The grass in the factory should be plucked

On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, the morning sun shone in front of the ancient city gate of the Nanzhao Kingdom. The Southern Expedition Army was arrayed in a strict formation, with swords and spears like a forest, and the flags of the Great Chu Army fluttered in the wind.

Xie Changan was riding on a tall horse, with an upright posture, a handsome face and a stern expression, which made people feel awe.

Beside him are Cui Jue and Feng Wuhu, who will represent the Great Chu to accept the surrender of the King of Nanzhao.

It was the first time for the two of them to face such an occasion, and they couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and filled with heroic spirit.

Soon, the King of Nanzhao came slowly forward, leading all members of the Nanzhao royal family, surrounded by his ministers.

Their steps were heavy, their morale was low, and their weapons were laid down.

The leading Nanzhao King had a pale face, his eyes were full of fatigue and helplessness, but also revealed a hint of relief.

When they arrived in front of the Southern Expedition Army, the King of Nanzhao led his people to kneel down, raised the letter of surrender above their heads with both hands, and said in a hoarse voice: "Nanzhao is willing to surrender to the Great Chu, become the people of the Great Chu, and be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Chu for generations to come."

Cui Jue and Feng Wuhu jumped off their horses.

Cui Jue solemnly took the letter of surrender and read out the imperial edict of the Emperor of Great Chu, conferring the title of Prince of Nanyue on the King of Nanzhao, a hereditary title.

The newly-appointed Prince of Nanyue respectfully took the golden book and seal. From then on, the Kingdom of Nanzhao was officially incorporated into the territory of Da Chu.

Then, Cui Jue and Feng Wuhu, under the escort of the Southern Expedition Army, went to the State of Shilang, accepted the letter of surrender from King Shilang, and read out the imperial edict, conferring him the title of Prince of Nanlang.

The Southern Expedition Army immediately moved in and took over the military defense of the two countries, while government affairs were handed over to Feng Wuhu, the Dali prefect.

Fortunately, Feng Wuhu brought a group of students from Longmen Academy, and Cui Jue was there to give guidance. Otherwise, if he suddenly took over the government affairs of three countries, he would have been in a state of chaos and overwhelmed.

When the news reached the capital, the candidates taking the imperial examinations this year were both happy and worried.

The good news is that the Great Chu is about to unify the southern border, and there is a lot of work to be done, so a large number of officials are needed. The number of vacancies for the spring examination this year will increase significantly.

What is worrying is that this year's new Jinshi will most likely be sent to southern Xinjiang. Some are willing to go and some are unwilling to go, which makes some people happy while others are sad.

At the beginning of the new year, although court officials were still on annual leave, they did not stop doing the things they had to do.

Longmen Trading Company was officially renamed "Longmen Trading Bureau", and changed from a private trading company to a government-run trading bureau.

The General Administration of Commerce was also officially established.

Although Director Jiang Li is temporarily absent, it does not affect the progress of daily affairs.

Although Yinjiu and Yuanbao were not very good at household affairs, they had the help of their father-in-law. Yinjiu also invited Deputy Director Liu of the Longmen Commercial Bureau to help, and finally all the affairs were arranged one by one.

The heads of Longmen Commercial Bureaus in various places were also being selected. It is worth mentioning that Jiang Li’s half-brothers, Jiang Feng and Jiang Song, both passed the exam.

Jiang Feng was appointed as the director of Shanxi Longmen Commercial Bureau, and Jiang Song became the deputy director of Henan Longmen Commercial Bureau. Old Madam Jiang was very happy that her two grandsons also became officials!

Even though he was only a minor official of the seventh or eighth rank, he was still an official of high standing after all. He really held his granddaughter's thigh well and beautifully!

Jiang Huai, who failed the exam, was not discouraged. He decided to keep trying and try again in three years.

While on a business trip, the Peregrine Falcon Gale brought back another female bird.

Jiang Li was overjoyed and praised it highly. He then signed a contract with the female bird and named it Zhufeng.

Zhufeng will be responsible for her daily liaison with the Department of Commerce.

With Zhufeng, Yinjiu and Yuanbao can quickly contact her whenever they encounter any problems that cannot be solved.

The Ministry of Industry quickly organized a team to be responsible for iron ore mining in southern Xinjiang. Without waiting for the New Year to be over, on the tenth day of the first lunar month, the team set out lightly and headed straight for southern Xinjiang.

The Ministry of Personnel also began to count how many officials were needed in southern Xinjiang, and would first transfer them from the existing officials. The remaining vacancies would have to wait until after the spring examination, when they would be assigned from the new scholars.

The Imperial College and various major academies have all provided their students with a cram session of knowledge about Southern Xinjiang. This year’s exam questions will most likely be related to Southern Xinjiang!

This year's spring examination will be the easiest year, so you must seize this opportunity!

Merchants who are well-informed have also begun to prepare for the expansion of the vast market in southern Xinjiang.

