Heaven's Formula

The alliance and expansion of the Privy Council was originally good news for him, but now he wants to cut off his relationship with the General Mansion, and to be honest, he is a bit entangled.

However, he was under the eaves, and he chose to take refuge in Xia Fan at that time, and this "stain" will always be remembered by the Privy Council. It can be said that there are hidden dangers on both sides.What's more, no matter what you think in your heart, you still have to express your attitude now. "The Privy Council has made preparations and is ready to cooperate with Master Xia's instructions at any time."

Their eyes diverged one after another, and the two of them suddenly felt a little lighter on their shoulders.

"When do you think Gyeonggi will strike?" Ning Wanjun asked.

"The army has not moved, and the food and grass are first. It depends on their logistics preparation speed. Since they are fighting in the territory, they can completely use the towns around Shenzhou as camps, and usually they can handle it properly in a month or two." Xu Sanzhong analyzed. "In addition, there will be a round of spring plowing after the snow melts. Recruiting soldiers at this time will easily affect the harvest, so they should choose to start in April or May. At that time, the weather has already warmed up, and a lot of cold-proof materials can be saved."

"The lower official agrees with Xu Gueran's judgment, but it is difficult to have an exact start and end time for a war, and the enemy should also know the reason for winning by surprise, so we still have to be prepared for a surprise attack." He Guicai added, "I suggest His Highness strengthened the protection of the villa, and at the same time set up checkpoints on several main roads in Shenzhou to monitor the movement of people in the surrounding towns."

"The villa also needs to be protected?" Ning Wanjun frowned.

"Your Highness, the opponent is the Privy Council, and the possibility of the enemy using high-level alchemists to assassinate cannot be ruled out." At this point, He Gui glanced at Xia Fan, "If possible, I hope that all the high-level alchemists in Jinxia City will also be stationed in the villa. , in case of accidents.”

Then everyone discussed the issue of "if Qi Guo's army is approaching Shenzhou, how should Jinxia meet the enemy?"

Compared with the conservative and cautious two or three months ago, the military at this time seems to be full of confidence.

The game with the West Pole Empire allowed them to see three-dimensional combat on another level, and at the same time, conquering the entire territory of Shenzhou seemed to be like a broken bamboo, which greatly boosted the confidence of the generals.

Now that the Yama Kingdom has come full of money and refilled the treasury, this last trace of worry has dissipated.There are people, money, and weapons... plus the home game, everyone is full of expectations for victory.

In addition to Shenzhou, Qiguo has additional nine states, namely Leizhou, Suzhou, Youzhou, Lingzhou, Ganzhou, Yazhou, Jinzhou, Liuzhou and Qingzhou.

Among them, Ganzhou, Liuzhou, and Qingzhou border Shenzhou, not to mention Ganzhou in the west. The junction of the two places is a mountainous area, which is not suitable for the passage of large troops.Liuzhou and Gyeongju are just sandwiched between Gyeonggi and Shenzhou, and are two of the three states in the south of the Yangtze River. There are many large towns, well-developed transportation, and a lot of food and money stored in the city. They are very suitable as the forward garrison of the army.

The generals and staff of the army also judged unanimously that if Ning Qianshi wanted to do something, the army would leave from these two states in all likelihood.Among them, Liuzhou is the most likely - after all, this state has the most developed water system, which is suitable for transporting luggage by boat.

Send eyeliners to these two states to be stationed, and you will be able to know the enemy's movements at the first time.

After all, the dispatch of hundreds of thousands of troops cannot be done quietly, and troops that have traveled long distances will definitely be seen on the official roads.

At the end of the meeting, a warning plan with Liuzhou as the main and Gyeongju as the supplement was determined.

Xia Fan also did not raise any objections.

But compared to this war, he cares more about what the Seven Stars Privy Council will do before.

The second prince also just took control of Gyeonggi not long ago, and it really takes time to consolidate his power, but this doesn't mean that he will do nothing in the next one or two months and just sit back and watch Jinxia swallow Shenzhou bit by bit.

Compared to setting up formations and head-to-head battles where ten thousand people will win or lose, those unsuspecting back arrows are the most important thing to be wary of.

At least he agrees with strengthening the defense of Fengyang Villa.

As for other threats, we can only rely on impromptu means, and each depends on his ability.

……

Shenzhou, White River City.

Under the heavy rain, a carriage drove into a dark alley.Rainwater poured down the eaves and gathered on both sides of the ground to form rapid streams.

The first heavy rain after the beginning of spring cast a gray shadow over the whole city, and turned the roads that were not paved with flagstones into mud.

The wheels turned slowly in the dirt road, and the ruts were deep enough to see the weight of the goods it carried.

Walking to the door of an inconspicuous one-story house, the coachman let out a cry, stopped the horse, and immediately four or five people came out of the house, lifted the oil-straw mat covering the car, and moved heavy wooden boxes into the house. .

One of them took out a dagger and pried open the lid of the box, revealing the neatly arranged silver ingots in the box.

Then he pried open several other boxes.

Almost every box contains thousands of taels of silver.

