Xiao Man heard the barking of dogs and Lin Xie's voice in the house, excitedly ran out, she held a fluffy little black dog in her arms, not at all like the ferocious appearance it would have when grown up. Xiao Man lifted the little dog to Lin Xie's face, showing off, saying: "Look, Wan Niang let Wen Pei send over a litter of six little dogs, they're all like this, aren't they cute?"

  Lin Tie saw Xiao Man's excited look and turned back to Wu Qi saying: "At most I can only give you five more."

  "It's a waste to raise a Tibetan Mastiff as a local dog......" Wu Qi still couldn't bear to leave a good dog in the thatched cottage to be bullied.

  "You're also stubborn, you know that Xi River will have this kind of black dog, so next time we find an opportunity to extort a few more." Lin Xuan said with a smile.

  "Ah, what does Master Crow want to do with the dog?" Xiaoman looked at Wu Qi warily and asked in doubt, "Master Crow won't eat dog meat, will he? This little dog is so pretty, how can you bear to part with it? I won't give the little dog to you."

  "Am I someone who eats dog meat?" Wu Qi said with a bitter tone, "The Black Mountain Hound is a good breed, but if not trained properly, it's only slightly better than a mixed-breed dog. It can bark loudly and that's about it... In the past, when I was at Huai Shang Camp, those two Black Mountain Hounds I raised were truly intelligent and skilled. Alas, I regret that Chen Han San, that treacherous dog, lured us into his trap. Neither of my big black dogs could escape with me, and Big Black even blocked a knife for me."

  "If you don't eat dog meat, then I'll give all six dogs to you." Xiaoman looked at Wu Qi with a pitiful expression and couldn't bear the thought of keeping even this little dog in her arms.

  Lin Tie still wanted to leave a dog for Xiao Man to raise, otherwise the girls would be too lonely in the mansion. He said to Wu Qi: "Dogs give birth to two litters a year, if there is someone to breed them specifically and not mix breeds, we won't lack Black Mountain Dogs in the future. Does Master Crow have any skilled dog handlers? I'll allocate some land on Prison Island to build a kennel specifically for breeding and training dogs..."

  "Fei Yinzhi?" Wu Qi said.

  "I don't want to raise war dogs, but watchdogs, for warning and searching enemies. If they can deliver messages, that's even better..." Lin Mou said, "The prison island doesn't allow me to keep humans, so I shouldn't be allowed to keep dogs? Silver is always useful, you write down the methods of taming dogs, we'll discuss and draft a dog-raising plan together. With a plan, it will be easier to pass on, and in the future when we need to cultivate people, we can't wait three or five years for them to mature."

  Lin Xie knew that most of the dogs raised in the military camps were war dogs, and many people raised them for their strength and ferocity. However, this was a huge misconception. The cost of raising war dogs was not lower than that of soldiers, but even the most ferocious war dogs had limited use on the battlefield, and could not compare to the elite armored warriors. In the end, many war dogs became mere tools for a few generals and military officers to show off their power, similar to how young masters would lead fierce dogs to bully people in the streets, and were unable to fulfill the true potential of good dogs.

  In fact, good dogs, apart from being brave and fearless like wolves, have a sense of smell and hearing that far surpasses that of humans. With careful training, good dogs can play a big role in tracking, alerting, patrolling, and searching, making them well worth the investment of time and money.

  Even with Wu Qi's stealth abilities, it would be easy to deceive people, and without using meatballs to pave the way, they could escape even the ordinary watchdogs' noses and ears. Lin Xuan had read the annotations of the Seven Classics of Martial Arts, which included some simple methods for training war dogs, but did not emphasize the importance of forbidding them from eating food from outsiders, making it easy to poison them with bait. This aspect of dog training was especially important here, and raising a few black mountain dogs at the river mouth could reduce the number of hidden sentries.

  The number of guards on the island was only one hundred and eighty, which was difficult to break through before the prison city reopened. The Mingli Guard of Jiyun Society had only forty people who could be used, although it was said that some people could be hidden on the ship in the future, but not too many armed guards could be left on this bank at the river mouth. When the three ships were released in the future, the river mouth would nominally have only ten armed guards, which was far from enough to guard the warehouses and warehouses of Jiyun Society in the future.

