The city of Hangzhou, as well as everything in the south of the Yangtze River, is developing and changing in an orderly manner. After the Song army had recaptured most of the city's land and the people were able to live a stable life again, the good habits and heritage of the Chinese nation for thousands of years began to push everyone to rebuild their homes and live a better life again.

No matter how much suffering the Chinese nation has experienced for thousands of years, even if the world is reversed, invaded by foreign invaders, and lives are devastated, it can still continue to move forward from one calamity after another, and it will be passed on endlessly, relying on the diligence and optimism that has been passed down from the ancestors and has penetrated deep into the soul and bone marrow. Therefore, in only a month or two, the city of Hangzhou, which had been burned down by the fire, had regained its vitality, and the streets and alleys were also stirring up again, and even many merchants from other places sent all kinds of goods here to sell.

Especially after the New Year's Festival, there are some festivals in the city. The people have completely come out of their fear and anxiety, and they have truly recognized and respected Sun Tu and his soldiers and horses, and believe that as long as they are here, everyone can live the stable life they hope for. So at least on the surface, everything is not much different from before the war, which also surprised Tong Mu and others who arrived from Suzhou, and they were even more amazed.

Now that Hangzhou has been taken, and for the time being, they have no intention of continuing to go west to completely wipe out the rebellious army, the pressure on Suzhou and other places in the rear is naturally greatly reduced, and Tong Mu and they don't have to be busy with important matters such as escorting grain and grass, so they simply rushed to Hangzhou to join Sun Tu. When they had finished all the things at hand and could finally take a breath, it was the end of the fourth year of Xuanhe, Chinese New Year's Eve.

This day for the children of China, whether it is after a thousand years or a thousand years ago, it is a lot of symbolic significance, no matter how busy and tired, relatives and friends will always choose this day to reunite, no matter how hard it is, but also to live this year well.

And for the tens of thousands of Song troops in Jiangnan now, of course, there is no suffering, Sun Tu also suspended daily drills and other affairs early, and even the alcohol ban was lifted on Chinese New Year's Eve, so there was a lot of jubilation in the army on this day, and laughter and the smell of wine were everywhere. Sun Tu also walked around the makeshift barracks, talked to the soldiers under his command for a long time, and drank a lot of toasts.

Speaking of which, after a series of arduous battles, although the Song army suffered a lot of damage, the number of soldiers and horses under Sun Tu's hands increased more and more. Because in addition to the Shandong Army, as the time of getting along increases, even the officers and men of the four armies of Gyeonggi, Jingnan, Huainan, and Huaibei also recognize and respect him as the commander of the three armies from the bottom of their hearts.

This is not only because Sun Tu can lead everyone to fight down one city after another and win one victory after another, but also because he is fair and upright enough on weekdays, and he has never deducted the military rations and salaries of the soldiers below. In this era, the fact that an official can do these two things is enough for the soldiers to listen to his orders and work for him. What's more, he can always enter the barracks to share weal and woe with everyone, and there is no shelf of a superior person, and over time, all the soldiers recognized him as the commander in everyone's mind, and he is the backbone worthy of life and death.

The soldiers and horses of the five routes were combined, plus some of the Jiangnan soldiers recruited later, and now the number of soldiers and horses in Sun Tu's hands is once again close to 100,000. Although they can't compare with the Shandong army that can fight well, when it comes to loyalty to Sun Tu, there is not much gap between them and the Shandong soldiers.

Because of this, when Sun Tu entered the barracks to celebrate the New Year with everyone on Chinese New Year's Eve, all his subordinates were presumptuous, toasting the wheel battle, and almost pouring General Sun to the ground. By the time he slowly came to his senses, it was pitch black outside, but it wasn't too quiet, and the sound of crackling firecrackers came from not far away.

At this time, firecrackers are still a literal thing, that is, the bamboo pole is placed on the fire to barbecue, and then the movement after its burst is taken to increase the lively atmosphere. Of course, there are more advanced ones, which are to stuff saltpeter and other things into a pole and then burn them, so that not only is the sound louder, but also the brilliant fire flashes, which is more festive. Of course, there were no firecrackers in later generations, and the gunpowder at this time was still a top secret of the government, or it was used as a secret recipe for alchemy by the monks, and the common people still couldn't afford to use these things for entertainment.

Sun Tu was lying on the bed, listening to the sound of firecrackers outside, and unconsciously thought of the few remaining "earth-shaking thunders" in his warehouse, thinking if he could take them out and put two of them. Then I thought of Wan'er and Hu Rong who were far away in Shandong, and I don't know what the two of them are now, they must be thinking about themselves.

