North Hill Fort.

Morning. The cooks and ladies in charge of the kitchen are still preparing breakfast. Wu Nian had already finished washing, let the house slaves come in, put on heavy armor for himself, picked up the steel knife, and came to the courtyard to practice his knife skills.

The knife technique is very unpretentious.

Just swing the knife, swing the knife, swing the knife again.

Wu Nian practiced very seriously, and did his best with every knife. Coupled with the armor weighing dozens of pounds, I soon sweated.

He just came back yesterday.

He already knew the mountainous terrain of fifty miles near Beishan Fort. The remote paths, the rivers are well remembered.

I can't remember the mountains, there are too many.

He was ready to make all the preparations, just waiting for the Meng Yuan people to officially go south, and then deal with it according to the situation.

Before breakfast was cooked, Wu Nian stopped exercising. Let the house slave untie the heavy armor for himself and take it to wipe it. He is already sweating profusely, and the sweat that comes out will not only make the armor smelly, but also make the cortex moth-eaten, so it has to be wiped clean and maintained.

Wearing such heavy armor training, Wu Nian's aura was also a little disordered, and his face was flushed.

But it doesn't matter, take a few deep breaths and you'll be able to breathe evenly.

"Brother. Breakfast is ready. Liu Xiang, the little girl, appeared under the porch, and then took an embroidered handkerchief and wiped Wu Nian's sweat distressedly.

Her brother was really busy, as if there was a wild beast chasing him from behind.

Liu Xiang knew what was going on, but she was still very distressed.

"Hmm."

Wu Nian nodded, smiled and pinched Liu Xiang's smooth and fleshy little face, it was really getting more and more watery.

There were maids walking around, and Liu Xiang's face was slightly red, but she didn't dodge.

Wu Nian quickly wiped off his sweat and came to the restaurant with Liu Xiang to eat. Except for the Chen family, a large family sat around to eat.

The breakfast was very generous. Chicken, pork, eggs, a few vegetarian dishes. Including Liu Xiang, others didn't eat much, and most of the meals had to go into Wu Nian's stomach.

Man.

With less physical exertion, less food to eat.

Liu Xiang hasn't done rough work for a long time, and her appetite is getting smaller and smaller.

After eating, the dishes were cleaned up by the maidservant. Liu Xiang stood up and took Wu Nian's hand and said, "Brother, let's go and see the cotton." ”

Wang Ruyan looked at it with a smile and left with Xiaohong.

Wu also took Zhang Zhen and Li Ya away.

"Okay." Wu Nian nodded.

A cheerful smile appeared at the corner of Liu Xiang's mouth. Immediately, the two took some house slaves and went out of Beishan Fort to see their cotton fields.

Just get out of the fort.

There are only more than 10,000 acres of land in the entire Beishan Fort, and 3,500 acres are cotton land in Wu Nian.

The cotton is growing very well, and it will be harvested in two or three days.

"Brother. The warehouse I'm ready. That's so much cotton. If there is a real fight, how can we sell it? ”

Liu Xiang was happy to look at the cotton field, but also worried.

The light in Wu Nian's eyes flashed, and Meng Yuanren went south, slower than he thought.

Now the grain of the military family has been harvested, and his cotton will be harvested.

Normally, there are merchants who come to buy cotton. He could also get cotton out and sell it in the big cities.

This kind of bulk cargo is very popular.

Food, clothing, shelter and transportation.

The winter in Liaodong is cold, and there are too many places where cotton is used.

As soon as the war began, the cotton market was cut off. But it doesn't matter, Wu Nian already has a plan. He could produce and sell his own clothes, mobilize women, and improve looms.

I turn cotton into cotton.

The war is coming. Not only can't cotton sell, but cotton can't come in.

Cotton cloth is popular.

If you can, you can also build Beishan Fort into a cotton cloth production base or something.

It is used to gather financial resources.

"Don't worry. There will always be a way to do it. Put the cotton away and store it in the warehouse first. Wu Nian said to Liu Xiang with a smile.

"Hmm." Liu Xiang snorted, and the worry on her face completely dissipated.

Her trust in her brother is 100%.

Brother said okay, then it must work.

At this moment, Wu Nian looked up at the north. A group of men and horses, who did not look like merchants, were heading towards the North Hill Fort.

There are carriages for female dependents, baggage carts, as well as household soldiers, domestic slaves, maidservants and other entourage, and a few strong men riding tall horses to lead the team.

There was more or less trepidation on everyone's faces.

It's like fleeing.

Wu Nian's heart moved, and he stood still and watched. The house slaves around him were very vigilant, and took the initiative to fence up and surround the two masters in the middle.

"A couple of brothers. I am Wu Nian, the chief banner. Is something happening? After the other party approached, Wu Nian asked with a fist.

The convoy immediately stopped, and several strong men looked surprised. Immediately, one of the strong men in cyan clothes turned over and dismounted, hugged his fist at Wu Nian and saluted: "It turned out to be Wu Zongqi of Beishan Fort, it is really a blessing." Below is Li Yun from Jiang County, and these are my brothers of the same clan. ”

"It turned out to be Brother Li." Wu Nian nodded, and hugged his fists at the men surnamed Li who turned over and dismounted one after another.

After getting acquainted, Li Yun went straight to the point: "But I got the news." The 200,000 soldiers and horses of the Mengyuan people went south, and now the northeastern part of Liaodong has fallen. The front of the army is approaching the south. We're going to go south and head south on a sea boat. ”

"It's urgent, so I won't say more. Wu Zongqi, you should also prepare early. ”

After that, Li Yun gave up his hand to Wu Nian, and then turned over with a few brothers of the same clan, took his family members and slaves, and hurriedly entered Beishan Fort and went south.

Wu Nian was surprised.

"200,000 troops south? The Mengyuan people have concentrated more than half of the country's soldiers and horses. ”

"The northeastern part of Liaodong fell, so quickly? What happened to General Wei Changqing? Hopefully, he can hold the city, or break out. ”

Wu Nian originally planned to open his mouth to keep Li Yun and stay in Beishan Fort for a few days, taking the opportunity to gather them as combat power. But think about it.

Li Yun has a clan, and it seems that he is quite knowledgeable and has a plan, so he will not easily stay in this shabby place in Liaodong.

"Brother." Liu Xiang's little face showed a look of fear, stretched out a pair of small hands to grab Wu Nian's arm, and screamed softly.

"Don't be afraid. The soldiers will block, and the water will cover the earth. Wu Nian smiled and shook her small hands. After thinking about it for a while, Wu Nian said seriously: "Xiang'er." Go make a flag for my brother. ”

"Boxy. Fire red base, embroidered with yellow fonts. Wang Ruyan's handwriting is very good, let her help you. ”

"What's the tattoo?" Liu Xiang listened to the clouds and wondered.

Is it "Wu"?

"Yan Han." Wu Nian slapped his head, forgot the two most important words, and hurriedly said.

"Oh." Liu Xiang sighed.

In the end, it was my daughter's house, and I didn't know it. She didn't quite know the weight of these two words, this banner.

"Zhang sends. You go to the barracks and let people beat the drums and count the troops. ”

"Li Yuan. You go and tell Zhang Jin to come back to Beishan Fort. ”

"Zhang Song. You go from house to house looking for officials. ”

Wu Nian looked around at the house slaves on the left and right, and gave orders continuously.