July 15, Hajian Province.

On the spacious streets, the lively atmosphere of the past has disappeared, most of the shops along the street are closed, there are no vendors behind the stalls, and there are even fewer passers-by.

It's just that it's not a drought or a flood, it's ... Plague of Soldiers.

The news of King Yan's army spread very quickly, especially in the prefecture and county south of Beiping, everyone knew where King Yan wanted to go, so no one doubted that he would take the army south... As for whether the imperial court can suppress it? Then it has nothing to do with the small people of Shengdou, flee first, and the court will win the battle and go back, if you can't win... It's always safe to go south.

This sentiment incited most of the people, and the hundreds of miles from Beiping to Hejian Fu packed their bags as fast as they could and began to head south, crowding to the edge of the Yellow River, hoping to cross the Yellow River before King Yan went south.

This scene is quite the taste of the clothes that were in the past.

The more times like this, the easier it is for some people to get rich, the price of vegetables and grain on the street has risen I don't know how many times, mules and horses and vehicles are only rented and not sold, from here to the Yellow River, they dare to drive the sky-high price of ten taels, but there are so many people who want to escape from this turbulent era of conscription, and the owners of several carts and horses are counting money in their dreams these days.

But there are still more people who can't give up everything they already have... The street is not daring to go up, it is one thing to worry that King Yan will call, the key is that the government has already registered at the door, if it really fights, the men will be arrested to be people's husbands, and the women and children will also contribute to the court in the rear, who dares to joke about the future of their family at this time?

In the scorching summer heat, the wind blew through the streets, and several torn off notices were swept away by the wind and danced - it was a notice issued by the government, which was nothing more than saying that the imperial court would send troops to quell the rebellion in the near future, so that the people could feel at ease.

This is even more ridiculous than the excuse of King Yan's appeasement.

A series of horses' hooves came from the end of the long street, and some people who fled south naturally followed the sound, probably because the pedestrians on the road were too scarce.

With a long neigh, the horses danced in the dust, and the leading knight turned over and dismounted, but it was not the general that the pedestrians imagined, but a scholar in a green shirt.

He looked up at the sign of the prefect's yamen, raised his feet up the steps, and took off his cloak, and the armored guard behind him stepped forward and bent down to copy the fallen cloak in his hand.

This kind of momentum is not murderous, but it also shows that it is not simple to come... The few officials guarding outside the prefect's yamen tightened their sabers in their hands as if they were facing a great enemy, and were about to ask, but the green-shirted scholar took the first step to speak:

"People from the north are visiting the prefect of Zhonghong Wenzhong, and I have voted for a post yesterday, please let me know."

The voice is very warm, although it is dusty, but it can't hide the bookish atmosphere on his body, there are more than a dozen guards standing behind him, but there is no sense of domineering, and the action of taking the initiative to speak to the officials is also very approachable...

The two officials glanced at each other, and one of them confessed his guilt and hurried into the yamen, leaving only one of the officials with a tense face, and continued to carry his saber uneasily in a gaze.

Please... This scholar is young, and he doesn't look like an official, but these dozen or so guards are really not simple, and their eyes are full of murderous energy, I'm afraid that they have killed people... And these guards are all in armor, even if this young scholar is not a child of an official eunuch, his identity is definitely not simple, but I don't know if the prefect will see him, and when the time comes, this young scholar will not be angry with himself...

This worry soon became a little superfluous, and the guard who had just entered hurried out again, apparently the prefect of Hejian replied very quickly: "This... Childe, the prefect is invited. ”

Gu Huai smiled and stepped across the door with his hands in his hands.

Riverhouse... It stands to reason that this point in time should not come, after all, there is a Baoding Mansion Zhending Mansion separated from Beiping, and these two places cannot be beaten, Hejian Mansion is destined to be the outpost of the imperial army crossing the Yellow River, if nothing else, these days Gu Huai and Daoyan's notices will be posted all over the streets and alleys of the Great Tomorrow, and it is too risky to come to Hejian Mansion at this time.

Rebellion against this kind of major event of the Nine Clans... It's really a pity that I have dissociated myself from the Gu clan before, but after all, there are still some people in the clan who have not released malicious intentions towards themselves, if you let Jinling's spy activities at this moment, saying that the previous farces were deliberately arranged to send the entire Gu clan to the execution ground, it would inevitably be too cautious.

