Shang Cheng took Lu Ji to be busy all afternoon, running around several Chinese military camps outside the city, and it was not until the evening that he finally managed to scrape together less than a thousand stone of food, barely solving the urgent need of the state capital. By the time the two of them arrived in the south of the city with a large group of personal soldiers, it was already dark.

Goose feathers and snowflakes fluttered in the sky. The wind scrambled with snow and slammed into people's faces and bodies. Immediately, the torch in the knight's hand was swept by the wind, and a long tail flame was dragged. In the light of the torches, the bare guards and low huts on both sides of the horse team were twisted in shape, standing gloomily on the side of the official road, silently watching the hurried procession.

Rikuyo sat in the only carriage in the team. There was no light in the carriage, and it was so dark that it was almost impossible to see anything, and only occasionally when the carriage rolled over the pit and slope of the official, with the slight swing of the cotton curtain, would the two lanterns on the left and right sides of the door cast a glimmer of light, and the earth flickered and disappeared.

Lu Ji held the stove in his hand, covered his knees with a felt blanket, sat cross-legged on the thick black bear skin mattress, and sat silently in the carriage, his thoughts still on the issue of food. Although he had just received a thousand stone of grain, his mood still did not feel relaxed at all, but felt even heavier. For the more than 30,000 people who fled to Yanzhou for refuge, 1,000 stone of grain is just a drop in the bucket, and they can only hang their lives with two bowls of thin porridge a day, which is far from helping; And it doesn't last many days. Not only Yanzhou, but also Yingxian, Pingcheng, and Duanzhou...... The problem of feeding 300,000 people in more than a dozen prefectures and counties made him so anxious that he could hardly sleep. Just after noon, when he asked people to pull grain, a clerk's office sent him a detailed article of urgency, Yanbian County had completely run out of food, and the county order cried in the official document: "...... The people live on the bark and grass roots, and even more so, they take soil to wrap their stomachs. …… If there is no good law, I am afraid that there will be no successor. ”……

The proclamation of Yanbian County was beating in front of him. That word by word was like a sharp knife, poking at his heart one by one. In a trance, he seemed to see the sadness and helplessness of Yanbian County when he wrote this proclamation, so he couldn't help but turn sideways slightly in the rocking and bumpy and pitch-black carriage, subconsciously avoiding the eyes full of confusion and despair.

He sighed, stretched out his right hand, and rubbed his temples with his knuckles. It's so tiring. He had never been so tired. Even when he went to Beijing 20 years ago to participate in the scientific expedition and waited anxiously in the monastery where he stayed to release the list, or when the Liu Lingtai case occurred seven years ago, he was not as tired as he is now. I'm exhausted right now.

Liu Lingtai case......

He smiled wryly in the dark. How did I think about it seven years ago? He put down the stove and rubbed his eye bubbles, swollen from lack of sleep, trying to get his mind out of the storm. But the more he didn't let himself think about it, the more stubbornly his mind haunted the matter. But what result can he come up with as he sits here and dreams? At present, he can only talk less and do more, trying his best not to let his opponents grasp the handle and omission; He had to do everything he could to stop the widespread famine that could break out at any moment!

But it's too hard to do that.

Unless he can get the camp to agree to open a warehouse to release military rations!

He let out a long yawn and leaned wearily on the brocade mat behind his back, but his mind was clear and his mind was clear.

At present, there is only one way to save both Yanshan's fate and his personal fate, that is, the imperial court agreed to the joint recommendation of him, Chen Pu and Di Xu, and agreed to Shang Cheng's fake post as the governor of Yanshan.

It's funny to say, when he agreed with Di Xu and Tao Qi's idea to recommend Shang Cheng, it was just out of a political balance and compromise, one by one, he couldn't stand on the opposite side of Tongwei civil official and Yanshan Shilin for the sake of a Li Shen, and it wasn't that he was in favor of letting a person with no experience at all sit in that position. But from what happened today, he realized that it might be a smart move.

He immediately denied his judgment in his heart:

No, it's certainly a smart move!

