Heavy rain swept across, covering the sky and the earth. Violent thunder and lightning roared among the low-pressure and heavy black rain clouds, with the power to shake the mountains and crack the earth and collapse the sky, showing that only nature itself is the master of the universe.
Lightning flashed through the dark sky and earth, revealing the trees on both sides of the river swaying wildly in the storm that came from all directions.
"Boom" a flash of lightning hit a big tree in the distance.
Zhang Xuanning stood on the deck, and in the lightning, he could already see the scene in the distance.
"My lord, we have arrived at the inner harbor outside Kuaiji City." Chen Changlin stepped forward and reported.
Strangely, the thunderstorm stopped just as we were approaching the dock. Soon, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped. The sun set in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun made the river water glow with rosy clouds.
"Well, give the order and say we are back." Zhang Xuan Ning said lightly. However, a huge ship attracted Zhang Xuan Ning's attention. It was in the port. Although there were eight sailboats of various kinds moored, the huge ship was very eye-catching.
Just at this moment, a command was issued on the ship. The sentry at the opposite dock immediately noticed it, read the flag signal, then took out a horn and blew it.
The horn sounded so loud that it could be heard within ten miles.
It didn't take long before the sound of neatly deployed troops could be heard near the dock. A large number of soldiers had stepped forward. They were all wearing the same military uniform. Although the weapons in their hands were relatively simple, the solemn formation, three thousand people in perfect silence, layer by layer, brought an incomparably terrifying aura.
Wearing armor and with a long sword hanging on his waist, he rode out on horseback. It was Zhou Feng. He dismounted, his armor clattering, and rushed forward to meet the enemy. The other docks were immediately isolated by the navy, and the original ships were driven aside.
When Zhang Xuanning got off the dock, he saw Zhou Fengmeng coming forward and kneeling, "I am the commander of the guards, Zhou Feng, and I pay my respects to my lord!"
Immediately, the three thousand soldiers behind him knelt down together: "Greetings, Lord General!"
The sound was deafening, and for a moment no other sound could be heard in the sky.
Zhang Xuanning laughed and said, "General Zhou, please stand up. Yes, General Zhou's martial arts have improved greatly, which is really cause for celebration. Has the Military Academy come out yet?"
In this era, large-scale non-commissioned officer and officer academies are not advisable, but training a small number of them is also legitimate. The Military Academy was built to train direct descendants and teach martial arts and military tactics in a graded manner.
Under his current gaze, Zhou Feng's changes were obvious. This man had followed him for a long time and had laid a solid foundation very early on. After three years in Yangzhou, he had improved to become a third-rate master. After joining his army, he had been tempered for more than half a year and had received instruction in higher-level mental methods. He was finally on the verge of a breakthrough.
A general only needs a second-rate expert, with the help of a group of guards and heavy troops, to conquer the whole world and be able to act on his own.
If Zhou Feng was like this, then the other two brothers Feng Yuanding, Feng Shengji, and Ding Xingbang were even more so. Finally, his army also had generals who could stand on their own. Although they were still immature, they were considered potential seeds and he didn't need to do everything himself.
"Yes, I have read the military strategy taught by the teacher. I am stupid and only learned the basics." Zhou Feng said modestly.
Just from these words, one can tell that there has been great progress. Zhang Xuanning thought of Luo Jin and Ren Jie and couldn't help but sigh. Although their martial arts and military tactics have improved, the progress is not great. If their martial arts are not up to the level of second-rate masters, they can only serve as generals of thousands of people and can no longer be entrusted with important tasks.
Otherwise, if tens of thousands of soldiers under his command were killed in an assassination attempt, wouldn't that ruin the overall situation? This is also one of the rules of this world, and no one can do anything about it.
"Go and inform Mr. Li to count the goods I brought, and move them down to the warehouse. Be careful not to open them and leave any boxes missing. Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed! Well, don't move the boxes on my ship yet. Move them directly to my general manager's mansion and don't count them."
