Li Shijiu said intermittently, the head of the family, Li Yongfang, was sick in bed, and all the spy affairs of the Ming family were handed over to Li Shutai, the second son of the Li family, to be in charge - unlike Yingge, Li Shutai was raised in the palace by Lao Khan since he was a child, and he was very trusted by Tiancong Khan. At the beginning of this year, Li Shuitai sent a large number of spies to the four towns of Xuanfu, Datong, SX, and Guihua in the Ming Kingdom, with the task of collecting military intelligence and inciting rebellion. In desperation, he sent his subordinates to Chahar to lurk, and he took two people to venture to the fortress group of Weining Haizi, but he was recognized by Zhu Shen who threw himself into Fengzhou, and he also fell to this point.

This little man can only know this, Liu Xingzuo nodded and said: "Li Shijiu, you recuperate here first, and it is up to you whether you leave or stay in the future." ”

"Forget it, the eldest prince is dead, it's difficult for the master, I can't trouble the Li family anymore, my bones are broken, my whole body hurts terribly, if you don't die, you're a waste, Lord Liu will give me a good time." Li Shi'an stared at Zhang Shi'an and said fiercely, but Zhang Shi'an didn't care, he fell into the hands of Jinyiwei, there were few people who opened their mouths to ask for life, and the most people who begged for death.

Looking at the bloody man who collapsed to the ground, Liu Xingzuo sighed and waved his hand, two personal soldiers came in to lift Li Shijiu, and Liu Xingzuo commanded in a low voice: "After finishing the work, find a coffin and bury the person." ”

"My lord, it seems that Jiannu is going to start." Xue Xianguang said to Liu Xingzuo.

Liu Xingzuo sneered, turned his head and ordered Zhang Shi'an: "Send people to Jinlianchuan and Datong to arrest people, you must act quickly, find out all the spies of the Jin State for me, and you will immediately rush back to the Commander's Mansion and inform the Great Commander's Mansion that the Jin army may come to attack, please be sure to strengthen vigilance." ”

Zhang Shi'an promised to retreat and set off that night.

Naturalization, the Great Commander's Office is not surprised by Zhang Shi'an's report, this is expected, the Jin army has suffered a big loss, naturally will not give up, the two sides will sooner or later divide the winner, and it is good enough to have two years to recuperate. The military affairs department of Zanhua is even a little eager to try, Fengzhou's territory, population and military strength have grown rapidly, and its strength is far greater than two years ago. After thinking about it again, the Great Commander's Office ordered the cavalry rear battalions of Kubai and Chaolu, and the infantry rear battalions of Du Hongfang and Qin Hu to be stationed in the Guanshan camp - the replenishment of these two battalions was in Xinghewei, and the formation could be expanded as soon as the war came. The Grand Commander's Office held that in addition to the two additional battalions of the Eastern Army, there were also Fei Yangwu's Xinghe Cavalry Battalion, Yuan Lie's Xinghe Infantry Battalion, and two battalions of Chahar Cavalry of Darhan and Martyr's Rites.

The Commander's Office is currently anxious about this year's drought, if it is only the drought in Fengzhou, it is not afraid, relying on the strict organization of the health center and the water conservancy built for many years, the people of Fengzhou are confident that they can survive, but the problem is that SX has not been raining since the beginning of autumn last year, the people are starving, and there are countless people fleeing the famine and begging, and Cao Wenzhao, who took over as the general soldier of Datong last year, and Zhang Yingchang, the general soldier of SX, went to HN to chase and suppress the SX thieves, and the SX thief Gao Jiaji and others took the opportunity to resurge. Under natural disasters and man-made disasters, SX erosion is almost a foregone conclusion, SX backyard is unstable, Fengzhou also has to follow the bad luck, sneaking over the side wall into Fengzhou SX people are endless, Xuande and Dongsheng are helpless about this, especially Xuandewei, more than half of the people from SX, how many fellows they let in, no one can say. The increase in population will inevitably lead to a shortage of grain, Yun Rong is a little frightened, and advocates the immediate implementation of grain price limits, and at the same time prohibits the export of grain, while Li Jianji believes that restricting grain trade will lead to grain outflow, and advocates expanding grain trade and allowing its prices to fluctuate, anyway, everyone in Fengzhou has land, and no one can starve to death, and the rise in grain prices will also make everyone make a small fortune, and those who flee in can also supplement Fengzhou's labor, and mines, workshops, vocational fields, and military fields are short of people to work. The Commander's Office finally adopted Li Jianji's suggestion, and at the same time issued a call to all localities to plant potatoes extensively, and for a time "potatoes are a treasure, and only with them can we eat enough", "potatoes are delicious and full, and it is good to plant them in disaster years" slogans came all over the world, and Li Huai said sadly that the people of Fengzhou may have to eat potatoes in the future.