Thinking of the events that happened today, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: The blind man is really worthy of being a blind man, he is really bold and neat in his words and deeds, and he didn't even have half a superfluous sentence, so he pointed out so much grain to himself! What touched him the most was that from the beginning of agreeing to borrow grain to the last truckload of grain being transported away, Shang Chengcheng never put forward any other requirements and ideas, and he didn't even mention that if something happened, he would share the responsibility!

Of course, he also had doubts. Until now, he couldn't figure out what Shang Cheng was doing this for, and what benefits he could get from this matter? Could it be that the blind man is just for the tens of thousands of people? Or, is it to buy people's hearts?

That shouldn't be possible, right? He immediately dismissed this nonsense. Shang Cheng is a reckless and reckless man who leads troops to fight, what does he do to buy people's hearts? Even if he knew he was going to be an admiral...... It's even more unlikely! Before the approval and appointment of the imperial court, no one knew who the new governor was, even if it was Chen Changsha or Pan Lian Cao Zhang, they would never know that Yan Shanwei could recommend the candidate for the governor, but the final decision was still in the imperial court, the new governor may be Li Shen, or Shang Blind, and it is more likely that neither of them is ......

His mind was so wild that he didn't notice that the carriage had stopped. An attendant lifted a corner of the curtain and whispered, "Master, General Shang has something to say to you." ”

The cold wind that poured into the carriage and the snowflakes that hit his face and hands made Lu Ji wake up. He leaned out halfway and looked around through the dim glow of the lantern. The carriage stopped at an intersection. It was quiet all around, and the streets and the roofs and eaves of the streets were covered with goose feather snow. A few night guards came from the east, stood around the corner and looked at them curiously, then turned the corner and headed north. He looked at Shang Cheng, who was approaching with his horse, and asked, "What's the matter with General Zida?" ”

Shang Cheng half-bowed on horseback, held the horsewhip and arched his hand, and said, "Lu Mu, let's break up here." You're tired from the day, and go back early to rest. Tomorrow morning, General Simon and I will go to the house to pay New Year's greetings to my aunt. ”

Lu Ji opened his eyes and was about to say "yes", but when the words came to his lips, he changed his mind again: "Slow." Didn't General Yiyi Zida say that he wanted to invite me to eat beef? Why don't you mention it now? Could it be that Cheng Zida is also afraid that I am a foodie? ”

He usually speaks in a gentle tone, but at this time, he suddenly learned the tone of a big-headed soldier, and he seemed a little nondescript. Shang Cheng laughed and said, "I have a big pot of meat stewed there, I'm afraid you won't come!" Ugly words are ahead, Ximen Sheng is a wine bag, I don't care if I get drunk, and my sister-in-law blames me, don't push things on me. ”

Lu Ji also smiled and said, "No." He beckoned to an attendant and instructed, "Go back and tell Madame that I will go to the post house to get drunk with General Ximen, the general of Shang." Tell the big housekeeper again to send the four jars of 'Daigo Qinglu' that I hid to the old post house in Zaozi Lane in the south of the city. The attendant agreed.

Lu Ji followed Shang Cheng back to the old post house, got off the horse and parked in front of the door, naturally there were soldiers and guards who came to serve the horses and vehicles, and the two walked and said that they entered the post house. Ximen Sheng had already received the report and brought people out to greet him, while instructing the stove to quickly make hot dishes and warm wine. Shang Cheng rode back and forth, with snow on his head and shoulders, and when he entered the courtyard, he nodded to the two of them, and went to clean up and change his clothes first. Lu Ji said with a smile: "General Kezhi, don't be busy warming the wine, wait a while, and good wine will be delivered." ”

"Huh? What kind of good wine? ”

"Daigo clear dew."

Ximen Sheng took a breath of cool air in his mouth, blinked his eyes and asked, "Imperial wine 'Daigo Qinglu'?" Lu Ji held up a finger, nodded and said, "General Kezhi is silent!" This was brought to me by someone else from Jingshi with great difficulty. It's rare to have this leisure time today, and I have the honor to drink with the two generals, if it weren't for such a good wine, wouldn't it have disappointed the hearts of the two generals? Ximen Sheng knew that he was mocking himself, his old face turned red and opened his mouth to justify, but he didn't say anything, just swallowed his saliva, snorted in his mouth, and raised his hand to let Lu Ji go up to the room.

