"Hahahaha, you're absolutely right. It doesn't matter what he does, just beat him up."
In the small tent that was not spacious, Li Muzheng was having a long conversation with a man wearing armor. At this time, he happened to mention his battle with the Dijie class in Qinglan College.
When he heard the news, the man in military uniform also slapped his thigh and loudly praised Li Mu for his good fight.
This person is none other than the leader of the imperial garrison in Lishui City, Liu Long.
He also has the identity of being Liu Ruoying's cousin. Yes, Captain Liu, who doesn't look much older than Li Mu, is actually their elder in terms of generation.
And at this time, Liu Long didn't have the dignity of an imperial soldier at all. After confirming Li Mu's identity, he not only took the three of them into his camp to reminisce, he was so excited that he even took out a pot of wine and said that he wanted to meet Li Mu.
Li Mu drank and talked happily.
Li Mu was not a fool, and he had great respect for this unrelated elder. He drank a few glasses of wine and chatted with Liu Longchang about his experiences over the years.
Captain Liu obviously had no one to talk to on weekdays. While chatting with Li Mu, the wine bottle in front of him was already half empty.
"I was born late, and I have always been a follower behind my sister since I was a child. Later, when I grew up, my sister married to Qinglan City, and I also joined the imperial army. However, I didn't live up to my expectations. In the past few years, I have been getting worse and worse, and I was assigned
When we get to Lishui City, we still want to see that..."
Liu Long, who was already a little tipsy, patted Li Mu on the shoulder and told about his friendship with Liu Ruoying and his military career over the years.
Unfortunately, it can be heard that although he is a descendant of the Liu family, a giant in the empire's military, he has not been doing well. At the end of the sentence, Liu Long's eyes turned slightly red, as if he remembered something aggrieved, and he picked up the
He drank another glass of wine.
"Liu...Uncle Liu, don't worry too much. Gold will always shine. Besides, you are so young. You are already a captain. You will definitely become an imperial captain in the near future."
The military system of the Cangyun Empire is relatively simple, and there are relatively few military ranks, ranging from ordinary soldiers to squad leaders, then to captains, then to generals, until the highest level of generals.
Liu Long is only twenty-two years old this year. Being able to become a squad leader is already an outstanding achievement. And with the Liu family as his backing, it is not impossible to become a captain before the age of twenty-five.
"Just call me big brother. I'm not a few years older than you. Don't follow the generational etiquette from the old guys in the family. A good man should act as he pleases, hahahaha."
Today's visit by Li Mu and the others completely relieved Liu Long's depression for many days. Unknowingly, he had gone through three rounds of drinking. Even Fang Yan, who was unsmiling, drank several glasses of wine at Liu Long's urging.
"Brother Liu, why are our Lishui City's garrison checkpoints set up at such an outskirts? This seems to be inconsistent with the regular requirements of the empire's garrison. Is there any reason?"
Lin Qingzhu was still quite concerned about the strangeness of the garrison level. Having participated in the governance of Qinglan City under her father, she understood that there was only one possibility to keep the garrison so outside, so she took advantage of Liu Long's drunkenness to ask for confirmation.
arrive.
"Hey, what other reason is there? Isn't it Gongsun Qi, the great city lord? Relying on his unparalleled position in Lishui City and his complete monopoly control over the Lishui iron ore, on the grounds of protecting the mineral veins, he forcibly demands all
The garrison outside the city lord's palace must withdraw to a place five miles away from the city."
Hearing Lin Qingzhu's question, the smile on Liu Long's face suddenly disappeared. He slammed his wine glass on the table and said this rule of Lishui City.
"How can the Lord of Lishui City be so domineering? Didn't the empire try to restrict him? This Lishui City is not even one of the 108 main cities, but it can have such great power?"
Liu Long's words made Li Mu and the others frown. It seemed that Lishui City was not as united as the outside world rumored, and the Lord of Lishui City was by no means as majestic as the stories told.
After another glass of strong wine, Liu Long also completely opened up his chatterbox.
"This Gongsun Qi is indeed a person. I heard from the older generation of garrison that it was his father who discovered the fine iron veins fifty years ago. The old city lord was a diligent man and spent his whole life thinking about how to lead the people of Lishui City.
They lived a good life, and God did not let him down. This hard work allowed him to discover the fine iron ore vein."
"After the mines started to be mined, the old city owner quickly found the three major chambers of commerce through the empire's connections and found a market for the refined iron ore. But when it came to doing business, how could the old city owner be the opponent of those in the chamber of commerce? It quickly became clear that
The purchase price of fine iron has been suppressed again and again.”
"The people of Lishui City have paid countless blood and sweat to excavate this iron ore, but in the end it was the three major chambers of commerce that made the most money. Until the old city lord passed away and his son Gongsun Qi took over as the city lord.
, all this changed.”
"The first thing Gongsun Qi did after taking office was to establish his own personal guard in Lishui City, and then start negotiations with the three major chambers of commerce. The negotiations lasted for five days and five nights. No one knew what they talked about.
