Three thousand miles in exile

Both of them were busy with official duties and couldn't stay in Cangyun Town for a long time. They returned to Jinyang three days later, and they were accompanied by Liu Youning and the newlywed Liu Mingcong.

During the Spring Festival, Liu Zhan said that he would bring the two teenagers by his side to raise them, but later because he went to the capital, he delayed until now.

Liu Mingcong's newlywed Yaner is naturally reluctant to leave his wife, but Liu Zhan doesn't let go. In Liu Zhan's eyes, this kid is a minor, so don't be ignorant of restraint and ruin your body all day long.

In the end, it was Song Fenglin Songkou who gave Liu Mingcong ten days of rest every three months.

Compared to Liu Mingcong's reluctance to look back at every step, Liu Youning was so happy that he didn't sleep all night that he finally didn't have to be separated from his two fathers.

Unknowingly, all these years have passed, and the little doll back then has now grown into a handsome young man. The 12-year-old Liu Youning is elegant and elegant, with a gentle personality and excellent upbringing.

"Young master, young master, I miss you guys." Li Asan hurriedly greeted the two young masters.

The dull general's mansion in the past seems to have added a cheerful atmosphere because of the arrival of the young man.

"You guys are getting older, so live in separate courtyards. I'll have someone clean up your study room tomorrow." Song Fenglin made up his mind, and the two teenagers each got their own small courtyards.

Each of the courtyards is equipped with independent study rooms, which will be their own private space in the future. For a while, the two teenagers even forgot the tiredness of the journey, and followed Li Asan to look at the courtyard with a smile on their faces.

Early the next morning, Liu Zhan personally led the two teenagers to the barracks, handed them over to Niu Shilu, and started to learn the most basic martial arts again.

"That, General." Cao Zhuang rubbed his big hands and leaned over with a flattering face. "My son happens to be about the same age, can you let that kid learn with him?"

Cao Zhuang's son, Liu Zhan, has also met him twice. He is as strong as a calf, and he is indeed a good material for martial arts.

Liu Zhan was very straightforward. "Then come, any of you guys can come if they want, just one point, the assessment standards are the same, if you can't meet it, then don't even think about finding a position in my hands."

"Of course!" Cao Zhuang and the others were very excited.

For example, Cao Zhuang, Cao Ming, Zhang Xiaoman, Jiang Changlin, Wei Chenggui and others all had sons of the same age in their first birth. Only Li Xiaolian got married late, and now his son is only three years old.

Liu Zhan sat on the cloud platform and watched the two teenagers not far away started to follow the morning training, and he didn't hold on to his identity and complained about being tired all morning.

In the morning, they practice martial arts, and in the afternoon, the two teenagers have to go to the Yamen to study.

Song Fenglin arranged for the officials in the yamen to teach the two of them in turn. They were all taught current affairs and government affairs countermeasures, etc. It was not easy for the two teenagers to have a full daily schedule.

Higher status only means heavier responsibilities.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was late autumn in Northern Xinjiang.

After a period of training in the military camp, the two teenagers were dark and thin, but they were full of energy, and they looked much more mature than when they were at home.

Just after you hour of the day, meals were set up in the side hall of the general's mansion.

Song Fenglin specially asked the back chef to cook bone soup for the two to make up for their bodies. Liu Zhan was so strict that he had no back door to go, so he had to find the two people's make up elsewhere.

"Is Master Li from the Secretariat teaching you today?" Song Fenglin asked again with a chopstick of meat and put it into Liu Youning's bowl. "Eat more, you are too thin."

"Yes, today I will teach the classification of local government affairs." Liu Youning said obediently.

"In the past few days, the adults from the secretariat have come to teach." Liu Mingcong said vaguely with meat in his mouth.

The courses of the literary class were all arranged by Song Fenglin, and the courses were scheduled until the end of the year.

I go to the yamen for two hours every afternoon to study, starting with the most basic classification of documents, and then slowly come into contact with more complex management such as judgments, approvals, and taxes.

Song Fenglin didn't force the two teenagers to continue studying when they returned home after class, and the time before going to bed at night was freely arranged by the two of them.

