Chapter 260 Sending clothes from thousands of miles away

Once the conversation was over, Zhao Qiaonian and Da Niu grabbed Fang Xun. When they reached a secluded spot, Zhao Qiaonian dared to ask him the truth. "Young Master Fang, you've read a lot and spent a lot of time with the City Lord. Can you explain to us why the City Lord keeps leaving us brothers alone and not giving us any tasks to do? He won't let us take part in the siege or the logistics. What...what does this mean?"

Da Niu also said anxiously, "We brothers originally wanted to ask the City Lord directly, but the City Lord is no longer the same as before. We are unsure and dare not rashly disturb the City Lord... Young Master Fang, please consider that we were once exiled together and tell us clearly that we brothers are not smart enough to guess the City Lord's thoughts."

Seeing them all looking at him in confusion, Fang Xun smiled faintly and patted Zhao Qiaonian on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Brother Zhao. Don't overthink it, brothers. How could the City Lord leave you alone? It's just that there's a requirement for those of us who work for the City Lord now, and that's to graduate from at least an intermediate literacy class. I guess the City Lord is planning to start universal education soon, so you guys have to attend classes. Only after you graduate can we assign you any work."

"Going to class?" Da Niu was immediately shocked. "I have to learn to read and write again?"

Zhao Qiaonian recalled the time when Xu Zhenying led the class during his exile last year. "Are we still learning the same arithmetic and pinyin?"

Daniel exclaimed, "It's over. I've already forgotten everything I learned last year!"

Fang Xun smiled and said, "That's right. So before you graduate from the intermediate class, the city lord won't assign you any specific tasks. You can think of graduating from the intermediate class as becoming a Jinshi in the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can you arrange things for those who didn't pass the exam?"

Da Niu said anxiously, "But we are only good at martial arts. Do we have to learn those things when we help the city lord fight?"

"Learn, everyone must learn!" Fang Xun sighed, not knowing what he was thinking about. "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. The city lord is indeed different now, and we can't compare to when we were exiled selling soap. Back then, every time the city lord attacked a city, he would forcefully promote universal education, regardless of public opinion. As a result, almost everyone in Jinzhou Prefecture can read. Think about it, how many talented people does the city lord have at his disposal? Let's not even talk about you wanting to be a general. Just look at the soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture. Everyone can read. They train every morning, have cultural classes in the afternoon, and actual combat exercises in the evening. Soldiers trained in this way are all proficient in both literature and martial arts. How do you think your abilities compare to theirs?"

These words made Zhao Qiaonian and Da Niu's faces turn pale.

In this case, they have no advantage at all under Xu Zhenying!

"I'm speaking more honestly because of our past friendship. If you weren't relying on the friendship you established with the City Lord during your exile, you would probably only be able to serve as soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture at best! Not to mention sharing a room with the City Lord to discuss matters! Do you know how many people beg to enter the City Lord's study these days?"

Zhao Qiaonian immediately clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Master Fang, for telling us the truth! We are so grateful that you can tell us the truth!"

Da Niu also said, "Brother Zhao is right. If it weren't for Master Fang's enlightenment, we would still be confused and have no idea what happened."

Fang Xun quickly gave Zhao Qiaonian a gentle hand and said, "I'm glad you don't blame me. But the City Lord is a nostalgic person, I'm sure she'll give you a chance. Just wait and see. Once the education department is in place, Xingyuan Prefecture will definitely start universal education. When the time comes, you must study hard and strive to get good grades in cultural studies. Then you'll have no worries about work."

Several people immediately expressed their sincere gratitude to Fang Xun for his guidance.

After Fang Xun left, Da Zhuang rubbed his head, a look of pain on his face. "Oh my god, why do we have to learn those damn arithmetic operations again? Can't Sister Xu open a backdoor for us and let us become generals directly?"

Zhao Qiaonian frowned, "Come on, didn't you notice it during the meeting these past two days?"

"What did you see?"

"The City Lord has so many talented people under his command. A bunch of us roughnecks are nothing! We can't understand a thing during meetings, but look at the soldiers under his command. Not only are they eloquent, but they can also answer his questions and discuss military tactics with great clarity. A bunch of us roughnecks are sitting there like a bunch of good-for-nothings. If the City Lord sends people like us to serve in the army, who would obey us?"

