After sending back some of the Chu soldiers who had entered Sichuan to help suppress them, Yang Sichang seemed to feel that he was not down-to-earth enough, and not long after, he sent Yang Zhuoran, a subordinate of the superintendent, to sit in Chu on his behalf and coordinate the officials and troops in various places. Before Yang Zhuoran arrived, Yang Sichang's letter flew to Zhao Dangshi first. As always, Yang Sichang, who had high hopes for Zhao Dangshi's "loyalty", hoped that Zhao Dangshi could also provide some soldiers and horses for Yang Zhuoran to transfer.

There are opposing voices in the army, thinking that with the strength of Zhao Ying, there is no need to obey the orders of a small staff. But Zhao Dangshi thought twice and agreed to Yang Sichang. The road of "Shun Imperial Court" has brought immeasurable benefits to Zhao Ying, and now it is a critical period for the development of Zhao Ying, and it is easy to arouse the suspicion of the governor and the imperial court, and Zhao Dangshi still needs the mask of "obedience and loyalty".

However, Zhao Dangshi of the war camp was not ready to move, and only recruited 1,000 people from the training battalion Guangwenlu and Zheng Shixin in the Tuntian Army, led by the coach Liu Shijun, and drove to Wuchang to welcome Yang Zhuoran's arrival.

The war in central Sichuan continued, and Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan and other places, supervised the guerrilla Gao Qian, and the general Li Jianwu and others kept recruiting and suppressing the surging bandits, but one after another, although they won one battle after another, the number of bandits was increasing, and the situation in Henan was becoming more and more chaotic.

"Now the exile is full of roads, the bones are full of wilderness, the yin wind is miserable, the ghosts are green, and the green of the forest is gathered. And there are those who close the door and throw themselves into the door, there are those who flee from the mud gate of the whole village, there are those who drown in the river hundreds in one day, there are those who eat goose arrows and silkworm arrows, there are those who eat wattles and thistles, there are people who eat soil and stones, there are those who moan like ghosts, and there are those who are stiff and unable to speak,...... There are thousands and hundreds of people gathered around the corner of the city to uncover the pole. ”

After years of natural disasters such as drought, locusts, and freezing, as well as human disasters such as rampant conquest and war, Henan is like a pot of boiling porridge, and there will always be a day when it will completely erupt.

"Seeking ascension in the morning, seeking harmony in the evening, it has been difficult for the poor to survive recently, open the door early to meet the king, and discipline the big and small are happy."

This critical point was finally completely broken through with the scattered light snow in Henan from the end of November to the beginning of December and the invasion army that jumped out of the mountains.

At the beginning, only 1,000 people set off from the Xichuan Mountains to the north, and then a bucket valley, clay pots and other rogues immediately took refuge, and the army propagated slogans along the way, soliciting displaced people, in just half a month, the strength of the army immediately expanded to 20,000 or 30,000 people, and everywhere they went, they were all popular, even breaking Lushan, Jiaxian, Yiyang and other places, and conquering Yiyang in the second half of the year, saying that "not killing civilians, only killing officials" to inspire the homeless people and thieves to vote. Then take advantage of the victory to attack Yongning, Lik, capture more than 100 people of the Ming clan Wan'an King and the gentry, "interrogate in the court, count the crimes" and execute one by one, break into the camp and the prestige is great, and it is not until this time that the officials and soldiers in Henan have only reacted from ignorance. But just as Zhao Dangshi expected early on, the speed of the army's rise was already unstoppable.

Henan chaos, Chu Beiping. No matter what kind of situation the situation in the world has reached, the Chinese New Year's Eve at the end of Chongzhen's thirteenth year still came on time.

Zhao Dangshi himself was stationed in Xiangyang, and Fan Hecheng was arranged for the festival, all of which were handled by Wang Laixing and the consul general of Shuiqiu.

