Yanghebao is 100 miles away from Datong, east of Tianzhen, Yangyuan; The south is bounded by Hunyuan and Guangling; It is adjacent to Datong County in the west; Crossing the Great Wall, it is more than 200,000 meters away from the control of the string and the bow, and it may enter the Tumut tribe in the Central Plains at any time. The city is located in Yunmen Mountain, Cailiang Mountain, Liuling Mountain, Dianding Mountain, and other mountains and rivers surrounding, the terrain is dangerous, and the captive riding is close at hand, naturally it is an important military town.

Originally, Yanghe Fort belonged to one of the seventy-two forts under the jurisdiction of Datong, but in the fourth year of Longqing, the residence of the governor of Xuanda was moved from Xuanfu to Yanghe, and the status of the city was on par with Datong or even exceeded. Compared to Datong, Yanghe was a slightly smaller city, and since there was no feudal clan living in it, it was far less prosperous.

There are only a few streets in the whole city, and the trading shops are limited, mainly blacksmith shops, there is only one grain store and cloth village, and the grocery stores are not visible, and there is no sound of warblers, swallows, swallows, and bamboos all over the street. The air was filled with the smell of sweat and dung, and the sound of the blacksmith's furnace was either the clanging of the blacksmith's furnace or the neighing of horses.

There is no tall and windy Aunt Datong here, only a group of officers and soldiers armed with spears and halberds running back and forth. Even the man who does not wear a uniform is fierce, his eyes are fierce, and he walks with a graceful gait, which is very different from the area in the abdomen.

Zhang Shunqing, who had lowered the curtain for a long time, muttered in a low voice: "This place looks like a big barracks." ”

Fan Jin said with a smile: "This is originally a barracks, Yang, Gao Erwei, and the Governor's Directly Administered Standard Battalion, and there is also a guerrilla battalion for Tiancheng to guard the guerrillas, the entire Yanghe Fort has one hundred and eighty-one officers, nine thousand three hundred and twenty-eight officers and soldiers, and five thousand eight hundred and ninety-two horses and mules. That's what happens here, you listen......"

While speaking, Fan Jin closed his eyes and made a gesture of listening attentively, Zhang Shunqing didn't know why she also listened to her husband's example, and frowned after a while: "The sound of striking iron is clanging, it's noisy, what's so good." ”

"No, what I heard was not the sound of striking iron, but the neighing of Huma, the wailing of soldiers and civilians, and the crying and begging of countless unjust souls. This place is close to the Tartars, and every time Humakou passes, the place is inevitably scattered. Since I answered the tribute, there has been no major war between the imperial court and the Tartars, but every autumn when the horses are fat, there is still a constant war here. To put it bluntly, this is a wall to block the wind, and the higher and thicker this wall is, the less cold we feel in Beijing. Now the old Taishan sits in the center, and the four seas rise to live and work in peace and contentment, but on every brick here, there is still bleeding outward. So the atmosphere here is destined to be different from that of Jingshi, otherwise this wall will be useless. Of course, I'm not saying that this is right now, even at the border gates, it should be relaxed, and if you are so nervous, people are easy to be impulsive, and if you don't do it well, you will make small things become big things, and let small storms turn into tornadoes. Zheng Fanxi's method of doing this can be regarded as having his considerations, but I don't know if the atmosphere has always been so tense, or if it is only now. The way of civil and military affairs is relaxed one by one, if it has been like this for many years, who will suffer it? ”

Zhang Shunqing said: "Then thinking about it, is the layout of this city appropriate?" ”

"It's not good to say it when I first arrived, and I don't know what to do with the soldiers, so if I insist on saying that there is anything wrong, that is, I deliberately embarrass Zheng Fanxi, not an attitude of doing things. It's just that from a rough point of view, the taste of soldiers in this city is too heavy, and the people's livelihood is greatly insufficient. There is only one grain store in a city, and if it closes and everyone can't buy food to eat, something big will happen. I asked some people before I came, and although I was in a hurry, at least I understood the situation. The daily ration for each soldier is one liter of five hehe, and the daily ration of beans for livestock is three liters. There are nearly 10,000 soldiers here, as well as the families and elders of those sergeants, with a total population of nearly 100,000. The daily grain cost nearly 1,000 stones, the livestock nearly 6,000 heads, and the beans cost 200 stone a day. In a month, nearly 30,000 stone of grain and thousands of stone beans are not enough, and it is not enough to just count on storage, and the army's grain station is mainly purchased from the grain store, and I have done this errand in the Guangdong grain station. In addition, the rations of the people must also be purchased from the grain stores. There is only one grain store that is equal to Tai'a's inversion, and the prices are manipulated and then in the hands of grain merchants, and the people are afraid that they will not be steady. Once encountering unexpected changes, grain merchants take the opportunity to raise prices, and it is inevitable that the people in the city will be panicked, which will be greatly disadvantageous to the war. ”

