Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 259 New City (Thanks to the support of book friend Tan Chenyuan)
the following month,

An astonishing news began to spread among Langzhong.

Chen Yunsheng, the Marquis of Zhenbei in Sansheng City, wrote a letter asking to be made the King of Yong, expressing his willingness to continue guarding the border for the country.

Wang Du was furious and decisively mobilized a large army to encircle and suppress the enemy.

But just as the army was fifty miles away from the capital, they received a letter of public apology from Chen Yunsheng, the Marquis of Zhenbei:

He said that he was ill and unable to handle affairs of state before, and that his subordinates had made the decision to appoint him as King of Yong. Now he asked the king to give him a chance to redeem himself and make meritorious contributions, and he would soon send troops to attack the Oirat together.

With this opportunity, the king quickly withdrew his army and also issued an edict to appease the people. It was nothing more than saying that it is a good idea to admit one's mistakes and improve upon them.

Of course, these things were just for ordinary people to see on the surface, and the prestige of the imperial court, which had been severely damaged, was also restored to some extent.

After all, a large army was dispatched to fight, and the rebellious Chen Yunsheng was frightened into asking for forgiveness. In the eyes of the people, this was definitely a manifestation of the court's strength.

Of course, these things are for outsiders to see. In fact, the marquis's mansion in Sansheng City is decorated with lights and colors everywhere, creating a joyous scene.

In the marquis's mansion, there was toasting each other, and everyone's face was flushed with excitement and they were in high spirits.

“Hahahaha, strong on the outside but weak on the inside, it really is strong on the outside but weak on the inside!!”

Sima Yun was smiling happily at this time and was the first to raise his glass at the table.

Wei Yong said excitedly:

"Yes, yes. As soon as the memorial requesting the title of Prince of Yong was submitted, it was like a magic mirror, revealing all the true intentions of Wei Qu."

Now everyone in the Marquis' Mansion calls the monarch "Wei Qu", which shows that they have begun to acquiesce in their minds that Chen Yunsheng can move up to a higher position.

Sima Yun was also a little drunk at this time, and sneered:
"The latest intelligence I received yesterday is that the army sent by Wei Qu to attack us may seem to have a large number of people, but in fact they even captured beggars on the street to make up the numbers. The reason they had to withdraw after going 50 miles is because if they went any further, the entire army would collapse."

"Hahahaha." Even the rest of the people who didn't want to laugh raised their glasses and laughed together.

Chen Yunsheng stood up and said:
"In the morning, Master Ming (Ming Zhenzi) also sent a message via flying crane, saying that he had persuaded the Supreme Master of Shenxiao Sect not to interfere in the dispute between us and Wei Qu, on the premise that it would not affect the Immortal Gate Induction Ceremony two years later."

At this time, another general, Deng Lin, suddenly stood up and saluted, and said to Chen Yunsheng in confusion:
"My Lord, according to the information I received, there are still 10,000 killing soldiers in the capital, and 15,000 brave soldiers guarding it. These are the old foundation accumulated by the capital over the past few decades. It shouldn't be so shameful as to capture beggars to make up the numbers, right?"

Deng Lin was Chen Yunsheng's favorite general, so Chen Yunsheng gestured to Sima Yun, and Sima Yun said:
"That's right, General Deng."

"First, according to our informants, the people in the country were in turmoil. The Tatars seized this opportunity and severely damaged Zhou Bo's army at the front."

"So, 3,000 people from both the Killing Army and the Brave Army were transferred away at the same time."

Deng Lin nodded and said:

"I've heard about this too."

Sima Yun said:

"More importantly, the Xianrui Army is in the hands of His Highness the Fourth Prince, while the Shasheng Army is in the hands of His Highness the Second Prince's confidants. It is said that the two are now so incompatible that they insult each other in public."

"Under such circumstances, they dare to dispatch these two elite troops to fight us?"

"I am almost certain that neither the Second Prince nor the Fourth Prince dare to transfer the elite troops in their hands. We are thousands of miles away, while the threat from our brothers in the capital is very close."

Deng Lin burst into laughter when he heard this:

"I see. I was really worrying too much."

Then he drank the bowl of wine heartily, and suddenly glanced at Gong Tianwu who was sitting next to him, and said from the bottom of his heart:

“Thank goodness.”

Although this guy didn't finish his words, everyone understood the implication of his words.

Fortunately, a figure like the Seventh Young Master appeared in the next generation of the Marquis, who clearly had an undisputed overwhelming advantage over the other sons, so there was no need to worry about such a situation.

***
One year,
Passing by in a hurry,

A lot has happened this year.

It seems that Gong Tianwu's territory has not expanded, but in fact, with the increasing amount of water in the Yanzhi River, a large amount of goods have been transported out, and all kinds of specialties from other places have been continuously transported back.

The advantages of water transportation are fully utilized here. Many ordinary people have made great achievements here and turned from having nothing into wealthy tycoons.

An indescribable sense of prosperity and prosperity enveloped this place, a vitality that can never be found anywhere else.

