Early in the morning, the brigade began to set off again, and after a night's rest, they recovered their vitality, and the people's wariness of the soldiers of the Tianqi Battalion was gradually removed, and everyone began to talk and laugh, and some naughty children climbed onto the soldiers' horses.

This is a multi-ethnic team, the Han people account for about half, the rest of the part is the Qiang people, there are also Tuyuhun people, Turkic people, Hui people, Dangxiang people, and even a lot of Tubo people, but from the appearance and attire, it is no longer clear that the various ethnic groups are generally poor, with red faces and shy smiles.

The team is a little untidy, Zhang Huan did not interfere, what he needs most now is the hearts of the people in Hexi, he wants the people of Wuwei County to know that he Zhang Huan is a person who cherishes the people, and will not be worse than Xin Yunjing.

Next to him, a simple carriage was swaying and walking, Pei Ying crouched at the window, looking at her lover affectionately, last night, she was already a new wife, and tasted the most wonderful taste of life, although there was no matchmaker, she had already regarded last night as her own cave candle.

Is this his husband? It's so dark, huh! The beard is not cleaned either. ’

"Ying'er, what are you thinking?" Zhang Huan approached the carriage and laughed in a low voice: "Are you thinking about how to decorate our home?" ”

"Phew!" Pei Ying's face flushed, and she said angrily: "I'm wondering if your grain and grass are enough to survive the winter, and there are so many people, looking at their appearance, there is not much food left." ”

Speaking of this, she suddenly smiled and said, "Do you think that Lu Sigong will really take 1,500 stone of grain in exchange for his soldiers?" ”

"Of course he won't."

Zhang Huan also smiled slightly: "Not only will he not, but he will also think about how to take the opportunity to eat me, and then declare to the court that I am greedy for merit, but I was ambushed by the Tubo people and the whole army was annihilated." ”

"Let me guess what he's going to do?" Pei Ying suddenly became interested.

"Tell me?"

Pei Ying lowered her head and thought about it and said, "I don't think he should be so reckless, he will definitely find a way to test your food situation first, and it will be in the past few days." ”

Zhang Huan laughed. He gave a thumbs up and said, "It's really smart." It's really worthy of being a female middle school Zhuge . ”

Pei Ying was embarrassed by him, she hurriedly waved her hand and said, "You be quiet, you will be laughed at by others!" In the future, I will never ask you about military and political affairs. ”

"So what do you do?" Zhang Huan approached the window and laughed ambiguously: "Why don't you give me a son, and I will teach my husband and children." ”

"You talk nonsense!" Pei Ying was ashamed and anxious, she pulled the curtain of the car and ignored the prodigal son. After a while. She opened another crack, but saw that he was no longer there, and felt a sense of loss in her heart, and in the distance, she suddenly heard Zhang Huan's voice: "Li Xiancheng, I want to buy two maids to serve my wife, I don't know if Tianbao County has one?" ”

"It's not easy for the governor to want two maids, I remember that Wang Xianling's wife just wanted to sell all the slaves back to Chang'an, so I'll go and help you ask."

Pei Ying sighed softly. She leaned on the edge of the window, looking at the white clouds floating in the sky, and suddenly felt that she was the happiest woman in the world.

.

Two days later, the team finally arrived in Tianbao County. In the distance, the swarthy city appears at the end of the sky, a paradise of great beauty, endless wilderness, large dense forests, rivers meandering and the ice is exceptionally bright in the warm sun. To the south of the county is the towering snow-capped mountains, where white clouds float halfway up the mountain, and the snow-capped peaks seem to be a blue gem, shining brightly in the sun.

Then. All cheered. Men laughed and women and children jumped out of the carriage. They stumbled towards their homes with their arms outstretched.

The cavalry team did not enter the city, but found a large open space near the city wall and began to set up camp, while Zhang Huan, under the guidance of Li Xiancheng, took Pei Ying and more than a dozen personal soldiers into Tianbao County.

The county seat is very small, belongs to the kind of small county town that can walk around with a cup of tea, there are only two streets, it is crisscrossed, one is called North Street, one is called East Street, most of the houses are spire shaped, mainly built with stones, densely packed one after another, under the thick snow cover, it is particularly neat and quiet.

Li Xiancheng has changed his official uniform, he wears a Tang scarf with a soft wrap on his head, wears a pleated trouser jacket, wears a light cyan regimental collar narrow-sleeved embroidered poultry robe, tied with a blue leather belt, hangs a short knife on it, and pedals black leather boots, although it is a little shabby, it is a standard Tang Jiupin official uniform, but it also makes Zhang Huan feel very cordial to see Tang officials in a small border county.

