Kaifeng Prefecture, Tokyo City.

The Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, located on Ningyuan Street, is still peaceful.

In the main hall of the Hou Mansion, Gu Yan stood with his hands open, looked out of the gate, looked at the south, and after being silent for a long time, he still said: "I have gone to the hometown of Xiangyang, and asked the uncles and brothers to select the children of the right age from their clan, and go to Erlang's tent to listen to them!" ”

When Xiao Qin heard this, no matter how good his acting skills were, he couldn't suppress the consternation in his heart, and his eyes showed a look of shock.

The ancestral home of the Gu family of Ningyuan Marquis is Xiangyang, but there is not much power in the local army, the Gu family's power in the army is mostly distributed in Tokyo and Hebei, Gu Yankai has also been in the Western Army for a few years, and there are also many old aunts, who promoted their own sons and nephews in the past, and most of them were in the Western Army and the Hebei Forbidden Army.

The official army of the Great Song Dynasty, if you talk about combat strength, the strongest is the forbidden army, followed by the box army, and then the local village bravery.

There are also high and low in the forbidden army, during the period of the founding Taizu Taizong, the most elite forbidden army is located in the western suburbs of Tokyo in the camp of the forbidden army, but with the passage of time, there has been no war in Beijing for a long time, but it is the border land, with Khitan, Xixia There are many frictions, wars are frequent, the border army has gradually become the most elite existence in the forbidden army, and now, among the forbidden army, the most elite soldiers and horses are stationed in Shaanxi, Qinfeng two roads of the Western Army, perennial war with the Western Xia, the combat power is good.

This was followed by the forbidden armies in Hebei and Hedong, and then the forbidden armies in Tokyo.

Gu Yankai is now on an errand in the camp in the western suburbs, leading an army alone, and his position is high and powerful.

"My Gu family started with military merits, and if the children and nephews in the family are willing to study, they can study hard and participate in the imperial examination, but they must not forget at any time that the army is the foundation of the Gu family!"

Although Gu Yankai doesn't say it on weekdays, he has always been like a mirror in his heart, otherwise, he would not have started to teach Gu Er martial arts and the art of war in person when Gu Er was a child, one is for Gu Er's future future, and the other is for the future of the Hou Mansion.

Although Xiao Qin's heart was unwilling, Gu Yankai had already made a decision, and no matter how reluctant she was, she could only grit her teeth and accept this reality.

At the same time, the Sheng family located in Jiying Lane in Xicheng is also not peaceful.

Old lady Sheng and Minglan were not there, Wei Shuyi only focused on teaching Changdong in his own courtyard, and now the people who are the housekeepers of the Sheng family have also changed from Wang Ruofu to Changbai's eldest lady Hai, and Mo Lan and Rulan both live in their own courtyards.

When night fell, everyone had already had dinner, but today's Changbai was different from the past, holding a letter in his hand and frowning slightly.

This letter has been in Changbai's hands for several days, but Changbai has never made a decision.

After hesitating for a while, Changbai still went to find Sheng Hong.

In Wei Ruixuan, after Sheng Hong read the letter sent by Changbai, his eyes also flashed a little worried, and he raised his eyes to look at Changbai, the son he had high hopes for and never let him down, and asked, "What does Bai'er think?" ”

Changbai arched his hand and said: "My son thinks what Zihou said is quite reasonable, now the official family is seriously ill, but the position of the prince has not been decided, and there are anti-thieves in Huaixi, we really can't put our eggs in one basket!" ”

"Then you don't have to go to Huaixi!" Sheng Hong frowned and said: "Now the land of Huaixi is rampant with thieves, and it is very dangerous!" ”

"Now Haozhou and Shouzhou are occupied by the thieves, and all the officials have been killed, but this group of thieves is just a rabble.

Moreover, the imperial court has also sent a large army, and it is only a matter of time before the states and counties occupied by the rebels are recovered, and now the land of Erzhou has just been ravaged by the rebels. ”

Sheng Hong looked at the son in front of him, who had always had a good idea in his heart, and couldn't help but say, "So, have you decided?" ”

"It's a rare opportunity, my son wants to give it a try!" Changbai nodded and said: "And now that Zhonghuai is in Haozhou, if his son passes, he can also help one or two." ”

"But the war is dangerous, as the so-called gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall, the Sheng family will have to rely on you to support him in the future, and he will be a ...... for his father."

"Father! Meng Ziyun: The heavens will descend on the Si people, must first suffer their minds, work their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skin, empty their bodies, have benefited from their inability to also, the son has studied hard for more than ten years, although he has now entered the office, but the age is still young, the experience is still shallow, there is no achievement in political affairs, and there is a lack of experience in governing the place, although there is a big chaos in Huaixi, but it is also an opportunity, if you wait until the dust settles and then go, the difficulty will only be greater! ”

The thin field is uncultivated, and many people fight for it!

