Chapter 457: War Begins Again
The spring rain continued, and Wang Xiu braved the rain and headed north to Ganquan.

When he conquered Shu, he was ordered to go to Nanzhong to appease the officials of the counties and prefectures and the local Han tyrants, and at the same time he brought gifts to Jiaozhou to pay a visit to Yuan Tan.

It was also a way to appease and win over Yuan Tan, so that he would not have any undue concerns.

Previously, it was far away from Jiaozhou, and Yuan Tan was also happy to have a strong ally that was not in the border area in order to deter the local Han tyrants in Jiaozhou.

But now the Nanzhong region borders Jiaozhou, and in order to prevent Yuan Tan from having any bad ideas, Wang Xiu was responsible for the mission.

This is a gesture of goodwill and also an indirect deterrent.

Stabilizing Jiaozhou plays a relatively key role in stabilizing the situation in Nanzhong. Allowing the Nanzhong region and Jiaozhou to compete with each other will naturally facilitate the shogunate's remote control and maintain balance and stability.

After completing his mission, Wang Xiu headed north.

He brought with him a batch of local specialties from Jiaozhou and Nanhai that seemed like tribute; but when he heard that Bing Yuan had also come to Guanzhong, he took the time to go and meet him.

When Wang Xiu was heading north, he passed by a canal and saw that in the drizzle, there were still soldiers and civilians driving ox carts or pulling horse carts, heading to the canal embankment, mainly to the south bank, transporting rolls of reed curtains.

Above the canal, there were logs connected like a dragon floating down along the rushing canal water.

There were also knights guarding both sides of the river, and from time to time they would send people to use long bamboo poles to move the logs stranded on the shore.

Wang Xiu drew back the curtains and looked at the soldiers and civilians from Guanzhong working in the rain outside the car, and couldn't help but sigh.

Bu Zhi, an attendant in the team, was driving the car. He turned his head and looked at Wang Xiu when he heard the voice: "Why is Uncle Zhi sighing?"

Wang Xiu looked solemn. "I feel deeply for the hard work of the soldiers and civilians in Guanzhong. I heard that since mid-March, the ration expenditure of the counties has been reduced to 50%. Only the men in service, healthy women and young people can get full rations. Something happened in Jingzhou. When the Danshui Canal was cleared this year, at most only one million dan of rice could be transported. I am worried about this, fearing that the army will be short of rations."

There are now two grain transportation routes. Jingzhou uses the Dan River for grain transportation. As for Shuzhong and Hanzhong, although the grain is very sufficient, Hanzhong is also in the rainy season now.

Transportation was basically stagnant and difficult, and the food transported was better than nothing and was of no use at all.

Military rations for war preparation are extremely important. In Wang Xiu's inherent concept, it is better to let them rot in the warehouse than to use them easily, and the enemy must not be informed of the shortage of grain reserves.

Unlike Wang Xiu, who is slightly older and has a fixed mindset, Bu Zhi is relatively flexible in changing his ideas.

After hearing this, he said, "The only one who can attack Guanzhong now is Hebei. However, with the great power of the Grand Marshal, Hebei will not take the initiative to provoke or start a war without a necessary reason. Moreover, we have the natural barrier of Taihang, and Taiyuan and Hedong as a buffer, which is enough to deal with Hebei's large-scale invasion."

After a pause, Bu Zhi smiled and joked: "Besides, when the Grand Marshal is fighting abroad, when will he be short of food and fodder?"

Wang Xiu just forced a smile after hearing this. How could he laugh after hearing about his hometown from Bing Yuan?

So he nodded and said: "I worry too much. Our army is good at taking food from the enemy. If Hebei is not an ally, we can take food from Hebei this year and weaken its vitality."

Bu Zhi nodded and saw the vehicle in front slowly moving across the bridge. When it was a safe distance away, Bu Zhi shook the reins and steered the vehicle forward.

The vehicles behind them were all led by knights holding the reins and leading the horses and cattle.

When setting out from Jiaozhou, more than 2,000 wheelbarrows were used.

The counties along the way provided food and guards, which were transported all the way to Ziwu Town.

It was in Ziwu Town that the wheelbarrow was abandoned and replaced with ox carts and horse carts with larger loading capacities.

It’s just that Guanzhong developed too rapidly, and it was difficult to find so many skilled drivers at once.

The car is loaded with valuables and cannot be driven by an unfamiliar driver.

They could only borrow the knights around and let them pull the reins of the cattle and horses to ensure that the vehicles could move forward at a constant speed.

