"Qing'er, the three enemy armies that invaded the Central Plains have been eliminated, and the situation on the border has stabilized. What's next for you? Will you return to the capital?" the Empress asked.
"I don't want to go back to the capital. In a couple of days, I'll lead my troops back to Shuixian Village and continue farming for Brother Zhao. Only in Shuixian Village am I truly safe," Li Guang said without hesitation.
Li Guang's words made everyone think deeply. His unwillingness to return to the capital was because of the eldest prince, Li Hui. In Li Guang's words, he had already died once and did not want to die a second time.
Two days later, Li Guang and Gu Huai led an army of 50,000 to return to Shuixian Village. Marshal Han led his officers out of the city to see them off.
The Empress, her mother Consort Yao, and others also went out of the city to see him off, bidding farewell to Li Guang with tears in their eyes.
The crowd watched Li Guang leave until the troop was out of sight before returning to the city.
Li Guang was not in a hurry to travel. The soldiers had worked very hard during this period, so Li Guang instructed them to travel during the day and rest at night.
One evening, Li Guang ordered his army to halt and prepare to set up camp for the night.
The camp had just been set up when someone came to report.
"General Li, an old Taoist priest has come to the camp and wants to see you."
"An old Taoist priest has arrived."
Li Guang was overjoyed, realizing it must be Daoist Master, and hurriedly went out of the camp to greet him.
Upon arriving outside the camp, Li Guang was greatly disappointed. The person outside the camp was not the Taoist priest he had hoped to meet, but an old Taoist priest who was nearly fifty years old.
Who is this old Taoist priest? What does he want with me? Did the Taoist master send him here?
As Li Guang pondered, he approached the old Taoist priest and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Daoist Master."
The old Taoist priest sized up Li Guang and quickly returned the greeting.
"Is the believer General Li?"
"It is I."
"I have been entrusted by Master Kongxu to deliver a letter to the general." After saying this, the old Taoist took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Li Guang.
The Taoist priest's Buddhist name is Kongxu, so this letter must have been written to him. Didn't the Taoist priest say that they would have a chance to meet again? Why would he send a letter here?
Just as Li Guang was about to ask something, the old Taoist priest turned and left.
Li Guang stared blankly at the departing Taoist priest.
Back in his tent, Li Guang carefully opened the letter.
The words on the letter were likely written by the old Taoist priest himself; the characters were vigorous and powerful, indicating that the old Taoist priest had quite good handwriting.
Li Guang took the letter and began to read it carefully.
In the letter, the old Taoist mentioned that he and his junior brother Puqing had captured Jia Feng and cleaned up the sect.
After finishing this task, I felt completely drained. I wanted to meet Li Guang, but I was too weak to do so.
Perhaps it was all fate; having cleansed the sect and fulfilled his master's mission, he might be going to see his master soon.
I had hoped to have another good drink with my younger brother, but it seems that's not going to happen now. I wonder if I'll ever have the chance again.
I dare not meet my younger brother now because I am worried that if we meet again, I will never have another chance. I want to save the opportunity for the future, but I don't know if God will grant it.
After reading the letter, Li Guang was stunned. It seemed that the Taoist priest had some health problems.
Li Guang began to pray, hoping that all of this was temporary and that the Taoist priest would remain healthy and continue to live a carefree life.
In Shuixian Village, everyone was busy. Shen Jianfeng and Wan Xiumei were even busier. In less than a month, they not only spun cotton into yarn and wove it into cloth, but also dyed the cloth in several colors.
Zhao Xian stared blankly at the cloth. The ancients were so clever. From cotton to finished cloth, it went through many processes, each done by hand. The cloth produced was comparable to that produced by modern machines.
The ancients were skilled and ingenious, and the social phenomenon of men farming and women weaving continued for thousands of years. Later, with the advent of large-scale socialized production and the use of machines, men farming and women weaving became history.
With the modern knowledge Zhao Xian possessed, it was entirely possible to change this social phenomenon, but he could not do so, for he could not interfere with the course of historical development.
"Young Master Shen, I didn't expect you to have spun the white silk into yarn and woven it into cloth in such a short time. What are your plans for the next step?"
"I've used up almost all the cotton in the warehouse. It seems the only way is to plant the seeds of white cypress and harvest more cotton. But that will take time; it will take at least another year."
"You don't need to wait that long. I've already sent people to Southeast Asia to buy cotton. Before long, we'll have a large quantity of cotton, and you can start producing cloth again."
"Really? That's great!" Shen Jianfeng was overjoyed.
Just then, someone came to report:
"Lord Shaoqing, General Li Guang is leading 50,000 troops back to Shuixian Village. They are currently 30 li away from the village."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately became excited and rushed to the military camp. He and his soldiers led the troops out of the village to welcome Li Guang's triumphant return.
Not long ago, an imperial edict arrived, promoting Zhao Xian from a fifth-rank official to a fourth-rank official. In the entire Qing'an Prefecture, Zhao Xian, like Prefect Shen, was the highest-ranking official in the area.
A fourth-rank official is nothing special in the capital, but in the provinces, he's quite powerful and can do whatever he wants.
The rank of a fourth-grade official brought Zhao Xian great convenience in doing business, but he knew in his heart that the rank of a fourth-grade official was not his shield.
In ancient times, survival was not easy. Even if one had money and power, there were countless eyes watching, and a slight misstep could lead to certain death. Even if Li Guang later became emperor, he might not be able to protect himself.
Zhao Xian estimated that it would take Li Guang at least a year and a half to drive the enemy out of the country after he went to the border to assist Marshal Han in eliminating the enemy forces there.
To his surprise, Li Guang's expedition to the border resulted in a great victory in a short period of time, with most of the enemy troops on the border being wiped out and the barbarian commander, Kuli Tuo, captured alive.
Zhao Xian was overjoyed. With the enemy forces at the border wiped out, the border was now completely secured.
This war of aggression, launched by the allied powers of the Jin and Luo kingdoms, ended in just a few months.
Although the war brought certain disasters to the Northern Dynasty, the harm it caused to the three northern kingdoms that launched the war will be far-reaching.
The Three Kingdoms mobilized 600,000 troops, and the fact that most of them died on the battlefield was catastrophic for the Three Kingdoms.
Because the north is poor in resources and has a harsh living environment, the population was already small. With so many people dying in battle, it will take many years to recover.
In this way, the Great Northern Dynasty will be free from foreign invasion for a considerable period of time and enter a period of peaceful development.
When the villagers heard that Li Guang had won another victory at the border, they went to the village entrance to welcome him back in triumph.
The village's drum and gong troupe immediately set out and gathered at the village entrance to welcome Li Guang back to the village.
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