Siguo Valley was barren, and the lush weeds occupied the road, which had reached the walls and roofs of the houses, and were about to enter the house, and the efforts of the occupants had almost all been in vain.

Ma Wei's young son had woken up, and could not find a familiar face, and was crying in the arms of the servant, who was coaxing the child and looking at the valley, not daring to speak, but her heart was cold.

Xu Ji divided the grass into the valley, quickly came out, and said with a smile: "It's okay, the house can be used, but it needs to be cleaned up." ”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Ma Jin took the guards to meet Xu Ji outside the city and followed, and at this time they looked at each other and felt that something was strange.

Xu Ji understood everyone's thoughts, "Help me open a path and tidy up three rooms, you can go back to each place and find your own future—except for the child, I am entrusted to keep him by my side." ”

Ma Jin said: "I will stay too." ”

The others didn't squeak, and Mavi's young son, although he didn't understand, cried even louder.

Ma Jin led the guards and two male servants to cut the grass with knives, opened a narrow road, sorted out three relatively complete houses, everything was done, it was almost dark, no one mentioned to leave, and the normal cooking was no different from camping.

During the meal, Xu Ji called the child to his side and asked, "What's your name?" ”

The tears on the child's face were not dry, but he was tired and hungry, and he was nibbling on a piece of pastry brought out from home, looking up at Xu Ji, and not saying a word.

The servant woman said for him: "The prince's single name is a Shi character, and his milk name is Ju'er." ”

"Foal." Xu Ji smiled, "What is the name?" ”

The servant woman could not speak, but the child raised her hand and wrote it in the air, still holding the pastry in her mouth with the other hand.

"Who taught you to write?" Xu Ji asked.

Ma Shi did not squeak.

"Mother?"

Ma Shi nodded.

Xu Ji asked a few more words, but Ma Shi either didn't answer, or just nodded, which didn't have any meaning.

Xu Ji said to the ten guards: "Early tomorrow morning, please return to Yuyang to resume your life, and say that I will live in Siguo Valley for a while." ”

The leader of the guards nodded immediately, unwilling to be polite.

Xu Ji said to the two male servants again: "What are the plans of the two of you?" ”

The male servants glanced at each other, and one said, "The princess sent me and the two of us to follow Mr. Xu and protect the prince, and we will stay." ”

The servant woman also said, "The little foal can't do without me, and I won't leave." How long are we going to stay here? ”

Everyone was eating outside the house, Xu Ji looked up at the starry sky, and replied: "It's hard to say, let's see the situation in the future." ”

No one spoke, and after dinner, they went to rest, and the guards set up tents outside for the night.

Early the next morning, ten guards left most of the dry food, said goodbye and left, just after noon, Ma Jin walked into Xu Ji's room with Ma Shi in his arms, and said, "All gone." ”

Even the servant refused to stay, and quietly left with the two male servants, embarrassed to come and take their leave.

Xu Ji said to Ma Shi: "Do you like it here?" ”

The only familiar servant woman was also not there, Ma Shi was even more timid, but he didn't cry, shook his head, and answered Xu Ji directly for the first time: "I don't like it." ”

"I didn't like it when I first arrived, but I got used to it."

"I want to go home."

Xu Ji motioned for Ma Jin to put the child down, leaned over and said to him, "We are all homeless." ”

Ma Shi didn't know if he understood, he was stunned for a while, and suddenly cried loudly.

Xu Ji has a hundred reasons to prove that children should not cry, but none of them can be used now, so he has to stand up and ask Ma Jin for help: "Will you coax children?" ”

Ma Jin shook his head, but picked up Ma Shi, shook it slightly, gradually stopped his crying, and then said to Xu Ji: "I'll try." ”

"Thank you." Xu Ji let out a sigh of relief, he really didn't know how to face such a young child.

Ma Jin hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is it safe here?" ”

Xu Ji thought for a while, "The Jizhou army should arrive earlier than Bao Dun and the Ning army, seize Yecheng, they only need to concentrate on resisting the Ning army and letting Bao Dun go, this battle will be won, so it's safe here." ”

Ma Jin was slightly surprised, "It's so simple? ”

"Bao Dun and Ning Jun are not old friends, and at the beginning of the alliance, they must have their own doubts and fears of each other, so they can directly separate from each other without too many tricks and tricks."

Ma Jin nodded, hugged Ma Shi and turned away.

Ma Jin has always been taciturn, rarely asking questions, but Xu Ji was a little unsatisfied, and continued: "King Liang has few soldiers, and he is depressed, irretrievable, irretrievable...... Alas. ”

In the next few days, the three of them lived in the valley and had nothing to do, Ma Shi cried for three days, and finally recovered on the fourth day, revealing his playful nature, always wanting to drill into the grass, Ma Jin had to follow him all the time, dragging him back, quite anxious, silent as him, he could actually talk with children, chatter, get along with Xu Ji for many days, and what he said was not more than a day now.

The three of them didn't eat much, but the food was still dwindling day by day, and no one came from outside the valley.

Siguo Valley is some distance from the avenue, the grass is high and deep, the path is tortuous, and it is almost impossible to see that there are people living here.

One evening, there was a sound of fighting in the distance, Ma Jin went out to check the situation, he didn't return for a long time, Ma Shi couldn't see him, and he wanted to cry again, Xu Ji did his best, almost nothing to say, Ma Shi still cried out, shouting: "I want Uncle Jin, I want Uncle Jin......"

The pastries brought from home have long been eaten, Xu Ji can only take out a piece of hard bun, Ma Shi glanced at it, and cried louder, "I want jujube cake, I want jujube cake......"

Xu Ji was forced to be helpless, took out the book and read it aloud.

