After releasing Fang Er, he saw Chai Shao sitting by the side.
"Little nephew greets Uncle Chai."
Chai Shao nodded at him, then smiled playfully.
"Boy, how come I feel like you're getting darker and darker?"
Cheng Chumo scratched his head and replied.
"Heh heh, it's all from being a supervisor and getting tanned."
Fang Er was speechless. It was fortunate that Cheng Yaojin wasn't around, otherwise, another brawl would likely have ensued.
"Isn't this indirectly saying that Cheng Chumo is Yu Chi Jing De's offspring?"
"Father-in-law, you should go back and rest. I'll have a chat with Brother Chumo."
Chai Shao rolled his eyes at him, refusing to get up.
Fang Er held up one finger to him.
Then, Chai Shao held up two fingers.
Cheng Chumo looked on, somewhat baffled.
After that, Fang Er took two cigars from his pocket and tossed them over.
Chai Shao caught them, then got up from his chair.
"Hahahaha, you two chat, I'm going back to sleep!"
With that, he took his cigars and returned to the cabin.
Cheng Chumo plopped down onto the vacated chair, looking expectantly at Fang Er.
Fang Er took out more cigars, and the two brothers lit one each.
Cheng Chumo exhaled a cloud of smoke, his face filled with contentment.
"Hiss~~ Puff~~"
"It's great! I haven't smoked for months, my mouth has gone completely bland."
Fang Er walked to the ship's railing, flicking off the ash from his cigar.
"Come on, brother, tell me about the changes in Liaodong."
Cheng Chumo then began to recount what had happened in Shenyang City since Fang Er's return to Chang'an.
Firstly, Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje now each had Tang officials stationed in every city.
Next, with the ceaseless labor of hundreds of thousands of captives, the progress of the cement roads was rapid.
From Shenyang eastward, the roads stretched all the way to Pyongyang.
Southward, they reached Zhuo Commandery, right before them.
Concurrently, more and more merchants from the Central Plains were traveling to Liaodong for trade. Shenyang City had become incredibly bustling, with a permanent resident population exceeding three hundred thousand.
As a result, housing prices in Shenyang City had more than tripled!
The Prefectural Office had been completed, and Liu Dacheng and others had moved in, busy as ever.
Liu Meng, leading the Skyfire Army, was relatively idle. Besides training, they would often venture into the forests to hunt, claiming to enjoy the taste of bear paw hot pot.
It was said that within a twenty-li radius of Shenyang City, not a single black bear could be found.
Hearing this, Fang Er's lips twitched.
Had he unintentionally activated their gluttonous nature?
Would they eat all the black bears in the Northeast into extinction, turning them into a rare species?
Speaking of food, Fang Er asked.
"How are those things you planted outside the city growing?"
Cheng Chumo's interest immediately piqued at this question.
"Big brother, those things you planted are growing exceptionally well!
Especially the sweet potatoes. When dug up, each one weighs two to three catties, and they're crisp and sweet to eat!"
Fang Er...
"You guys are actually eating them?"
Cheng Chumo looked disgusted.
"Before, when I was bored, I dug up a few. The potatoes weren't tasty, astringent! My mouth felt numb after eating them.
The pumpkins were hard and unappetizing too."
"Damn it, eating them raw!
How come raw potatoes didn't poison you to death!
How much did you ruin?"
"Heh heh, not much, just less than a fen of land. Also, I brought a sack of them this time. Do you want to try some, big brother?"
Considering the timing, the early planting in Shenyang meant that a sweet potato growing to two to three catties by now wasn't entirely exaggerated.
He had originally planned to enter the river directly from the Hai River and meet Liu Meng and Yu Chi Jing De at Bishacheng. It seemed he would have to make a trip to Shenyang after all.
Otherwise, who knew what would happen to those crops after harvest.
"How many men did you bring?"
Fang Er asked Cheng Chumo.
Cheng Chumo didn't understand why Fang Er suddenly asked this. "I was just bored in Shenyang City, so I brought two hundred cavalry to join the fun."
Fang Er explained, "Leave your men here. You'll come with me to Shenyang. After that, we still have to make a trip to Wōguó."
"Huh? Go to Wōguó?"
Cheng Chumo was a bit confused. He had heard whispers about Wōguó from the Goguryeo captives.
"They're so poor that not a single family has a complete set of clothes! They only wear them when they go out. Why are we going there?"
Fang Er smiled slightly. "There's a silver mine there! I'm on an imperial mission this time. What do you say? Want to go have some fun?"
"Go! Not going is being a coward!"
Upon hearing about the silver mine, Cheng Chumo's spirits instantly soared.
"I'll have them ride back to Shenyang to pass the message, inform the Exterminating Barbarians Army and Liu Meng to gather and wait for us with the horses by the Liao River!"
Saying this, he was about to get up.
"Wait."
Fang Er stopped him.
Under Cheng Chumo's puzzled gaze, someone brought paper and a brush.
He quickly wrote a letter.
"Take this back as well and give it to Liu Dacheng."
Cheng Chumo took the letter, found Zhang Tian who had brought him there earlier, and had him send someone to the shore to relay the message.
After the landing boat that delivered the messenger returned and was re-attached to the Zhenyuan's hull,
The three Wuya warships continued northward along the Yongji Canal.
They entered the sea from the Hai River.
There was no Tianjin at this time; it was still a vast marsh. Passing by, Fang Er had considered building a dock here, but had to regretfully abandon the idea.
Two days later.
As the Wuya warships sailed into the Liao River, Yu Chi Jing De, his son, and Liu Meng were already waiting there with their men.