Guo Rong had previously only seen Wang Jun accompany her father Wang Wenqian to the wedding banquet of Emperor Yanyou and Li Pu’s daughter. At that feast, Han Qian had clashed with Wang Wenqian, publicly revealing that he had once been betrothed to Wang Jun before the engagement was dissolved.

At the time, the banquet was filled with princes and high ministers of the court. The incident caused quite a stir and left Wang Wenqian extremely embarrassed.

As for Wang Wenqian’s behind-the-scenes machinations before and after the Jinling Incident, this was no longer a secret to someone of Guo Rong’s level.

Guo Rong didn’t fully understand the circumstances of how Wang Jun had fallen into Han Qian’s hands as a prisoner at Maoshan back then.

He had still been living in Qianyang at the time, making a living by setting up a stall to write letters for people. Afterward, no one around Han Qian had gossiped about it in front of him.

However, he did know that during the later stages of the Jinling Incident, someone had brought up the betrothal between Han Qian and Wang Jun, which allowed Han Qian to use this matter to return to Xuzhou.

Seeing Wang Wenqian’s daughter Wang Jun now walk into the command tent in male disguise alongside Han Qian, he was filled with astonishment, momentarily uncertain of the situation.

Although Han Qian casually said that Wang Jun had been so bored in Yangzhou that she disguised herself to travel to Tangyi, Guo Rong was no fool. He thought to himself that even if Wang Jun knew Tangyi wouldn’t detain her after discovering her whereabouts, when had relations between Tangyi and Yangzhou become close enough for such casual visiting?

Previously, for the matter of the Chishan Association, Han Qian had personally gone to Yangzhou to meet Wang Wenqian. Guo Rong, along with Feng Liao, Kong Xirong, and several others, hadn’t slept soundly for many nights while devising foolproof plans for contact and escape.

Seeing how intimately Han Qian and Xi Ren treated Wang Jun, and how even the maidservant at Wang Jun’s side showed little constraint entering the military headquarters tent surrounded by Tiger Guards, Guo Rong realized this matter was not simple.

Shortly after the military physician came to treat Wang Jun’s sprained ankle, Feng Yi appeared from somewhere, having heard the news. Entering the headquarters hall and seeing Wang Jun, he asked with a laugh:

“How did you end up at East Lake? Don’t you know Han Qian has been spending these days scheming how to trap Yangzhou? Haven’t you just delivered yourself into the net? Look how dirty you are—did Han Qian get too excited when catching you and knock you to the ground?”

He then said to Han Qian with a smile, “We can’t just let her go back for free this time. I’ll go to Yangzhou to find Wang Wenqian. This time we must negotiate a good price and sell Miss Jun back.”

“You really can’t spit ivory from a dog’s mouth,” Wang Jun scolded indignantly.

As the military physician examined her foot bones, Wang Jun gasped in pain, unable to continue bantering with Feng Yi.

“The bone isn’t injured. Apply medicine and rest for several days, and the swelling will subside,” the physician diagnosed. He applied medicinal ointment to Wang Jun and wrapped it with gauze.

Now unable to leave anyway, she could legitimately stay. Since Han Qian didn’t have such leisure time, Wang Jun was supported by her maidservant Xiangyun and others to follow Xi Ren to the rear residence to wash and change clothes.

East Lake Camp was built on an abandoned village at the southwestern foot of Qingcang Mountain.

Calling it abandoned, the villagers had fled war or been forcibly conscripted and compelled to leave their homes only two years ago. Most of the dwellings could still be inhabited with minor repairs, though the village structures were mostly earthen walls with thatched roofs and mud floors—totaling five to six hundred rooms in all.

Currently only two battalions of elite infantry and one battalion of guard cavalry were stationed here, while the main naval forces were temporarily garrisoned at Dongguan Stronghold south of the mountain.

Though East Lake Camp didn’t seem to have too many troops, the various administrative offices of the field headquarters had all moved in with Han Qian.

As a military command structure at the field headquarters level that also administered prefecture and county affairs, it inevitably had many personnel. No matter how strict the camp management, it was far from being as orderly as a purely military camp.

The entire military camp was divided into northern and southern sections. The northern section housed troops, storage, and manufacturing areas, while the southern section contained the command headquarters, officers’ quarters, and living areas, separated by palisade walls.

