Three thousand miles in exile

Since the spring of this year, the Yan army has frequently changed, adding troops to the Cangxia Plain one after another. According to the military situation of the scouts, the Yan army's strength in the Cangxia Plain is not less than 15, and may even be as many as [-].

On Dachu's side, the Northern Army only has 10 people, and even if the local garrison in northern Xinjiang is added, there will not be 15 people.

Liu Zhan rushed to Jinyang City non-stop.

"Lieutenant Liu Zhou, the general asked you to enter the palace to discuss matters." As soon as Liu Zhan arrived at the city gate, a soldier came up to summon him.

In the General's Mansion, Zhou Chan discussed countermeasures with the generals.

"This guy, King Yan, is not satisfied with Cangxia Plain. It's really a wolf's ambition."

"Since the battle at Yangguan, our army's strength has dropped sharply. We should urge the imperial court to increase our troops as soon as possible."

"The general sends out a document almost every seven days to urge the court to increase its troops, but His Majesty has not made a decision."

All the generals talked a lot, Liu Zhan, as the lowest-ranking general in the study, just sat quietly aside, he didn't need to show the limelight when the boss was discussing matters, Liu Zhan still understood this rule.

Zhang Taining suddenly said: "How about recruiting troops from the northern border? Prince Rui is the governor of the northern border, as long as Prince Rui orders the local state capitals, he dare not disobey."

Generals immediately agreed. "This plan is feasible, how many soldiers and horses can be recruited?"

Another general said: "At least tens of thousands of people must be recruited."

Liu Zhan's heart sank, what should come is still here.

Speaking of the conscription in northern Xinjiang, Liu Zhan, who was born in northern Xinjiang, had the most say. Zhou Chan looked at Liu Zhan and signaled him to answer.

Liu Zhan stood up and cupped his hands. "Back to the general, more than [-] soldiers were killed in the battle of Giyangguan under the jurisdiction of the young general, and there are only [-] registered military households in the six counties of Cenzhou. The number of recruits may not be guaranteed again."

Before the general said anything, Zhao Wuguang, Zhang Taining's deputy, immediately said: "As Cenzhou Lieutenant, it is your job to guarantee the supply of troops. Isn't it ridiculous to say that you can't guarantee the supply of troops when the battle is imminent?"

Liu Zhan hurriedly knelt on one knee and cupped his fists to plead guilty.

"Please condemn the general, the young general can't catch the fish, the northern border is adjacent to the country of Yan, relying on these military households to fight every year, and always leave an adult male for the military households, otherwise the military households will be extinct in a big war. Killing the chicken and taking the egg is no different.”

The vanguard general Xu Muyuan stroked his gray goatee. "That's true. The military households in the border areas are different from the military households in the Central Plains."

Most of the military households in the border areas are accumulated by prisoners exiled from various places every year. If the households are exiled, the population will still have to be transferred from the Central Plains to recuperate and recuperate. It will take at least ten years to repopulate the population.

Liu Zhan said gratefully. "Thank you General Xu for your understanding."

Only then did Zhou Chan speak slowly. "Except for Cenzhou, how many soldiers are expected to be recruited by other states and counties?"

Liu Zhan thought, "It should be no problem to recruit more than [-] people from Ruichang City and Daizhou."

As if casually speaking, Liu Zhan calmly and calmly brought disaster to the east. "Jinyang City is the largest city in northern Xinjiang, and it should be able to recruit 2 people."

These words instantly opened everyone's minds. Since the Yan family was related to the general of Dingguo in Northern Xinjiang, they subconsciously excluded the Yan family and Jinyang City.

In fact, Jinyang City is also a part of Northern Xinjiang, and Jinyang City will naturally have to recruit people this time.

For a while, there was a lot of discussion around the question of whether Yan's army would participate in the war, but everyone couldn't make up their minds.

The Yan family has a special status. The Yan family army under them has existed for hundreds of years and has not clearly belonged to them.

Zhou Chan remembered the matter of changing the head of the Yan family, and he felt that Liu Zhan's proposal was very correct. The head of the Yan family must be changed, and he could not let Yan's jump on his head again.

"Liu Zhan, you are in charge of the conscription in northern Xinjiang." Zhou Chan made the final decision.

Liu Zhan immediately embraced the order.

On the way back to the barracks after leaving the General's Mansion, Liu Zhan showed a bitter look. It was not easy to recruit soldiers in Daizhou and Ruichang.

The Fang family in Daizhou has already made a feud, and the century-old Pei family in Ruichang County is no weaker than the Yan family, and they are not easy to talk to.