"Governor! Now our biggest problem is food, originally we also stocked up on a little mountain goods for the winter, but last month a few grain merchants came, saying that they could exchange rice, but they took away the things and never came back. ”

"If you don't see rice, do you send things away?" Zhang Huan felt a little incredible, no matter how simple the people here were, it was food for the winter!

Li Xiancheng sighed, and he said with a gloomy face: "The main reason is that the former county lieutenant was the guarantor, and everyone believed it, but he himself also went to Wuwei County, and there was no news again." ”

Li Xiancheng was worried that it wasn't that the people didn't have food, so if they couldn't do it, they would kill horses and cattle, or they would go to the forest to dig up some tree roots, wasn't this how they came before? What he was worried about was that this army of 3,000 people, if Tianbao County wanted to support it, how could they afford it.

Zhang Huan seemed to know his thoughts, patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I won't do the matter of killing chickens and taking eggs, but you have to find a way to collect all the surplus grain of the people, implement a rationing system, and ensure that young and strong men are ensured, so that they can have the strength to go to the forest to find food." ”

Li Xiancheng was relieved to hear that he would not touch the people's grain, but he let himself collect the surplus grain, where would everyone be fooled again, he was very embarrassed and said: "It's okay to organize men to go to the forest to find food, but I'm afraid it's very difficult to ask everyone to take out all the grain." ”

"You've got to figure it out, I'm sure you have

Force, if you can do this, I will appoint you as the county magistrate of Tianbao County, and I will report it. ”

Li Xiancheng's pace slowed down, he was a little tempted, he was almost fifty years old, and he had been in the position of county leader for nearly ten years, and he had no hope of being a county magistrate. Then he is satisfied in this life.

Then. Pei Yingdi's carriage passed by him and said with a smile: "If you do a good job, maybe you can become the assassin of Wuwei County in a few years!" ”

"Thorn history?" Li Xiancheng was stunned, he didn't believe his ears a little, did he hear it wrong, Li Shuangyu went to walk from behind, and he gently patted Li Xiancheng on the shoulder. Said affectionately: "My surname is also Li." For the sake of my family, I tell you, our wife is Pei Xiangguo's daughter-in-law, and since she promised you, it must be no problem. ”

"Pei Xiangguo." Li Xiancheng suddenly found that he had come to work, his eyes became extremely bright, and his old fatigue suddenly disappeared, and he chased after him energetically and shouted: "Governor, I have a way to do it!" ”

.

The county office is at the end of North Street, and there is an open space at the door. This is the square of Tianbao County, there are already a lot of anxious people just go home and run to set up a stall, exchange the extra things at home for a little food they urgently need, a large group of birds and finches on the steps are looking for food, although the food is scarce, but no one has the idea of beating them.

Li Xiancheng saw that Pei Ying liked these birds and sparrows, so he stepped forward and said with a flattering smile: "In the eyes of the locals, birds and finches can fly to the top of the snow mountains and are the messengers of the goddess, so no one will touch them no matter how short of food they are."

”

"Oh!" Pei Ying saw many colorful birds that she had never seen before. She liked it even more, so she took half a wheat cake from the wagon, broke it and scattered it among them, and the birds flew up to peck at it. Not afraid of life. There were even two yellow-billed and red-tailed birds flying to her hands to compete for food, which made Pei Ying giggle.

Zhang Huan had already walked to the top of the steps. He saw that Pei Ying was happy, and he didn't care about her, beckoned to Li Xiancheng, and strode into the county yamen, the yamen is not big, the inside is very dilapidated, it is a brick and wood structure, Zhu Yan has faded, a big drum hangs on the left side of the inner door, there is a big hole in it, and the drum hammer is not known who picked it up to make a burning stick, Zhang Huan hesitated for a moment, to confirm that the house will not collapse suddenly, and then he stepped into the yamen, the light inside is dim, the ground is uneven, the public case is old and has a broken leg, with an embroidery stick on the top, and two stones are placed underneath, Like a three-legged old man on crutches, the prestige of the court is not there, the public court has become a paradise for spiders, there are cobwebs everywhere, in Zhang Huan's imagination, the official office should be majestic and solemn, two rows of officials stand with sticks, the mirror is hanging high, and the county government in front of him is like an abandoned mountain temple, and there is no incense.

"Who are you?" A woman appeared at the inner door, not very old, about twenty-five or six years old, she was also handsome, and there was a faint temperament of everyone, but the clothes on her body were quite old, and her face was dish-colored, and she could see that she was also malnourished, and she was looking at Zhang Huan suspiciously.

