Three thousand miles in exile

At the beginning of March, the heavy snow that closed the mountain on Qiyun Mountain melted, and in the early morning of the Wuyuan County Barracks, a team of thousands of people walked up the mountain quietly under the morning dew.

No one noticed that Liu Zhan transferred thousands of troops to Tongtian Pass, plus the [-] soldiers stationed in Tongtian, a total of [-] troops.

The main force of the Yan army was still on the Cangxia Plain. Liu Zhan led two thousand soldiers from Jiaomiao Township to Mogongrao Township and then to Zhaixia Village. close.

During this period, the nobles of Yandi sent [-] soldiers to encircle and suppress them, but they were intercepted and killed by Liu Zhan's shield soldiers on the plain. Yan soldiers without iron cavalry were nothing more than that.

Also from northern Xinjiang, Liu Zhan's personal guards are all as strong as cattle, and they are trained in strict accordance with the requirements of later generations of field special forces. Their physical fitness is not only better than that of local soldiers.

Liu Zhan stayed at Tongtian Pass for more than half a month and ransacked all the land under the mountain.

Song Fenglin knew that he couldn't spend too much time, so he hurriedly counted and tidied the warehouse every day. At the end of March, Liu Zhan decided to go down the mountain.

With Pei Wanshan in Cenzhou Prefecture, there is nothing for Liu Zhan to worry about. Liu Zhan came back from this trip mainly for private silver mines.

Before this, Liu Zhan had sent people to investigate Shanyin County.

Yan Hongji, the county magistrate of Shanyin County, was Yan Qiliang's uncle, Yan Qixin, the county lieutenant of Shanyin County, was the eldest son of Yan Hongji, and the chief secretary and master of the Shanyin County yamen were all members of the Yan family.

Not only that, even the little jailer has a distant or close kinship with the Yan family, and the Yan family's influence in Shanyin County is as impenetrable as a copper wall.

Liu Zhan sent spies into Shanyin County to investigate, but they could only find some superficial things, no matter how sidestepping or benefit temptation, there was no progress.

So he planned to disguise himself as a businessman and go to Shanyin County to investigate in person.

Shanyin County is located in the southwest of Qiyun Mountain. The county seat is in the Jiagou between Huangzhuling and Fengweiling, surrounded by mountains.

Because Shanyin County is on the leeward side of Qiyun Mountain, the vegetation here is lush, stepping into the boundary of Shanyin County is like entering a jungle.

A caravan from the south was walking slowly on the post road between the jungles with more than a dozen carts of goods.

"My lord, there is a post station ahead, do you need to rest for a while?" A bodyguard with a scar on his face came up immediately and said respectfully outside the window of the carriage.

There was a pleasant sound from the carriage. "How far is it from Shanyin County?"

The bodyguard said: "It will probably take another hour."

"Don't stop and keep going."

The bodyguard responded by waving his hands to let the team move on.

The caravan came downstairs in Shanyin County in the afternoon, and the soldiers guarding the gate stopped them viciously when they saw that the leader of the caravan was an unfamiliar face.

"Where did it come from? What's the name of the business? Can there be a guide?"

"We are Linji Company, and this is Luyin of Siyang County." The leading bodyguard took out a document from his lapel.

"Siyang County?" The soldier opened the document suspiciously, and it turned out to be Siyang Luyin.

"There are no business opportunities in the rich and prosperous places in the south of the Yangtze River. Why do you come to our backcountry? I'm afraid you won't like the business here."

The soldiers guarding the city gate are very vigilant. If they don't deal with it properly, they will definitely be targeted if they follow up in the county.

The leading bodyguard said arrogantly: "We are the company of the Lin family in Siyang. The young master came out to practice at the order of the master. He heard that Qiyun Mountain is rich in wild ginseng, so he came here on purpose. What's the matter, are you not welcome?"

Although the leading bodyguard had scars on his face, he was well-dressed and well-dressed with a handsome demeanor. He looked like he was from a big city.

At this moment, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a young man dressed as a nobleman leaned out and spoke with an authentic southern accent, very displeased. "Why are you delaying here? Why don't you go to the city?"

I saw that noble young man wearing a silver crown on his head, and a long satin gown with blue background embroidered with silver silk moiré pattern, which is beyond words.

