Northwest of Xuanfu Town.

Thousands of miles away, the snow is reflected in the reflection of the sunny day, and it is almost blinding.

Zhang Mingshi, a southerner who came to the bitter cold snow field for the first time, was so uncomfortable that he squinted his eyes, and suddenly heard a "whoosh" sound, which was the whistling sound of feather arrows breaking through the air.

Immediately, several Sichuan stone soldiers on the left and right cheered: "There is!" Hit! ”

Ma Xianglin patted the horse and galloped away, and in a moment he went back and forth, and in his hand without the reins, he carried a wild fox with a brilliant fur like a cloud.

Zhang Mingshi praised from the bottom of his heart: "Brother Ma Xian is really a cow, in such a blinding large snowfield, this little beast runs so fast, can you shoot it?" ”

Ma Xianglin patted the snow particles on the fox's body: "My daughter-in-law taught her, she has the ability to wear Yang in a hundred steps." I used to only make guns. ”

"This red fox's fur is warm when you look at it, go back and clean it up, and make a collar for your daughter-in-law."

"Well, that's what I thought."

Zhang Mingshi led the team to drive dozens of miles, slowing down the speed of the horse at this time, it was the time when he was leisurely and bored, and suddenly he smiled and said: "If you want to coax a woman and make a woman satisfied, it has to be our brother Ma Xian." Mrs. Zheng is really an anxious child, Lao Tzu still wants to nest in the city for a few days, and then listen to the instructions when Cui Dudu arrives, this girl is good, drive us to Zhao Zongbing like a duck, Lao Tzu still wants to argue a few words, virtuous brother, you should go down without saying a word, really obey your words. Hey, pony, are you, in your heart, also offering Mrs. Zheng as a daughter-in-law? ”

Ma Xianglin glanced at Zhang Mingshi and said lightly: "You are now my Shangguan, and I can bury me, but General Zhang, you shouldn't laugh at Mrs. Zheng, her kindness to you will be exchanged for a girl on your left and a little daughter-in-law on your right?" ”

Zhang Mingshi waved his horsewhip violently: "Admit your mistakes, old Zhang, I admit my mistakes." My tongue is like the three-eyed gun issued by the court in the past, and I have to blow up my boredom every now and then to be comfortable. Madame Zheng knows my temper, and she won't blame me even if she is in front of us at the moment. This has a bigger heart than you. ”

Ma Xianglin did not respond.

In fact, most of the time, he doesn't hate Zhang Mingshi, and it can even be said that he has a sense of closeness.

Zhang Mingshi, like his father, was unjustly imprisoned, which naturally made him empathize. Along the way to the border, Zhang Mingshi's thoughtful care and interest in the firearms delivered by Zheng Haizhu also made generals like Ma Xianglin feel a sense of pity.

At the end of the day, Azhu always seems to be able to choose the right person.

With the passage of time and the changes he has experienced, Ma Xianglin has almost forgotten the feeling of the moment when his heart pounded many years ago for Zheng Haizhu, and instead, in addition to the trust of mutual support, there is also curiosity that pops up from time to time.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty is thousands of miles, how can she know that there is someone she is looking for in a place she has never been to? Is it just by tirelessly inquiring about the courtiers with whom she is befriended, or by wandering non-stop through the markets and countryside?

For example, the "Xiong Tingbi" she has been hanging on her mouth these days, he Ma Xianglin has been stationed in Liaodong, and he is the son-in-law of the military department, and he doesn't know this person.

Well, come to think of it, Ah Zhu is still concerned about these things, like a Warring States strategist, unlike himself a martial artist, who knows how to fight on horseback.

The snow slope began to rise and fall, and the group rode up to the beam, and a new atmosphere suddenly appeared in front of them.

The camp is full of fireworks.

"Two generals, the front piece is the Dining Fort," the Jin merchant Chang Zhongxin sent to be a guide to the dart master reported, "and then the mountains and forests to the north are called Yehu Ridge, and outside Yehu Ridge, it is the territory of the Beiyu." ”

Ma Xianglin nodded, and said in his heart: I don't know if the Mongolian that Azhu told him to find is not in the dining room fort.