Fanhe City has been operating so far, there are 50,000 or 60,000 military and civilian gatherings living inside and outside the city and in the surrounding areas, the lanterns are knotted, celebrating the New Year, the atmosphere is warm and not inferior to the nearby states and counties, and because the residents come from all over the world, the unique customs of various places are introduced, all kinds of colors, strange and strange, and more interesting.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, there is a parade of lanterns and a performance of the city. The military and civilians enjoyed together, and Zhang Kangxian, the leader of the training camp, and a few friends also mixed in the surging crowd to play.

In recent days, there has been a great turmoil in Henan, and many homeless people have been accepted by Zhao Ying and placed in Fanhe City, and there are many young women in it. Many young generals and soldiers like Zhang Dangxian who have not yet married their wives are interested in looking for their sweethearts on this festival of taboo men and women.

The two brothers around Zhang Ganxian had this plan in their hearts. The two pairs of small eyes kept greeting to the crowd, one would point to the girl and say that it was beautiful, and the other would argue that this girl was the most beautiful. Zhang Dare listened to them first, but he didn't say a word. At this moment, there is only one person in his heart.

One brother looked at his silent appearance, gestured to the other person's eyes, and at the same time joked: "It's still our brother Zhang's high vision, so many little ladies with so many flowers, but none of them fancy it." ”

Another person responded: "Yes, Brother Zhang already has a favorite girl in his heart, don't you know?" ”

"Who?" The man stuck his head forward, pretending to be puzzled.

"Who else? Isn't that the little lady of the Meng family? Tut-tut, it's no wonder that compared with a beautiful girl like her, aren't these women compared to toads in the village stream? ”

With that, the two laughed at the same time. One of them was not satisfied, and continued: "However, there is still a problem here......

"What's the difficulty?" The other person worked brilliantly.

The previous person pretended to sigh and said: "It's a pity that the little lady of the Meng family has a brother like a Yama star, you said that there is such a brother to protect you, if you don't have two sons, where can you have the ability to grab the little lady of the Meng family." There are several brothers who have a captain in the sky, and none of them are on the stage, where can they get into the eyes of the Meng family brothers and sisters? ”

The two of them sang and harmonized, Zhang Dangxian was already displeased, and now the two of them deliberately talked about his pain, Zhang Dangxian was annoyed, and he didn't have the intention to look at the expulsion again, stretched out his hand to push the two of them, and left without looking back. He and Meng Liu met in Fanhe City, he was an officer in the training camp, stationed at the edge of the city for a long time, and when he was not training, he would often be ordered to help the residents deal with some construction and land reclamation sundries, so he had the opportunity to come into contact with Meng Liu, who also lived in Fanhe City.

While walking, thinking about what the two of them said just now, thinking of Meng Liu, I couldn't help but have a sour nose. What they said is not bad, he is just a mediocre small captain in Zhao Yingzhong, and Meng Liu's brother Meng Aocao is a well-known Feijie Zuoying sentry officer, with Meng Liu's talent, presumably the icemen who came to the door to say that the matchmaker had already broken through the threshold, and Meng Aocao thought that it would be impossible for him to agree to his marriage with Meng Liu.

Thinking of this, a sense of loneliness came to Zhang Kangxian's heart, everyone else was happily celebrating the festival, but he couldn't be happy anymore.

As he walked, the ghost sent him to the south of the city. There are many relatives of the officers in the battalion here, and the mansion of the Meng family is also here.

Thinking that he hadn't seen Meng Liu for two or three days, Zhang Dang had the urge to knock on the door first. However, after thinking about it, since the possibility between himself and Meng Liu is very small, why bother looking for that sadness? Thinking so, he withdrew his feet towards the dwelling and was about to leave.

"Hey, isn't this Brother Zhang?" A voice came from behind.

Zhang Dang stopped first and looked back, and it turned out that it was Lu Zhongheng, the master of Tuntian, who was in front of Tuntian. Lu Zhongheng is the deputy soldier and horse officer who belongs to the Terracotta Metropolitan Academy, so he has been transferred from a civilian official to a military attaché. Although he has a very high status, he has always been humble to his subordinates, and he has promoted Zhang Dangxian, and the two have a good relationship.

