Chapter 27 Is hunger marketing really that powerful?
A winter dinner is not complete without music.
The courtyard was brightly lit with candles and scented with incense. Under the curtains, people first listened to music and dance.
Accompanied by the pipa solo and the "dong dong" sound of drums, a woman with indigo eyebrows and wearing a gold hairpin flew in like a colorful phoenix and danced gracefully.
She straightened her sleeves to reveal her jade wrists, and played the five-stringed instrument gracefully.
The dance reaches its climax and the woman's veil flutters.
She was seen waving her soft sword with a fierce look in her eyes, and she was filled with murderous aura.
"Hiss." Luan Shuangbai's body tensed up and he entered a state of alert.
Although the soft sword was not sharpened and everyone thought it was just a gorgeous sword dance performance, he could see that the woman had some skills.
"They actually invited Miss Liu to Linghe. It seems that the sky-high appearance fee is no problem for County Magistrate Luo." Gui Zhier applauded with everyone.
She caught a glimpse of Luan Shuangbai's fingers clenching the wooden chopsticks, with veins bulging, as if he was ready to throw them as hidden weapons if something went wrong.
"Relax." Gui Zhier explained in a low voice, "The courtesan of Yaoyue Tower has practiced swordsmanship and horse fighting, and it's a boy's skill."
Luan Shuangbai finally breathed a sigh of relief and touched his nose to hide his embarrassment.
Guizhier smiled with interest.
In terms of martial arts, she has never tried her best to compete with Luan Shuangbai.
The table was filled with dishes, snacks, fruits and fine wine, with frozen pears being the most precious and special.
These are the flower-covered pears and autumn white pears that were carefully selected after the winter began. They were frozen into black and hard by ice and snow, and have now been "relaxing" for a while.
Guizhier took one, and facing Luan Shuangbai's curious eyes, she gently crushed the outer layer of ice and asked, "Want a taste?"
"Thank you, young lady." Luan Shuangbai took it and bit it carefully.
It has an icy cold entrance and a dense texture.
I just like to see this young man who has never seen the world.
Guizhier's eyes and eyebrows were filled with smiles.
After a few rounds of toasts, it is time to take a break at the large banquet.
The host, County Magistrate Luo, cleaned his hands, changed into casual clothes, called the servant over, and secretly instructed him, "Send the prepared gifts to the carriage outside the door."
"Jade and jewelry are fine, but be careful with that painting. Don't make any mistakes!"
"Yes, don't worry, sir. I will do it right away."
The servant understood that this was a precious and famous painting.
There are two topics for today's dinner.
One is a matter at hand, and the other is a top priority after the Chinese New Year.
"The Danu people dared to attack the people in the city without anyone noticing. Our lives are in danger!" A pot-bellied gentry shook his head and sighed.
"Yes, wherever these robbers go, nothing grows."
"The New Year is almost here, and I'm afraid it's going to be uneasy!"
Those present tonight are all prominent figures in Linghe County.
In a remote county like the one in the north, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.
The landlords are rich and the clerks are powerful. How can a demoted official from outside deal with both the black and white worlds at the same time?
If they deliberately create obstacles for you and make it so that you can't even understand the dialect, how can you carry out your work?
County Magistrate Luo said with a smile, "What the gentry say makes sense. General Luan, what do you think of this?"
Luan Shuangbai picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all.
It is human nature to fear war and death, especially for these wealthy landowners.
But wanting to mobilize troops from the First Army of the Northern Border to garrison their residence was a bit excessive.
"The Xuantian Ancient Road outside the city is the only entrance for the Qiyan Wushi tribe from the northeast, on the other side of Meishan, to attack our Linghe."
Luan Shuangbai spoke loudly, picked up a wooden chopstick, dipped it in water, and started drawing a diagram on the table.
As the young man turned his wrist, the terrain at the city gate was outlined vividly.
The Xuantian Ancient Road winds along the cliffs of the deep river canyon in Meishan.
The wide part is wide enough for cars to pass each other, but the narrow part is only wide enough for a single person to pass through. Because the mountains are high and the valleys are deep, the height difference is over a thousand meters.
When the spring flood comes, the melted ice and snow gather into the Ling River.
"The ancient road has seventy-two bends. Back in the day, when the great general Jinglüe was stationed here, the Danu people were never able to cross the city gate."
When Luan Shuangbai explained the battle, his eyes were focused and bright, as if he could overcome any difficulties.
The scene of flags flying, people shouting and horses neighing decades ago came into view as he described it.
"Oh, we all know the General Jinglüe." The pot-bellied gentry was still the first to speak. "That's—the founding hero of Daliang!"
He drew out his tone and looked Luan Shuangbai up and down: "Although it is said that heroes have always emerged from youth."
"But the general is worthy of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"
The implication is that you are just a vanguard major general and a young boy, how can you appease people?
Luan Shuangbai was not angry even though he was despised.
Civil officials can show off their eloquence, but military generals have always been king in terms of strength.
He won the title of the new martial arts champion with his punches and kicks, and the willingness of the First Army of the Northern Territory to obey his command was also proven through real-life competition.
"The city defense tactical arrangements are confidential. You just need to believe..." Luan Shuangbai was interrupted before he could finish his words.
"Young General, our lives and property are all in Linghe. We can't afford to gamble." Another tall and skinny old man spat out the tea leaves in his mouth and said.
Compared with simple wealthy businessmen, landlords like him who have achieved success in the imperial examinations are more difficult to deal with.
Relying on a large number of tenants and hired farmers, he reclaimed private land at will, and the government did not dare to do anything to him.
Seeing that the situation had reached a stalemate, County Magistrate Luo wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Both sides are powerful and we cannot afford to offend them.
Being an official is too difficult.
Guizhier, who had been watching for a long time, was kind enough to pull Luan Shuangbai's sleeve.
"Our soldiers cannot become the private soldiers of the gentry, but their servants can come to the training ground to participate in training and study." Gui Zhier lowered her voice.
Why not hold an open month for the military camps and recruit all the servants into militia?
She used her hands to imitate the action of putting an arrow on the bowstring, her face full of energy.
Pull the bowstring to full tension, aim at the target, and shoot.
Luan Shuangbai suddenly understood.
This is to use the crossbow provided by the prefect as bait and turn the tables.
While repeating crossbows were useful, they were only effective against light cavalry and were originally intended for militias. Well-trained regular soldiers were more adept with powerful bows.
After receiving the advice, Luan Shuangbai straightened his back instantly.
"My fellow villagers, I have a suggestion..."
He briefly relayed Gui Zhier's proposal, especially emphasizing the power of the new weapon.
"The servants have been trained by our army. Each of them has a crossbow and can shoot through armor. Not to mention protecting you, even killing the Danu people is no problem!"
Like a pre-war mobilization, the tone is passionate and extremely inspiring.
"Is it really that powerful?" The landlords and gentry were slightly tempted.
Send a servant and gain a soldier.
Doesn’t seem to be a loss?
Besides, even if the army was willing to send people to garrison the mansion, it would only be a temporary compromise. After all, the servants were their own employees.
The pot-bellied gentry rolled his eyes and asked another key question: "Can we take this repeating crossbow that the young general mentioned after training?"
Upon hearing this, Guizhier pulled Luan Shuangbai's sleeve again.
"Inventory is limited, first come first served, rental fee charged!"
We must use hunger marketing!
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