"Brother Zhao, what you said is really harsh."

Zhao Qiaonian glared at his brothers and said, "Just tell me if it's true or not."

Several people remained silent.

Zhao Qiaonian's eyes lit up, his expression more serious than ever before. "It's said that a new emperor appoints new ministers. The Zhou Dynasty's system won't work here with the City Lord. If we want to achieve great things, we have to follow their rules! Isn't it just learning to read and write? How can it be so difficult for us brothers?"

Da Niu opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but he looked at Zhao Qiaonian and didn't have the courage to say it.

Zhao Qiaonian looked at the light in Xu Zhenying's room and said viciously, "Damn it, isn't it just studying? Just kill him!"

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General Zhu Kui of Fancheng, who was thousands of miles away, received a letter from Qianzhou Prefecture.

The letter was sealed with wax and had his name on it. No one knew who handed it in.

At this moment, he looked at the letter and frowned.

After a moment, he handed the letter to the staff beside him, "Master Zheng, take a look at it too. It's funny to say that the rebels in Qianzhou Prefecture invited me to join forces to attack the two Li kings."

The staff member read through the entire document quickly, then said with a smile, "These rebels from Qianzhou Prefecture are quite interesting. They actually want to join forces with us to attack the two Li princes. If we form a pincer attack, it will be enough to give the two Li princes a hard time."

Zhu Kui raised his eyebrows, "Why, Master Zheng agrees with this?"

"Why not? Sooner or later there will be a war between the two Li kings and us. We have 50,000 soldiers available in Fancheng. When the time comes, we only need to leave 5,000 to garrison. The remaining 45,000 will join forces with the rebels, which will make 60,000 to 70,000 men."

"But the Li Kings have hundreds of thousands of troops under their command!"

The master chuckled, "My general, they are just a bunch of rabble! The two Li Wangs originally made their fortunes as refugees, and most of their subordinates are refugees too. They are not a big deal, they just rely on their numbers!"

"Could you cooperate with the rebels? I'm afraid His Majesty the King will blame you!"

The counselor stroked his beard and smiled inscrutablely: "General, as the saying goes, it's easier to invite a god than to send him away. We traveled so far to fight, not just for that little piece of territory."

Zhu Kui didn't understand what he meant.

The advisor pointed to a spot on the map and said, "The territory of the two Li princes is right next to Qianzhou Prefecture. What if we first destroy the Li princes and then the rebels in Qianzhou? Then the situation in the southwest will instantly collapse, and we can also bring back several prefectures for His Majesty the Prince of Ming. With such a meritorious service, the general may even be granted a title of nobility or a chancellor."

Zhu Kui looked carefully, but hesitated. "But we only have 40,000 soldiers. How can we capture so many cities? Why don't we send a letter to the King of Ming, asking him for reinforcements?"

The advisor frowned, then shook his head. "That's inappropriate. If you simply report back, then that's just the merit of reporting. If we quietly join forces with the rebels and take down the territory of the two Li kings, that would be the merit of conquering a city. General, please decide for yourself which is more important."

Zhu Kui understood immediately.

"I heard that Xu Zhenying has only captured the cities of Qianzhou and Jinzhou, and he doesn't have many soldiers under his command. Why not agree to cooperate with the rebels in Jinzhou Prefecture first, and then join forces to occupy the territories of the two Li kings, and then act accordingly."

Zhu Kui was persuaded by his staff, "Okay, let's do it according to what you said!"

November is the middle of winter.

Two major events occurred in Jinzhou Prefecture.

On the one hand, Jiang Yongkang led 20,000 native brothers in an active attack, taking advantage of the night to capture two or three county towns of the two Li kings, and tearing a gap in the south with lightning speed. Then Zhu Kui also took action as agreed, and the two forces approached the hinterland, provoking a frenzied counterattack from the two Li kings.

The war became tense for a while.

The second was Xu Zhenying's dispatch of 50,000 cotton-padded clothes and smallpox vaccine to the north. Led by Qiu Ju Niang and escorted by a hundred guards, the group traveled across mountains and rivers until they reached Zhao Yi's army in the north.