  It is impossible to raise soldiers, but for the time being, it can be temporarily made up by raising good dogs; guard dogs are very useful things. Raising one or two good guard dogs on ships, in military camps, and in warehouses can make people rest at ease. Dogs also have a long lifespan, with a prime period of seven to eight years, during which several more can be raised to prevent urgent needs in the future. Lin Xie has always believed that only the silver spent is truly silver. As long as it is well managed, there are many labor forces on the island, arable land, riverbanks, and the private salt passage between Changshan Island and the prison island can be opened up, Lin Xie is not worried about the source of silver.

  **************

  "What, he's still inquiring if there are any small blacks here? We're the Western River Association of the River Gang, not the dog-raising Western River Association," Sun Wenyue stared at Wen Pei with a look of astonishment. "A litter of newborn black puppies were all given to them, and they still have the nerve to be greedy. Did you tell them that the Black Mountain Dogs are only raised in two pairs by the Western River Association? This litter is just full moon, I don't know how many families came to ask for one. Other families' black dogs are mixed breeds, losing their spirituality, even if they were given away, it would be useless, only more ferocious than local dogs."

  The men of the river village go north by boat after autumn, and they are gone for more than half a year. Only women, children, and the elderly stay home to guard the house, so there is a tradition of raising dogs to protect the house, but due to financial constraints, it is not possible to raise them on a large scale.

  "How can I possibly say that? If it's about breeding, not only can't we raise hybrids anymore, but also have to avoid pairing dogs with close bloodlines... Just listening to this makes my ears turn red, how can I ask anything else?" Wen Pei sat at the head of Wan Niang's bed, asking in puzzlement, "Sister, you're really amazing, how did you know that Lin likes dogs and not other things?"

  “…I won’t tell you,” Sun Wenyue smiled complacently, she had caught Lin Xuan off guard that night at the river mouth where there were hidden sentries. She could also see that the lanterns on the corner towers were more for warning than anything else, and the amount of silver invested wouldn't be small, so she knew Lin Xuan attached great importance to defense. Thinking that if Lin Xuan recognized the Black Mountain Dog, he would know that a good dog was worthy of being a sentry, the Black Mountain Dog could hear footsteps hundreds of steps away, how could human ears be as sensitive? Moreover, the Black Mountain Dog's nose could distinguish between friend and foe, even if something was buried underground, it could smell it. How could a human nose be so keen? With the hidden sentries working together, two people and two dogs patrolling alternately, they could take care of the entire area of several hundred acres around the river mouth. Even if Lin Xuan had placed ten hidden sentries at the river mouth before, he might not have been able to take care of everything. Then she asked Wen Pei, “Where is your mother?”

  "Hurry up and release the ferry today, arrange manpower at the dock, and also select a piece of land on the other side of the river," said Wen Pei. "Sister, after the house is built, will we live here?"

  "What do you think? Even if we live here, you won't be living in the same house as me in the future." Yuanniang sneered at Wenpei. Thinking carefully, when the Jiang'an dock, riverbank dock and horse carriage road are completed, it's not impossible for the river mouth to become a thriving waterfront with a bustling market. The Western River Association relies mainly on water transportation for survival, but having another foothold in Jiangning will bring more income sources, which is always beneficial. With the famine and banditry in the north, many refugees from Western River County and neighboring counties have fled here, many of whom are related to members of the association. The association cannot refuse them, but taking care of the livelihoods of more people is also a heavy burden on everyone's mind. Yuanniang clearly understood why her father and second uncle were so enthusiastic about Lin Shu's initiative. Although she still held a grudge against Lin Shu, she had to consider the overall situation of the Western River Association.

  ***********

  The Chen Garden on the south bank of Zangzhou Bridge was originally a dilapidated government inn in Jiangning. The former prefect of Jiangning allocated over 10,000 taels of official silver to renovate it into a famous garden with winding waters, strange rocks and lush vegetation, exclusively used to entertain high-ranking officials temporarily staying in the city. Li Zhuo had to hand over military affairs to Qin Chengbo for three to five days, so after being welcomed into Jiangning, he stayed in Chen Garden, where 300 elite soldiers from the Jianrui Battalion under the jurisdiction of the Jiangning Defender's Military Command protected the garden, not even allowing flies to fly in.

  A clear water pool separates the Chen Garden from the Yuqian Street, with a delicate white jade stone bridge connecting them. The carriage wheels rumble over the stone bridge, and Gaotong lifts up the curtain, showing the pass card to the guarding soldier, then opens the curtain to gaze at the beautiful scenery inside the Chen Garden.

