The Southern Expedition Troops Arrive
This conversation greatly shocked Cheng Mo. Growing up in his maternal family in Guangzhou, he and his cousins had received systematic learning about maritime trade, but none of them had such a comprehensive understanding and insightful analysis as Xiang Bei. "Xiao Bei, I'm not doubting anything, I'm just too shocked. May I ask where you acquired this knowledge from?"
"You already knew that I'm not real, or rather, I'm not the original Tong Xiangbei. My soul comes from more than 1,400 years in the future. In the world we are in now, after the dynasties changed, there was a turning point in history during the later Tang Dynasty in Yunmeng Dynasty, so I don't know about the future social development and progress. As for the mountainous terrain, although there have been some changes, the general pattern remains." Bei trusted Cheng Mo completely, so he was willing to share the knowledge he possessed with him.
"This seems somewhat unbelievable, but your behavior makes it hard for me not to believe it. Xiao Bei, no matter where you come from, or where you will go in the future, promise me, you won't abandon me. Since we've met, I want to be by your side forever." Cheng Mo earnestly looked at Xiang Bei and said.
"Okay, Ah Mo, thank you. I promise you too, in this life, I'll be by your side." Xiang Bei was moved at this moment. This young man from ancient times had given her complete trust and protection from the moment they met. Although there were countless questions and curiosities, he never forced her to answer. Suddenly, she believed in the cycle of life, destiny, and fate. "Ah Mo, I'm not a monster, nor am I a fairy. I'm just here for reasons I can't explain. If there is indeed reincarnation, then perhaps this body I have now is the result of my past life's karma. This topic, I think we have a lifetime to talk about, don't we?"
"Yes, yes, we have a lifetime together." Nothing else mattered anymore. Cheng Mo heard the most beautiful and wonderful words he had ever heard in his life. His heart found its place.
"You see, the Wa people mainly inhabit this area as ocean bandits, Ryukyu Islands. During the early Tang Dynasty, they were referred to as the Wa slaves by the Great Tang. From the late Tang to the establishment of the YunMeng Dynasty, they probably took advantage of chaos to disguise themselves as soldiers and pirates, plundering merchant ships at sea. I speculate that they may have started to occupy the Island of Yi Island, but I'm unsure of the current situation. However, I can be certain that they intend to use a coastal fortress as a breakthrough to seize our Southern Borderland land base. Because only then can they gain dominance in maritime trade." With Taiwan Island across from Dongbin circled, Xiangbei raised her head, pointing towards XiaWan Bay, while Chengmo nodded in understanding.
"Since you have made your decision, why not let the Chengjia guard go ashore first and have some fun on the island?" Xiangbei quickly picked up the conversation, echoing Chengmo's unspoken thoughts. They exchanged smiles, no longer discussing the matter further, and instead began planning the campfire party after the army set up camp.
The results of the three thousand elite Cheng Family guards practicing warfare on the mountain were naturally without suspense. With the vast difference in numbers between humans and beasts, from the sounding of the horn to the separation of flesh and skin, it took only a day and a night. Over a hundred wolves, including the revengeful one-eyed wolf king, couldn't escape the fate of being hunted down, along with over three hundred wild bulls. The wolf meat was all made into spicy jerky, while the beef was divided into fresh meat, marinated meat for roasting, braised meat, and red-cooked beef chunks. Xiangbei's greatest gain was packing all the fresh tenderloin and ribeye beef into barrels and storing them in the frozen time Jade Snowflake Cave.
On the same day that all the fresh meat was stored in the cold storage of the travelers lodge, the chief envoy came to request an audience. The army was scheduled to arrive at Dongbin by ship early the next morning, and the king was asked to grant permission for landing.
The next day, all the shops along the embankment of the new dock in Dongbin ceased their external operations. Outside the shops, neatly arranged coal stoves and steamers emitted enticing aromas of big buns filled with beef and mutton mixed with wood ear mushrooms and diced bamboo shoots. Portable leather water bags filled with clear sugarcane syrup were stacked high in large willow baskets. Public handwashing basins and toilets were set up at the landing points along several gangplanks, all illuminated by gas lamps as bright as daylight. The DongBin King Mansion had sent people to wait here early.
When the first castle ship leading the fleet appeared at the fork in the river, the water guides went up one by one to lead each ship to different gangways. Admirals, generals, military strategists, and accompanying civilian officials disembarked from the castle ship and were led to the largest arched pavilion on the shore, where they were seated. Inside the pavilion, palace guards brought handwashing basins, towels, milk tea, pastries, and hot food. They would wait here for the army to line up and depart.
Following them were the personal guard units. They washed their hands and faces at the public water basin by the landing site. The Dongbin Mansion guards, who had been waiting on the side, handed out cotton towels embroidered with the insignia of the King MO's army. This allowed the soldiers, who had been marching by land and sea for nearly a month and were exhausted, to wash away their fatigue as soon as they set foot on the ground.
Some soldiers who urgently needed to relieve themselves rushed into the nearby public toilets, but for a moment, they were at a loss. Under the bright lights, on the water basin stood five bent iron pipes with knives attached, and in the corner of the wall, a multi-layered bamboo rack emitted fragrant incense, with green porcelain open-mouthed bottles filled with aromatic emulsions. Passing by the bamboo screen, they saw a row of ceramic urinals connected to the ground by straight pipes, and on the other side, a tall bamboo door partitioned off several compartments, from which the sound of water pouring out could be heard intermittently. The newcomers were confused about where the restroom was located.