Chapter 1035 – Everyone’s Calculations (11)
With the northern border finally settled, Jiang Pengji had to lead the troops to the front again, leaving her trusted advisors to handle the aftermath in the northern region.
Now, the northern border was renamed “Beizhou” and officially came under Jiang Pengji’s influence.
However, for convenience, it was still referred to as the northern border.
Sun Wen was appointed as the Deputy of Beizhou, taking on the powers of the Governor.
Qi Guanrang remained in Chongzhou, managing the affairs there while also supporting Sun Wen to stabilize the northern region.
Additionally, Jiang Pengji had Fu Wang stay behind to garrison the two states with troops.
These decisions were carefully thought out by Jiang Pengji.
Sun Wen, being in his forties, wasn’t exactly old, but he couldn’t keep racing around with the army.
Having just gone through a major battle, Jiang Pengji decided to give Sun Wen a proper “break,” keeping him in the rear to manage state affairs.
With Qi Guanrang familiar with Chongzhou’s affairs and being meticulous, he and Sun Wen were expected to cooperate well.
As the supreme commander of the military, Fu Wang had high prestige within the army, so having him stationed to defend the two states ensured that no petty thief would dare to provoke them.
Unaware of the underlying motivations, Sun Wen felt grateful; at his age, he certainly needed some rest.
Only Qi Guanrang wore a cold expression.
For Jiang Pengji’s strategists, going out to fight was like a paid vacation—staying home was far worse than death!
Jiang Pengji truly had a “genuine affection” for Sun Wen.
Before conquering the northern border, they barely had enough manpower; now with the addition of this territory, resources were once again becoming tight.
Just thinking about the days of overtime made Qi Guanrang fan his feather fan more vigorously.
Jiang Pengji had settled him in Chongzhou, but his work focus still revolved around the northern region.
Though the remnants of the northern border were mostly cleared, the economic and political conditions had taken a heavy hit due to the war. Only when both Qi Guanrang and Sun Wen were stationed in the northern border to handle the aftermath could Jiang Pengji truly feel secure and worry-free.
Sun Wen, still inexperienced, was moved to tears by Jiang Pengji’s trust in him.
As for Qi Guanrang—
He was already anticipating a year of deep troubles ahead.
Before departing, Jiang Pengji threw a certain issue at the two of them, “Previously, to create trouble for the northern border, Zixiao, under my suggestion, encouraged the local common shepherds to raise rabbits and sheep. These seemingly harmless little creatures could cause a devastating blow to the pasturelands if their numbers explode. Thankfully, the scale is still small, and the rabbits and sheep haven’t caused much damage yet. I’m leaving this matter for you two to oversee; the government will intervene without concern for expenses, encouraging the common people to hunt wild rabbits and sheep as much as possible—”
Qi Guanrang frowned internally.
He knew well who suggested the rabbit and sheep strategy.
Yet Jiang Pengji took the blame upon herself, hurriedly defending Zixiao—this was not genuine affection, what was?
Sun Wen beside him knit his brows and said, “If the government begins to buy rabbits and sheep from the shepherds, they will just raise more.”
If that were the case, it would turn into the government promoting the rearing of rabbits and sheep.
Jiang Pengji smiled and replied, “It’s simple—lower the purchase price for the common people’s rabbits and sheep, and raise the price for wild rabbits and sheep—when the profit margin for domesticated livestock is low, the shepherds will naturally turn their sights toward hunting prey on the plains. This plan must ensure we watch out for those who would muddy the waters, making sure they don’t pass off domesticated rabbits and sheep as wild ones—”
Distinguishing between the domestic and wild was not easy, but Jiang Pengji believed the two before her wouldn’t struggle with this issue.
In addition to eradicating wild rabbits and sheep, Jiang Pengji had also prepared to introduce drought-resistant and cold-resistant plants, like cypress.
Chongzhou cypress was the main source of Xuan paper, and relying solely on Chongzhou wouldn’t suffice.
Many places in the northern border had similar geographical conditions to Chongzhou, so Jiang Pengji felt it was worth a try to introduce them.
