Palace.

Jinyang Princess's Mansion.

Yu Zhang came in a hurry, his face was blushing, and he entered the house with a little anger, Jin Yang, who was practicing calligraphy, put down his pen, looked at Yu Zhang in surprise and asked, "Sister Huang, is this provoking you?" But I've never seen you so angry, tell your son, your son helps you get angry, isn't it the prince's brother? ”

Yu Zhang, who looked embarrassed, wanted to speak and stopped.

Jin Yang was even more curious: "It can't be the fourth brother, right?" Is that the son-in-law making the imperial sister angry? ”

"No, don't talk nonsense, it's Qin Huaidao." Yu Zhang said angrily, his face was red to the root of his ears.

"If you're angry, you're angry, why are you blushing?" Jin Yang asked curiously.

"Yes, yes......" Yu Zhang said without face, it was too embarrassing.

Jin Yang was even more curious, stepped forward, pulled Yu Zhang's sleeve, and asked coquettishly: "Sister Huang, what's wrong with Brother Huaidao?" Look at the one who blushes you, it can't be that he bullied you, right? Then I have to tell my father and let him be responsible. ”

"No, it's ...... Ay! Yu Zhang pondered that he would definitely not be able to hide the matter, and plucked up the courage to say: "That bastard, he ...... He actually said that he didn't want to marry me, and said that he would marry a few more, and he was just a disciple. ”

"Poof-" Jin Yang couldn't hold back and smiled.

"You still laugh, he bullied me and looked down on me." Yu Zhang said depressedly.

"You, really...... The authorities are obsessed. Jin Yang didn't know what to say, so he asked, "If you are Brother Huaidao, would you like Princess Shang?" ”

Yu Zhang is not small, and he knows everything he should know, and he suddenly came to his senses: "You mean, that bastard doesn't want to marry me, but he doesn't want Princess Shang, but I am a princess, according to the rules of the court, ......"

"It's different, we seem to be golden branches and jade leaves, unspeakably expensive, but in fact? As a princess, the wedding banquet is still up to the father, the father can ask for your opinion, it is not bad to marry you to the man you like, you are content, Brother Huaidao is a civil and military all-rounder, you don't know about the big things you have done recently, who else can do it in the Manchu Dynasty? Jin Yang woke up angrily.

"But what is his refusal to marry? also said that he wanted to marry a few more, and spread the branches, saying that it was Uncle Qin's meaning, which made his father and emperor angry and almost cut off his head. Yu Zhang said a little depressedly, which woman doesn't like to be cared for and sought after?

"Really refused?" Jin Yang asked.

When Yu Zhang heard this, he twisted a little, and his face turned even redder: "In the end, it didn't, I heard that it was Uncle Pharmacist who quietly persuaded something, but no one heard it, so he agreed." ”

"That's fine, do you really want to monopolize Brother Huaidao alone? So good, you have it all to yourself? Besides, I'm going to marry a bad brother in the future, let's say okay. Jin Yang rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"That's different!"

"For a while, don't think about it, as long as he marries you, you will be a wife, don't be a jealous woman and ruin your reputation, so many horses, who doesn't have a warm bed? You don't know the personal maid He'er beside him, besides, who is better than Brother Huaidao, you have to be really angry, you don't want to marry, tell your father, your father will definitely agree, it's just that the entire Datang can find a better candidate than Brother Huaidao? ”

As soon as he spoke, Yu Zhang was silent.

Jin Yang didn't persuade again, went back to continue practicing calligraphy, suddenly thought of something, and asked: "Since my father is interested, you are also willing, and he did not refuse in the end, even if this matter is completed, you should prepare a gift for him, wait a few days, let's go to Qinjiazhuang, I haven't been there for a long time." ”

"No, it's too cold for you to go out yet."

"You're going to be stupid." Jin Yang looked depressed.

Yu Zhang looked at Jin Yang with some distress, but he still insisted on not letting go, Jin Yang had no choice but to say, "Or, let him come over?" Let me help you ask him why he refused. ”

"No shame, no shame, how can you ask this, and also, before the holy decree is issued, this matter will be variable, but you can't talk nonsense, the impact is not good." Yu Zhang hurriedly said.

