At the end of winter, Shen Xi was ready to return to Beijing.

Shen Xi was sent by the Ministry of War on a business trip, and now that the artillery has been delivered, the artillery instructors, including Zhang Laowu, are dutifully training the gunners, and his task is considered to have been successfully completed, and it is time to return to the capital to continue to be his noble Hanlin officer.

In Shen Xi's opinion, the reward for meritorious deeds was tantamount to a joke, at least he knew that Liu Daxia did not report his merits truthfully, and as for what kind of reward he could get in the end, it depended on whether Liu Daxia or the imperial court "found his conscience".

It's not easy to do things these days, if the credit is too small, it's not worth mentioning, and if the credit is too great, it will be erased.

Shen Xi didn't have to fight for anything, but felt that he had worked hard to get credit, but he didn't get the corresponding reward, and he felt a little angry.

But fortunately, Liu Daxia was reasonable and knew that Shen Xi had no interest in staying in Yansui Town, so he readily agreed to Shen Xi's request to return to Beijing, and at the same time sent a thousand soldiers and horses to escort him along the way.

Of course, escorting him was only incidental, mainly to escort the "trophies" transported from Yulin Town to the capital, as well as the roster for rewards.

"Shen Xi, when you came, you were on the tolerance of the Ministry of War, and this time you went back, the right to do the old man a favor......" When Liu Daxia said this, his expression was exactly the same as when Xie Qian begged Shen Xi to do something.

Shen Xi was full of slander, not asking for a reward for me, but also instructing me to do this and that, trying to take advantage of the good thing. But in order to return to Beijing as soon as possible, Shen Xi could only make a false promise and express his willingness to accept the dispatch.

"Liu Shangshu, there is a reluctant request below, can you let Lin Heng escort you together?"

"Lin Heng?"

Liu Daxia thought for a long time before remembering who this person was, "Since you specifically proposed it, the old man also allowed him to be your adjutant." ”

Shen Xi wants to bring his brother-in-law back to see Lin Dai, the brother and sister have been separated for many years, so it is a merit to let them recognize each other, at least Lin Dai will no longer be like a resentful woman who only knows how to calculate the people around her, which can make Xiao Nizi more open-minded.

But at this time, Shen Xi still didn't tell Lin Heng that Lin Dai was his concubine.

Coming out of the Yansui Governor's Yamen, Shen Xi went to the camp in the city to find Lin Heng. The arrow wounds in Lin Heng's office were all skin wounds, not bones, and after the arrow was removed and the medicine was applied, the person was able to move normally. At this time, he had already made up for the real shortage in Yansui Military Town, and he had more than 400 soldiers under his command, which was the position he dreamed of.

In the past, when he served as the head of the guard of Zhu Hui, the Duke of Baoguo, although he hung up a general title, he commanded a false title, and in fact, he commanded more than a dozen brothers. Now he is serving as the deputy general manager, but in fact, he is the general errand, and he has four general flags, which was originally a real shortage that only Zuyin can get, and ordinary people have to work the battlefield for decades to obtain this martial arts position of the seventh grade.

If according to the official title of Zhaoxin Lieutenant awarded by Liu Daxia, Lin Heng now already has the official body of Zheng Liupin.

"Lord Shen, if you let the little one escort you back to Beijing, the little one will naturally die ...... The little ones will go to Brother Zhang Luo......"

Lin Heng, who became an officer, was very different from before, a small head of the border army who was originally a mess, finally had a way out, and followed Shen Xi in only two days to complete the goal that could only be achieved for decades, and the future is bright.

Before, Lin Heng called himself "under the bottom" in front of Shen Xi, but now he directly changed his words to call himself "villain".

Shen Xi found more and more that Lin Heng's situation was similar to Zhang Laowu, he used to take on an errand with no future, he was purely messing around, and after making contributions, he was successfully stimulated and energized, and his life had a head.

Lin Heng went to Yansui to inspect the yamen to receive the task, and then returned to the camp to mobilize manpower, and prepared to go, only to follow Shen Xi into Beijing the next day.

Before leaving, Shen Xi went to see the instructor of Zhang Lao's fifth-class military department. The imperial court continued to send artillery to the border pass, Zhang Lao Wu, as the chief instructor sent by the military department, needed to run back and forth between the nine border towns, his official position was not high, but the future was bright, and as a technical official, he was also courteous at the border pass.

Zhang Lao Wu is very respectful to Shen Xi, this is a person who knows how to be grateful, and knows that his current future is all given by Shen Xi.

