Chapter 613 Self-preservation and development

On Xingyue Island.

Yang Mingcheng was pacing back and forth in his main hall.

"Oh, what are you doing walking back and forth? I'm dizzy!" Wang sat next to him and said with some dissatisfaction.

Yang Mingcheng looked outside the door and said, "Why haven't the second and third brothers come back yet?"

"What happened?" Wang was a little confused.

Yang Mingcheng looked at her helplessly, "You don't know even if I tell you!"

"If you're not me, I don't know even more!" Wang glared.

Yang Mingcheng was speechless and could only say, "Chen Zhaoxuan is dead!"

Wang was slightly stunned, "Who is Chen Zhaoxuan?"

"It's the King of Dai!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Wang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, "How could I not know the King of Dai? Isn't he my father's apprentice?"

Wang was naturally not familiar with Chen Zhaoxuan. Although Chen Zhaoxuan often went to the Yang family before, he had never entered the backyard of the Yang family, and he had only met Wang a few times. Wang didn't even know his name.

"How did he die?"

"Killed by bandits!"

"Where did the bandits come from?"

"There are many bandits in Longnan!"

"Why are there so many bandits in Longnan?"

Wang had more questions than 100,000 whys.

She hadn't been back to Darong for more than ten years, and she didn't pay attention to Darong's affairs on weekdays, and she had no idea about Darong's current situation.

Yang Mingcheng would often receive letters from Darong, and he had some understanding of Darong's situation, but he didn't expect Darong to be like this now.

"Oh, don't ask!" Yang Mingcheng felt extremely irritated.

"You fool, you actually find me annoying!"

"I didn't!"

"You still say no, you're just annoying me!" Wang said.

Faced with the unreasonable Wang, Yang Mingcheng could only patiently explain Darong's current situation.

The more Wang listened, the more surprised she was. At the end, she couldn't help but say, "Darong is so chaotic now?"

"Yeah, it's very chaotic!" Yang Mingcheng also calmed down.

He was indeed a little flustered just now. The death of Chen Zhaoxuan had a great impact on him.

First, Chen Zhaoxuan was a disciple of Yang Zhengshan, and second, Chen Zhaoxuan was the Dai Wang of Darong.

The death of Chen Zhaoxuan meant that the turmoil in Darong had reached an extreme level, and that the turmoil in Darong had been related to the Yang family.

Chen Zhaoxuan died today, and tomorrow it might be the children of the Yang family, or even the Yang family.

Let alone how many children of the Yang family were scattered all over Darong, let alone the Yang family.

Yang Chengye was in Chongshan Town, Yang Wanqing was in Nanjiang Town, Yang Wanting was in Kyoto, Yang Wanning and Yang Wanyu were in Tenglongwei. Many of the Yang family's relatives were in Darong, and many old friends were in Darong. If something happened, someone in the Yang family would naturally feel uncomfortable.

Just as the two were talking, the two brothers Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao finally arrived.

"Brother, what happened? Call us back in a hurry!" Yang Minghao walked into the hall with a big horse and a golden sword, shouting.

"You are finally here!" Yang Mingcheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Yang Mingzhi also asked.

The two sat down, and Wang immediately asked someone to serve tea and water.

Yang Mingcheng took out a large stack of letters, handed them to them, and said, "These are the letters I received in the past two days!"

"The King of Dai was besieged by bandits in Daizhou City, Longnan, and died in battle. It is said that only the King of Dai's daughter escaped!"

Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao looked at each other, both showing a solemn look.

They naturally knew that the three provinces of Longyuan were in trouble with bandits in the past two years, but they did not expect that the bandits would be so powerful that even Chen Zhaoxuan was besieged and killed by bandits.

The two opened the letters one by one and read them.

There are many sources of letters, some sent by the Yang family business itself, and some sent by many in-laws or old friends of the Yang family through the shops of the Yang family business.

These letters reveal one thing, that is, the current Darong is in chaos.

"Hmm! What is this?" Yang Mingzhi looked at a letter and said in surprise.

"What happened?" Yang Minghao asked.

"The Imperial Merchants Division was investigated, and the eight imperial merchants were arrested and imprisoned!" Yang Mingzhi said.

Since Luo Shang and Zhen Yangshi withdrew from the Imperial Merchants Division, the Imperial Merchants Division went through a period of turmoil, and four more imperial merchants were added, all of whom were wealthy merchants in Jiangnan.

And now the eight imperial merchants have been arrested and imprisoned.

"It seems that the court is really short of money, and they have taken action against the imperial merchants!" Yang Minghao said.

Yang Mingzhi put down the letter in his hand and sneered disdainfully: "Those greedy guys should have been killed long ago!"

"I don't know what your majesty is thinking of taking action against them now!"

If the Imperial Merchants Division is well controlled, it will be a hen that can lay golden eggs, but if it cannot be controlled, it will be a beast that will bring disaster to the country and the people.

