The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 137 Zhu Xiu’s generosity
Wang Shouen got up a little late today and sat in the living room to have breakfast near noon.

Half a pot of chicken stewed with medicinal food and a large bowl of Taihu white rice were swallowed by him like a wind.

News came from Kaifeng two days ago that his eldest son moved to the right to become the governor of Beizhou.

Beizhou is an important town in central Hebei and suffered heavy losses in last year's war.

The imperial court was rebuilding Hebei, and Beizhou was a top priority. His son's transfer to Beizhou showed that he was trusted and valued by officials and the imperial court.

For a time, Wang Shouen felt very pleased, feeling that there was a successor to the Wang family.

In his high mood, last night, he specially recruited two new maids who had entered the house. They were both [-] or [-] years old. They were tender and charming, and they made him work excitedly for most of the night.

I feel very happy, but my body feels a little tired.

It will soon be the age when you know your destiny, and you have to refuse to accept old age!

Wang Shou'en sighed silently, scooped up another bowl of delicious chicken stew and drank it. He ate up all the wolfberry, ginseng, polygonatum, Cynomorium and other medicinal materials in the pot.
A sergeant ran into the hall sweating profusely.

Wang Shou'en held the bowl and spoon, and said dissatisfiedly: "How can you behave in such a panic?"

The sergeant knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and said urgently: "Qizhen Jieshuai, Husluo is dead!"

"Pfft~"

The chicken soup that Wang Shou'en had just taken into his mouth spurted out. He hurriedly put down the bowl and didn't even bother to wipe his mouth. He stood up and said, "You say it again?"

The sergeant said with a mournful face: "Hu Siluo, the general of Yilu Town, was killed by thieves in Yushengyuan, the county seat last night! His head is hanging on the top of Changwu City! The thieves also left writings, saying...said..."

"What did you say?" Wang Shouen was furious.

"Say, 'Kill Husiluo and do justice for heaven'!" the sergeant said with a bitter smile.

Wang Shouen's figure swayed and he felt a little dizzy, and he felt a fire suddenly igniting from his heart.

"Could it be that Changwu City was the work of salt dealers?" Wang Shouen suppressed his anger and quickly made a judgment.

The sergeant said: "According to the Goddess of Yushengyuan, the person who killed Husiluo was a woman who had just been sold to Yushengyuan by her brother that day. The brother and sister claimed to be from Changwucheng. Husluo's head appeared early in the morning. The head of Changwu City shows that this matter is closely related to the nearby salt traders."

Wang Shouen's face was full of anger, he clenched his fists and shouted: "Damn salt seller! This is clearly a blatant provocation to this commander!"

Without much thought, Wang Shouen ordered sternly: "Immediately pass the order, mobilize three thousand soldiers and horses, and rush to Yilu County with my commander. They will join forces with the Yilu Town Army. I will personally lead them and march to Changwucheng!"

"Follow the commander's order!" The sergeant responded loudly, and hurried down to deliver the order.

Immediately, Wang Shouen personally led his troops to travel overnight, and arrived at Changwu City early the next morning. As expected, he saw Husluo's head and the blood book hanging beside him.

The furious Wang Shouen didn't care about resting, ordered Changwu City to be sealed off, and searched for salt dealers wantonly. If there was any news, he would send troops to arrest people, and they would beheaded and executed without interrogation.

Changwucheng suddenly fell into a bloody storm, and the mood of panic and resistance quickly spread. There were also several incidents in the surrounding villages where soldiers were killed when they resisted the arrests of the Nanjing Army.

Wang Shouen was furious and ordered the massacre of the village. The already turbulent Changwu City fell into chaos, and the foundation of the Pizhou salt dealers was dealt a devastating blow.

At the same time, Tao Wenju and Yan Ping quietly withdrew from Pizhou. To the southwest of Changwucheng, at the entrance of the Yangjinchuan River Valley Road leading to Pizhou, they were ready to receive the fleeing Changwucheng people.

Sure enough, three days after Wang Shouen led his army to Changwu City, large-scale panic escapes began.

From two to three hundred households per day, the number surged to nearly a thousand households in a short period of time. Under the guidance of caring people, a large number of people came to the Hehe Road. They were warmly received by Sergeant Changyi and helped them to go to Jingzhou from the Hehe Road.

At the same time, at the place where the river valley road exits, a fortress is also under intensive construction.

From now on, this nail wedged into Pizhou will be an important stronghold for the Zhangyi Army to protect the river valley crossing. It will also be a bright light in the eyes of the people of Changwucheng, leading to the better life they long for.

