It should be said that Baekje officials at least tried their best to arrange Wang Wenzuo's residence. Wang Wenzuo's bedroom was arranged in the largest room on the second floor, facing the garden. The furniture and furnishings in the house were impeccable. The only flaw was that The walls were full of holes, as if they had been gnawed by dogs, and could only be covered up with tapestries. Wang Wenzuo knew why - there was a layer of gold foil on the wainscoting of the walls, which was dug out by the Tang army after the city was breached. Maybe some of it got into Wang Wenzuo's hands. I probably didn’t have the money to repair my wallet later on, so it ended up like this.
"Forget it, this week Liucheng is not far from the outlet of Baicunjiang River. The location is good! Whether it is going to Japan, going back to Datang, or going to Liaodong, it is convenient. Wait until I take over one or two gold and silver mines in Japan this time. , spend more money to renovate this place!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head.
"Mr. Lang!"
A woman's voice came from outside the door. Wang Wenzuo thought it was the woman who the local officials had arranged for him to sleep with him at night. He said without looking back: "I have been traveling all day today and I have to go out early tomorrow morning. I don't need anyone tonight." It’s time to go to bed, please step aside!”
After Wang Wenzuo finished his instructions, he continued to look at the remaining decorations on the wall. Suddenly he felt something was wrong. He quickly looked back and found a person standing at the door. It was really a ghost.
"Why is it you!" Wang Wenzuo was startled and said quickly: "My dear, I'm sorry, I'm rude. I just thought it was the arranged woman, but it turned out that I was mistaken. It's strange, why didn't anyone tell you that you were here? , this guy Sancho——"
"You are not mistaken, it is my concubine who is here to serve you tonight!"
Gui Shiyun's voice was not loud, but her enunciation was very clear, and there was absolutely no misunderstanding. Wang Wenzuo was stunned, and after a while he whispered: "Why are you like this? A man's words are hard to follow, so since I agreed to take over If you kill Fuyu Fengzhang, I will definitely try my best to do it; if someone bullies you, you can tell me and I will naturally punish that guy, so there is no need for this!"
"There are many people in the world, but no one can be as good as the husband. Siluo is not an only child, and she would like to support a tree, so she has the audacity to come to you!" Gui Shiyun whispered: "If the husband refuses to let me outside the door, I will also be here. I am the only one born without face!" After saying that, Gui Shiyun quickly stepped forward, approached the man, let her feelings guide her, and fell into Wang Wenzuo's arms, lost in the long-lost male aura.
"I've wanted to do this for a long time!" Gui Shiyun whispered.
Wang Wenzuo could feel the warmth in his arms. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to refuse the delicious food delivered to his door. He bent down and hugged Gui Shiyun: "Madam, I am a real lucky guy tonight!"
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Early next morning.
Wang Wenzuo spent a lot of effort to get up from the entangled warmth. He jumped out of bed carefully so as not to wake up the woman who was still sleeping. When he walked out of the door, he saw Sancho waiting for him uneasily. He asked angrily: "Sancho, you have become more capable recently, and you actually interfered with who is lying on your master's bed?"
"Hehe!" Sancho could feel that Wang Wenzuo was not as angry as he showed. He carefully took the shoes over and put them on for Wang Wenzuo. While putting them on, he smiled and said: "It's mainly my wife, Master. You know, if a woman is determined to achieve something, then you have to agree to her, otherwise you will not have a good life in the future!"
"Really?" Wang Wenzuo sneered: "Why didn't I see that you were afraid of your henpecks?"
"It's not that I'm afraid of my wife, it's mainly because of my child's mother!" Sancho said with a bitter smile: "Master, you also know that Acheng can write and do calculations, and is a good hand both inside and outside, so I will give you my share of the family. The property management is in good order, and I gave birth to a big fat boy. I really can't refuse her. Besides, her mistress is not bad. She has a good face and a good body. The family has a lot of property, and she also I won’t force you to marry her, this is a good thing——”
"Okay, okay, stop talking!" The more Wang Wenzuo listened, the more he couldn't bear to listen anymore, and shouted: "You can't spit out ivory with your dog mouth, who do you think I am? I've been thinking about it all day long like you. Are you just thinking about that? Can you use your brain a little bit?"
"Yes, yes! The master taught me a lesson!" Sancho quickly lowered his head.
