January 699 was a quiet month. With the edict of His Majesty to invite the princes to come to Beijing to discuss politics, the entire empire became turbulent like boiling water. The empire went inside and outside, the central and localities, and even many countries and forces such as Liberia, Machikhan, Milan, and the Japanese, all turned their attention to their own giant neighbor. The change in the imperial power of the Tanghe Empire directly affected the empire's foreign policy. How to use this sharply changing situation to gain more considerable benefits for one side has become the focus of attention of all forces. For a time, all walks of life gathered in the imperial capital and actively engaged in their activities to achieve their respective intentions and goals.

As Cheng Dayou's confidant assistant, An Long has been following his lord since Cheng Dayou joined the Taiping Army. He has experienced the glory and decline of the Taiping Cult. During the period, Lulong's bloody battle and Heshuo Battle have never been descended. However, after the Jiujiang Battle, An Long began to withdraw from the political circle and become Cheng Dayou's political spokesperson. Cheng Dayou attaches more importance to An Long's ability in government affairs. As a warlord who has already grasped the military and political power in a place, Cheng Dayou knows that the importance of government affairs is no less than that of military affairs, so he entrusted all government affairs of the entire Jiujiang Prefecture to An Long without hesitation. An Long did not bear the heavy responsibility and managed all government affairs of the entire Jiujiang Prefecture in an orderly manner. Cheng Dayou's own political intentions were also implemented through An Long's clever operation and handling, which allowed the gentry of the entire Jiujiang Prefecture to essentially accept Cheng Dayou's rule in a short time.

Especially after obtaining the envoy from the central government of the empire, Cheng Dayou, who had gained a foothold in his status, was further consolidated in Jiujiang Prefecture, and the capture of Huzhou, the important prefecture in Jiangnan, expanded a vast world for Cheng Dayou. An Long participated in the negotiations with Situ Tai's side and finally reached an agreement on the division of the Jiangnan region. Huzhou finally fell into Cheng Dayou's pocket and laid a solid material foundation for Cheng Dayou to form the 13th Legion.

The chaos in the East China Sea and Jiangnan brought huge opportunities for the development of Jiujiang and Huzhou. Although it cannot be compared with the funds and personnel pouring into the Western Xinjiang region, Huzhou and Jiujiang still obtained a lot of help from the nearby areas with their good location advantages. The migration of a group of industrial and commercial owners added icing on the cake to Jiujiang and Huzhou, which were already quite rich. The widening of the river channel between Taihu and Yajiang even connected Huzhou and Jiujiang. The tax reduction and low burden policy that Cheng Dayou persisted in promoting also won him the support of merchants. On this point, Cheng Dayou and Wufeng's methods are exactly the same. Even when he first entered Jiujiang, Cheng Dayou gritted his teeth and did not increase taxes. His measures have laid a good foundation for the prosperity of the industry and commerce of the two prefectures.

Several large ships docked on the shore of the lake were lined up in parallel in oblique shapes. An Long frowned slightly. There was no need to guess that An Long knew that the two smaller warships parked next to the boss's ship were all Taihu water thieves who had been reorganized into Taihu water army. An Long didn't know what method the boss used to convince these water bandits who had been traversing Taihu and Yajiang for decades. Although An Long knew that his boss had never done anything unprepared, he was still single after his boss controlled Huzhou and went to Taihu Water Village to visit the leader of the water bandits - Shuilong Kanda Jinbao, which was so intimidated by his adventures. You must know that this water bandit has also been recruited by the empire countless times.

, but there are countless examples of this. Although the river water army in the empire has the advantage, it has never been able to truly control this water area. This shows the strength and tenacity of these water bandits. However, An Long believed that these water bandits were truly surrendered to the feet of his lord. At least three opportunities were more than three times. The lord could easily catch all the water bandits, including all the water bandit leaders. However, Cheng Dayou refused his subordinates' proposal without hesitation, and warned his subordinates to mention such topics in the future, which would be severely punished. In addition to being absolutely sure to master these water bandits, what other reasons are there to explain?

However, An Long did not have much favoritism for the water army reorganized by these water bandits. It was not that their water bandits were born as the Taiping Cult Rebellion Party, and he was not much noble in the water bandits. The most important thing was that the strong bandit aura on the other side made An Long, who had gradually regarded himself as a regular court official, feel that it was hard tolerate ice and charcoal. But An Long also wanted to admit that the other leader not only had strong water battle command capabilities, but also had a good eye for the current situation, which was incompatible with the other party's rude and unwilling style. Even his superiors were amazed at the other party's keen sense of smell.