No matter what, Liu Zhan led a thousand cavalry to set off that day, and he went to Ruichang County first.

Take a boat across Huangchuan at Luming Ferry, and then enter the boundary of Ruichang County after another day's journey.

Although Ruichang County is divided into northern Xinjiang, the climate in the south of Huangchuan is much warmer than that in the north of Huangchuan, and the winter is not so long. The rice fields are growing well, and some melon and fruit trees that are afraid of the cold can also be planted. .

Therefore, although Ruichang County is not big, it is very rich. Unlike Jinyang City, which is only rich in the Yan family, it is obvious along the way that ordinary people's clothing, food, housing and transportation are more than one level higher than those in the north of Huangchuan.

When they arrived in Ruichang City, Liu Zhan asked Wei Chenggui to station a thousand cavalry outside the city. He only brought Zhang Xiaoman and Guo Donghu into the city. Zhang Xiaoman showed Liu Zhan's seal, and soldiers immediately led the way.

Liu Zhan was politely welcomed into the Yamen of Ruichang City, and a servant girl served tea and snacks, saying that he was asked to wait a while, but it turned out that the wait lasted all day.

"Boss, this is deliberately leaving us alone!" Zhang Xiaoman became more and more annoyed as he waited, walking back and forth.

Liu Zhan could hold his breath. "Wait"

It was not until evening that the manager came out to see Liu Zhan.

"I'm really sorry, the head of the family is busy, what's important for Lieutenant Liu Zhou to tell me." Pei's retainers looked polite, but their eyes were full of disdain.

Zhang Xiaoman was so angry that he didn't say anything. "Your patriarch is so arrogant, our lord is here to recruit troops on behalf of the general, can your patriarch afford to delay the military situation in the northern border!"

The retainers of the Pei family are neither yin nor yang. "Yo, dare not dare, I will tell the Patriarch right now, and ask Lieutenant Liu Zhou to hand over the conscription papers to the humble officer."

Zhang Xiaoman wanted to say something, but Liu Zhan raised his hand to interrupt. "give him."

Zhang Xiaoman handed over the document angrily, and the retainer of the Pei family took it with one hand without looking at it, and only made a gesture of seeing off the guests. "Lieutenant Liu Zhou, please, I will notify you when the source of troops arrives."

After leaving the yamen, Zhang Xiaoman was still angry and cursed all the way.

"Okay." Liu Zhan swept the back of his head angrily. "After our birth, there are many such things. Do you have to be angry every time?"

Zhang Xiaoman clutched the back of his head and was still upset. "We've been waiting all day. Except for a cup of cold tea and a plate of cakes, we didn't arrange lunch for you. When it got dark, we just said we had no time and dismissed us with a few words. Is there such a way of hospitality! "

"What's the way to treat guests with unequal status?" Liu Zhan sneered. "Okay, go back to the inn and ask Chenggui and the others to have a good meal."

Liu Zhan's attitude was actually expected by Liu Zhan. Not to mention that Liu Zhan offended the Northern Xinjiang family by killing Fang Zhao, what qualifications does Liu Zhan, whose background is not worthy of the name in the eyes of the family, have to meet the direct descendants of the Pei family?

"Boss, what shall we do next?" Zhang Xiaoman muttered.

"Just wait." Liu Zhan's expression darkened.

After that, Liu Zhan and others waited for half a month.

During this period, the Yan army invaded twice. Although the number was small, their intentions were more obvious than last year.

The atmosphere of the northern army is becoming more and more dignified, and it is not known when the Yan army will attack aggressively.

Compared with this, Ruichang City was peaceful up and down, and there was no news of conscription for what the common people should do.

There is still something Liu Zhan doesn't understand now, Pei's plan is to ignore it.

The general's conscription is not the emperor's own edict to conscript troops, whether to conscript or not depends entirely on the attitude of the local family.Unless Zhou Chan came to Ruichang City in person, the Pei family would not react at all.

The task of going to the local area to recruit troops was impossible for Liu Zhan from the very beginning, and Liu Zhan knew it well.

Zhou Chan had no good intentions in asking him to conscript, but if Zhou Chan sent any general from an aristocratic family to conscript, he would not be turned away.

Liu Zhan knew too much, so Zhou Chan finally did it.

The matter of Baoshan was still hidden from Prince Rui, and Zhou Chan used the accusation of collaborating with the enemy to expose the matter of Shanyin County. From the beginning to the end, Prince Rui did not know that Zhou Chan had controlled Baoshan.

Zhou Chan can't afford any risk of Baoshan's secrets being leaked, and the existence of Liu Zhan makes Zhou Chan uneasy.

