Yao Ji added, “That said, we’ll need to accelerate the siege. Only then can we open up the route to Gofeng as quickly as possible.”
This time, Hua Yuanyi and Mo Song said nothing, which counted as tacit agreement.
While the Zeya Commandery was taking cities and territory, Jiang Jin had also captured Zhou County and was expanding throughout Liuxiang Commandery.
Lin County, meanwhile, remained relatively peaceful. In the county office, Qiu Liao and Zhou Leng sat facing each other.
Qiu Liao handed Zhou Leng a note. “Our lord will soon be able to take Liuxiang Commandery, and Zeya Commandery is nearly secured as well.”
Zhou Leng froze. He hurriedly picked up the note and read it, his expression brightening with excitement. “Excellent. Once that happens, only Chunnan Commandery and Ningding Commandery in Fengzhou will remain in Qu Zhao’s hands.”
Qiu Liao smiled and shook his head. “Tao County and Zhuangchang County along Ningding’s coast are already in Great Qing’s hands.”
In other words, of Fengzhou’s five commanderies, three were under Jiang Jin’s control, a small portion of one was held by Lu You, and Qu Zhao currently controlled only a little more than one commandery.
Zhou Leng stared in astonishment. “Then Great Qing and we will be fully connected?”
Qiu Liao nodded. “Exactly.”
For the time being, Lin County remained an isolated city. The Jinyang Times usually arrived several issues at a time, so delayed information was only to be expected.
Of course, that applied to ordinary people and common officials. Someone like Qiu Liao, a core figure, naturally had access to the latest information.
After all, he needed to adjust their plans according to the circumstances, assess the situation, and make the most advantageous defensive choices.
Zhou Leng’s expression turned solemn. “May I ask why you called for me?”
With a smile, Qiu Liao poured him a cup of tea. The leaves had come from Sizhou and were extremely rare.
“Once our lord takes Zeya Commandery and Liuxiang Commandery, Qu Zhao will be weakened and will inevitably seek outside aid. His choices will be either the Jiao Army of Juan Prefecture or the Ji Army of Chongzhou.”
“So our lord wants me to negotiate with both sides and persuade them not to interfere in our conflict with Qu Zhao?”
Zhou Leng frowned and pondered for a moment before replying, “That won’t be easy. If our lord takes all of Fengzhou, the remnants of Qu Zhao’s forces will inevitably retreat toward either Juan Prefecture or Chongzhou.”
“If Qu Zhao sends word that, unless they help him, he will retreat into Juan Prefecture, there’s a very good chance the Jiao Army will come to his aid. The same goes for Chongzhou.”
“Besides, neither the Jiao Army nor the Ji Army could possibly want us Han Chinese to grow stronger. If Qu Zhao handles things properly, we may well find ourselves surrounded by Qu Zhao, the Jiao Army, and the Ji Army.”
Qiu Liao nodded. “That’s right. Our lord has considered all of this, which is why she needs you to negotiate with them.”
Jiang Jin had little choice. She had very few diplomats and had previously relied mainly on Dong Si.
But Dong Si was now stretched too thin. Managing finances and logistics alone was more than enough to keep him busy.
As for the others, they were still being trained. After all, Jiang Jin’s foundations were still too shallow.
Fortunately, they had already discovered several promising candidates. This time, they would accompany Zhou Leng to gain some experience.
As for whether failed negotiations might result in their being killed, that was not something diplomats could afford to consider.
During this era, the mortality rate among diplomats was extremely high. Anyone who chose that profession had already made peace with the possibility of dying.
Zhou Leng frowned slightly and lowered his head in thought.
Qiu Liao took a sip of tea before continuing slowly, “The Ji Army of Chongzhou has little interest in expanding outward.”
He paused, then went on. “Ji Duoyan is a man who values comfort and greatly admires Han culture. If we guarantee that he won’t be our next target, that may give us an opening for negotiation.”