"Yes, I obey your command." Zhou Feng immediately accepted the order , and then the soldiers stepped forward to move the goods.
With the stock of military equipment in the two counties, it can actually only meet the arming needs of 10,000 people, and that is still the standard of local weapons and equipment. It is not even up to the standards of regular troops, let alone the imperial guards.
Now with Yang Gong's treasure, the entire army can be upgraded and almost become the imperial guards.
Of course, the imperial guards were all strong men selected from all over the country. Although their own army was strictly trained, they were still two levels lower than them, so this was not the time for a head-on confrontation.
Seeing that everything had been explained, he brought thirty personal guards to the large ship. Sure enough, on the large ship, there was a group of people pointing and talking on the deck.
"Excuse me, is this the Song family's boat?" As he said this, he bowed and saluted to someone on the boat.
"So it's the general manager who has come in person. I dare not, it's me, Song Shidao, who should be the one to apologize first!" The man in the center was indeed handsome and elegant. He also bowed and said.
"So it's Mr. Song. Please forgive me for not welcoming you from afar." Zhang Xuanning said leisurely, "I should have welcomed you off the boat immediately, but I'm busy at the dock. I wonder if you can allow me to come on board and talk to you?"
"It is my honor to have the presence of the General Manager." Song Shidao spoke appropriately, neither arrogant nor humble, just right.
"Young Master and General Manager are just external titles. Why bother with them? It's better for us to address each other by our names." Zhang Xuanning stepped forward, and his personal soldiers followed. He would never abandon his personal soldiers at any time. This was his principle.
"It is an honor for me, Master. Brother Xuan Ning is only eighteen years old now. You are really a hero. My father has heard of you. I have heard of your reputation for a long time and came to visit you, but I didn't expect that you had already left. I was just feeling upset, but today I saw you come back. It is really fate." Master Song said with a smile. Although his tone was humble, he unconsciously had a feeling of looking down on others.
The Song clan is the most powerful aristocratic clan in the south, and its leader, "Tian Dao" Song Que, is known as the best swordsman in the world.
When Yang Jian unified the country and established the Sui Dynasty, he adopted a policy of appeasement towards them because he was concerned about the power of the Song clan. He named Song Que the "Duke of Zhennan". Song Que also knew that the Southern Dynasty was doomed, so he pretended to be a vassal in order to protect his family.
Among the four surnames, the other three have mixed Hu blood, and this southern clan, which is the only one left and maintains its prestige, has always adhered to tradition and strictly prohibited its members from marrying people other than the Han people, so it is regarded as the orthodox Han people in the world. During the reign of Emperor Wen Yang Jian, Song Que, despite his great talent and strategy, still did not dare to act rashly, but kept a low profile and devoted himself to cultivation to avoid disaster.
When Yang Guang ascended the throne, the government was in chaos and troubled by both internal and external factors, and rebellions broke out everywhere. The Song clan became active again. Song Que's younger brother, Song Zhi, was one of the most skilled swordsmen in the world and was also famous for his wisdom. He knew that the Sui Dynasty was still strong and that if he raised an army too early, he would be the first target of attack. Therefore, he advised his brother to postpone the rebellion against the Sui Dynasty and instead engage in various lucrative businesses.
In recent years, the power of the Song family has been growing secretly, and they even used financial resources to support some related rebel armies in order to weaken the power of the Sui Dynasty. Therefore, now that Zhang Xuanning has such a momentum, it is natural for the Song family to send people. Song Que has four sons and two daughters, and Song Shidao is the youngest son. He is in charge of various businesses and is very much loved by his father.
Seeing him, Zhang Xuanning suddenly thought of Fu Jun'er. This Korean woman and Song Shidao had a natural destiny and fell in love at first sight. He originally wanted to kill Fu Jun'er because she knew the secret of Yang Gong's treasure. Now that Yang Gong's treasure has been taken by him, there is no need to kill her. It is better to let this person entangle with Fu Jun'er and make him lose his ambition.