More than ten years ago, when Luo Shang and Zhen Yang followed Yang Zhengshan to Xingyue Island, the Imperial Merchants Department had already shown signs of being out of control.

But Emperor Yanping was reluctant to move this hen that would lay golden eggs, so he could only let them toss and turn.

Now, with all their tossing and turning, the court is getting poorer and poorer.

The chaos in the three provinces of Bashu and Longyuan is also due to the contribution of the Imperial Merchants Department. Under the severe drought, a group of merchants, led by the Imperial Merchants, raised the price of grain together, and the people who had no way to survive, they pushed it again.

"What do you think we should do next? Dad is not at home, and we should make a decision!" Yang Mingcheng brought the topic to the right track.

Yang Mingzhi shook his head, "What can we do? In this situation in the court, we can't do anything at all!"

"Not only can we do nothing, but once we want to do something, we may become thorns in the eyes of His Majesty and the courtiers!" Yang Minghao said.

Both of them understood clearly, and they also knew why Yang Zhengshan moved the Yang family to this Xingyue Island.

Maybe they didn't understand it at the beginning, but so many years have passed, and they have long since come back to the taste.

Simply put, the Yang family has too much power in Darong. If they are not far away from Darong, the Yang family will inevitably become fear of the emperor and the court.

Even though the Yang family has left Darong now, the Yang family's power in Darong cannot be underestimated.

There is no need to say much about Chongqing Town and Tenglongwei. Now, there are Song Dashan as the deputy general, Yang Ming Town, Yang Chengze and Yang Chengxu as the generals, and they also have many Yang family children under their command.

It is a bit modest to say that the Yang clan controls half of Beiyuan Town.

Yang Zhengshan occupies almost one and a half of the nine border towns in Darong. It would be strange if the emperor and the court were not worried.

"What should I do? You can't ignore anything!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Yang Mingzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Transfer a letter to them. If you encounter danger, let them go to Tenglongwei and Chongshan Town, and then come to Xingyue Island from Tenglongwei and Chongshan Town!"

"In the Kyoto, let Ding Qiu go over and stare, let Wu Zhan go over from Tenglong Guard, and let Wu Zheng go over from Chongshan Town!"

There are three innate warriors who are in charge. Although it is impossible to ensure everyone's safety, it can at least ensure that they have a way out.

"Wu Zheng went out with his fourth brother. He hasn't been back for several months!" Yang Mingcheng said.

"What have you been doing in the past two years? Why are you always not at home?" Yang Minghao asked.

Yang Mingcheng shook his head, "I said I was traveling outside, but it took me half a year to go!"

Of course, Yang Mingzhao cannot do anything about Xingyue Island, but he only comes back twice a year and only stays for about a month at a time.

"Then let Chengche go to Chongshan Town. Mingwu is still in Chongshan Town. It should be enough to have them in Chongshan Town!" Yang Mingzhi said.

Yang Mingwu is also a congenital warrior, and he is now the deputy general of Chongshan Town.

No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!

"How about I go there myself! Chengye is there, I'm not relieved!" Yang Mingcheng said with some concern.

Yang Mingzhi said, "Brother, don't go. Not only can you not go, but we three brothers cannot go!"

"Why?"

"We went to represent different meanings. Once we appeared in Chongshan Town, it is likely to cause more trouble!" Yang Mingzhi said.

Yang Minghao echoed: "That's right, if we go, it means our father's attitude."

The three of them now have different identities and must not show up easily.

Especially Yang Mingcheng, as the eldest son of the Yang family, has even more extraordinary significance.

Once they go to Chongshan Town, does that mean that the Yang family regards Chongshan Town as the private territory of the Yang family? Although this is the case, this matter must not be put on the surface.

Yang Mingcheng hesitated and said, "Then I will ask Chengye to send Sheng'er and Han'er!"

Yang Chengye has three sons and two daughters. The eldest son Yang Qinyuan is 20 years old this year and has been married long ago. He now lives on Xingyue Island.

The eldest daughter, Yang Ruochen, is 18 years old this year. She just married Wu Zhan’s youngest son a year ago and now lives on the island.

The second son, Yang Qinming, is fifteen years old this year and is practicing on the island. Wang is also helping him find a marriage candidate.

Yang Qinsheng is twelve this year, and Yang Ruohan is nine years old this year. Logically speaking, when Yang Qinsheng is thirteen, he will also be sent to Xingyue Island, because it is just right to come to the island to practice at the age of thirteen. He practices seriously for more than a year, and he can do it at the age of fifteen. Become a warrior.

This basically forms a convention in the Yang family.

Yang Mingcheng was worried that his grandson and granddaughter would suffer in Chongshan Town, so he thought about taking the person first.

Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao naturally had no objection to this.

The three brothers have a clear meaning, that is, self-protection.

Chen Zhaoxuan's death will not only affect the court, but will also have a great impact on the world and the people.

Even the royal princes were killed by bandits, which shows that Darong's foundation is no longer stable now.