After discussing the aftermath of the northern border with Sun Wen and Qi Guanrang for quite a while, and confirming there were no major issues, Jiang Pengji finally brought her troops away.
Leaving Sun Wen and Qi Guanrang behind, only Wei Ci and Feng Zhen remained with her, making the manpower quite insufficient.
On their way through Wanzhou, Jiang Pengji took the opportunity to pull Feng Jin, Meng Hunyun, and Qi Kuang along.
Hearing of this arrangement, Feng Jin muttered under his breath.
“Lord, you truly are heartless and ruthless—”
Just when he finally had some good news with Jingxian and was anxiously anticipating the ‘second child’, the Lord’s decree pulled him away.
Once this battle ended, the ‘second child’ might already be weaned and running around!
Ever since following this Lord, he realized he hadn’t enjoyed a good year in several years.
It was either fighting battles or rushing to the battlefield—
Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes, ignoring Feng Jin’s resentful expression.
“We’re almost at Hede County—”
Feng Zhen curled himself into a ball, slightly lifting the curtain of the carriage. The cold wind rushed in and hit his face.
He coughed a couple of times before quickly dropping the curtain back down.
Rubbing his hands for warmth, Feng Zhen simultaneously blew his nose with a napkin while mumbling, “Every time this happens, I envy Jingrong—”
Yang Si had taken Dian Yin to Hujun, currently representing Jiang Pengji to form an alliance with Xu Pei.
But that wasn’t the main point—
The main point was that Zhejun and Hujun were both warm places all year round, definitely not as cold as here.
Meanwhile, ahead, the scouts reported that Huang Song had already sent a messenger to wait outside Hede County for quite a while.
Jiang Pengji adjusted her armor, shook off the accumulated snow, and dismounted.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Boge—truly miss you—”
Huang Song stepped forward to greet her, taking Jiang Pengji’s hand warmly. “Lan Ting, it’s snowing heavily outside. Let’s go into the tent and catch up.”
Wei Ci followed Jiang Pengji closely behind, his gaze sliding over Huang Song’s hand, his eyebrows slightly furrowing before returning to calm.
“It’s been years since we last parted, and Lan Ting has become even more admirable, Boge. After defeating the northern border bandits, the Han family’s border can be secured for a hundred years of peace.”
Jiang Pengji sneered, “The northern border coveted what it shouldn’t have, and they earned this outcome, they deserve it.”
Upon entering the main tent, in a show of respect, Huang Song actively let Jiang Pengji take the seat on the right, while he took the left seat.
Jiang Pengji took a brief glance at the people in Huang Song’s tent; apart from a few familiar faces, most were strangers.
“Today is a great occasion; Boge specially prepared a simple meal for you, please don’t mind it, Lan Ting.”
“Is there good wine?”
He knew Jiang Pengji’s temper; she preferred straightforwardness, and being direct would win her favor more easily.
Huang Song laughed heartily, “Though alcohol is forbidden in the army, for the sake of Lan Ting today, what’s the harm in making an exception? We have a lot of good wine here—”
“I noticed, Boge has recruited quite a few talented officials and generals in recent years.”
Huang Song humbly replied, “Not as impressive as the talents under Lan Ting’s command, each one outstanding among their kind.”
Jiang Pengji languidly leaned back, her right hand resting on her raised right knee, her eyes slightly glazed, and a smirk of nonchalance on her lips.
“That’s too humble of you, Boge. I wonder if I have the honor to meet them?”
This wasn’t a big deal, and Huang Song wouldn’t refuse.
He started introducing his most trusted strategist, Feng Jue—
“This person’s face is too familiar; he resembles an old friend, very amiable—” When introducing Nie Xun, Jiang Pengji’s eyes squinted slightly, her voice a bit more intoxicated, she waved her left hand at Nie Xun, “I didn’t realize I’ve had too much wine, would you come closer so I can take a good look at you?”
At that moment, dozens of eyes in the tent, whether bright or dim, focused on Nie Xun.
