I traveled through time, starting with two acres of land and a dog

"So it was you, the dragon that crossed the river. It wasn't unfair for me to lose. We were also from Chenjiawan. Our mother died early, and our father raised four brothers. Ten years ago, our father had a dispute with the landlord, Old Master Chen, over water to irrigate the fields. Later, he was beaten by the other side and became ill. A few years later, my father died. We dug a pit behind the house and buried my father. That night, the second brother impulsively set fire to Old Master Chen's house. When the eldest brother found out, he took us into the mountains to hide overnight. The old master sent people to search, and the fourth brother suggested leading the old master to a thatched slope. The second brother led them in front, and the old master and his men chased them in. After that, the other three brothers set fire to them all around. When the wind blew, the fire spread. The old master was tripped, and no one pulled him. The others ran away quickly. We took the old master's gun and killed another lackey. From then on, we ruled the mountain as kings," Chen Jinhu said in one breath.

"What about your four brothers?" he continued to ask.

"We have been separated for several years, and we only meet at the agreed place on the winter solstice every year. Usually we just send people to deliver messages," said Chen Jinhu.

"Why then?" he asked.

"The teacher said that a cunning rabbit needs three burrows. If we develop separately, we will not be wiped out by the enemy at once, and we can also expand our sphere of influence," Chen continued to answer.

"Your teacher is the old man outside," he asked.

"Yes, he was captured by my eldest brother from the foot of the mountain. My eldest brother saw that my fourth brother was smart, so he wanted to find a teacher for him. When he robbed a caravan, he left an accountant there to teach us how to read. My eldest and second brothers opened up the mountain on their own very early. My fourth brother was smart and didn't want to stay at home, so he formed a team on his own three years ago. Only I was a little stupid, so I stayed behind to guard the original cave. Here are the teacher, his master's wife, and my wife," Hu Jinhai said almost without reservation.

This is a special den of bandits. No wonder many warlords in the Republic of China came from bandits. There are indeed capable people among them. The fourth son is also curious. How can he be so smart that he gave up his ancestral land and started his own business at a young age, breaking the tradition of the youngest son inheriting the old house? It is worth seeing.

Dinner was ready and they were about to eat. Du Chenyu told them to give something to the women, children and the elderly, and then let them go into the house to sleep. The others could only gather around the fire to avoid the cold. It was April in the Gregorian calendar, the Qingming Festival, and the nights in the mountains were still bitterly cold.

The next day, he also gave up the plan to attack the other "three tigers" and asked Chen Jinhu to write a letter to report his safety, saying that he had reformed and returned to the right path, and that his teacher was also very good. He hoped that all brothers would also consider it carefully, as being a bandit was not a long-term solution. Du Tuanzong of Banqiao Township treated people sincerely and hoped that the families would live in peace in the future, otherwise they would have to burn the mountains with their army.

After everything was settled, they took all the people and supplies down the mountain and went home. At the foot of the mountain, Du Chenyu ordered to set fire to several peaks near Chen Laoer's lair. One was to make Chen Laoer migrate north, the other was to make the mountains empty so that he could not attack merchants on the Banqiao to Wuying Road; the third was to let the people see the determination to suppress the bandits, as there were no people for dozens of miles anyway, so they just let it burn and it would naturally go out when it rained.

After going down the mountain, they also went to the cave where Chen Jinhu stored grain. There were several thousand kilograms of grain there, which were stored by bandits for many years. In Chenjia Bay, they stopped temporarily and set up camp. A detachment of the prisoners was sent back to the Wuying base, which was well guarded and convenient for supervision. Several bandits who were extremely guilty were sent to Banqiao to be publicly executed.

After setting up camp, Du Chenyu met the teacher who gave advice to the bandits in the straw hut.

"Hello, sir. I am filled with awe when I hear about your deeds. I am Du Chenyu, the son of Du Zongyi, the head of the Banqiao Youth League. Nice to meet you, old sir." He was accompanied by He Chaowu, not carried on his back. He walked alone to the old man Shen Shiyu who was sitting on the stone, and bowed with his little fist to greet him.

"Mr. Chenyu, I don't deserve it. Please stand up quickly. Mr. Chenyu is born with supernatural powers and has gathered the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. I, a country bumpkin, am not worthy of receiving such a great gift from Mr. Chenyu," the old man squatted down and helped him up.