These gatekeepers naturally have a bit of insight when they see more people every day, so they quickly restrained their temper and said respectfully. "It's just a routine inspection, please don't blame me, my lord."

The caravan entered Shanyin County again. Surprisingly, it was not a bustling county town. The county town was not much bigger than Wuyuan County, and there were few pedestrians on the streets.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir, we don't have so many guest rooms in our store, and now there are only two rooms left." The shopkeeper of Fushoulou, the largest inn in Shanyin County, looked panic-stricken.

A few bodyguards who looked like he was from the Lian family surrounded him with fierce faces and questioned him.

A bodyguard with an arm thicker than the shopkeeper's thigh slapped the table. "How can there be so many of us in only two rooms! I will give you half a day to vacate the room immediately!"

Another bodyguard grabbed the shopkeeper's collar with furious eyebrows. "Do you know whose business we are from! Siyang Lin's! How many lives do you have to pay for delaying our family's important business?"

There was also a skinny bodyguard who kicked and smashed the wine jar placed by the door and cursed.

"If it wasn't for the son's filial piety, he came to Qiyun Mountain to harvest ginseng to celebrate the old man's birthday, who would want to come to this place where birds don't lay eggs."

This is not the scariest thing, the handsome bodyguard with the scar on his face clasped his hands and sneered. "Smash this shop to the Lord. If we can't live in others, don't even want to live in it. How can we let our young master suffer a little bit of grievance."

"Don't, don't, don't! There is a house, there is a house!" The behind-the-scenes boss who has been in the accounting room can't stay any longer. Fushou Building is his lifeblood. If these masters really smash their house, it will be over.

The boss of Fushoulou was held hostage by two bodyguards and brought him to the front for questioning.

"Didn't you say you don't have a house yet? Why do you have one now?" Touching the scar on his face, the handsome bodyguard with the scar saw through everything and said.

The owner of Fushoulou was trembling with fright. "Yes, it's the shopkeeper's incompetence. The little old man will ask someone to vacate the room. It doesn't take half a day. It can be ready in an hour, no, half an hour."

Xiao Mian, I can't scare you to death, Liu Zhan patted the boss's chest with a half-smile. "Then please prepare now."

"Yes, yes, let's go here." The boss of Fushoulou almost didn't lose his temper, and hurriedly urged Xiao Er to go to the backyard to vacate all the upper rooms.

Liu Zhan threw down two ingots of ten taels of silver and said arrogantly: "Give me three tables of the best wine and dishes in your store, and prepare another table of exquisite ones and send them to the room."

The owner of Fushoulou dared not to obey, and even went to the back kitchen to arrange it himself.

These fearsome bodyguards were none other than Li Xiaolian, Wei Chenggui, Guo Donghu and the others. After booking the room, Liu Zhan went to the carriage to help the young master down.

The owner of Fushoulou glanced at him from a distance, my good fellow, what kind of rich clothes and fine food can support this noble spirit?

The shopkeeper didn't know how to look at him, and then he came to the boss to remind him. "The superior said that this caravan cannot be allowed to stay in the store, how...how can this be explained to the superior?"

The owner of Fushoulou slapped him and cursed at him. "Open your dog eyes and see clearly, is this a distinguished guest that we can offend? If the superior wants someone to leave, let him come and chase him himself, anyway, I can't invite him!"

On that day, the news that Shanyin County came to Siyang Lin's caravan spread all over the county, and what happened in Fushou Building was presented to the county magistrate in detail.

Yan Hongji, the county magistrate of Shanyin County, has passed his sixtieth year and has a sparse goatee. When Master Chen came to report about Fushoulou, the maid was trimming Yan Hongji's beard.

Yan Hongji raised his hand and the maid immediately stopped and waited gently.

"Have you checked?"

Master Chen said: "I have checked, and the clerk's seal is complete."

Yan Hongji's downturned eyes were filled with displeasure. "Recently, things are really not going well. The life is not peaceful and there is another difficult master."

Master Chen said: "It is said that they are looking for wild ginseng for Mrs. Lin."

Yan Hongji glanced at the maid, who immediately came up to squeeze his shoulders knowingly.

"Are you going to meet Mr. Lin?" Master Chen asked cautiously.