Another piece of news also made the Great Commander's Mansion tremble, and the Chahan Nao'er Wei came to report that the plague broke out in the northwest, and the two towns of GSNX were the most serious, and it also affected some areas of Ordos, hundreds of people had died, and the Great Commander Li Yu ordered the blockade of the banks of the Yellow River and the border wall of Yansui. Not long after, Dongshengwei also sent an urgent report, there was an epidemic in the area of SX Baode and Hequ, and the death toll is unknown, but it has caused a large number of people to flee, some of them crossed the partial pass into Fengzhou. The Great Commander's Mansion could no longer sit still, and ordered Dong Shengwei and Zhi Tuoyangkun to be stationed at Yatou Pass, no matter what, to prevent the displaced people from entering Fengzhou, and at the same time to levy money and food to assist Chahan Naoerwei and Dong Shengwei.

This year is destined to be an eventful year, with spring cold, drought, and plague coming one after another. Liu Zhilun was anxious day and night, and his gray hair also increased a lot. At the end of last year, he drove away the Grand Law Division, moved the Governor's Mansion into the Grand Commander's Mansion, and personally inquired about the government affairs of the Grand Commander's Mansion, and since then his good life has come to an end - the authority of Fengzhou is not easy to take, the first thing to consider here is survival, and the rest is nonsense, with the skills he learned from reading, he can't play hard, after a long time, he no longer dares to be self-righteous, and he must find the officials of the Grand Commander's Mansion to discuss together.

Recently, the situation has been changeable, and Liu Zhilun deliberately called the three giants of Ortai, Li Huai, and Li Fugui to his study to discuss - he understood that these three people were the actual helmsmen of Fengzhou, and Li Yu was more like a bodyguard with a knife.

Li Huai truthfully reported the recent situation and the various measures of the Great Commander's Mansion, and asked the governor what his opinion was, Liu Zhilun covered his head and pondered for a while, waved his hand and said: "What this official wants to know is that if Jianyi invades the west, can Guihua Town win?" How big can the results be? ”

"The Military Affairs Office of Zanhua believes that it is completely certain to repel the Jin army with the current strength of our army, but the results will not be too great, and the Jin army is likely to shift the direction of attack to the front line of Xuanfu in the case of an unfavorable battle with our army, and the possibility of a decisive battle with our army is very small, so it can only be a defeat for both sides, and neither the enemy nor we want this situation." Li Huai replied.

"If Jianyi attacks Xuanfu, Datong, and even SX, can my naturalized army cut off its rear road and annihilate it in one fell swoop?" Liu Zhilun's heart tightened, and he continued to ask.

Li Fugui replied without hesitation: "No, the pursuit of Jianyi can only use the main force of our army, and a large number of people, chariots and horses must be requisitioned, and the loss of money and grain is very amazing, whether it is victory or defeat, Fengzhou cannot afford it." ”

"If the court decrees, do you also plan to disobey?" Liu Zhilun asked dissatisfiedly.

"Our army has more than enough to defend the territory, but the strength is insufficient, it is difficult to fight from a distance, we have worked hard in Fengzhou for seven or eight years, we can't put this bit of belongings out of the way, and we have no certainty of winning in the Guannai battle, Lord Liu, you are from the Guannei, do you think the Guannai government and the official army are trustworthy?" Ortai replied disapprovingly.

Liu Zhilun stood up, walked back and forth in the study a few steps and asked, "What is Li Shuai doing?" Didn't he stay in the Loop and not plan to come back? ”

"The Chahan Nao'er Wei came to report that a large number of Chahar people had broken up in Xitao, and the Han people did not dare to let them into the Hetao, and were trying to appease them." Li Huai replied.

"Forget it, you tell him that he can stay outside for as long as he wants, and he can hide from his own officials forever." Liu Zhilun snorted, waved his hand and said to everyone, "Master Song and Master Lu are going back to their hometown in Guannei, you all go with the official to see them." ”

Song Tongyin felt unwell last winter, and after a serious illness, he knew that he was not long in Japan, and his children and grandchildren came to visit him in the spring of this year, and immediately decided to go back to his hometown SD Jimo, and he had to bury his bones in his hometown when he died. The two old men are going to leave naturalization tomorrow, and Li Yu can't get out in Ordos, so he specially sent Wu Xian and Chen Erzhu to send them home, and the carriages, horses, and guards are ready.