If the court cannot quickly eliminate many bandits in Longyuan and cannot establish its power again in a short period of time, more bandits will emerge in the future to challenge the power of the royal family and the court.

...

Daizhou City.

When the news of Chen Zhaoxuan's death spread, the leader of the bandit King Daliang immediately gained great prestige, and in just one month several bandits came to surrender.

The thief army under the command of King Daliang immediately expanded from 200,000 to 300,000. Not to mention the combat effectiveness of this thief army, the number of them alone is enough to give the court a headache.

In this time, King Daliang was discussing the next plan with his military advisors and brothers.

The name of King Daliang is Zhang Bei. He has two old brothers Wang Ershan and Li Gao. These two were bandits of Daliang Mountain before and have followed him for more than ten years. They can be said to be the person he trusts the most.

In addition, he also has three adopted sons, Zhang Zijing, Zhang Zihao, and Zhang Zishan, who are also the ones he trusts the most.

As for the military advisors, two poor scholars, Song Chenxing and Niu Sude, and Daliang King Zhang Bei can develop to its current scale. Song Chenxing and Niu Sude can be said to have made great contributions.

It was precisely because of their proposal that Zhang Bei kept training the bandits under his command, turning the bandits who were originally just a group of mobs into tens of thousands of elite soldiers who dared to fight and fight.

However, they have also encountered a bottleneck in development. As the number of bandits under their command increases, the food in their hands becomes increasingly tight.

They were forced to besiege Daizhou because Daizhou has a large amount of food and grass.

Originally, after they captured Daizhou, they could obtain at least three months of food and grass. With the food and grass they had before, they would not be short of food for at least half a year.

But the problem is that now a large number of bandits have joined them, which makes the abundant food and grass become stretched again.

"Everyone, tell me, what should we do next?" Zhang Bei said to his military advisor and old brothers.

Wang Ershan was reckless and said directly: "What else can we do? Let's continue to rob. If there is no food and grass in Longnan, we will go to Shanhe. Shanhe must have enough food and grass!"

Song Chenxing quickly denied: "No, although Shanhe Province is rich, it is close to Kyoto. There are 100,000 imperial guards and tens of thousands of emperor's personal troops around Kyoto!"

"Are we afraid of them?" Wang Ershan looked at Song Chenxing with some dissatisfaction.

Military advisors are the most annoying. Wang Ershan, Song Chenxing and Niu Sude are the most incompatible.

Niu Sude also said: "Mr. Song is right. We can't go to Shanhe Province. If we want to go, we should go to Hanzhong Prefecture!"

"Hanzhong Prefecture?" Zhang Bei cast an inquiring look.

Niu Sude nodded, "In the land of Longnan, Hanzhong Prefecture has the least drought, especially this year, before the summer, Hanzhong Prefecture had three consecutive heavy rains, which completely alleviated the drought in Hanzhong Prefecture."

"And Hanzhong Prefecture has many rivers and abundant water sources, which also makes the people of Hanzhong Prefecture less affected by the drought!"

"As long as we can occupy Hanzhong Prefecture, we can let the army settle and cultivate. After two or three years, we will no longer lack food!"

Niu Sude and Song Chenxing have reached a consensus. They both feel that they can no longer continue to be bandits. Being bandits will only make them exhausted. They need a base, a territory where 300,000 bandits can rest and recuperate.

Zhang Bei was thoughtful. He also felt that continuing to roam around was not a solution. The more people he had under his command, the greater the burden. If they continued to roam around, they would fall apart sooner or later.

"Can Hanzhong Prefecture support 300,000 soldiers?" Zhang Bei asked.

Song Chenxing said: "Of course it was impossible before, but it is different now. Under the severe drought, countless people in Hanzhong Prefecture starved to death. The 300,000 soldiers we brought with us can just replenish the population of Hanzhong Prefecture!"

"And there are many mountains and valleys in Hanzhong Prefecture. If we occupy Hanzhong Prefecture, we only need to build forts in those important passes and valleys to stop the imperial army."

"With the advantage of the terrain, we only need tens of thousands of soldiers to stop hundreds of thousands of imperial troops, so we can develop with peace of mind!"

Niu Sude nodded slightly, and continued Song Chenxing's words, saying: "Hanzhong Prefecture has another advantage. Its south is Bashu, and Bashu is also in turmoil at this time. It is impossible to mobilize a large army to attack us. This can reduce our pressure!"

"And if we can't stop the imperial army in Hanzhong Prefecture, we can retreat to Bashu."

The two analyzed it very well, and Zhang Bei nodded repeatedly.

At this point, Hanzhong Prefecture is indeed their best choice.

"Yes, what the two military advisors said makes sense. We will withdraw to Hanzhong Prefecture, and then defend Hanzhong Prefecture for three years before we talk about it!" Zhang Bei made the final decision and set their next development plan.

I have something to do tomorrow and need to take a day off. I will update as usual the day after tomorrow. Please forgive me, fellow book friends.