This vast and sparsely populated area has begun to change from the great plains to the steppe landscape, and the Han people and some small nomadic tribes live in small settlements, and their way of life is very similar to that of the Mongolian steppe.

This place has long been occupied by Amin's troops, but there are not many troops left in the various guards and counties, and the strength of the Fifth Cavalry Army is enough to deal with it.

Once these places are taken down, it will be a thousand miles away.

The second road was Helian Leopard and his Sixth Cavalry Army, which went straight south. At this time, the southern cluster led by Yang Husheng was already stationed in Mulan Hewei, separated by a hundred miles and a confrontation with the White Lotus Sect of Hehe and Tashanwei, Wutun Hewei was in the middle of the Liaobei General's jurisdiction to the north, and Mulan Hewei was in the southernmost part of the central part of the Liaobei General's territory, and a straight line hundreds of miles long could probably be pulled between the two. In the large central area between the two, the power of Wu Yijun is still blank. Originally, Dong Laohu's department was supposed to attack this area, but before that, all the troops and thoughts were put on culling Aminha and not out of the coalition army, so there was almost no progress.

And Helian Leopard's task this time is to go south, all the way south, occupy all the areas along the way, and connect the forces of the Wu Yi Army in the central and eastern parts of the entire Liaobei General's territory.

The two armies left separately, and Lian Zining took the soldiers of the pro-military battalion to the north to Jiahewei.

But there was one more person with him.

"Zixuan, I really didn't expect to see you here!" Lian Zining let out a long breath, rode his horse gently, and smiled at the man beside him.

A red horse beside him walked slowly. Immediately, the man was also in his twenties, and he was handsome. He is not tall, with small eyes and bones. It's very clever. This person is Ning Fei, Zixuan, and Lian Zining is the same age and the same year, this person is funny and humorous, quite wise, and born in a businessman, and his family is also quite wealthy. Although he has a good family. But people are kind and have no arrogance.

When he was in the capital, he was one of Lian Zining's few friends, and he was also a witness to the song that made Lian Zining famous, 'If life is only as first seen'.

It's just that in the future, Lian Zining will be developed, and these old friends will not take the initiative to get up, and the scholars of the Ming Dynasty love face the most, if they do that. There is a suspicion of clinging to the powerful. After that, Lian Zining was stationed outside Beijing for a long time, and every time he returned to Beijing, he was also in a hurry, and he left in a day or two. Slowly, the connection was severed. Counting up, since Lian Zining returned to Beijing to invite Ning Fei and others to a banquet, the two have been out of contact for more than two years.

Ning Fei nodded. Grinning and revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "yes." The world makes people, and you and Uncle you haven't seen each other for more than two years. ”

I heard the word 'uncle' come out of the mouth of this former friend. Lian Zining couldn't help but feel gloomy in his heart. Yes, I am now the uncle general, and the gap between me and them is already a world away, so naturally it will not be the same as in the past, and it is inevitable that I will be unfamiliar.

"Alas, Zixuan, why bother to see the outside, just like before, call me Chengbi."

This sentence turned around in Lian Zining's mouth a few times, but he couldn't say it after all.

He knows very well that he doesn't need friends now, and there will be no real friends.

These two words are very luxurious.

So, just let it be!

However, it may be because of the past friendship, or it may be due to personality, Ning Fei is not restrained in front of Lian Zining, this kind of down-and-out generosity and free talk and laughter attitude makes Lian Zining feel a lot more comfortable.

He smiled apologetically: "It's my brother who has become alienated from the past." ”

"Hey, don't say that." Ning Fei said with a smile: "It's because I attach too much importance to false fame, and I don't want people to say that they can only go up by relying on your care, I just want to rely on my own ability to raise people, become a sergeant, and get ahead." What ...... the result?"

He laughed at himself and knocked on his head: "I'm ashamed to say it, Qingquan High School, but I failed to Sun Shan, I also know in my heart that I am not that material, and it will be the end of my life to be a Jinshi, and no matter how many delusions I have, it will be useless." So, I'm here to go to you, uncle. ”

"Oh? Defect to me? Lian Zining was stunned at first, then laughed, and patted Ning Fei's shoulder heavily: "I'm welcome!" ”

Ning Fei's remarks surprised him a little, but after thinking about it, it was a matter of course - how can we say that we are also a major force in the imperial court now, and we can be regarded as a very high gate valve leader, so it is naturally worth investing.

After all, in these years, although studying in the Jinshi is the right way, it is the most brilliant road for students in Guangzhou, but at this time, the cruelty of the competition in the children's examination examination is far more than that of the college entrance examination in later generations. How many talents can be produced in it? How many people can be lifted in the end? There is not one in a thousand!

In some places, it is a glorious thing for a county to produce a jinshi in ten years.

