Early the next morning, Hou Xuan got up early in the morning and was refreshed.

Ji'er beside her was originally with her eyes open, staring at his face and looking fascinated, but as soon as Xuanyan woke up, she closed her eyes and lay aside. It's just that the long eyelashes keep moving, and the two blush on the cheeks also betray her.

Hou Xuanyan pinched her face, leaned into her ear and whispered, "Get up." ”

Xiaoxiao, who got up early, stared at them suspiciously, vaguely feeling that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

She made warm water, prepared a soapy towel, and walked to the side of the bed to slap Ji'er's buttocks hidden in the blanket.

pinched his waist and shouted: "You have become a young lady, do I still have to serve you?" ”

Who knew that Ji'er screamed, Xiaoxiao was shocked, lifted the blanket and looked at it, and immediately blushed. There were red spots on the sheets, Xiaoxiao's eyes were straight, and she muttered: "You have really become a wife?!" ”

Ji'er was like an ostrich, burying her head on the bed, too ashamed to see anyone.

Hou Xuanyan laughed, washed himself and put on his official robe, and went straight to the yamen.

Gu Yanwu was arranged by him in a side room in the yamen, Hou Xuanyan ran over directly, raised his fist and shouted while smashing: "Old Gu, get up." ”

Gu Yanwu had already dressed up and was reading in the room, his little servant pushed open the door and saw Hou Xuanyan, bent down and said, "Lord Xiaohou, my son-in-law has already gotten up." ”

Some old people in Suzhou and Hou Dong called Hou Xuanyan a little Hou Adult, but when this guy heard it, he also screamed indiscriminately. Fortunately, Hou Xuanyan didn't have time to worry about him, so he pulled Gu Yanwu and left.

"Lord Xiaohou, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Save the country."

Gu Yanwu's expression was straight, regardless of the truth or falsehood of Hou Xuan's speech, the word "save the country" seemed to him to be bigger than the sky.

The two of them came to the yamen hall, between Xia Yunyi's father and son, there was a middle-aged scribe, seeing them come in, Xia Yunyi stepped forward and said: "Wen Yuan, come on, I will introduce you, this is my best friend Chen Zilong." Zilong, this is what I told you, Hou Xuanyan of Jiading. ”

Hou Xuanyan watched curiously, this Chen Zilong is said to be Liu Ruye's concubine, and before Qian Qianyi succeeded, he was like glue with Liu Ruyi for several years. This is a literati who advocates the application of the world, and the greatest achievement in his life may be the compilation of Xu Guangqi's "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration".

The two sides exchanged a few pleasantries and said a few nonsense after a long time, and then entered the topic.

Hou Xuanyan is the highest official in Suzhou and even Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and he is the feudal official of the imperial court. Now is not the time to be humble, after all, if he doesn't stand up, Hou Xuanyan knows that there is no hero in history who can save the periphery.

"Uncle Xia, how is the resettlement of refugees in the city?"

As soon as Xia Yunyi heard this, he began to pour bitter water.

"Wen Yuan, the number of refugees is increasing instead of decreasing, and people fleeing from the north are pouring into Suzhou every day. Do we have much food, the ones donated by the Suzhou gentry are about to be eaten up. ”

Hou Xuanyan had long expected this to be the case, waved his hand to stop his complaint, and said: "Put up a big banner, recruit young people, and enrich the righteous masters." ”

Xia Wanchun frowned and said, "What about military salary? ”

"If you are lacking, just open your mouth and go to my house to take it. Send soldiers to nearby counties and townships to collect grain, and ask for as much as you want. ”

The eyes of the Xia family father and son lit up and they exclaimed in surprise. Hou Xuanyan seems to have endless money to spend no matter what time it is, and in their eyes, the origin of this money is simply a mystery.

Hou Xuanyan turned to Xia Wanchun and said: "I heard that you admire Qi Shaobao of this dynasty, what is the effect of military training during this time?" ”

Xia Wanchun said conceitedly: "It's not bad. ”

Hou Xuanyan patted him on the shoulder and said, "If it's a peaceful season, your training is not bad, and this commander will go to the court to add you to the rank of knight." But now it's different, you know? ”

Xia Wanchun put away his conceit and said awe-inspiringly: "My subordinates understand. ”

"After the young men recruited by Uncle Xia are handed over to you, I want an elite army that can defend the city in three days, fight in the field in five days, and attack in ten days."

Xia Wanchun nodded heavily, such an elite soldier is impossible to achieve by relying on school drills. We can only raise soldiers by war, train soldiers by war, and exchange elite soldiers and veterans by relying on the casualty rate.

Gu Yanwu's blood boiled while listening, and he couldn't help but say, "Gu Mou is not talented..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Hou Xuanyan: "Cai, why not Cai?" Brother Gu is talented, so he doesn't have to be modest. You and Xia Wanchun train together, and are also responsible for smelting weapons, making feather arrows, rolling stones, and wood. ”

Gu Yanwu was excited, this is the atmosphere of saving the country. In contrast, the rebel army in Taihu Lake, the division is not organized, and the military discipline is slack, so they know that they plundered the people.

Chen Zilong also has a deep understanding that before he came to Suzhou, he had the ambition to go to Taihu Wu Yijun. After arriving, he was disappointed, Wu Yi seemed to be a big brother in the rivers and lakes, not only underestimating the enemy, but also allowing his subordinates to plunder the people.

"Lord Xiaohou, this official also wants to do his best for the recovery of Jiangsu and Zhejiang." Chen Zilong was appointed by the small court of King Lu to be the secretary of the military department, and his official position was greater than that of Hou Xuanyan. But Hou Xuanyan is from the Tang Dynasty, and the official position appointed by King Lu is not easy to use here. Chen Zilong himself knows this, so he is careful everywhere. But when I heard this, I couldn't help but speak, wanting to make a difference in this bridgehead against the Qing Dynasty.

"Since Lord Chen is interested, then I'm not welcome. The political affairs in Suzhou have not yet recovered, just because some officials have hidden in their homes when they see the Qing soldiers coming. If there are those who do not want to go out and die unfortunately, they will ask Lord Chen to select the sages and capable people from Suzhou. Anyway, it is necessary to restore the law and order of Suzhou City. ”

Chen Zilong nodded while listening, and happily agreed.

There were also many knife and pen officials present, and Hou Xuanyan also gave their own advice, so that they could do their best to get through the difficulties in front of them first. Although these people's official positions are small, they can't even be called officials, but in the entire Suzhou yamen system, they are the most important and basic link.

Everyone came out one after another, performing their duties, and in a blink of an eye, only Hou Xuanyan and his two two generals were left in the lobby. Xu Yuanbao and Hong Yixun also changed into military uniforms, and they couldn't intervene in the affairs of the hall, so they stood here upright, serving as a façade.

When everyone left, Xu Yuanbao collapsed, raised his eyebrows and said: "Big brother, there are really yours, and they are going around in a few words, so that we can sit back and enjoy it." ”

Ignoring his poor idiom level, Hou Xuanyan said directly: "Sit back and enjoy it? It's pretty much the same dreaming. Come with me to the West City Tower, last time Bolo blasted a hole in the city wall, let's fill it in. ”