When this scholar flatters, it sounds pleasant and leaves no trace, and people always believe it. This is why emperors in every dynasty always have a few favorite ministers.

"Where are you from, sir? What are your plans for the future?" He Chaowu moved a stone and Du Chenyu sat on it, talking to an old man like a little adult.

"I was originally a poor scholar in Baizhang. Later, I was taken in by the Dong family and became a shopkeeper. I was captured by them and kept in a cave for almost ten years when I was shipping with a caravan. They captured a girl from the foot of the mountain and asked me to marry her. Later, we had a child, so I settled down in the mountains and was responsible for teaching and accounting. I would like to ask where Master Chenyu's wife and the child are," the old man asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, sir. We have sent them all to Wuying Street. We have a base there and a school. The conditions there are better than here in the mountains," he comforted.

"Thank you, Master Chenyu. As long as the mother and daughter are safe, I will feel relieved. If Master Chenyu doesn't abandon me, I am willing to lead Ma Yanmo and serve you like a dog," he said as he knelt on one knee to show his loyalty.

"Sir, please stand up. We don't accept such things. As long as we have the same ideals as you, we are willing to accept brothers from all over the world so that the poor people can have food to eat and clothes to wear." He stretched out his hand and helped him up.

"Young Master Chenyu, I paid attention to you when you first attacked the Tan family compound in Youfangba in the name of Chenjiashan bandits. You burned debts, distributed land, encouraged land reclamation, set up free schools, low-cost clinics, and established armed forces. You won back the hearts of the people in just a few months. This is an approach with immeasurable prospects. Only by winning the hearts of the people can you win the world. I admire you very much. I also specifically told Chen Jinhu not to provoke you easily. Bandits like them are no match for you," the old man sat down and spoke slowly.

"Sir, do you have any good ideas about our current development? We have reached a bottleneck," Du Chenyu asked sincerely.

"Your team is generally composed of poor tenants, so the direction of development must still rely on the countryside. You can't be too aggressive, but you must bide your time. Stay in the Daba Mountains at the junction of Baizhang County, Jizhou County and Hanzhong to accumulate enough strength, then go south to take Gaocheng Castle, recapture the surrounding areas, surround Baizhang again, and wait until the time is right to move into Baizhang. Only then can your career be considered to have a starting point," Shen Shiyu stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked at the rising sun in the sky, and analyzed intermittently.

Even if gold has been buried in mud for a long time, it will still sparkle when exposed to sunlight. Shen Shiyu's words not only convinced him, but also made He Chaowu's eyes light up. This is the charm of talent.

"Okay, that's great. Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. Thank you for your wonderful analysis. So what should we do specifically?" he continued to ask.

"We need to digest what we have gained so far. Your territory has expanded by four baos in a few months, but there are too few people capable of managing local affairs. The Baihua and Lanhua baos are obviously not as well managed as Youfangba. This is a sign of an unstable foundation. Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. We cannot afford to be slack in the slightest," the old man continued.

These are indeed their biggest problems at the moment. It seems that he has done enough homework in advance and knows their situation very well, just to have today's "Longzhong Strategy".

"Mr. Chenyu, I just have some superficial opinions. In the past, there were strongholds and spies in each guard post on the mountain, who reported information to the mountain regularly. These were all arranged and established by me. There are many things I have not told other people because they would not understand even if I told them," the old man continued to explain when he saw that he didn't speak.

"It's okay. You are a qualified military advisor. I understand what you said. I hope we can work together to build our business together in the future. For now, you just follow me and help me deal with some things. You can visit my wife and children anytime you want," he said, intending to end the conversation.

“Yes, Master Chenyu,” the old man began to stand aside as a subordinate.

"Take Mr. Shen with you to first stabilize the people in Chenjiawan and Laifengbao. He is familiar with their psychological situation. Comfort the old, young, sick and disabled. Give them some of the food from the bandits and help them reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land. They plant too many poppies and there is a serious shortage of food. It's still time for each family to reclaim wasteland and plant seeds now. They will stay here for 10 days and set off after stabilizing the situation. There will also be a summary meeting tomorrow night," he instructed.

"Yes, Mr. Chenyu, please come in, Mr. Shen. I will take you to familiarize yourself with the situation first," He Chaowu and Shen Shiyu left.

The three guards, "Tu Gouzi, Lei Jianqin, and Xue Chen", are all outstanding special service team members. Xue Chen also studied in a private school for two years and is a native of Linshui, so they were selected as guards.