At first, Wang Shouen didn't pay much attention to the fleeing of the people. It wasn't until half a month later, when he came to Changwu City again, looked at the empty Tucheng, and wandered around the surrounding villages, that he realized that the situation was already empty.

The large-scale crackdown on salt dealers has achieved remarkable results. The private salt business in Pizhou has come to a standstill, and official salt revenue has increased.

Wang Shouen secretly rejoiced, but when he searched out a batch of illegal salt that had not yet been sold, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

In the cellar of a house in Changwucheng, Wang Shouen looked at the piles of salt bags, untied the rope, opened one bag, and scooped up a bowl of salt. He discovered that the quality of these salts was on par with the fine white salt he bought from Jingzhou. There’s no shortage of salt!

The general dragged a salt seller who was half beaten to death. Wang Shouen asked sternly: "Tell me! Where did this salt come from?"

The bloody salt seller feebly begged for mercy, uttering words intermittently.

After Wang Shouen heard this, his eyes widened, and uncontrollable anger ignited from the bottom of his heart.

These salts were also shipped from Jingzhou!

For a moment, Wang Shou'en seemed to want to understand something. He drew his sword and chopped off the salt seller's head. He roared: "Shi Kuangwei! I will never break up with you!"

There is no money to eat salt in Jingzhou, so there can be no salt sellers. The salt in the hands of the salt sellers in Pizhou was clearly sent by the Changyi Army!
The same salt is sold to the salt dealer at a low price, and to him at a high price, making profit at both ends, but in the end it is Wang Shouen who loses blood!Wang Shouen suddenly remembered that he had advanced a month's worth of salt to Zhang Yijun, and felt as if he had swallowed dozens of flies alive. He waved his knife and cursed.

He has always been the only one who has taken advantage, when did he suffer such a big loss?
Wang Shouen was furious and ordered the Jingnan Army to search for the fleeing people everywhere. They followed the clues to find the entrance to the river valley, ordered three thousand soldiers and horses to kill them and ran away.

When Wang Shouen arrived, he saw an earthen fortress appearing unexpectedly at the foot of the mountain, blocking the road into the mountain. He was so angry that he almost vomited three liters of blood.

This is still the boundary of Pizhou. Under his nose, the Zhangyi Army secretly built a dock specifically to accommodate the fleeing people of Pizhou.

This kind of blatant robbery is simply outrageous!
The Wubao has not yet been completed, and there are still a few gaps that have not been closed, but this does not prevent it from functioning.

Wang Shouen looked at the earthen wall more than two feet high. On the outer wall, there was a line of large characters painted on it: Jingzhou welcomes you!
On the top of the wall, a large black and red flag with the flag of the Changyi Army fluttered in the wind, which was extremely dazzling.

Wang Shouen angrily ordered an attack using ladders. As soon as the troops rushed to the bottom of the earthen wall, dense arrows were fired from behind the crenellations at the top of the wall. Dozens of people were killed by arrows and hundreds of people were injured. The offensive of the Jingnan Army was suppressed.

There were a few more military flags on the wall, and the shadows were shaking. A white-faced boy in a cloak, wearing a lun scarf, and holding a chicken feather fan appeared surrounded by the crowd, smiling and shaking his hand at Wang Shouen outside the castle.

Wang Shou'en gathered his men, rode on horseback, raised his sword, pointed at the wall and shouted angrily: "Who are you? Tell the despicable Shi Converse to come out to see me!"

Zhu Xiu cupped his hands and said loudly: "Shi Jieshuai's injury has not healed, so it is inconvenient to see people. Please forgive me, Ambassador Wang! If anything happens, just tell me! I, Zhu Xiu, have met Ambassador Wang!"

Wang Shouen was shocked and angry. He didn't expect that this white-faced boy was Zhu Xiu!

He was the one who helped Shi Kuangwei clean up the Xue family!

It is said that Shi Kuangwei also asked him to act as the Jiedushi envoy. Unexpectedly, he was so young!
"What's the point of your Zhangyi army crossing the border, building forts privately, and occupying our land in Pizhou? Shi Kuangwei colluded with salt dealers, sold private salt, and encouraged the people of Pizhou to flee to Jingzhou. I will definitely report these things to the Ming court. Punish your Zhangyi army!" Wang Shouen roared angrily.

Zhu Xiu shook his head and said loudly: "Don't talk nonsense, Prime Minister Wang. The Zhangyi Army has always abided by the law and the salt it produced was only for the people under its rule. How could they sell private salt? However, the salt gangsters are rampant and they are suppressed repeatedly. We are also suffering terribly. Say it!"