It's just that he asked Shen Xi to help take care of his wife and mother after returning to Beijing, which is the most worrying thing for Zhang Lao Wu at the border pass.

Shen Xi readily agreed.

……

……

Shen Xi's visit to Yansui Town this time can be said to have gone through hardships, but when he went back, it was much easier.

After the Battle of Yuxi, the Tatars retreated several hundred miles north, and almost all the nomadic tribes in the Hetao region withdrew across the Yellow River. On the one hand, the Tatars were afraid that the Ming army would take advantage of the situation to counterattack, and in the previous operation, the Tatars robbed a large amount of grain and grass, especially the batch of military food that was snatched from Gaoming City was very important, which could help the Tatars survive the harsh winter.

At this time, it is close to the wax moon, the weather is cold, and even the Yuxi River is frozen after several consecutive heavy snowfalls. Liu Daxia is cautious and will never take risks when the food and grass are not available.

Accept it when you see it, this is the common idea of Liu Daxia and the border generals.

Even Shen Xi felt that since he had already established his authority, it was of no practical significance to go deeper into the grassland to fight, and if he occupied the place and could not implement management, he would have to withdraw in embarrassment, so the attack would be meaningless.

This is an embarrassing era, due to the lack of sufficient industrial capacity, it will also lose the motivation and opportunity of the "sheep eat people" enclosure movement, the Central Plains Dynasty can not go deep into the barren grassland to operate, resulting in the border situation will not be completely reversed because of a few victories.

Shen Xi sat in the carriage, cross-legged and listened to the western Fujian tune, and the beautiful Yunliu hummed while pinching his waist and beating his legs.

Shen Xi opened the car window, looked at the strong escort team on the left and right, and embarked on the return journey gracefully.

Before the party arrived at Datong Mansion, they met the team that came to greet them from the capital.

The capital was even more eager to know the outcome of the border war, and there were thousands of soldiers and horses to escort Shenxi, and the imperial court sent more than 2,000 soldiers and horses from the Beijing battalion to respond, and at the same time sent a batch of grain and grass to the three sides to solve the urgent need.

"Is this Lord Shen of the Hanlin Academy? Here is a letter from the military department Ma Shangshu to you. ”

Shen Xi didn't have much interest in the Jingying team that came to greet him, but it was Ma Wensheng who wrote to him specifically, which surprised him.

Shen Xi opened the letter, but it was specially written by Ma Wensheng to appease him, mainly because he was worried that Shen Xi would be in trouble because of the unknown rewards and punishments of the imperial court, and if he said that he was willing, he was going to be promoted to the third level to the military department.

Ma Wensheng mentioned before that he invited Shen Xi to serve in the Ministry of War, but was rejected by Shen Xi, this time Ma Wensheng brought up the old matter again, and specially proposed that the official be promoted to the third level, that is, Shen Xi will at least serve as Langzhong after he arrives at the Ministry of War, and then he will be the squire of the Ministry of War, which is a height that many people cannot reach in their lifetime.

Shen Xi thought to himself: "Could it be that Liu Daxia told Ma Wensheng about the actual situation, and Ma Wensheng used this to appease me?" ”

Shen Xi shook his head helplessly, he was not interested in going to the military department on an errand, even if he was promoted to the third level.

After accepting an errand from the Ministry of War to come to the border pass, he was so tired that he almost lost his life. This is just a simple artillery mission, if he goes to the military department to serve as Langzhong, Ma Wensheng feels that he is a piece of material for doing things, and if he is choreographed to do this and that, wouldn't he have to tire him to death?

The officials all hope that Shangguan can appreciate themselves and arrange more errands for themselves to earn performance, while Shen Xi thinks about how to be lazy.

It's not that Shen Xi is inherently lazy, it's because he knows that it's not a good thing to emerge so quickly now. Even promoted to the third level and transferred to the military department on the surface to see the promotion, in fact, these functions and yamen pay the most attention to qualifications, saying that it is not necessarily a few years or even more than ten years to sit in the position of Langzhong, it is better to stay in the Hanlin Academy, easy to boil qualifications, as long as you reach the fifth grade, there is a chance to enter the cabinet, the carp jumping the dragon gate is nothing more than this.

Moreover, unlike the officials of the Ministry of War, the officials of the Hanlin Academy, the Zhan Shifu, the Six Sections, and the Ministry of Rites go out of Beijing, and they are all used to skip the level, for example, the Six Departments go out of Beijing in the middle of the matter, that is, they jump directly from the seventh rank to the third grade, and they are promoted to seven levels in a row, and there is no problem in participating in politics as the prefect of a place and the political envoy of the Yamen.

