Huaizhou, Guangling City.

Since Lu Shen emerged in the border army, the business of the Lu family has become more and more prosperous, especially the news that he personally led troops to attack Yongquan Pass has been transmitted back to all parts of Huaizhou, and the doors of the branches of the Lu family business are crowded with people almost every day.

Because of the past 20 years of operation, Lutong's control of the entire business system has reached the point where it is deeply rooted in the bone marrow, even if the income suddenly increases a lot, he does not need to do everything himself, and can enjoy a comfortable life.

But when he returned from Lai'ancheng, those henchmen and subordinates found that not only did he not indulge in pleasure, but vaguely revealed a little bit of the ambition when he retired from the army and took over the Lu family's business.

The carriage of the Lu family drove smoothly in the city, and Lu Tong leaned against the wall of the carriage, listening to the report of a cronie.

“…… As of six days ago, there were 192 craftsmen of all kinds in the firm, of which 84 were old men who had been in the firm for more than five years, and were innocent and loyal, and the rest were under five years and more than two years, and the villain was screening them in detail. According to the master's instructions, the first round of recruitment of craftsmen has begun, and the target scope is limited to the six prefectures of Huaizhou. ”

Lu Tong said lightly: "Screening and recruitment are carried out at the same time, you don't have to force speed, you have to keep in mind the word reliable." ”

"Yes, sir." The cronies bowed their heads and said: "Another thing is progressing slowly, mainly because the young master took away a large number of good hands before, and now we can only ensure the escort force around the master, and it is difficult to select excellent people in a short time." ”

Talent is not a spring leek after the rain, stubble after stubble, not to mention that what Lu Shen needs is an elite who can become the foundation of an army.

Lu Tong naturally understood this truth, and he also knew that this matter was in a hurry, so he said kindly: "Take your time, find more good seedlings from businesses and people, and then cultivate them little by little." ”

The cronies said respectfully: "Yes, the villain understands." ”

The carriage gradually stopped, and a voice came from outside: "Master, it's time to Xue Mansion." ”

When Lu Tong got out of the carriage, he saw Xue Huaiyi standing on the steps, looking at him with a smile, so he quipped: "How can I work for Doctor Xue to greet him personally." ”

The smile on Xue Huaiyi's face disappeared, and he said angrily: "I haven't seen you for a few months, why is your mouth still as irritating as before." ”

Lu Tong walked up the steps and greeted Xue Zhong, who was standing respectfully and solemnly on the side, and then said with a smile: "Can I suddenly change my age?" Could it be that you have a rejuvenating elixir? ”

"There's a fart, if there's really that kind of medicine, I won't give it to myself?"

Xue Huaiyi scolded with a smile, and then walked into the mansion side by side with Lu Tong, and said as he walked: "Last time, you moved so many medicinal materials from my warehouse, so you have to be a little more guarded, if you plan to do it again today, I have to get you out in advance." ”

"It is worthy of being the world-famous Doctor Xue, and you guessed it again."

Lu Tong put on a scoundrel look, Xue Huaiyi really couldn't do anything about him.

The two walked into the main hall, and Xue Zhong saluted and retired after serving tea on behalf of the servants.

Xue Huaiyi didn't joke anymore, and said gently: "Say, what's the important thing to suddenly come to the door today?" ”

Lu Daodao: "This matter is Shen'er's request, he should have come to the door in person to invite, but you also know that he is now leading troops to fight in the north, and he can't be separated, so he entrusted me to run a trip." It's important and can't be known to outsiders, so whether you have time to take a trip or not, don't give it away. ”

"You just mean, why did you suddenly become so verbose?"

Xue Huaiyi couldn't cry or laugh.

Lu Tong nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll just say it." Li Tianrun, the governor of Jingzhou, was not in good health, and although he found the local Langzhong for diagnosis and treatment, it did not have any effect. As for why you didn't go to the imperial doctor in the capital, you also know the attitude of those people in the south towards the Northern Expedition. If they were to know about the physical condition of the Governor, they would definitely use this as an excuse to stop the Northern Expedition. Only a few people knew the inside story of this matter, and after thinking about it repeatedly, Lu Shen thought that only you could solve this problem. ”

"I see, it's not hard for me to make a trip."

Xue Huaiyi twisted his beard and groaned, and then said with a solemn expression: "There is definitely no shortage of good men around Li Dudu, and you should also know that sometimes manpower is limited after all. I will definitely do my best to heal, but there is no guarantee that I will be cured. ”

"That's enough."

Lu Tong stood up and saluted.

Xue Huaiyi hurriedly raised his hand and said, "What is this for?" It doesn't have to be that way between you and me. ”

"As it should be."

Lu Tong insisted on finishing the salute, then sat down and asked, "When are you going to leave?" ”

Xue Huaiyi thought for a while and said, "Tomorrow, I have to arrange things at home." ”

Lu Tong bowed his head and said: "Okay, I have already arranged a passenger boat at the ferry, and I will go up the river to Pingyang Mansion in Jingzhou." ”

Xue Huaiyi responded, and the two chatted about private matters for a while, and Lu Tong got up to say goodbye.

Xue Huaiyi sent him outside the door, a little worry floated in his eyes, Li Tianrun and Xiao Wangzhi are already middle-aged, if these two have a mistake, how will the Northern Expedition continue?

……

Perhaps because it is closer to the north, it is significantly colder in Lai'an than in Guangling.

In this era, there is almost no way to entertain in winter, and for most people, it is a blessing to have warm clothes to keep out the cold, and if you can light a brazier, you can count it as a well-off family.

Wang Chulong naturally has no worries about this, and she is naturally quiet, even if she stays in the room and reads every day, she can be at ease.