"Madame Wang! This is our new Zhang Dudu of Wuwei County, come and see. Li Xiancheng hurriedly stepped forward and said in fear, lest this woman did not understand etiquette and offended Zhang Huan, he said to Zhang Huan again: "This is the wife of our predecessor Wang Xianling." ”

Zhang Huan looked at her with a smile, according to common sense, the next scene should be this Mrs. Wang's plop! He knelt down, then took two steps forward, hugged his legs and wept bitterly, "Please save my lord!" ”

Unexpectedly, this woman seemed unmoved, she glanced at Zhang Huan coldly, and snorted: "You are the Zhang Huan who kidnapped Cui Xiangguo's daughter?" ”

Zhang Huan was taken aback, this matter has always been very secret, how could her wife of a small county order know, and with a fluent Beijing accent, is she also the daughter of some important minister?

"Third Sister Yang, is that you?" Pei Ying, who came in from behind, suddenly recognized her, she couldn't believe her eyes, could the woman with yellow face and thin muscles in front of her be the peerless Yang Feiyu who moved Jinghua with his piano sound?

"You are!" The woman also recognized Pei Ying at once, a look of shame suddenly appeared on her face, and as soon as she turned around and ran towards the inner courtyard, Pei Ying hesitated, but still chased after her, "Third sister, wait a minute." ”

Zhang Huan didn't catch Pei Ying, and urgently ordered Li Shuangyu to follow, he also understood seven or eight points at this time, and couldn't help but sigh secretly, it seems that she is another unfortunate woman who married the wrong man, but how could she know about her kidnapping Cui Ning, which made him puzzled.

"Du Du, it's this Mrs. Wang who wants to sell maids to raise money for the journey, I didn't find her, it turns out that she is still in the county seat." ”

Zhang Huan glanced at him and smiled: "If you want to be a county magistrate, go and handle the food matter!" Report to me in the evening. ”

Li Xiancheng said yes and walked out. But he had just walked to the door. Zhang Huan stopped him again, "If anyone sells grain or collects grain to the county in the past few days, notify me immediately!" ”

.

At night, Zhang Huan returned to the county government from the military camp, although the front of the county government was in tatters, but the back house was cleaned up well, and the courtyard wall was intact. The forest is dense. What's even better is that a pool of clear water was dug and two rockeries were erected.

It seems that this Wang County Decree is quite an elegant person, but it is a pity that he came to the wrong place and was captured by the Tubo people, and his life and death are unknown.

There were five or six rooms in the courtyard, and there were originally Wang Xianling's family and a few subordinates, but since Wang Xianling's disappearance, Mrs. Wang sent the two male servants away, leaving only two maids to live with her. Several rooms were empty, so Pei Ying lived in one of them, and the two on the edge were inhabited by a few soldiers who protected her.

The door was open, Zhang Huan gently pushed the door open, and saw Pei Ying sitting opposite Mrs. Wang, Pei Ying's eyes were red, there were a little tears, and when she heard movement behind her, Mrs. Wang turned around and saw that it was Zhang Huan who came in, and she quickly got up to say goodbye to Pei Ying. I don't say hello to Zhang Huan either

I hurried away.

There was a brazier burning in the room, it was very warm, and Pei Ying cleaned up for an afternoon. At a glance. There is already a bit of the smell of the house, red bedding, red sheets, red curtains. The eyes were full of joy, and even on the back of the curtain, there was a small double happiness hanging in a very hidden place, Zhang Huan's heart was funny, but there was a burst of warmth, even the world did not worship, and she did not drink a glass of wine, so she made her own claim to become her wife.

As soon as Zhang Huan entered the door, he suddenly found that there was a little girl standing next to him, about thirteen or fourteen years old, who also had a vegetable face, but her eyes were very big and she looked quite smart, it was estimated that this was one of Mrs. Wang's two maids, she saw Zhang Huan looking at her, and hurriedly stepped forward and saluted obediently, "Handmaid Xiaoqiu, see the master." ”

Zhang Huan took out a gold leaf from his coat bag, handed it to her and said with a smile: "This is a meeting gift, go down!" ”

The little maid held the gold leaf in both hands, she hesitated, looked at Pei Ying, and saw that she nodded to herself, so she bowed deeply, slowly retreated, and closed the door smoothly.

"Hey! This benevolent brother is climbing over the wall again, and bribing my maid, what do you want to do? Pei Ying crossed her waist and blocked Zhang Huandi's way in a puff, that posture was quite like a female robber blocking the road and robbing.

