The isthmus of Suzhou was narrow, and the Liao court built side walls with rammed earth and sharpened wooden piles, and also built an earthen city with a circumference of more than ten miles. However, the original side walls and earthen cities were extremely simple, and if the Liao army came to attack with iron barrels and cannons, it would not be able to hold it at all. Therefore, as soon as the Han army occupied Suzhou Pass, they immediately began to build a new city on the Nanshan Heights in the middle of the isthmus. Although the city designed by Zhao Xingde is not large, the total amount of earthwork to be completed is not small. Although more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians have moved to Guannan in Suzhou, only a few thousand Ding Zhuang actually participated in the construction of the city, and the progress of the construction of the city has been slow for more than two months.

"The weather has turned cold, and it will freeze in December," Han Ningshuang stood on a small mound, surrounded by the generals of the Liaodong Han Army, she looked at the half-finished foundation of the city wall, and said in a low voice, "Can you send more people to build Nanshan City before winter?" ”

"It's such a big place, no matter how many people can't use it, it's just a waste of labor." Wang Xuansu said. After being silent for a while, "Maybe......" he said a little hesitantly, "Maybe General Zhao will come over and there will be some way." Seeing Han Ningshuang frowning, he explained, "After the city is repaired, iron barrel cannons will be placed in each artillery position, and General Zhao will have to personally guide it at that time." Just ask him to come early. What's more, the situation on the Taibai Mountain side is already very stable. Even without General Zhao in charge, General Wang Lao would be able to deal with it. ”

"In that case, let's ask General Zhao to come and advise." Han Ningshuang said in a low voice. She looked up to the north, two bays of sea water of different shades and colors surrounded the narrow Suzhou Isthmus, on the site of the foundation of Nanshan City, the original border wall of the Liao Kingdom had been demolished, pushing the people who carried the soil to come and go, Ding Zhuang shouted loudly, and the wall foundation of Nanshan City was tamped little by little. To the south of the small new city, more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians of the Han army were struggling to repair other fortifications.

Suzhou Guannan faces the sea on three sides, the mountains run through it, the cavalry of the Liao State is not easy to gallop, the east is close to the Goryeo Kingdom, and the south and the Great Song Dynasty face each other across the sea, not afraid of the Liao blockade. This is the best place in the whole eastern Liaodong climate, suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry, and the most suitable for garrisons. Although the north is an important town of Liaoguo, Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo, it is also an area with the largest number of Han and Bohai people in the entire Liaodong. The Han army took this place as the foundation of the uprising, and began to survey the terrain, and had been preparing for more than ten years. In the past three months, the subordinates who were most loyal to the Han clan, the elite soldiers accumulated over the decades, and the hundreds of thousands of craftsmen and civilians have been in an endless stream, and they have migrated from sea and land one after another. Viewed from a high place, except for the Nanshan City that controls the isthmus, the entire Guannan of Suzhou has almost become a huge construction site, almost all the slightly steep hills are rushing to build forts, and under the mountains are criss-crossing trenches, in the middle of the trenches are fields that have been divided into pieces, and the black ashes left by the fire have not yet faded.

This year, the agricultural season has been delayed, and even if the wheat seeds are sown in September, it is better than nothing when the winter is likely to be harassed by the Khitan cavalry. This winter, it was not enough to rely on the grain stored by the Han army and the people, Xia Guo brought 50,000 stone of grain to Suzhou Guannan, and the Han firm searched for it at a high price in Huainan, Youzhou, and Goryeo, so that it could barely scrape together enough grain and grass for wintering. The Han army has gone all out to manage this consolidated rear, and there is no room for failure.

"If Mr. Zhao doesn't want to come, what should we do?" Wang Xuansu asked in a low voice. The elite soldiers of the Han army gathered in Suzhou, but the area around the Yalu River in Taibai Mountain was empty, and in the battle of Kaizhou, Wang Hengzhi, who presided over the overall situation, was a little weak, but Zhao Xingde stood out. Not only did the Han army in Kaizhou gain momentum and faintly overwhelm Suzhou, but Zhao Xingde himself also gained prestige, not only most of the Han soldiers in the Yalu River in Taibai Mountain were friendly with him, but even the Yalu River Jurchens and even the Goryeo people started business with him. As soon as Wang Xuansu asked this, the feelings of several Han army leaders such as Zhang Liuge, Gao Bolong, and Xu Detai were also a little complicated.

Han Ningshuang lowered her eyelids slightly. Zhao Xingde's character, words and deeds, some are hearsay, and some are personal experience. It's not pedantic like the legend, maybe a little scheming, but it's by no means a person who fights for power and interests and doesn't care about the overall situation.

After being silent for a moment, she said in a deep voice: "Mr. Zhao, I, Han Ningshuang, can trust him. ”

............

Since the victory in Kaizhou, the Khitan people in Liaodong have fled to Liaoyang, Shenzhou and other important towns like frightened birds. The marshal of the Han army sent Wang Ji, the major general of Kaizhou Zhai, to invite Zhao Xingde, and the hundreds of miles from Suzhou to Kaizhou did not encounter a group of Khitan cavalry along the way. After crossing the border of Muzhou, he met the leaders of the Han army who were scattered to occupy the prefecture and county. Wang Ji is a close guard who follows Miss Han all the year round, the messenger of the Han army marshal's mansion, and the son of the old general of Kaizhou Wang, General Zhao who went to visit Phoenix Mountain, and the generals of the Han army who have just made a windfall are extremely enthusiastic to entertain him, and leave him everywhere for a few more days before leaving, if it is not for the military emergency, this short two hundred miles, I am afraid that it will not be completed in a month.