"The Road Master's Book." Seeing his acquaintance, Zhang Dangxian felt a little embarrassed, and it was not good to leave directly.

"How did you get here? I heard from others that there was a lot of driving on the main street, so I just finished my errand and was about to go. Lu Zhongheng smiled with a happy expression. This is the expression that the people in Fan River City should have tonight.

"Oh, yes. It's lively there, and his subordinates have just come from there......" Speaking of this, Zhang Dang suddenly lost his words. I don't go to a fun place, but I go around to this lonely and quiet place, which is not very polite.

Sure enough, there was a strange look on the face of the middle of the road. Before he could ask, Zhang Dang rushed to say first: "I don't know what business the master book has here?" ”

Lu Zhongheng didn't notice that he deliberately changed the topic, and replied when he asked: "The lord is in Xiangyang, and he can't come to Fanhe, so he asked me to bring a batch of New Year's gifts to the people of Fanhe City. If you want me to say, the lord is really a good official who thinks about the people. ”

"Yes, yes......" Zhang Dang first echoed, but then he couldn't think of anything to say.

Lu Zhongheng obviously didn't forget his question, and still asked: "Brother Zhang is not happy on the street, what are you doing here?" ”

Zhang Dang was embarrassed when he heard this, and his mouth was slurking: "This, this, uh......"

Before he could speak, at the entrance of the alley of the house, a pretty figure suddenly turned out in front of the two.

Lu Zhongheng saw the person who came, and immediately understood, laughed twice, and said to Zhang Dangxian: "It turns out that Brother Zhang is accompanied by a beautiful woman, so I can't bother." Be one step ahead. After speaking, he led seven or eight of his subordinates to swagger away.

Zhang Dare looked at the pretty shadow in surprise first, isn't this the Meng Liu who thinks about it for a long time? She looked at Zhang Dare to open her mouth wide first, looking surprised and funny, and she couldn't help laughing.

"Meng, Miss Meng." Zhang Dare first settled his mind and said shyly.

"General Zhang." Meng Liu said, and gently blessed Zhang Dangxian.

Zhang Dang hurriedly said: "No need to be polite, also, also, I am not a general, just a team and a captain." "Under the nervousness, the old problems of stuttering began to flar-up.

After saying this, the two of them had their own thoughts and fell into a short silence.

Zhang Dangxian was anxious to break the quiet atmosphere, and when he thought that Lu Zhongheng had come, he asked, "Miss Meng, have you received the gifts distributed by the army?" ”

Meng Liu nodded and said, "Got it." Everyone in the camp received a large package. There is food inside, and there is something to wear. ”

"That's good, that's good." Zhang Dang had nothing to say first, so he could only repeat his words uncomfortably.

Meng Liu looked at him, and stopped talking, looking preoccupied. Zhang Dangxian didn't know that this was deliberately done to show him, and he was easily attracted and asked, "Miss Meng, it's a good festival, why don't you look very happy?" ”

Meng Liu took the opportunity to say: "I don't hide it from the general, just because Ah Liu has a matter on his mind." ”

"What?"

Meng Liu bit his lower lip lightly, lowered his head and said, "Meng Liuping Suri has been taken care of by generals many times in Fanhe City. I have always been grateful to my heart, but I can't repay it. A few days ago, when I thought of today's festival, I thought about sewing a coat to repay the general. It was just finished the previous time, and I was thinking about asking someone to give it to the general, and I didn't want to meet here. If the general does not dislike it, Ah Liu will take his coat. ”

"This, this ......" I didn't expect Meng Liu to make clothes for himself, Zhang Dangxian couldn't even speak when he was excited.

His silence made Meng Liu think that he disagreed, and asked, "Doesn't the general look down on this coat?" Ah Liu's craftsmanship is not proficient, and he can't compare to the exquisite luxury given to the general by others, and the general should ...... if he doesn't look down on it."

