Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 204 Transferred to Xiangzhou
A month later, Zhao Yifu received a transfer order.

His second term began early, but he was only transferred to Xiangzhou, Manshan County south of Xiangyang.

Manshan County is a county that needs to maintain a garrison. The Manshan Camp is stationed in the county and is part of the Xiangzhou defense system.

At the same time, it is located north of Zhangkou City where Lu Zhao was stationed, and can be said to be sandwiched between the two.

Zhao Yifu understood that his mission this time was to stabilize Zhou Su's rear, providing a certain amount of manpower and material support while also preventing him from being dragged down in other directions...

Zhao Yifu prepared to leave as soon as he received the transfer order. He was a little worried that his teacher Zhou would not be able to handle it.

At this time, Li Liang respectfully asked, "County Lord, do you have anything else to tell me?"

Now that Zhao Yifu has left, Li Liang will be the acting county magistrate, and there is a high probability that he will be directly promoted to the position of permanent magistrate after serving as the acting magistrate for half a year.

This allowed him to fully enter the officialdom.

Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "You are very familiar with the political affairs of Fenglin County. I don't have much to tell you..."

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, by the way, don't stop worshipping the City God."

After hearing this, Li Liang quickly agreed.

Then Yang Zaixuan said, "Sir, there are two hundred local warriors who heard that you are going to Xiangzhou to take up a post, and they have requested to go with you."

These two hundred people followed Zhao Yifu to quell the rebellion, but after the rebellion was over, they disbanded and returned home.

Moreover, Zhao Yifu was still transferred to be the county magistrate.
Zhao Yifu didn't act pretentiously and nodded, saying, "Since we are all rural volunteers, then just come along."

This time, he not only held the civil office of county magistrate, but also the military office of commander of the Manshan Camp.

The 2000-man Manshan Camp has a fifth-rank commander, while Zhao Yifu's title of "Manshan Camp Commander" has no official rank and is more like a wartime military supervisor.

It can be foreseen that the complex situation he will face this time will definitely be far more complicated than that of Fenglin County... But then again, he has already reached the level of Yangshen cultivator, so how can he care about this?

He took two hundred people who were willing to follow him, as well as the small animals, and set off together. This time they took the water route and headed east to Manshan County.

Of course, while his physical body was on the road, his soul had already left his body.

When his Yang Shen arrived above Manshan County, he had already gained a thorough understanding of the local geography and cultural environment.

Manshan County is backed by mountains, which is also known as 'Manshan'.

But Manshan is not big. Compared with the Prison Mountain next to Fenglin County, it is just a little brother.

However, Manshan County is also adjacent to the Baigu River, and its geographical location is advantageous, which makes it of extremely high military value.

However, there are not many fertile fields suitable for farming in Manshan County, so the supplies for the Manshan Camp need to be transported from Zhangkou City further south.

This county town is also located on the key logistics line from Xiangyang to Zhangkou City, and is a strategic location in the rear.

Look at the faces of the people in this county...

Not so good.

Most of the people in Manshan County live in poverty.

Because of the need to support the Manshan Camp, local taxes are quite heavy, and the people can only barely make ends meet after working hard for a year.

After understanding the current situation, Zhao Yifu began to think about solutions.

At this moment, another bright Yang God appeared next to it.

Zhou Su came to his side and asked, "How is it? Have you figured out what's going on?"

Zhao Yifu said, "At the moment, it seems that it will be extremely difficult to guarantee the teacher's food supply by relying on this small Manshan County."

Zhou Su laughed and said, "Xiangyang is already a wealthy place. It doesn't need the supplies from a small county like yours. It would be great if you could help me contain some of the bandits after you take over."

Zhao Yifu did not argue, but simply asked: "Teacher, how long can Xiangyang hold out?"

Zhou Su said: "You should ask how long those Northern Dynasty troops attacking the city can hold out."

Zhao Yifu is a wonder.

His Yang Spirit disappeared for a moment and then returned again.

In this short moment, he went over the situation of the entire battlefield.

Then he said with a sudden realization, "So that's how it is. They also acted in haste and didn't bring enough weapons and food."

Zhou Su nodded and said, "So as long as we can hold out for another month, the northern troops will retreat."

Zhao Yifu sighed, "What a pity that so many people in Xiangzhou have suffered so much."

Zhou Su said, "I only regret that Lu Zhao actually sat by and watched Xiangyang under siege without sending troops to help. Otherwise, how could those northern soldiers have looted the area with impunity?"

Zhao Yifu said, "When I come, it won't happen again."

Zhou Su said: "Actually, you shouldn't have come so soon. If you come too early, the situation you face will be very bad."

Zhao Yifu laughed and said, "Master Zhou, if I back down because of this, can I still be considered your student?"

Zhou Su also smiled happily and said, "Then come quickly. The Northern Army has 300,000 soldiers. Give me at least 30,000 soldiers."

Zhao Yifu said cheerfully, "Sure."

Having said that, he returned to the main body.

His real body had a metal-covered book hanging on a chain around his waist, and a fiery red sword slung across his waist on the other side, making him look very heroic.