……

Xuanhua City in the afternoon.

Zheng Haizhu raised her face and faced the sun.

Although the temperature of this winter day is not enough to eliminate the cold around the month of Saibei, at least, such a sunny weather can make Xianglin and them go to the dining room fort to meet Zhao Menglin, the chief soldier of the Xuanfu, and the road is much easier.

"I hope I can make friends with Man Gui."

Zheng Haizhu walked silently in her heart.

The course of history in the past three years has changed. The battle of Sarhu in Liaodong, which lost troops and lost generals, did not happen, not only leaving the life of Zhao Menglin, the general soldier of Xuanfu, but also leaving one of the most capable generals in the late Ming Dynasty, "Man Gui", in Xuanda, instead of being transferred to Jiliao by the imperial court.

The Mongolian man Gui grew up in Xuanfu.

For example, if the descendants of foreign tribes such as Man Gui, who were attached to the Han regime in Guannei, had not served by the side of members of the imperial family or civil officials at a young age like Zheng He, they would have only been left with two paths: business or military service. Man Gui, who was skilled in the bow horse, chose the latter.

But it was not until the early years of the Apocalypse, when Sun Chengzong patrolled the border and recruited new military talents to fill the vacancy of the fallen border generals in Salhu, that Man Gui stood out and became the senior general of the empire in Liao.

This information is reserved by Zheng Haizhu. On her way out of Beijing, she speculated that in this time and space, Man Gui should still be in Xuanda, and combined with the fact that she has never heard of this person's name from the military department to the inner court, Man Gui is probably still a low-level school official with no name.

Sure enough, when I arrived in Xuanhua City, I asked the generals who stayed behind to inquire about a descendant of the Mongolian race, who held the rank of chief banner and martial arts, called Man Gui.

Zheng Haizhu then told Ma Xianglin separately that when he accompanied Zhang Mingshi to give a meeting gift to the general soldier Zhao Menglin, he would look for this Man Gui, and if there was such a person, he would make friends and wait for his own summons.

"Mrs. Zheng, the Governor's Mansion has arrived." Xu San's light call pulled Zheng Haizhu out of his contemplative strokes.

When the master and servant waited in the gatehouse for a short time, a capable and polite official personally led the way and led them straight to the duty room of Cui Jingrong, the governor of Xuanda.

Cui Jingrong, 65 years old this year, although his face is full of wrinkles, his facial features are clear, his eyes are shining, and his bearing is quite extraordinary.

It's just that when he explained the affairs of the scribe, he still had an easy and amiable appearance, and when he met Zheng Haizhu, he had changed into a cold demeanor.

Cui Jingrong left Datong and arrived in Xuanzhen yesterday.

The person from the Xuanzhen Government Office presented a letterhead, saying that it was sent by a woman, and the emperor Ye Xianggao wrote a letter.

At this moment, Cui Jingrong said solemnly: "The old man has always been in Ningxia and Xuanda and other border places, and he is not familiar with his southern colleagues. Ye Gong said, you and Xu Guangqi taught arithmetic to the prince together, so you are the Western Party? ”

As soon as the word "party" came out, Zheng Haizhu was psychologically prepared, and Cui Dudu, who was seated as a third-grade official residence, must have been prejudiced against Western studies.

Zheng Haizhu bowed slightly, and said unhurriedly: "Xu Hanlin has received the "Geometric Original" by the Taixi priest, and the younger generation also teaches this skill in the school opened by Nanzhili, and it can be used for artillery attack and defense between the two armies in battle. ”

"How do you use it?" The frost in Cui Jingrong's tone did not fade.

Zheng Haizhu then took the Fushun Chengtou to attack the Zhenghuang Banner as an example, and put the artillery into practice using tools such as medium plates and gun gauges, which required the gunner to have a geometric foundation, and briefly said.

But again, without nonsense, it is also quite attractive to state the wonderful parts of a battle.

Especially attracted to border ministers like Cui Jingrong, who also have practical experience.