Zhang Dang was anxious when he heard this, and he spoke sharply: "No, no." You make me a coat, and my heart rejoices! That joyful look can't be fooled.

When Meng Liu heard him say this, his heart was instantly relieved, and he smiled and said, "Okay, general, wait a minute, Meng Liu will go to the camp to bring the jacket." ”

Although Zhang Ganxian has been with her for a long time, it is the first time he has seen her so happy. Seeing her fluttering away happily, I was also happy in my heart.

Not long after, Meng Liu returned to Zhang Ganxian's side with a coat.

Zhang Dang first picked up the jacket and took a closer look, only to see that although the material was rough, the workmanship was fine and the wiring was neat.

Meng Liu's heart was as careful as a hair, and he noticed that Zhang Dang was moved first, and asked carefully, "How is it?" The general went back to try it, and if it didn't fit, he would take it back and change it. ”

Zhang Dangxian nodded vigorously and said, "Very good, very good, I like it very much, I'll try it now!" After speaking, regardless of Meng Liu's dissuasion, he withdrew his jacket in this extremely cold weather and put Meng Liu's coat on immediately.

To the surprise of the two, this jacket turned out to be a good fit.

Meng Liu was relieved and exclaimed: "It's just right, general, you really look good in this coat!" ”

Zhang Dangxian smiled and said, "Then I wear it all in the first month!" ”

When Meng Liu heard this, his face turned red and said: "That's not possible, this material is too bad after all." It is not allowed to be on the table. ”

Zhang Dang first heard other information from the words, thinking that she seemed to have seen the world. He didn't know that Meng Liu was a young lady from a big family before he joined the Zhao camp with Meng Aocao, and he was taught to do these things since he was a child, so of course needlework was not a problem. And the luxurious clothes that Meng Liu had seen were something that a bitter child like him couldn't think of.

"Even if I don't deserve her now, I have to work harder." Zhang Dangxian secretly swore that although Meng Aocao's brutality made him secretly frightened, a fighting spirit to take responsibility spread in his body at the same time.

After thinking about it a lot, Zhang Dangxian suddenly remembered something. It was a jade pendant that he had seized and left with him when he was fighting the thief. He didn't understand the color of the jade, he just thought the jade pendant was good-looking and took it with him. Coming and not being rude, he didn't expect to meet Meng Liu here, and Meng Liu specially prepared a gift for him, he had no long things, and he suddenly remembered this jade pendant. When he thought of this, he looked into his coat and touched it. Meng Liu didn't know what he was doing. But when Zhang Dang took out the pendant first and handed it to her, she actually covered her mouth, and the corners of her eyes were wet.

Zhang Dare first saw why her eyes suddenly turned red, and she was in a hurry. Fortunately, there was no one to communicate with here, so he could slowly coax Meng Liu. He stretched out his warm hand to wipe away the tears on Meng Liu's little face, and said softly: "What are you crying about on Chinese New Year's Eve." ”

Meng Liu opened his clear eyes and said with a smile: "Well, Ah Liu doesn't cry anymore." ”

Zhang Dang grinned first, the smile was extremely comfortable, this Chinese New Year's Eve, there was no happier moment for him than now. He wanted to keep this happiness for a little longer, so he proposed: "You see that the main street is still brightly lit and lively, why don't we go there for a walk." ”

Meng Liu's heart was sweet, how could he not allow it, he obediently promised at the moment, and under the afterglow of the lights, the two walked side by side and slowly left Nanying.

On the other hand, Lu Zhongheng looked at the tail of the driving man on the main street, and then left a group of subordinates and touched a courtyard by himself.

This courtyard is located in the east of the city, far from the lively main street, but at this time the courtyard is also full of lights, and the noise is not below the main street.

This is the residence of Wang Laixing in the city. At the moment, there are quite a few officers from the town gathered here. They were all not addicted to drinking at the Chinese New Year's Eve banquet held by Zhao Dangshi, and spontaneously organized to fight here for another three hundred rounds.