The time is the middle of July, the majestic pass of the two northlands, one east and one west, is located in the Jundu Mountain, the Juzhu Mountain has gradually taken shape, the two passes are built according to the mountain, and the stone is quarried and carved on the spot to build one by one, which is time-consuming and laborious. Juyongguan relies on the expansion of the old site of Shangxiguan, connecting Lulong and Jieshi in the east, and Taihang Mountain in the west; Yanmen Pass intercepts the ancient road of sentence note, and there are urn cities, east and west two cities, which are faintly connected into horns in a V-shape.

In another year or two, it is to completely separate the five counties of the north from the secluded and the two states, forming a solid defensive place, along the two passes and into the removal of the Yanmen County Zhiguan Yinguan and Juyong County, as the entire northern land connects the Shanggu County of the grassland of western Liaoning, the endless grasslands and hills are full of herds of cattle and sheep, driven in the Chinese dialect of the Xiongnu shepherd boys, and the caravans along the way set off from the surrounding counties one after another after receiving the Taihang trade road to reopen, forming a team that flows like a long river, which is a picture that makes people feel palpitations.

Leaving Yandong from Yanmen County, overlooking Sangwu, Xialuo, and Quang Ninh below, a long stretch of water passes through the Liangjian Mountain into the river valley, where Kebineng was ambushed by Gongsun Zhi two years ago, and there are still mottled blood stains on the surrounding rocks, which have become dark red with the erosion of time.

The river water is extremely clear, a large number of passing caravans will occasionally stop here, fill the water bags with clear water, go east to Shanggu County there are still hundreds of miles to go, the river valley that gathers here and flow here forks to Juyong County, or go south to You, Hebei and Hebei Prefecture, hesitate to weather haze, it is the season of abundant rain, just after the rain, the road into the boundary of Shanggu County becomes muddy, on both sides of the road can be seen is the newly cultivated fields, showing a green piece of vitality. Travelers walk through here, and at the end of the field of vision, they can see the outline of the village in the drizzle, the earthen or wooden houses are very close together, the smoke rises into the sky, and occasionally the cheerful cry of a child can be heard from that side: "Daddy! My mother asked me to call you home for dinner. ”。

"Just go back!"

The farmer who had risen straight from the field smiled back to the child, his face was full of smiles, and when he looked back at the caravans and travelers passing by the road, he also smiled and waved his hand, took up his hoe, walked up the ridge, drank his saliva, and slowly walked in the direction of home.

Hundreds of thousands of people who moved from Montenegro back then, after a long journey of hardship, the initial strangeness, has finally opened up a new home here, in this strange land, took root, the area of two or three hundred miles outside Shanggu County has become a gathering area for the people of Montenegro, such an arrangement is also the county Cheng Dongfang Sheng so requested, so that the recruitment of the Montenegrin army can be effectively distinguished from the local residents.

In the area around Shanggu County, a large number of workshops and livestock sales areas, courtyards and tent fences are uniformly divided in the west and north directions, and they are spread out one after another, although they still look a little simple, but from a distance they look surprisingly neat and consistent, and there are some houses in the middle that are special, which are the yamen responsible for the safety and taxation of the trade area, and the residence of the public who specializes in handling livestock manure.

Compared with the war and the erosion of disasters in the Central Plains, it seems to be peaceful and prosperous, and commerce and agriculture have not stopped because of outside things. However, for the soldiers, it is a race against time training, the newly recruited soldiers will do a lot of drills and runs every morning and evening, and after eating at noon, it is to concentrate on the lecture and listen to the conference, in addition to emphasizing the bravery and discipline that the soldiers should have, there is also loyalty, which Gongsun Zhi told Dongfang Sheng, Li Ru and others earlier, and it began to be implemented shortly after he left the Northland, and the soldiers can be disloyal to the general, but they must finally him.

On the outskirts of the south of the city, the stocking area for raising war horses is still expanding, and the mares and foals have built several guard towers and scout camps in other pens near the bottom of the hills, and on the hills, they are used to watch over the horses, keep an eye on the spies that may come over the Taihang Mountain, and the occasional wolves in the mountains.

Sometimes, the scouts stationed in the garrison would look suspiciously at the carts coming out of the city, carrying sick and dead animals into the mountains to feed the wolves there, and one of them, the white wolf king, was particularly conspicuous and majestic, and seemed to be very human, and scouts on a mission often saw it.

