Volume 1 Jiangdong Fengyun Chapter 83: Yi Ji
After Bai Tu returned to Qu'a, the first thing he did was naturally to go to Cheng Ji Mansion.
Although I have just listened to Chen Gong's report on the affairs of the four counties of Jiangdong in the past month, the detailed data is still clearer from Cheng Ji.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Bai Tu came in, he was frightened to the point of breaking out in a cold sweat by Qu Aji's words!
"Hey? Who is this sister? Is she also the Cheng Ji you found?" After seeing Bai Tu come in, Qu Aji asked behind Bai Tu.
Bai Tu's legs softened when he heard this, and he said in a hoarse voice, "What, what sister? Is there a third person?"
The four words "father, save me" were already stuck in Bai Tu's throat...
But at this moment, a familiar laughter sounded, "Hehe, don't be afraid, Mr. Bai. I was just curious and came here from Wujiang."
"Huh? Wujiang...it's you! The one who laughed at me when the Overlord's Armor was gone!" Bai Tu suddenly remembered.
At the same time, a beautiful woman wearing a red silk dress with flowers dancing on her shoulders and a feather shawl draped over her back appeared behind Bai Tu.
The woman had long dark eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth, and was wearing gorgeous red makeup, as if she was about to perform some grand show.
"You are also... Cheng Ji?" Although Bai Tu had some guesses , he was more confused.
"City princess? You can say that, but I don't represent any 'city'. I can only be considered an alien princess." said the woman in gorgeous clothing.
"Do you remember anything else?" Bai Tu asked tentatively.
Neither Qu Aji nor Xiao Peiji has any memory before they became Chengji, or rather... no memory that is too ancient.
"Han soldiers have occupied the land, and the sound of Chu songs can be heard in all directions. The king has lost his spirit, and what is the point of my humble concubine's life..." said the woman in gorgeous clothing, half singing and half chanting.
White picture: !!!
It was indeed her. It was not a coincidence that she appeared at the Wujiang River with the Overlord's Remains of Armor. The Yi Ji in front of him was none other than Yu Ji, who had accompanied Xiang Yu since he started his army in Jiangdong until his defeat at Gaixia, and then she committed suicide in front of Xiang Yu!
According to legend, Yu Ji was born in the Yu family, one of the four surnames in Wuzhong. She married Xiang Yu because she admired him. She followed Xiang Yu in every battle. When Xiang Yu proclaimed himself the King of Western Chu, she was also named "Beauty" - Xiang Yu had not yet become emperor at that time, so naming his wife "Beauty" was already a fixed rank.
Speaking of... the land of Jiangdong, of the four surnames of Wuzhong in the past, the Gu and Lu families are still prosperous today, and are known as the four surnames of Jiangdong today together with the Zhang and Zhu families. They are also the four major families with princesses. Although the Yu and Wei families were a little down and out, they are still among the most prominent families in Kuaiji County.
"You are... Yu Meiren? Why... are you Yi Ji?" Bai Tu was not being frivolous. "Beauty" was Yu Ji's rank.
"I can't remember many things. After the singing and dancing at Gaixia, I thought I would say goodbye to the king forever. I didn't expect to see the king break through with 800 Chu cavalrymen, see the king with only 28 cavalrymen by the Wujiang River, see the king lead the 28 cavalrymen to charge the Han army three times, and see the king commit suicide by slashing his throat at the Wujiang River, and then be torn into pieces by the Han army who received the reward...
But they only took away the king's body. After that, the king's remnant and armor sank into the Wujiang River with me. I was in a daze for an unknown period of time before I woke up the day before yesterday. "Yu Ji said.
Qu Aji was also listening with a curious look on the side, but Bai Tu looked at her twice more and it seemed that she didn't remember anything.
Judging from Yu Ji’s situation, although the principle and process are unclear, but... it is true that at least some of the city princesses should have been humans!
Perhaps after Yu Ji truly became a Cheng Ji, even after dozens or hundreds of years, she would forget Xiang Yu and the farewell at Gaixia, and only remember that she was a Cheng Ji.
"So... you should follow the heir of King Xiang's armor, why are you following me? To meet other city princesses?" Bai Tu asked puzzledly.
"I like the poems you wrote for the king, but now I have no place to stay... As long as I do not belong to the Han Dynasty, I can build a new city for you." Yu Ji said.
Bai Tu's eyes lit up when he heard this - he had previously investigated the terrain near Beigushan Mountain and had already decided to build an iron urn city and move all the offices and workshops of the Ministry of Works into it.
I originally thought that without a castle princess, it could only be called "Jingkou City" in name , but now it seems... Bai Tu can build a "Jingkou Fort" that is not a city in name, but has a castle princess!
Given Yu Ji's background, it was normal for her to put forward the condition of "not belonging to the Han Dynasty". Bai Tu built the city of Jingkou for the purpose of keeping it secret, so how could he possibly "connect" with the Han Ji?
At that time, we can just call it "Jingkou Fort" to the outside world. At the same time, with Yu Ji in charge, it will be easier to maintain confidentiality.
But the white picture always feels a little weird...
Why can others gain the approval of Xiang Yu, but I can only rely on flattering Xiang Yu to gain the approval of Yu Ji?
Could it be that Yu Ji was expressing her admiration for her ability to make the king happy?
Thinking of this, Bai Tu felt more and more uncomfortable!
But Bai Tu didn't forget and asked about Sun Ce.
"The young man who inherited the king's armor? He should wake up in a few days." Yu Ji and Lu Bu had similar opinions.
Afterwards, Bai Tu first settled Yu Ji in Qu Aji's Cheng Ji Mansion, where she didn't have to worry about being discovered by others.
After all, the Han Dynasty still ruled the country, and Bai Tu was nominally still the governor of Yangzhou of the Han Dynasty. Inheriting the armor could be explained as inheriting Xiang Yu's bravery, but appearing with Yu Ji directly was a bit taboo.
At Qu'aji's place, Bai Tu also checked the situation of the four counties of Jiangdong over the past month. After making Qu'a the seat of government, Bai Tu could receive information on the recovered Wu County, Kuaiji County, Danyang County and Yuzhang County.
As soon as Wujun and Danyang came together, Wang Lang of Kuaiji and Hua Xin of Yuzhang immediately sent envoys to submit, and the two had already set out and would soon go to Qu'a to report to Bai Tu in person.
However, these two men are not young either. Although they are not completely ignorant of the military, they have the airs. They will definitely come over slowly, and Bai Tu will not rush them.
The military farms arranged for Gan Ning and Chen Gong were also proceeding as planned, but... the population of Wujun and Kuaijijun made Bai Tu feel a little disappointed.
Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wujun had a registered population of 700,000, and Kuaiji had 480,000, but now... it has almost been halved!
The previous war clearly did not have much impact on Jiangdong, but how come half of the population was lost?
Bai Tu actually knew where the missing people had gone. After all, these two counties were where the aristocratic families and powerful clans were most deeply rooted.
It is also a basic operation for the noble families to hide the population by taking advantage of wars and famines. Otherwise, where would the thousands or tens of thousands of tenants and numerous servants come from?
Even though he was somewhat prepared, Bai Tu was shocked by the appetite of the Jiangdong family. He somewhat understood why Sun Ce was so determined to kill Xu Gong to serve as a warning to others...
However, Bai Tu was not forced to the point of Sun Ce. Although Bai Tu did not have Sun Ce's noble family background, Bai Tu now had the trust of Lu Kang and...Yu's great-great-aunt!