Liu Zhilun and others went to the old gentleman's residence in Fengzhou Academy, Zhang Zhiyao, Li Yao and other disciples were wiping their tears in the courtyard - although the old gentlemen were strict, they loved their disciples and almost regarded them as children and nephews.

After whispering a few words of comfort to the children, Liu Zhilun and others entered Song Tongyin's bedroom - the old man had been bedridden for a long time, but his spirit was not bad, Lu Shanji, Sun Qifeng, Wang Zheng and Jin Sheng were talking with him, Song Tongyin's children and grandchildren let everyone into the house, quietly closed the door and went out.

"Yuan Cheng, you came just in time, my body is useless, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back to help you, none of you here today are outsiders, some words are simply spread out, while my old man is still there, let's discuss it together." Song Tongyin sat up and greeted.

Liu Zhilun hurriedly stepped forward to support Song Tongyin, and pondered for a moment before saying: "Brother Xianzheng, I won't hide it from you, I'm afraid in my heart, naturalized academics are too miscellaneous, Confucianism, Western studies, and Buddhism are each a faction, and the official system and laws of the Ming Dynasty are also rejected, what you said about indoctrination is useless, if it goes on like this, it will eventually become a domain of the Ming Dynasty, or a disaster of the Ming Dynasty, I really don't dare to think about it." ”

"Lord Liu, Fengzhou is different from Guannei, all kinds of forces are deep-rooted, and the consequences of rashly suppressing any faction will be unpredictable, so we can only adopt the method of 'same race and different customs', so that they can check and balance each other and gradually integrate, if the Ming State is implemented, it will be worse, maybe tomorrow will be a river of blood." Ortai shook his head and said.

Li Huai added: "Lord Liu, in fact, we have been carefully receiving education, we have shaved our hair, but we have also removed the braids, we wear round-necked straight clothes, but we have also abandoned the left Hu clothes, we have introduced Western learning, but also to popularize the Chinese language to various schools, Fengzhou has long been a barbaric land, it is more realistic to be civilized first, what we do is just to survive." ”

"This official naturally doesn't want to trouble himself, but what do you want to contain Ming fugitives, fugitives, and even the White Lotus Sect bandits? These people do whatever they want in Fengzhou and instigate the people to rebel against Ming, can they also help you to civilize? Liu Zhilun asked with a sneer.

"My lord, most of the Han people in Fengzhou are fugitives and descendants of the White Lotus Sect, what a surprise is it to have some more, they can't be caught, as long as they can obey the law, why should adults care about their past." Li Fugui waved his hand and said.

Liu Zhilun stood up and pointed at Li Fugui and shouted: "This official can ignore them, but what about you Li Nianfeng, don't think I don't know what you're thinking, who are you?" What does Da Ming owe you to make you hate Da Ming so much? This official is sure that as long as the time is ripe, you will definitely be the rebel of the Ming Dynasty and kill your parents with iron horses. ”

Li Fugui's face immediately became gloomy, and after a while, he gritted his teeth and replied: "The world is not the world of one person and one family, but the world of the world. ”

After Li Fugui finished speaking, he stared at Liu Zhilun fiercely, Song Tongyin grabbed Liu Zhilun and said: "Yuan Cheng don't be angry, listen to the old man first, you must know the allusion of King Zhao Wuling'Hu Fu Riding and Shooting', this is the place where the allusion takes place, the world thinks that 'Hu Fu Riding and Shooting' is just to teach people to ride horses and shoot arrows, in fact, how can it be so simple, the Han people take agriculture as their business, no matter how they teach, it is difficult to train a cavalry, King Zhao Wuling is not formal, respects the Hu people, Hu customs, similar to today's Fengzhou' The same race and different customs' policy, Rong Huayi all ethnic groups as a whole, Zhao Di Hu people from Yi into China, willing to fight for the country, Zhao State has a strong iron horse, the strength to challenge the strong Qin. The old man also thought about it, what is education? Now I've finally figured it out.,Huhua or Sinicization.,As long as you can defend the land and the people.。 ”

