It seemed that everyone understood their situation, and the day suddenly calmed down.
Shen Xiong asked Song Ying to give Shen Qingyun 50,000 taels, and Shen Qingyun gave all the money to Siniang. Once Shen Xiong left Liangzhou, he could start planning the opening of the restaurant and gambling house.
"Wind, rain, thunder and lightning, I will explode!"
Xiang Ling threw the cards on the table with some excitement and shouted: "Place an order, I've placed an order."
"Exactly..." Shen Qingyun pursed his lips and said disdainfully: "Is the wind, rain, thunder and lightning very strong? I can't afford it, but..."
Su Chengwang also smiled and shook his head, "I can't afford it either."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Ling quickly threw out the single card in his hand, "One three, I win, haha..."
"It's boring, it's really boring..."
Shen Qingyun couldn't afford to lose, so he mixed the cards in his hand with the table cards.
Seeing this, Su Chengwang smiled and said, "The quality of gambling is your character, you can't afford to lose, can you?"
"I can't afford to lose?" Shen Qingyun was anxious at the time, but immediately calmed down, "But I have lost more than ten games in a row. Is this reasonable? This is unreasonable!"
If it weren't for the fact that Su Chengwang and Xiang Ling were both newbies, Shen Qingyun would have doubted whether they were having an affair.
Luck is such a mysterious thing.
Although Shen Qingyun was a veteran, his luck was really bad today. He was completely killed by Xiang Ling, who had the aura of a novice.
Xiang Ling smiled and said: "The cards are yours, you are the one who shuffles them, and you are the one who deals them. Could it be that the teacher and I can make a fortune together?"
Shen Qingyun was speechless when he heard the words.
"Haha..." Both of them chuckled upon seeing this.
"But this... way of playing Landlords invented by the prince is indeed novel. It's just right to kill time. Of course, it would be even better if you have money to take it with."
Xiang Ling smiled and took away the last piece of silver in front of Shen Qingyun, which made Shen Qingyun heartbroken.
Su Chengwang smiled and said: "Compared to playing safe cards, I prefer playing mahjong, but it's a pity that the fourth lady is not here today."
"Si Niang may be a little busy recently. If you always want to play, I'll just find someone for you." Shen Qingyun shook his head, but didn't say much in front of Xiang Ling.
"By the way, doesn't your Highness have official business when you come to Liangzhou? Why are you still staying in Liangzhou City?"
Xiang Ling smiled and said, "Why, are you chasing me away?"
"I don't dare, I'm just curious."
Xiang Ling thought for a while and said: "Calculating the time, Mr. Wang from the Ministry of Industry should have arrived in Xiyang City. For some reason, there is no news..."
Before he finished speaking, Feng Lin walked in quickly, "Your Highness..."
"What's the matter?"
Feng Lin glanced at Shen Qingyun, handed the letter in his hand to Xiang Ling, and said, "This is the news sent by Mr. Wang."
"It's finally here." Xiang Ling took the letter, opened it, and then frowned.
"What's wrong?" Su Chengwang asked when he saw this.
Xiang Ling shook his head and said: "Master Wang has already explored the terrain and old river channels, but the snow is too deep now to explore, and it is not yet certain how far it will be expanded, and this is only the city of Xiyang , going south from Xiyang, there are also several cities such as Hancang. Although it is not necessary to dig out everywhere, if we want to start construction, I am afraid that a lot of manpower will be needed."
"In this case, let the county magistrates from various places recruit civilian workers as soon as possible to clear the snow and stabilize the dikes first."
Xiang Ling nodded, "This is natural, but at this time of year, with the power of the people, the process may be slow, but if labor is forced, it will be even more troublesome if the spring plowing is delayed."
"This..." Su Chengwang also hesitated when he heard this.
There is a large area of uncultivable wasteland in Liangzhou. There are not many people inhabiting the wasteland. The limited arable land is concentrated around several large cities in the southwest circle. If spring plowing is delayed, the people will have less harvest, and the tax revenue will not be raised. , if you accidentally cause famine, you will suffer.
This is not alarmist, but there is precedent. However, after a crop called sweet potato was introduced from the Western Wilderness a hundred years ago, famines that starved to death rarely occurred in the Eastern Yuan countries.
But this is no reason to delay spring plowing.
Xiang Ling did not dare to take this responsibility, nor was he willing to take it.
The two of them fell into deep thought, but Shen Qingyun on the side understood.
It's just a matter of tight time, heavy tasks, and not enough manpower.
"Well...I have a proposal."
After hearing this, the two of them looked up at Shen Qingyun at the same time.
"Do you have a way?" Su Chengwang was a little skeptical. "Although the expansion of the river is not a difficult project, there are many places that need to be built. It is time-consuming and laborious, but it must be completed before the Huaihe River thaws in spring. If there is not considerable manpower, , this is impossible to do, you have also heard that the people in each city can use it, but if the spring plowing is delayed, the people will be hungry when the autumn harvest comes.
Do you have any solution to get the best of both worlds? "
Shen Qingyun smiled and said: "At this time, of course you have to believe in the People's Liberation Army. The People's Army is for the people, and the People's Army is also for the people."
"What army?" The two of them were stunned.
Shen Qingyun explained: "Aren't there tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in the towns in the southern border? There is no war now. Wouldn't it be good for the army to help with this kind of people's livelihood problem?"
The two understood what Shen Qingyun meant and looked at each other.
"You mean, instead of recruiting people, we can send troops to do the work?"
"Exactly." Shen Qingyun smiled and said: "In the southern border guard army, there is only one country of Yan to defend against. However, the two countries of Yan and Chu still have an alliance. It is impossible for such a thing to happen to the border. We only need to By deploying troops from cities such as Lu'an, Shangxing, and Shiyang in Liangzhou, we can complete the project before the ice thaws."