The officials, civilians, and soldiers that Wang Ji saw along the way were not the same decadent appearance as before, but had a kind of vigorous mood and wanted to do a big job. He knew that these changes had a lot to do with Mr. Zhao, who had a short dealing. The admiration for him in my heart increased a little, and I couldn't wait to see this person. Who knew that Xiaoxing stayed overnight and arrived at Phoenix Mountain, but the sergeant told Zhao Xingde and Jin Sima to go to the distant city to inspect the city. Wang Ji couldn't bear to wait in the cottage, and he didn't even have time to eat, so he hurried back and forth from Phoenix Mountain to the distant city.

The envoy of the Han army had just left for half an hour, and the pigeon post in Yuan County received a message from Phoenix Village. Zhao Xingde received the pigeon book report, glanced at it, frowned slightly, and handed the paper roll to Li Sihai and Jin Changtai, who were sitting opposite.

"It seems that the Han army is still not very relieved." After Kim Chang-tae read it, he returned the pigeon book to Xingde. Li Sihai groaned: "If you say that you want to do harm, forgive them and don't have the courage." Zhao Xingde nodded and said, "Since that's the case, I'll go for it." Jin Changtai said with a smile: "The big business is doing business, and the proprietor is walking around, and the small business in the shop is just handed over to the shopkeeper to watch." appease the Suzhou side first, and in a few months, you can come back to accompany your sister-in-law with peace of mind. "The General's Mansion arranged for the sergeant's family to come to the reunion, and the mood of the Chengying Battalion was very good.

"A small business in a shop?" Li Sihai repeated thoughtfully.

"Exactly." Jin Changtai calculated with a smile, "In the first battle of Kaizhou, the Han army of 30,000 people besieged the city for more than 60 days, and 30,000 hired laborers did the work for two months. According to the market in Guanzhong, the daily salary of an ordinary helper is 100 wen, which is converted into a dime of silver. The capital of the Han army's labor in Kaizhou was 180,000. After deducting the consumption of grain and grass, nearly 360,000 yuan were captured in this battle. The invested capital has doubled. The additional state and county land obtained is the market that is preempted. made a good deal in Dafa Li, so after this war, everyone was brave. ”

Zhao Xingde listened to his description of the philistine, and said with a smile: "It's really in the eyes of money." ”

Jin Changtai smiled slightly, took a sip of tea and said, "The business of my camp is even better." The sergeants of the battalion plus the garrison numbered less than 1,000 people, and participated in the siege of Kaiju for two months, which is also counted as sixty days. The cost of labor was 6,000 yuan, and the seized amount was more than 50,000 yuan. He held his forehead with one hand, tapped his fingers lightly a few times, and pretended to regret, "Although the labor of the sergeant is much more expensive than that of ordinary mercenaries, and the rent of war horses, armor and artillery is not calculated, but these were originally paid by the military government, and we have completed the detachment military affairs to support the Han army, and the military government can be regarded as offsetting the cost and profit, and there is a slight profit." ”

Zhao Xingde rolled his eyes and scolded: "How can the military government be so careful. ”

Jin Changtai also ignored him, and said with a smile: "Fighting a war is like doing business, you have to make money without losing money, and the capital is getting bigger and bigger." For our battalion, this battle is a big profit, and the cost is about to increase tenfold. Tut-tut, these small businesses of cutting wood, smelting iron, chopping wood and burning charcoal in our shop are not as profitable as burning, killing and looting. The more you do this kind of business, the better. No wonder those barbarians want to go to the Central Plains to loot, and they can take down a city at will, which is more oily and watery than this Kaizhou. ”

Zhao Xingde didn't feel it, but Li Sihai stroked his palms and laughed: "Jin Sima is worthy of the marching division, and I am fortunate to hear this grand theory, and I should be exposed." He took a sip of the cup, only to suddenly realize that it was tea, frowned slightly, raised his head and said, "I invite the two of you to Shanglinjiang Tower to drink, Brother Zhao is not allowed to refuse." ”

............

Next to the Dunhuang Bachelor's Mansion, in the courtyard of Zhao Xingde's mansion, the chrysanthemums with golden lion's heads are in full bloom, and the two little ones are playing around the lush flowers. Li Ruoxue was sending Mrs. Lu out. Lu Shi walked to the door and stopped, and said in a low voice: "After my sister went to Liaodong, the houses and courtyards here were kept as they were. ”

Li Ruoxue smiled and said softly: "Aunt Liu will also come over from time to time to take care of the house, the flowers and plants in these courtyards, if my sister likes it, I will send them to the house." Although it was a long way to Liaodong, her eyes flashed with joy.

Lu Shi sighed secretly, remembered some rumors, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "I heard that the Goryeo Kingdom sent fifty pairs of singers to the Liaodong camp. When men are in the barracks, they inevitably have to drink and have fun with the robes. When my sister arrives over there, if something doesn't go her way, just come to me, and my sister will call the shots for you. Over the past few years, Lu and Li Ruoxue have become sisters, and they don't want her to suffer any grievances.

Although Lu's words were tactful, Li Ruoxue understood it. She smiled sweetly and held Lu's arm: "Thank you, sister, Zhao Lang is not that kind of person." ”