  Dismount and ask, Li Zhuo is on the other side of the stage in the Biyuan Theatre. Gao Zongting hastened over. This Biyuan was mainly surrounded by a clear small lake with blue tiles and white walls, with a tiny island in the middle of the lake, a pavilion built, a small boat ferrying people to the island, where one could sit idly, or invite song and dance girls, performers to board the stage and perform on the island. The lakeside had three sides of exquisite corridors for people to sit and watch the performances across the lake.

  Gao Zongting saw Li Zhuo wearing a green shirt standing on the island pavilion, his temples white with age, his eyes fixed on the clear lake water outside the pavilion, where new lotus buds were emerging from the surface of the water, slender and elegant. Gao Zongting naturally knew that Li Zhuo was staring blankly at the new lotus.

  "Du Shuai..." Gao Zongting softly called out, then boarded the small boat, himself holding a bamboo pole to push across, and landed on the island pavilion.

  "Zongting is back," Li Zhuo finally came to his senses and said, "What news have you heard? Don't look at my current high position and power, after entering Jiangning, it's like being blind and deaf. Those official reports are all good news and no bad news, they don't really reveal the big disasters that can't be hidden, nobody in the local area dares to show a black face, applying a layer of white powder is the least said..."

  "Luoshan and his men have already arrived in the southern part of the city, they received a message, and will not enter the city for now. Pingjiang Prefecture, Dongyang Prefecture, Jiaxing, and Mingzhou all sent people to go, as for the news from Weiyang and Huai'an, it's all up to Dongyuan now..." Gao Zongting said.

  "Especially Pingjiang Prefecture, Jiaxing and Mingzhou need to send more people," said Li Zhuo. "I estimate that the Xiao family's next step will be to integrate the Donghai pirate forces for their own use. The pressure on Jiaxing and Mingzhou is huge, and the two places' garrison troops do not have a water camp, relying solely on the battle strength of the prefectural military camps, which is really worrying; Pingjiang Prefecture is the source of the guard army's salary, so the news from these three places must be accurate and timely, and cannot be fooled by local officials."

  "The eldest son of the She family, She Feixiong, has fallen ill without warning and is recuperating in seclusion. Despite our efforts to investigate, we cannot find any information about his whereabouts in Jinan, and I fear he may have already left the country," said Gao Zongting. "The imperial court only demands that the southeastern provinces provide financial support to the north, refusing to allocate silver to rebuild a naval base in Mingzhou's Changguo County. This will only lead to more problems... If the pirates of Donghai were to occupy the islands of Changping County and consolidate their power, it would be a thorny issue indeed... However, there is some good news today: Gu Wudian informed us that the Jiangning Prefecture and the Xuanfu Temple have submitted a memorial to the throne, proposing that the summer grain tax be levied in advance. They want Jiangning Prefecture to take the lead, but their demands are not small - they are asking for 100,000 dan of summer grain from Jiangning alone."

  "Oh," Li Zhuo's eyebrows rose, and he asked, "How did Wang Xueshan react?"

  "Wang Xueshan would not agree so readily, of course, but at this time Wang Xueshan should cooperate with Gu Wuchen. It's just that it takes some time to resolve the local resistance," Gao Zongting said with a smile. "Lin Kui's son is really not simple, and with a little guidance, he can be transparent. Unfortunately, he cannot be used by the governor, and if Xia Chuo succeeds in starting the operation, it will also be unfavorable for Chancellor Chen..."

  "It's all for the service of the imperial court, what distinction is there between you and me? Minister Chen has shown me kindness, but if Minister Chen staying in power would harm the current situation, I also cannot harm public justice due to personal favors..." Li Zhuo said.

  Gao Zongting didn't say anything else, thinking that Chen Xiang was in a precarious situation at the center of power, and it's uncertain whether Chu Dang would allow the governor to sit safely in Jiangning. He felt anxious and uneasy, saying: "This Chen Garden is not bad, why don't you make it your official residence when you're in Jiangning? The current emperor still has his own views, he won't necessarily be controlled by Chu Dang. You need to stabilize the situation in Yanjing."

  "Alas," Li Zhuo sighed softly and nodded in response, "then I'll stay here for now, but who knows how long I can stay in Jiangning."

  ***************

  P.S: Looking for red envelopes (with money).