"Hey, I'm nervous now, and I know that the holy decree hasn't been issued, who is going to die or live just now? Or, if I talk to my father, I will say that you are angry and do not agree? Jin Yang quipped.

"Deliberately angry with me, right?" Yu Zhang stepped forward to tickle the meat.

The two sisters were in a mess, and the laughter of silver bells spread far away.

……

Qin Huaidao didn't know Yu Zhang's dissatisfaction, returned to the Supervision Mansion from the Ministry of Industry, and told Cheng Chumo and Wei Chi Baolin about the matter, the two of them were overjoyed, this is a great thing to make a contribution, full of promises, Cheng Chumo pointed to a dozen sacks not far away and said: "Last time, the batch of precious medicinal materials was sold and sold for more than 35,000 yuan, all of which are here." ”

"Great, Brother Cheng, you take some silver to buy medicine, I'll give you a list, prepare more, this time the requisition can be used, let's cushion first, and wait for the back to find the saint for reimbursement, no problem, right?" Qin Huaidao was overjoyed, and he was worried that he had no money to prepare supplies, so he didn't have to worry now.

"No problem." The two of them agreed, and with the medicine, everyone's probability of survival is much greater.

Qin Huaidao quickly wrote the list, handed it to Cheng Chumo and said: "After buying it back, find a room to store it, and make it before departure, so as not to break it after a long time, in addition, the matter of the expedition is top secret and cannot be leaked." ”

"Understood, then go and procure." Cheng Chumo agreed.

Qin Huaidao thought for a while, and said to Yu Chi Baolin: "You take some people to buy wine, the most ordinary kind, the more the merrier, send it directly to my house, it is useful." ”

"Also for requisition?" Yu Chi Baolin asked curiously.

"Sort of, it's good to send twenty jars a day, you want sorghum-based wine, nothing else, pick a cheap one, it's too expensive and wasteful, and you can't buy much silver." Qin Huaidao admonished.

"The wine made from sorghum is not tasty, cloudy and sweet." Yu Chi Baolin reminded.

"It's not for drinking, go ahead." Qin Huaidao didn't explain much.

Yu Chi Baolin was a little confused, what did he drink it for? But seeing that Qin Huaidao didn't want to say anything, he didn't ask any more, and hurriedly arranged to go, and Qin Huaidao also went out.

Not long after, Qin Huaidao returned to the house and found the carpenter in the house to help make three sets of distillation equipment, and it happened that there were three cauldrons and three stoves in the house, which were used to fry tea before, but now they are idle and can start work at the same time.

Datang's liquor can only be regarded as brewed wine, and it is not distilled, the purity is not enough, it looks turbid, the taste is very bad, it is not fragrant enough, it is sweet, and there is no such hot and mellow feeling when you drink it, in the final analysis, the alcohol content is not enough, and it needs to be distilled, that is, purified.

The brewed liquor is taken and put in a pot to burn, the vaporization point of alcohol is 78.3 °C, and vaporized alcohol can be obtained by reaching and maintaining this temperature, and if the vaporized alcohol is entered into the pipeline to cool, it is liquid alcohol, which is the liquor of later generations.

Depending on the cooling process, the purity of the wine obtained is also different.

The best distillation tool is a tin urn, you can't get tin in a short time, and it's troublesome to build, so you can only use wooden equipment, but fortunately there is a well in the house, and the water is cold in winter, but it's a good coolant.

This kind of distillation technology of the rotten street in later generations is quite advanced in Datang, and it can't flow out easily, and after Yu Chi Baolin sent twenty jars of wine, Qin Huaidao drove away irrelevant people, leaving a few women who helped to fry tea last time.

After a secret request, Qin Huaidao taught everyone to distill, the most difficult thing is to control the temperature of the fire, as much as possible to keep it at 78.3 °C, no thermometer can only rely on feeling, rely on experience, Qin Huaidao can not accurately grasp, can only roughly estimate.

It is easier to replace the coolant, and you can change it when you see that there is less wine at the exit, and you can't be too diligent, otherwise the distillation barrel will be cold, and the distilled wine will be mixed, containing a variety of substances with low boiling points, and the alcohol content is not enough.

