Sitting in the tooth tent, Zhao Junsheng quietly listened to Hua Mulan's explanation of the reason why the emperor drove her back, and then laughed unscrupulously without any scruples: "Hahaha······ Look at it, you are disliked, and you are also disliked by the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, your popularity is too bad, right? ”

Hua Mulan pouted: "People just said a few fair words, it's just Hedoluo who squashed and talked nonsense, why do those people all look at people unpleasantly?" ”

Zhao Junsheng smiled and said: "In my opinion, the emperor is right to drive you back, you beat the ministers in front of the emperor's royal car, and touched the interests of the Xianbei nobles, it is strange that they can tolerate you!" It's also a shame that you are a woman, if you are a man, I am afraid that you will be killed! ”

After speaking, Zhao Junsheng got up and broke off a small piece of tea brick on the table, wrapped it in gauze and tied it tightly, and threw the tea bag into the pot, which was hot mare's milk, and he kept stirring it with a spoon.

After a while, not only did the hanging pot exude a milky fragrance, but there was also a strong tea fragrance in this milky fragrance.

Zhao Junsheng scooped up a bowl of mare's milk tea with a spoon and handed it to Mulan, "This is called milk tea, try it and see how it tastes?" ”

Hua Mulan took the pottery bowl and smelled it, "Hmph, it's so fragrant······ Well, there is not much taste, there is a tea flavor in the milk, and only a gluttonous person like you can come up with the idea of putting tea leaves in milk and boiling and drinking, right? ”

"Hey, hey!" Zhao Junsheng said with a smile: "Food is a gift from God to us, any kind of food can be cooked through a certain cooking method, and this is one of the specialties of our Yanhuang people!" ”

Hua Mulan took another sip of milk tea and asked, "Yan Huang people?" ”

"Whether it is the Han people, the Xianbei people, the Huns, the Qiang people, etc., they are all descendants of Yan and Huang, and we are all descendants of Yan and Huang!"

Mulan was confused: "Why didn't I know there was such a thing?" ”

"That's why I'm telling you to read more!"

"Hey, look at what you can, read a few more books! In addition to cooking food is one of the specialties of the descendants of Yan Huang, are there any other specialties? ”

Zhao Junsheng said: "Huafu food, what other specialties do you say?" ”

Hua Mulan nodded: "That's not wrong when you say that!" Hey, I don't understand, why do those tea merchants press these tea leaves into tea bricks, is it only by pressing the tea leaves into tea bricks that they can sell them at a higher price? Is it only good tea that is pressed into tea bricks? ”

Zhao Junsheng shook his head and smiled: "You are wrong, pressing into tea bricks is just for the convenience of transportation, there is no other reason, tea brick tea is not necessarily better than loose tea leaves."

Zhao Junsheng also scooped a bowl of milk tea and took a sip, and said to Mulan: "By the way, I have already received the news when you return, He Duoluo led the army to pursue Tuoba Pi and was ambushed in Feihu Cheng, and almost the entire army was wiped out, and he only fled back to Pingcheng with less than 300 people!" ”

"Hmph, you deserve it!"

Zhao Junsheng drank milk tea, thought for a while, and said to Mulan: "Now that the city wall is almost completed, and the houses in the city are soon built, I wonder if I should take over all your family?" ”

"It's too far, isn't it? Can your future father-in-law give up those family businesses? Mulan shook her head as she spoke, she wasn't too hopeful.

Zhao Junsheng looked at Mulan and said, "Mulan, you don't understand what I mean, the situation is forced, I'm afraid that Uncle Hua doesn't want to come, and we have to find a way to let them all come!" ”

Mulan's eyebrows furrowed, "Brother Junsheng, can you make it clear, why can't I understand?" ”

Zhao Junsheng put down the pottery bowl and said to Hua Mulan seriously: "Now that Tuoba Pi has taken away a large number of courtiers and generals, they will definitely set up a new dynasty to fight against the court of Pingcheng when they arrive in Hebei, and then the two sides are busy fighting for the support of the town generals and assassins in various places, and they are busy grabbing territory!" If the magistrate of Liang County takes refuge in Tuoba Pi, Tuoba Pi knows that your family is in Liang County, and threatens your safety with Uncle Hua and them, what will you do? ”

Hua Mulan finally realized the seriousness of the matter, and the appearance of the two imperial courts affected not just a small number of people, but many people.

"Also, two years ago, the Southern Dynasty had the intention of sending troops to attack Henan, but at that time, Tuoba Tao returned to the army too quickly, and the Southern Dynasty Emperor Liu Yilong had to terminate the Northern Expedition plan, and now Tuoba Tao is dead, the two emperors are fighting for the orthodoxy of the Great Wei, and the Great Wei civil strife has been born, isn't this a golden opportunity for the Southern Dynasty? Once the south and the north are attacked, Liang County and Suiyang will bear the brunt! ”

Mulan's face changed completely, "The Southern Dynasty wants to go on a northern expedition?" Yes, yes, yes, this is very likely, Liu Yilong is not a fuel-efficient lamp, I have to take Grandpa, Auntie and Little Brother over immediately! Is it just too late to do so? ”

"Don't worry!" Zhao Junsheng comforted: "It should be too late, even if the Southern Dynasty wants to go on a northern expedition, it will avoid winter, and it will be the beginning of spring next year at the earliest, tomorrow I will send a hundred cavalry for Li Bao to lead the team, you send Oiran and Huahai to accompany you, and write a letter to let them rush back as soon as possible!" ”

"Okay, I'll write it now!"

