The old woman had gray hair and wrinkled face, but her complexion was delicate, her cheekbones were ruddy, and her eyes were even more radiant.

"Little A-Niang," Gu Shouqian hurriedly stepped forward to salute, and pointed to Han Xiying and Zheng Haizhu, "This is the third lady of the Han family, and this is Ximeng's maid." Han Fu came to give General Ma a thank you gift today. ”

This spirited old woman is the concubine of Gu Shouqian's grandfather, Gu Mingshi, Miao.

Gu Mingshi was a Jinshi in that year, and he worked as Shang Baocheng in Beijing, and when he returned to Songjiang, there was an elegant and elegant woman beside him, which was Miao.

Miao has been in the palace for ten years, and when he reached the age of twenty-four or five, he was considered an old qualified palace person, and he was about to touch the rank of a female official in the inner court in the sixth bureau and a division, but he didn't seem to have the heart to be promoted.

Because of this background, although the Miao family is not a main house, and has only given birth to a daughter over the years, it is highly respected in the Gu family.

After Gu Mingshi's original wife passed away, the Miao family was in charge of the Gu family for more than ten years, and only a few years ago handed over the authority of the inner house to the eldest daughter-in-law Liu, that is, Gu Shouqian's aunt.

The first time Zheng Haizhu saw Miao was at this year's Dragon Boat Race.

That day, after Han Ximeng, who fell into the water due to crowding, was rescued, Zheng Haizhu was about to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation for Han Ximeng according to the remaining memories of modern people, but a group of celebrities around her scolded her for not being able to untie her eldest lady's clothes in the market.

Before Zheng Haizhu had time to get angry, Miao, who had brought his female dependents to see the boat, was brought over by the servants and maids, and said to the surroundings without anger and self-authority: "The matter is urgent, you all shut up and let this loyal servant deal with it, otherwise Miss Han's treatment will be delayed, and the old man will go to your Ajiaweng and sue one by one!" ”

Therefore, Zheng Haizhu has a good impression of the old lady of the Gu family.

I didn't want to meet in the academy today, so she hurriedly stepped forward with surprise and joy.

Miao said to Zheng Haizhu: "I know you kid, you rescued Ximeng from the water on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and this time, you have made meritorious contributions to the imperial court, and the whole Songjiang knows about you." ”

Then he looked at Han Xiying again and looked at her meaningfully.

Han Xiying's face was sweet, and she was blessed obediently, as if she had a jujube core in her mouth that she couldn't swallow, and said softly and greasyly: "A-Niang is healthy." ”

Miao said with a pleasant face: "Oh, it turns out that you are a little girl in the third room of the Han Mansion, no wonder you look a little like Xi Meng, and you are quite upright." ”

"Qi Zheng" is the meaning of "beautiful" in Wu language.

Han Xiying smiled even more: "Thank you, A-Niang, for the compliment." ”

Miao nodded: "It's getting cooler, you should come out for a walk." Don't say that you little girls are old women like me, and you will be suffocated when you are bored at home. Yesterday, I heard Shou Qian come back and say that General Ma led the troops to live in my academy, so I came to see our majestic sons, well, and horses. You see, when did Jiangnan see such a beautiful horse? ”

When Zheng Haizhu heard this, he quickly glanced at the basket in the hand of the maid beside Miao, saw the paintbrush and paint porcelain jar inside, and asked respectfully, "Madame is going to draw those horses?" ”

"Exactly. When I was young, I was in Beijing, and I was fortunate to follow the holy driver, and I saw the drills of the five military camps, and those war horses were majestic and majestic, like heavenly horses. When I returned to the palace on the same day, the queen ordered me to embroider a picture of the martial arts of the Beijing master. ”

Speaking of this, Miao's gaze fell on Gu Shouqian's face, showing more and more love.

"Ah Qian, you are going to marry Miss Han in the spring next year, and Ah Niang wants to give you a picture of a divine horse as a gift. My eyes now, the needle is a little unbright, but the pen is not in the way, I will first draw a good picture, and then let the masters of the younger generation embroider to you and Ximeng, I hope you can see the eye. ”

Gu Shouqian scratched his head and grinned: "Grandson likes it, likes it very much!" ”

Zheng Haizhu was also busy following: "The maid will thank my eldest lady first." ”

Miao Shi showed earnest meaning and stared at Gu Shouqian: "Jiangnan scholar, only knowing poetry and books is weak. You can't just know how to play stone and listen to music. Ah Qian, weren't you looking at the knives and guns with the soldiers? Then stop gossiping with our women's family. ”

After Gu Shouqian was dragged over by his future sister-in-law, he was impatient, and he had long wanted to pull out his legs, so he smiled and said "Little Auntie, I passed", and returned to the middle of the Sichuan soldiers under the corridor with relief, and explored the soldiers with them.