Looking at the liquid flowing out slowly, the air was filled with the aroma of wine, and the women who were doing things felt amazing, realizing that they had mastered an amazing technique, they were overjoyed, and they were full of gratitude to Qin Huaidao, seeing Qin Huaidao pour out the wine that flowed out, everyone was very curious, but they didn't dare to ask.

Qin Huaidao didn't explain, this kind of wine that came out first is also called head wine, there are more impurities, and the latter one is fine, I tried some of them, about forty degrees, and it didn't meet the requirements, but it didn't matter, go back and distill again, and the water can reach more than sixty degrees by evaporating the water, and it can be used to rinse the wound.

For a whole day, everyone steamed all the twenty jars of wine, thinking that they could breathe a sigh of relief, but Qin Huaidao asked everyone to come back again after dinner.

This time, the degree of distilled wine is obviously much higher, and it is hot to drink, Qin Huaidao breathed a sigh of relief with satisfaction, with these wines, the survival rate of the soldiers has increased greatly, and after throwing the distillation to everyone, he came to the study with a small jar to prepare a few glasses, while studying the map.

Not long after sitting down, someone came to report that Li Jing had come to visit.

Qin Huaidao hurriedly invited people into the study, beckoned him to sit down, and said, "Uncle Li came just in time, and I want to ask a question or two about the Khitan War." ”

"The old man is also here for the Khitan War, hey, it's so fragrant." Li Jing looked at the wine jar, suddenly thought of something, and asked in surprise: "This is the kind of high-grade liquor you are talking about, which can heal wounds?" ”

"Exactly, Uncle Li tastes it." Qin Huaidao poured a small cup over.

Li Jing was a little unconvinced: "Why, that's it, are you stingy, or do you look down on the old man's drinking?" In the army, the old man also drank in a big bowl. ”

"It's different, your body is not as good as before, try it first, can you still miss your wine?" Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

Li Jing looked at Qin Huaidao suspiciously, it shouldn't be a stingy person, is this wine really famous, but it's too small, take a sip and pour it, full of pride.

"Ahem!"

The next moment, Li Jing couldn't help coughing, a hot feeling rushed to the top of his head, his whole body was burning, warm, very comfortable, and the cold feeling along the way was swept away.

Li Jing carefully tasted this feeling, mellow, long, spicy, but with an endless aftertaste, he couldn't help but praise: "Good wine, strong enough, drink this wine, and if you drink anything else in the future, it will be bland and tasteless." ”

Qin Huaidao listened to the string sound and knew the meaning of elegance, and immediately said: "Take this altar with you when you go, and the younger generation will honor you, don't say it, this wine is not easy to brew, it is extremely wasteful of grain, Datang is short of grain, and it will be impeached by hundreds of officials if it is passed out, if it is not needed by the Khitan War, I dare not brew it." ”

"It's good if you know, if you waste food, you really can't brew more, the people can't eat enough, the food is expensive, and a reputation for wasting food can ruin you." Li Jing said with relief.

"The north is extremely cold, if you exchange wine for cattle and sheep, you should be able to make a lot of money, and the people can also have more meat and cattle, but unfortunately the food is not enough, not much can be produced, sorghum does not have high requirements for land, can you let the imperial court set aside a piece of mountainous land for me to plant sorghum, I can exchange countless cattle and sheep for the imperial court." Qin Huaidao asked.

"That's a solution, but the mountainous terrain is barren and sandy, so you can't produce grain, and sorghum is not easy to grow, so you have a way?" Li Jing asked rhetorically.

"There's a way." Qin Huaidao confidently said that sorghum is a barren-tolerant and salt-tolerant crop, and it can obtain a certain yield no matter what kind of soil it is planted in, and the highest yield is in the sandy loam soil with fertile land, high organic matter content and good soil structure.

Li Jing didn't believe it and reminded: "The imperial court once tried to open up the wasteland to grow sorghum, but it didn't grow tall, the grains were thin, and the harvest was very small, are you sure you can do it?" ”

"Sure, no problem." Qin Huaidao looked confident, not tall, granular thinness is a lack of nutrition, it can be solved by fertilization, of course, it is not a simple fertilization, fertilizer needs to be processed, that is, fertilizer, but also need to improve soil quality, such as planting a season of soybeans, soybean nodules can fix nitrogen, which is of great benefit to improving soil quality.

