Chapter 72 The calm before the storm

In the spacious hall, Zhou Lan was wearing a light blue suit. Compared with her previous appearance in armor, she looked less heroic and more gentle.

"I already know about the food and fodder matter. You handled it very well!"

Zhou Lan sat in the upper seat, rubbing her brows tiredly and said.

She thought Yang Zhengshan came to explain the matter of food and fodder to her. She didn't take this little matter seriously, so she just said it casually.

Yang Zhengshan didn't say much, but just asked, "General, do you have any other instructions?"

He just felt that since Zhou Lan had returned, he, as a subordinate, should come over to meet her and see if there was anything he could do.

If you take other people's food and eat other people's food, you naturally have to be more proactive.

"Nothing for the time being?"

Zhou Lan waved her hand, but then said, "Guancheng has been a bit chaotic lately, so try not to go there!"

Yang Zhengshan was startled, knowing that this was Zhou Lan's kind reminder.

Why is Guancheng in chaos?

Of course it was because of the defeat.

Now that Zhang Shouwang and Zhang Yude have returned, the defeat has probably been reported to the court.

It is still unknown what the court’s reaction will be, but it is foreseeable that there will be changes in the top management of Chongshan Town.

I guess Zhou Lan is also having a headache about this.

"I understand!"

Yang Zhengshan responded and then stood up and said goodbye.

After leaving the hall, Yang Zhengshan went to look at Zhao Yuan again.

Zhao Yuan's face was also full of worry. Although he was only a captain, he was the son of a noble family after all. He had his own sources of information and knew a lot about the news in the court and the high-level officials in Chongshan Town.

"Ahem, Lord Zhang may not be able to stay in Chongshan Town!" Zhao Yuan said gloomily.

Yang Zhengshan's hand, which was stroking his beard, paused slightly. He didn't know when it started, but he seemed to like stroking his beard more and more.

As we get older, our hearts get older too, and even our behavioral habits become more and more like those of the elderly.

Lord Zhang is also known as Zhang Shouwang.

Someone must be held responsible for the defeat in the Battle of Fushan City, and Zhang Shouwang, as the general who led the northern expedition, was naturally the first to bear the brunt of the blame.

"Is General Zhou okay?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

He was more worried about Zhou Lan than Zhang Shouwang.

Zhou Lan is his close friend. If she runs away, his life in Chongshan Town will be difficult.

Zhao Yuan shook his head. "General Zhou will be fine, but now that Lord Zhang is gone, General Zhou will definitely not be able to relax as before."

Yang Zhengshan understood.

Zhou Lan was not the main commander of this expedition, so he did not need to bear the main responsibility. Moreover, the Zhenbiao Zuoying made great contributions in this battle, so even if there was a crime to be committed, Zhou Lan would not be held responsible.

Besides, Zhou Lan has the Ningguo Mansion behind her. As long as the Ningguo Mansion does not fall, Zhou Lan will not suffer any injustice.

"I'm glad General Zhou is okay!"

Yang Zhengshan didn't know what to say, so he could only comfort her in this way.

Zhao Yuan was in a bad mood and became drowsy after speaking a few words. Yang Zhengshan helped him lie on the bed and waited until he fell asleep before leaving.

……

In the following days, the chaos in Chongshan Pass City gradually subsided. Although Chongshan Town was defeated in this battle, the Donghai Hu tribe also suffered heavy losses. The two sides temporarily entered a truce.

For a moment, the city seemed unusually peaceful, but everyone knew that this peace was only the calm before the storm.

However, compared to the impending storm, Yang Zhengshan was more worried about the drought in Chongshan Town.

There hasn't been a decent heavy rain outside the Great Wall for several months, and the situation inside the Great Wall is similar.

The wheat seedlings in the fields around Linguanbao have turned yellow and withered, and the small river under the hillside is almost dry. If it doesn't rain, not only will we have trouble irrigating the fields, we may even have trouble drinking water.

"Where is the source of this river?"

Yang Zhengshan looked at the riverbed with only a few shallow puddles left and asked Old Li. Old Li thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be on the mountain over at Yingshanbao. The source is a few springs on the mountain!"

Yingshan Fort is located about a hundred miles west of Chongshan Pass. The mountains there are taller and the forests are relatively dense, unlike Linguan Fort which is full of low mounds.

Yang Zhengshan squatted down and dug up the dried silt on the riverbed. He dug a foot deep, but no water came out.

"Let's dig a well!"

This river is not only related to the irrigation of fields, but also to the drinking water problem of Linguanbao.

There are still a few small puddles that can be used now, but if we wait a few more days, even the small puddles will probably dry up.

He stood up, looked around, and pointed to a fairly flat river beach not far away and said, "Right there, let's dig a deep well first!"

Although digging a well on the riverbed is more troublesome, the water storage capacity under the river should be much larger.

Yang Zhengshan did not expect to guarantee the harvest from the fields. Anyway, the fields around Linguan Fort were all thin, and there was not much harvest to begin with.

He just wanted to ensure that the military households in Linguan Fort had enough drinking water.

Old Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and responded with some breathlessness.

It was a very hot day. He had been in Chongshan Town for more than ten years, but this was the first time he had encountered such hot weather.

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the scorching sun, turned and walked towards Linguan Fort.

When he returned to Linguan Fort, Yang Minghao was just about to go out to look for him.

"Dad, Shopkeeper Luo is looking for you!"

"Manager Luo? What does he want me to do?" Yang Zhengshan asked puzzledly.

Shopkeeper Luo, also known as Luo Shang, the owner of Guancheng Luo's Cloth Shop, had been helping to sell cloth shoes in Linguanbao.

"I don't know, it looks like it's very urgent!" Yang Minghao also felt puzzled. Although they had cooperation with Luo Shang, apart from business cooperation, they had almost no other intersections.

This time Luo Shang suddenly came to him, which made him feel something was wrong.

Luo Shang was really anxious. Before Yang Zhengshan returned to the government office, Luo Shang had already walked out.

"Master Yang!"

"What do you want to talk to me about, Manager Luo?" Yang Zhengshan asked directly without any politeness.

Luo Shang followed him awkwardly and walked into the government office again.

Yang Zhengshan entered the study, washed his face first, then looked at Luo Shang with some surprise, "Manager Luo?"

I don’t know what this guy was thinking about. He was actually distracted.

He was so anxious just now, but now he is silent.

"Ah, Lord Yang." Luo Shang came back to his senses, bowed and said, "I would like to ask Lord Yang for a favor!"

villain!

Yang Zhengshan found it even weirder.

"Little man" is a self-deprecating term, but generally speaking, few people would use this term to refer to themselves because it is too derogatory.

Most of the time, only slaves or people of very low status would use such a self-proclaimed title.

Although Luo Shang was a merchant, these merchants had money in their hands, and even if their social status was low, they were unwilling to debase themselves.

"Manager Luo, please speak frankly. If I can help, I will definitely not refuse!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Whether he could help, whether he wanted to help, whether he was willing to help, these were all irrelevant. He wanted to hear what trouble Luo Shang had encountered first.

Luo Shang hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to give the cloth shop to Lord Yang!"

"deliver!"

Yang Zhengshan looked at him in astonishment.

Although Luo Shang's cloth shop is not big and is not in a good location, it is still a good shop. If it is sold, it should be able to fetch at least four or five hundred taels of silver.

Luo Shang was not a wealthy businessman, he was just a small businessman.

To him, the cloth shop should be his most important asset. How could he give it away so easily?

(End of this chapter)