Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

The farmland in Wuzhou was destroyed and killed by the scattered soldiers of the Rong people. The garrison at the Great Wall Pass was already running out of food. Running out of food meant that there would be deserters. The governor of Hebei acted decisively and turned Wuzhou into a huge military town, stationing 100,000 troops. The original garrison was incorporated into the Great Wall Pass, which stabilized the morale of the troops at the border.

The commander of the Great Wall Pass had not eaten for five days. He had become accustomed to hunger. He was waiting at the door of a chicken coop for the hens to lay eggs, his eyes fixed on the hens' butts. He was originally distracted, but he immediately perked up when he heard the "clucking" of the hens.

A soldier ran up to the general at the border with excitement and shouted, "General Li, the food is here!"

General Li looked at the soldier suspiciously, frowned and said, "Why don't you go and take a rest? You are hallucinating from hunger." He knew very well that the people of Wuzhou were fleeing one after another, and there were as many as 100,000 soldiers stationed in the city. Even the food problem of these soldiers had not been properly solved. How could anyone send them food?

However, the soldier shook his head firmly and explained anxiously, "General, this is real! It's definitely not my hallucination!"

General Li was still skeptical and asked, "Oh? Then where did this batch of food come from?"

The soldier took a deep breath and quickly replied, "It was shipped from Yunzhou. They say it's food for the Huangfu Army. They said it's free. There's over a hundred dan of food, enough to keep us fed for a while!"

Hearing the name "Huangfu Junxing," General Li was slightly startled, then muttered to himself, "Huangfu Junxing... could it be Changshui? I didn't expect this 'wild dog' to actually have a conscience."

General Li thought for a moment and then decisively ordered, "In that case, quickly withdraw some silver and send it over. They've given us so much food for free, we can't let them make this trip in vain."

Unexpectedly, the soldier scratched his head helplessly and replied, "General, they've already left. The leader of their grain transport team refused to take any money and left in a hurry after leaving the grain."

General Li stood up straight and said with emotion: "After the Rong bandits in the pass are cleared, I will definitely go to Yunzhou to express my gratitude."

……

For the past month, Gao Jiong has been in charge of all matters, big and small, at the military base. He not only implemented the initial hierarchical management system but also established strict rules and regulations, defining the rights and obligations of each department. He established a project department and found a reliable person to manage it. First, he renovated the houses in the north city, making them habitable. He also brought in several major shareholders, and the military base's construction was also underway.

A month later, the autumn harvest was over. Grain prices in Yunzhou had risen instead of falling, and even buckwheat was now priced at two dan per guan (a coin or two shi). The grain merchants, temporarily suffering losses, demanded to withdraw their shares. Gao Jiong produced the contract and informed them that it stipulated that withdrawals could not be made within a year, and that withdrawing now would inevitably result in losses. Under his deception, the merchants gave up.

By the end of October, the construction of a military base had reached a habitable stage, and Gao Jiong hurried to tell Zhang Jingwei the good news.

The weather is fine today. Some women living outside the city are drying their quilts. They seem to be accustomed to this kind of life. During this month, their men either joined the Yunzhou garrison or went to the construction site to earn some wages.

Zhang Jingwei lived in the big tent for the whole month, eating and drinking with the common people. Huangfu Ling came to visit him every day. She wanted to stay with him, but Zhang Jingwei said some unpleasant words to her and drove her back several times.

Gao Jiong hurried to the front of Zhang Jingwei's tent, only to see Mu Tou and Qian Ming waiting there with serious faces.

Seeing Gao Jiong coming, Qian Ming hurried forward and said respectfully, "Boss, you are here."

Gao Ying nodded slightly and asked, "Is your young master in there?"

Qian Ming quickly replied, "Yes, the young master had a big temper today and hasn't eaten anything yet."

Gao Ying frowned slightly and asked, "Why are you angry?"

At this time, Mu Tou, standing nearby, took over the conversation, sighing, "Young Madam specially bought a brand new bed today, with good intentions. Who would have thought that not only would the young master not appreciate it, but he even said something like, 'How can the people enjoy peace and comfort when they have nowhere to live these days?' In the end, the young master actually gave the bed to an elderly man over 80 years old."

Qian Ming echoed, "Boss, you have to persuade our young master! What can we do if he degrades himself like this?"

Mu Tou immediately added: "That's right... What's more worrying is that the young master has been ill not long ago, and although he has taken medicine, he has not gotten better. I even thought about forcibly carrying him back home, but with the young master's stubborn temper, even if I carry him back, he will definitely find a way to escape again. Alas, shopkeeper..." At this point, Mu Tou couldn't help but redden his eyes, and his voice was slightly choked.

Seeing this, Gao Jiong quickly comforted her, "Okay, don't be too sad. Let me go in and take a look!"

Zhang Jingwei's tent was a double tent, divided into an inner and an outer tent. As soon as he entered the outer tent, Zhang Jingwei angrily shouted in a hoarse voice, "I said I'm not going back. Are you annoying me?"

Gao Jiong quickened his pace and walked into the inner tent, saying softly, "Boss, it's me!"

Zhang Jingwei looked up and saw Gao Jiong's face brimming with excitement. However, his own expression was somewhat gloomy. He frowned and asked, "Brother Zhaoxuan! I haven't seen you in a few days. You've come here in such a hurry. Is there something wrong with the military camp?"

Gao Jiong quickly waved his hand and explained, "The army is doing well. Don't worry, sir! We've been experiencing a lot of good news lately. Not only have grain prices increased significantly, but we've also completed construction on a new military station. Everything is moving in the right direction."

Hearing the news, Zhang Jingwei's originally tense face finally showed a smile and he laughed out loud: "Great, that's great! Ahem... However, those grain merchants may not be able to sit still. They will definitely come to ask for withdrawal of shares. Ahem!" As he said, he couldn't help coughing a few times.

Gao Jiong's lips curled up slightly, a sly look flashed in his eyes, and he said confidently, "Don't worry, Boss. We have clear rules in our industry. You can't withdraw your shares until one year has passed. After a year, I'll introduce some new regulations and squeeze these grain merchants!"

After hearing this, Zhang Jingwei nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "I feel much more at ease with Brother Zhaoxuan here! Ahem... By the way, I have recently drawn up two plans, and I would like to ask Brother Zhaoxuan to help me with some advice and see if they are feasible." After that, he picked up two thick stacks of papers from the table and handed them to Gao Jiong.

Gao Jiong hurriedly reached out to take two dozen thick documents. He first praised Zhang Jingwei's beautiful calligraphy before opening the page to read the contents.