The lights were bright and bright. Zhao Yi's camp had a guard post every ten steps, and a sentry every five steps. Every entrance and exit was well guarded. Inside Zhao Yi's tent, there were several more guards, so tight that not even a fly could fly out.

The team delivering vaccines and cotton clothes stopped five kilometers away from the camp.

There was only one person who delivered the letter, and that was Qiu Ju Niang.

At this moment, she was standing alone in the tent, surrounded by a dozen burly and ferocious generals.

She was not at all flustered, standing there with her back straight. Her short hair was neatly tied into a bun, without any accessories, and she looked elegant and brave, allowing everyone in the room to stare at her.

The young lady didn't seem to be afraid of them.

This somewhat frustrated the generals in the north.

"You said..." General Zhao Yi, nearly forty years old, with a muscular body, a piercing gaze, and a menacing aura, "You were sent by the traitor Xu Zhenying from Jinzhou Prefecture?"

Qiu Ju Niang said in a resounding voice, "That's right. My master is Xu Zhenying, the rebel from Jinzhou and Qianzhou prefectures."

"How dare you!" Zhao Yi roared, "How dare this traitor run wild in my northern camp? Are you really taking advantage of my court because they have no available personnel?! Come, push this traitor down and kill him!"

At this moment, Bai Ci'en immediately stood up and pleaded, "General Zhao, I recognize this person. She is just a female doctor from Jinzhou Prefecture. She is not a rebel. She dared to cross a thousand miles to our military camp. There must be something important. Why don't we listen to what she has to say first!"

Someone immediately said sarcastically, "Oh, I almost forgot that our General Bai was captured by those rebels. From the way you sound, could it be that you have some connections with those rebels?"

Bai Ci'en retorted with a deft move: "We can't really say we're friends, I just know you guys a little better."

Zhao Yi glanced at the general he had spoken to earlier, then glanced at Bai Ci'en, "She herself has identified herself as a rebel, so she must be a rebel too!"

"I am a female doctor in Jinzhou Prefecture. After the city lord invaded Jinzhou Prefecture, she did many good things for the people. Therefore, the people of Jinzhou Prefecture are willing to serve her as their master. If the general wants to kill me because of a title, then I am afraid that no one in Jinzhou Prefecture will be able to escape."

Zhao Yi was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "What a clever mouth."

He casually tossed the visiting card onto the table again. "Now, what do these rebels from the southwest want from the imperial general? Are they here to spy on military intelligence or to assassinate me?"

Not only Zhao Yi, but also more than a dozen people under his command were very interested.

After fighting for so many years, this is the first time I have seen Qianli offering his life voluntarily.

This traitor didn't hide in his own territory, but actually ran to the enemy's tent.

"General Zhao, you're joking. Everyone in this world knows that General Zhao is a peerless martial artist and a trusted official of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How could General Zhao kill his own savior?"

"Savior?" Zhao Yi twitched his lips. "I can't remember when a rebel saved my life."

Qiu Ju Niang didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "At the request of my city lord, Jinzhou Prefecture will donate 5,000 cotton-padded jackets to the soldiers in the north, as well as smallpox vaccines for everyone!"

The room suddenly became quiet.

Qiu Ju Niang looked around and then remembered that the female student who had followed her to show off her cotton coat was detained outside the military camp. She had no choice but to unbutton her coat. The people in the room saw her suddenly undress and immediately became furious: "What do you want to do, you witch?! Are you trying to seduce our general?"

Qiu Ju Niang was stunned for a moment, then blinked, then took off her cotton coat and placed it on the table. "This cotton coat is homemade, and only Jinzhou Prefecture has it. You can see that with this cotton coat, the soldiers don't have to fight in the severe cold, which can greatly reduce the chance of freezing to death. Our city lord said that the generals' resistance to the Tartars in the north is a hero to everyone living in this land. Regardless of whether they are rebels or not, he is grateful for the generals' sacrifice of their lives!"

The room was still silent.

Everyone just thought they had heard wrongly.

This traitor came all the way here just to give them cotton clothes?