Lu Jiyan said that he also regretted it a little, and wanted to turn around for a while but couldn't find a good wording, and when he was embarrassed, he saw a person standing in the candlelight at the door of the upper room, in his thirties, with a dark and thin face, and a robe and thick-soled leather boots with a belt inlaid with silver nails, and was saluting respectfully to himself. He returned the salute, looking at the person's somewhat familiar face and thinking about who this person was, Ximen Sheng introduced beside him: "This is Huo Gongze of Yixian County, who came to Yanzhou to participate in the hero's banquet." ”

Lu Jideng remembered it. More than 100 people were invited to the hero's banquet set up this time, among which there were only three or five people who had meritorious fame, and Huo Gongze of Yixian County in front of him was one of them. He couldn't help but glance at Huo Shiqi more, and was very curious about how such a showman lived in the post house. But he quickly thought of the joints. He heard that this Huo Shiqi is not only very important to Sun Fu and Qian Gou, but also seems to be some of Sun Fu's elder relatives One by one, with the relationship between Sun Fu and Shang Cheng, it is not difficult to come and live in this comfortable and thoughtful old post house.

“…… Huo Gong is Zida's uncle, and he is ranked seventeenth in the clan. ”

Lu Ji was about to enter the house, and when he heard Ximen Sheng's introduction, he quickly stood up and bowed his hand: "It turns out that the seventeenth uncle of the Huo family." ”

Huo Shiqi hurriedly bowed and returned the salute, and he didn't dare to say in his mouth: "General Simon is joking." Bo Fu is known as Shiqi's table word. Shi Qi and General Shang just have the old; General Mengshang valued it and regarded himself as an elder, but in fact, he was worried and uneasy. ”

Lu Ji was still pondering Huo Shiqi's origin in a daze, Shang Cheng had already changed into a robe and came over around the dripping eaves, and explained to Lu Ji: "Uncle Seventeen is my wife's uncle and my deceased father-in-law's classmate. ”

Only then did Lu Ji know that the news he heard first was unreliable, so he took a step forward and opened the door curtain, waved his hand and said, "Uncle Seventeen, please." Quietly glanced at Shang Cheng again. He had checked Shang Cheng's resume file, but he only knew that Shang Cheng's wife disappeared in the Yandong War in the summer of 18 years, but he never knew that his wife was also from a scholarly background. A vulgar monk and a vulgar laborer actually begged the daughter of a scholar's family, isn't there a bit of twists and turns in this? Thinking about it, he suddenly felt that maybe he, Di Xu and Tao Qi had mistaken this person. But he had little contact with Shang Cheng, except for a few military meetings, he didn't have much contact in private, and he couldn't tell if his thoughts were right or not.

While chatting and laughing with a few people, he was thinking about the idea that had just come to him, and his mind suddenly flashed, and he remembered Chen Pu's fake position as the head of the camp and the acting commander. Chen Pu's fake post in Yanshan, it was Shang Cheng who proposed it, and it was Shang Cheng who insisted on it, and in the end, he actually let the court acquiesce to it, who dares to say that this matter is a reckless and nonsense idea of Shang Blind for a while? There is also the later war planning, which is meticulous and careful, even old military affairs like Li Shen and Ximen Sheng also nodded and praised, who can say that he is boldly and recklessly making ideas? and the seemingly impossible lone army plan to go thousands of miles to the grassland that he proposed at that time......

He was still thinking about it while he was eating. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was right, if anyone thought that the blind man was a puppet who only knew how to fight, that guy's eyes would be really blind.

On the eleventh day of the first month, the imperial court's edict was transmitted to Yanshan, and Shang Cheng was promoted to General Mingwei from Sipin, moved from General Xuanwei to Sipin, led Yanshan Weizhong Army Sima, pretended to be the commander of Yanshan, and led the Yanshan Guard to supervise Yanshan's military and political affairs, and was also the deputy head of the Yanshan camp.

On the same day, Chen Pu, the general of the Zhu State, was resigned.

On the same day, the Yanshan camp was abolished, and the relevant people were ordered to return to their original posts one by one.

On the same day, Li Shen awarded one acre of land and became the son of the founding of the country......