But then the style of the painting changed. Everyone else was riding a horse, but he was riding a big bear...

To be honest, this kind of "special mount" is usually only found in ancient legends. Who would ride one nowadays?
However, the two hundred militiamen who followed him were not surprised by this. After all, they knew from the beginning that the man they followed was a strange man.

Along the way, everyone was busy getting on with their journey.

In order to get to Xiangzhou quickly, Zhao Yifu even decided to take the risk of turning from the southwest into the river and then into Xiangshui through a waterway full of miasma. This waterway would undoubtedly pass through Moyang City, a hub of the southern waterways.

"Master, look, that's Moshan!"

Wu Zhong stood at the bow of the boat and pointed to a towering mountain by the river.

Zhao Yifu looked over and nodded silently.

Seeing Moshan means that the new Shenhe Villa is just around the corner.

Wu Zhong added, "Just a little further and we'll be home. Young Master, would you like to go over and take a look?"

Zhao Yifu smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need. With so many of us, going would only disturb the peace of our family."

"We are on the river, let's take a good look at what this new home has become."

Wu Zhong nodded regretfully. He really wanted to go home... but now he had almost made his home in Zhao Yi Fu's sleeve, and suddenly he felt that this kind of thing didn't matter.

"It's a pity we were in such a hurry to get going, otherwise we would have caught a river fish for the young master to eat."

He still thought of his old profession.

Zhao Yi Fu laughed when he heard this, fumbled in his sleeve, and pulled out a green bamboo pole.

He looked at the surface of the river, and then the bamboo pole suddenly moved forward!
I saw the bamboo pole extend rapidly, and then it seemed to slap the surface of the river lightly.

"boom!"

A large amount of water splashed up immediately.

And in the splash, several big fish were blown up together.

Zhao Yifu shook his bamboo rod slightly, and the big fish were all picked up and flew backwards, landing on the deck of the ship they were on with incredible skill.

Yang Zaixuan, the spearman, was so stunned that his eyes widened. He asked, "Sir, you also have spear skills? Your spear skills are so good!"

Zhao Yifu laughed and said, "I don't know any spear skills, I'm just good at controlling my own strength."

"Uncle Wu, don't you want to eat fish? Hurry up and clean it up, and let the brothers on the boat drink some fish soup and eat some fish meat together."

These big fish are very large. The smallest one weighs about ten kilograms, and the big ones weigh twenty or thirty kilograms. It is enough for everyone to eat.

Wu Zhong smiled and agreed, then went to work in the kitchen. By then, he had already digested the Qi that Wumei Monk had forcefully injected into him, and his cultivation was now on par with that of a peerless master.

It won’t be tiring to process all these ingredients by yourself, and you can even feel a sense of rhythm like "butchering an ox".

Just as Wu Zhong was stewing the fish soup, the river turned a corner and a sandbar appeared before his eyes.

Then, a rather rough-looking building complex appeared on the river beach. This was the new Shenhe Villa.

This Shenhe Villa seemed very lively, as if some kind of celebration was going on...

Zhao Yifu suddenly realized, "Today is my nephew's first birthday, I actually forgot."

He remembered that he had promised to attend his nephew's first birthday party, and felt ashamed.

Almost, almost missed it.

So his physical body stayed where it was, but his yang spirit had already walked out from behind him and then left quietly.

As for the flesh body, it took a sip of the sweet and delicious fish soup as if nothing had happened, and praised Wu Zhong, "Uncle Wu's cooking skills are getting better and better. I'm really worried that if I go to heaven in the future, I won't be able to enjoy Uncle Wu's cooking anymore. What will happen?"

Wu Zhong's expression fell. He really didn't know how to respond to such words.

Becoming an immortal and ascending to heaven was beyond Wu Zhong's imagination.

……

Shenhe Villa is holding a wedding today. Originally, fellow martial artists would be invited to such a ceremony, but Zhao Yunhe is now determined to whitewash Shenhe Villa, so this matter will not be publicized.

Even in the martial arts world, Shenhe Villa has a mysterious feeling.

"Father, Jun Xin didn't come?"

Zhao Yicheng asked with some disappointment while receiving the neighbors.

Zhao Yunhe said, "He said earlier that he would be transferred to the north to help your second uncle and the others defend the city... I guess he's busy with that right now."

Zhao Yunhe, the peerless master in the martial arts world, felt the melancholy of an old father at this moment.

Zhao Yicheng said regretfully, "I didn't invite him to my wedding, and now Zhou'er hasn't come to celebrate his first birthday. I wonder if we'll become estranged in the future."

Zhao Yunhe said, "What are you thinking about? He is still your brother. He is not here just because he has something important to do."

He then laughed wryly and said to himself, "I've been away from the turmoil of the martial arts world for too long. I've been living a comfortable life for so long that I've actually started to act like a child."

However, just as the father and son were sighing, a voice suddenly came from beside them: "Where is my nephew? Can I hug him?"

Zhao Yicheng and Zhao Yunhe both looked back and saw a scholar in a Confucian robe standing there neatly. There seemed to be a slight glow around him, as if he had walked out of the sunlight.

