After arranging the marriages between Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and the Pekka sisters, Liu Bei held a grand wedding for them in the city.
After the wedding, Governor Peckney immediately appointed Guan and Zhang as his adjutants to assist him in managing and training the soldiers under his command.
At the same time, Peckney also made a request to Liu Bei for financial and logistical support.
Liu Bei readily agreed, promising to not only provide rewards and compensation for the victorious legion, but also to allocate additional funds to support the governor's office in establishing two more legions on top of the existing two.
Peckney was overjoyed at Liu Bei's promise.
Whether a governor's words carry enough weight depends entirely on how many legions he commands.
If one has four legions under one's command, then one will become the leader of all provinces and will no longer have to worry about being targeted by Augustus and the Senate.
Furthermore, with four legions, he could free up his hands to sweep away the rural lords and completely take control of the Egyptian province.
In return, Peckney appointed Liu Bei as the treasurer of the governor's office in front of Liu Bei, and appointed Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as the commanders of the two newly established legions.
After receiving the appointment, Liu Bei also incorporated the four thousand warriors he had recruited and the two thousand guards he had brought into the two newly established legions.
Peckney also chose to turn a blind eye to Liu Bei's actions.
He naturally knew Liu Bei's intentions in doing so, but he still didn't care.
Like the Ailin family, the Governor's Mansion has now become a community of interests with Liu Bei.
No matter what Liu Bei does, they will support him, and can only support him.
After all, they had become family. The greater Liu Bei's achievements, the more benefits they would receive. This was the main purpose of the marriage alliance.
Subsequently, Liu Bei united with two major alliances and successively acquired large tracts of land outside the city of Egypt. He began to build various factories and workshops and recruited a large number of people to participate in the construction.
Just like in the Han Dynasty, the working people not only received wages but also enjoyed free meals.
In a short time, Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and righteousness spread far and wide among the people, and those who enjoyed the benefits of his benevolence regarded him as a savior.
Thus, Liu Bei's group was officially formed, covering multiple areas such as military, political, economic, and people's livelihood in the Egyptian province.
It's April now.
Just as Liu Bei was making great strides in the Egyptian province, a team of nearly a thousand people escorted a long caravan into the territory of the Arab province.
The leader of the group was Sun Jian, followed by Gao Shun and the adventurers recruited within the Han Dynasty.
After passing through the ancient Suez Canal, Sun Jian and Liu Bei parted ways. Liu Bei stayed in the Egyptian province, while Sun Jian and Gao Shun, with their men, landed on the Mediterranean Sea and headed straight for the Arab province.
Gao Shun, who was in the group, frowned as he looked at the vast stretches of wasteland on both sides of the road and the skeletons that were occasionally half-hidden in the haystacks.
"Wentai, it seems that the people of this Arab province are suffering far more than we imagined!"
"Isn't this better? The more the people suffer, the greater our opportunities will be!"
Sun Jian smiled and gazed into the distance, not even glancing at the white bones by the roadside.
Gao Shun's expression shifted: "Wentai, are you planning to target these common people?"
"Indeed, this Arab province is located southeast of Rome. Not only does it lack the convenience of sea transport, but it also borders Parthia and is at the forefront of conflict."
It's unrealistic to try and erode this place gradually through economic means like Xuande did. Therefore, we can only start with the people, first building up our own army, and then conquering this place by force!
Sun Jian spoke casually about his next plan, as if he had already made it in advance.
Gao Shun frowned: "After all, the Han Dynasty and Rome are still allies. If we do this, it might put the imperial court in a difficult position!"
Sun Jian smiled and said, "That's why we need a pretext to act."
Gao Shun was slightly taken aback: "What category?"
Sun Jian: "Acting on behalf of Heaven!"
"Acting on behalf of Heaven?"
"Indeed, by the mandate of Heaven, we are here to seek justice for the people!"
Sun Jian smiled and added, "The local people suffered greatly from the oppression of those noble lords, their lives were miserable, they couldn't even get enough to eat, and countless people starved to death."
Out of kindness, we couldn't bear to see the people suffer such a calamity, so we stepped in to help them, just so they could survive.
We are doing this to help Rome and allow their people to survive. At most, we will offend some local lords, but their government will not make things difficult for us.
Besides, you and I are just ordinary merchants now, and we don't represent the Han Dynasty, don't you think?"
Gao Shun nodded in agreement: "What Wentai says makes perfect sense!"
"Haha, Gongren is best at training troops, and I am best at battle formations. If the two of us join forces, no one will be able to stop us."
Before long, I will be able to establish a firm foothold here. When the time is right, why should I worry about not being able to build an unparalleled legacy?
Sun Jian also laughed heartily, and couldn't help but imagine his bright future.
"General Sun, rest assured, Shun Ding will do his utmost to assist you!"
Seeing Sun Jian's undisguised ambition, Gao Shun was deeply moved and expressed his full support.
After all, he was a soldier, and naturally he also longed for the supreme glory of expanding territory.
As dusk fell, the group arrived at the outskirts of a village.
This village is quite large, with nearly two hundred households.
It was time to cook, but only a few households in the village had smoke rising from their chimneys; most other households had no smoke at all.
Gao Shun also approached Sun Jian and said in a deep voice, "General Sun, it seems that the villagers are not living a very good life!"
Sun Jian nodded: "Let's go in and take a look!"
With that, Sun Jian and Gao Shun led a dozen men and guides toward the village.
Before long, the group arrived at a house located at the entrance of the village.
Seeing the dilapidated walls and the crumbling courtyard, Sun Jian immediately stepped forward and knocked on the gate.
"Bang bang bang..."
A dull knock echoed in the silent air.
Who is it?
After waiting for a long time, an old and weak voice came from inside the courtyard.
Upon hearing this, Sun Jian gestured to the guide standing to the side.
The guide immediately stepped forward and said, "We are merchants passing through this area and would like to stay here for the night!"
Of course, we will pay you some money and provisions as compensation!
"Okay, please wait a moment!"
Before long, the courtyard gate opened, and an elderly man with white hair and beard poked his head out, looking at Sun Jian and the others at the gate.
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