This place has undoubtedly become the commercial center of the entire Turan Prairie, absorbing all kinds of specialties from the prairie like a bottomless pit. At the same time, all kinds of specialties from the Central Plains have begun to appear here like a blowout. Of course, the three cities of Juyan, Luopu, and Yanzhi have also begun to expand rapidly, and this is under the deliberate planning of the government.

The biggest change is the population. Originally, the population of these three places was only over 50,000, most of whom were herders, but now it has expanded four times to nearly 200,000.

In addition, a large number of fields began to be reclaimed on both sides of the Yanzhi River, and a large number of self-cultivating farmers moved in.

According to the forecast of the City Lord's Mansion, the population of these three cities will exceed 600,000 within two years.

The prairie wind in May brings the scent of grass and livestock, mixed with the exotic spices brought by distant merchants.

Gong Tianwu brought a group of his men to the newly built Shuofang Market, which was supervised by Cai Yuanchang himself and was completed only three weeks ago. It completely ended the previous history of chaotic trading markets, poor environment and difficult management.

From now on, all large transactions will be forced to be completed here, otherwise the goods will be forcibly confiscated.

Gong Tianwu personally participated in the design of this large market, and incorporated many modern concepts, so it looks extremely exquisite to others.

The area closest to the port is the fixed commercial area, which is entirely made up of brick and wood-structured bungalows arranged in a neat grid.

The road is straight, with sewage pipes and drainage facilities pre-laid, and even flowers and trees planted in the middle of the road to divide the road into two parts.

The ground, which is hardened with lime, clay and fine yarn, is inlaid with pebbles, so that it will not be muddy on rainy days. The benches everywhere also allow tired passers-by to rest at will.

There is a public toilet about every hundred meters, which is cleaned regularly. At the same time, the feces are taken away by people who specialize in collecting night-blooming incense and sold to farmers.

Most of those who were able to settle here were Hu merchants who had been doing business here for a long time and large businesses from the Central Plains. They had signs written in both Chinese and Hu characters hanging in front of their doors.

At the same time, only a few designated freight passages were open to livestock, and the rest of the roads were only for pedestrians or sedan chairs.

Of course, we cannot expect people to abide by any rules voluntarily, so the market is also flooded with a large number of market orders.

These people had red cuffs on their sleeves - this was Gong Tianwu's evil taste - and they had sticks on their waists and bamboo whistles around their necks. They looked around vigilantly, not only to prevent anyone from violating the rules, but also to deal with those who committed crimes.

A small number of these mayors have obvious disabilities. This is because they were soldiers in the army before, so they can come here to do this job as a manager, which has a high salary and considerable power.

Their resettlement also significantly improved the morale of the army, because before this, the soldiers who were injured in the war often suffered a miserable end, and it was already very good to be able to return home with a subsidy.

Facts have proved that the Shuofang Market can operate well and in an orderly manner, and these responsible municipal orders have played an indispensable role in this.

“Here, here!!”

Following the shouting, Gong Tianwu looked to the side and saw a group of Sogdian merchants wearing lapel-wearing Hu clothing and pointed felt hats driving more than twenty camels into a specially designated camel and horse resting area in the distance.

The cargo piled high on the camels' backs was tightly wrapped in linen, with only the bright colors of the Persian carpets vaguely visible through the gaps.

"It's a caravan from Tocharia." Yang Lun narrowed his eyes to identify the emblem on their flag. "It arrived three days earlier than usual."

Gong Tianwu nodded, then walked another five or six hundred meters and arrived at the temporary stall area.

The ground here has also been hardened, with pebbles inlaid into square areas, each about ten feet square.

The vendors who arrived early had already set up simple tents and displayed their goods. Gong Tianwu noticed that the stalls were naturally divided according to the types of goods:

On the east side are furs and mountain products, on the west side are grains, salt and iron, and on the south side are various handicrafts.

"Give way! Give way!"

Several city clerks in green uniforms pushed a wheelbarrow through the crowd. The cart was piled with bundles of bamboo "city tickets" - this was arranged by Cai Yuanchang.

Each vendor paid ten cents and received a bamboo plate engraved with the date and number, which allowed them to operate in the designated area for one day.

This alone, along with the income from selling night-blooming incense, can almost offset the entire market's operating costs.

Every thirty meters or so, there is a two-meter-high wooden watchtower, on which soldiers are responsible for monitoring the order of the entire market, mainly preventing fires and then catching theft.

Directly north of the temporary stall area is a special place for food and entertainment: the Baiwei area, where shouts can be heard one after another.

"Freshly baked Hu pancakes! Three cents each!
“The best Yanqi dates! Try them before you buy!”

"Kucha music and dance, five copper coins to watch a show!"

"."

Next to Gong Tianwu, there was an old man dressed in Turkic style who was bargaining with a Central Plains merchant in stuttering Chinese, and a young Sogdian stood next to him acting as an interpreter.

Further away, several Tibetan merchants were chatting and laughing loudly around a pile of jars of barley wine. Their braids were decorated with turquoise and coral beads, sparkling in the sun.

(End of this chapter)