Lu Shanji nodded and said: "Yuan Cheng, when we first arrived, we were just like you, and we couldn't get used to what Fengzhou was doing everywhere, but after a long time, we had to reflect on ourselves and ask ourselves, can we solve the problem by bringing the holy science and laws of the Ming Dynasty?" In fact, otherwise, my pilgrimage and law are full of drawbacks, and the current situation in front of me is a clear proof, if it is applied to Fengzhou, I am afraid that the situation will only be worse, it is better to allow it to be self-civilized, and it is not known that it may be able to find a new way. ”

Li Huai immediately said: "Shengxue has been reduced to official learning, it has long been unrecognizable, scholars only study to be officials, have no intention of forging ahead, since the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination has become more and more prosperous, China's national strength is weaker, the so-called Celestial Empire is just resting on its laurels, for the sake of the present is only to study the ancient and modern, to clean up the source of the past and to learn from the past, and to open a peaceful and prosperous era for the world, Fengzhou is doing this......"

"Yushan, your method of selecting the virtuous and the talented, and attaching importance to the tools is somewhat similar to the study of Mozi, but it can only be used for small states and widows, and the study of Confucius and Mencius is still used to govern the world." Song Tongyin unceremoniously interrupted Li Huai's boasting.

Li Huai was speechless, Fengzhou has a small territory, a small population, and almost all of them are poor, and this set of practices can barely cope with it at present, but in the future, when the population is more and the territory is larger, what should I do at that time?

"There is a cloud in the Book of Changes, 'advance with the times', Yushan should experience it well." Jin Sheng smiled and patted Li Huai's shoulder and said.

Everyone talked for a while, and when they saw that it was not early, they persuaded Song Tongyin and Lu Shanji to rest early, and then said goodbye and left together, Liu Zhilun lived in the courtyard next door, and stayed and talked to Song Tongyin for a while.

"Yuan Cheng, you shouldn't treat Li Nianfeng like this." Song Tongyin said dissatisfied.

"This person is unknown, and he is extremely hostile to the Ming Dynasty, and the naturalized anti-Ming forces are the only ones who look at him, if it weren't for the Guannei, I would definitely ask him for his guilt." Liu Zhilun replied resentfully.

"You must not touch him, Fengzhou is the place where Yi people, thieves, and fugitives live, can you expect them to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty? Although Li Nianfeng is also anti-Ming, he is a smart man, he will never openly rebel, on the contrary, he will restrain others not to act rashly, if he is not there, if this group of people make trouble, then the Ming Dynasty will be in trouble. ”

"What about Li Hanmin, can't he suppress those thieves?"

"Of course Li Hanmin can hold it down, but you don't know who he is? He doesn't care about the court and the emperor at all, whoever touches him will dare to turn his face with whom, you should be able to see that Ortai, Li Fugui, and Li Huai are the three most critical people for him to implement the strategy of checks and balances, and in the future, it may be Batu, Yunrong, and Namur, he will never let anyone touch them, but don't be angry, whoever wants to move you and me, he will not tolerate it either. Congratulations on taking in a good disciple, Hermes-Epitek is actually smarter than anyone else, he is self-aware, far from authority, and he has made himself bitter and tired, but as a result, his power has become more and more stable, I don't think any fool is interested in robbing him of his drudgery. ”

Liu Zhilun smiled bitterly and stopped talking, this disciple is both hated and loved, obviously very smart but doesn't like to read, his mind is full of things taught to him by the wild people in Wula Mountain, the code of ethics is often completely ignored, whoever treats him well will remember who's love, and what he does is almost no different from Yiren, I'm afraid that the emperor is not as good as a groom next to him in his heart.

Liu Zhilun said goodbye in a trance, and had a nightmare at night, Fengzhou Iron Cavalry waved into the customs, the people of Beijing opened the city gate to greet him, the black eagle flag fluttered high in the city, and he was the one who led the way for the Fengzhou army, he was scared awake, and he never fell asleep again this night.

Early the next morning, Song Tongyin and Lu Shanji went on the road, Fengzhou officials and the disciples of Fengzhou Academy saw them off together, the crowd of people who saw them off had crossed the Heihe River before stopping, the disciples of the academy looked at the distant teacher and couldn't help crying, this was the last time they saw the master - Song Tongyin returned to Jimo's hometown not long after he fell seriously ill and died, and Lu Shanji's death was tragic, Chongzhen nine years in July, the Qing army entered Zhili to attack Dingxing, sixty-two-year-old Lu Shanji generously went to the difficulty, with his son and nephew into the city to help defend, the city was broken and the battle did not fall, Died under the sword and arrow of the Qing soldiers.