Chapter 63: An unexpected success [Seeking follow-up reading]

"General, you are quite right."

"No matter how good such seedlings are, they will die!"

Jin Mao calmly flattered him: "Your character is as noble as the mountains and rivers, and your mind is as broad as the sea."

"I have a plan that can help you, General. It is both loyal and filial!"

Zhu Jun nodded with satisfaction: "Go ahead!"

Having walked through the gates of hell, Jin Mao didn't dare to wipe the sweat off his face and said, "I have a subordinate named Bai Shi."

"He once told me that the Minyue people near Ye County were numerous and powerful, and that they had produced an outstanding leader."

"I am wondering, if there are no Shanyue people nearby, could it be the Minyue people from Ye County who committed the crime across the border?"

This statement is nonsense. The straight-line distance between Ye County and Yongning County is more than 600 miles. If Min Yue had this logistical capability, they would have attacked long ago.

Zhu Jun frowned. This was a poor excuse.

He sighed for the third time: "Ye County is too far away, and now the food and grass are exhausted, and the soldiers are exhausted."

There is no explicit refusal, but it means that people are asked to come up with a solution.

Jin Mao seemed to be helped by God, and he said: "Last month, I collected 30,000 stones of grain and grass under my command, which is just right for you, General."

Based on the calculation that the late rice yield is six shi per mu, six thousand mu of land would yield thirty-six thousand shi. After deducting the income of the villagers, there would be twenty thousand shi left. Add another twenty thousand shi of fodder, and a total of forty thousand shi would be produced.

Here, Jin Mao played a word game, saying 30,000 dan of food and fodder, not 30,000 dan of grain.

Zhu Jun could hear it, but this was enough!

"Good!" Zhu Jun was overjoyed: "Sima Jin's loyalty is commendable, I will record your merit again!"

"But the enemy is in a fierce situation and we can't delay for a moment."

All the cards have been played, what else does Jin Mao have to hide? He clasped his fists and bowed: "I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Zhu Jun was very satisfied.

Next, it’s time to chat.

Zhu Jun kindly explained to Jin Mao the precautions for long-distance marches and taught him a lot of his own experiences.

After the biggest crisis was over, Jinmao immediately started to study. This was a private lesson from a famous general, which was hard to come by!
The two chatted happily.

Finally, Zhu Jun took out a scroll of bamboo slips and said, "This is my many years of experience in leading troops. I'll give it to you."

And such a good thing!

Jin Mao happily took it. According to the etiquette at that time, only teachers and students could have extramarital affairs.

I was hesitating whether to perform the disciple ceremony.

Then I heard Zhu Jun say: "Last year, I saw that Sun Wentai from Fuchun, Wujun, was talented, and I gave him a copy. If you two meet in the future, you can exchange ideas."

Jin Mao quickly performed the disciple's salute and said, "Thank you, General."

If for no other reason than to be classmates with Sun Jian and Sun Wentai.

The next day
Zhu Jun made a decision and acted very efficiently.

As the pioneer, Jin Mao set out from the land, carrying one month's rations, and headed towards Ye County along the coast.

Zhu Jun had to wait for the food and supplies to arrive from the rear before he would bring 5,000 soldiers and arrive by boat via the nearby sea.

According to the normal marching speed, Zhu Jun might be able to arrive first after starting later, as water transportation is much faster than land transportation.

Not to mention, Jinmao has to cross mountains and hills along the way, and the speed is even slower.

That was just Zhu Jun's estimated time.

But Jin Mao was holding his breath. Along the way, he just treated it as a military training. He followed the instructions of "Zhu Jun's Training Manual" and used drum sounds to command the entire army.

The person who runs ahead eats the most food and does the least work every day.

Those who fell behind and could not keep up helped to escort the baggage at the rear, doing the heaviest work and eating the least meals.

Fully stimulated, nine hundred people rushed forward shouting, no one wanted to fall behind.

It was originally estimated to take twenty days to arrive, but it only took half the time.

It took only ten days to reach Ye County!
At this time, Zhu Jun had just received food and grass and was preparing to set sail.

...

Ye County has a population of no more than 10,000 households and has a county magistrate who is in charge of government affairs.

There was also a Nanbu Houguan Commandery, which was subordinate to the Nanbu Commandery of Kuaiji and was in charge of military affairs.

Along the way, Jinmao rode a horse and did not feel tired.

