Baoqing Port, Jiang Tao and Ma Xiangnan stood side by side, it turned out that there were material ships arriving in the port, and Ma Xiangnan dealt with them, Jiang Tao didn't pay attention to these things, but today is a little different, the second batch of reinforcements from the Chu State has arrived, as the highest military person in Baoqing, Jiang Tao also arrived at the port. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The current Baoqing Port is very different from two years ago, although it is not yet able to restore the grand occasion of the Tang Dynasty, but it can also see some signs of revival. The port has been largely completed, although it is a cold winter, but the wharf is still in a hurry, and the stones are being hoisted slowly and moved to a new position, falling, inlaying, and reinforced. Turn the original ridge into a stone ridge to make it stronger.

And around the wharf, rows of adobe houses, thatched huts outside the fence of the harbor stretch into the distance. Where there are people, there is naturally business to do, not to mention, in the past two years, Baoqing Port has been under construction, which has also brought new opportunities to Baoqing people.

Slowly, a large number of people gathered here, and houses were built in this way, adobe houses were built by some merchants to do business temporarily, and thatched houses were mostly built by people who came here to find a bite to eat.

From not wanting to be starved to death at the beginning, now there is a few surplus money in his pocket, and Baoqing Port has slowly prospered. Compared with Baoqing County, it is still a little more prosperous.

Whenever a large ship appears on the sea, both the people and the merchants in the port will be excited. As soon as the ship arrives at the port, the supplies have to be unloaded, which requires manpower, the sailors have to relax, and the merchants have business.

When the shadow of the sail appeared at the end of the sea, the dock suddenly became busy, and groups of people with flat shoulders and ropes on their shoulders scrambled to the entrance of the port, and raised the wooden signs in their hands for the soldiers guarding to inspect, and then they could enter the real port area.

Not everyone can enter this military powerhouse, and when they arrive in Baoqing, if they want to eat this mouthful of hard food, they have to go through an investigation.

Compared with these ragged coolie men, the other group of people was more conspicuous: a group of women, dressed in red and green, with cheap rouge on their faces, a little red and a little dazzling, huddled at the fence, staring at the big ships in the distance, only when the new sailors went ashore, they had more business to do, and they could live.

It's also pitiful, most of these people were originally women from good families, but Mo Luo got into trouble, most of the young people followed Mo Luo's expedition to Shayang, but a very small number of them came back, and some women and children who stayed at home had to start this business in order to survive, which made Baoqing's Qinglou industry extraordinarily prosperous.

In troubled times, human life is like a dog, and in order to survive, shame has to be put aside.

Baoqing is in a very bad form now. The civil strife of the Shuntian Army caught Ma Xiangnan and Jiang Tao by surprise, the previous plan went bankrupt in an instant, and everything was overturned, but the question is, will the Taiping Army give them this opportunity? Chen Jialuo and Zhang Xiaozheng two camps sealed the only exit of Baoqing, and now Baoqing, with mountains on both sides, the sea on one side, and the enemy on the other side.

What's more serious is that Baoqing is a typical landform of seven mountains, one water and two fields, and grain is the biggest shortcoming, and when Mo Luo withdrew from Changyang County, the strong men and women of Changyang County were almost empty, and more than 100,000 people were wrapped in Baoqing After entering Baoqing, Baoqing people were there, but there was no food. This put a lot of pressure on Ma Xiangnan.

If there is food, it will be stable, and if there is no food, it will be chaotic, this is a problem that any official has to consider, but Mo Luo did not take it into account. Now Baoqing, except for looking at the sea, has no other hope.

Of course, they can still fight out, but if there is not enough military rations, how can they fight? The internal fire of the Shuntian Army has caused the morale to be extremely low, and how to deal with the Taiping Army like a wolf and a tiger.

That's an army that's in high spirits right now.

Chen Jialuo and Zhang Xiaozheng are not easy to mess with, especially Zhang Xiaozheng, who was born in the regular army of the Chu army, and has a clear understanding of the combat methods and combat habits of the Chu army. Without absolute certainty, Jiang Tao is impossible to use this little army in his hand to fight the other party, and Mo Luo's subordinates, forget it, except for adding more laborers to the Taiping army to build a position to besiege Baoqing, it is really not of much use.

"Moro can't help it at all." Ma Xiangnan looked at Jiang Tao, who was getting thinner and thinner, with some distress, "Yesterday I sent someone to ask for food, and between the words, it was not without threats." ”

Jiang Tao sniffled, his body was thin, and he was a person who rarely went out of the house, but after standing on the dock and blowing the wind for a while today, he felt that his nose was a little blocked, and he spoke with a thick nasal voice.

"Ignore him, he's just a threat. He knew very well that he would not be able to live without us. ”

"This person is a typical gangster, do things regardless of the impulsive, can do anything, you can't use common sense to live it, this person thinks very highly of himself, but he has suffered defeats, and now his temperament is very violent, in case of urgency, really do something, we can't cry, when the time comes to sail out to sea, there is really no way out." Ma Xiangnan reminded.

