Chapter 191 [Lord Hu Runs Away]
"Well, you did a great job. Not only were you very cautious, but you also put the knowledge you learned in class into practice. You're really smart."
Jiang Lili looked at the shells the little girl placed on the table and said, "Can I borrow these shells and conchs to take a look? I'll return them to you tomorrow morning."
The girl nodded and agreed readily: "Of course! You are a veteran of our Yuanbao Gang, so it's no problem to give it to you."
"No, no, I'm just curious."
Jiang Lili was born in a fishing village and grew up playing with shells and conchs. Now she is no longer interested in these little gadgets.
Jiang Lili got a lot of information from the children. She distributed milk slices and beef diced to the children and said, "You did a great job gathering intelligence today."
The last child to receive the milk tablets didn't accept the snacks Jiang Lili gave him. He looked distressed and said, "Everyone is so smart. Unlike me, I can't listen to anything the teacher says. All I think about every day is what to eat for breakfast and dinner."
This made Jiang Lili laugh. Who hasn't thought about what to eat for lunch and dinner during the last class at school?
Seeing that the child was very strong, she recognized that he was Xiaonian, the son of a general in the exile team. She heard that he would eat eight bowls of rice for one meal.
Jiang Lili stuffed some snacks into Xiaonian's pocket and comforted him, "Don't worry, in less than a month, our village will open a martial arts school."
"If you can't concentrate on studying, you can go and learn martial arts from the Marquis and the Crown Prince. Strengthen your body, and then you will be able to protect the other members of the Yuanbao Gang. When you become powerful, you can even ask Liao Dabao to appoint you as a guardian."
"And after you learn martial arts, you can go hunting in the mountains with your father and his friends. You can catch whatever you want to eat and eat as many chicken legs as you want."
Xiaonian's eyes lit up after hearing Jiang Lili's words: "Really? Then I will definitely learn from the Marquis and the Prince!"
"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. No one is perfect, and that's normal."
Jiang Lili had worked part-time at a daycare center while working, so she knew how to handle children. She gave them some second-year advice: "Learn your strengths well, make up for each other's weaknesses, and help each other. Then our Yuanbao Gang will have no weaknesses! Not to mention dominating Haizhou Island, even dominating the world will be just around the corner!"
"Who would dare to exile us then? We must take our fate firmly into our own hands! We will plant the Yuanbao Gang's flags across the land!"
Being under twenty years old, they are all in their middle school years. The kids from Yuanbao Gang were excited after listening to Jiang Lili's chicken soup speech.
The parents of the Yuanbao Gang children had no idea what kind of stimulation their children had experienced outside, and as soon as they got home, they started studying late into the night.
They originally thought the children were just playing house when they saw them following Liao Dabao to form the Yuanbao Gang, but they didn't expect that they would become more and more sophisticated and sometimes even know more than them, the adults.
In the middle of the night.
Jiang Lili felt someone tucking the corner of the quilt for her in a daze. She opened her eyes and looked in the light of the night light on the bedside table. Xin Che's handsome face was right in front of her.
"Why are you back at this time?"
Jiang Lili's tone was exceptionally soft when she just woke up, like a little feather, tickling people's hearts.
She curled up in the quilt like a kitten, with only her face as beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water showing.
Xin Che lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes hiding the tenderness that threatened to overflow from his eyes: "The two brothers of the Zhang family went into the mountains under the cover of darkness at midnight, and my second brother and I followed them."
Jiang Lili told Xin Che about their map drawing. Xin Che glanced at the shell and conch on the table with the lantern. He stroked the top of Jiang Lili's head soothingly and said calmly, "Sleep well. They won't cause any trouble."
*
The next morning, Jiang Lili received good news from Wen Qiao.
@Wenqiao: Lili, the shelves have all been delivered. I'm ready to return. I should reach South Coast in two weeks at the latest.
Although Wen Qiao would briefly report his safety to her every day, he was probably too busy to tell her what happened when he went to Southeast Asia.
@Jiang Lili: I'm glad everything went smoothly. Did you encounter any trouble along the way? 】
@Wen Qiao: With the fire-starting rod and gunpowder you sent, it's not a big deal. I've gained a lot from this trip to Southeast Asia. Wait for me to give you some gold, silver, and jewelry when I return.
Jiang Lili was immediately sobered up with joy when she received the news from Wen Qiao. Her elder sister was going to bring her some local specialties.
Jiang Lili was relieved to hear that Wen Qiao did not encounter any major trouble on the way. Although the pirates near Haizhou Island had been subdued by them, it was said that there were many tribes on those islands that were very brutal and unreasonable, and would often jump out to rob ships.
Judging from the time, Wen Qiao should be back.
Thinking about what the spy did last night, Jiang Lili felt it was necessary to inform Lord Hu.
When she arrived at the sloppy government office, she saw Lord Hu lying on a recliner basking in the sun, his face covered with a banana leaf, looking very comfortable.
Jiang Lili woke him up: "Old Hu, where are your heavy troops? It's time to put them to use!"
"What's going on?" Hu Chen struggled to get up, his bones cracking a few times as he did so. "Oh, I've been lying down for too long."
Jiang Lili told him about the spy.
Hu Chen's expression immediately became serious. He then put away the recliner without saying a word and turned to walk into the government office.
Jiang Lili thought that the old man was going to get serious and deal with the matter, but after a while she saw Hu Chen coming out with a small tattered bag and a paddle in his hand.
He looked around stealthily, then said to Jiang Lili, "I'm going to go out and hide for a while. We'll meet again someday!"
After saying that, he turned around and was about to slip away.
Jiang Lili was dumbfounded. It turned out that this guy wanted to run away!
"No, it's just two spies who scared you like this?" Jiang Lili saw Hu Chen's cowardly look and said unhappily, "You are a county governor after all. Where are your soldiers?"
Hu Chen sighed helplessly: "To be honest, I really don't have a large number of troops, only remnants."
The regulations of the Dasheng Dynasty were that soldiers would join the army at the age of twenty-one, and could be exempted from military service and return home at the age of sixty, and would be given subsidies.
Now, after listening to Lord Hu's complaints, Jiang Lili realized that his elusive heavy troops were a group of veterans in their fifties and sixties.
Anyone in other military camps who is elderly, injured, nearing retirement, has no background or has offended anyone will be transferred to the South Island and will not be able to leave until they retire.
Haizhou Island has a complex terrain and is sparsely populated, making it difficult to govern. If Emperor Qingning wants to take full control of it, he will have to spend a large sum of money, which is really a loss.
The strategic fortresses for the South China Sea defense were all located in the Lingnan region; Haizhou Island was dispensable and could be abandoned if necessary. The Dan'er Commandery was established simply to demonstrate the vastness of the Great Sheng Dynasty's territory.
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