingness to agree, those one thousand people were probably a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people.
"There are a thousand people, some are missing."
Cao Peng said: "I can give you something in exchange."
"what?"
"To be honest, brother, I'm afraid you still don't know who my father is.
My father is the arsenal order of Xu Du and is in charge of the replacement of weapons in Hezhinan and Guanzhong. He himself is a master of weaponry. He has previously invented the double quenching method, which greatly improved the quality of weapons. Now, a large number of ordnance has been prepared.
After it is completed, the replacement will be implemented first in the Heluo area. At that time, a large number of ordnance will be eliminated. As long as my father is willing, it is not impossible to secretly deduct some. Three thousand dragon birds, eight thousand spears, and
Thirty thousand bows and arrows, in exchange for five thousand Han slaves for my brother... If my brother is willing, I will write to my father immediately."
These ordnance were stored in Zhang Shiping's warehouse in Fuping County.
The transportation from Fuping County to Hexi is only blocked by a large river.
Of course there is more than this, but Cao Peng would not use it all at once to make a bargaining chip.
Sure enough, Tan Zhe's heart was moved!
He looked at Su Shuang and then at Cao Peng, showing hesitation.
After a while, he apologized and walked out of the king's tent. Cao Peng knew that he was looking for someone to discuss the matter, so he was not in a hurry. However, since there were other people at the banquet, he did not talk to him.
Su Shuang talks.
After a while, Tan Zhe came back!
“Brother, can you give me a little more?
The number of five thousand Han slaves is a bit too much. Many Han slaves are not owned by me personally. I have to negotiate with other heroes. Let's do this. I will collect eight thousand Han slaves and give them to you. One price, eight thousand dragon birds. , fifteen thousand spears, and one hundred thousand arrows. As long as you agree, I can give you another hundred horses, and three hundred cattle and sheep, how about it?"
Such a huge amount of ordnance is enough to arm Tanzhe's troops to the teeth.
Cao Peng looked embarrassed and tapped the table with his fingers.
"Cao Zhonglang, are you in urgent need of slaves?"
"yes!"
"How many, how many do you want?"
"For now, the more the merrier..."
Su Shuang looked thoughtful, stood up after a moment, walked to Tan Zhe, and started talking in a low voice.
Tan Zhe shook his head repeatedly at first, as if he didn't agree with Su Shuang's idea. But gradually, he became silent...
"Brother, you really need help, right?"
"Exactly."
"Can both Hu Nu and Han Nu be used?"
"This is nature, including cattle, sheep and women..."
Tan Zhe looked at Su Shuang and saw Su Shuang nodding towards him.
So he slapped the table and said, "Brother, how many do you want before spring starts?"
"certainly."
"How do you calculate the price?"
"..."
With Su Shuang playing both sides, Cao Peng and Tan Zhe bargained again and finally determined an accurate price.
The first batch of 8,000 Han slaves were delivered within ten days at the cost of 6,000 dragon birds, 10,000 spears and 80,000 arrows. If any other transactions were to be made, they would need to be exchanged for grains and rice. In Su Shuang's inadvertent move Under pressure, the price was finally determined. Cao Peng did not need to worry about these materials for the time being. Moreover, after Dai Sushuang completed the task, a large amount of materials would be transferred from Zhongshan Kingdom at the latest in the spring of next year. Therefore, in a short period of time, Cao Peng did not want to Too worried.
Solving the population problem also made Cao Peng feel much more relaxed...
In order to show his sincerity, Tan Zhe first gathered 1,400 Han slaves under his command, including men, women, old and children of all kinds. Perhaps they had experienced too many hardships, so those Han slaves did not show too much The resistance was gathered together expressionlessly. At the same time, Su Shuang also dispatched a convoy of 150 people from his retinue, and together with Cao Peng, escorted the Han slaves to Hongze. The leader of the team, named His name was Su You, and he was the eldest son of Su Shuang. In this way, Su Shuang expressed his surrender to Cao Peng, and Cao Peng silently accepted it with a smile.
Three days later, Cao Peng set out to leave Hongsha Gang.
This visit can be said to be fruitful, with benefits for all three parties.
Su Shuang will get a place to live, and he will also get the protection of a backer, so he does not have to flee to Mobei to endure the bitter cold wind; Tan Zhe will get a large number of weapons to enhance the combat effectiveness of his tribe, laying a solid foundation for his future foothold in Mobei. foundation; as for Cao Peng, the harvest was even greater. It not only solved the population problem, but also gained the support of wealthy businessmen in Zhongshan. In Cao Peng's eyes, Su Shuang's support was even more significant than the Han slaves in his hands.