Yan Hongji was upset. "What you do here depends on the face of a child with a yellow mouth. Those children from aristocratic families are used to showing off."

Yan Hongji is not a parent of the Yan family. He only changed his surname by worshiping Mrs. Yan as his adoptive mother 12 years ago. His background cannot be recognized by the family, and he might even be ridiculed.

Master Chen was a little embarrassed. "It's always rude to ignore it."

Anyway, Yan Hongji would not go, he knew that this was the end of his life.

Now I only hope that Yan's care will allow his son to take up the post of Shanyin county magistrate and continue to work for Yan's. Why should he come up to a passing family to make people ridicule.

"Don't worry about him, how can this kind of impoverished son stay here, he will leave within a few days." Yan Hongji didn't take it to heart at all, and pulled the maidservant into her arms.

Master Chen hesitated to speak, the war in northern Xinjiang had just stopped, and the Yan family in Jinyang was fighting with the general again, the more they guarded Baoshan for Yan family, the more cautious they should be at this time.

But when Master Chen saw that Yan Hongji had raised his hand and reached into the lapel of the maidservant, he probably wouldn't listen to what Yan Hongji said at this time.

Master Chen sighed in his heart and quietly retreated.

At the same time, all ten upper rooms in the backyard of Fushou Building were cleaned up.

Liu Zhan and the others rented out the entire courtyard, and even had people guard the courtyard door to prevent outsiders from entering and leaving at will. Fushou upstairs and downstairs only said that he was a prince of an aristocratic family, and no one dared to question it.

Until nightfall, the county government was still calm. It seemed that the Shanyin county magistrate didn't intend to take care of this matter, so Song Fenglin breathed a sigh of relief.

The Lin family in Siyang is Song Fenglin's maternal ancestor's family. Last year, Song Fenglin restored contact with his maternal ancestor's family and learned that his mother and younger sister are all well.

With the help of his grandfather, he obtained a copy of the Siyang documents. Although the documents are complete, they are all disguises after all.

Song Fenglin put away the spies' letters, stretched out his hand to light the candle and burned it to ashes.

After resuming contact with the Lin family last year, Mrs. Lin sent four well-trained dead men to Song Fenglin, and Song Fenglin secretly placed the four in Jinyang to investigate the Yan family.

"The investigation of Yan Hongji's background is clear." Song Fenglin turned his head to look in the direction of the bed, where Liu Zhan was lying on his side and looked at him with his head propped up.

"Who is he from the Yan family?" The scar on Liu Zhan's face has not been torn off, and it looks a little scary under the faint candlelight.

Song Fenglin said slowly: "Yan Hongji is the adopted son of Mrs. Yan, not a son of the Yan family. His original surname is Chen, and he came from a poor family. He is just a chief bookkeeper of the Shanyin County Government."

Yan Hongji was suddenly promoted by officials to be the magistrate of Shanyin County 12 years ago. In the same year, he was adopted by Mrs. Yan as his adopted son and changed his surname to Yan.

Liu Zhan smiled. "interesting."

Yan Hongji only had the reputation of a scholar, and unless Yan's family background strongly recommended him, it was impossible for Yan Hongji to become an official with his background.

The Yan family put in so much effort, and even accepted Yan Hongji as an adopted son. Who would believe that there is nothing tricky about it?

Liu Zhan stroked the tiny stubble on his chin and thought.

"There will be thick smoke and waste water in the refining of silver mines. It is impossible that there will be no traces. Even the refined silver will have ruts when it is transported out of the mountain. Where can Yan Hongji hide the silver mines without a trace for ten years?"

This can be said to be Liu Zhan's greatest confusion.

Song Fenglin went behind the screen to wash his hands and twisted the towel to wipe his face. When he heard Liu Zhan's question, he just answered it casually.

"If you refine at night, you won't see thick smoke. Naturally, there will be no ruts if you walk by water. As for the waste water mixed into the river, there will be no trace."

"Yes!" Liu Zhan sat up abruptly. "Looking along the rivers and streams, there will definitely be clues!"

The next day, Zhang Xiaoman, who claimed to be Mr. Lin's personal servant, took a few thugs through the streets to look for wild ginseng.

"Master, I only look at wild ginseng that is more than 300 years old."

"My son has a lot of silver, the price is not a problem."