As long as ordinary people take one piece, they can guarantee food and clothing for a year.

But the crowd did not lose their eyes because of these white silver ingots. They took out a few pieces in their arms in an orderly manner, put on bamboo hats and coir raincoats, walked out of the bungalow, turned around and disappeared into the rain.

Chapter 4 and One

Baihe City Changjia Grain Store.

The shopkeeper was sitting in front of the counter, looking bored at the pouring rain outside the street.

Not to mention customers in this weather, there are very few pedestrians.

However, even without this heavy rain, the situation would not be much different - the new year is the off-season for business, and the food stockpiled before the Chinese New Year should be enough for a while, and it will basically not get better until the second half of the year.The peak season is obviously summer and winter, one before harvest and one for winter storage.

On the contrary, in autumn, because the grain is mature and harvested, there are too many people who sell it loosely, and the pressure of competition in grain shops is high, so they cannot sell at any price.During this period, you generally only need to pay attention to the purchase of low prices.

Although there is no need to worry about selling food at any time, there is still a difference between high prices and low prices.Earlier, when the Jinxia Army deployed a massive formation outside Baihe City to attack the city, the shopkeeper was secretly delighted. The common people were afraid that there would be nothing to eat during the war. As long as they fought for a month or two, the price of food would still skyrocket?Unexpectedly, in less than a day, the prefect announced his surrender, which really disappointed him.

Except for the addition of an office branch on Jiuli Street, Baihe City has not felt any changes from before.

At this time, the welcome bell at the door jingled lightly.

A man walked quickly into the house.

Rainwater dripped down his coir raincoat, forming puddles on the ground.Obviously he walked in a hurry, even in the heavy rain, he couldn't avoid it.

Oh?Finally, there is a business.

The shopkeeper straightened up, "Guest officer, do you want to buy grain? There are rice in the store, as well as ground flour and finely beaten noodles. If you want to buy oil, I also have a lot here."

The man took off his bamboo hat and revealed his face. He was a strong man in his 30s.Put it in the home of ordinary people, that is the undisputed head of the family.

Hmm...they don't look like servants. Such customers usually buy in small quantities, and they don't choose high-priced good rice.Thinking in his heart, the shopkeeper has already taken out a pinch of yellow rice from under the counter, intending to show it to the guests.

The so-called yellow rice refers to old rice that is more than two and a half years old.

It's a small business, but it's better than nothing.People in this business often pay attention to an omen, and being able to welcome a customer on such a rare rainy day is a good omen in itself.

"I want it."

Sure enough, the other party nodded.

"Okay, how much do you want?"

"Five or six hundred."

"Okay, I'll go right now—" The manager was stunned for a moment, "How much?"

"Six hundred catties. Don't you have any here?" The man reported an exact figure again.

Of course there are six hundred catties, if a grain shop can't even get six hundred catties of goods, wouldn't it be a joke?The shopkeeper just didn't expect that this person's appetite would be so big that most people can only buy a few dozen taels for yellow rice.

"Guest officer, are you sure? Six hundred catties of grain is a bit heavy."

The man took out a cloth bag and dumped it on the counter. It was full of copper plates and broken silver. "Do you have a car here to help transport it?"

After seeing the money, the shopkeeper's doubts disappeared, "Hey, it's natural. I'll help you arrange it right away—hey, Wood, come to work!"

After busy half an hour seeing off the guests, he couldn't help grinning.

This transaction is very smooth. Although the price of yellow rice is low, the profit is not low at all. In addition to the large volume of shipments, this price may not be a one-day sales in the off-season.

I thought that today's business was over, but two hours later, another customer walked into the grain store in the slightly less rain.

"Shopkeeper, do you have polished rice?"

"Yes, yes, how much do you want?"

"Let's get [-] catties. Flour is also about [-] catties."

"Eight hundred?" The shopkeeper subconsciously repeated.

"Master wants to retreat and cultivate himself. He told me to buy more food and store it in the village. Is there any problem?" The other party's temper was obviously not very good, and his brows were already frowned.

It turned out that it was for the consumption of the entire Zhuangzi, the shopkeeper suddenly realized, but it is quite rare that the Zhuangzi does not farm the land himself. "No problem, there is no problem at all, I will help you to weigh and pack it."

Eight hundred catties is already half of the refined grain stock.

But this is just the warehouse of the grain shop, and there is still a full amount of goods in the big warehouse of the Chang family.The shopkeeper looked at the half-empty warehouse and smiled happily. There is no doubt that if the grain store sells more, he can also earn more. Such a business is naturally desirable.

It seems that we have to go to Dacang to replenish the goods in advance, the shopkeeper secretly said.Never expected that the first heavy rain day after the year would actually be an auspicious day.

……

Such a scene did not only appear in the Changjia grain shop.

The large and small grain shops in Baihe City all ushered in a good harvest today.

And much the same for the next week, as if good luck was on the line of business.

Everyone gradually discovered that this year's peak season seemed to be brought forward.

In fact, it wasn't just White River City.

The same changes are also taking place in Anshen, another big city, as well as in some counties and towns.