Zhang Shunqing nodded and said: "What the prime minister said is extremely true, and when he talks to Zheng Fanxi in private, it can be regarded as giving him face." If he doesn't know how to advance or retreat, beat him again. ”

Fan Jin smiled, "That being said, it may not be useful to tell him." The three generations of the Zheng family are familiar with the soldiers, and when it comes to marching and commanding the battle, one Zheng Fanxi tops me ten. What's more, he is a senior of Shilin, and his division is far ahead of me, so I only have to listen to it when he reprimands me with a straight face, how dare I provoke him. ”

Zhang Shunqing raised her eyebrows, and the cold light in her phoenix eyes flashed, "Don't dare to borrow his guts!" If you dare to bully my father-in-law, see if I don't want his head! ”

Like Datong, Yanghe also has a patrol inspection institute, the location is located in Yanghe East Street, and there are stone memorial arches of "Xuanhua on behalf of Tian" and "Bingxian Weifeng" on the left and right. The walls of the yamen are high and thick and are actually covered with bricks instead of rammed earth, which makes Fan Jin wonder if he had considered whether he had considered once the city wall was lost, and the commander and his soldiers would continue to resist relying on the yamen as a stronghold.

Fan sent Zheng Luo official business before coming in, and the hospitality on the scene will naturally not be lacking. The yamen is cleaned and painted, and the things that should be prepared are all complete, but people always feel awkward inside, and the summary is: not suitable for women to live.

This yamen, like this city, is full of iron-blooded flavor and is not friendly to women. There were swords hanging in the room, shields and waist knives could be found in the gatehouse, and bows and arrows were stored, which seemed to be used to arm Fan Jin's entourage, but there was no furniture. Fan Jin's room is a bed and two stupid and clumsy recliners, like an old guest house. The beds were sturdy but hard, and the house was filled with the smell of feces peculiar to the city, and there was no joy of life.

Fortunately, Zhang Shunqing was prepared, and not only brought a large number of bedding and luggage when she traveled, but also two large carts specially used to load small ornaments. Xia He not only didn't spare people's hands and feet, cleaned up the room and put all kinds of furnishings, and used incense to deodorize, Liang Pandi and Zheng Chan helped to set off, and it didn't take half an hour to arrange the room on par with Datong. But then Zheng Chan shouted again:

"How do you cook in this kitchen? There is less oil and no sauce, don't order anymore, master, I can cook the rice, but there is nothing to eat on the dish, if you are particular about me, I will have no problem. ”

Zhang Shunqing turned around the room a few times with a gloomy face, and a sneer appeared on her face, "Good Zheng Fanxi, this is deliberately bombarding me!" What a guts! ”

Fan Jin said: "Fortunately, Datong is not far away, there is everything there, what the lady wants, I will tell someone to go to Datong to procure." ”

"I don't want anything. Zheng Fanxi is putting on a show to us, I can't lose face as a father-in-law. Isn't it just suffering? I'm not afraid. No matter how hard it is, it can't be as hard as those days in Tianhua Village, and with Xianggong by my side, I don't feel hard. Even those who came with you will be wronged now. I didn't prepare anything for them to use, and they weren't used to it. When I went back, I asked Xia He to ask what they needed to open a list, and we would send someone to buy it. Zheng Fanxi treats him like this, if he doesn't beat him a few times, he really thinks that this Xuanda is his world? Joke! Salute first and then soldiers, you go to see him, it is regarded as a guest and a guest, we have done enough things on face, as for how to do things in the future...... The road is his own, and he wants to find trouble himself, and he doesn't blame us. ”

When Fan came in and went outside, Zhang Tiejian was reprimanding Zheng Luo's flag officer who was in charge of reception. Although Zhang Tiejian is still a white man, the seven-rank official in front of the prime minister, who is a long-term follower of the patrol, naturally will not take a small military attache in his eyes. In front of Fan Jin, Zhang Tie's arm has always been low-eyebrowed, but at this time, it turned into an angry King Kong.

