When people do something seriously, they will feel that time flies, and this sentence is very appropriate for Xu Chen and others now.

On the last day of July, tomorrow will be New Year's Day.

In the evening, Xu Chen stopped the training of the teenagers and began to pack up their things and make preparations before the war. According to what Xu Chen told them, the starting point of the water battle was not before the battle, but the moment when the ship left the dock and sailed into the fairway.

"Big brother, are you sure to convince the county lord tomorrow?" Lu Hao found Xu Chen and asked.

"It shouldn't be difficult, our plan doesn't require him to pay much, even if it fails, he has nothing to lose, on the contrary, once he succeeds, his next official assessment score will be enough for him to be promoted to three levels in a row. is such a sure-fire deal, and he is an open-minded man, so there is no reason not to agree. The hardest part of making the plan was how to get him to believe in us, but now that we have the teacher's recommendation, I don't think there will be any problem. Xu Chen said.

"This is also the reason why the eldest brother went to apprentice in the first place, right?" Lu Hao had a smile on his face, he had already let go of his former innocence due to the drastic changes in his family, and now Lu Hao didn't think there was anything wrong with Xu Chen doing this.

"Hehe, yes! At the beginning, he just thought about using the official status of the teacher's doctor of literature, and thought that he was also a subordinate official of the county honor, no matter what the relationship between the county lord and the teacher was, he would be happy to see this happen. In addition, the identity of the teacher and the famous scholar can also provide a lot of convenience for our scientific research in the future, which is why I tried my best to apprentice at the beginning. Xu Chen said calmly.

For the brothers around him, Xu Chen has always said nothing, the establishment of trust requires a long-term process, but he only needs a seed of doubt, and only by being honest with each other can he maintain this trust for a longer time.

Lu Hao smiled understandingly.

"It's just that I didn't expect the teacher's origin to be so scary, you don't know how powerful Li Linfu is, the teacher scolded him so badly, and in the end he can live so long, it can be seen that the teacher's background is not small, which is good, it can give us more convenience. Xu Chen said with a smile.

"Big brother is not afraid of being targeted by Li Linfu now. Lu Hao teased, Lu Hao didn't ask Xu Chen why he knew so much, since the eldest brother didn't say it, there must be his reasons, and the trust was mutual.

"Why aren't you afraid? But it's useless to be afraid! I had to come and cover the water and earth, but fortunately, there is still enough time, what we have to do is to improve our strength as much as possible. Xu Chen said.

"By the way, have you done the preparations on the ship? Why don't you go over, can Shi do it alone?" Xu Chen asked, don't look at Shi Lei, who is tall and big, and usually has a ghost, but after all, he is just a little kid who has not yet reached the age of ten, and these trivial things are really not reassuring for him alone.

"Oh, I just want to tell my eldest brother about this this this time, I have already helped the stone to get it done just now, but this time we are pouring out of the nest, this time we are going to Changshan Island, at least three or five days, more I am afraid that it will take half a month to return, everyone is gone, what should I do at home? Especially the things in the backyard, the stakes are too big! Old Liu Tou wants to go with the boat, and there is a place to use him, after all, the shopkeeper Wang is an outsider, it is not suitable!" Lu Hao doubted.

"This ......" This is also a question that Xu Chen has been thinking about for a long time, the teenagers can't do without it, this time the action is not as good as before, and only half of the people will not work at all. Originally, Xu Chen's plan was to tidy up the backyard, transfer some important things, and then ask the shopkeeper Wang to send a few reliable guys to help take care of the courtyard. Now hearing Lu Hao say this, Xu Chen also feels a little unreliable.

"Second brother, what do you say?" Xu Chen knew that Lu Hao must have thought of a way to come to him.

"I thought it would be better for me to stay and watch the house, it just so happened that Yingying was also at home, and it saved us from leaving, and she had no one to take care of her. Lu Hao expressed his opinion.

"But then there is a stone on your ship, and he can't handle it!" Xu Chen asked.

"This, just let Shen Yuan come over, Zheng Tai is enough for him alone, with Shen Yuan's help, there is nothing wrong with the stone. And to be honest, I'm really not very good at these things on the battlefield, so I'd better stay and watch the family. "I think Lu Hao also put forward this opinion after careful consideration.

"That's fine, I'm relieved to have you at home. Xu Chen nodded, "This time there is no need to plan for the worst-case scenario, with the help of the teacher, there is no need to worry too much about safety, and it is not a big problem to get out of the whole body, if that group of bandits does not know how to lift, I will give them a big gift, a big gift that they will never forget." ”

……

The next day, early in the morning, the sun was still shining.

The teenagers, dressed in uniform blue shorts and shorts, stood on the boat like pacesetters, their hair in a bun with the oncoming breeze, and the resolute faces under the scattered green silk.

Three fishing boats, which looked larger than ordinary fishing boats, slowly sailed from East Lake into the Fuhe River. The horrific "decorations" of the ship have long since been removed, and the boats look no different from ordinary fishing boats, only to show their fangs when needed.

The young men obeyed Xu Chen's order, and Zheng Tai led them to the place where Ganshui entered Poyang Lake to wait, no matter what Xu Chen's result was today, he would go to meet them in the evening.

The teenagers went all the way, enjoying the curious eyes of the citizens on both sides of the strait, and there was quite a taste of high spirits, but it diluted the anxiety about the possible battle in the future, and some of them had a faint longing.

The first day of August, the day of the county lord's arrangement. The early dynasties of the Tang Dynasty were not as frequent as those in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and only the two days of the lunar New Year were held, and most of the officials stayed in the office of the officials on weekdays. In the local area, in order to be lazy, some officials can even be exempted from the rows of officials.