"You! Yellow-tongued boy! You're talking nonsense!" Wang Shou'en was so angry that he was shaking all over and wanted to chop off Zhu Xiu's head with a machete.

The Zhangyi Army itself is the largest private salt dealer in Guanzhong, and they are still here shouting to catch the thief!
Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "Jingzhou and Pizhou are adjacent to each other, and the people in the two places often move around. How can we tell each other apart? There is no need for Wang to be suspicious. There is no such thing as inciting the people to rob the population! It's just that I heard that what happened in Pizhou There was a riot and the people were panicking. We, the Zhangyi Army, were worried about being attacked by the refugees, so we built a fort here. There is no need to make a fuss, Ambassador Wang. I guarantee that when the turmoil in Pizhou subsides, the Zhangyi Army will withdraw."

"Sophistry! What nonsense!" Wang Shouen was so angry that his blood rushed to his head.

He deliberately ordered an attack, but Zhang Yi's army in the fort was obviously well prepared. He came in a hurry and did not bring any siege equipment. If he stormed the city again, he would probably suffer heavy casualties.

"Withdraw the troops!" Wang Shouen yelled unwillingly, and led his troops to retreat, preparing to go back and dispatch the main force, and come back with siege equipment to remove this nail.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to stop the people in Pizhou from fleeing.

On top of the earthen wall, Zhu Xiu watched Wang Shouen's retreat from afar. He breathed a sigh of relief, spread out his palms, and smiled bitterly at his sweaty palms.

It has been almost a month since Tao Wenju and Yan Ping sneaked into Binzhou to build this earthen castle, and it is only to surround the outer earthen wall. Due to the terrain and time constraints, it is impossible to build it too large, and its function is only to Accepting the fugitives from Binzhou is not really about starting a war with the Jingnan Army.

Beside Zhu Xiu, Tao Wenju and Yan Ping also breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Shouen really wanted to attack just now, they would be the ones retreating in panic.

"Hurry up and build the Wubao. I will send you two more commanders and more than a dozen black fire mines. Be careful to guard against Wang Shouen's sneak attack!"

Zhu Xiu warned seriously.

Tao Wenju and Yan Ping hurriedly bowed to accept the order.

Looking at the two of them, Zhu Xiu thought for a moment, and then said: "From now on, Tao Wenju will be appointed as the marching staff officer, and Yan Ping will be appointed as the military envoy of the left wing of the Ya Army. They will temporarily take charge of the troops and horses of the four commands and garrison the valley road."

The two of them were overjoyed and bowed to express their thanks.

Tao Wenju said worriedly: "Wang Shou'en will definitely come again. Is it possible that he really wants to fight with Jingnan's army here?"

Zhu Xiu said calmly: "It doesn't matter, Wang Shouen will have more important things to deal with soon, so he can't pay attention to us. While he has no time to take care of this period, hurry up and bring back the people who are willing to go to Jingzhou."

Tao Wenju blinked, not understanding the meaning of Zhu Xiu's words, Yan Ping winked at him, and said in a low voice, "Don't ask if you shouldn't, just do it!"

Tao Wenju came to his senses and hurriedly said: "I am the one who talks too much. Please forgive me!"

Zhu Xiu didn't blame, and said with a light smile: "The two of you cooperated well in Binzhou this time. So far, you have brought nearly [-] households to Jingzhou. In the future, we will continue to cooperate sincerely and complete the task!"

"I obey the orders of the young envoy!" The two men hurriedly bowed and saluted.

"Send someone to inform Bi Zhenhai that from now on he will take over all the private salt business in Pizhou. Not only in Pizhou, but also in neighboring Ningzhou, Fangzhou, and even Jingzhao, Zhang Yijun's private salt business will be fully launched!

Wang Jun and Wang Shou'en cut off the supply of official salt to the Chang Yi Army, so we will make it impossible for his Jingzhao Salt Supervisor to make a penny! "

Tao Wenju and Yan Ping looked at each other in shock. The young envoy Jun really wanted Zhang Yijun to become the biggest salt lord in Guanzhong, sell official salt privately, and poach the court like crazy!
Moreover, the price of Jingzhou white salt will not be high, ensuring that people everywhere can afford it, and follow the promotion route of large quantity and sufficient food!

In this way, both money and reputation have been earned, and Zhang Yijun is afraid that he will become a thorn in the court's side!

This is called a big deal!

(End of this chapter)