However, An Long walked straight to the side of the ship. A soldier had already come to put the board for An Long to signal An Long to board the ship. The side of the ship was even higher than the dock. This was originally a tower ship seized by the Taihu water bandits from the Imperial Domestic River Fleet, but the other party borrowed flowers and offered Buddhas to become the boss's ship. He traveled between Taihu Lake and Yajiang for a long time and became the itinerary mark of Cheng Dayou, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Southern Military Region and Taihu Lake patrol envoy.

Walking into the cabin, a heat current came to my face. Although it was in the south of the Yangtze River, the severe winter had arrived. The cold current from the north invaded the south, which also made Huzhou, located in the northern part of the Yangtze River, feel the breath of winter early. The huge copper-skin charcoal furnace in the cabin was filled with heat. A maid had already come to remove An Long's broad clothes, take off his outer clothes, and invite him to sit down.

He looked up at the people present, and An Long found that in addition to his boss and the current naval commander Tian Jinbao, there were two more men with literati appearances. An Long was a little surprised. In addition to the few women of his boss, there were only a few capable generals and himself in the army. However, he seemed to have never seen these two people before, but he could be in it proudly and rudely. Obviously, he was also a person who was highly valued and trusted by his superiors.

The young man sitting next to Cheng Dayou had a tiger-backed and bear-back waist, his head was like a bronze bell, his face was like a full moon, his face was like a seated statue of Maitreya Buddha, and his eyes were slightly closed, but there were cold lights. This is Tian Jinbao, the whale king who is known as the number one hero in Taihu Lake. This man once represented the pirates of Taihu Lake alone and among the group of pirates in Taihu Lake. He compared the pirates with the ox-haired pirates in the East, but he did not lose any disadvantage at all, winning unanimous praise from the heroes on the Empire's waterway.

He firmly sat in the first place of the Taihu Lake heroes for thirteen years. During this period, the Imperial Navy Inland Fleet encircled and annihilated countless times, but always allowed him to escape from the net at the last critical moment, which eventually made the Imperial Navy's achievements fail. In the later period, he repeatedly defeated the Imperial Navy's inland fleet and retaliated against the empire's amnesty. However, he always held the main force of the Taihu Water Bandits, which made the Empire helpless. But after Cheng Dayou's worship of the mountain gate, he honestly surrendered to Cheng Dayou's command, which surprised many heroes who made a living on the waterways within the empire.

Cheng Dayou looked thoughtful, as if the conversation just now gave him a lot of things worth remembering, which made him unable to fully digest it for a while.

It should be said that from a young general of the Taiping Army to a semi-independent warlord, Cheng Dayou has become a lord of a place in recent years. Choosing a suitable time to surrender to Situ Lang has indeed won a lot of points for Cheng Dayou. With the brand of imperial orthodox, the gentry of Jiujiang, who had already had a good impression of Cheng Dayou's policies, gradually became tighter with Cheng Dayou, and the inclusion of Huzhou also made Cheng Dayou more ambitious.

"Sir, the collapse of this empire is a foregone conclusion, and the civil war between the Situ family is inevitable. Situ Biao thought that controlling Ma Yuanxing would be able to grasp the overall situation, but he underestimated Situ Tai too much. Situ Tai's methods were ruthless and willing to let go, and could tear apart the several division commanders who had been pinching Ma Yuanxing. Except for the confidant Huangfu Tiancheng and Ma Yuanxing who were never enlightened, the other three divisions had changed new masters. The variables were too great. Situ Tai had three imperial guard divisions as backing, and the imperial capital city would change the king's flag at any time." The scholar on the left was a little thin, and a faint arrow mark passed through his cheek, as if it was just right. His eyes were sharp, but his slightly blue lips were thinner, and he looked less kind.

An Long was shocked, and his eyes followed the words of the thin scholar and just met the other party's gaze. Could it be that this guy was the guy who had been hiding in the dark, the intelligence director of his boss?

Seeing An Long's gaze, he nodded kindly, and the thin scholar continued to say: "There is another huge variable that is Li Wufeng. Li Wufeng is so powerful that no one can restrain him in the empire. Even Situ Tai is far inferior. Perhaps the only thing that can restrain him is public opinion, but how long can this so-called public opinion be able to restrain Li Wufeng? I am afraid that even Li Wufeng himself does not know."
Chapter completed!