Miao looked at his grandson with loving eyes for a while, and then turned his head and blamed Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, you are here to make a ceremony for the Han Mansion, and let Lao Peng greet General Ma alone, what does it look like?" You're busy with your own going, too. ”

"Madame is right, it's just that the third lady is here alone, I'm afraid it's not appropriate......"

"It's okay," Miao turned to Han Xiying, his eyes full of the old man's unique expectation, "Third girl, you follow A-Niang, can you go and see the horse?" When A-Niang was painting horses, you helped me polish the toner and beat my hands. When your servants are done, they will call you. ”

Han Xiying only felt a blockage in her throat.

This old lady of the Gu family is so annoying!

When she went to the Jiaoyuan Poetry Club, where celebrities often gather, at noon today, she met Gu Caiying, the youngest daughter of the Gu family's three-room master. Hearing Gu Caiying say that her second brother Gu Shou was a potential scholar of Wenzhe Academy, she was secretly happy, so she turned back to her own cloth workshop and pestered Lao Peng and Zheng Haizhu to bring her over.

Han Xiying secretly admired the elegant and chic second son of the Gu family since the beginning of her love, and after learning about the marriage contract between the eldest sister and the second son of Gu, she hid in the futon and cried for three or four nights.

This time, he finally boasted that he was brave and clever, and seized the opportunity to be so close to Second Brother Gu and talk freely with Second Brother Gu, who has always been quite accomplished in Kunqu Opera.

Just now, Second Brother Gu also softly praised himself for being able to fill in words, he looked at his eyes, and it was clear that he had no intention of being cramped and dodging, and he would definitely be able to talk to him more and more happily.

No, just as he was stepping into Zhilan's room, the old concubine of Gu Mansion stepped in to make trouble, and Brother Gu disappeared in the blink of an eye. I have to go with the old lady to see what horses.

What is so beautiful about horses, they stink.

It's like falling from the orchid room to Bao Shi.

Zheng Haizhu looked at Han Xiying's embarrassed expression, and expected that her heart must have rolled through a burst of "woo woo, woo woo", and she only felt refreshed.

Ginger is still old and spicy.

Gu Fu, the old lady Miao, is a bit interesting.

She thought as she walked towards Ma Xianglin with the reed cloth in her arms.

……

Ma Xianglin was leading a few tooth guards to hand over the distribution of cloth with Lao Peng.

He didn't wear a flying fish suit today, only a green cloth robe with narrow sleeves, and his power was much weaker, but when he looked at it, he still had a capable and tough spirit.

Since people from the Han Mansion came in to bring things in, Ma Xianglin has always paid attention to Zheng Haizhu's figure.

Finally, the old man from the Gu family who came to paint the horse greeted the little daughter of the Han Mansion away, and Miss Zheng turned around.

Ma Xianglin hurriedly picked up a bundle of cloth and greeted him.

"Miss Zheng, I have been in ambush in the bandit village in Suzhou Mansion for more than half a year, and I have long listened to the water bandits, and I can't buy enough Songjiang cloth and collect Weitang yarn. Today, I can see the Songjiang cloth of your house, although it is made of cotton, its soft and glutinous suppleness, and the Husi Hangjin that Qiu Wanliang loves to grab, is not much inferior. ”

Zheng Haizhu Wan'er, the heart said, Qin Liangyu, the son of a general, has a lot of adjectives, both civil and military.

Then he twisted the reed cloth in his hand and said: "General Ma, this kind of Ye Xie reed cloth is not light, it is very comfortable to wear as a lining, and it can indeed be proud of silk." The nobles of the Kyoshi loved it. It is said that in the palace, the diapers of the little princes and princesses are only made of our Songjiang leaf cloth. ”

"Oh, so, then this kind of thick cloth of Lingge, I wonder if it can be made into cotton armor for the sergeants?" Ma Xianglin was full of interest and asked Zheng Haizhu for advice with enthusiasm.

This sentence is making Zheng Haizhu come to the spirit.

It's like an entrepreneur facing a knowledgeable angel investor, waiting for such a problem.

Zheng Haizhu's face was cautious: "General Ma, the cotton armor you are talking about, but the kind you and a few followers wore when you fought in the bandit village that day?" ”

"Exactly."

"That's a pity. Songjiang cloth, the magic lies in dyeing and weaving. The cotton armor mentioned by the general should be made from a large amount of unwoven cotton sewn into a jacket with ordinary coarse cloth, soaked in water and dried repeatedly, so that it can be as hard as a thin board and resist the blade of knives and guns, right? ”

Ma Xianglin was quite surprised.

I didn't expect that she was a young woman who knew the principles of battle armor.

After thinking about it again, I couldn't help but feel that I was narrow-minded. Why can't a woman understand this? The two porcelain thunders that prevented Qiu Wanliang from escaping and saved his life were also carried by Miss Zheng and decisively thrown.

What's more, isn't his invincible mother, Qin Liangyu, who led the stone stone white-pole lancers to fight everywhere, also a woman?

"Miss Zheng is right, then these rhombic cloths should be made for the sergeants."