So what did the other scholars who couldn't go to high school do? Naturally, they are looking for a way out, some are individuals who are bookkeepers, some are teaching and educating people in private schools and preparing for the exam for a lifetime, some are officials who become masters, and some are wealthy and simply go into business.

Ning Fei's choice is also a very wise path - after all, his relationship with Lian Zining is here, to put it a little snobberly, with Lian Zining's current power, a little leakage in his fingers is enough for him to eat.

Lian Zining said again: "Zixuan, why did you end up here? ”

Hearing Lian Zining ask, Ning Fei smiled bitterly, and told in detail about his bizarre experience in the past half a year.

It turned out that in the autumn of last year, when Lian Zining swept the Haixi Jurchens and swept the world, Ning Fei moved his mind to come here. It's just that it's not easy to make the trip, it's not that Ning Fei is short of money - in fact, Ning Fei's family background is the most solid one among Lian Zining's group of talents. In the past two years, the old man of the Ning family has become bigger and bigger. It is already about to spread to Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, so naturally there is no shortage of money. However, Ning Fei has only one child in his family. In addition, the old man of the Ning family is old and very fond of him, and he is old, so he naturally does not want Ning Fei to stay away from his side.

No matter how Ning Fei pleaded, he just didn't allow it, and even after a while, the old man still wanted to tell him that he was a daughter-in-law with the right house, so he quickly became a relative and collected the wild son. The province is not at home all day, and he is bent on running out. What's good out there? It is still important to inherit the family's business.

Ning Fei saw that the momentum was not good, so he kept doing it, left a letter from home, and fled with the odds and pieces of money he had saved for more than half a year.

On the day he fled, it happened to be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the old man set up a banquet in the flower hall and waited for the whole family to eat, but he couldn't wait for a long time. Send someone to take a look, and the person is gone! What makes the old man angry is blowing his beard and staring!

Ning Fei has saved a lot of pocket money for half a year, more than five hundred taels, which is really an out-and-out huge amount of money. He was thoughtful, and he had already contacted the carriage and horse dealers, and followed their cart all the way out of the capital. Out of Shanhaiguan and to the land outside this pass. Now all the major carriages and horses in the capital have opened routes to Zhenyuanfu. Of course, the surrounding towns. They can't get into the city. Zhenyuan Mansion is densely populated, the soldiers also have money, the consumption power is extremely strong, there are many shops, and there is no worry about not being able to sell things when they arrive.

The whole journey was peaceful, he was not stingy with money, so he ate well and slept soundly, he originally thought that he would be safe and sound all the way to the destination.

As a result, I didn't expect that when I was about to arrive at the big city of Zhubang, something happened.

In the territory under the jurisdiction of General Songhuajiang, there is naturally Haiqing Heyan, and the thieves have been exterminated, and there is no one left, but other boundaries are different. Inside the jurisdiction of General Jianzhou, there were a lot of shearing thieves in that remote place, but unfortunately, Ning Fei encountered it.

They set off early in the morning, thinking that they would arrive at the famous 'Liu Ji Inn' in the surrounding fifty miles in the evening to rest, but they didn't expect that a car broke down on the road, and the store was reluctant to throw it away, so they had to repair it on the spot, so everyone had to wait. As a result, when it was repaired, the sky was dark, and it was still far from the destination. It was at this moment that the thieves came out of the woods.

These weak people, who are powerless and vulnerable in front of the army, have become extremely fierce and brutal in the face of even more vulnerable civilians, and they do not look like human beings at all.

The property and goods were all robbed, and except for Ning Fei, the entire convoy of thirty-four people was all killed and abandoned in the wilderness.

And the reason why Ning Fei was lucky to save his life was because he was the only one of these people who was literate - later Ning Fei learned that the child of the big boss in this group of thieves was only five years old, and the head of the family was also quite insightful, and he didn't want his son to do such a thing again, so he had to teach him to read and write. But he himself can't read a basket of big characters, so Ning Fei picked up his life by chance.

In the next few months, Ning Fei stayed in that cottage in fear, and he didn't know which day he would be slaughtered. After that, there was an opportunity to come - those thieves went down the mountain to rob, but they never returned, and the people left behind on the mountain were very worried, so they took people out to look for them, Ning Fei was also considered his own person because he was very honest, and he also gave him a knife and asked him to follow. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ning Feisa fled and finally escaped.

Running to the main road, he happened to meet a caravan going to Wutun Hewei, and the people in the caravan saw that although he was dressed in tatters, he was gentle and polite, and talked elegantly, so he took him in, so he followed the caravan to Wutun Hewei.

It was also Ning Fei's bad luck, just a few days after arriving here, Wutun Hewei was occupied by the Jurchens.

Until now, I met Lian Zining.

Lian Zining also found it interesting to listen to it, Ning Fei's experience is enough to write a children's book.