"From today on, you will become Han citizens again.
I will give you the greatest protection, but at the same time, you must also give your strength. I want to build a city in Hongze, and it must be completed before winter. After the wasteland is opened next year, you will no longer be slaves. …”
In order to cheer up the mood of these Han slaves, Cao Peng said this to the Han slaves after leaving Hongsha Gang.
No longer a slave?
The Han slaves couldn't help but feel refreshed.
Many of them were originally ordinary Han people. During the Chuping period, many of them lived in Guanzhong for many generations.
I don't want the chaos in Chang'an to make them homeless.
The disaster caused by the Qiang and Hu also caused them to leave their homes and even lose their freedom.
Becoming a slave means losing everything, including their lives and families. In the past ten years, the Han slaves have endured all kinds of humiliation and torture, and gradually even lost hope. Now, they will have the opportunity to regain their freedom.
Living under the protection of the imperial court. Whether it was true or false, Cao Peng's words undoubtedly gave them hope. In those dull eyes, the flame of hope was rekindled...
Cao Peng led these Han slaves and did not go to Lianbao.
Just when they were passing through Lianbao, they sent someone to tell Jia Kui and asked him to send someone to send Cai Yan and his daughter safely to Hongshui County.
After all, Lianbao will exist as a military town in the future and is not suitable for ordinary people's life.
Cao Peng had a vague idea, that is, to implement the government army system in Hexi, and to fully implement the integration of soldiers and farmers, and the integration of soldiers and animal husbandry. As long as the farming can be implemented smoothly next year, some difficulties can be alleviated by next autumn at the latest.
At that time, Cai Yan's family will inevitably leave Lianbao.
Cai Di is still young, and it is not a good thing to be away from her family for a long time.
So after much deliberation, Cao Peng finally decided to let Cai Yan move to Hongshui County with him.
After the Lian Fort was built, it was enough for Jia Kui and Yin Feng to take care of it. From then on, Cao Peng focused all his energy on Hongshui County.
After several days of trekking, Hongshui County is within easy reach.
Liang Kuan had already set up camp.
Xiutu's captives were still on their way to Hongshui County. When Cao Peng arrived with 1,500 Han slaves, Liang Kuan couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised. He only had a thousand soldiers and horses stationed here.
It's really a bit empty...
Almost all around are enemies with ulterior motives.
Even if Cao Peng and Hongze made an alliance, no one could guarantee that those Hongze people would not take the opportunity to attack!
Fortunately, the Hongze people are busy integrating and have no time to take care of this place.
Therefore, during the few days Liang Kuan was in Hongshui County, he was relatively calm and did not receive any attacks. With the arrival of the first batch of 1,500 Han slaves, Liang Kuan felt reassured. Most importantly, Cao Peng
Being personally in charge of Hongshui County also gave Liang Kuan a little more confidence. The next day, Liang Kuan ordered the camp to be expanded to prepare for more labor.
Three days later, everyone from Xiutu arrived in Hongshui County.
Almost on the same day, Lianbao Yin Feng suddenly launched an attack on the surrounding tribes. In one day, he plundered nearly 2,000 people, which can be said to be a huge harvest. And because Lianbao is located in the far east of Hexi, Yin Feng
Feng's behavior did not attract too many people's attention... Whether it was Hongze or other tribes, they all remained silent.
That night, Cao Peng was sitting in the Chinese army's tent, reading the report sent by Jia Kui.
In just a few days, Lianbao soldiers and horses made six sorties, raiding nine tribes of various sizes around Lianbao, plundering a large number of people, and registering them. At the same time, as the construction of Lianbao accelerated, planned
Gathering those prisoners and putting them into construction. As a result, the progress of Lianbao was greatly accelerated. It is expected that the construction of the outer city of Lianbao will be completed before August 26. Jia Kui implored Cao Peng to give specific arrangements for the next step of the construction of Lianbao.
…
Rubbing his temples, Cao Peng put down the report.
There are still not enough people!
The construction of Hongshui County has already started, and the construction of Lianbao also needs to be accelerated.
The labor force was enough for the time being, but Cao Peng needed more staff to participate. He began to feel regretful. If he had known this, he should have brought more people over. I don't know when Bu Zhi and the others will arrive. I hope they won't wait too long!
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation at ***(***.***).***, your support is my biggest motivation.)