By the way, there is also his own son, the son he has never seen since he was born - more than a year ago, when he was ordered to go south to quell the rebellion, Ya'er was already pregnant, and later, from the letter, he learned that Ya'er gave birth to a big fat son for himself...... Now that his son is more than a year old, he can't even see him, hug him once, and don't know when he will be able to go back and see his relatives again......

Every festive season, on Chinese New Year's Eve reunion night like this, it is easier for people to miss their relatives thousands of miles away after getting drunk. Even Sun Tu's mind was a little chaotic at this time, but in the end he could only turn into a sigh: Huo Qubing said that the Huns had not been destroyed, why did he do it? Do you want to learn from him?

The door suddenly creaked open, and a familiar voice sounded: "San Lang is feeling melancholy for being drunk and making a fool of himself?" Now there is only one person left who can laugh like this in front of him.

Sun Tu also laughed, temporarily put aside the slightest sorrow in his heart, stood up and looked over and said, "Second brother is wrong, I feel chilled because I thought that you didn't talk about brotherly righteousness before, and actually poured me together with them." ”

"It's no wonder to me, you also know how much I drink, even if I really stand up to block the wine for you, it's just one more person who has fallen. So it's better to be on the same side as them, so that at least when you fall, I can still have a hand, and I can still come to see you. While talking and laughing, Tong Mu had already put the tray in his hand on the table in the room, on which there were a few delicate side dishes, and a tandoor with a fire, and a pot of wine was warming on it: "Green ant new wine, red clay small stove." If you want snow in the evening, can you drink a glass of nothing? ”

Sun Tu had already turned over, looked at these wines and dishes, and said with a wry smile: "Do you think I'm not drunk enough to wake up, and you're going to pour me wine again?" ”

"San Lang's words are wrong, I'm here to help you sober up, as the so-called attacking wine with wine is the most sobering up, and it is for reviving the soul." While speaking, Tong Mu had already set up the dishes and chopsticks: "Today's Chinese New Year's Eve, you and my brother also rarely have a leisurely reunion to drink, and we should have a few drinks." ”

"Then I will give up my life to accompany the gentleman." Sun Tu smiled, then straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and sat down in the upper position that had been given up by Tong Mu. Although the two are still called brothers, the primacy and inferiority have long been decided.

Tong Mu filled the wine for the two of them, and then said with emotion: "Speaking of which, it has been another year since you and I drank alone this time, right?" ”

"That time I was new to Jiangnan, you came to welcome me......" Sun Tu picked up the wine glass and took a small sip, the wine was not strong, and it had a sour taste, but it also had some taste.

"To be honest at the time, I was really afraid that you would suffer a big loss in Jiangnan, and you wouldn't even be able to save your life. Although I came to you to borrow your strength to fight with Zhu Mian. At this time, he was able to make some words clear thoroughly: "But I didn't expect that you could really get things done, and now, it has become a place in the south of the Yangtze River, and both strength and prestige are far above Zhu Mian." ”

"Yes, don't say it's you, even I didn't expect that in a year, the world would be turned upside down, Zhu Mian died, Hangzhou was also taken, and now there is only one last step left, and the Jiangnan Rebellion can be pacified because of me." Sun Tu also said with some emotion.

Indeed, a year ago, although he also had the idea of eliminating harm for the country and the people, he had no bottom in his heart. Jiangnan is the home field that Zhu Mian has been running for many years, and he still has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses under his command. But judging from the results, he really let him do it, and in addition to this, the rebellion of Fang La was almost quelled.

"Do you know when I was sure you could do it?" Tong Mu also took a sip of wine and asked with a smile.

"It's hard to guess, is it after I take Suzhou?"

"No, much earlier, when you and I met again after a long absence, and talked over wine as we did today, I already felt that you could make it happen." Tong Mu said with a serious expression: "I'm not talking big, but the truth." Because your judgment of me that day made me truly understand that you are a person with a better mind than skills, far stronger than I thought before. If you can only lead troops to fight, of course, it is possible to succeed, but you are not sure. But when I knew that you were thoughtful, clear-headed, and able to hide deeply, I was already seventy or eighty percent sure that you would be able to get rid of Zhu Mian smoothly. ”

"Oh? It seems that second brother, you are really full of confidence in me......"

"Hehe, it's just some ability to look at people, you have it, and I have it too." Tong Mu smiled, added wine to the two of them, and then stared at Sun Tu's gaze: "I don't know what you plan to do next?" ”

"What's next? Didn't you say it earlier, after the beginning of spring, I will go west to sweep away the anti-thieves in Wuzhou. ”

Tong Mu shook his head: "Then what about after that?" He finally got to the point!