Early the next morning, when Li Bao, Hua Hai, and Hua Yu were preparing to set off with a hundred cavalry, Zhao Junsheng explained to them: "Go directly south to Taiyuan to Hedong, cross the Yellow River and take the Tiger Prison into Xingyang, and then go to Suiyang, and return along the original road when you go north, don't change the route easily!" ”

"Yes, General!" Li Bao and the others agreed and left quickly with a hundred cavalry.

Within a few days, the city wall was quickly built, and Zhao Junsheng and Hua Mulan began to divide labor.

Mulan organized and supervised the men and slaves to build houses outside the southern city wall according to the plan, and these houses were for the slaves and the soldiers who were responsible for their care.

Zhao Junsheng was responsible for taking some people and slaves to rest the moat, and extend the moat to the east and west, open up the rivers on the east and west sides of Wuchuan Town, these two rivers can be opened to bring in the river water, this project is not small, fortunately, the aqueduct is not wide and not very deep, Zhao Junsheng is confident that he can open it before the heavy snow falls, and introduce the river into the moat.

The systematic drainage works in the city lead to the moat to prevent waterlogging in the city caused by heavy rains, and residents use well water for water.

The houses where the slaves lived were all built with the timber left over from the construction of the city walls, the carpenters sawed the timber into planks, the craftsmen instructed the slaves and the men to nail the planks into the walls, and finally the planks were also covered with thatch to protect them from the wind and rain.

Such a wooden house can accommodate ten people, and it is not difficult to build a wooden house, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to sawn the wood into planks.

There are also some people who are building houses in the city, and the houses in the city are made of adobe bricks, except for the official office, which uses stone to build the walls.

How to get adobe bricks? Under the command of the craftsmen, the men and slaves combined the soil with water in a certain proportion to form a slightly dry soft mud, and then poured the soft mud into a mold and pressed it, and the molds were removed, and the adobe bricks were formed, and the adobe bricks could be used to build walls after only a few days of exposure to the sun.

When the first heavy snow fell, all the houses inside and outside the city had been built, and the slaves lived in the houses outside the city, and the men lived in the houses inside the city, and the rest of the army lived in the barracks, except for the soldiers and horses who guarded the slaves.

Stables, cattle sheds, sheepfolds, forage storehouses, grain and grass storehouses, armor forges, town guards' houses, and other government offices are all available.

The planning pattern of the city has been decided, and the construction of houses that have not yet been built will continue to wait for the weather to clear.

In November, Liang Lian, who was far away in Suiyang, sold the tannery after receiving a letter from Zhao Junsheng and rushed to Wuchuan Town with his family.

"I've seen the young master, the young lady!"

In the town guard mansion, Liang Lian's family greeted Zhao Junsheng and Hua Mulan.

"Okay, I didn't expect you guys to come so quickly, no need to be polite!" Zhao Junsheng raised his hand with a smile, walked over to look at Liang Yi's son, and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for two years, your kid has grown a lot taller and stronger, he is an adult, have you married?" ”

Liang Yi was a little embarrassed, "Not yet, young master!" ”

"You're okay, don't ask this or that, it's boring for the little guys! Calm down, you take Uncle Liang and Aunt Liang and their family to find Pei Jin, and ask him to divide a house for Uncle Liang's family to settle down! ”

"Yes, General!" Quietly agree.

Zhao Junsheng said to Liang Xiao: "Uncle Liang, your family will settle down first, and you will come back early tomorrow morning, and I will leave something to you to do!" ”

"Okay, young master!"

After the construction of Wuchuan City, Zhao Junsheng issued a notice to open a market in Wuchuan City, allowing herdsmen and merchants of all ethnic groups to come and do business, and also announced the purchase of wool and various leathers.

After the news spread, many herdsmen in the vicinity brought wool and raw hides to sell to Zhao Junsheng.

Soon, many herders in the far reaches of the Monan region received the news and came in large carts to sell leather and wool.

Some merchants in Sene received the news and also sent people to Wuchuan City to rent shops to do business.

In order to meet the needs of the residents in the city, Zhao Junsheng organized a caravan to purchase a large number of daily necessities and grain from the customs and sell them to merchants and herdsmen.

Here, copper coins, gold, silk, and cloth can be used as money, and bartering is very popular here.

Under Zhao Junsheng's arrangement, Pei Jin organized four caravans belonging to Wuchuan Town to transport the goods and grain from the customs to Wuchuan Town, and Liang Lian also built wool textile factories, tanneries, leather clothing factories, and garment factories under Zhao Junsheng's arrangement, and the workers of these factories were all filled by slaves.

The woolen blankets, wool-made clothes, cooked leather, finished leather clothing, and so on were all transported to Seine by several caravans from the town of Wuchuan and sold.

Soon after the beginning of spring of the following year, the Hua Arc family was escorted by Li Bao and others to Wuchuan Town, and the family was embarrassed to see each other.

Within a few days, Zhao Junsheng heard that Hua Arc was looking for him, so he put down his official business and came to Hua Fu.

"Uncle, I heard you were looking for me?"

Hua Arc didn't beat around the bush, and said directly: "Junsheng, your marriage with Mulan has been delayed for several years, and it can't be delayed any longer, while the two of us old guys are still in good shape, we still want to hug our grandson, when do you think you will get married to Mulan?" ”

When it was really time to talk about marriage, Zhao Junsheng was a little embarrassed, "That······ Uncle, Mulan and I are still young, so we are not in a hurry, right? ”

When Hua Arc heard this, he said with an unhappy face: "Not in a hurry? You're not in a hurry, I'm in a hurry! ”

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