If Shen Xi goes to the locality, with his current official position as a fifth-grade official, there is no problem in becoming a fourth-grade prefect in the locality, why bother to toss himself so tired, and go to the military department to work tirelessly, that's just it.

Besides, if there is no change in history, Emperor Hongzhi died four years later, the crown prince Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, Liu Jin was in power, and the government was chaotic, unless he could call for wind and rain in the capital, otherwise the best way was to avoid the political whirlpool in the capital.

Xie Qian, Ma Wensheng, and Liu Daxia are all "dangerous people" involved in the struggle of the core power layer.

Shen Xi and Liu Jin are not dealing with each other in the first place, and if Liu Jin is in power, he will definitely find ways to find trouble with him.

Along the way, Shen Xi thought all the way, what would happen if history changed?

For example, Emperor Hongzhi died a few years later, and when Zhu Houzhao was older, he would not be able to trust the Eight Tigers at that time, appoint a group of virtuous ministers, work hard, and create a prosperous era that is not inferior to his father.

However, there are two preparations for a red heart, Shen Xi is ready to follow the trend of history, if Liu Jin is really in power, the opportunity to win the release must not be missed.

……

……

Just like when she came, Yu Niang was still escorted along the way back, and when she was about to arrive in the capital, Yu Niang suddenly informed Shen Xi that someone in Fuzhou City who was concerned about him had arrived in the capital safely.

"After Lord Shen enters the city, will he go back to the house first?" Yu Niang's beautiful eyes looked at Shen Xi, as if asking, is it the women at home who are important, or the women outside who are important?

Shen Xi was speechless for a while...... Who do I see first, and what does it have to do with you? Previously, Shen Xi had learned through the mouth of Yu Niang that his father and mother and daughter had also arrived in the capital.

Shen Xi replied angrily: "Shouldn't I go home to visit my parents first?" ”

Yu Niang suddenly nodded and said, "The slave family knows how to arrange it." ”

When he turned his head, Shen Xi had to say with a little helplessness: "That girl...... Where does Jade Niang settle down? ”

Yu Niang pursed her lips and smiled: "Lord Shen, don't worry, she is safe and sound, but I heard that she is always crying and crying along the way, maybe there are no relatives around...... Think of the people who escorted her as bad guys. ”

"Did the person sent by the Jade Lady embarrass her?" Shen Xi's face was a little more nervous.

This concern made Yu Niang feel a little uncomfortable, and she replied with a smile: "Does Lord Shen think that the slave family will treat a little girl badly?" The slave family specially arranged for a maid to take care of her closely, ensuring that the person was delivered to Lord Shen unscathed. ”

Shen Xi nodded and said, "Thank you Yu Niang, but her family ......"

"The slave family is looking for someone to rescue, and there should be eyebrows at this time, but the news has not yet reached the capital."

For Shen Xi, Yu Niang can send someone to escort Yin Wen to Beijing safely, which is already worthy of him, and it is too harsh to ask Yu Niang to rescue Yin Zhangbao and others.

But thinking that Liu Daxia erased his credit this time, Shen Xi felt that this was a well-deserved reward. Besides, if Liu Daxia hadn't connived at Zi Qian and the magistrate at the beginning, he wouldn't have made such a scene.

On the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month, Shen Xi finally returned to the capital after more than half a month of travel.

It was supposed to arrive two days in advance, but unfortunately it was raining heavily in the capital and the surrounding areas, and the roads were blocked by snow, and the team was delayed outside Badaling Pass.

Shen Xi didn't go to see Shen Mingjun and his wife as soon as he entered the city as he told Yu Niang before, he was more worried about Yin Wen, whose family was in trouble, as for the family, he believed that Xie Yun'er could handle everything well, this can be regarded as trust between husband and wife!

Yu Niang seemed to have expected Shen Xi to be like this, and when Shen Xi came out of the military department, she arranged in advance to drive Shen Xi to Yin Wen's residence.

The house is in the Ming Shifang in Chongwen Gate, which is a small courtyard located at the bottom of the alley, detached and detached, very quiet.

"My lord, what are you waiting for? The person you want to see is inside, and the slave family won't go in and disturb it. Yu Niang had a little playful smile on her face, as if Shen Xi was going to pick Yin Wen's little interpretation flower after entering. (To be continued.) )