Liaodong, Liaoyang City.

After nearly a month of busyness, Jia Cong also began to relax.

After the officials in various localities took office, the troops sent out were also slowly recovered.

Guangning sent 20,000 troops to guard it, and arranged for He Shiyuan, who was most familiar with that side, to go.

With He Shiyuan over there, he doesn't have to worry too much.

Jinzhou, Haizhou, and Jinzhou each sent 5,000 soldiers to defend the town.

These three places are close to the sea, and it is still necessary to leave the necessary guarding forces.

Although the nearby forces do not have a strong fleet, they also have to guard against their sneaking in to cause sabotage.

When the time is right, a small fleet can be established in this Bohai Bay to guard this sea area.

For other towns, there was no need to send troops.

Jia Cong arranged for some disabled veterans to go to these towns to serve as officials and catchers in the yamen to maintain local law and order.

As for the rest of the army, all went into training.

In order to improve the food of the army, Jia Cong bought 20,000 sheep from the Mongolian side.

He also sent someone to inform Wangcai, and using the fleet, he brought more than a dozen boatloads of rice, which amounted to four or five hundred thousand stones.

In this era, rice is a rare commodity in the north, and it is also a happy enjoyment to be able to eat a mouthful of fragrant rice.

With so much more rice, there is no need to worry about not having enough to eat this winter.

Han Nianci and Qingwen also took people out to buy a large number of things.

They are all some local specialties, all kinds of dried and fresh mushrooms, matsutake mushrooms, pine mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms and so on. All kinds of dried fruits, pine nuts, hazelnuts, wild walnuts, etc., have been purchased a lot.

In fact, in previous years, Jia Cong would arrange for someone to buy a batch and let the caravan be transported back to Ningguo Mansion for everyone to enjoy.

This year's Liaodong War was completely occupied by the barbarians.

In addition, he brought troops to Liaodong, so he didn't send anyone to do this.

These things, locally, are worthless things.

With Jia Cong's current status, as soon as he opened his mouth, some people took the initiative to help collect it and personally sent it to the door.

Soon it was October, and a heavy snowfall covered the entire northern land.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw snowflakes falling from the sky.

The rooftops and treetops were all covered with ice and snow, and the whole earth, white and vast, seemed to have come to the world of ice and snow.

Qingwen poked her head out from the side and looked up at the falling snowflakes.

"Dashuai, the snow has fallen so hard this year, and the next year will definitely be a good harvest year, when the snow stops, let's go hunting, we haven't hunted in the snow for many years."

Jia Cong turned his head to look and saw Qingwen wearing a fiery red fox fur and long deerskin boots under her feet, standing beside her prettyly.

In this white ice and snow world, it looks even more delicate.

Jia Cong smiled slightly: "Okay, as long as you are not afraid of the cold, I will accompany you to hunting, it snows so much, there is nothing to do at home anyway." Speaking of which, I haven't hunted for a long time, and my hands are a little itchy.

But with such a heavy snowfall, it is definitely not possible to ride a horse, let Li Biao and them find a few climbing plows, let the hunting dogs pull them to walk, and find a few hunters to show us the way, and when the snow stops, we can go."

"Uh-huh."

Qingwen nodded excitedly, they are all young people in their twenties, and it is human nature to like to play.

Hongluan walked over, stretched out his head to look outside, and looked at the two of them curiously.

"It's just snowing, what's so beautiful, it's not that I haven't seen it, come in quickly and close the door, the little heat in the house has been let go by you."

The two smiled, without words.

Han Nianci shouted inside, "Okay, you all come in, it's time to start eating."

The three of them closed the door and returned to the house.

Han Nianci stepped forward and helped Jia Cong take off the purple mink fur and hang it on the hanger next to him.

He was dragged to the stove and sat down.

There is a large iron pot on the stove, which is steaming hot, and the pieces of meat and mushrooms in it are constantly tumbling, and the smell of meat wafts out of the pot, making people drool.

"It smells so good."

Qingwen shrugged her nose and sat down beside Jia Cong.

"Sister Nianci, what's stewed in this pot? Why is it so fragrant, my saliva is almost dripping."

Han Nianci sat down on the other side of Jia Cong and pointed to the pot.