Food has become a hot commodity.

……

In Baisha County, several middle-aged men dressed as medicine farmers climbed up a high slope and looked down at a busy mine.

"This mine...is different from other places?"

The leader looked carefully for a while before opening his mouth.

"What's that thing that keeps moving?"

No one can answer.

Even if they are not people with shallow knowledge.

At the entrance of the mine, a long cloth belt was erected.This cloth belt is almost thousands of steps long, not only connecting several mine openings together, but also leading directly to the storage yard area.More importantly, the cloth belt is movable - it keeps running in one direction, sending the mineral materials piled on it to the storage yard in an endless stream. Concentrate in one place.

And facilities like this, there are still several places under construction-when the remaining cloth belts are completed, the entire mine may not need a few people to carry them, and the heavy mineral materials will be automatically collected into the stockyard.

It doesn't look complicated, but because everyone is an expert, they know that it definitely has hidden secrets. Whether it is the cloth belt that can prevent the mineral material from being cut, or the rollers that can continue to rotate, it is beyond the reach of ordinary people. .

Of course, this is not the only strange place. For example, in places where physical labor is required, many workers seem to be not locals, or even people from the six continental countries.Their hair ranged from blond to dark brown, and their faces were somewhat West Pole.

The treatment of these guys is also worse than that of ordinary laborers, and there are still chains on their feet, which is obviously a way to deal with sinners.

When did Jinxia City get such a group of coolies?

"Write it down. The Privy Council may be interested in these things." The leader ordered.

"I remember that there is only one mine in Shenzhou, right?" Another person said, "Originally, the pig iron produced here should be allocated by Chaotang, but now it is all owned by Jinxia City."

"That's right, so the investigation alone will definitely not satisfy the higher-ups," the leader's voice gradually became colder, "It's a great achievement to stop it completely."

"I have already checked. There is only a small guard stationed in the mine, and the number will not exceed twenty. There are sentries on the side of the mountain, but the defense is not tight." The man continued, "But in the county town It’s hard to say what’s going on here, maybe the Jinxia Army guards it personally.”

"Don't worry, they can only guard against external enemies, but they can't guard against internal cracks." The leader said confidently, "I have witnessed such a situation many times."

Chapter 4

Liuzhou, Huiyang City.

The highest-ranking official here, Zhou Shepherd, and a group of officials under him have now been replaced by managers trained by the Privy Council—although the replaced ones can’t be said to be very willing, but before the torrent that the Privy Council has planned for a long time, Any obstruction is futile.

The only ones left are those clerks and miscellaneous personnel who have not been named by the court. Due to their low positions, they are hardly affected by this big change in the officialdom, but the benefits they have gained are also very few.

Even though the government office still retains its original appearance, the people and things inside are completely different.

Today's "command post" for the operation against Jinxia City is located in the Huiyang City State Shepherd's Mansion.

Since the second prince and most of the core alchemists still need to sit in Gyeonggi to stabilize the situation, the burden of setting up a "command post" at the front line was naturally handed over to Fei Nian.

That was not the original plan.

The general government's initial arrangement was to place the command post in Shenzhou, preferably in a big city like Anshen and Baisha, only two to three days away from Jinxia. fight.

However, after one winter, the situation in Shenzhou has changed dramatically.

To be honest, Fei Nian, who received the information on the way, can be described as being caught off guard—the magistrates of Anshen and Baisha are still there, but they have either joined the Three Princesses or been imprisoned. The people in power in the city have completely changed their roles.

If it's just like this, that's all. As long as these people still have real power, the Privy Council is not afraid that they will not be able to pull them back.The problem is that most towns in Shenzhou have an extra agency called the Bureau.It is these institutions that have taken away all the authority of the government office.

The spies sent out must have been trying to use various means to invade the bureau, but compared to winning over old officials, this process is obviously much slower.

In desperation, Fei Nian had no choice but to act accordingly and set up the command post in Huiyang City, Liuzhou.

This made the turnaround of the information about twice as slow as planned. The spy had already started operations, but he hadn't waited for the second round of intelligence.

What we now know most clearly is that Ning Wanjun's actions were much more active than they expected, taking advantage of the snow period of less than two months to forcibly gnaw down the entire territory of Shenzhou, except for some towns near the edge that were not Outside the control, other areas have been owned by the princess.As for how Ning Wanjun gnawed down the two strong cities of Anshen and Baisha, there are various theories obtained so far, but the word "dragon" appeared in almost all the information.

Olina Okane!

This is the only dragon who can show up in Shenzhou.

It has to be said that it was a bad move to invite Xia Fan to Gyeonggi. If he hadn't come, Ning Wanjun would have at most one listener under his command.But when he came to Gyeonggi, he brought back Olina and Yan Qing instead.Now it seems that Olina has already taken refuge in the third princess, and Yan Qing is still unknown... If the latter also betrays the government, the princess will be equivalent to having an extra Qingjian and a third princess between the guardian and Qingjian. The Dragon Demon.

But this is not what worries Fei Nian the most.