"Over the wall?" Zhang Huan scratched the back of his head, "When will I turn over your wall?" ”

"Without my consent, they trespassed into my new . Is it? ”

Zhang Huan took Pei Ying into his arms, kissed her on the lips, and said with a smile: "But why do I think this is a cave room, not like a boudoir!" And since you are someone's little wife, you should come out to greet you, why do you block the way fiercely? ”

"Am I not greeting you?"

Pei Ying stretched out her hand to wrap her arms around his neck, exhaled like an orchid, her wide sleeves slid down, revealing her white arms like jade lotus, she kissed Zhang Huan's chin, and said with a smile: "Do you want me to kneel at the door to greet you like a woman from a family?" ”

Zhang Huan caught a glimpse of her white jade-like arm, and his heart shook, these days he has been in the first place, and he can't control himself anymore, Pei Ying felt Zhang Huan's change, she blushed, and then took Zhang Huan's hand with a smile and walked around the room, and said a little proudly: "These are all arranged by me myself, how about it?" This is my first time working. ”

"Yes! Pretty good. Zhang Huan replied perfunctorily, he obviously didn't have a heart here, I saw him take out a vial from his arms, and smiled a little maliciously: "This is wound medicine, it's so easy to get, come!" I'm going to give you the medicine myself. ”

"Thank you." Pei Ying saw that he was thoughtful, and she was a little moved in her heart, but as soon as she thought about it, she immediately understood, how unbearable this prodigal son was, she was ashamed and angry, and 'Bang!' on Zhang Huan's chest! Bang! He punched him twice, "You bad guy, I'm still grateful to you!" ”

Zhang Huan screamed, clutching his chest and falling to the ground, but he grabbed Pei Ying's hand and pulled her down on the bed.

The lights went out, the red curtain slowly lowered, and under the soft and cold moonlight, the story of love quietly played out again.

.

I don't know how long it took, the curtain gradually quieted down, Pei Ying lay on Zhang Huan with her eyes closed, still intoxicated, Zhang Huan sniffed the fragrance on her head, gently stroked her hair and smooth back, and her heart was full of gratitude and nostalgia for her.

"Ying'er?"

"Yes!"

"I ask you something.

”

Pei Ying slowly opened her eyes, "What's the matter?" ”

"Who is that Mrs. Wang? You call her Third Sister Yang. ”

"What are you asking for?" Pei Ying mischievously blew on his beard and laughed in a low voice: "Could it be that you have a crush on her?" ”

"Don't talk nonsense! I just think she'll be useful in the future. ”

"Alas! You men, people are so pitiful, and you still want to take advantage of others. ”

"Using her is also helping her, both sides are beneficial, it's better than her starving to death in Tianbao County!"

Pei Ying heard that he was reasonable, so she got up and put on her clothes, put on her clothes for Zhang Huan, and groaned for a while, she said slowly: "Her name is Yang Feiyu, she is the daughter of Yang Du, Shaoqing of Dali Temple, because she is a concubine, her father does not pay attention to her, but she plays the piano very well, and gradually became famous in Chang'an, her father wanted to send her into the palace, she was unwilling, so she eloped with the pianist who taught her to play the piano, a few years later the qinist was caught and killed by the government, she jumped into the river and committed suicide, but was rescued by the order of Tianbao County Diwang County and brought to Tianbao County, Soon Wang County's wife died, she was corrected, but unfortunately the good times did not last long, last year Wang County Ling was captured by the Tubo people, it is estimated that there is a lot of luck, she became a widow again. ”

Speaking of this, Pei Ying sighed, "Go to illness, Yang Feiyu taught me to play the piano, and I am half my master, let's give her a sum of money and help her!" ”

"It's not a big problem to give her a sum of money, but since she has been away from Chang'an for a few years, how could she know about my kidnapping of Cui Ning, I really don't understand."

Pei Ying was also a little confused, she thought about it for a long time, but she couldn't figure it out, Zhang Huan looked at her, and continued: "If it's something else, it's okay for her to know, but after I kidnapped Cui Ning, Cui Yuan kept this matter a good secret, not many people know about it, needless to say her, I'm afraid even her father doesn't necessarily know, and she has been away from the capital for a few years, but she knows this matter very well, what do you think of?" ”

Pei Ying hesitated, "Is she lying to me?" ”

"She's definitely lying to you, and I suspect something else." Zhang Huan stared out of the window and said with a cold smile: "I suspect that she is actually the internal response of the Tubo people, and it is very likely that Wang Xianling found something and was killed by her." ”