Zhao and his son were slightly stunned, and then they both smiled happily.

"Jun Xin, you are back as expected."

"Second brother, it's great that you can come!"

Zhao Yunhe and Zhao Yicheng both looked very happy.

Zhao Yifu responded with a smile, and then a woman came over holding a boy.

"This is my sister-in-law, right?"

The woman smiled and said, "Ms. Li, greetings to uncle."

Zhao Yi Fu said he didn't dare, and then carefully picked up the baby.

The one-year-old baby was still very small, but Zhao Yifu was very skilled in holding him.

The child was not shy at all, and was so comfortable in Zhao Yifu's arms that he giggled.

Zhao Yifu asked cheerfully, "What's my nephew's name?"

Zhao Yicheng said, "Lian Zhou, because we make a living by the water, so I gave him this name, and it can be regarded as a hope for the prosperity of our family business."

Zhao Yifu nodded repeatedly after hearing this and said, "Not bad, a good name."

Zhao Yunhe also smiled and said, "Of course it's a good name. I asked the master on the mountain to choose it."

Zhao Yifu suddenly realized, "Oh no! I've been so busy lately that I forgot to bring a gift."

He said he expressed his negligence very frankly.

Zhao Yicheng said quickly: "No need, second brother, you are a very busy man serving as an official in another place, it's enough if you remember to come back to visit..."

Zhao Yifu said, "Being an official is not difficult. It is a sin to forget to prepare a gift for my nephew... Wait a moment, I will prepare it."

As he spoke, his real body on the river surface in the distance began to move.

He took out some minerals from his sleeves, and then rubbed the Pure Yang Fire according to his memory. Then he rubbed them quickly with his hands, purifying and mixing the minerals quickly, and finally formed the shape of a longevity lock.

This longevity lock has the effect of strengthening the body, dispelling evil spirits and avoiding disasters. When a child wears it, it can ensure that he or she will grow up safely without any disasters... No, it can even be considered a magic weapon for protection.

Because he refined a material that could accommodate the Pure Yang True Fire, after injecting the Pure Yang True Fire into the refined Longevity Lock, it truly became a magical artifact of good fortune.

The next moment, a golden light shot out from the surface of the river, crossed the sky and landed in Shenhe Villa.

Zhao Yifu's Yangshen in the manor reached out and caught the still hot longevity lock.

He quickly used the ice-condensing method to cool the longevity lock, and said, "This is it. Put it on the child to ensure that he grows up safely and is not afraid of evil spirits."

Zhao Yunhe looked at the direction the Longevity Lock came from and asked, "Where is that..."

Zhao Yifu said, "Oh, I am leading my men down the river, planning to go upstream when we pass the Xiang River, and then quickly reach Xiangzhou."

Zhao Yunhe said sadly, "Why don't you rest at the farm?"

The direction from which the golden light came was already downstream of Shenhe Villa.

Zhao Yifu said, "No, the sooner we get here, the sooner we can help Second Uncle and Master Zhou."

Zhao Yunhe nodded and said, "You're right. Well, go ahead."

Zhao Yifu nodded, put the cooled longevity lock into his nephew Zhao Lianzhou's arms, and then returned it to his sister-in-law.

Li thanked him and stood aside obediently holding the child.

Then, Zhao Yifu said goodbye to his family and disappeared without anyone knowing.

The Yang Shen returned to his main body. His main body was only slightly stunned, then continued to drink the fish soup, and spread out "Encouraging Learning" to continue reading, pondering his own annotations to see if there was any room for additions and changes.

The birth of his nephew Zhao Lianzhou seemed to have left no trace in his heart, and he seemed to be becoming more and more indifferent to family affection.

But in fact, Zhao Yifu felt that it was not the case. He still attached great importance to family affection, but he just gave up the polite expression of human relationships.

The longevity lock he gave to his nephew was proof of that. He had used the best spiritual materials he had on hand to refine it and gave it to his nephew without hesitation.

You know, what kind of spiritual material is that which can contain true fire?

In the cultivation world, they are top-level materials that can be used to refine magical weapons!
Without dwelling too much on this aspect, they would enter the Xiangshui waterway after passing Shenhe Villa, and then sail upstream all the way.

Fortunately, the wind direction was favorable, so the boat was moving at a relatively fast speed.

Now the north bank of Xiangshui River is occupied by the northern army, and the naval forces of the Southern and Northern Dynasties are fighting on the entire Xiangshui River. It is indeed quite dangerous to sail on the Xiangshui River at this time.

But anyway, the danger is only for ordinary people.

Zhao Yi Fu used the secret technique of Mirage to create a fog that covered the ship. Even if they encountered a reconnaissance ship or the two warring parties, they would not be able to discover the merchant ship sailing in the fog.

Of course, there were only occasional reconnaissance ships in the waters where they were sailing, and the enemy's forces could not reach this place.

The merchant ship then entered a small tributary, the Baigu River adjacent to Manshan County.

After sailing along the waterway for a while, the merchant ship finally saw the parapet of Manshan County...

　I'm so exhausted. I've been buying New Year's goods and preparing for the New Year all day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)