As time passed and housing conditions in the residential quarters improved, quite a number of officers had brought over their families.

Besides the school, the military medical facility was also built in the camp’s living area, making it quite lively and similar to the inner city of some large prefecture capitals. Based on the previous village foundation, several streets and alleys had been planned and built, with military craftsmen constructing more houses for habitation.

Though she had only seen it in passing, Wang Jun clearly understood that the future outline of East Lake City would inevitably consist of the humble lanes to the south, the camp to the north, and the wharf harbor to the west—it was just that they hadn’t yet found the energy for large-scale construction here.

Han Qian’s living conditions in the residential area were naturally better than ordinary soldiers’, but he and Xi Ren only had a three-courtyard compound—living conditions far inferior even to their time at Lanting Alley.

The front courtyard served as a reception area, mainly for on-duty guards and officers waiting for audiences to rest. The rear courtyard had a kitchen, utility rooms, and quarters for four maidservants who attended to Han Qian and Xi Ren’s daily needs.

The middle courtyard was Han Qian’s daily living quarters.

In the center were three main rooms—the hall for receiving guests and discussing matters, though if discussions involved more than ten people, the hall with only five paces of depth couldn’t accommodate them, requiring relocation to the administrative offices. The other two rooms were Han Qian’s bedchamber and study, with two side rooms on either side.

In short, it was far from comparable to Jian Garden with its numerous buildings.

Additionally, an adjacent compound housed a permanently stationed squad of elite guards for emergencies.

Having changed into a blue silk robe, still dressed as a man but with the yellowish face-staining solution washed away, revealing skin as fair and smooth as jade, her tall stature and bright eyes gave her an indescribably refined and handsome bearing.

“Don’t you dare go outside the camp looking like this. Even I’m getting ideas—who knows if some young lady or married woman might snatch you away…” Xi Ren stood under the jujube tree in the courtyard, examining Wang Jun as she emerged from changing, praising her with a laugh.

Of course, Wang Jun insisted on wearing male attire in camp. Xi Ren didn’t think anything suspicious of it—after all, as Wang Wenqian’s daughter visiting Tangyi wasn’t something that could be publicly announced.

With Wang Jun unable to walk easily, Xi Ren had maidservants clean out an east-facing side room, bringing new bedding and sheets, and fumigating the room with medicinal incense to drive out mosquitoes and insects.

Until Wang Jun’s foot injury healed, she and her maidservant would have to lodge here.

As evening approached, Han Qian finally finished handling his affairs and returned to dine with Wang Jun and Xi Ren. Feng Yi, with nothing to do, dragged Guo Rong along to join the gathering.

Feng Liao didn’t come for the meal, but in the evening he came over with his concubine Lady Wang to chat.

Coincidentally, Feng Liao’s concubine Lady Wang had the same given name Xiangyun as Wang Jun’s maidservant.

She was the daughter of a declining rural clan family that Feng Liao had taken as a concubine during his posting in Yuezhou. With delicate beauty, she had been married to Feng Liao for ten years and borne him two daughters and two sons. Unable to get along with Feng Liao’s sickly legitimate wife who had no children, she had come to Tangyi this time to attend to Feng Liao’s daily needs.

When Xi Ren had matters to attend to, she also helped manage things. Sitting down to chat about idle family gossip, she showed no constraint.

Somehow, Lady Wang turned the conversation to Feng Yi’s marriage prospects, speaking with the tone of a younger sister-in-law scolding him:

“The old lady is extremely anxious about your marriage. A few days ago she wrote saying she specifically instructed me to help you and Xirong arrange this matter—though you and Xirong both hold official positions now, you’re still not particularly favored by the great families’ daughters in Jinling, making it difficult to find good matches. Or perhaps you’re still thinking about Miss Xu from Xu Zhaonian’s family, but the Xu family has fled to Bianjing. What use is pining for her? If you ask me, you could first learn from His Excellency and marry a girl you like to start having children. Perhaps in the future you’ll still have a chance to renew your ties with Miss Xu…”

As if worried Wang Jun wouldn’t understand, Feng Liao, sitting beside them, specially explained:

