lcionline Chapter 284 Several forces gather in Lihai City
Chapter 284 Several forces gather in Lihai City
After seeing Qi Yaya off.
Shen Shuli and Mu Wanjun continued working on the shipyard.
Two more days passed.
Most of the shipyard craftsmen's families have been notified.
A small number of family members made the decision quickly and immediately agreed to leave with them.
But most of the family members disagreed.
After all, not many people are willing to abandon their families and hometowns to start over in such a faraway place with one of their sons.
It's just a few years apart, right?
Anyway, it's not like I'm not coming back.
Family members who were willing to leave with us arrived one after another over the past two days.
Xiao Yuxuan has arranged for these artisans and their families, as well as the artisans whose families are unwilling to leave, to board the large ship and be sent to the island.
The remaining family members are from places far from home, and they will need to wait a little longer.
In addition, at Mu Wanjun's request, they finally obtained six thousand ordinary soldiers from the Marquis of Pingxi.
Send these soldiers to the island first and help them build houses in advance.
Mu Wanjun was certain that her maternal grandfather would lose the bet, and that his family would definitely take 100,000 soldiers to live on the island.
She didn't want to waste time, so she brought a group of people back to the island ahead of time to finish building the houses.
To prevent the arrival of extreme cold and natural disasters, so that even if her maternal grandparents and the others arrived on the island, they would have nowhere to stay and would not be allowed to freeze to death or suffer frostbite, which was not her intention.
Two days ago, three large ships had already carried the six thousand soldiers and some shipyard workers to the island.
just.
Shen Shuli was surprised.
In Lihai City, they unexpectedly ran into a group of old acquaintances!
It turned out to be Cheng Zongyi, the prefect of Cangzhou, and his 1,000 elite soldiers, as well as Gao Fei, the transport commissioner of the entire prefecture, and his 50,000 troops!
The reason why Cheng Zongyi is here.
He tracked down the Zhou and Gu families all the way to Lihai City by inquiring about their whereabouts.
They arrived in Lihai City just one day ago.
Shen Shuli was at the dock leading the families of the artisans who were arriving one after another onto the ship when she unexpectedly ran into Cheng Zongyi.
Shen Shuli did not recognize him immediately.
After all, Cheng Zongyi now had a full beard, and his demeanor and state were nothing like before.
He looks like a savage and violent rough man, with none of the refined and handsome scholar's demeanor he once possessed.
Cheng Zongyi was the first to recognize Shen Shuli.
Shen Shuli personally has a very good impression of Cheng Zongyi.
After all, during their escape from famine, almost none of the officials they encountered were truly good officials who served the country and its people.
But Cheng Zongyi is definitely a breath of fresh air!
Even though he was following the old emperor's orders, he remained steadfast in his defense of Cangzhou City, protecting the people of the region.
"Miss Shen! I never expected to meet you here!"
Cheng Zongyi's eyes, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly lit up, and he eagerly pushed through the crowd to get closer to Shen Shuli.
Shen Shuli stared at the other person for several moments before recognizing them.
"Ah, Prefect Cheng! What are you doing here?"
She was genuinely surprised!
Cheng Zongyi was the prefect of a prefecture north of the capital!
How could it have traveled such a long distance to appear in this extremely southeastern location?
Cheng Zongyi felt incredibly conflicted when he thought about those past events.
Shen Shuli saw the complex emotions in Cheng Zongyi's eyes and instantly understood the intricacies of the situation, which also made her feel uneasy.
The sudden appearance of a prefect from the north in the south must mean that Cangzhou Prefecture has been captured by the northern barbarians.
He fled here because he had nowhere to stay in the capital.
“Miss Shen, I am no longer the prefect. You don’t need to address me like that anymore. Just call me Uncle Cheng.”
Cheng Zongyi feigned ease and changed the subject: "By the way, do you know where Lord Zhou and Lord Gu are?"
"I inquired along the way and heard that they had come to Lihai City, but I haven't been able to find out any news about them here."
"Uncle Cheng, I know where Uncle Zhou and Uncle Gu are. Do you want to go find them?"
Shen Shuli wouldn't refuse Cheng Zongyi's trip to the island; on the contrary, she would welcome him.
After all, we're all acquaintances.
This can be considered as repaying Cheng Zongyi's kindness in letting them into Cangzhou Prefecture.
At the very least.
They're a workforce, after all. If they go to an island, they won't be afraid of not having a place to use their skills.
What is the most lacking resource on the island today?
Of course it's people!
The more people, the better!
"May I?"
Cheng Zongyi looked at Shen Shuli with some embarrassment, but still said with a hint of pleading, "If it's convenient, could you take me to meet them?"
A sly glint flashed in Shen Shuli's eyes.
"Of course it's convenient, but they're not in Lihai City, they're on a small island outside. You'll need to take a boat there. Shall I arrange for you to board the boat now?"
Cheng Zongyi did not refuse at all and immediately nodded in agreement: "Alright, then thank you very much, Miss Shen!" After saying that, he clasped his hands together and performed a traditional martial arts greeting to Shen Shuli.
Shen Shuli immediately led her people onto the ship. She counted them carefully and found that there were a full thousand people!
And they were all strong and capable men!
They are all excellent workers!
I hope they don't cry from excitement when they get to the island.
'Once you're on my ship, there's no turning back!'
Shen Shuli's hearing was quite sharp; while arranging seats for Cheng Zongyi and the others, she could hear their stomachs rumbling with hunger.
She immediately had someone bring them plenty of food so they could eat their fill before resting.
