Chapter 763: The 800-Li Express Messenger
Wan Shou Zhai, Wan Shou Mountain, Sichuan.
The headquarters of the Sichuan White Pole Soldiers.
The peak of summer had arrived, and with it, the corn harvest season.
The 59-year-old General Qin Liangyu stood at the main gate of Wan Shou Zhai, watching her subordinates carry basket after basket of corn into the fortress for storage.
In recent years, the nation's affairs had deteriorated, and the realm was in chaos, leaving Qin Liangyu with few good days. Yet today, her face was wreathed in smiles.
What a harvest!
What could be more joyous than a great harvest?
The entire population of Shizhu would have enough to eat for a whole year, and the long-standing issue of military provisions that had plagued the Sichuan White Pole Soldiers was finally resolved.
It was truly a cause for great joy.
Zhang Fengyi replied, "This is all thanks to Squire Li from Gao Family Village; he was the one who gave your daughter-in-law these things."
Qin Liangyu pondered, "Who exactly is this Squire Li? With such excellent crop cultivation techniques, why weren't they widely promoted before? I've never heard a thing about them."
Zhang Fengyi sighed softly. "Squire Li's home is in Shaanxi, and with the severe drought there, he truly couldn't promote them widely. Currently, he's doing his best to spread them in Shanxi, but he's not an imperial official, so widespread promotion faces immense difficulties. When he gave me these techniques, he said he wanted to leverage our Ma family's position in Shizhu for their promotion, as that would make it easier."
Hearing this, Qin Liangyu's brow furrowed. "Indeed! Without being an imperial official, trying to promote new techniques is incredibly difficult. Even officials face resistance from local powers when trying to implement such changes."
The rapid spread of these new techniques in Shizhu, leading to a great harvest in just half a year, was precisely because Zhang Fengyi was her daughter-in-law, and she herself was the Chieftain of Shizhu. In matters of governance, her word was law; no one dared to defy her.
Qin Liangyu continued, "This Squire Li is truly a good man. Not only did he save your life, but he also gave us such excellent cultivation techniques. Later, prepare a grand gift and personally deliver it to him, to properly express our gratitude. Oh, and that celestial fertilizer he gave us—we tried it on several plots, and the effects were outstanding. But we won't have any next year... you'll have to contact him and see how we can purchase more."
As she spoke, Qin Liangyu's brow furrowed slightly. "Shaanxi is quite far from us, and Sichuan is so mountainous; transport is inconvenient. If we have to transport this celestial fertilizer all the way from Shaanxi, I'm afraid it might be a bit... *Sigh*... What can we do?"
Just as they were discussing this, a sentinel on the watchtower at Wan Shou Zhai's gate suddenly shouted, "A swift horse is approaching in the distance!"
"One horse?" Qin Liangyu asked, "A messenger?"
A single swift rider galloped into view. The horse was almost at the fortress gate when it was blocked by a line of corn transporters.
The White Pole Soldiers had set aside their armor to farm, and this team carrying corn consisted entirely of White Pole Soldiers. Fearless in battle, they were exceptionally bold.
Seeing the warhorse galloping wildly, they weren't afraid. Instead, they laughed heartily, and one man even spread his arms, blocking the path, and shouted, "Wan Shou Zhai of Wan Shou Mountain! No unauthorized entry!"
The rider on horseback urgently cried out, "Urgent military intelligence! Clear the way!"
"Oh, urgent military intelligence, you say?" Only then did the White Pole Soldiers move aside.
The messenger then sped past the corn transporters and reached the fortress gate. He had expected to wait for an announcement, but to his surprise, the formidable General Qin Liangyu, Ma Xianglin, and Zhang Fengyi were all standing at the fortress gate, staring at him.
The messenger smoothly dismounted, cupped his hands in greeting, and urgently declared, "This humble one is Li Yuan, a messenger from Gao Family Village, carrying an 800-li urgent military report!"
"Gao Family Village?"
Ma Xianglin and Zhang Fengyi exclaimed in delight simultaneously, "A friend from Gao Family Village!"
Qin Liangyu let out a soft "Oh!" She glanced at the corn being carried into the fortress, then turned back to the messenger, finding him remarkably agreeable.
Li Yuan was a bit tired from his journey, but his spirits were high. He had fled from under the command of Yansui Regional Commander Chen Qiyu to Gao Family Village, where he joined Shi Jian's ranks and resumed his old profession as a messenger.
This time, Gao Family Village needed to send a message to Sichuan. The journey was long, and the roads into Sichuan were notoriously difficult, "harder than ascending to heaven." The inexperienced, greenhorn messengers of Gao Family Village were hardly capable of such a demanding task.
So, the veteran messenger Li Yuan was dispatched!
Employing his skill for 800-li express deliveries, he galloped all the way to Wan Shou Zhai.
Before setting off, Shi Jian had promised him a special bonus for this mission: a substantial fifteen taels of silver! He'd never enjoyed such a generous arrangement under Chen Qiyu.
He'd give it his all for that bonus. Li Yuan, full of vigor, announced, "General Qin, the rebels are advancing southwest from Kaifeng. They're bypassing Luoyang and are likely to enter the border region of the four provinces. Our Gao Family Village has already dispatched troops to Shanyang County, and Henan Governor Fan Shangzheng has also mobilized his army to pursue the rebels!"
Qin Liangyu understood immediately. "White Pole Soldiers, set out at once for Kuizhou."
Kuizhou, modern-day Fengjie County, was a strategic military stronghold in eastern Sichuan, a choke point that any army attempting to enter the province would have to pass through.
"No, wait!" Qin Liangyu's expression grew even more serious just after giving the order. "Rebels are different from regular armies. Regular armies need to maintain supply lines, so they must fight city by city; Kuizhou would be unavoidable for them. But rebels don't need to maintain supply lines. They won't confront Kuizhou; they'll simply pass through the rugged mountains north of it to enter Sichuan."
Qin Liangyu immediately revised her command. "Xianglin, Fengyi, the three of us will immediately lead several thousand White Pole Soldiers to the line of mountains north of Kuizhou: Langshu Yakou, Baiyan Cao, Xiagou, Shuangtou Baoshan, Feidu Xia, and Nangong Shan. We will set up outposts and patrol these areas, ensuring the rebels are blocked from entering Sichuan."
The emergency mobilization of Wan Shou Zhai began!
The White Pole Soldiers, who had just been happily carrying corn baskets, immediately dropped their burdens and picked up their white pole spears once more.
"Oh, wait, no," they thought. "They had to secretly stuff two ears of corn into their pockets, for eating on the way."
This year's abundant harvest had bolstered the White Pole Soldiers' confidence.
They no longer lacked military provisions as before, and could now fight on full stomachs.
Qin Liangyu herself swiftly donned her armor.
Her armor was the very prototype for the set used by later opera troupes for "Mu Guiying," strikingly beautiful. Although she was 59 years old, in this armor, she still appeared valiant and brimming with martial spirit.
"Messenger, your name is Li Yuan, right? Please report back ahead of us; our army will follow immediately."
Li Yuan exclaimed, "Ah? Yes, yes! I'll head back right away, hahaha! As soon as I'm back, I can collect my fifteen taels of silver special bonus, hahahaha! Gao Family Village's benefits are truly wonderful! Hahahaha... An 800-li express, off to collect my silver!"
Qin Liangyu stared, utterly bewildered.
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