"It's lamb, venison, beef, pheasant, and yesterday someone brought a flying dragon, and it was stewed together. Then there are pine mushrooms, matsutake mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms, etc., and a 50-year-old ginseng plant, which is a hodgepodge."

Chunlan, Xia Zhu, Qiu Ju, Dongmei, and Hongluan also sat down around the stove.

Han Nianci picked up the spoon, scooped a spoonful of meat and mushrooms, and put them in Jia Cong's bowl.

"Dashuai, how about you taste it?"

Jia Cong smiled: "Just smelling it makes people drool, you don't need to taste it to know, it must be delicious."

As he spoke, he took the chopsticks, picked up a pine mushroom, and put it in his mouth.

A light bite, delicate and tender, smooth taste, mushroom aroma, mixed with a trace of meat aroma, when it is a delicacy.

"It's delicious, it's so delicious, Nianci's cooking skills are getting better and better, don't just watch, eat together."

Hearing Jia Cong's praise, Han Nianci smiled even more.

When the others saw Jia Cong eating, they picked up the dishes and chopsticks and ate together.

Qiu Ju said while eating, "It's so delicious, Sister Nianci's cooking skills have caught up with those cooks at home, she is really versatile, much better than a few of us, except for dancing and playing with guns, she can't do anything."

Hongluan sighed in his heart, putting so many good things, it's no wonder it's not delicious.

The value of this pot of meat can top an ordinary person's life for several years.

The others are not very valuable, the ginseng plant, and the wyvern, are still worth some money.

In the past, her family was also wealthy, and her life was also very wealthy.

Since following Jia Cong, she has learned what is the life of a truly rich person.

Those delicacies from the mountains and seas can be eaten every once in a while.

Like ginseng and bird's nest, which are of relatively high value and good for the body, you can eat them almost every day.

Jia Cong was out on the expedition, and Han Nianci was in charge of his diet, almost every meal was medicinal food, and everyone followed suit.

Hongluan ate silently and did not interject.

After all, I joined a little late, and I have only been with Jia Cong for a year.

Although everyone is very good to her and doesn't suppress her, her qualifications are always a little worse.

These people have all grown up with him and have been with him for more than ten years.

learned about Jia Cong's previous past, and admired this man even more in his heart.

The corners of Han Nianci's mouth curled slightly: "You are all so powerful, I can't compare, I can only do what I can, and don't seem to be too useless."

Chunlan smiled, "Nianci, you are too modest, and you are not outsiders. This way of eating reminds me of the days when we were in Quang Ninh a few years ago, and it was also us people, but we didn't have Hongluan, and now that I think about it, I miss it a lot."

Jia Cong swallowed a piece of venison in his mouth and nodded.

"Guangning's house has been well preserved, Guqi knows where it is, when the barbarians beat it, Guqi also followed, and no one has touched it, when we have time, we can go there and live there for a few more days."

Qingwen said: "That guy Guqi has done a good deed, and it is not in vain that he has made so many years of friendship."

Xia Zhu said: "That guy is not an honest person, he sent fake news last time, and he almost tricked us, but fortunately, he is handsome and has always been cautious

, did not fall for their tricks, but made them suffer a big loss, so that they did not dare to think crookedly again."

Jia Cong shook his head and chuckled: "The two countries are fighting each other, each is its own master, everyone has a last resort, not to mention that the two sides are just a cooperative relationship, there is no need to worry too much, with us sitting in Liaodong, there should be no one who is not open-eyed, dare to provoke us again."

Qingwen nodded: "Amin knows our relationship with Zhang Hu and them, and he will definitely not dare to provoke us again, otherwise we will send troops together to destroy them, and by the way, they will also occupy his territory."

Hongluan put down the dishes and chopsticks and said, "Whether Amin dares to trouble us or not, it is better to keep them, there is a powerful enemy eyeing them, and the court will rely more on the commanders.

Once all the foreign enemies are eliminated and the court is no longer in danger, the marshal will face the end of flying birds, hiding good bows, dying of cunning rabbits, and cooking lackeys. When the time comes, all kinds of open guns and hidden arrows will be aimed at the commander, making it impossible to guard against it."

Hearing Hongluan's words, everyone immediately fell silent, and the scene was silent for a while.