Cheng Zongyi felt a little embarrassed, but he did not refuse the other party's kindness.
Their escape was indeed fraught with hardship; they suffered from poor food and drink and were constantly on the move.
"By the way, Miss Shen, I met Gao Fei, the transport commissioner of Quanzhou, on the way. He was leading an army of tens of thousands of men and seemed to be going to attack Lihai."
"However, you are temporarily blocked outside the city by the Lihai army. If you have finished your business, you should leave as soon as possible to avoid being affected by the war."
Cheng Zongyi felt heavy-hearted and distressed at the thought of the undercurrents and constant warfare throughout the entire Dayong region.
He resented that his dynasty had suddenly become so dilapidated.
Shen Shuli's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this!
She didn't expect Gao Fei to come too!
They were even stopped outside the city by the Marquis of Pingxi's men!
Come to think of it.
How could the Marquis of Pingxi allow other armies to enter Lihai City at will!
She needs to hurry up and try to mediate.
"Uncle Cheng, you should rest well. Someone will bring you meals and clean clothes in the next few days."
"If you're still hungry, you can get some food from the kitchen. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now," Shen Shuli said, forcing herself to calm down.
Cheng Zongyi: "Alright, go ahead and get busy. Thank you for your hospitality, Miss Shen."
After disembarking, Shen Shuli immediately went to the Gao residence to find Mu Wanjun and tell her about Gao Fei's whereabouts.
Mu Wanjun was also surprised.
She didn't expect that Gao Fei would also arrive with his army!
Hopefully, the two sides won't start fighting!
Otherwise, they would suffer huge losses!
"Come on, come on, let's go to the city gate to find Grandpa!" Mu Wanjun immediately pulled Shen Shuli to the north gate to find him.
Marquis Pingxi heard that an unfamiliar army, numbering as many as 50,000, had arrived outside the city.
The Marquis of Pingxi's army numbered 100,000 and he was not afraid of the enemy.
But he didn't want to fight and have his own people sacrifice themselves; he would feel sorry for those soldiers.
now.
Marquis Pingxi stood atop the high city wall, watching the army below attempting to force its way into the city.
"This is not a place for you! Leave immediately, or you will be declaring war on us!" shouted one of the Marquis of Pingxi's men.
Gao Fei also shouted loudly, "Please don't misunderstand, we are just passing through and have no intention of being your enemy!"
"Please allow me to enter the city to find the person. Once I find them, I will leave the city immediately and will not stay any longer!"
Gao Fei knew the Xie family would come to Lihai City, and he came specifically to find them; he had to enter the city to look for them.
But he was leading an army of tens of thousands, and his identity had already been exposed.
If one enters the city alone, no one knows what unpredictable things might happen.
If the Li Hai army detains him, wouldn't his army be wiped out by these people?
But the other side couldn't possibly let 50,000 troops into the city.
The situation remained deadlocked.
Most of the people under the Marquis of Pingxi knew Mu Wanjun. When she wanted to go to the city gate to find the Marquis of Pingxi, no one stopped her and let her pass directly.
Shen Shuli and Mu Wanjun breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the two sides had not started fighting.
The two first peered down from the city walls to confirm whether the person below was Gao Fei, the Transport Commissioner.
"It really is Gao Fei!" Shen Shuli confirmed.
Upon hearing this, Mu Wanjun nodded to her, and then quickly urged the Marquis of Pingxi, "Grandfather, please don't start a war!"
Marquis Pingxi had no idea why his granddaughter and her friend had suddenly come here.
But fearing that the army might attack at any moment and harm the two, he said sternly, "What are you doing here? Go back immediately! It's dangerous here!"
Mu Wanjun quickly explained, "Grandfather, please don't worry, those below are our own people!"
Upon hearing this, Marquis Pingxi frowned even more deeply.
How could he not know that his granddaughter had raised such a large army?
That's not how you make a joke!
"Grandfather, please don't be anxious. Let me explain to you slowly."
Seeing Mu Wanjun explaining to the Marquis of Pingxi, Shen Shuli quickly reassured the troops below the city.
She moved a stool, stood on it, leaned over the city wall, and waved down.
"Uncle Gao, Uncle Gao, please don't fight! I'm Shen Shuli~ We're all on the same side~"
Shen Shuli called out several times, afraid that Gao Fei might not hear her or that she might have forgotten about her.
Gao Fei never expected that the person on the city wall was actually Shen Shuli.
That little girl who gets very close to the eldest brother's son.
His previously tense nerves immediately relaxed.
"Miss Shen, it's you!" Gao Fei quickly ordered the archers to retreat, taking the initiative to show his attitude.
"Uncle Gao, please have the troops retreat a bit. I'll come find you later."
Gao Fei responded loudly, "Good!" and ordered the army to retreat one mile.
Mu Wanjun also explained Gao Fei's background and identity, as well as his connection with the Xie and Mu families.
"I see," the Marquis of Pingxi nodded in understanding. "So this person below is the benefactor you met in Quanzhou?"
Mu Wanjun nodded and said, "Yes, Grandfather. So we are all family. We must not fight and hurt our harmony. Uncle Gao must have come to see the Xie family."
"Yes, that would be best." Marquis Pingxi still harbored a slight wariness.
After all, we should always be on guard against others.
Besides, these are chaotic times; which person holding military power doesn't have some ambition?
We must not be careless and lose Jingzhou!
"Grandfather, please open the small door so we can go down and chat with Uncle Gao. It's not good to keep them outside like this," Mu Wanjun said coquettishly.