After all, Song Shidao is the heir of the Song family. If he is entangled in a love affair between a man and a woman, it will be beneficial to him rather than harmful. Should he arrange for him to meet Fu Jun'er?
But I don't know if things develop like this. Given the strict tradition of the Song clan not to allow intermarriage with outsiders, will Song Que personally kill Fu Jun'er, the foreign woman who seduced his son? It is very likely, but it is none of his business.
Having made up his mind, he immediately smiled and said, "How can I, with my humble reputation, attract the attention of Lord Zhennan? I am really terrified! However, if the time comes, I will go to see Lord Zhennan!"
After all, they were a family, extraordinary. It didn't take long for a banquet to be set up in the cabin. It was exquisite and grand. However, apart from Song Shidao, there was only one person who was qualified to attend. He was a man about forty years old, with a head full of white hair and a beautiful silver beard, but he didn't look old at all. He was graceful and heroic, with the bearing of a great man. This was Song Zhi.
However, there was no sign of Liu Jing, let alone Song Yuzhi, which made Zhang Xuanning very regretful. He knew that his power was not enough to attract the Song family. Otherwise, if he didn't have a wife yet, Song Yuzhi should have come on the ship for a blind date.
The marriages of big families were not autonomous. Song Que had two daughters, the fourth and sixth in line. Song Yuhua married Xie Wenlong, the son of Xie Hui, a wealthy man in Xichuan based in Chengdu.
Xie Hui is a first-rate master on par with Song Zhi. He built his own "Duzun Castle" and is one of the emerging forces outside of the four aristocratic families. The marriage between the Song and Xie families is full of the flavor of political transactions.
As long as he was strong enough and they were both in the south, the Song clan would naturally extend an olive branch to him. In Zhang Xuanning's view, Song Yuzhi had long been a beautiful lamb who wore heavy palace clothes on the outside but not even underwear.
However, if the Song clan knew that he had taken Yang Gong's treasure and the imperial seal, even if they could not package up the naked Song Yuzhi and send her to him for him to taste at will, they should at least send her half-exposed and half-covered for him to have a blind date. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.
"I wonder what good news my dear brother has?" Now he directly calls him brother.
"Of course. I'm very happy that you came this time. By the way, I want to buy some goods. I wonder if you are willing to do business with me?" Since he said so, Zhang Xuanning didn't mind climbing up the stalk.
Song Shidao was stunned, then he laughed and said, "I am a businessman in my family. I wonder what kind of goods you want, brother?"
"I want rice, I wonder if my brother can agree to it?"
"Although our family does not specialize in rice business, we have some stock. I wonder how many stones you want, my dear brother?" Song Shidao smiled casually. He came here to observe Zhang Xuanning's power and see if he could use it. If so, he would not mind providing financial support.
So he casually said, "I can give you an 80% discount."
In his opinion, how much money does a new power have? The Song clan network is all over the south, whether it is black or white business. Although there is a bit of chaos in the world now, it does not affect this network.
"Thank you so much, brother. I don't want much. One million dan will be enough." Zhang Xuanning said casually, "The current price of grain is one dan and a half taels of silver. Since brother is willing to give a discount, how about I offer four qian and eight fen of silver per dan?"
"Puff! Puff!" Song Shidao and Song Zhi, who were drinking, spit out their wine upon hearing this, almost spilling half of the banquet.
One shi here is equal to 100 jin (actually 106 jin), and one million shi is equal to 100 million jin of grain. You should know that the famous warehouses in the Sui Dynasty included Xingluo Granary, Changping Granary, Liyang Granary, Guangtong Granary, etc., and each warehouse stored no more than one million shi of grain. This number really scared the two families.