If we look at previous years, the snow will begin to melt around March, and the silvery white will basically fade away by mid-April. This year, it may still be half a month later.
"My father has given me the right to take advantage of it, but all matters in the southern border are decided by the Marquis of Zhennan. If you want to mobilize troops, you have to discuss it with the Marquis of Zhennan. It is not up to me."
Shen Qingyun shrugged, "How can the Marquis of Zhennan refuse such a thing? Even if he doesn't care, although Qingyan Pass is a bit far away, it's not too late. The British Duke won't refuse, right?"
Su Chengwang said in a deep voice: "What Qingyun said is not unreasonable. Spring tide is important, and spring plowing is also important."
Xiang Ling nodded slightly when he heard the words, stood up and said: "In that case, I will go to Zhennan Marquis in person right away. Teacher, I will leave first."
"Yeah." Su Chengwang nodded.
Shen Qingyun stood up and cupped his hands, "Your Highness, walk slowly."
After Xiang Ling left, Su Chengwang glared at Shen Qingyun and said, "You have some bad ideas."
"Why is this a bad idea?" Shen Qingyun said dissatisfied: "If you have a good idea, then you can say it."
Su Chengwang shook his head and said: "Zhennan Hou Tong Yong belongs to King Cheng, and since he is closer to the prince, he is naturally more distant from King Cheng. Do you think Tong Yong will agree easily? He will definitely make things difficult on purpose."
"In that case, just go to the British public directly."
Su Chengwang sighed softly: "If only it were that easy. Have you forgotten why the princess is looking for you?"
Shen Qingyun paused and hummed: "You can violate such a taboo on such a trivial matter. Isn't Your Majesty too stingy?"
"You're talking nonsense again!" Su Chengwang whispered: "Every move of the British Duke is really concerning, and rashly mobilizing border troops is a taboo.
Today's troop deployment is to help the people of Liangzhou open and expand rivers. Next time, they can help the people of Shangyong herd horses. Next time, can they help the internal guards change their defenses? "
"ah..."
Shen Qingyun was so shocked by Su Chengwang that his mouth opened wide. No, are you so able to relate?
Can the people's army... still serve the people?
Shen Qingyun wanted to refute, but after thinking about it carefully, he figured it out.
After all, Yue Cheng and Tong Yong are different. Tong Yong does not have the same weight as Yue Cheng.
"I understand." Shen Qingyun sighed, "After all, it is for the people. Tong Yong may embarrass the fifth prince, but he should agree in the end. At most, he will be a little angry, and he should be fine."
Su Chengwang agreed, "You are right. His Majesty's original intention is to prevent the people from suffering. In this way, I will ask the people from the Seventh Department to inform Tong Yong and say that it is His Majesty's intention. I think Tong Yong will not go too far. Difficult."
Shen Qingyun smiled when he heard this and said, "Does this count as falsely passing on the imperial edict?"
"This is His Majesty's original intention."
"Then the matter was solved perfectly?" Shen Qingyun smiled and spread his hands.
Su Chengwang hummed. Shen Qingyun's proposal was actually not very clever. It was not uncommon for the army to build bridges, pave roads, and farm fields. Moreover, the well-trained army worked faster and more efficiently than ordinary people. Better.
But after all, it is an army guarding the border. Not everyone has the power to mobilize troops, and not everyone can give orders.
At this moment, Shen Xiong came quickly, bowed to Su Chengwang and said, "Old Prime Minister."
"Dad?" Shen Qingyun was a little surprised.
Su Chengwang raised his hand, "Uncle Si Nan, there is no need to be polite."
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
Shen Xiong said solemnly: "I'm here to say goodbye. I'm going back to Lu'an now."
"So anxious?" Shen Qingyun was stunned, "Did the Marquis of Zhennan summon him?"
"No." Shen Xiong shook his head, "I just received a message from the deputy general. Within a few days of the New Year, several caravans were robbed by bandits near Zhuxi City. I want to return to Lu'an immediately. Please order Raise the troops to eliminate the bandits."
Su Chengwang was surprised when he heard this: "There are actually bandits roaming around Zhuxi City?"
Shen Xiong nodded, "Shortly after I returned to the post of Lu An's guard, these bandits suddenly appeared. With their good horses, they came and went like the wind. Many merchants in Chuxi who came to Zhuxi were robbed. I have asked for my life several times. To wipe it out, the Marquis of Zhennan was not allowed to move out easily because of his heavy responsibility to defend the city.
It's just that bandits have been rampant recently. If they are not eradicated, the consequences may be serious. "
Su Chengwang nodded slightly, "In that case, go ahead."
"Yes." Shen Xiong nodded, glanced at Shen Qingyun who was absent-minded, and then turned and left.
Su Cheng saw Shen Qingyun's brows furrowed and he didn't even say hello to Shen Xiong when he left, and asked: "Your father is going to go out to fight against bandits. Why is he silent? What are you thinking about?"
Shen Qingyun shook his head and said doubtfully: "I was just thinking that Zhuxi City is close to Lu'an, only a few dozen miles away. What kind of bandits have the courage to attack this stretch of road?
If it was just robbery, wouldn't it be easier to rob the merchants of Yan State? After all, Zhuxi City is a hundred miles away from the nearest Jiayuguan Pass in Yan State. "
Su Chengwang was stunned when he heard this, "What do you want to say?"
Shen Qingyun said in a deep voice: "My father said that the robbers have good horses that come and go like the wind, and a good horse is worth thousands of gold. Riding such a horse is only for robbery. Isn't it too luxurious?"
