Chapter 295 A Friend Came From Afar
To the north of Shiwanda Mountain, at the junction of Lingnan and Guangxi provinces, there is a place called Wuzhou.
Half a year ago, a mysterious tribe suddenly appeared in Wuzhou, which was originally barren. Under the leadership of the tribal leaders, they overcame obstacles and wiped out bandits; they built cities and strongholds, farmed fields and planted mulberries.
The leader of the Walled City is a very remarkable person who enjoys high prestige among the barbarians. With the establishment of the Walled City, the nearby barbarians rushed to the Walled City to meet this mysterious leader.
Hundreds of barbarian tribes who have lived in the Shiwanda Mountain for generations have found a new destination. One after another, the tribes began to migrate to Wuzhou City Walled without the slightest hesitation.
As time went by, all the fifty-five Shanman tribes in the northern area migrated to Wuzhou, even the largest tribe with ten thousand people was no exception.
Last month, the migration wave began to spread to the southern region.
With the influx of barbarians, the walled city was expanded again and again, and finally developed into a giant city, Dingding Wuzhou. On the head of the city, the black phoenix flag fluttered in the wind, spreading its wings and flying.
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Winter is about to enter, the weeds are withered and yellow, the birds are extinct, and the wilderness presents a chilling scene.
Lianzhou Basin, located in the southern bay of Guangxi, has obvious characteristics of oceanic monsoon climate, but it has no chance of cold winter. Entering December, the temperature is still maintained at more than 20 degrees Celsius.
The Lianzhou Basin seems to be peaceful, but in reality it is undercurrents.
According to the feedback from the Military Intelligence Department, the various ministries in the grassland have stopped the civil war, and there are signs of unity in the dark.
Under Bai Qi's signal, in the name of training, the Second Division frequently appeared in the grasslands to deter the tribes and try to alienate the tribes.
The western part of the town of the Tianqi Tribe has been rebuilt. Together with the eastern part of the town and the Khan's personal guards, the total strength has reached 12,000, which is evenly matched with the second division.
Each of the seven medium-sized tribes has a force of no less than 3,000 people. Together, they have more than 20,000 people.
When the battle was about to take place, the ministries of the grasslands could issue a temporary summoning order, and it would not be difficult to double the size of the army based on the tradition of all nomadic tribes serving as soldiers.
If the various ministries of the grassland were to form a joint force, the Second Division alone would not be able to suppress it.
Duanren County in the east is also not worry-free.
Limited to the title of Ba Dao, Duan Ren County cannot be promoted to a third-level county. The strength of the Shanhai Territory makes it difficult for Ba Dao to sleep and eat; in order to keep the territory, he can only take risks, even eager for quick success.
While connecting the Yanhuang League in series, Ba Dao frantically builds up affiliated territories. In addition to the three first-level subordinate territories, even the nine second-level subordinate territories have all been completed, and they are steadily moving towards the first-level county.
The most direct benefit is that the total population of the territory is increasing day by day, creating conditions for military expansion. Coupled with the soldiers from the Shanman tribe and the funds provided by the gold mine, the military strength of Duanren County is growing day by day, and the size of the army has reached a division, which is comparable to the previous Shanhai County.
If Ba Dao is stepping on a tightrope, then Ouyang Shuo is playing with fire.
The development of Duanren County to its current situation is not unrelated to Ouyang Shuo's deliberate indulgence. After taking down Tianfeng County, it's not that Ouyang Shuo had no chance to take down Duanren County, but he didn't want to let his strategy of "raising Gu" be aborted, so he just gave up and let Duanren County continue.
If it is not restrained, it is possible to breed tigers.
What worried Ouyang Shuo the most was the change that happened deep in Shiwan Dashan.
A large number of mountain tribes migrated deep into the mountains. Leng Qian, the leader of the military intelligence team responsible for the eastern intelligence of the military intelligence department, has personally led the team into the depths of the mountain to investigate, but there has been no response yet.
Ouyang Shuo had a premonition that deep in the mountain, an old enemy was staring at him.
*************
When the Lianzhou Basin was in turmoil, an old man quietly came to Shanhai City.
The old man was in his fifties, with a broad forehead and round face, prominent eyebrows, and a pair of mustaches; he was dressed very plainly, in coarse linen clothes, with a blue headscarf, and there was an awe-inspiring majesty in his elegance.
After entering the city, the old man toured around the city with great interest. He saw the bustling scene of the commercial street, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment in an orderly manner. He couldn't help nodding secretly.
Afterwards, the old man walked into the Southwest University Hall, and when he met a scholar walking towards him, he clasped his hands together and said, "Dare to ask, I heard that there is a library in your place. I don't know where it is?"
The young scholar was a student of the Confucian School of the Southwest University Hall. Seeing that the old man on the other side was practicing ancient rituals, he didn't dare to be negligent, so he quickly replied, "The library is built on the bank of Wangyue Lake. I will take you there!"
Ouyang Shuo had said earlier that the library would never be self-serving, and would be open to the world. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people like the old man to ask for directions in Southwest University.
"Thank you!"
The young scholar took the old man to the library, then turned and left.
The old man walked into the library with a somewhat excited and apprehensive expression.
He is none other than Sun Wu, the "Sage of Soldiers", who is honored as Sun Tzu by later generations. Together with Confucius and Lao Tzu, two sages, they are also known as the three brightest stars in the ideological world in the late Spring and Autumn Period.