He glanced Ning Fei up and down, and said, "Then Zixuan, how did you get promoted as the leader by everyone?" ”

"If you want to talk about it, it has to fall on you." Ning Fei smiled: "I'm going to come to my uncle, I know that I have to deal with the Jurchens, so I searched around when I was in the capital, and finally found an old soldier who used to be on the border and learned the Jurchen from him." After the Jurchens occupied Wutun Hewei, they couldn't understand the language, but the whole county couldn't find a Han who replied to the Jurchen, and I also happened to let them find out that they had made a translation, and they had a bit of face in front of the Jurchens. These days, I have given a lot of people some care, and they are all grateful. After coming and going, the fame spread. ”

"Hi. It's a shame to say these pickled things. Ning Fei looked at Lian Zining and asked cautiously, "Uncle, do you have any errands here that we can do first?" It's not easy to come all the way to the Northeast, isn't it......"

Lian Zining couldn't help laughing, no one had spoken to him like this for a long time.

"Zixuan, you are really a wonderful person!" Lian Zining patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I have an errand here, and it is the most suitable for you." ”

"Oh?" Ning Fei's eyes immediately lit up.

"If you remember well, Ling Zun should be in the salt transportation business. Right? Lian Zining asked.

Ning Fei nodded and said, "That's right, my father has been transporting salt to the side for forty years. ”

"Well, in this way, Zixuan, you also know a little about transporting salt, selling salt, selling salt, and picking salt?" Lian Zining asked.

"Don't you just understand a little?" Ning Fei patted his chest and smiled: "Our father has been explaining his business since he was twelve years old, and he won't tell you." Over the years, I have been in charge of half of my family's business. ”

"It's so much better." Lian Zining said with a smile: "I intend to implement a monopoly on salt in the territory under the jurisdiction of Wu Yijun now, and salt from other places is not allowed to enter, but there are few salt wells in the northeast." The production is not sufficient. Therefore, two yamen, the Salt Mining Bureau and the Salt Transportation Division, have now been established. The Salt Mining Bureau is in charge of various salt farms, specializing in salt mining, salt drying and salt mining. And the Salt Transport Division. It is specialized in transporting the finished salt to various places for sale. In a word. Salt-related affairs are inseparable from these two yamen. However, the people under my command don't really understand this......"

"What do you mean, uncle?" Ning Fei's heart beat violently, and he hurriedly said.

"You're new to the city, and you're not familiar with everything, so you can't take on too much." Lian Zining glanced at him and said with a smile: "Now that the Yanyun Division is still lacking a deputy lifter, you can go and sit inside for a while." See more, listen more, talk less, understand? ”

Ning Fei knew that this was Lian Zining's test for herself, and hurriedly said: "Don't worry, uncle, I will wake up, and I will definitely do things well!" Live up to your uncle's expectations. ”

The two said a few more words, and Ning Fei retreated.

Lian Zining looked at his back and groaned for a long time. He beckoned, summoned Shi Dazhu, and commanded in a low voice: "Check to see if what he said is true." ”

His eyes flashed with this cold glow, and Shi Dazhu couldn't help but tremble in his heart after he came into contact with this look.

He whispered yes and retreated.

Lian Zining let out a long breath, and suddenly felt a little inexplicably lonely in his heart.

He didn't want to doubt Ning Fei, and he felt that Ning Fei didn't need to doubt it, but his habits over the years made him not easily trust anyone, he couldn't and didn't dare. Even if the other party is his former best friend.

What if he was sent by some person with ulterior motives? After all, there are definitely not a few people in Jingzhong who know his relationship with him, and those who can think of this are not nothing!

Lian Zining's actions seem to be whimsical and eclectic, but in fact, they are all actions that will be made after thinking about it for I don't know how many days and nights. He is actually extremely cautious, and he has to be cautious, after all, his life alone now is related to the life and death of hundreds of thousands, or even millions!

Looking at the white clouds in the sky, Lian Zining sighed deeply.

Being in a high position, I can't help myself!

"What does Wu Yibo think?" Suddenly, a clear voice came from behind him.

You don't have to look back, Lian Zining knows who it is, who else can there be besides him who dares to talk to him so casually here?

"His Royal Highness King Liang." Lian Zining turned around and beckoned, "I was looking for you, but it turned out to be here." Sure enough, it was a nobleman, saying that Cao Cao Cao arrived. ”

King Liang glared, pretending to be angry and said, "Wu Yibo has come to entertain this king again." ”

Lian Zining laughed and sued for a crime.

The relationship between the two is quite strange now, they are friends, it's not even a friend, but they both admire each other quite a lot, and they are roughly like-minded and close partners.