However, the two have never been playful and lazy. Liu Mingcong will continue to practice martial arts after meals, while Liu Youning will quietly read books and practice calligraphy.

The General's Mansion was quiet at night.

Liu Zhan sat on the Kang and leaned against the window sill to smoke. This habit has become one of Liu Zhan's ways to relieve stress.

"You Ning is weaker than Cong'er, so don't be too strict and damage his body." Song Fenglin sat cross-legged in front of the low table, chatting with Liu Zhan while reading the autumn harvest account books.

Thinking of Liu Youning's body that didn't grow flesh no matter how much it was fed, Song Fenglin was also very helpless.

"Don't worry, Niu Shilu has a sense of proportion." Liu Zhan held the cigarette rod and played with it. "I also got to the bottom of it with Niu Shilu. You would rather follow the literature, and the most important thing in martial arts is to keep fit."

Hearing this, Song Fenglin looked slightly relieved.

Liu Zhan swallowed his breath, and suddenly remembered something. "Today, I received a letter from my family, saying that my second and third younger brothers should come and learn, but I refused."

Liu Xueli urged Liu Xueyi to write the letter, hoping that Liu Mingche and Liu Mingdan would also be sent to the Yamen to follow him. The implication was that he wanted Liu Zhan to find an official position for his two cousins.

"It's time to refuse." Song Fenglin understood Liu Zhan's intention after thinking about it.

Liu Zhan's move seemed petty, but it was far-sighted. He took Liu Mingcong and Liu Youning to his side and raised them personally. The purpose was to clarify the heirs to everyone.

The courses of the two teenagers are also trained according to the standards of Qi Yunshan's top leaders, and anyone with a discerning eye can know Liu Zhan's intentions at a glance.

"If I don't reject them straight away, I won't have to worry about it every day." Liu Zhan just wanted to tell the offspring of the family to stop his thoughts and be a wealthy and idle person, so as to cut off all possibility of power struggle among relatives sex.

In his previous life, Liu Zhan was the boss of a company, and he knew the disadvantages of the family business. The seven aunts and eight aunts all came to get involved, and even the best company was turned into a mess.

"Whether the second uncle or the third uncle is happy or not, you don't need so many people who are in charge of the house." Liu Zhan dragged Song Fenglin over.

"How is it in the garden?" He said with interest.

"No!" Song Fenglin's expression changed. "In case Cong'er and Youning come..."

"That's at the window."

It was past Haishi when the room finally quieted down.

Liu Zhan brought the water basin to the kang, twisted the veil and handed it to Song Fenglin to wipe his body.

Under the candlelight, Song Fenglin's whole body was red, Liu Zhan squeezed Song Fenglin's waist like an old hooligan, and was immediately slapped away.

"roll!"

Liu Zhan chuckled.

Song Fenglin casually put on his unlined clothes and lay down to sleep. Liu Zhan used the basin of water to twist the handkerchief, wiped his arms casually, and got into the thin quilt naked.

Both of them got up half an hour later than usual. Liu Mingcong and Liu Youning had already had breakfast and headed to the barracks. Song Fenglin's ears were red for a long time, feeling that he was too rude in front of the juniors.

Liu Zhan was careless, and would bring food to Song Fenglin from time to time, and after he finished eating, he would clean up the breakfast on the dining table.

Today, the two made an appointment to go to Yangguan to inspect the progress of the reconstruction.

The Cangxia Plain has been fighting for more than ten years, and the Yangguan Pass has always been the main battlefield for both sides. The black city wall cannot see its original color, but it is made of the blood of thousands of soldiers.

This is the place where heroic souls gather.

After entering the Yangguan Pass, Liu Zhan never let go of his brows.

Standing on the city wall, there are ruins and ruins as far as the eye can see. Zhou Sui took over Yangguan and never seriously repaired it for so long. Most of the houses were repaired and continued to be used.

"Let's tidy up the living place first, and focus on repairing the gaps in the city wall. The severe winter is coming soon. Let's talk about it after the spring." Liu Zhan said.

Cao Ming accepted the order with his fists folded, and ordered to go down immediately.

Winter begins in October on Qiyun Mountain and November on Cangxia Plain, so there is less than a month left.