Zhao Yi spoke first: "Show me the cotton-padded jacket!"

Someone immediately tried to dissuade him: "General, think again. Perhaps it's poisonous!"

"She's a woman and she can wear it, so why can't I? Bring it here and let me see it!"

The man refused, "Why don't you let me take a look first?"

Qiu Ju Niang sneered inwardly and said crisply, "It's just a cotton-padded jacket. There's no need to be so scared. If you're really worried, why not let me..."

Before Qiu Ju'niang could finish her words, she saw the man pierce the cotton coat with a dagger, and sure enough, all the cotton fell out, which made her eyelids jump.

The soldier completely ignored Qiu Ju Niang's darkened face and picked up all the cotton again. "General Zhao, just because this one is non-toxic doesn't mean the others are non-toxic!"

Qiu Ju Niang finally lost her temper. "I say, do you know how expensive poison is? Even the most common arsenic costs half a penny of silver per ounce, and you have to take it orally in large quantities. Where can I find enough for five thousand people?"

Zhao Yi coughed softly and yelled at the young general, "Get out!"

Then he turned to Qiu Ju Niang, "This traitor from Southwest Prefecture is quite interesting. What's his real intention in trying to win us over? Is he trying to alienate me from His Majesty?"

Qiu Ju Niang sneered, "To be honest, is there anything left to sow discord between the General and His Majesty? The imperial court has been in arrears with military pay for quite some time now. I'm afraid that if your soldiers don't die at the hands of the Tartars, they'll be starved to death by their own people!"

"Stop spreading lies and misleading the public! You bitch, you have such a sharp tongue! If you dare to say nonsense again, I'll drag you out and punish you immediately!"

"Is it nonsense? Generals, you know what's going on. Why are you so angry and mad at a woman like me?"

Zhao Yi knocked on the long table and asked, "You mean, these 5,000 cotton-padded clothes belong to Xu..."

Bai Ci'en immediately interjected, "Xu Zhenying."

At this point, even Zhao Yi was a little puzzled. "Well, was it someone sent by Xu Zhenying as a gift to us?"

Qiu Ju Niang nodded. "That's right. We made over a hundred thousand of these cotton-padded jackets. Most of them were sold, a small portion was left for our own soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture, and a portion was even sent to you. These cotton-padded jackets are excellent. They don't feel cold at all when worn, and they're extremely light and thin, so they won't hinder us from charging into battle."

"These rebels from Jinzhou Prefecture are so strange! They actually sent us clothes. What on earth is your so-called city lord thinking?"

Qiu Ju Niang was getting a little impatient with the question. "I've just said it, but none of you believed it. The city lord said that you're fighting the Tartars not only for the Great Zhou Dynasty, but for all the people. If it weren't for you, the north would have been empty, and the Tartars would have marched in, burning and looting, and the Great Zhou Dynasty would have been reduced to a sea of ​​war. The city lord said that heroes shouldn't be left bleeding and crying, so he asked us to send some cotton clothes to help the soldiers withstand the cold winter. The cotton production this year is low, only 5,000 pieces for now. We'll send another batch next year when the cotton fields are expanded."

Zhao Yi took a breath calmly.

The rest of the people seemed to be moved by the sentence "Heroes should not be allowed to bleed and sweat" and sat there in a daze, not knowing what to think.

"What are you so afraid of? The city lord is kind enough to give you five thousand winter coats. Do you know how much they're worth? And yet you act like you're paying your respects to a chicken, with no real ulterior motives. If you don't want them, forget it. I'll take this cart of coats and sell them for tens of thousands of taels of silver along the way!"

"Madam Qiu, that's not what we meant." Zhao Yi was the first to give in. He couldn't quite fathom what these people meant, so he could only feign leniency. "It's just that this is a matter of great importance. After all, you and I are enemies. If I rashly accept your gifts, what will happen if the court charges me with treason?"

Qiu Ju Niang seemed not to have thought of this and her face turned slightly pale.

Zhao Yi said, "How about this, Madam Qiu, please go down and rest for a while. We can discuss this overnight and give you an answer tomorrow."

Qiu Ju Niang could only step back for the time being.