In the past, because of the natural barrier of Mihun Pond, almost no merchants from the Great Chu had ever set foot in this virgin land. Now, we heard that General Zhengnan had cut a passage with a sword, and Longmen Commercial Bureau has moved in. Why not hurry and seize the opportunity!

From top to bottom, the Great Chu Dynasty was busy with the newly established Dali Prefecture.

On the Grand Canal, the Yangtze River, the Han River and other rivers, thousands of ships set out and hundreds of boats competed to flow, all rushing towards Shu.

On the battlefield in southern Xinjiang, the invincible Southern Expedition Army suffered its first defeat.

The kings of Mengmao and Dianyue tore up the letters sent by Da Chu, and the two countries joined forces to launch a brazen attack.

When the two armies faced each other, there was a sudden earth-shaking sound, followed by a deafening roar of "Awooo!", and a group of war elephants suddenly rushed out from behind the Dianyue army!

"War elephants!"

Yin Er was shocked. The vanguard army was composed entirely of cavalry. How could horses be a match for war elephants?

Even the wolf pack led by Wolf King Xiaotian is no match for the elephant!

"Retreat, retreat immediately!"

But it was too late.

The elephants ran at a very fast speed. The war elephant in the lead stood tall and majestic like a mountain. Every step it took caused dust to fly and the ground beneath its feet to tremble slightly.

The deafening roars of elephants rose and fell, like a raging tsunami, sweeping towards the Southern Expedition Army.

The horses were frightened and ran away, and the formation of the Southern Expedition Army was immediately thrown into chaos.

The vanguard army suffered heavy casualties from the attack of the war elephants, and even Yin Er was seriously injured.

The allied forces of Mengmao and Yunnan-Vietnam laughed wildly.

"Come on -"

"Kill all these Da Chu people——"

The two allied forces rushed out like a tide, ready to pursue the victory.

At the critical moment, a clear shout was heard, and the leading war elephant stopped and braked suddenly, and the herd of elephants also stopped.

The allied forces were shocked. What happened to the war elephant?

When the flying dust settled, a tall figure riding a horse appeared before the battle of the Southern Expedition Army.

He was seen wearing black armor, with an extremely handsome face, holding a sword in front of his horse. His pair of bright and shining peach blossom eyes were staring at the elephant, as if he was communicating something with it.

The Yunnan-Vietnam Army generals were shocked: "Who is this?"

He was able to stop a herd of elephants single-handedly!

The generals of the Mengmao Army showed a look of horror on their faces: "Maybe, it's the general who conquered the south and cut through the natural barrier with one sword?"

It turned out that today Xie Changan was supervising the battle on the battlefield, and suddenly saw chaos ahead, so he immediately rode forward.

The messenger came in panic and reported: "General, the enemy has war elephants! The vanguard suffered heavy casualties!"

Xie Changan's eyes flashed, he kicked his horse's belly, and rushed towards the front of the formation.

"General!"

The bodyguards also became anxious and quickly spurred their horses to catch up.

Xie Changan rushed forward in one breath, but saw the horses running wildly in panic, the vanguard soldiers fell to the ground, and the elephants were about to trample them...

He was so angry that his Qi penetrated his Dantian, and he exerted the power of his consciousness to the limit, and shouted: "Stop!"

This sound carried with it a powerful spiritual pressure that immediately shocked the elephant.

Its legs went limp from the pressure and it braked suddenly to a stop.

The herd of elephants also stopped and were frightened by the pressure, and they crawled down involuntarily.

The armies of both sides were shocked by this astonishing scene and dared not move for a moment.

While Xie Changan used his spiritual consciousness to convey his goodwill to the elephant, he also asked Jiang Li through the Heart Contract how to communicate with the elephant.

Jiang Li was playing with the little hats and shoes that Aunt Lian had made for the twins, especially the tiny tiger-head shoes, which were so delicate that she simply couldn't let them go.

She was surprised to hear what Xie Changan said through the Heart Contract: "Brother Changan, you must stay calm and don't anger the elephant!"

An enraged elephant is dangerous enough, let alone a group of war elephants specially trained for warfare!

Although Xie Changan has learned the Beast Taming Sect's mental skills, his talent in taming beasts is far inferior to Jiang Li's, and he cannot use the "Divine Listening" technique to communicate with animals.

Jiang Li continued: "Elephants are very smart. As long as you try your best to convey your kindness to them, they will definitely receive it."

"Hurry up and ask Brother Eagle and his wife to pick me up, so we can negotiate with the elephant together."

Xie Changan frowned, "No! How can you, a pregnant woman, go to the front line?"

Jiang Li said: "Don't worry, Sister Eagle is flying very steadily. I'm just going to talk to the elephant, not to charge into battle."

Xie Changan was helpless. Given the current situation, he could only ask Jiang Li to take action.

He had no choice but to use the contract to notify the eagle couple to pick Jiang Li up, while at the same time repeatedly reminding Jiang Li to be careful.