Although this gang of rebels will eventually be exterminated, no one can predict what the situation will be tomorrow until this gang of rebels is completely wiped out, and those officials in the DPRK and China who are waiting to fill the vacancy also avoid this like a snake and scorpion, for fear that they will follow in the footsteps of those colleagues in Huaixi who were killed by the rebels.

But if the anti-thieves are calmed down, Haozhou, which is in ruins, will inevitably become a good place for those officials and scholars who are ready to wait for each other.

Although everyone understands the truth, there are not many people who are willing to take the risk.

After all, entering the office means that the glory and wealth of this life have been stabilized, and who is willing to risk losing their lives to fight.

Changbai naturally understands his father, and when he takes advantage of the situation, he continues: "Besides, now that Bianjing has become a whirlpool, my son is now only receiving a vacant position in the Hanlin Academy, even if he stays in Beijing, it is useless, it is better to take this opportunity to fight for some merit and come back, which can also be used as a qualification for future promotion." ”

"It's just that going to Huaixi at this time, won't it be too dangerous?" As a father, Sheng Hong still loves and cares about his children, especially Changbai, the eldest son he has high hopes for.

"My son is a civil official, and I don't have to lead troops to the front line to fight like Zhong Huai, what danger can there be!"

"The opportunity must not be lost, it will not come again, walking in the officialdom, looking forward and backward, and hesitating is a big taboo!" Changbai said with a serious expression.

Seeing that Changbai had already made up his mind, Sheng Hong knew in his heart that he couldn't convince Changbai, if the old lady was still at home, he could still pull Changbai to the old lady to discuss, after all, the old lady was used to the wind and rain, and had eaten more salt than the rice that their father and son had eaten, and the idea turned out to be right.

It's just that now Mrs. Sheng followed her daughter and son-in-law to Quanzhou, not in Tokyo, the letters come and go, how can it take a month or two, the situation on the front line is the same day by day, how to get in time, and now the old lady is in Quanzhou with Wang Chong, since Wang Chong wrote a letter to suggest that Changbai go to Huaixi, maybe he has already talked to Mrs. Sheng in advance, and the old lady has agreed.

"Let me think about it again!" With such a big matter, Sheng Hong naturally needs to be carefully considered, and he does not dare to make a decision easily.

"Father, do you remember this year's Shangyuan Festival?" Changbai's voice suddenly changed and he mentioned the past.

Sheng Hong was stunned for a moment, and asked suspiciously, "Why did Bai'er suddenly mention this matter?" ”

"Father wouldn't think that Rong Feiyan's thing was really done by a thief, right?" Changbai said suddenly.

Sheng Hong's face changed, he was not a fool, how could he not see the strangeness in it, but what could he know, even Kaifeng Mansion had no way to take the culprit behind the scenes, not to mention that he was just a five-grade petty official, so he could only sigh helplessly: "Hey! ”

"Now King Yong is not the prince, he is already so arrogant, openly attacking the noble daughter of the prince's family, so humiliated, the child looks at him and does not have the appearance of a clear monarch, today's official family is generous and benevolent, I am only afraid that the prince's proposal, there will be another accident, and then I am afraid that Tokyo will really become a tiger's den in Longtan."

Sheng Hong only felt that his brain was in a mess, his thoughts were like a mess, and he didn't have a clue, so he couldn't help but look at Changbai: "What does Bai'er mean, isn't this country really going to fall on King Yan's head?" ”

"The emperor's heart is unpredictable, until the last moment, who knows!" Changbai shook his head and said with a solemn face.

Although Changbai doesn't talk much on weekdays, Sheng Hong knows that this son's main intention is the most right, and what he decides is not to say that he is his father, even if he adds Wang Ruofu, a pig teammate, it is difficult to change Changbai's mind.

Just when Changbai decided to let Sheng Hong help up and down, seek to be released, and go to Huaixi, a good news quickly spread throughout Bianjing, and Qi Heng, the little grandfather of the Duke of Qi who was famous in Bianjing, made a marriage with the lord of Jiacheng County of the Yongwang family, and he would get married soon.

Today's Qi Guogong Mansion seems to be full of flowers, but in fact, it has long been empty inside, Qi Guogong's generation, only Qi Guogong is alone, and there was a salt errand before, but it has been gone since the year before the fight, and now he has only received a fictitious position without power and substance, only receiving the fictitious position of Yulu, all relying on the Pingning County Lord to have some dignity in front of the official family and the Queen Mother, which maintains the face of the Qi State Mansion.

But the surname of the county lord of Pingning is Chai, not Zhao, which is the most important thing.

Today's officials are benevolent, and they have a lot of care for the descendants of the Chai family, and even when the county lord of Pingning was young, he was connected to the palace and lived with the princes and princesses, and then because he entered the eyes of the official family and the queen, he was canonized by the county lord.