The garden in front of him was a little small, but it was exquisite, and Gu Huai naturally didn't think that Zhong Hongwen would see him in the yamen lobby - after all, his attitude was so ambiguous that Gu Huai couldn't guess it all the way.

Seeing that the official brought someone in, Zhong Hongwen, who was sitting at the stone table, waved his hand, and the official retreated as if he had been amnestied, Gu Huai raised his eyebrows, lifted his placket and sat opposite Zhong Hongwen in silence.

"Thought you'd come later."

Is it because I am a little disappointed that I came, or do I feel that there are too many things in the north to get to Hejian Mansion for the time being, and I am a little leisurely?

Probably a little too tired to run all the way, for this kind of cloudy beginning, Gu Huai frowned impatiently: "Where are the three sons?" ”

"It's too impatient," Zhong Hongwen raised his eyes, "Don't forget, if it weren't for the news released by the official, no one would have been able to find the three princes." ”

Gu Huai tugged at the corners of his mouth: "Since we know that a large number of spies from the Yan Wangfu have entered the Hejian Mansion, and they can also find the news that they revealed the three princes, presumably Lord Zhong does not intend to threaten the Yanwang Mansion with this, since this is the case, why not be honest?" ”

He leaned forward slightly: "What does Lord Zhong want?" ”

Zhong Hongwen raised his head slightly and looked at the sharp-edged young man in front of him.

That's nice... I was like this back then, I didn't like to play false and wrong, and I didn't like to talk about things for a while, the so-called city government was just a kind of comfort for older people to themselves.

He flicked his two fingers and handed over a cup of tea: "When I saw the post yesterday, the official knew that it would be you, and it is strange to say, you have been mediocre all these years, why did you suddenly become a guest of the Yanwang Mansion, and became the upper-level figure of this so-called 'Jing Nan'?" In the documents sent by the imperial court, you and Daoyan are side by side, but the official is curious, the imperial court... Why do you think so highly of you? ”

Gu Huai was silent for a moment: "It seems that my background is still too innocent, and I can find it clear when I check it." ”

"That's right," Zhong Hongwen furrowed his brows, "But if it's you now, you're qualified to talk to this official." ”

He picked up the teacup: "What do you want from the officer?" Simple, when King Yan lays down Baoding, the official will return the three princes. ”

"No," Gu Huai shook his head, "Since I'm here, there's no reason not to take the three sons back." ”

"If you can't beat Baoding, King Yan will be trapped and die in Beiping, what does it make if the third son of King Yan returns to the north or not?"

"This is not to be bothered by Lord Zhong, the Beiping War Report is estimated to have passed the river, since Lord Zhong has already read it, why ask such questions?"

Zhong Hongwen raised his eyebrows: "Tens of thousands of troops, new weapons, plus the Yan King who can fight well... The momentum is indeed very large, but how can this official be sure that this kind of momentum will not be easily quelled by the imperial court? ”

Gu Huai became more and more impatient: "Since it's business, why don't you be more straightforward?" Lord Zhong is playing the idea of watching the fire from the other side, why not bet on it more refreshingly? ”

One is a high-ranking official of the imperial court, and the other is a scholar who has only recently emerged from the name, but between the conversations, it seems that the momentum of a scholar is overwhelming.

Zhong Hongwen shook his head lightly: "Right now... It's not enough. ”

"Not enough?" Gu Huai suddenly smiled, "Then what does Lord Zhong think is enough?" ”

"The army of the imperial court is coming, and the three mansions of Hejian are raising grain and grass, if there is no accident, in the thirty years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, this time the army is the most," Zhong Hongwen put down the teacup, "After this pass, it is enough." ”

He put the teacup aside and took out two chess boxes: "This official loves to play against each other, watching chess is like watching people, why not play a game with this official?" ”

Not again... Gu Huai shook his head: "I won't go down, and there is no need to go down." ”

As a scholar in this era, playing chess is a basic skill, but Gu Huai has no intention of wanting to learn: "Since it is a bet, you might as well play bigger, pay and return are always related, it is impossible for Lord Zhong not to understand this truth." ”

He raised his head and looked into Zhong Hongwen's eyes: "The matter of Baoding is really determined, you don't have to worry about Lord Zhong, but what the prince wants is for the whole Hejian Mansion to be attached." ”

Zhong Hongwen stopped his movements and said with a smile: "How is it possible..."

Gu Huai's slender fingers took out a page of rice paper and tapped it lightly:

"I'll talk about it after seeing it."