The city that used to be under the front of the Xiongnu and Xianbei soldiers has been turned upside down for the locals in the past two or three years, and even Shanggu County will change a little every day, especially those merchants who come once or twice a year, and the speed of change is particularly drastic in their eyes.

In the afternoon, the rain stopped, the seven-colored rainbow hung in the direction of the west, the carriage was coming back from outside the city, the bustling people, carrying the load, the hawkers shouting in front of the stalls, and the people who shopped from time to time squeezed past from the rolling wheels, and soon after, stopped at the gate of the yamen, Li Ru walked into the yamen, in the office building, he saw Dongfang Sheng, who was sick himself, commenting on the government affairs on the bamboo slips under the lights, "If you are not in good health, you should take a good rest, I just went out to inspect for a while, and you will run over......"

Hearing the familiar voice, the one-armed scholar raised his head, a smile appeared on his face that turned a little blue, and pointed to him to a stack of bamboo slips on the table: "People who have returned from the grassland are not familiar with this place yet...... Ahem...... ...... in government affairs It's you and me again...... Cough...... Give it to them, just don't worry...... You have to finish it......"

Li Ru has never been sentimental, but he has been getting along with this scholar who is more than ten years younger than him for a long time, and he has some pity in his heart. After being silent for a moment, he snatched the wolf hair from the other party's hand, and his face showed a rare angry expression: "What is the condition of your body, don't you have any points in your heart?" Exhausted, who cares about you-"

"Huh...... Ahem......" Dongfang Sheng smiled and waved his hand, taking back the pen from his hand, "I have a son...... Of course, someone sent it to the end, haven't you seen it? Quite a clever kid......"

"Dongfang Yu?" Li Ru frowned, "I'm talking about your body, don't tear the ......" At this time, someone knocked on the door outside, and then came inside, and another roll of bamboo slips was handed over.

“…… Look, slow down, and you won't be able to deal with it. Looking at the bamboo slips handed over, Sour Ru said with a smile, and coughed twice: "It's just ...... I don't have the ability to share the problems of the leader, so I can only make up for it by doing this...... You see, none of the people under the leader's command who joined in are not powerful, I am the same as Gao Sheng's ability, or even much worse, but I can't let them look down on me...... You can't even disgrace the leader. ”

Li Ru shook his head: "You are mistaken, in fact, Confucianism envies you, don't look at the fact that there are so many people under the lord's command, in fact...... They all envy you and your ascension...... Even if you don't do anything, no one will dare to look down on you. ”

"Yes...... "The warm yellow light shone on the scholar's face, and there was a bright smile, "Actually, I have never thought about these ..... just want to ...... Since he is the leader's henchman...... Nor can we sit back and enjoy it...... I have to do something, after all, I am not very good, this family business is hard work, maybe one day the wind and rain will blow, say no will be gone, live a day to lay a solid foundation for the leader, the leader is good...... Our children and grandchildren will have a better life......"

"Sacrificial wine...... You say, don't you? He smiled and whispered.

"Alas...... I'll help you. ”

Li Ru looked at it for a while, but finally sighed, stepped forward to sit down, and helped to review the more important things in Shanggu County and even the other four counties, and did not finish all this until the night gradually fell, and the scholar was only six or seven years old, but he was well-behaved and sensible, carrying a lantern and waiting outside with an old servant.

"Okay, I'll approve it, you can go back quickly." Li Ru forcibly picked up the scholar and sent him to the door to hand over to the old and young who were picked up outside, and told the two: "He is not allowed to come out tomorrow, the lord has already returned on the way, if the county has three long and two short, everyone will not look good." ”

"Mr. Li, don't worry, Yu will definitely be optimistic about his father." The little figure nodded reassuringly, Dongfang Sheng laughed, touched his head, and looked at the middle-aged scribe: "Sacrificial wine, then go back first, the mansion is behind the mansion, not far away, you don't want to send it." ”

"Hmm." Li Ru arched his hand, watched them leave, took a breath, exhaled heavily, and then turned back to the room.

…….

Under the eaves, the lantern swayed in the villain's hand to illuminate the road, and the smiling scholar gradually retracted, weakly touched the head of Yizi, who was not yet his chest high, and looked around, the lights extended, and the voices of people outside the wall were boiling.

He closed his eyes, a little wet.

“.…… I really want to help you last a little longer...... Chieftain. ”