svetikya Chapter 234 Border Situation
Chapter 234 Border Situation
Although Wen Zongji's final destination was Tongzhou Prefecture, since he left the city under the name of inspecting the branch of the Capital Reporting Office, he naturally could not go directly to Tongzhou Prefecture.
Therefore, Wen Zongji chose Guangyang Prefecture as his first destination.
It wasn't too far from the capital; the convoy was proceeding normally and would arrive in three days.
Wen Zongji set off early in the morning, traveled all night, and stayed overnight at a post station in a county town.
After dismissing the officials who came to curry favor with him at the post station, Wen Zongji returned to his room and began writing a letter to Pei Rujing.
Now that we're closer, if I write a letter tonight, Pei Rujing will see it tomorrow.
After finishing writing the letter, Wen Zongji got up and left the room, with Chang Dong and An Feng following him.
Yu Yu stood guard outside the door with great discretion.
The inn's kitchen is preparing their dinner.
Yu said, "Third Young Master, I took it upon myself to send someone to keep an eye on things in the kitchen."
This is because they are worried that someone might put drugs in their food. Although the possibility is unlikely, it is always good to be cautious.
Wen Zongji sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, feeling the evening breeze: "Since Father sent Captain Yu to protect me, everything during my time away from the capital was arranged by Captain Yu... I don't seem to have seen Captain Yu much?"
The Marquis's mansion was large and powerful, with hundreds of guards. The original owner didn't care about this and didn't even remember many of the guards in his household.
After Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing got married, they developed the habit of traveling with guards, but usually only a few guards accompanied them, and it was not necessary for someone of the captain's status to appear.
To be honest, this was the first time Wen Zongji had ever met the captain of the Marquis's guards.
Generally speaking, only Wen Chuanhong and Wen Zongren are qualified to have the captain of the guard escort them.
From this perspective, Wen Chuanhong certainly valued Wen Zongji highly.
Yu said, "I was discharged from the army in Datong Town two years ago. I was appreciated by the Marquis and entered the Marquis's mansion as a guard."
Upon hearing this, Wen Zongji immediately became respectful: "So you are from the border army. The fact that the Great Chu territory is so peaceful is all thanks to the border soldiers who keep the foreign enemies at bay."
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Yu Yu's dark face: "Third Young Master, you flatter me. I am but a lowly soldier and do not deserve such praise."
"Captain Yu, you are mistaken. Every soldier on the border is a meritorious official of the Great Chu, regardless of his rank."
Yu Yu didn't know much about Wen Zongji at first, and she was only escorting him on Wen Chuanhong's orders. But after just a few words, Yu Yu's goodwill towards Wen Zongji skyrocketed.
As a former border soldier, Yu Yu is most proud of his former border soldier identity.
Wen Zongji's respect for the border troops resonated deeply with Yu Dao.
Wen Zongji asked, "The Great Chu has been established for decades, and since Your Majesty ascended the throne, there have been no major wars. I wonder if the border is equally peaceful?"
Yu said, "Complete stability is definitely impossible. The environment outside the pass is harsh and the area is not wealthy. If those barbarian enemies want to survive, they can only try to break into the pass to kill, burn, and plunder."
"However, there have indeed been no major battles. Our Great Chu has a strong army and well-defended passes, so the barbarian enemies know they can't conquer us and won't commit too many troops. But there have been quite a few minor skirmishes."
"Our enemies are more resilient than we imagined. They have many desires to destroy us, and the small skirmishes every year are nothing short of tests."
Wen Zongji nodded and praised, "Captain Yu can see so much, which is not something an ordinary soldier can see. He was too modest just now."
Yu Yu quickly waved his hand: "These are the words I heard from the captain of the military camp at the time. The generals in the camp have always been on guard against the barbarian enemy and have never relaxed their guard because of their show of weakness."
"I see."
Wen Zongji suddenly realized. He then asked Yu some more questions.
Only at the very end did Wen Zongji casually remark, "Everyone says the scenery south of the Yangtze River is beautiful. Since we're leaving the capital to inspect various regional offices, we'll definitely be visiting south of the Yangtze. Captain Yu, do you think we should take a waterway or a land route?"
Yu said, "It depends on how much of a hurry the Third Young Master is to go to Jiangnan. If he is in a hurry, it is definitely faster to take the waterway. But if he is not in a hurry or has other branches to visit, then he should take the land route."
Wen Zongji pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Crown Prince has asked me to inspect the various prefectures, it is impossible for me to visit each place one by one. Jiangnan is a prosperous place and it is not close to the capital. The situation should be more complicated than that of the prefectures near the capital... How about this, we head towards Jiangnan and travel there by water in half a month."
Yu Yu cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, I will make the arrangements."
Wen Zongji nodded: "I'll leave everything to the captain."
"It is my duty."
……
Wen Zongji took a nap at the post station and continued his journey toward Guangyang Prefecture the next day.
Just as they were on their way, Pei Rujing received a letter from Wen Zongji.
Because she cried so much yesterday, Pei Rujing's eyes were terribly swollen, so she didn't go to the newspaper office today. She will go back to the newspaper office when the swelling goes down.
Rather, she's not in the mood to deal with newspaper matters right now. With Mao Zheng around, the newspaper won't cause any major trouble.
Upon learning that Wen Zongji had sent a letter back, Pei Rujing quickly took the letter. Seeing the words "To My Wife" on the envelope, she smiled and said, "At least he has a conscience; he knows to write to me."
Granny Feng smiled and said, "The letter arrived so early, the young master must have written to the county princess as soon as he found a place to stay last night."
Upon hearing this, Pei Rujing's smile widened.
Pei Rujing opened the letter. Wen Zongji wrote at the beginning about his experiences yesterday. He said that he couldn't find a place to stay at noon and had to have lunch in the wild. Fortunately, the guards were good cooks and the lunch was okay.
Pei Rujing frowned: "I forgot to prepare a cook for my husband."
Granny Feng explained, "This old servant has considered this matter, but the young master refused. He said that bringing too many people would slow down the journey."
"One more cook? How much will that slow down the schedule?"
Granny Feng shook her head: "This old servant doesn't know either."
Pei Rujing continued reading and learned that he had stayed in the county town that night and had not spent the night in the wild, which relieved her.
Later, Wen Zongji wrote in another letter: "The sales of 'Floating Life' are getting better and better, but martial arts novels are not something that all readers are willing to read. My wife can start to publish a separate issue of 'Floating Life', in which other types of novels can be published. The specific types can be decided by my wife herself."
The reason Wen Zongji brought this up only after leaving the capital was to keep Pei Rujing busy and prevent her from overthinking.
After reading this, Pei Rujing pondered and said, "The newspaper has indeed received quite a few other types of storybooks, which are quite well written. If we were to publish them as a separate issue, we could consider it."
Wen Zongji was unfamiliar with the newspaper's operations and did not know what kind of good manuscripts Pei Rujing had, so he left the decision of the type of story to be published in the separate publication to Pei Rujing.