It's just that Yuzhang City is the seat of the county, and Yuzhang County is the center of the center, and Wu Xianzun doesn't want to commit crimes against the wind, so people find a reason to impeach themselves.

Before the hour came, Wu Xianzun was busy in the backyard of the county government.

Today is the day of the row, and you must wear official clothes when you go to the lobby later, and it naturally doesn't matter if the emperor is far away, how dare you slack off under your nose. The prepared court clothes have long been wrapped in three layers and three layers outside with the help of the subordinates, although this is already summer clothes, but who let this be the south! In August, when the heat is thick, Chang'an City may still be a little cool, but this Yuzhang City is like a big furnace. As soon as the court clothes were put on, fine beads of sweat appeared on Wu Xianzun's face.

When they came to the lobby, all the subordinate officials had already arrived. At this time, unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were so many cumbersome etiquette, but more like a symposium in later generations, where officials gathered together to summarize the things in the first half of the month, and then plan what will be completed in the second half of the month.

The meeting went on very quickly, but it was like going through the motions, after all, no one wanted to stay up in such thick clothes, and any arguments would be put on the back burner.

Half an hour later, the meeting ended, and the officials left after bidding farewell to the county honor. Originally, there was a dinner party as usual, but in such a hot day, how could anyone want to stay longer, in a big city like Yuzhang City, as long as they were not rigid officials, who would lack this meal. Besides, eating at the same table with the chief is already uncomfortable.

After everyone left, Wu Xianzun quickly returned to the backyard, took off his court clothes after dividing five by two, and drank several bowls of chilled lotus seed soup to lower the heat.

"Master Qiyu, Dr. Xu is out asking to see you. An old man who looked like a housekeeper at the door said to Wu Xianling.

"Xu Fan, what is he doing here?" Wu Xian Ling also knows a little about this senior, he can't talk about hugging Zhongshu Ling's thigh with such a status, and besides, this Xu Fan can live until now, if he doesn't know that there is someone behind him, he will be an official for many years. They are fighting with immortals, so don't go up as a little ghost.

As a result, Wu Xianling had already made up his mind not to participate in the peace, and he only stayed away from this Xu Fan on weekdays, and basically had no contact except for official business.

"Go and ask Lord Xu to wait in the back hall, and I'll change my clothes, sir. "Since you can't think of it, let's do it when the opportunity comes.

"Yes, sir. ”

Xu Chen ran to Taoyuan early in the morning to find Xu Fan, came to the county office with the teacher, and waited for the teacher's deliberations to end in the side room.

After the discussion, Xu Fan led Xu Chen to visit Wu County's residence.

In fact, it stands to reason that it is useless to find such a small county order for a water bandit like Changshan Island that spans several states and counties. Yuzhang was too guarded, and Wang Xian concurrently served as the envoy of Jiangnan West Province, and he was the person with the highest official position in this land, and only he had the right to deal with military affairs such as local banditry. And Xu Fan and Wang Xian are not unfamiliar, and it is not difficult to meet him.

However, Xu Fan, as a subordinate of the county order, does not go to the boss when there is something, but goes to the leader to report to the leader, which is originally a taboo in officialdom, not to mention that this kind of military affairs is not something that he can participate in as a doctor of literature, and Xu Chen does not want his small actions to be seen by the high-level, why not use such a good shield as the Wu County Order.

The housekeeper of Wu County's order brought the two to the back hall, and after letting people serve tea, he said, "Please wait for Lord Xu, master he will come soon!"

"I'm tired. Xu Fan nodded at the housekeeper.

"Haha, how come Brother Xu has time to come here today? I'm sorry, there was some urgent matter just now that stumbled my foot, and Brother Xu waited for a long time! I hope Brother Xu won't be surprised!" Before Wu Xian Ling entered the house, a hearty laugh came in, not calling it an official position to talk about age, it is indeed a good way to get closer to each other, and Xu Fan's age is already older than him, and Dengke is also many years earlier, and a "Brother Xu" is not an insult to the identities of both parties.

"Lord County is polite, if you have something to do, you can go and get busy first, Xu doesn't have much else, but there is a lot of time. Xu Fan also talked enthusiastically, after all, he still had to ask him later.

"Haha, Brother Xu is still so witty. ”

The two of them are suddenly like friends who haven't seen each other for many years, and you and I are very close to each other.

Xu Chen had been listening quietly beside him, and he showed a few smiles from time to time, indicating that he had been listening.

Wu Xian Ling had already seen the quiet young man beside Xu Fan, he estimated that eighty percent of today's affairs would fall on this young man, and he didn't want to go around with Xu Fan, so he asked Xu Fan directly: "Brother Xu, I don't know who this little brother is?"

"Back to my lord's words, this is a disciple that Xu accepted a few days ago. Xu Fan saw that Wu County's order finally couldn't help it, and he was naturally happy to see it.

"Oh, could it be that the young man who apprenticed in the thunderstorm?" Xu Chen's apprenticeship is no longer a secret in Yuzhang City.

"It's the recalcitrant. Xu Fan said.

"This disciple of Brother Xu is so determined to study, I think that in the future, under Brother Xu's teaching, he will be able to achieve a career. Wu Xianling praised.

Xu Chen saw that the heat was almost over, so he hurriedly got up and saluted, and said, "Thank you for the county lord's false praise, the boy Xu Chen is ashamed!"

"Xu Chen?" Wu Xian Ling heard Xu Chen report his name, and some memories flashed through his mind.

"Why does this name sound so familiar?" said Wu Xian Lingxin.