But these are very troublesome to explain, and Qin Huaidao simply didn't say it.

Li Jing saw that Qin Huaidao was not joking, and said: "This is very good, the old man has some fiefdoms, half of which are mountainous, about 1,000 acres, so he will give it to try, if it can really be done, the saint will definitely be moved." ”

"I'll talk about this later, let's talk about the Khitan, right?" Qin Huai opened the topic.

"Do you have an idea?"

Qin Huaidao just studied the map, and found that the Khitan activity area was roughly in the eastern part of the Horqin Grassland in the later generations, the western part of the Nenjiang Plain, and the core location should be Baicheng City, Jilin Province in the later generations, pointing to the map and saying: "Uncle Li, north of the Khitan is Murwei, don't care about him, the east is Goguryeo, and the west is the East Turk, that is, the territory of the Anbei Protectorate, and now the Khitan has a rebellious heart, and must focus on defending the west, beware of the imperial army going directly east from the west, and the south of the Khitan is the Hedong Dao boundary of the Tang Dynasty." ”

"You mean, march from Hedong Road?" Li Jing asked, seeing Qin Huaidao's face fixed on his head, he continued: "You're not afraid of Goguryeo meddling?" The Khitan projectile land also dares to jump, I am afraid that it has also reached some kind of tacit understanding with Goguryeo, once its whereabouts are exposed, there will be endless troubles. ”

"The soldiers are in danger before they can be taken by surprise." Qin Huaidao smiled confidently.

"Having said that, this risk is too great, once exposed, five thousand people will not be able to reach the Khitan."

Qin Huaidao smiled: "Uncle Li, even you think so, others think so, so, this direction is the safest, of course, Uncle Li's worries are not unreasonable, so the army must march secretly." ”

"If you are too bold, you are not afraid that someone in the court will leak secrets, don't forget that many people are secretly watching, and you will be alert as soon as you disappear." Li Jing reminded.

"Therefore, I need a holy decree from the imperial court, just find a reason to punish me to go home for reflection, the house is closed to thank guests, the problem is not big, in addition, the imperial court needs to give me a document to change the guard, of course, the name can't be me, it is the general of the Turkic army, a few of us hide in the army, avoid exposure, and rush to Hedong Road in the name of the army's change of defense, you can rest assured that you can replenish along the way and arrive smoothly."

Li Jing nodded, agreed: "Hide from the sky and cross the sea, it is a way, the military department openly mobilizes the army, and the Turkic army is transferred, no one will think about it, find a few reliable points along the way to rest and replenish, the problem is not big, the most likely to be mobilized by the saint is the department of the Lost Mind, once the chief of the Lost Mind, a few days ago the Tubo committed the border, and the Lost Mind was appointed as the head of the Brandy Road march, this person is brave and good at fighting, alert and flexible, but he is also a talent. ”

Qin Huaidao didn't know much about this person, but he believed in Li Jing's judgment, and asked with some concern: "Uncle Li, the juniors will definitely take away his military power at that time, there will be no problem, right?" ”

"The Turks advocate force, as long as you are strong enough, they will listen to you, besides, the Holy Lord will take care of this matter, don't worry, talk about how to fight after you get to Hedong Road?"

"That's good." Qin Huaidao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Uncle Li, the battlefield is changing rapidly, plus the terrain is unfamiliar, and there is no intelligence. ”

Li Jing smiled with relief when he heard this, if Qin Huaidao was talking eloquently and unrealistically, Li Jing would definitely dissuade the Holy Lord from sending people again, or even cancel the action, and said with a smile: "That's good, is there a rough plan?" ”

"This is there, we have few people, the terrain is not familiar, lack of intelligence, the best strategy is to move warfare, constantly change positions, disguise others to attack, muddy the water, summed up is 'the enemy advances and I retreat, the enemy is stationed and I disturb, the enemy is tired and I fight, and the enemy retreats and I chase'."

