My house was confiscated and I was exiled. I emptied the emperor's warehouse and fled.

That night, Qin Junyi received a report from the guards who stayed in Fucheng. The two parties had initially reached an agreement on the establishment of a new county and demarcated the scope of the new county. However, two important conditions had not yet been negotiated.

First, in terms of weapons, the soldiers who resisted the loss of weapons from foreign enemies needed to be replenished by the weapons workshop of the Youzhou government, and the Qin family could pay for the labor and material costs.

Weapons are an important factor in winning or losing a war and are also one of the most critical resources.

Zhou Mu did not want to see the Qin family grow in power and refused to supply weapons. He only allowed two blacksmiths to move to the new county and let them repair weapons.

With the Qin family's strength of several thousand men, two blacksmiths were far from enough, so Chu Yi and Qin Mu objected.

Secondly, in terms of population, if the original residents of the new county area are reluctant to move to their homeland, they are allowed to stay and their household registrations are transferred to the new county. If people from other places want to move to a new county, the Youzhou government cannot stop them.

Because all the taxes of the people in the new county belonged to the Qin family, the state pastoral authorities did not want to lose population resources, so they strictly prohibited people from other jurisdictions in Youzhou from moving their household registrations on the grounds that the current government decree prohibited people from moving freely.

As for the aboriginal people, since the population was not large, Zhou Mu made an opening: if the Qin family paid double the purchase price as the transfer fee, they could stay and become residents of the new county. It is equivalent to asking the Qin family to exchange money for people.

When Qin Junyi returned to the house, Su Yunwan was not asleep yet.

After listening to him talk about the negotiation process, she immediately said: "Our iron ore mine can be solved by ourselves. What we lack is a blacksmith."

Qin Junyi took off his clothes and lay down, stretched out his long arm and put it under her head: "I listed this just to get a few more blacksmiths and to make it easier to negotiate the terms of the exile."

"what do you mean?"

"Some of those exiled prisoners are people who have really committed serious crimes, but the majority are innocent officials who have been marginalized by the officialdom. There are many real scholars among them, and I want to use them as my own."

Su Yunwan praised: "This is a good idea!"

"I would like to exchange weapons for a condition and bring in some exiled officials from Youzhou."

"You already have someone chosen?"

Qin Junyi thought of something, and a smile appeared on his face: "Mr. Dongfang secretly sent a talent list. I have sent someone to verify it, and it is indeed available. There is also the former famous prince and tutor on it."

Su Yunwan became interested: "Oh? Is he the prince who was deposed by the late emperor?"

"Well, Grand Tutor Qi was born into a poor family. He was the top official in the Three Yuan Dynasty during the reign of the late Emperor. He was once the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Because of his high moral character and talent, he was appointed by the late Emperor to be an official of the East Palace and concurrently served as the Crown Prince and Tutor.

Later, the first prince was deposed for treason and died in the battle for the right to inherit the throne. He survived in prison by pretending to be crazy and acting stupid.

Five years ago, when he saw the light of day again, his family was exiled to Youzhou. Because of his literati character, he offended the officials of the government and was placed in a turbulent place within the planning scope of the new county. "

Su Yunwan sighed and said: "It is easier to conquer a country than to defend it. I heard that governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies, which is quite different from being a general. You can ask him to be your master and teach you some emperor's ways and checks and balances. Technique or something."

Qin Junyi: "That's what I have in mind, but he insists on his orthodox bloodline, and he is proud and will never give in. I will first use the proceeds from the negotiation to erase the charges he bears."

At the same time, in a village dozens of miles away, Taifu Qi and his son were also talking about the Qin family.

In the dilapidated thatched house, candlelight swayed in the wind.

Taifu Qi was lying on the bed, with an expression of unbearable pain on his old face, and he coughed several times from time to time.

His third son sat in front of the bed and said worriedly: "Dad, early tomorrow morning, my son will go to the city to bring you a doctor."

"It's useless, I'm used to it as a father." Taifu Qi's hands clenched the sheets tightly, resisting the onset of old injuries.

He had been severely tortured in prison, and his body bones had long been destroyed. During rainy or cold winters, he suffered from aches and pains day and night.

In order to divert attention, Taifu Qi asked: "What's going on in the city recently?"

"The relationship between the Qin family and the government has eased. People from both parties have negotiated at Zuiyue Tower many times, and they seem to want to reach some kind of agreement." The third son of Qi set up a private school in the city to educate several common people's children. Because he often helps beggars in the city, he is very well-informed.

Taifu Qi sighed: "One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. Despite the superficial beauty of the Qin family, in reality they are in a dilemma and are walking on thin ice."

"But my son feels that General Qin's situation is not that bad. He can lead his whole family to escape from death and recover from his injuries. No one dares to look down upon him."

Speaking of this, Mr. Qi's eyes lit up: "Dad, the doctor of the Qin family can even cure the wounds caused by the soul-killing nail, and he must be able to recuperate your body. My son will not go to the city tomorrow. He will go directly to the Qin family to ask for a doctor. .”

"Master Xinglin is not someone who will take action casually."

"It's okay. My son will ask for it first. No matter what conditions the other party proposes, my son will try his best to achieve them."

Early the next morning, the snow had become much lighter. Qin Junyi went to Fucheng to facilitate the final negotiations.

Third Young Master Qi stepped on the thick white snow and arrived at Beiling Village with difficulty.

Looking at the majestic wall, I was shocked.

If the Qin family wants to live in seclusion in Beiling Village, there will be no problem at all!

Going against the flow of short-term workers returning home, he walked into the village and saw rows of well-planned houses. The chimneys on the roofs were emitting smoke. In this cold weather, it was full of life.

He also wanted to build a house like this, but as an exiled prisoner, except for his father on the hospital bed and himself as a father and son, the rest of his family had to work in the mines every day and had no time to build a house.

With eyes filled with wonder, Third Young Master Qi walked toward Qin's house, one step at a time.

In Su Yunwan's yard, a group of children were building snowmen and having snowball fights, and the sound of play came one after another.

Suddenly, a kick ball flew down from mid-air and rolled into the middle of them.

"Wow! There's a ball! Thank you, sister-in-law!" The eldest child looked delighted and thanked Su Yunwan, who was standing with their mother, and then divided the younger brothers and sisters into two teams and started playing Cuju.

Just after breakfast, the aunts in the second room of the first house saw Qin Junyi leaving the village, so they came over with their children.

The day before yesterday, they came to thank Su Yunwan and had a pleasant chat with him. Before leaving, Su Yunwan cut a piece of leather for each person and asked them to take it back to make gloves for the children.

Now that the gloves were ready, they asked the children to put them on and bring them to Su Yunwan for a look.

At first, the children were very reserved when they saw Su Yunwan. They tried their best to keep a straight face and followed their mother solemnly.

After Su Yunwan presented several small toys such as clay figurines, pottery whistles, and jigsaw puzzles that children generally like, the children couldn't stand it any longer.

Once he got tired of playing with the toys, he ran to the yard and played in the snow.

It is precisely because of the leather gloves that they can play happily.

When the old lady who loved children heard the laughter, she walked over surrounded by Luo and Lin, and said with a smile: "Wan Wan, you are still so lively."