All I know is that the special envoys from the three major chambers of commerce all turned pale when they left, and only half of the guards they brought with them left with them."
"Then the three major chambers of commerce announced that the pricing power of Lishui refined iron belongs to Lishui City, and they are only responsible for sales and transportation. Since then, Lishui City has truly completely held the refined iron veins in its own hands.
inside."
"The following ten years were the ten years of rapid development of Lishui City. Although the scale of the city has never expanded, the people can indeed live and work in peace and contentment. These are all the contributions of Gongsun Qi."
Under Liu Long's narration, the image of the Lord of Lishui City gradually appeared in the minds of Li Mu and the others.
Domineering, decisive, responsible and capable, these are their first impressions of Gongsun Qi.
"In that case, the Lord of Lishui City is still a very wise Lord. He should be very popular among the people of Lishui City, right?"
When Liu Long picked up the cup, Li Mu couldn't help but interject and comment, but he didn't understand how the city lord who was so considerate of the people could have a grudge against the imperial garrison.
"Until two years ago, Gongsun Qi could be said to be a model city lord, and he really had nothing to say to the people of Lishui City. Lishui City was the only city in the Cangyun Empire that did not tax the merchants in the city, and the people in the city also had nothing to say about it.
He was full of praise."
"Three years ago, I came here as the captain of the garrison team. At that time, the checkpoints were still set up at the city gate like most cities. Gongsun Qi's personal guards and the garrison have always had a harmonious relationship. I still remember the first day I came here.
At that time, it was Gongsun Qi who came to pick me up in person. At that time, he gave me the feeling of being humble, generous, and even a bit like a wise king."
"But God is fair after all. Gongsun Qi's own cultivation has always been a worry for him. I heard that in his early years he was also a young genius who was famous among people from all over the country. He cultivated to the realm of pill formation at the age of sixteen, and became a master in his twenties.
He is a strong man who has perfected the realm of pill formation, but his cultivation has stagnated since he took over as the city lord. It has been more than ten years, and he is still stuck in the realm of pill formation."
"The bottleneck in his cultivation tortured him, and then he disappeared for a whole year. It was said that he was in retreat. We practitioners all know that it is almost impossible to rely on retreat to pursue breakthroughs in great realms.
.”
"But he really succeeded. Gongsun Qi, who reappeared in everyone's sight, is already a strong man who has entered the Infant Transformation Realm. In order to congratulate the city lord on his great increase in strength, Lishui City held a big banquet on the day he came out of seclusion.
Almost all the families in the city participated, and of course we, as the garrison, were also invited to the banquet."
"Then that night, Gongsun Qi decided on three measures in front of all the prominent family patriarchs in Lishui City."
"Article 1: Expand the size of the City Lord's Guards and force recruitment to all civilians in the city."
"Article 2: Lishui City and the fine iron veins will eliminate all foreign forces within five miles, including our imperial garrison."
"Article 3: From now on, the Guards will launch a campaign against bandit and bandit strongholds within a hundred miles of Lishui City."
"As soon as Gongsun Qi finished speaking, several patriarchs of the old families stood up to object. You must know that Lishui City is located in the southeast corner of the empire. The nearby geographical environment is complex. There are countless strongholds of bandits and bandits. They usually protect the city and mineral veins.
The limit of not being plundered is already the limit, but Gongsun Qi wants to take the initiative to conquer, which is obviously gambling with the lives of the soldiers."
"But the development of the matter was beyond everyone's expectation. The previously humble and generous Gongsun Qi seemed to have changed. He drew his sword and chopped off the hands of the opposing family heads on the spot. He also said that if anyone objected again, he would directly
Cut off the head."
"Later on, it became what it is now. The Lishui City Guards were responsible for all affairs within five miles of the city. A large number of people were forcibly recruited into the Guards and began a long campaign against the nearby bandits and robbers."
When Liu Long said this, even a fool could sense the strangeness of the Lord of Lishui City. It was really strange to see such a huge change, which made Li Mu have to be wary.
"Why am I just like that ten thousand-year-old elementary school student who wears glasses? Strange things follow wherever I go."
Li Mu secretly sighed in his heart that he was so lucky, and glanced at Lin Qingzhu, who was also frowning next to him. The girl was thoughtful at this time, and was obviously evaluating the current situation through Liu Long's narration.
"Stop talking about this, Li Mu, it's rare for you to come here. Big brother will take you into the city later. In addition to being famous for its fine iron ore, Lishui City is also rich in a specialty called Lishui fish. After braised, it will definitely be the best in the world.
Absolutely delicious."
Seeing that the three of them had serious expressions, Liu Long also realized that he was a little drunk. Why should Li Mu and the others know about his troubles, so he quickly changed the subject.
In this way, the four of them all had their own thoughts. After drinking a few more glasses of wine, they got up and prepared to enter the city.