"What? 100 years? Do you know who our Mrs. Lin is? How can this 100-year-old mountain ginseng be worthy of it!"

Zhang Xiaoman and his men searched almost all the medicine shops, pawnshops, and grocery stores in Shanyin County, and they went all over the place.

Not only Zhang Xiaoman was tossing around outside, but Liu Zhan was also tossing around in Fushou Building, sometimes saying that the young master wants to eat shark's fin, sometimes saying that the young master wants to eat abalone, and sometimes dislikes the lack of water in the soup.

What is shark fin and what is abalone? The owner of Fushoulou has never heard of it!

Liu Zhan threatened the shopkeeper viciously.

"I'll just say it once, you have to make it for me at night!"

"Buddha Tiaoqiang is to stew all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas together. First, the old hen is used to boil the soup base, and then abalone, shark's fin, sea cucumber, scallops, and fish maw are stewed together for more than six hours."

The shopkeeper is about to cry, sea cucumber?shark fin?What is flower glue? ?

"My son can't sleep well at night if he doesn't eat Buddha Jumping Wall. Can you take this responsibility? Immediately! Do it for me immediately!"

Liu Zhan glared viciously, and the shopkeeper rushed to the back kitchen regardless of whether he understood or not.

This matter was presented to Mr. Chen by the yamen servant in detail.

Master Chen looked down on the behavior of the children of the aristocratic family.

"What kind of fairy is the 300-year-old wild ginseng, how can a small county town keep it, and what kind of mess that Mr. Lin said he wanted to eat, it's just ridiculous! Nonsense!"

Although they look down on them, these people are all a little more afraid.

Being born in an aristocratic family is indeed a person with extraordinary knowledge, what they eat and use is unimaginable to them, such a person is also someone they can't afford to offend.

That night Song Fenglin looked at the chicken soup in front of him a little dumbfounded. He knew all about Liu Zhan's troubles in the kitchen during the day.

He only thought that Liu Zhan was making trouble for others to see, but he didn't expect that Liu Zhan really made tricks.

The chicken soup was rich golden yellow with a faint scent of wild ginseng. Liu Zhan took out the old hen from the stew pot and put it on the plate.

Gently flicking the old hen with chopsticks, there is still a pigeon wrapped in its belly, and a small sparrow is wrapped in the belly of the pigeon, and the belly of the small sparrow contains wild ginseng and other nourishing medicinal materials.

Liu Zhan was not satisfied. "In the future, if you have a chance, I will let you taste the taste of Buddha jumping over the wall."

While talking, Liu Zhan picked out the tenderest part of the chicken, pigeon, and sparrow meat and shredded them into a bowl, and finally poured the rich soup base.

Not to mention that the country people here in Shanyin County have never seen it, even Song Fenglin, who was born in the government, has never seen this way of eating.

"Eat it while it's hot, it's a great tonic." Liu Zhan put the bowl in front of him.

Song Fenglin took a sip, the fragrance remained on his lips and teeth.

"good to eat!"

Seeing that he liked him, Liu Zhan served him attentively.

For several days in a row, Liu Zhan personally supervised the son's food, Fushou upstairs and downstairs, which opened his eyes.

Master wants to eat fish?First of all, we must choose the freshest Huangchuan fish. The fish meat is deboned, peeled and crushed into mud with a knife. It is repeatedly beaten and glued and squeezed into balls. Then the fish balls are cooked with the snow-white fish soup that has been boiled for more than three hours.

Master wants to eat green vegetables?First of all, the cabbage is cut off from the head and the tail is only the tender core in the middle. The old hen boils the soup to skim the slick oil, and the cabbage core is blanched in water to make the bottom.

There are many dishes that are not listed one by one, all of which are made of the most noble style with the simplest ingredients.

What Mr. Lin eats every day, the powerful clans in Shanyin County all follow suit the next day, especially the chef of the county yamen must cook it to Yan Hongji for a taste.

Liu Zhan was a gamer in his previous life, he could eat, drink, play and have fun, and he would know how to make it after eating too much. He just talked about how to make it, which was the job of the back kitchen of Fushoulou.

After a few days in a row, the people inside and outside Shanyin County knew that Mr. Lin had an extraordinary background, and no one doubted it.