"What a sixteen-word formula." Li Jing praised, his eyes lit up, as a master of the art of war, he naturally had a unique vision and extraordinary knowledge, and he saw the subtlety at a glance, and said excitedly: "The enemy advances and I retreat, the enemy is stationed in me to disturb, the enemy is tired and I fight, the enemy retreats and I chase, this method can be called wonderful, it is the highest essence of the strange, it cannot be surpassed, great goodness, the old man wants to be cheeky and write it into the book of war?" ”

"Uh...... Feel free to use it. Qin Huaidao said nonchalantly.

"Don't worry, the old man will definitely indicate that it is what you say." Li Jing said solemnly.

"Don't use it?"

"It must be so, how can the old man plagiarize your thoughts? If it weren't for the fact that this method was so exquisite, the old man would be embarrassed to speak, and he was a little worried, but when he heard you say this, the old man was completely relieved. Li Jing said solemnly.

Qin Huaidao said with a smile: "Actually, this sixteen-character formula is not only in the use of strange, but also in the dignified division, the large corps of multi-arms combat, the combination of positive and strange, is virtual or real, in one mind, it is impossible to prevent it, the party is the highest level of command, and the sublimation of the technique into the Tao is the supreme pursuit of the soldiers." ”

"The big corps, multi-arms combat, the combination of Zhengqi, the way from the technique, the highest mystery of the soldiers, and the great good." Li Jing excitedly praised: "The old man has recently written a book and is also considering the tactics of the large corps, but the multi-arms are not thoughtful, but it is a reminder, however, the Tang Army is nothing more than cavalry, infantry, infantry is divided into sword soldiers, archers, crossbowmen, etc., the types of troops are limited, I remember you mentioned, the change of weapons affects the use of tactics, and today you have sacrificed a repeater, can you know that there are other new weapons?" How many classes can there be? ”

"It's too long to say this, wait until the juniors have thoroughly studied the "Secret Book of Gewu" obtained by the pre-Qin Warlock Cave Mansion." Qin Huaidao ended the conversation decisively, and if he continued to talk about it, he would expose a lot of things, which was inappropriate.

Li Jing said regretfully: "Then you study it as soon as possible, and discuss it together when you have results, and the old man can write it into the military book, you can rest assured, the old man's military book is going to be re-compiled, and your name will be signed when the time comes." ”

"Ah...... This is not appropriate, and your hard work can not be signed by me. ”

"It should be so, talking to you about the art of war, every time there is a new harvest and inspiration, and I have benefited a lot, the old man should thank you, how can you be greedy?" Li Jing said solemnly.

"This ......"

"Needless to say, this matter is so decided, otherwise the old man will not have the face to compile the essence of your art of war into the book, no, I have to go to the saint to discuss this sixteen-character decision together, the saint is also good at the art of war, especially good at surprise, you must like it, with this method, the saint will be more assured that you go to Khitan."

Qin Huaidao understood a little when he heard this, this Li Jing was entrusted by Li Er, and wanted to know how he would fight, no wonder he asked so carefully, but he could also understand that no one was at ease with such a big event, and he could make himself a great trust, handed over the wine, and said with a smile: "Uncle Li, it's also a great pleasure to take it and talk with the saint at night, don't drink too much, it's easy to get drunk, it's better to eat something to cushion the mat, don't hurt your body." ”

"So good! The old man who just said will also inform the Holy Lord, cooperate with the action, and say anything else. Li Jing took it excitedly.

"I need some herbs, and this kind of wine, I'll prepare it first, and go back to the saint to write it off, the saint won't repay the debt, right?" In addition, wait for the crossbow to be ready before setting off, it is best to be around Yuanzheng, no one thought that there would be troops at this time. Qin Huaidao said with a smile, Yuanzheng is the New Year, also called New Year's Day.

"Hahaha, it's easy to say that you can write off your account and fight victory, Yuan is just right, unexpected, very suitable for the art of war, great goodness!" Li Jing laughed with satisfaction and walked outside.

Qin Huaidao sent the people out of the mansion and returned to the study to continue studying the map, while thinking about tactics.

The candlelight danced silently.

It was cold and windy outside, banging on the window, trying to sneak in.

Unconsciously, it was late at night.