"Anyway, what does Wu Yibo want to find this king?" LIANG Wangdao,

Cui Wanrong on the side grinned: "Let me guess, it's probably not a good thing." ”

"Miss Cui's guess is wrong, even someone wants to ask His Royal Highness King Liang to do this time, it is a great thing for the benefit of the country and the people, and the merit will be in the future." Lian Zining turned around, pointed to the endless wilderness, and said, "Your Highness, such a view. Can you see it in the Kannai? ”

Wu Yibo laughed. King Liang shook his head and said lightly: "I am rich and rich. Hundreds of millions of people walked through the gates. Unless it is such poor mountains and bad waters, but as far as the plains can see, there are all towns and villages, although the ravines and cliffs are also reclaimed. In addition to the hunting grounds flowing out of Yanshan, how can you see such a scenery? ”

"yes!" Lian Zining sighed and said: "In the past, during the opening of the Tang Dynasty, there were more than 11.3 million households in the world. There are more than 60 million mouths and more than 13 million hectares of fields, which are already full of congestion in the world. At that time, people sighed, looking around, there was no arable field. And now the number of my Ming people, I'm afraid that it has already reached the Han and Tang Dynasties. When the official was in the Guannai, he went to a lot of places, high-ranking officials and nobles, and wealthy businessmen. The rich have thousands of acres of fertile land and thousands of mansions, while the poor have no place to stand. In the past, I am afraid that the foundation is unstable. When the people are displaced, the world will be in chaos, and the smoke will be everywhere! ”

King Liang felt that what he said was exaggerated. Shaking his head, he said, "Wu Yibo, you are exaggerating. ”

Lian Zining retorted: "The year before last, the Shandong White Robe Army had an incident. A few years ago, the White Lotus Sect had an incident, what did His Highness say? ”

"The White Lotus Sect is because there are demons who bewitch the people. The white-robed army uprising is that Ma Zheng is too cool. "King Liang is also one of the few of his brothers who is well-versed in political affairs, so naturally he will not be asked by Lian Zining.

"If the people live and work in peace and contentment, what is the use of the demons bewitching them? No matter how fierce Ma Zheng is, he can be so fierce that the people lose their fields and have no way to make a living? Lian Zining said again.

Now King Liang stopped talking, he always felt that what Lian Zining said was a bit exaggerated, but he couldn't find the words to refute it.

Cui Wanrong saw that the atmosphere was a little embarrassing, so she smiled and said: "Originally, I only knew that Wu Yibo led troops to fight, and he was a famous general of the country, but I didn't expect to see Wu Yibo's eloquence today, but he is also extremely sharp!" ”

As soon as she spoke, the awkward atmosphere eased a little.

Lian Zining snorted: "No matter what, the lower officials are also from the literati, and there are still some skills in selling their mouths." ”

He continued: "Isn't it a pity that there are people in the customs but no fields, and outside the customs there are large areas of fertile land and abandoned land? ”

"What do you mean? This king wrote to his father, and moved the people here? King Liang frowned.

"That's right." Lian Zining nodded.

King Liang was puzzled: "Can't you do this yourself?" Father and Emperor are very confident in you, besides, I also promised you to immigrate more than 1.6 million on both sides of the Songjiang River, but those people haven't come yet! Why are you in a hurry? ”

In his heart, he felt that Lian Zining was making a fuss.

"It's really impossible for the lower officials to do this." Lian Zining shook his head slowly and said, "This time, the number of immigrants I want is this!" ”

As he spoke, he held out a finger.

"A million? Not much! Liang Wang said.

"No, it's 10 million!" Lian Zining spat out a few words.

"What? Ten million? King Liang's body was crooked, and he almost fell off his horse, he looked at Lian Zining with the eyes of a madman: "Wu Yibo, you can laugh!" 10 million, do you want to move all the people from the entire Shandong Political Envoy Department? ”

"That's right, it's 10 million." Lian Zining said: "The 1.6 million people that the emperor promised to move in can't even develop both sides of the Songjiang River. I raised troops to expand the land to the north for 2,000 miles, from the Songhua River to the Heimu Cliff for 3,000 miles. And if you look at it again, how much fertile land in this northern Liaobei land is overgrown with weeds, isn't it a pity? Not to mention 10 million, it is another 30 million, and the land outside this pass is enough to fit it, and it can be ridden! ”

"Now that I am sitting in the position of the commander of the slave gandu, I naturally have to think about it all. This Northeast is a vast land, but it needs people to develop it. Lian Zining sighed: "This matter, if I bring it up, the emperor will definitely be suspicious and not allowed, this is a sure thing, but if you bring it up, you say in the recital that you see the fertile land in the northeast barren and cloudy, and say that you want to move the people here, then the emperor will be happy, and praise you for caring about the people of the world, and you are known for your insight, and this matter will be done." ”

Lian Zining smiled slightly: "This is beneficial to Daming and to Guanwai." It's also good for us. ”

King Liang was silent, and quickly weighed the pros and cons in his heart. (To be continued.) )