Chapter 832: Sunrise in the East (57)

Li Ru was able to detect the trace of pride in Jiang Jiaquan's heart, as well as the indifference towards himself. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. If he was really proud, he would be rampant. But even if you have achieved a little success now, you are just cramped in this corner. That's all, how can you know the voice of Kunpeng in Great Qin?

The two of them walked forward along the road in silence. The further they went, the more farmland there was, and the number of people working in the fields gradually increased. Most of them were women, old people, and children, but there were also some adult men. , but if you take a closer look, you will find that most of these adult men have mild or severe disabilities.

Looking at these people, Li Ru was slightly surprised. In his image, such people should be very poor, very sad, the lowest people struggling to survive, but now, these people look like But they were very happy. What they did was not heavy work, they just removed some weeds for the crops. Some people were digging in the corners of the fields with hoes, as if they were preparing to plant something. new crops

"Are all the adult men going out to prepare for war?" Li Ru asked. He naturally knew that due to the sudden invasion of the Qi people, Zhengdong Mansion was now facing the dilemma of having no available troops.

"Yes!" Jiang Jiaquan nodded concisely, "Everyone who can fight must be prepared. Although they may not be able to use them, it is always good to be prepared."

"You are in danger this time," Li Ru said calmly: "According to the information I received, Jicheng can't hold on for long. If Jicheng is captured, Tian Dan's army will rush into Langya. You How to resist then?"

"When soldiers come to stop them, water comes and the soil floods them. That's all." Jiang Jiaquan raised his eyebrows and said nonchalantly: "Under the leadership of the governor, the Eastern Expedition Army has grown from more than a hundred people to commanding hundreds of thousands today. What kind of big army is it?" I have never seen this scene before, how can I be afraid of Tian Dan?"

Look at the other person's confident look. Li Ru shook his head and said: "Even the Qin army will not treat the Qi army as nothing. Tian Dan is one of the few people who is listed as a hero by our king. There will be a price to pay for underestimating him. The Eastern Army is now It is true that we have hundreds of thousands of troops under our control, but where are they now?”

Jiang Jiaquan laughed, "Senior brother. Why do you care about this?"

"I think we can help you," Li Rudao said, "If you need it, we will send envoys to warn Tian Dan that invading the Zhengdong Army area is a provocation to the Qin State. I don't think Tian Dan dares not to think about angering him. The consequences of destroying the Qin Dynasty"

Jiang Jiaquan looked at Li Ru with a half-smile but not a smile, "Brother, we appreciate your kindness, but we don't need it because we can't afford the compensation you want, so we should leave it to ourselves to worry about."

Jiang Jiaquan's answer seemed to have been expected by Li Ru, and he didn't think it was different. He just smiled lightly and said, "My proposal is always valid, if you need it.

You can inform us at any time"

"How long are you going to stay in Jishi City, senior brother?"

"I'm getting older and rarely go out. It's rare for our senior brothers to reunite. This time I want to stay longer. It depends on whether you are willing, junior brother?"

"Senior brother, you can stay as long as you want!" Jiang Jiaquan said with a smile: "Just walk around and look around, senior brother. In the past few decades, I have never doubted that what I insist on is correct. Go down and see how we conquer. What are the differences between the people under the jurisdiction of Dongfu and the Qin people may touch the senior brother. Oh, by the way, not far outside Jishi City, there is a village where the Qin people gather. Of course, they now all call themselves They are the people under the control of the Eastern Conquest Army."

Li Ru was startled, "Oh, I really want to take a look."

"Brother, you said before that your great king listed some of the most dangerous people in the world. I wonder if our governor is among them?" Jiang Jiaquan suddenly asked

Li Ru suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Although Gao Yuan's status in King Qin Wulie's heart had risen rapidly, he was still not at the top of the list. He was unwilling to lie and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Seeing Li Ru's expression, Jiang Jiaquan naturally understood the meaning here and said calmly: "I think it won't take long for our governor's name to be ranked first among these people."

Li Ru hesitated slightly. He clearly heard the meaning of Jiang Jiaquan's words.

The conversation between the two ended unhappily, and Li Ru returned to the post house. A large number of followers he brought gradually returned from all over the city and outside the city and gathered in Li Ru's room.

In Li Ru's room, besides him, there was another person sitting. Although he was dressed as a servant, his demeanor and demeanor obviously did not match his status.

"Tell me, what did you find out today?" Li Ru asked

A middle-aged man wearing the official uniform of the Great Qin stood up, bowed to Li Ru and another young man and said, "As an envoy of the Great Qin, I pay my respects to the various yamen of Zhengdong Prefecture." He paused slightly. After a while, four words came out, "deep impression"

"Tell me, what makes this impression so profound?" The young man next to Li Ru leaned forward slightly, obviously very interested in this topic.