“As for the Jiao Army, their current focus is on Sizhou. On top of that, Juan Prefecture and Haijia Prefecture are hardly peaceful themselves. If we let them see at least a portion of our strength, they may not dare to act rashly.”
Zhou Leng understood his meaning at once. After mulling it over for a moment, he nodded. “All right. I’ll give it a try.”
Qiu Liao nodded. “There’s no rush. Leave in a few days. Several newcomers will be going with you this time, so let them learn from the experience.”
Zhou Leng looked startled. “Did they offend you somehow?”
Qiu Liao fell silent for a moment. “…It was an order from above.”
“Young people need to be put through their paces. Our lord’s territory will continue to expand, and she’ll need more and more capable people,” he added.
Zhou Leng was silent for a while before saying, “You certainly have faith in our lord.”
Qiu Liao smiled. “Naturally.”
Three days later, Zhou Leng met the several young men and women who would be traveling with him to Chongzhou.
He was not surprised at all to find a woman among them. During his time in Lin County, he had gradually grown accustomed to it.
The woman in question was Yan Ke. Her grandfather had once held a post in the Grand Court of State Ceremonial Affairs.
The Grand Court handled diplomatic matters, so she had inherited some knowledge of the field. She was also deeply interested in diplomacy, but unfortunately, she had never had the opportunity to pursue it before.
Only after entering the county office as a clerical official did she learn that the government accepted applications for positions. Without hesitation, she wrote down her “ideal” post and submitted it to her superiors.
Jiang Jin was desperately short of diplomats, so Yan Ke was soon assigned to the “Diplomatic Fast-Track” class.
Of course, Jiang Jin’s makeshift program had no instructor specializing in diplomacy. Dong Si could only teach part-time.
The problem was that Dong Si himself was not a professional. He relied on his ability to improvise and his keen awareness of current affairs, so there was only so much he could teach.
By the time Zhou Leng departed for Chongzhou, Jiang Jin had already taken all of Liuxiang Commandery.
At the same time, after Yao Ji led the Sizhou army in finally “opening up” the route from Zeya Commandery to Gofeng, hardly any of the Sizhou soldiers who could still walk or fight remained—apart from the wounded.
Hua Yuanyi and Mo Song had nothing to say about it.
Compared with the usual state of affairs in Sizhou, where soldiers had always been thrown into battle like expendable fodder only to suffer defeat, lose their armor, and watch their homeland fall, taking three counties of Zeya Commandery with these losses was an exceptionally good bargain.
During this period, Yao Ji also sent Xie Nanxiao, Hua Ruo, and others to capture the remaining counties of Zeya Commandery. At last, the entire commandery had been reclaimed.
Yet as they looked upon the empty cities one after another, everyone felt a deep heaviness in their hearts.
The cities had been recovered, but the people who once lived in them would never return.
Yao Ji let out a quiet breath and said gratefully to Hua Yuanyi and Mo Song, “The recovery of Zeya Commandery would not have been possible without Sizhou’s tremendous assistance. I’m deeply grateful. It’s just that conditions here are crude, and we have no way to properly host you.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll set out for Gofeng. We’ll entertain you properly once we arrive.”
Hua Yuanyi cupped his hands. “There’s no need to be so polite.”
Only after the two men left did Xie Nanxiao speak. “More than ten thousand refugees from Sizhou have boarded our ships and are on their way here. They should arrive tomorrow.”
“More will follow in the days ahead. At this point, nearly all of our cargo ships are being used to transport people.”
Ever since Jiang Jin had confirmed that they needed more inhabitants, Chen Xi and the others had intensified their efforts to recruit people in Sizhou.
In particular, the people of Ying Commandery, which had been besieged by the Jiao Army, had fled almost to a man. A large portion of those who could not leave had been “shaken” over to Zeya Commandery by Lu Yao.
Yao Ji nodded. “Roughly how many are there?”