Zheng Haizhu shook his head again and said, "It's not that this material can't be made into armor." Cotton armor is not good, but has the general ever heard of 'dark armor'? ”

Ma Xianglin replied honestly: "I haven't heard of it, our Sichuan army sergeants wear paper armor, cotton armor, and iron armor, and my father and mother wear copper armor. What is the dark armor that the girl is talking about? ”

Zheng Haizhu tried to be as concise as possible: "The dark armor is to take the advantages of cotton armor and iron armor, and fix the iron pieces in the cloth jacket with rivets. There are three advantages of dark armor, one is that cotton wool can be stuffed between the iron sheet and the cloth layer to keep warm; The second is that the iron sheet is stuffed in the cotton wool and cloth, which is not easy to rust, and does not need to be dismantled and polished by the soldiers from time to time, saving manpower loss; Third, if the rivet replaces the rope, the fish scale armor can be turned into a large piece of tiled armor, which not only saves the consumption of iron, but also has better mobility, and the soldier is not easy to lose his strength in close combat. ”

Ma Xianglin opened his mouth slightly, and said in a daze: "Miss Zheng, you, how do you know so much, could it be that it is also like making porcelain thunder, from Brother Ling's collection of books?" ”

"No, this time, I didn't see it from the book, but from the Mao Wenlong Mao garrison. General Ma knows about the Korean War, right? Li Rusong, the eldest son of Li Chengliang, the general soldier of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, wore dark armor when he broke the Japanese army that invaded Korea in Pyongyang. ”

In Ma Xianglin's eyes, the light went out.

Then, the pair of eyes briefly lost focus, indicating that the owner of the eyes seemed to be lost in thought.

His brave nature and acquired military qualities allowed him to imagine the Ming army wearing battle armor and bloody Pyongyang without too much effort.

Located in the southwest border, the land of Sichuan and Shu, where the natives live together, is actually the same as the northern part of the empire, and there are often disasters of war. Heroes cherish heroes, from parents to several uncles, Ma Xianglin's elders who can fight well, and several characters who can fight in Liaodong are often mentioned.

After the silence, Ma Xianglin showed a complicated expression and sighed softly: "It is better to read a hundred military books than to be experienced in a hundred battles." My mother and I used to quell chaos in the southwest, but when I came back to the southeast to suppress bandits, it was not a big battle. The climate in these places is warm, not as cold as in Liaodong, so I have never thought about the cloth and dark armor. ”

Zheng Haizhu said without hesitation: "Then please mention it to the military department when the general returns to Beijing this time?" This kind of dark armor is not only Li Rusong, but also used it when Qi Shaobao fought Mongolia. Mongolia is also a bitter cold land. By the way, this year I heard that the chief of the Jianzhou Jurchen called himself the Great Khan, but I am afraid that from now on, the northeastern frontier of my Ming Dynasty will not be even more peaceful. If the military department wants to make dark armor, use our Songjiang cotton. ”

Ma Xianglin knew that the woman in front of him was not a pretentious Miss Jiao who wanted to talk for a long time, but he didn't expect her to come so directly to do business.

For a brief moment, Ma Xianglin felt a little lost.

The sassy red face that met in Pingshui and fell in love with each other suddenly became those female shopkeepers who kindly recommended the good wine in their store.

Zheng Haizhu sensitively caught the change in his eyes, and hurriedly confessed: "It's me who is speechless and disrespectful, how can I talk about state affairs and say anything unpleasant." ”

The corners of Ma Xianglin's mouth pouted slightly: "That's okay, everything in the world can be discussed." ”

While comforting the person in front of him, he reflected on himself in his heart.

Thinking about it from another angle, what Miss Zheng said is obviously "our Songjiang's cotton", not "our Han's cotton", maybe she is proud of the beauty of the cotton here, and she is very concerned about the uniforms of the border soldiers?

Taking a step back, even if she hopes that the Han Mansion can do the business of military uniforms in the military department, it is still the duty of a loyal servant.

As a general, if all the soldiers under his command are as enterprising and agile as this, it is really satisfying.

General Ma's mind went around like this, and he still thought that this Zheng girl was getting cuter the more she looked at it.

Then the sword eyebrows were raised, and he said heartily: "Okay, I will be Songjiang's cotton cloth and go to the military department to be a lobbyist." In addition, the situation in Liaodong is changing, and if one day the imperial court transfers my Sichuan soldiers out of the customs to resist Jiannu, I will also propose to my mother to sew cloth armor with Songjiang cotton cloth. What do you think? ”

Zheng Haizhu smiled inch by inch: "There is also the fair lady of Shudi, who is used to Shu brocade and light Luo, you can also try our Songjiang cotton cloth." ”

"Well, okay, I don't want you, the light red and lake blue material that your house gave to your mother is exactly the color that women from Shiqi to Chongqing Mansion like, such as the first bloom of hibiscus, such as the beginning of the spring river."