Sun Wu has a great relationship with Jiang Shang, the owner of the library.
First, Jiang Shang is revered as the ancestor of the military family, and Sun Wu is the representative of the military family.
Second, Jiang Shang was the founder of Qi State, and Sun Wu was from Le'an Qi State.
Tracing back to the source, the two are really related. Therefore, after learning that Jiang Shang was the owner of the book collection, Sun Wu immediately used the mysterious post station of the system to travel thousands of miles to Shanhai City to meet Jiang Shang.
Strictly speaking, Sun Wu, the soldier saint, can be regarded as half a hermit.
Before the age of thirty, Sun Wu was unknown to the world. During his seclusion, he wrote "Sun Tzu's Art of War". After that, he served as a general in the state of Wu for more than 20 years, with outstanding military exploits, and then retreated bravely, lived in seclusion again, and revised the works on the art of war.
Throughout his life, he was full of legend.
Jiang Shang, the master of the Hundred Schools, and Sun Wu, the soldier saint, two sages, crossed time and space, and met in the library.
"Student Changqing, pay homage to the Grand Duke!" Sun Wu greeted his disciples.
Jiang Shang received it sideways, and borrowed a famous saying from "The Analects" to subtly redefine the relationship between the two: "It's not easy to say that a friend comes from afar!"
When two military masters met, they chatted about the art of war unconsciously. The more they chatted, the more speculative they became.
Before I knew it, it was already sunset.
Jiang Shang turned his head and looked outside the building, dazed. Against the background of the lake, the setting sun was so red that half of the sky was red. Although it was late, it was also full of red light. He said with emotion: "It is enough to meet a bosom friend in life."
"Fortunately!" Sun Wu was also satisfied, with a happy expression.
"How about it, Changqing, would you like to go to the island with the old man to have a talk?"
"Stick what you want, don't dare to ask for it."
The two laughed, and it was like reuniting old friends, everything was kept silent.
Following Jiang Shang to the Falling Star Island, Sun Wu admired the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains, and said in admiration: "Such an idyllic style, it is a wonderful place to live in seclusion. Blessed is Taigong."
Jiang Shang shook his head, with a melancholy expression, and said, "It's all the Marquis of Lianzhou who has a heart."
"Oh?" Sun Wu showed an expression full of interest, and said: "Shan Hailing is well-known in the circle. I just entered the city. I took a tour. It is indeed well-deserved and well-organized. The Grand Duke lives here in seclusion. What do you think of the Marquis of Lianzhou?"
"Why, do you want to be an official here?"
"No." Sun Wu shook his head and said, "I have no intention of serving in the army. I would like to learn from the grandpa and become a hermit. If the grandpa doesn't dislike me, I would like to move to the island and write books and revise military books here. Lou has a collection of thousands of volumes, and I just want to have a look at the art of war of later generations, so as to inspire inspiration and learn from each other's strengths."
"Wouldn't it be a waste for such a great talent to live in seclusion on a small island?"
"Isn't the grandfather also like this?"
"The old man is different from you. I have an unresolved relationship with the Marquis of Lianzhou, so I don't want to be an official. Even so, I will take over the post of book collector. The kindness is hard to refuse!" Jiang Shang said frankly.
Sun Wu was silent, pondered for a long time, and finally said firmly: "I am still willing to follow my heart, gallop on the battlefield, and rebuke Fang Qiu. This is no longer my pursuit; it is my lifelong wish to carry forward the art of war."
Jiang Shang nodded and said, "Naturally, it's up to you. This matter cannot be forced. I estimate that the Marquis of Lianzhou will come to visit you tomorrow and invite you to become a general."
"It's okay, I have my own calculations in my heart."
"This person has a lot of hills and valleys in his chest, and he is not considered a common man, so don't reject him outright."
Sun Wu's eyes froze. He never thought that Jiang Shang would have such a high opinion of the Marquis of Lianzhou. He said with a smile, "I want to see what the Grand Duke said."
"I won't let you down. Besides, Bai Qi has become the general of the Hou's family. There is also an interesting training system in the Shanhai City Army. I think you will be interested."
As worthy of being Jiang Taigong, he knows the world's affairs without going out.
Chatting and chatting, the two talked about the art of war again, and they simply had a long talk at night.
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The next day, Ouyang Shuo received a secret report from the servants of Falling Star Island, saying that a guest came to the island yesterday, about fifty years old, wearing a commoner gown, and had a long talk with the grandfather all night.
After reading the secret report, Ouyang Shuo was secretly excited. If what he expected was right, the Hundred Schools of Philosophy had finally been officially launched, and someone who could have a long talk with Jiang Shang all night was not an ordinary person.
"Come on!"
"Hi!"
"Go and invite General Bai Qi!"
"promise!"
Ouyang Shuo is going to take Bai Qi to visit this mysterious person together, and also hopes to use Bai Qi as a ready-made example to prove that there is a lot to be done in the mountains and seas to increase his persuasion.
"Your Majesty!" Bai Qi hurried over.
"Follow me to the library."
"Oh? But what kind of person is here?" Bai Qi's thinking is so sharp that he can guess the reason immediately.
Bai Qi can also be regarded as one of the representatives of military strategists. When Jiang Shang was the owner of the library, he even took time to visit him once. The two had an exchange on the art of war, and the chat was very speculative.
"good."
"Then I will go to see it."