In the blink of an eye, it is October, and the food in high mountain areas such as Liuliba and Qiongzhou has been collected in the granaries, and the colors of the forests have become colorful, while the Wugen Mountains and plains below the mountains are still full of green. In addition to handling important military and political matters, Ouyang Xuan still used his free time to conduct experiments with researchers. Li Shuang had just finished loading the grain into the warehouse and began to organize people to plow the land in preparation for sowing winter wheat, broad beans and other crops. Lu Dezhi was busy receiving a caravan. He didn't need to take care of business matters at all, but this caravan came from Bozhou, so he couldn't neglect it.
Ran Zhong handed Yang Yan's autographed letter to Ouyang Xuan. Seeing his silly smile after seeing the letter, he found an excuse to discuss things with Lu Dezhi and turned around. In addition to doing business this time, he also had another major event to attend, which was the wedding of Ouyang Xuan and Yang Yan. Lu Dezhi and Yang Wen had agreed that since they had made an engagement, all they needed to do was send someone from the Pili Army to pick Yang Yan over. This was also the usual practice. It's just that Ouyang Xuan feels that he should go to marry him in person to show his sincerity. Besides, he has never met his father-in-law, so he should pay homage in person. In addition, he also wanted to personally go to the place where Moutai wine was produced in later generations to have a real inspection in order to improve the Perak Army's southward strategy.
Ouyang Xuan proposed that he would go to Bozhou and hold the wedding at Yang Mansion. Ran Zhong was extremely surprised by this proposal, because it not only represented Ouyang Xuan's deep affection for Miss Yang, but also the Pili Army's respect for Bozhou. However, this also made Lu Dezhi quite unhappy and he shook his head anxiously. In his opinion, Pili Jun was marrying a wife, not a daughter, and Ouyang Xuan's behavior was like marrying into a wife. In fact, Ouyang Xuan has no idea that men are inferior to women, he doesn't care about so-called customs and conventions, and he hates red tape. He just felt it was more convenient and less troublesome to do this.
Seeing that Ouyang Xuan insisted on his opinion, Lu Dezhi had no choice but to give up. Although he represented Ouyang Xuan's elders in the marriage, he was not Ouyang Xuan's parents. Although Brother Xuan never does things according to common sense, he is often correct. At that moment, he just cursed a few words, and then found another place to discuss with Ran Zhong. "Business talks." Naturally, there are people in the Pili Army who will negotiate the sale of the Bozhou caravan in accordance with the previous contract. Since the wedding is scheduled to be held in Banshu, there is no need to worry about wedding-related matters. The only thing Lu Dezhi and Ran Zhong talked about was the betrothal gift.
When Rude went to Bozhou to negotiate a marriage contract some time ago, the first batch of betrothal gifts he brought included two heavy cannons, ten light cannons, a hundred muskets, and a batch of grenades and landmines. Although these firearms are basically old-fashioned firearms, they are far more powerful than the firearms equipped by the Mongolian and Song armies. Even based on the price sold to allies, they are still valuable. In addition, in the name of protecting Yang Yan, the Perak Army equipped its guards with the latest firearms from the Perak Army. The unit prices of these weapons are even more staggering. Yang Wen could see Ouyang Xuan's sincerity from these firearms, and also knew the strength of the Pili Army. According to his conversation with Ru De, there was no need for a second batch of betrothal gifts at all. However, Lu Dezhi insisted on giving the second batch of betrothal gifts. The reason was that Miss Yang was marrying Naixuan brother through a matchmaker, so she had to follow etiquette and not be careless.