“Feng Yi previously had a marriage arrangement made by our late father years ago to the daughter of Xu Zhaonian, then a Vice Minister in the Ministry of War. In his youth, Feng Yi was rebellious and complained that father hadn’t consulted him. He and Kong Xirong sneaked into the young lady’s chambers and were beaten out with sticks by the Xu family—the betrothal nearly fell through then. But afterward, Feng Yi became wholeheartedly willing to accept this marriage. However, at the time of the Imperial Mausoleum Case, they still hadn’t married. After our Feng family fell into ruin, my brother and I could only take shelter in Xuzhou—Xu Zhaonian even sent people to Xuzhou wanting to break the engagement, which we ignored. During the Jinling Incident, Xu Zhaonian and many court officials all acted under orders from the Anning Palace, then fled north across the river, now residing in Bianjing with the Dowager Empress and deposed Crown Prince Yang Fen. The marriage between Feng Yi and Miss Xu has been full of complications. Who knows if they’ll ever have a chance to renew their bond, but both he and Xirong are twenty-six now. If they don’t marry soon, my mother will go mad with worry. Every letter she sends mentions this matter—Mother is anxious to have more grandchildren to hold. Taking a concubine first is just a temporary measure…”

“There are quite a few unmarried daughters from great families in Yangzhou. When I return, I’ll ask my father if he can help arrange marriages for Feng Yi and Kong Xirong,” Wang Jun said, as if completely unable to hear the subtext in the coordinated remarks of Feng Liao and his concubine.

Guo Rong naturally couldn’t guess why Wang Jun had come to Tangyi in male disguise, but he could understand the meaning behind Feng Liao and his concubine’s words.

Not only did Huaidong need Tangyi as a mutual support base, to a certain extent Tangyi also had requests of Huaidong.

The matter of the Right Dragon Militant Army relocating to Runzhou had received unanimous support from court officials, but establishing a new naval force under the Right Dragon Militant Army, with Yang Fan, heir to Yang Zhitang of Shouzhou, appointed to oversee defense along the Yangtze River and coast east of Runzhou—apart from Shen Yang suspecting Han Qian had secret dealings with Yang Zhitang, how could the powerful clans and aristocratic families of Jiangdong not voice some opposition?

Additionally, the Huaidong salt fields fell under the Salt and Iron Bureau, which maintained over five thousand salt field guards. Even if Yang Zhitang pointed out梁army might launch raids via sea routes, how could the Salt and Iron Bureau easily allow the Right Dragon Militant Army to interfere with salt field defenses?

Before these matters were resolved, Han Qian’s plan to absorb refugees from Jiangdong to supplement Tangyi’s insufficient population could not be implemented at all.

Tangyi desperately needed people now.

Besides recruiting over eight thousand laborers from Xuzhou and conscripting over six thousand corvée workers from Jiangzhou and Guangde Prefecture to address labor shortages for new embankment, irrigation channel, camp construction, and river dredging projects, with large numbers of able-bodied men enlisted in the military, cultivation of fields in county settlements mainly relied on organizing able-bodied women and youths—still a far cry from able-bodied men.

Having land didn’t automatically mean it could be cultivated and produce yields. Land required people, as well as draft animals, farm tools, and seeds.

Even though they had transported large numbers of livestock from Xuzhou these past months to supplement draft power and stocked high-quality plows, harrows, sickles, waterwheels and other farm implements forged in Xuzhou, cultivating nearly five hundred thousand mu of grain and cotton fields since spring and summer had already pushed existing labor forces to their limits.

Currently, besides the prefectures and counties south of the Yangtze River, there was one other place that could provide Tangyi with large numbers of laborers—Huaidong.

Huaidong had suffered severe damage in this war. The garrison farming system on the southern bank of the Huai River had been devastatingly ravaged, and since summer began, Chuzhou, northern Yangzhou, and western Taizhou had been flooded everywhere. Countless refugees fleeing war and disaster victims whose homes had been destroyed by floods abounded.

However, Huaidong merely maintained cooperative relations with Tangyi on the surface while remaining extremely vigilant and guarded in reality.

Not only were the passages west of Hangou Canal sealed extremely tightly, even ships entering the Yangtze River by water route were subjected to strict inspections…

If marriage alliances could prompt Huaidong to open its blockade and allow some refugees fleeing war, famine, and floods to enter Tangyi—even fifty or sixty thousand people would greatly alleviate Tangyi’s current labor shortage problems.

On this issue, Guo Rong, Feng Liao, and certain people in Huaidong could be said to coincide in their thinking without prior consultation.