Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 495 Relying on Favor (40)

At the same time, Zhao Yuan began to arrange for the mining of iron ore on Xilan Mountain to forge weapons.

Spring came and autumn went, and Yunzhou City was busy planting potatoes and cotton, mining iron ore, and continuously opening the gates of cities large and small to receive refugees from various prefectures.

In stark contrast is Jingzhou, which is separated by a mountain.

After Yang Jun occupied the area east of Yunzhou, the Jingzhou army burned, killed, looted, and plundered wherever they went, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation, like a living hell.

This short-sighted approach to warfare did not alleviate the dire shortage of money and food in Jingzhou. On the contrary, due to the massacre of civilians, the morale of the Jingzhou army and people was completely lost, and the occupied eastern part of Yunzhou became increasingly impoverished.

People from villages and towns outside the city fled to western Yunzhou with their families. In just six months, nine out of ten houses in eastern Yunzhou were deserted.

In order to obtain more money and food to support his army, Yang Jun had no choice but to fight to sustain his war effort and continue to expand his territory.

After fighting for more than half a year, he successively captured several cities.

When winter came, Yang Jun, who had temporarily ceased hostilities, led his men to inspect the territory. On New Year's Eve, he arrived in Yunzhou. Across the Tianyong Mountain, he saw countless fireworks rising from Zhao Yuan's territory on the other side of the mountain.

Yang Jun inquired and learned that Zhao Yuan's peasant wife had come to Yunzhou in April and organized the local people to cultivate the land.

Yunzhou has fertile land, favorable weather this year, and a large influx of people from the east to the west, so there is no shortage of labor in the west of Yunzhou, resulting in a bumper harvest.

On New Year's Eve, soldiers stationed in the western military camp are slaughtering pigs and sheep, eating meat and drinking wine to celebrate the New Year.

Upon hearing this, Yang Jun had a wicked idea and had someone draft a visiting card overnight, which was then sent to the Prince of Zhao's residence.

Zhao Yuan received Yang Jun's visiting card on the first day of the Lunar New Year, while he was assisting Yan Zhen with accounting.

This year, there were far more foreign merchants coming to buy cotton than last year. Tingzhou and Yunzhou together received more than a hundred caravans from various countries, exchanging countless fine goods from beyond the Great Wall.

Yan Zhen made a fortune from this wave, and it took him two days just to calculate the accounts.

The steward presented the visiting card, which Zhao Yuan glanced at briefly before tossing aside.

Yan Zhen casually asked, "Who sent the visiting card?"

“Yang Jun is probably jealous of how much money we’re making,” Zhao Yuan said. “He’s either here to borrow money or grain, or he wants to ask for other benefits. He doesn’t come here unless he has a reason.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen paused, his hand holding the pen pausing, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Zhao Yuan was used to reading her expression to guess her thoughts, and seeing her like this, he knew that she had another little scheme in mind.

He waited patiently for Yan Zhen to give his instructions.

Yan Zhen pondered for a while before saying, "I've heard that the water quality in Jingzhou is the best among all the prefectures, and the fish raised there have delicious flesh, and the crab roe is as smooth as solidified fat?"

Zhao Yuan understood her unspoken meaning, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.

Zhao Yuan stood up: "I'll go reply to Yang Jun's post right now."

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Jun led his men to the Prince of Zhao's residence.

He rode his horse all the way into western Yunzhou, and what he saw was completely different from the east.

Several cities in the east were so empty they were practically ghost towns, with few shops open even during the day.

Whenever the Jingzhou army appeared, the people would flee and hide as quickly as mice seeing a cat.

The west, however, presented a completely different scene—the city was bustling and lively, with people setting up stalls and doing small business everywhere, and soldiers patrolling the city, almost blending in with the people.

Yang Jun was extremely envious.

Upon arriving at the Prince Zhao's residence, one finds it brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, exuding a joyful atmosphere for the New Year.

The steward of the Prince's mansion who came out to greet them was all smiles, and the fabric of his clothes was even better than that of Yang Jun, the commander of a prefecture.

Upon meeting Zhao Yuan in the reception room, Yang Jun was still radiant and had prepared a banquet to invite him to take a seat.

The dishes at the banquet were increasingly rare, including fresh seafood and foreign wines served in expensive luminous glasses.

Throughout the banquet, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, and beautiful foreign dancers performed to the beat of the drums. Their supple waists and enchanting dance moves almost dazzled Yang Jun.

Yang Jun felt a mixture of envy and jealousy.

This is the life a feudal lord should live!

After a few drinks, Yang Jun asked Zhao Yuan, "Where is your princess whom you always talk about?"

Zhao Yuan smiled and filled his glass with wine: "She doesn't like socializing, so I didn't ask her to come out."

Yang Jun thought to himself that this "peasant princess" was probably not presentable at all, and Zhao Yuan didn't want her to embarrass herself in public.

He said, "We fought side by side, so we have a bond that transcends life and death. We're like brothers. Let your sister-in-law come out and get acquainted with you, so we won't be strangers when we meet again."

Zhao Yuan hesitated.

Yang Jun immediately said, "What, are you perhaps a henpecked husband who can't command your younger brother and sister-in-law?"

Zhao Yuan frowned: "Of course not."

"Then let your sister-in-law come out quickly. I've heard that Tingzhou and Yunzhou owe half their success to her. I'm very curious and want to see what kind of extraordinary person she is that she has such great abilities."

Zhao Yuan pretended he couldn't refuse and called the steward: "Go and invite the princess here."

"Yes."

Before long, Yan Zhen arrived at the reception room accompanied by a maid.

When the maid lifted the beaded curtain and Yan Zhen's face was revealed, Yang Jun stared wide-eyed.

The woman before him was no more than twenty years old, with a graceful figure and stunning beauty.

She was far from the clumsy, burly, and ugly country woman he had imagined.

Yang Jun could never associate such a delicate-looking woman, who couldn't bear even the slightest hardship, with "farming."

"General Yang? General Yang?"

Zhao Yuan called out several times, and Yang Jun suddenly came to his senses.

Realizing he had lost his composure, Yang Jun quickly raised his wine glass to cover his embarrassment: "Sister-in-law, I've heard so much about you!"

Yan Zhen greeted Yang Jun and then sat down next to Zhao Yuan.

After exchanging a few drinks, Yang Jun put aside his wandering thoughts and revealed the purpose of his trip—to borrow grain.

“Brother Zhao, I am not as fortunate as you. You have such a beautiful and talented wife who takes care of everything for you, from farming to business. The few small cities I conquered in the past six months have almost drained me dry.”

"Could you lend me some grain to get through this winter? I'd like to learn from your Tingzhou and organize the people to farm. I'll definitely repay you when we have enough grain."

“If you don’t lend it, and Daliang attacks, I will be powerless to resist. The Jingzhou army will be incorporated into Daliang’s territory. Without your brother to protect us, Daliang will be the next to deal with you.”

Unable to resist Yang Jun's persistent pleading, Zhao Yuan agreed to lend him one million catties of potatoes and promised to send agricultural officials to Jingzhou the following spring to teach them how to grow potatoes.

Although Yang Jun thought one million catties of potatoes was too little, he couldn't resist Zhao Yuan's refusal to budge, and the princess pretended to be deaf and dumb and refused to express her opinion, so he had no choice but to give up.

After the banquet, Yang Jun drank too much, and Zhao Yuan invited him to stay at his residence for the night before leaving the next day.

Yang Jun readily agreed.