The second batch of betrothal gifts was still handled by Lu De, including five heavy fortress guns, twenty light field guns, 200 muskets and supporting ammunition, as well as 1,000 grenades and 200 landmines. Unlike the first batch of firearms, these firearms are the latest models, and most of them are even newly produced. These weapons are enough to equip a field battalion and a garrison battalion of the Pili Army. Their value is so high that it makes Ouyang Xuan feel heartache. However, after Lu Dezhi explained the rationality of this expenditure, everyone was relieved. After Yang Wen received the first batch of betrothal gifts, he gave back 60 ponies and 40 buffaloes, as well as a large amount of tung oil, bristle, raw lacquer and other materials, and even 4,000 taels of silver. These return gifts are calculated based on the market price. Although they are far less valuable than the betrothal gifts, they can at least keep the arsenal from losing money. After sending out the second batch of betrothal gifts, Bozhou would definitely return the gift. According to Lu Dezhi's understanding of Yang Wen, he would definitely not let his son-in-law suffer too much.
"If you want to take something first, you must give it first," Lu Dezhi added. As soon as he said this, everyone looked at him with admiration and joked that he had imitated Brother Xuan and became a scheming old fox. Lu Dezhi didn't take it seriously in the face of everyone's teasing, and continued to explain with a smile: "The Miao Jiang area where Bozhou is located is rich in silver. Although this silver is of little use in western Sichuan, it can be sent to Liuqiu Company as capital." Lu Dezhi said His words reminded everyone that in the past, only valuable physical objects such as food, minerals and industrial products were valued, but it was not easy to transport them over long distances, and it was even more inconvenient to treat them as trading items of equal value. In the future, a currency system based on gold and silver must be established to promote the prosperity of commerce.
It was already late October when Ouyang Xuan set off for Bozhou. Of course, Lu Dezhi, as a matchmaker and representative of the elders, went with him, as well as Li Tiaozi, who was in charge of business, and Cao Ergou's wife, Qian Cimei'er. Accompanying the escort were a special company and a naval company led by Dong Hu himself. Huang Dagen had prepared to send a naval battalion to escort him, but Ouyang Xuan refused. At this time, the river water had receded and it was possible to swim across the river in some places, so the Mongolian cavalry began to frequently disturb the border again. Yu Zhu took a thousand elites with him to Ezhou. The garrison brigade also sent a large number of soldiers to serve as caravan guards, but the newly supplemented troops had not yet formed combat effectiveness. Especially the navy brigade, there are currently only two combat battalions, and one battalion is in training. If Ouyang Xuan takes away another combat battalion, it will inevitably severely weaken the Perak Army's ability to defend against the Mongolian invasion.
Taking only one navy company and one special company to Bozhou, Ouyang Xuan was confident enough. The route from Chongqing Mansion to Bozhou is all by water. You can go straight down to Fuzhou and then upstream to Bozhou. Along the way, you will pass through Meizhou, Jiading, Xuzhou, Luzhou, and Chongqing. The waterways in these places are all under the control of the Song Army. The military and naval forces have completely withdrawn from the river. As for the water bandits, they naturally don't dare to stroke the tiger's beard. After all, this trip was going to Bozhou. The Perak Army and the returning Bozhou caravan had more than 100 ships and about 300 escorts.
Ran Zhong had sent someone back to Bozhou earlier, firstly to inform Yang Mansion of the itinerary. As the Yang family is the undisputed master of Bozhou, it is natural that the wedding must be held in style. Yang Wen especially doted on Yang Yan and regarded her as the apple of his eye. He had already informed the leaders of the major families in Zhenzhou and Sizhou as well as the various tribes and barbarians in Luo's Ghost Kingdom about his baby daughter's wedding. Ouyang Xuan came to get married. The second is to send someone to respond. Although the ship can sail to Bozhou City, after arriving at the dock, it is still necessary to walk for a while to reach the castle where the Yang Mansion is located. Although the Yang family has deep roots in Bozhou and its surroundings, and is like a local emperor, there are still people who are dissatisfied with it. In addition, the Mongols frequently invade or drive barbarians to cause nuisance. To prevent unexpected events, the Yang Mansion was not located in Bozhou City, but in a castle that was easy to defend but difficult to attack. To deliver the heavy artillery to the castle required hundreds of strong men plus the strength of oxen and horses. Of course, security is even better when we reach the border of Bozhou. Not to mention that the special company led by Dong Hu is not a vegetarian, and no one dares to attack Yang Wen's son-in-law at the border of Bozhou.