"Forget it!" Wang Wenzuo stood up: "I'm going out soon, Mrs. Yun is still resting, when she wakes up, you send her back, apologize to him for me, saying that I am busy with work, and then leave first Okay, if anything happens in the future, you can tell me through you!"
"Hey, I understand!" Seeing that Wang Wenzuo didn't punish him, Sanqiu knew that it was over, so he hurriedly said: "I will definitely arrange Mrs. Yun well, you don't need to worry about it!"
Wang Wenzuo nodded and went straight out of the door. Hei Te Changzhi and Cao Wenzong were already waiting outside. Wang Wenzuo jumped on the horse: "Let's go!"
Stone Town is a market town one day west of Zhouliu City. The local guide said: The King of Baekje once achieved a brilliant victory over the Silla people here.
"Back then, the Silla people gathered a large army and tried to cross the Baekchon River and then invade!" The guide sat on the back of a mule and shouted to Wang Wenzuo: "Due to the haste, the king only had less than 2,000 people, while the Silla people were at least There were 20,000 people, so the king ordered bonfires to be lit by the river. When the Silla people saw so many bonfires, they thought reinforcements had arrived and were frightened. The king took the opportunity to send elite troops to cut off the Silla people's food routes. The Silla people were frightened. The people withdrew their troops, and the king personally pursued and defeated the Silla people. The river was dyed red with the blood of the Silla people! After this battle, the Silla people abandoned many fortresses along the border, and Baekje expanded its territory for hundreds of miles! And this The town was built to commemorate that victory!”
"Changzhi, look!" Wang Wenzuo pointed to the city gate not far away: "There should have been a war here recently. The city gates are all made of new wood. The charred black wood next to it should be the old city gate!"
"Indeed!" Hei Te Changzhi looked at it carefully: "This area is indeed a place where the two countries compete fiercely!"
"Really?" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "It seems that the arrival of us Tang people has not changed anything, it is still the same!"
Hei Te Changzhi smiled and did not take up this somewhat dangerous topic. Wang Wenzuo did not continue and said to Hei Te Changzhi: "Tell the people of Silla that we are here!"
Soon the city gate was opened, and Wang Wenzuo and his party walked along the street. He saw that only about one-third of the houses in the town were still intact, and the rest were either demolished or turned into charred black shells.
"These Silla people are so rude!" Wang Wenzuo whispered.
"It's true!" Cao Wenzong whispered: "Look, there are crossbowmen on the roof, and there is metal reflection behind the window over there, and behind the ruins on the left, I bet there must be a Captain Spearman! This doesn't look like a negotiation, it looks like an ambush!"
"General Cao, I'm really curious about you!" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "Were you really performing swordsmanship honestly before you met me?"
"Ming Gong, the villain once told you!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "Before coming to Chang'an, I once offended the local tycoon in the south. He issued a reward for the villain's head. This kind of battle can be difficult for a villain. I’ve seen a lot!”
"A bounty is placed on your head?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned: "A local tycoon has this ability. Are you talking about the local government?"
"How could the government offer a reward of three thousand guan for the villain's head?" Cao Wenzong pointed to his head and showed a wry smile: "Three thousand guan! Even if you have the ability to reach heaven, you can't hold it with just one hand. !”
Wang Wenzuo nodded. The various online articles he read before the time travel highly praised individuals for their super strength, such as various masters, conquering the country and so on. But after he traveled through time, he understood that no matter how awesome his personal force was, it was nothing in the face of power and money. Take Cao Wenzong as an example. Even if his martial arts skills are not invincible, he is still at the top of the group. But let alone facing the government, even if he is a local underworld boss, he can only run away. Wang Wenzuo valued him not only because of his personal martial arts, but also because he had a large number of disciples and their reputation among the evil boys of Chang'an. In the final analysis, human nature is the sum of social relationships. Once many heroes who were once arrogant are separated from their own social environment and lose their old social relationships, an ordinary person can kill them. So when Zhou Yafu entered the imperial prison, he would sigh, "I once led an army of millions, but how do I know the dignity of the jailers!"; Han Xin, an unparalleled scholar in the country, died in Changle Palace in such an aggrieved manner. This is the reason.
Compared to Wang Wenzuo's status, the reception from the Silla people was a bit shabby. There were only a dozen soldiers lined up on both sides of the road. The person who greeted him was an acquaintance. Jin Huicheng, Jin Inwen's deputy general during the trip to Pyongyang, was a short, fat old man with a somewhat bald head. , but this time he looked majestic, like a general.