As long as it is winter in northern Xinjiang, there will be nothing to do if it is frozen for thousands of miles. Liu Zhan's plan to go north can only be carried out in the next year.

Compared with northern Xinjiang, Hanzhong, which does not have mountains covered by heavy snow, still faces wars in winter.

"Xixia destroys the country, and the main force of the subsequent Xirong must be placed in Hanzhong." Liu Zhan supported the city wall and looked at the surrounding wilderness, feeling neither sad nor happy.

Song Fenglin was wearing a blue Confucian shirt, and his brows were tightly frowned in the wind. "Mobei in the northwest is now included in the territory of Xirong, so strong and prosperous, can Hanzhong resist it?"

"As long as there is no enemy that can't be resisted, the Qing army will be afraid of civil chaos." Liu Zhan said casually, and took his hand again. "Go forward."

Song Fenglin let him drag him away. "In previous years, we exchanged grain in Hanzhong City, and the price was much cheaper than that in the Central Plains and the South. If there is chaos in Hanzhong, the price of grain in the world will definitely skyrocket."

The Hanzhong Plain is rich in wheat and coarse grains, which are the food that ordinary people depend on for survival. Rice is precious, and ordinary people can't afford it.

If Hanzhong is affected by the flames of war, even the cheapest coarse grains will skyrocket in price, and there will be no way for ordinary people at the bottom to survive.

Liu Zhan raised his hand and tapped his forehead. "Don't keep thinking about other people's granary, don't you worry about developing our own territory into a granary?"

Song Fenglin paused.

"The hilly land to the north of Qiyun Mountain is very good for growing wheat and coarse grains. I'll take it for you next year at the latest." Liu Zhan said confidently.

The two walked along the city wall, and the soldiers along the way gave way and saluted.

"I heard that King Yan is using troops against Xianbei." Song Fenglin recalled the news brought back by the merchant traveler.

"I have sent scouts to find out the authenticity. It is a good time to take down the right general of the Yan army and defeat the Yan bandits. It will happen to be the next year to pursue the victory." Liu Zhan's eyes are full of sharpness.

Song Fenglin knew that it was impossible for Liu Zhan to stop. If it wasn't for the autumn harvest immediately after the battle of Yangguan, Liu Zhan would definitely take advantage of the victory and pursue it immediately if he was afraid that the war would affect the rice fields that the people depended on for survival.

After the autumn harvest is over, time does not allow it.

At this time, outside the city gate of Giyangguan, the food transport team from Jinyang just arrived. Song Fenglin had prepared enough military rations for half a year, and various military supplies and equipment were being sent to Giyangguan one after another.

Guo Donghu led [-] cavalry to race horses near Yangguan every day, guarding against the Yan army taking the opportunity to attack.

It is impossible for the Yan army to be unaware of such a big movement by Qi Yunjun. To Liu Zhan's surprise, the main force of the Yan army stationed at the two passes of Fanyang and Liyang has not moved.

Afterwards, the days were calm and uneventful, and the first snow in northern Xinjiang arrived as scheduled.

There was a charcoal pot burning in the general meeting hall, and the generals had just left after the meeting, when the north wind blew up the curtain, and snowflakes blew in from under the heavy cloth curtain from time to time.

"No wonder the Yan army didn't go south this year." Liu Zhan put down the secret letter in his hand with a sneer.

Song Fenglin warmed his hands with a cup of tea. "What did the scout say?"

"After Xixia destroyed Xixia and occupied Mobei, they went east and robbed the pastures of the Xianbei Hu people. The Xianbei Hu people were driven into the pastures of the Yan Kingdom. It is not that King Yan was too busy fighting with the Xianbei Hu people to take care of the Cangxia Plain. "

Liu Zhan stood up and walked to the map of northern Xinjiang. He gestured to the area where the Xianbei Hu people and the Yan State fought, which was about several hundred miles northwest of Tongtian Pass in Qiyun Mountain.

Song Fenglin could clearly understand it at a glance. "Xi Rong destroyed Xia, and the pattern of Northwest Mobei was affected."