When he arrived near Ye County, he began to try to put into practice what he had learned from Zhu Jun, and he set up camp on the sunny side. However, the sea breeze blew in the middle of the night, freezing people to the bone, so he had no choice but to lead his men to camp on the back sunny side.

No matter how much you hear, it is better to practice it once.

The next day, Jin Mao led his men to cut down trees and set up a wooden camp halfway up the mountain. They also prepared some rolling logs and stones for defense.

On the third day, after the rest, Jin Mao ordered the political commissar Liu Mu to lead the troops in training, while he took Bai Shi into the city to gather information.

Bai Shi’s former Baijiazhai had considerable influence among the Min Yue people near Ye County, second only to Heijiazhai.

If they hadn't suffered from an insect plague, they would not have migrated to the vicinity of Wushang County.

For Shiraishi, this place is as familiar as home.

Moreover, the mixture of Han and Yue people was not obvious in Ye County, as it was everywhere. However, the status of some Min Yue people was higher than that of Han people.

At first glance, Bai Shi realized something was wrong: "Lord God, something happened in Ye County. (Before he left) the mountain people had never been taller than the Han people."

Jinmao instantly became interested. It would be good if there was a change!

The two men, accompanied by five personal soldiers, walked from the beach to the county town. Along the way, Jin Mao was shocked by the customs and people of Ye County.

Ye County did not ban the sea. The small number of Han people made a living by fishing and did not engage in production, while the large number of Min Yue people knew how to farm.

Some Han people returned from going out to sea with a large harvest of fish, shrimp and crabs, but not much.

Jin Mao saw with his own eyes that there were people in official uniforms waiting at the dock. Any fishermen who caught a large catch had their catch taken away, and if they caught little, they would be severely beaten.

These fishermen were also smart. After the officials left, they always managed to find their catches in unexpected places.

So, although the fishermen look weather-beaten, in fact, each of them lives better than the residents of Wushang County in the past, and their faces look more fleshy.

If there were no oppression from officials, it would be a good place to live.

Jin Mao asked curiously, "Was it like this before?"

Bai Shi nodded: "The Han people have always had a hard time."

Entering the county town from the seaside, it is actually only slightly better than Wushang Yiting.

There was someone at the city gate who was responsible for collecting tolls. When the toll collector saw Bai Shi, he quickly stood up, bowed and nodded, and escorted him into the city.

Jin Mao asked curiously again: "What's going on?"

Bai Shi took off his hat and glanced at Qi Cai Yu, then thought for a moment and said, "He may have mistaken me for the leader of the Heijia Village."

Bai Shi pointed at the feather and said, "In ancient times, the Bai and Hei families were from the same family, so their ways of showing their identities were the same."

"This is interesting." Jin Mao vaguely grasped something and said, "Change to a hat without fur. This one is too conspicuous."

Shiraishi reached over and put the hat on inside out, and the feathers were no longer visible, with the same effect.

The two of them walked and strolled.

Suddenly, Bai Shi grabbed Jin Mao and pointed to a black-looking Min Yue man wearing iron armor and peacock feathers on his head in the distance. The man was arm in arm with two officials, bragging and chatting.

"That is Black Panther, the leader of the Heijia Village. The two officials are the head of Ye County and the captain of the Southern Houguan."

These three people got together?
Jinmao felt that there must be something fishy going on here.

So he asked Bai Shi to go and eavesdrop on the conversation between the three people.

An hour later, Bai Shi came back with surprising news.

"Black Panther wants to expand its power to the north? County Magistrate Ye and the Southern Houguan Commander both disagree?"

The most important thing is that Black Panther has tens of thousands of people under his command!

It's like a pillow is given to you when you feel sleepy. These three people are the best scapegoats.

Just looking at the way the county officials under the rule of these two officials act, it can be seen that they are not good people.

Jin Mao was very nervous when he arrived in Ye County: "What if the Min Yue here are as kind as Bai Shi and his men?"

"What if there is no rebellion here and everything is like a paradise?"

"just in case…"

Fortunately, none of those unexpected events happened, and Jinmao was able to overcome the psychological barrier.

"Bai Shi, you stay here, like this..."

After giving some instructions, Jin Mao went back to prepare bamboo slips and wrote a letter to the two men, persuading them to surrender.

In the end, Jin Mao still wanted to give the two a chance to avoid killing good people by mistake.

Next, it’s time to wait.

(End of this chapter)