"The last general, Jin Huicheng, will serve as an envoy to the kingdom!"
At least in terms of etiquette, Jin Huicheng did an impeccable job. After Wang Wenzuo finished his salute, he jumped off his horse and helped him up: "General Jin, farewell to Pyongyang. We haven't seen each other in almost two years, right? I didn't expect to be here today. Met!"
"Yes!" Jin Huicheng said with a smile: "But I have heard the name of Ambassador Wang quite a lot. As expected, he is in the bag, so he should stand out!"
"Where, where! It's just luck!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "How can he be as mature and steady as General Jin, the pillar of the country!"
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words, then entered the house together and sat down respectively. Jin Huicheng asked someone to bring tea and said with a smile: "Wang Shijun, it was a trivial matter, but some conflicts arose in several villages and towns along the border. For hundreds of years, It’s been like this all the time, so I’m sorry to bother you to go there in person!”
"You can't say that!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor are all matters. After all, I am also the marching commander of the Xiongjin Governor's Mansion. How can I ignore the military disasters in the prefectures and counties under my jurisdiction?"
"What Wang Shijun said is true!" Jin Huicheng laughed and said with a smile: "But I am an old man. The two countries of Baekje and Silla have been at war with each other for hundreds of years. Every village and every market town is involved. I don’t know how many relationships there are, and it’s very difficult to deal with right and wrong. Even an old man like me, who has been involved in this for decades, sometimes finds it very difficult. Although you are extremely talented, you are a Tang Dynasty after all, and you have no understanding of everything here. I know very little!”
"Tang people?" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "General Jin, as far as I know, the leader of your country is my minister of the Tang Dynasty. This should be correct, right?"
"This -" Jin Huicheng was stunned. He had just been accidentally caught by Wang Wenzuo. This matter was big or small. If Wang Wenzuo didn't let him go, he would really be in trouble.
"That's not what I meant -" he was about to defend, Wang Wenzuo raised his right hand: "General Jin, there is no need to explain. You and I are in the army. How could I not know that you made a slip of the tongue? There is no need to mention it again." !”
"Yes, yes!" Jin Huicheng breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile: "Wang Shijun is so magnanimous, I am very grateful!"
"General Jin, Baekje and the Tang Dynasty are separated by the sea, and there has never been any quarrel. When the Tang Dynasty sent troops to conquer Baekje, it was because Baekje blocked the way for your country's tribute envoys and joined forces with Goguryeo to attack Silla. Now. Now Baekje is already my territory of the Tang Dynasty, and the people here are also my subjects of the Tang Dynasty. If both sides continue to be as they have been for hundreds of years, can it be justified?"
"Wang Shijun is right, and I agree with it, but the ignorant people below only see immediate benefits, such as building dams to grab water, and there is really nothing they can do about it!"
Wang Wenzuo smiled. He had taken the time to understand the Silla people's strategy before coming here. It was probably to try their best to eat away at the bottom, get an inch and a foot when they could, while the diplomats above greeted them with smiles. It is possible that the behavior of the people below was regarded as a spontaneous departure, shirking responsibility, forcing the Baekje residents in the border areas to either evacuate the local area or join the Silla side, and create a fait accompli to force the Tang state to accept it. Although this seems clumsy, it is indeed It was very effective. After all, the purpose of Tang's expedition to Baekje was not to expropriate its territory and people, but to achieve the strategic purpose of attacking Goguryeo from the north to the south. As long as it does not hinder this main goal, other problems will be turned a blind eye.
"How about this? If the two countries demarcate the border, wouldn't this be settled once and for all?"
"Determine the boundary?" Jin Huicheng asked.
"Yes, delineate the border line, set up boundary markers, and agree in advance what can and cannot be done on the rivers that flow through the two countries. If there is any violation, just follow what is written in the treaty. Wouldn't that be unfair? Are there going to be these troubles?”
"This -" Jin Huicheng opened his mouth. It was obvious that Wang Wenzuo's proposal had exceeded the scope of his original authorization. Treaties between two countries also existed in the ancient history of East Asia, but there were very few detailed boundaries like Wang Wenzuo said. This is because in ancient times there were rarely as specific border divisions as in modern times, and most borders were very vague areas. Secondly, there were few equivalent political entities in ancient East Asia, but the relationship between the central empire and the border vassals. Under such an unequal relationship, it is not necessary for both parties to draw such precise boundaries.