Liu Zhan stood with his hands behind his back. "Xixia was exterminated by the Xianbei Hu people, and Xirong occupied the vast Western Regions and Mobei. I thought that the Lord of Xirong would rush south to occupy Hanzhong, but now it seems that he underestimated him. The Lord of Xirong has a lot of plans."

Xixia has completely taken over Xixia, and Xixia's metallurgical technology is no worse than that of Yan. If Xirong improves its weapons and equipment, this army will be very terrifying.

Song Fenglin focused on the map. "Xi Rong is a powerful threat to neighboring countries, but the current situation is in our favor."

Liu Zhan nodded. "The grassland dispute between the Xianbei Hu people and the Yan people. The Xianbei Hu people have no shelter. They want to maintain their ethnic group and can only win a place in this grassland in the extreme north. Unless the Yan Kingdom makes concessions and cede the grassland, there will only be disputes year after year."

After finishing speaking, Liu Zhan looked at the map and fell silent, Song Fenglin didn't ask any more questions.

The tea in his hand was cold, Song Fenglin got up and went to the charcoal stove to change into hot tea, Liu Zhan was fascinated by the map.

Suddenly Liu Zhan figured out something. "Look, ma'am."

Song Fenglin immediately put down the teacup and went over.

"Yan Kingdom's current battle lines are distributed from north to south. The southernmost is the Cangxia Plain, and the northernmost is the grassland at the border with Mobei." Liu Zhan became more excited as he thought about it. He looked at Song Fenglin with piercing eyes.

"Guess, if we set fire to the hinterland of Yan State at this time, what will happen to the Yan State?"

Song Fenglin immediately understood what Liu Zhan meant, and there was excitement in his beautiful phoenix eyes. "In this way, the country of Yan must make a choice when it faces enemies."

"That's right!" Liu Zhan came to the sand table to deduce.

"In the spring of next year, when the Yan State will fight the Xianbei Hu people again, our cavalry will go north from Tongtian Pass to attack the hinterland of the Yan State. At the same time, we will arrange [-] troops to attack Fanyang Pass in the Cangxia Plain."

Liu Zhan has always been bold in deploying troops, and this strategy of simultaneously launching wars in the north and south is a test for Qi Yun's army.

After pondering for a moment, Song Fenglin said: "If you want to take down Fanyang Pass, you can only pass it by slowly. While besieging and attacking the city for a long time, it can be as fast as a month or as slow as three to five months."

Fanyang Pass is the same size and shape as Qiyang Pass, with the same high walls, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

There was appreciation in Liu Zhan's eyes. "Our cavalry went deep into the hinterland of the Yan Kingdom to force the King of Yan to divide his troops. As long as the King of Yan has no extra troops to pour into the Cangxia Plain, we can grind down Fanyang Pass."

"This strategy is feasible." Song Fenglin nodded and asked again. "Who do you plan to send to lead the cavalry deep into the hinterland of Yan?"

Liu Zhan didn't think about it. "I will lead it myself."

This answer was also within Song Fenglin's expectations. Cao Zhuang and Li Xiaolian were still a little short of fire, and a single army went deep into the enemy's hinterland, requiring extremely keen military judgment, and if he was a little careless, he would lose everything.

Except for Liu Zhan, there is currently no general in the Qi Yun Army who has this ability.

The battle against Fanyang Pass is equally important, there must be no mistakes.

Song Fenglin suppressed all kinds of worries in his heart, and he looked at Liu Zhan calmly. "You go, there is me in Cangxia Plain, I will personally go to the front line to supervise the battle of Fanyangguan, and I will not let you down."

Liu Zhan wanted to take the initiative to ask him to supervise the battle, but when he was hesitating, he didn't expect Song Fenglin to ask him to take the initiative.

In this strategy, Liu Zhan is most worried about the part of attacking Fanyang Pass.

It's not that the generals of the Qi Yun army can't do without Liu Zhan, but that this battle is a protracted one, and what Liu Zhan is worried about is whether the mentality of the generals will collapse in the day after day of the siege.

With Song Fenglin personally supervising the army, his last worry was eliminated.

Liu Zhan supported Song Fenglin's shoulders with both hands, and there was a tacit trust in each other's eyes.