Jiang Tao snorted coldly: "Ma Gong, do you think I really didn't guard against him?" Don't look at him now, there are a lot of people, but if he wants to take the port, he doesn't want to. This person can't be counted on, when he first arrived in Baoqing, I wanted him to immediately correct Bao Hua's military law, give Ma Zhe a justice, and also give the soldiers a deterrent, he actually ignored me, and now Bao Hua is still like a fish in water in front of him, hey, such a person, rewards and punishments are unknown, nepotism, how can he become a big deal? ”

"But who else can we count on but him?" Ma Xiangnan said with a bitter face.

Jiang Tao showed a smile on his face, "I have already sent someone to find Zhang Xiaozheng, and I have also sent someone to find Gan Wei, they are all officers of Dachu in the past, if they can be said anyway, this game of chess can still be played." ”

"But Qin Feng's business?" Ma Xiangnan said hesitantly: "These two people are Qin Feng's henchmen. ”

"Can a dead man be worthy of the glory and wealth in reality?" Jiang Tao said: "They had to flee at the beginning, but it was only because the imperial court listed them as Qin criminals, and if they didn't escape, they would die, but now it is naturally different, I promised them great wealth." ”

"Of course it's good to be able to agree, I'm afraid they won't pay attention." Ma Xiangnan sighed.

Jiang Tao turned his head to look at Ma Xiangnan, and suddenly said, "Ma Gong, you came to Yue Guo much earlier than me, a year and a half, right?" ”

"Almost."

"Have you ever missed your hometown?"

"Didn't you ask knowingly? Thousands of miles away from home, how not to feel homesick? Ma Xiangnan showed a wry smile on his face, "I originally thought that I would return to my hometown after making a contribution, but now it looks a little like a dream, and I have trapped myself here, and it has become a question whether I can go back alive." ”

Jiang Tao ignored Ma Xiangnan's emotion, and turned his head to look at the vast sea: "They are also Chu people!" Thousands of miles away from home, how not to feel homesick? ”

"I hope so!" Ma Xiangnan nodded and said, "If you can really say that the two of you will descend, this Mo Luo will be dispensable." ”

The conversation between the two was interrupted by the sudden burst of cheers on the dock, and the two turned their heads to look at the sea, their faces also showing joy.

"Looking forward to the stars and the moon, I finally looked forward to them, but they were late for nearly half a month." Ma Xiangnan said happily: "As soon as this batch of reinforcements and supplies arrives, it can alleviate the food crisis in Baoqing, and secondly, it can also deter Mo Luo and make him dare not come randomly." Hey, General Jiang, why do you look unhappy? ”

"The number of ships is wrong!" Jiang Tao's brows furrowed deeply, "At least a third of the ship is missing." ”

Jiang Tao's words woke up Ma Xiangnan, who was in joy, and carefully counted the ships that were getting closer and closer, and the joy on his face suddenly decreased.

"What's going on?"

"Needless to say, you only need to look at the scars of the ship to know, since the Qi people know about the existence of Baoqing, how can they allow us to reinforce so easily, it must be blocked at sea."

"How are their sailors our opponents?"

"If it's not an opponent, you can't do it!" Jiang Tao shook his head: "It seems that we have suffered a lot of losses." ”

"In the end, most of them still came, and we lost a lot, and they must have lost even more." Ma Xiangnan exhaled heavily and said.

As he spoke, the first big ship was slowly approaching the wharf, and the Baoqing wharf had been renovated for almost a year, and it was finally possible to bring this kind of big ship closer.

As Jiang Tao said, there are traces of damage everywhere on the hull, some of which were obviously temporarily repaired during the voyage, just like a few patches on a new piece of clothing, how conspicuous it should be.

A person appeared on the deck and looked at Jiang Tao with a smile.

When he first saw this person, Jiang Tao almost thought that he was dazzled, and when he was stretching out his hand to rub his eyes, Ma Xiangnan was already exclaiming: "Cheng Shuai!" ”

Cheng Wuben swept down from the tall bow of the ship, and stood in front of the two of them in a blink of an eye, he was not a weak scholar like Jiang Tao, but a real ninth-level peak cultivator.

"Cheng Shuai, you, why didn't you talk about it before in this fleet?"

"I caught up with the fleet day and night on a clipper, and they confronted the Qi State Naval Division at sea, delayed their journey, and I only caught up yesterday." Cheng Wuben said with a smile.

"You, why did you get to Baoqing?" Jiang Tao is still difficult to understand.

"Things have changed, I have to come, this matter is a long story, let's talk about it later!" Cheng Wuben patted Jiang Tao on the shoulder, "It's hard for you this time." ”

"The last general is ashamed, he messed up the matter handed over by the imperial court, and he is about to ask Cheng Shuai for his guilt." Jiang Tao blushed and lowered his head.

"The matter of Changyang County is not a crime of war." Cheng Wuben smiled. (To be continued.) )