Now that the official family is in its twilight years, the queen is also getting older.

In the eyes of some people, the relationship between Qi Heng and the county lord of Jiacheng is the embodiment of the Qi family's complete fall to King Yong, and even some people even speculate excessively that the county lord of Pingning is so favored, will it be because he got some news from the palace in advance, so that his son can marry the daughter of the Yong family.

After all, the lord of Pingning has always been above the top, which is recognized by everyone.

All of a sudden, the undercurrent in Bianjing City surged again, and I don't know how many people began to contact each other privately, and some even took the initiative to find King Yong to express their willingness to serve.

Sheng Hong is a delicate person, very good at observing words and feelings, socializing with others, although he does not dare to get involved in the affairs of Lichu, but in the officialdom, how can he not perceive the change of the situation.

Before Qi Heng's wedding, Changbai made up for the lack of Dingyuan Zhi County, and he also had Hanlin as a waiter, so he set off south on the same day and rushed to Dingyuan County, Haozhou, to settle prisoners, pacify the people, and raise food and grass for the counterinsurgency army to fund the front line.

Coincidentally, just when Sheng Hong was helping Changbai to go up and down the activities, it happened that the news that Gu Er led the Wuwei Army to recover Dingyuan County was transmitted back to Tokyo, and Changbai naturally made up for the lack of Dingyuan Zhi County, and said goodbye to his family on the same day, took the sweat cow and a dozen or so guards, and quickly left Beijing and rushed to Haozhou.

When Changbai arrived in Dingyuan, Gu Erzheng led the army, and the soldiers and horses on the Huainan East Road had just recovered Zhongli County and returned triumphantly.

At the north gate of Dingyuan County, Gu Er looked at Changbai, who was wearing a county official robe, standing at the gate of the city waiting for him, and immediately turned over and dismounted, and had a strong hug with Changbai.

"When did you arrive?" Gu Er looked at Changbai and couldn't help but ask.

Changbai also smiled and said, "Three days ago! ”

"Are you still used to it?" Gu Er asked as he pulled Changbai towards the city.

To say that this Dingyuan county, Gu Er is much more familiar than Changbai, after recovering Dingyuan, repairing the city wall, repairing the fortifications, pacifying the people, etc., are all done by Gu Er, Changbai just arrived yesterday, and he hasn't even sat on the buttocks.

The two haven't seen each other for a long time, so naturally they have endless words, Gu Er was full of joy, and told Changbai with great interest about his experience in the past few months, how to use clever plans to recover Shen County, how to send people to infiltrate Dingyuan, and how to take advantage of the night to capture the county seat, and how to cooperate with the soldiers and horses of Suzhou and Chuzhou to forcibly break through Zhongli County.

That's half an hour.

"Now that Zecheng is here, I can lead the troops to fight with peace of mind, and finally I don't have to worry about anything else!" Gu Er also had a feeling, although the officials of Luzhou were very cooperative with Gu Er who rescued them, but now that Gu Er's army has arrived in Haozhou, it is naturally not good to let the officials of Luzhou go beyond their bounds and come to Haozhou to handle logistics for him.

"I'm new here, and I'm not very familiar with the situation in Dingyuan, so I can only do my best!" Changbai has always spoken steadily, never boasting.

Gu Er smiled and said, "It's okay, just take your time!" Now there is only one Haozhou city left in Haozhou is still in the hands of the thieves, I also have a thousand soldiers and horses in Yong'an Town on the east bank of Luoshui, and there are 500 defenders in Dingyuan City, I have made an appointment with General Liu, who is now stationed in Zhongli County, and sent troops to Haozhou three days later! At that time, Suzhou will also send troops, and the recovery of Haozhou is just around the corner! ”

Changbai nodded and asked, "How is the battle situation over there in Shouzhou?" ”

Gu Erdao: "Only Lu'an County is still in the hands of the imperial court!" ”

Changbai said: "The east of Shouzhou is Yong'an Town, Zhong Huaitun soldiers Yong'an, is he worried that the thieves of Shouzhou will attack Dingyuan?" ”

Gu Er nodded with a solemn face: "This gang of anti-thieves is not simple, it was indeed just a rabble at the beginning, but today, it has been more than half a year since the anti-thieves started their army, and they have fought dozens of times with the official army. ”

Now that Dingyuan has just recovered, the people in the countryside have been coerced by the anti-thieves, and they have long been ten rooms and nine empty, and those wealthy gentry have all been looted, and none of them have been spared, but fortunately, there are still some surpluses in the treasury, which were originally used by the anti-thieves for their own use, and now they are cheaper Gu Er and Changbai.

Three days later, Gu Er led his troops to Haozhou, and Changbai stayed in Dingyuan to guard the rear for Gu Er.

(End of chapter)