But both of them were outstanding people, and they calmed down in an instant. They thought Zhang Xuanning was not joking, so Song Shidao smiled and said, "I'm sorry, brother, you really scared me. Although my family's annual grain business also has more than 100,000 dan, the number of 1 million dan is still unprecedented. How about this, I can make the decision and transport 100,000 dan of grain first, and calculate it at 4.5 cents per dan. For the rest, I have to go back and get my father's approval."
As he spoke, he signaled to remove the old seats and replace them with new ones.
"That's great, Brother Master, please. I will send someone to deliver 20,000 taels of silver as a deposit tomorrow morning." Zhang Xuanning said without any concern.
Once Yang Gong's treasure came into his hands, it was impossible to hide it from those who were interested, because the output of each county was limited, and he had such a means to get rich quickly, so naturally there were only a few possibilities. After eliminating a few, he could come to a conclusion.
Moreover, he was not afraid of the treasure being leaked. Now that the treasure had reached the base, no one could do anything to him. If the news got out, not only would there be no loss, but everyone in the world would know that he had potential and power, which would just attract people to join him - everyone wanted to join a promising master.
Of course, gold is not omnipotent. If it cannot be converted into purchasing power, it is of no use.
There is a disadvantage in developing in the south. Because of the court's policy of emphasizing the north and neglecting the south, most of the grain harvested in the past was concentrated in the north, especially in the warehouses near the second capital. If you can't get these granaries for a while, you can only buy them in advance. Now the granaries are neither controlled by the Wagang Army nor by the Li family. This is the time to buy. Don't wait a year or two and then you won't be able to buy them even if you want to.
Without enough food, we cannot support enough troops. Without enough troops, the so-called "to conquer the world we must first conquer the north" argument will come true.
At this time, the South had not yet completely become a granary producing area!
Such a large-scale purchase of grain would be impossible without the participation of the Song clan. They could also purchase part of it themselves, but it would not be enough to meet the needs.
This also means showing strength to the Song clan early on.
"Why do you need so much food, my dear brother?"
"There is no other way. I have to support 30,000 soldiers and the food in the county is already insufficient. Next month, I want to use troops again, so of course the consumption will be even greater." Zhang Xuanning smiled.
While they were chatting and laughing, the new seat was served.
Song Shidao was slightly surprised when he heard this, then he laughed and said, "My dear brother, you are really an ambitious person. You are going to use troops again so soon. Come, let me have a drink to celebrate!"
"Ding!" They clinked their glasses and both drank them up.
Then, the sounds of singing and dancing came out, and a group of beautiful women in gauze came out .
The Song clan was indeed powerful. On board, this room was also elegant, simple, exquisite and beautiful. The bead curtain fully embodied the combination and application of "separation" and "transparency". The small room seemed to be integrated inside and outside, and it was particularly elegant.
Zhang Xuanning smiled and watched the dance with great interest, seemingly indulging in wine and women, yet making people feel that he had plenty of free time and could withdraw at any time.
Seeing this scene, Song Shidao and Song Zhi couldn't help but look at each other.
After the banquet, it was already midnight when Zhang Xuanning got off the boat surrounded by a group of personal guards.
Zhou Feng was still busy, and immediately went forward to pay his respects, but he saw his lord looking up at the sky, only to see that the starry sky extended endlessly, and countless stars were shining.
But as a subject, I had no choice but to wait patiently.
After waiting for a while, Zhang Xuanning said, "Have they all been moved to the warehouse?"
"Not yet. Mr. Li is still in charge of the inventory. Do you want me to call Mr. Li?" Zhou Feng replied respectfully.
"No need. It won't be too late to meet him tomorrow. Have all the things I need to transport to the General Manager's Mansion been transported there?"
"Yes, the first batch was shipped back."
"That's good. I'll go back first." After saying that, without paying attention to the soldiers who were urging him to see him off, Zhang Xuanning urged his horse on and headed straight into the city under the escort of a hundred riders.