Jia Cong smiled lightly: "Okay, don't worry, I have a plan for this, as Hongluan said, for Amin and them, we will not kill them all, we will leave them behind to be our shield."

Don't worry, no matter what, we'll be fine, as long as we're strong, no one can touch us. Okay, let's not talk about that, let's eliminate this pot of food first. Qingwen, go and bring out the good wine, let's drink it on this snowy day."

"Got it, I'll go get it."

Qingwen stood up, went to the room next to her, and brought out a jar of wine.

Hongluan got up and took eight wine glasses, put one in front of one person, and filled them one by one.

Several people ate meat and drank wine, chatted and chatted together, and had a good time.

······

It snowed heavily for three days.

As far as the eye can see, it is really thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting, and the northern land is vast.

In the past three days, Jia Cong has not gone out.

has been eating, drinking and having fun with the women, but he is also happy.

There was a big iron stove burning in the house, and it was warm and not cold at all.

Sleeping on the kang at night, several people were sleeping together, huddling together to keep warm, and it was also very warm.

In the past few days, Hongluan has also fallen and officially become Jia Cong's woman.

Several people ate and lived together, and the one who played was called crazy, which made Jia Cong addicted to Wei Xiaobao.

It wasn't until the snow stopped that everyone went out.

Jia Cong held on to his old waist, painful and happy.

The girls who watched all covered their mouths and snickered.

If it weren't for Nian Ci making medicinal food every day and recuperating for himself, he would really be a little unable to hold on.

Qingwen smiled and said, "Dashuai, do you dare to argue with us now."

Jia Cong rolled her eyes, one by one, like a wolf and a tiger, with one against seven, she was really not their opponent.

"Qingwen, you just shy, be careful that I will clean you up alone in the future."

As he spoke, he ignored her and pointed to the thick snow in the yard.

"After a while, you gather all the maids in the backyard, clean up the snow in the inner yard, and from tomorrow, we will still get up early to exercise, and if we are in good health, it is really good."

The girls chuckled when they heard this, and when they thought of the past few days, they couldn't help but feel red and hot.

"Got it, we'll take the lead in cleaning in a while, and it's time to exercise, Dashuai, you can go back and rest and rest."

Jia Cong rubbed his waist and shook his head.

"Forget it, I'll go to the front yard to have a look, and let Li Biao arrange for someone to clean up the snow in the front yard. Let the snow in the city be cleared, lest it all freeze and slippery everywhere."

Han Nianci took the mink fur, put it on Jia Cong, and advised, "It's okay, come back early."

Jia Cong nodded: "I may have to go to the barracks again, but I'll come back for dinner at noon."

Qingwen stepped forward and helped him straighten it out

He straightened his clothes and asked, "When are we going to hunt, Dashuai?" The snow has just stopped, and it is easy to find the prey by following the footprints."

Jia Cong thought for a while: "Then tomorrow, if you want to play, then follow along, and if you don't want to go, stay at home to warm up, and you prepare everything you need to prepare."

When he came to the front yard, Li Biao was already leading people to clear the snow.

Seeing Jia Cong coming out, he hurriedly greeted him.

"Dashuai, what do you have to do today?"

"Well, I was supposed to let you clear the snow, but I didn't expect you to start doing it."

Li Biao said with a smile: "In previous years, it snowed, and the marshals also arranged for people to clean up, we are all used to it, and when the snow stops, we will arrange for someone to clean it."

"Well, you did a good job, Li Biao, you take a team of people and follow me to the city and the barracks, and arrange for them to clear all the snow in the city, and by the way, clean up the official roads outside the city."

Li Biao said: "Dashuai, the snow outside is more than a foot thick, and it hasn't been cleaned yet, why do you want to go in person, I'll arrange for someone to run and let them come, or notify them."

After a little hesitation, Jia Cong still nodded.

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you, you go and inform the officials in the city, and let them mobilize the residents of the city to actively participate in clearing all the snow in the city and then transport it to the farmland outside the city.

Then go to the barracks, inform the generals of each battalion, go to the outside of the city, and the snow on the official road will be cleared, and I want the towns in Liaodong to be unimpeded. By the way, inform all towns that every time it snows in the future, the official road must be cleared as soon as possible."

Li Biao bowed his hand and saluted: "Don't worry, the subordinates will arrange people to go everywhere to convey the orders of the marshal."