"Efficiency!" the middle-aged official said with certainty: "The government offices of Zhengdong Mansion are concentrated on one street. Although my subordinates only went to a few of them, they took a quick look around and spied on some things in other government offices. What shocked me was the efficiency with which they handled matters. There was no delay or embarrassment. The speed at which some affairs were handled according to my subordinates' observations was several times faster than the same yamen in Qin."

"Several times?" The young man sat up straight in shock. In his reflection, the people of Qin's yamen were always vigorous and resolute in their affairs. Could it be that the yamen officials of Zhengdong Mansion were more efficient and disciplined than those of Qin?

"The second thing is discipline," the middle-aged official said: "Although our Daqin has strict laws, as long as we are willing to find a way and pay the price, we can still find out the information. But today, I bribed a total of eighteen times, and none of them came out." If you are successful, you will politely refuse if you have a good attitude. If you have a bad attitude, you will expel your subordinates directly."

"The third is that I am confident that my subordinates have stayed in the Ministry of Rites for a little longer and have talked to their officials, clerks, and servants. They all showed disdain for Qi's invasion. Without exception, everyone showed disdain."

The expression on the young man's face gradually became serious.

The middle-aged official sat down, and another man wearing a businessman's uniform stood up. "My subordinates were ordered to inquire about the commercial transactions in Jishi City. The commercial activities here are extremely prosperous. The goods cover almost this area." Everything on the mainland is priced at a fair price. My subordinates found that more than 60% of the commercial activities here are controlled by Sihai Trading, and Sihai Trading is controlled by Zhengdong Mansion. A relatively loose business alliance, with franchised merchants from all over the world, including our Qin merchants and the rest are mostly scattered merchants. The Zhengdong Prefecture levies a heavy tax on trade, twice that of our Qin, but the merchants are not. Without any dissatisfaction, the subordinates inquired from a Qin family. Although the taxes levied by Zhengdong Mansion were relatively heavy, as long as they held their tax payment certificates, they did not have to pay any more in any area under the jurisdiction of Zhengdong Mansion. As for any other expenses, their actual expenditure is actually lighter than in our country."

"This is one, and the other is that any local farmer in Jishi County comes to the city to sell anything. There is no need to pay fees. There is no entry fee, no protection fee, and the public security situation is excellent. This Qin businessman told us, Jishi City truly does not pick up lost items on the road and does not close its doors at night. Although this person is from Qin, he spends most of the year in Jishi City and only returns to Qin when he is purchasing goods."

The young man nodded solemnly

The third man stood up. "My subordinates went out of the city to explore the farmers around Jishi City. Most of them are villages composed of disabled veterans of the Eastern Conquest Army. These villages are basically built in the form of military fortresses. The martial arts are very strong, and each village has them. The so-called militia team has now been drained of adult men, but there are martial arts arenas in the villages, and weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds are openly displayed outside. Zhengdong Mansion does not prohibit civilians from possessing weapons. There are schools in every village. Children of school age must go to school to study with their husbands, otherwise, parents will be punished."

When the young people heard this, they couldn't help but ask: "How are the lives of these disabled veterans?"

The third person bowed and said: "Disabled veterans will receive a considerable amount of money when they leave the army. After returning home, part of the fields they own are Yongye fields obtained due to military merit, and they do not have to pay taxes. And these disabled soldiers also perform different duties, such as training children and young people in martial arts, and Zhengdong Mansion will give them rewards, so the lives of these people are better than those of ordinary people."

"Children also practice martial arts?" the young man asked in shock

"Yes, the children study in the morning and practice martial arts in the afternoon."

The young man nodded, "These people must be the most loyal supporters of Zhengdong Mansion. Have you visited any villages made up of refugees?"

"I've been there. I heard that there was a village thirty miles outside Jishi City composed of escaped Qin people, so I went there, thinking that I was from Qin. Maybe I could find out some of the most authentic news." He had some doubts. He glanced at the young man in embarrassment and said, "But as soon as they heard that I was an official of the Qin State, they kicked me out of the village. They refused to recognize me as a Qin person and only called themselves a native of Jishi County."

There was an angry look on the young man's face, "Are you going to give up like this?"

"My subordinates went to another village not far from this village and inquired about the situation of these refugees forming a village. When they first arrived, they all had nothing. Zhengdong Mansion used interest-free loans to build houses for them. , distributed cattle, farm tools, and most importantly, allocated land to them. The price of these lands was also sold to them in the form of interest-free loans, which can be repaid in installments. The earliest people who arrived in Jishi County have fully paid off With the loan, the land, houses, and livestock are now their own. In these villages built by refugees, the Zhengdong Mansion will send a village chief, a retired soldier, and a literate person to serve as officials. Other management functions are no different from those of villages composed of retired soldiers."

The young man looked at Li Ru and found that Li Ru was also looking at him. Both of their eyes were solemn.

Another one stood up and began to report to the two of them what he had found out (to be continued)