~~~~~~

"Yuan Qing, are you worried about Liaonan? Now Shen Shikui has gone to Lushun to take up his post, and Liaonan is almost no man's land. Are you worried about your eggs?"

Chen Zhong was a little anxious.

Li Yuanqing laughed and shook his head, "Brother, let's talk about this on the boat. The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop."

Chen Zhong was stunned for a moment.

But after a moment, he realized that his brother would never target him without aim, and would never harm him. Since he said so, there must be a reason for him.

Chen Zhong could only hold back his temper for the time being.

Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong's fleet has been staying at Dagukou Pier since entering Beijing and has not left. The group of people headed all the way under the strong afternoon sun. In the evening, they successfully arrived at Dagukou Pier.

Start boarding the ship.

The setting sun in the west dyed the horizon red, and the vast sea seemed to be covered with a layer of golden dress.

The fleet soon set sail, and the female relatives all went to the cabin to rest. Li Yuanqing stood on the bow of the ship, letting the wet and salty sea breeze blow across his face.

At this time, although he got the result he wanted, Li Yuanqing also understood clearly that there was no turning back when he opened the bow.

After making this decision, his break with Mao Wenlong was inevitable.

But as the saying goes, 'People go to higher places, and water flows to lower places.'

Whether it is Li Yuanqing or Chen Zhong, if they want to achieve better development, they must take this step.

Although the Dongjiang River was at its peak at this time, its blind expansion exposed more and more hidden dangers.

Mao Wenlong himself has high prestige and influence, and can firmly control this big ship.

However, the internal interest disputes and unfair distribution in Dongjiang have made many time-honored generals feel dissatisfied. And the new generation of generals are unable to get ahead for a while...

Neither Li Yuanqing nor Chen Jisheng can resolve this contradiction at all. The best way is to recruit and fight a group of people.

And history has proven that Chen Jisheng failed, and failed miserably. He was backlashed by his subordinates, and Dongjiang was wiped out.

In such a state at this time, being able to jump out of the circle of the Dongjiang River on top of the strong torrent would allow Li Yuanqing to better avoid the whirlpool under the torrent, avoid these interest entanglements, earn good favors, and gain more and more.

However, even if they are separated from Dongjiang, Liaonan and Dongjiang are still closely interdependent.

As for Pidao, Li Yuanqing was not too worried. With Mao Wenlong's shrewdness, it would be almost difficult for Hou Jin to take advantage of him.

But in southern Liaoning...

To be honest, Li Yuanqing doesn't have much confidence in Shen Shikui.

Especially after the Battle of Fuzhou, Hou Jin had realized that Liaonan was getting bigger, and would definitely find ways to remove the nail in the road of Lushun.

As for Fuzhou and Jinzhou, they are already pure military cities, no-man's land, and have been abandoned. Li Yuanqing will not feel any pressure to abandon these two places.

But as for Lushun, how could Shen Shikui give up?

How could Mao Wenlong give up?

As a result, if there is another war in southern Liaoning, Lushun will bear the brunt.

To a certain extent, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong have left Dongjiang and are going to help defend Lushun. Obviously, they are not as close as they were with Zhang Pan...

Damn it, it’s really messy and it’s constantly being cut.

Especially for this battle in Mongolia, Li Yuanqing actually didn't have much confidence, so he could only adapt to circumstances and depend on luck.

How can we let Chen Zhong go on an adventure together?

In the evening, Chen Zhong asked Huobing to set up the oven and move it to the bow of the ship, where he and Li Yuanqing roasted horse meat while drinking and chatting.

Li Yuanqing did not hide much from Chen Zhong and directly expressed his concerns.

Chen Zhong took a hard sip of wine and said, "Yuan Qing, what do you mean? You want me to stay and help defend Lushun and stabilize Liaonan's defense line?"

Li Yuanqing nodded and took a sip of the wine in his glass. "Brother, this matter is just one aspect. The other is the salt field..."

The salt farm on Changsheng Island began operation years ago, and has already gained some experience in its development.

At this time, the two ministries seemed to have won the battle, but the reward from the imperial court had not yet been allocated. Even if it were allocated, except for the food money to return to his family, there would probably be very little left after all the military merits were distributed among the subordinates.

As a result, developing financial resources has become the most important issue for both departments.

However, Yang Xiaochuan, who had gone to Nanyang at this time, had not returned yet, and trade with Japan was difficult to carry out. Li Yuanqing could only rely on the sea, and first used salt fields to make up for it.

Listening to Li Yuanqing's explanation, Chen Zhong couldn't help but his eyes lit up, "Yuan Qing, according to you, if the salt farm is put into operation, it can have a net income of more than 5,000 taels a month?"