After starting from Jiaozhou and changing vehicles at Ziwu Town, there were only more than a hundred trucks left.

Wang Xiu also took advantage of the time when he was exchanging goods and tributes for transport to Mount Li.

The convoy went north along the Qinzhi Road. The roadside forests planted in large quantities the year before last and last year formed two green corridors. Although the treetops were not tall and dense, the branches and buds were also lush and green.

One can imagine the prosperous scenes on both sides of the road more than a decade later. Wang Xiu felt even more sad when he thought of the tragedy that happened in his hometown.

Heading north, we arrived at the library area in Ganquanzhong Township in the evening of the next day.

That night, after Wang Xiu finished bathing, he began to burn incense in the quiet room and prepared to go to sleep so that he could visit the Grand Marshal the next day to deliver the mission.

There were footsteps on the wooden floor of the second floor corridor, and soon there was a knock on the door. The attendant asked, "Is Lord Shuzhi asleep? Lord Sun You from Beihai is outside asking to see you. Do you want to decline?"

"Gongyou?"

Wang Xiu knew Sun Qian's intention in an instant, and stood up and walked out of the quiet room and said to the door: "You are welcome, prepare some refreshments."

"Here."

After his entourage left, Wang Xiu returned to the quiet room wearing a half-worn undershirt. He then picked up the incense burner and placed it under a new black official uniform so that the incense could absorb quickly.

Da Sima is good in every way except that he has sharp senses and hates evil.

An official must maintain basic cleanliness of appearance.

Even the rest days were changed to a short half-day rest every three days and a long half-day rest every seven days.

As a grassroots official in Guanzhong, your literacy and writing skills may be a little poor, but you must stay clean.

Not long after, Sun Qian, who was obviously thinner and wearing a mourning band on his head and a sackcloth robe, followed to the second floor.

When Sun Qian saw Wang Xiu on the first day of the new year, he could no longer maintain his solemn expression. He went forward, hugged Wang Xiu and burst into tears: "Uncle Zhi! Uncle Zhi! All my three clans have been killed!"

Wang Xiu hugged Sun Qian, who was so limp that he was about to fall down. For a moment, he was reminded of his sad past and stood there for a long time without saying a word, not knowing how to comfort him.

Sun Qian cried a few times, and only when he heard the sound of servants coming up the stairs did his sadness subside a little.

When he was able to stand up, he saw that Wang Xiu's eyes were filled with tears and he was crying silently.

Wang Xiu helped Sun Qian to sit down, and after the servants put down their tea and snacks and left, Wang Xiu asked, "Why did Gongyou come to Guanzhong?"

"I intend to ask the Grand Marshal to send troops to Qingzhou to save my fellow countrymen from the dire situation. Lord Xuande has already agreed to this. If the Grand Marshal sends troops, Lord Xuande can also send troops to help."

Sun Qian wiped his tears with his handkerchief, which was soaked through and his eyes were red. "Lord Xuande has negotiated with Hebei. The Qingzhou incident has caused great fear and panic among the people of Hebei."

Wang Xiu nodded slowly and asked again: "What is General Yuan's attitude?"

"I didn't see the general's reply when I left, but Cao is a ruthless villain. If we don't stop him, he will take over Qingzhou and rely on Xuzhou's Zang Ba. It will be even more difficult to check him, and the first victims will be the people of Hebei. This is already General Yuan's arbitrary decision. The people of Hebei are in this mood, and General Yuan cannot go against it."

Speaking of professional matters, Sun Qian's mood gradually stabilized. He took a sip of warm tea, and suddenly a surge of strength appeared in his empty, clammy body. His voice no longer trembled. "At worst, the general tacitly agreed to Lord Xuande's sending troops to pass through Bohai."

Sending troops now can rescue some people and disrupt Cao Cao's process of swallowing up others.

Cao Cao's method of annexation was too rough, but precisely because of its roughness, it was extremely efficient.

If left unchecked, Qingzhou will be transformed into Qi in two or three years, and the country's resources will be at the disposal of Cao Cao, just like Guanzhong. Hebei is simply unable to resist this.

What is scary about Guanzhong is not only the Sima who is a military genius, but also the current atmosphere of war among the whole nation, as well as the crazy state in which all resources are dispatched by the shogunate and everything can be devoted to starting a war.

This is something that the people of Jizhou and Youzhou dare not imagine, nor are willing to accept.

Just like during the pre-Qin and Warring States periods, this is the source of fear among the people of Hebei.

(End of this chapter)