The news of the war in the north kept coming back, and she knew that the Huaizhou army was like a bamboo, Yongquan Pass, Tongshan City, Gushu City, and Qingtian City were recovered one after another, and Lu Shen also cooperated with several generals to annihilate nearly 10,000 enemy troops in Wanting.

Not to talk about the transaction between Zhai Lin Wang and Nanqi, it was simply for the sake of Lu Shenxiao's clothes and food some time ago, and Wang Chulong was also happy for him. It's just that occasionally thinking of the estrangement that still exists between the two, this thoughtful woman will also have a dazed mood.

It's not sour or boring, but the dazed growth of wisps in my heart, I can see the way I came, but I can't see the direction of the future.

Lu Shen respects her very much, but there is a bit of alienation in the respect, and he did not reply this time, although Wang Chulong does not mind this matter very much, but if he can send someone to send a reply letter, even if it is only a small number, she will feel a little comforted in her heart.

In the warmth of the room, she sat by the smoker, holding a book in her hand, and sighed softly.

"Miss!"

Jin Shu walked in quickly, his eyes were shining with surprise, and he said hurriedly: "Lu Gongzi is back!" ”

"Huh?"

Rao is Wang Chulong's mind is far more mature than that of ordinary women, and he can't help but show a look of surprise at this moment.

"Really!" Jinshu stepped forward and said with a smile: "The servant saw it with his own eyes, Lu Gongzi asked the young lady to meet in the hall!" ”

Wang Chulong subconsciously raised her hand and pulled her sideburns hair, she is usually plain at home, and she will not deliberately dress up.

Seeing this, Jin Shu said, "Miss, the maid will help you put on makeup." ”

Wang Chulong shook his head and smiled, "No need. ”

She came to the side hall wearing a regular home dress like this, and sure enough, she saw Lu Shen talking to Song Pei, and the two immediately greeted each other, and Song Pei retreated obediently.

"Miss Wang, I have received your letter, thank you for thinking so much about me. It's just that the military situation was urgent at that time, and I didn't want to scribble back to make you feel perfunctory, so I thought that I would thank you in person when I came back, and I would like to understand. ”

Lu Shen said straight to the point.

Wang Chulong is not a seven or eight-year-old child, so naturally she will not fully believe this reason, but she knows very well that the two of them are not close enough to the point that everything must be honest, after all, there is a saying that if you want to hurry, you can't reach it, so she said softly: "It's okay." Lu Gongzi is fighting outside, so he doesn't have to take this little thing to heart. In fact, what I'm more curious about now is that the war in the north is too smooth, so that Lu Gongzi has no place to use? ”

Lu Shen thought this statement was very interesting, and smiled: "It's really smooth, but it's not smooth enough that even I can be lazy." Now that our army has opened the Dongyang Road, the battle is under the personal command of Governor Xiao Dadu, so let me return south with the Ruishi battalion to prepare for the next strategic plan. ”

Wang Chulong's heart moved slightly, thinking of some of the words that Lu Shen had said at the beginning, and said tentatively: "Lu Gongzi plans to go north out of Panlong Pass?" ”

In the previous letter, the gentle woman in front of her had already shown her military talent to Lu Shen, first taking Yongquan Pass and then besieging Qingtian City, going north to force Gushu City and then ambushing the enemy's reinforcements halfway, and then turning back to recover Qingtian City after taking Gushu and Ningling City, these are all ideas put forward by Wang Chulong.

In particular, she focused on mentioning the Seven Star Army in Baotai Mountain, and clearly said that she could only treat them as a false move, because Qing Yu Huaijin in Heluo City must have a plan against the Seven Star Army.

Although these ideas have some deviations from Lu Shen's strategy, they are already very close, so at this moment, she can shout out Lu Shen's next step, he is not surprised, and sighed: "Miss Wang, if you are a general, you will definitely be better than many people." ”

Wang Chulong smiled lightly, and seeing that Lu Shen did not deny it, he gradually guessed his plan, and said softly: "Lu Gongzi praises falsely, Chu Long has no power to restrain the chicken, and he has never seen the battlefield with his own eyes, just talking on paper. By the way, General Manager Zhu's reply was sent yesterday, and he has removed the guards of Xinchang City, and he can secretly cooperate with the actions of the Huaizhou Army when necessary. ”

Lu Shen said sincerely: "Thank you." ”

Wang Chulong thought for a while, and said, "Lu Gongzi, if you want to lead the troops from Panlong Pass, is it a bit big to rely on the six thousand warriors of the Ruishi Camp alone?" ”

Although the defenders of Xinchang City and Pingli City are all related to the Wang family, it does not take too much energy for the Huaizhou army to attack these two key points to control and choke Panlongguan, but there is always a degree to everything.

If Lu Shen only took 6,000 people and easily took Xinchang and Pingli, even a blind man could see the problem, and it was difficult to guarantee that the prosecutor's office and Jingren would not find out about the Wang family.

Wang Chulong didn't want to deliberately probe Lu Shen's thoughts, but it was just about the safety of thousands of people in the Wang family, and she had to keep an eye on it.

Lu Shen understood this reason, so he removed some of the high secrets that could not be known to anyone, and he gave a rough explanation to the woman in front of him.

After listening to this, Wang Chulong nodded and said, "I understand, thank you Lu Gongzi for solving your doubts." ”

Lu Shen said: "This is what I should do." ”

Seeing him so polite and respectful, Wang Chulong's heart swelled with some strange emotions, and she suddenly felt that she might be able to take the initiative a little more.

As soon as she thought of this, she raised her eyes to look at Lu Shen and mustered up the courage to ask a question.

"Mr. Lu, can I tell you a story about Miss Lin?"

(End of chapter)