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "Absolutely. Brother, you and I have quite a lot of labor now. In addition to farming, these manpower must be put to good use. If we can go to Mongolia, we will have more war horses. Even if we can't, we will have more war horses."

With you in charge of Liaonan, I will not damage my foundation."

Chen Zhong also understood what Li Yuanqing meant, "Yuanqing, don't worry. With me here, Liaonan will be secure."

Seeing that Chen Zhong was finally moved, Li Yuanqing couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. As long as Chen Zhong could stabilize Liaonan, he would have no worries at the front.

…………

Three days later, Li Yuanqing and his party successfully arrived at Changsheng Island, while Chen Zhong continued to return to Guanglu Island.

The news that Li Yuanqing was promoted to Commander-in-Chief had already been sent back to Changsheng Island by the Clippers. At this time, Li Yuanqing returned, and the island instantly turned into a sea of ​​joy. There were tens of thousands of people waiting at the dock to welcome Li Yuanqing smoothly.

return.

Wan'er, who had been veiled all the time, was also shocked by this scene. She did not expect that Li Yuanqing was so loved by the people on Changsheng Island.

Then she saw Zhang Yunniang and Qu Minqiu who were surrounded by crowds. How dare Wan'er neglect them? She quickly supported them by the maid and came to bow and kowtow in front of them.

"My servant Wan'er, I have met the first lady, the second lady, and the third lady."

Wan'er's posture was very low, and although Cai Zi was not too conspicuous, she still bowed respectfully.

Zhang Yunniang was about to reach full term and her belly was already very big. She smiled and nodded to Wan'er, but did not express her opinion immediately.

On the side, Qu Minqiu smiled hurriedly, "Is this sister Wan'er? She is really beautiful and fragrant. Come on, get up quickly. It's windy at the pier. Let's go to the inner house to talk."

Qu Minqiu quickly helped Wan'er up and pulled her to talk with a smile.

She and Zhang Yuniang had already reached a tacit understanding before. Let's first see what the nature of Wan'er, who was born in the top brothel, was.

If you have a good nature, just follow the process.

If she has a bad temperament, they won't let Wan'er in, no matter what.

But at this time, Wan'er was reasonable and reasonable, without the frivolity of a prostitute. Instead, she was well-behaved and endearing. Qu Minqiu had already fallen in love with her.

Although Zhang Yuniang was a little helpless, she also understood that as an elder brother, there would be no one knows how many women would come into the family in the future, so she had to learn to accept it.

Fortunately, Wan'er was pretty good, which made her feel a little better.

Several carriages had been prepared nearby. Zhang Yunniang took the lead in getting on the first carriage. Qu Minqiu, Wan'er and Caizi were in one, followed by a large group of maids and women. They led the group of little girls back towards the palace.

go.

At this time, Li Yuanqing did not have much thought about the affairs of the back house. He stood on the temporary high platform on the pier and waved enthusiastically to his people.

"Generals and princes will live forever!"

"The general will live a long life!"

"General..."

Looking at the dense crowd of figures and happy and encouraging faces below him, the smile on Li Yuanqing's face became more and more real.

Just like Pidao, which was founded by Mao Wenlong himself, Changsheng Island was built bit by bit by his own hands, from scratch, step by step.

Everyone on the island is his private property, Li Yuanqing, and is closely related to his interests.

At this time, he has become the legitimate commander-in-chief of Changsheng Island. Is the future still far away?

…………

The welcoming ceremony lasted for more than an hour, and he and the supervisor Wei Liang were polite for a while. In the evening, Li Yuanqing was able to escape and return to the official hall.

Shang Laoliu and Housekeeper Ma followed closely and began to report to Li Yuanqing on the work on the island during this period and the preparations for Li Yuanqing's wedding.

Li Yuanqing's trip to the capital lasted less than half a month, and there were no other affairs on the island for the time being. However, Zhang Yunniang was almost full term, and Li Yuanqing's wedding could no longer be postponed.

"Yuanqing, it's almost the end of June now. Yun Niang will give birth in early August. We must advance the wedding date. Otherwise, Yun Niang will be in confinement and will have to be postponed. Furthermore, this will not be good for Yun Niang.

His reputation is not good either.”

Shang Laoliu said hurriedly.

Li Yuanqing was already the chief military officer at this time, a dignified first-class officer. Although he was only a military attache, his inheritance was the most concerned issue for everyone on Changsheng Island.

At the moment, Li Yuanqing's marriage and Zhang Yunniang's birth are the top priority on Changsheng Island, even ranking before all military affairs.

Li Yuanqing nodded slowly.

Li Yuanqing also thought carefully about the reason why the wedding was a grand affair.

The main reason is that he is too poor now, and he will not miss any opportunity to make money.

And getting married is an excellent reason.

"What's a good day in July?" Li Yuanqing looked at Shang Laoliu.
To be continued...