However, Zhou Chan couldn't kill Liu Zhan simply and neatly because of Yan's constraints. If Yan believed that Zhou Chan killed Liu Zhan in order to dominate Baoshan and do something unfavorable, Zhou Chan couldn't bear the risk. rise.

Under the balance of the three parties, Zhou Chan could only make a stumbling block in military affairs and let others deal with Liu Zhan.

If Liu Zhan failed to complete the conscription task, it would be dereliction of duty. There was no need for Zhou Chan to speak up. Zhao Wuguang, Zhang Taining's subordinate, would not let him go.

Zhou Chan's tactic of borrowing a knife to kill people is not clever but very effective. As long as Liu Zhan violated the military law and Zhou Chan punished him according to the military law, Yan's side would naturally be justified.

But is Liu Zhan the kind of person who just sits and waits to die?Zhou Chan also underestimated him too much!

Pei's mansion.

In the side hall with carved beams and painted pillars, the Patriarch of the Pei family is leading more than a dozen children, grandchildren and daughters-in-law of the Pei family to have dinner.

The oldest elder of the Pei family is the head of the Pei family. The head of the Pei family, who is already seventy-two years old, is still in good health, and his black hair looks about sixty.

In the beginning of this year, the eldest grandson of the Patriarch of the Chunpei family gave him a great-grandson. It is a good story in Ruichang City that the four generations of the Pei family live under the same roof.

At the dinner table, there is a table for men and a table for women.

The Pei clan came out of Hanlin from generation to generation, their official position is not high but their reputation is very good, the rules in the house are naturally very strict, they pay attention to eating and sleeping, and there are more than 20 maidservants waiting on them, but they didn't make a sound.

The Patriarch of the Pei family has three legitimate sons, the eldest son Pei Gongming is fifty-three this year, the second son Pei Gongjie is 50 years old this year and is a university scholar in Beijing, and the third son Pei Gongqing is forty-five this year, all born to his legitimate wife.

His first wife passed away 13 years ago, and the Patriarch of the Pei family was reincarnated. The second wife, the Fang family, was sixteen when he first started. The year before last, he gave birth to Miss Pei Twelve, who just turned two years old this year.

In addition, the Patriarch of the Pei family has seven concubine sons and nine concubine daughters. The concubine's children are all raised in a side courtyard separated from the servants by a wall. They are not eligible to come to the main courtyard to eat at the same table on weekdays.

At night, the study of the Patriarch Pei.

The eldest son, Pei Gongming, reported respectfully. "Father, this is a document waiting for approval in the yamen. Take a look when you feel refreshed tomorrow."

The Patriarch of the Pei family was lying on the imperial concubine's couch smoking dry cigarettes, and the two maids carefully pinched his feet and shoulders for him. After hearing his son's report, he raised his hand to signal that he understood.

Even though Pei Gongming is over 50 this year, in fact, he has to consult his old father for everything in the yamen and in the house, and the Patriarch of the Pei family can't execute it without nodding his head.

Pei Gongming asked what he thought of. "The general's conscription..."

Patriarch Pei's thin face immediately froze with displeasure. "As a father, I have my own opinion, so go down."

"Son understands." Pei Gongming didn't dare to disobey and muttered. "My son will come to pay my respects tomorrow."

As soon as Pei Gongming left, the housekeeper opened the door and came in. "Patriarch, it's getting late, do you want to rest?" After the housekeeper said, he waved his hand to let the two maids go down.

"Master, do you want to eat tonight?" The housekeeper approached and asked in a low voice.

"Have you found it?" The Patriarch of the Pei family knocked on Hanyan.

The butler smiled. "Fortunately, I didn't disgrace my life." The housekeeper moved closer and continued. "This time the color is much better than last time, and it has been inspected by the mother-in-law."

At the same time, on the roof, Liu Zhan, who was dressed in black, was shocked when he heard this place. Does the Pei family have any hidden treasures?

At this time, the housekeeper said: "I will immediately pick one up for the master to taste."

What to try?Liu Zhan concentrated his attention.

Before and after the butler left, he led a little boy in within a cup of tea.

The little boy was only four or five years old, white, clean and cute. Even if he peeked at Liu Zhan from the roof, he could see the little boy trembling.

Liu Zhan's heart trembled with extreme disgust in his eyes.

At this time, a maidservant came in to wait on Patriarch Pei to take a bath and change clothes in the side room.

The butler led the boy into the bed behind the screen, and then came back and opened the outer drawer to take out a small porcelain bottle. The butler poured out two small red pills and melted them in the water.