Many things in the valley are still there, Xu Ji cleans up every day, and has dried all the books, just in time.

"Uncle Kim!" Ma Shi cheered and pounced.

Ma Jin leaned over and picked up the child, looking at Xu Ji with some doubts on his face.

Xu Ji stopped reading and said embarrassedly: "At the age of three, you can read and read, at least listen to it first." ”

"Hmm. A team of defeated soldiers did not come this way. Ma Jin walked out with the child in his arms, and Ma Shi's laughter soon came from outside.

Xu Ji sighed, feeling powerless, thinking that he had allowed Ma Jin to leave, he couldn't help but be afraid for a while, and he was very glad that Ma Jin chose to stay at that time.

A few days later, someone outside the valley shouted "Childe", and Xu Ji personally went out to greet him.

It was the old servant and five Wu people who had lived in the valley, and after returning, they couldn't find a way, so they had no choice but to call.

These six people were originally in Yuyang City, and Xu Ji stayed for a short time and couldn't meet each other, so they came over at this time.

The old servant looked even older, and he was very excited after seeing Xu Ji, and the old tears were rampant, and he even said "I can't think of it".

They brought an ox-cart with much-needed food and supplies for the grain.

"We're going to start mowing again." The old servant sighed, accidentally glanced at the child, and was taken aback, "This is ......"

"The son of a friend, entrusted to me to take care of, is named Little Foal."

The old servant smiled: "I thought it was ...... Nothing. The old servant took out two soft cakes from the car and beckoned to the child.

All of them were careful not to mention Chang Yan.

After roughly cleaning up, everyone sat outside the house and had a full meal, and at the dinner table, Xu Ji and Ma Jin finally learned what had happened in Yecheng these days.

King Liang committed suicide by arson, and after a small number of soldiers discussed, he decided to go to the Jizhou army, and met one soon after leaving the city.

What happened next was as Xu Ji expected, the Jizhou army only occupied Yecheng two or three hours ahead of the Baodun army, and the strength was less than 5,000, which was already the limit of what Yuyang could provide, and Yin Fu's Jizhou army was still on the march.

The Ning army arrived a day late, and the commander was Luo Hanqi, who came from the eastern capital.

In the face of the siege of the two armies, the defenders of Yecheng adopted different strategies, and were relatively gentle to the Bao Dun army, only to repel them, but they were merciless to the Ning army, how ruthless they were.

Although the two armies had a large number of troops, they came in a hurry, and the equipment was not well prepared, and they could not capture the city for a while, and the suspicion between them became deeper and deeper.

On the seventh day of the siege, the contradiction between the two armies was made public, and Bao Dun retreated dozens of miles in a rage, and Luo Hanqi could not attack the city alone, so he was even more suspicious of Bao Dun, and turned to lead his troops to attack Bao Dun.

The two armies fought and made peace, Yecheng had a little respite, and Yin Fu finally arrived with a large army.

Yin Fu and Bao Dun once formed an alliance, but soon turned their faces and fought in Bingzhou, without winning or losing, and came to fight for Yecheng again.

Bao Dun was unable to make peace with Luo Hanqi for a long time, and saw that the Jizhou army was coming, so one night, he fled directly to Bingzhou with his troops, where he still occupied many cities.

Luohan Qiduo waited for a day, probably because he wanted to fight a decisive battle with the Jizhou army alone, and in the end, he didn't know who to listen to, and he also led his troops back to the eastern capital.

The war was like this, the old servant and others came with Yin Fu's army, and inquired in many ways in Yecheng, only to learn that Xu Ji was in the Siguo Valley.

"It's still a smart son, hiding in the valley safely, away from the military disaster." The old servant laughed.

Ma Shi sat on Ma Jin's legs, eating with adults, and when he heard the death of King Liang, he had no reaction, he didn't remember that he was the son of King Liang at all.

Weeds need to be eradicated and houses need to be repaired...... There was still much work to be done in the valley, and the people were busy for days to come.

The old servant saw that Xu Ji was looking forward to it, and persuaded: "Yecheng has just been recaptured, and the county lord ...... It's busy, don't take it to heart, let's live our days, open up the wasteland in the valley and grow grain, and I'll buy more salt and vinegar rice and noodles another day, and it won't be a problem to support it for a year and a half. ”

Xu Ji smiled: "I'm afraid a year and a half is not enough." ”

"Then prepare more, three years and five years are enough, right? We grow our own food. The old servant was full of spirits, and in his heart, hoarding food was more important than anything else.

At noon that day, Yecheng finally sent people over, and the long queue was lined up on the official road, full of momentum.

The leader of the team was Sun Yalu, he entered the valley alone, and after chatting a few words, he asked directly: "Mr. Xu plans to live in the valley for a long time and never go out of the mountain?" ”

"Don't go out of the mountain again." Xu Ji replied.

"No one will please go out of the mountain?"

"As long as I live, I will never go out of the mountains."

Sun Yalu smiled, obviously not surprised by this answer, and arched his hand: "The troubled times are not over, but Mr. Xu wants to escape from the valley...... No one else can afford to enjoy this blessing. ”

Sun Yalu said goodbye and ordered someone to move a lot of things into the valley, and finally sent a person in.

Zhang Shiqing changed his appearance again, there was no Li Hei in the Descending Army, and there was no flying jump in the past, and the old servants and others didn't dare to recognize her when they saw her.

Entering the house, Xu Ji smiled: "I'm waiting a little anxious." ”

Zhang Shiqing said: "I didn't mean to come late, something happened at home...... Zhang Shiqing had tears in his eyes, "The emperor was killed by the King of Jin outside the Saiwai, and it has been ...... Death. ”

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