"My master's fire card has already arrived, and you guys are here to entertain like this? I said, this general, it is really a miracle that you can still be a flag officer in the capital standard camp on this errand. It's nothing to look down on me in your eyes, I'm just a subordinate, so how can I have any face. But if my lord is angry, can you resist this future? ”

The flag officer's face was also a little embarrassed, and he sneered: "Master Zhang is angry, this matter really can't be blamed." We are a frontier, no more than the belly, especially the current situation is also very special, and we must be extra careful. Zheng Junmen did not bring his family members when he took office, and only a few entourages around him, and specially asked civil and military officials to work wholeheartedly, especially officials who were not allowed to bring their dependents. This arrangement is to wait for everyone, so that everyone can always be vigilant, don't patronize the fun and miss the right thing, and then let the woman can't live. The small ones are only acting on orders, and you always understand the hardships of people and can measure the small ones. ”

Zhang Tiejian snorted, "I understand you, who understands me?" What age is Zheng Junmen? What age is our lord. He can live for two more years without his dependents, can my lord do this? ”

Fan Jin coughed and stopped Zhang Tieji's words, "Acting on orders, what's the use of you losing your temper with him?" The good student guards the gate, and the officer wants to visit the old military gate, and he has to trouble the general to lead the way. ”

The flag was finally saved, and he breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Fan Jin vigorously. In front of the horse, Fan Jin did not take a sedan chair, but rode a horse to walk behind. Although Fan Jin's riding skills are not proficient, he does not have to gallop to ride a horse in the city, so there will be no problems. He talked to the flag as he walked, and his attitude was very kind. This flag knew that Fan Jin came with Shang Fang's sword, and he also knew that Zheng Luo would never conflict with the patrol in order to protect himself, so he was particularly flattering, and Yu Fan Jin's answer to the question was very simple.

"Back to the old man, we don't always do this in the city, as you said, if you do this all year round, who will bear it. It's not like the Tartars have been dishonest in recent times, there are always rangers harassing them, and some have crossed the outer walls and come to wander around. The lord above said that he was going to fight a big battle, so all kinds of troops and horses were mobilized, and we were also preparing here, and the situation was extremely tense. ”

"Afraid? How can this be feared? Isn't it just a war, a small life is hard, and being born is the life of eating food and being a soldier. If you want to be rich, you have to fight with a knife and a gun, and if you don't fight, you are really afraid, and there is nothing to be afraid of going to war with the Tartars. Besides, this is also an opportunity to get rich, and you can get rich by cutting a few heads, and such a good thing is hard to ask for. In fact, all of you are in the same mind, Xiezhen is also thinking the same thing, all the families in the house are counting on the war to make a fortune, in the past few years, there have been fewer wars, everyone is very poor, this time the army is very happy, I wish to fight a few more battles, a few more fortunes. ”

Xue Rulong...... Xue Xiucai, I know this. We are one of the few handsome people in our camp. I heard that the whole family was assigned to commit a crime, and it was first sent in Shaanxi, and later because of meddling, he hated the Qin Wangfu and almost lost his life. Thanks to the fact that Mei Qianhu and the old man of the Xue family were friends for eight years, they deliberately asked people to go to Yanghe, so they escaped. This old man of the Xue family is a master, he actually knows how to read, and he understands a lot of truths. When there is a strong wind, when it can rain, you can guess the approximately, just like Zhuge Liang, he even knows how to dig a well, and he is a sage on the ground. Xue Xiucai is good-looking, but his martial arts are good, and three or five military men are not close to him, so he was selected to the standard camp. I heard that he has a younger sister who is more beautiful than the beauty in the painting, but I don't know when I will see it. The eldest lord knows him? That dare is good, you can ask the military for a favor and spare his life. Such a good person, even if he dies, he should die on the battlefield, just kill with a knife, isn't he blind to that martial arts? ”

"His crime? You should ask my military family about this. We soldiers don't understand anything, and this kind of thing can't be said clearly, but it makes you confused, and you can't afford this crime. ”

While speaking, the group had already come to the largest temple in the city: outside the gate of Yunlin Temple, the flag in the distance dismounted, and smiled at Fan Jin: "The little one goes in to report, please wait." ”

Fan Jin looked over immediately, and saw that Zheng Luo's official title plate and a full set of governor's honor guards were displayed outside the temple, and he knew that Zheng Luo was inside. During the Jiajing period, there was a serious discussion in the officialdom, who should meet the governor first.

After repeated consultations, the result was that the governor outside the yamen first paid homage to the governor to show his loyalty to the Son of Heaven, and when he arrived at the yamen, the governor returned to the governor to show his respect for the seniors and the old Qincha. The current situation is that the monastery is different from the yamen, but the general rules remain the same, and I want to practice like this for a while.

Just thinking this, he suddenly saw that the flag had walked out quickly, and behind him was a monk in a robe. I saw that this monk was not young but his legs and feet were dexterous, and he quickly came to Fan Jinma, put his hands together and saluted:

"The poor monk is empty, but he is the host here. Zheng Junmen was doing things in the temple, and he couldn't leave for a single step, so he asked Fan Daochang to meet in the temple. ”

Fan Jin was silent on the surface, and walked towards the temple with the air, but the fire in his heart was already burning more and more: Zheng Fanxi's plane was too unseen! I didn't even want to greet him, I obviously didn't take me seriously, whether it was for Wu'er or to give you a long memory, I took care of the Xue family's affairs.