"Take it and let the master serve it." The steward told the maidservant, and he quietly left after finishing all this.

Seeing this, what else does Liu Zhan not understand?

"This damn old pervert!" Liu Zhan's eyes were full of murderous intent.

At this time there was movement on the eaves again.

"Boss, there are new discoveries over there." It was Wei Chenggui who was also dressed in black.

Liu Zhan got up and took two steps before stopping, heaving a long sigh. "You watch the wind." After saying that, he jumped into the yard and turned into Patriarch Pei's bedroom through the window.

All the maidservants waited for Patriarch Pei to take a bath in the inner room, and there was only the little boy in the bedroom, who huddled in the corner of the bedroom and cried with tears all over his face.

Liu Zhan covered his mouth quickly without waiting for the boy to make a sound.

"Shh, I'll take you away, you have to be obedient and not make a sound, you know?"

The little boy was so frightened that his face turned pale and trembled like chaff. To Liu Zhan's surprise, the little boy was a little early when he saw the masked man in black and didn't cry or struggle, just nodded obediently.

"So good." Liu Zhan threw the boy on his shoulder and quickly turned out of the room.

Wei Chenggui was startled when he saw that Liu Zhan came out with a child in his arms. "Boss, did you rob the Pei family's son?"

Liu Zhan didn't bother to explain. "You lead the way."

The two took advantage of the night to head towards the backyard, when the housekeeper's angry scolding came.

"I just walked away for a while and let people run away. Hurry up and look for it! If you lose it, you have ten lives and it's not enough to get in!"

The servants in Patriarch Pei's compound were in a mess.

At this time, Liu Zhan and Wei Chenggui had arrived at the remote backyard of Pei Mansion, where weeds were overgrown, and old trees that had not been pruned almost covered the entire small courtyard.

Zhang Xiaoman and Guo Donghu were waiting outside the only room in the small courtyard, and they were surprised to see Liu Zhan still holding a child.

Liu Zhan immediately interrupted their curiosity. "Let's go back and talk about the business first."

Zhang Xiaoman said: "Boss, there is a half-dead man imprisoned inside, I don't think he is dressed like a servant."

The purpose of the night visit to Pei's mansion this time was to find out the stains and weaknesses of the Pei family, so that Liu Zhan could use this to blackmail the Pei family into conscription, so Zhang Xiaoman and others immediately regained their spirits when they discovered this person.

Liu Zhan wanted to give the boy to Zhang Xiaoman, but the boy grabbed Liu Zhan's clothes and refused to let go.

"This is my subordinate, don't be afraid." Liu Zhan said.

Only then did Xiaotong let go of his hand and let Zhang Xiaoman hug him.

The room was pitch black, and with the light of the moonlight, one could vaguely see that there was no furniture in it, only one person was handcuffed to the wall, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

Just as Zhang Xiaoman said, that man was dressed as a son of an aristocratic family, and his clothes were also of the best silk and satin.

Liu Zhan came in through the window. He lifted the man's chin with his saber to see him clearly, but he was startled by this sight.

"Pei Gongli?"

The counselor next to the general!It is said that he was ordered by the general to go back to the Pei family to lobby, so why was he still locked up?

Pei Gongli was already extremely weak at this time, his face was blue and white, his lips were chapped, and his lower body was emitting a foul smell. He had been handcuffed for several days, and he was clearly dehydrated.

"Get some water."

Guo Donghu immediately handed over the water bag, Liu Zhan squeezed Pei Gongli's chin and drank two mouthfuls of water, Pei Gongli immediately coughed violently.

"Water! Water!" As soon as he woke up, he immediately chased after the water bag to drink.

Liu Zhan fed him most of the food, and Pei Gongli's cloudy eyes were only a little clearer.

"Liu... Lieutenant Liu Zhou?"

Liu Zhan went straight to the point. "Long story short, why are you locked up? Isn't this your house?"

Pei Gongli insisted. "Save me...save me first..."

Liu Zhan didn't move. "I don't want to ask again."

In Liu Zhan's eyes, Pei Gongli is no different from the shit-stirring advisers around Zhou Chan. He will not save a person who doesn't know whether he is an enemy or a friend.

"There is a treasure of the Yan family on Mount Qiyun. I... I was ordered by the head of the family to lurk beside Zhou Chan to investigate... to investigate. A few days ago, the Yan army and the Northern army had a change. The head of the family suspected that the treasure was divided up. ...will starve me to death."

"I...I've...been desperate, please...Please help Liu Zhouwei..."

Liu Zhan drew out his saber and cut off the ropes on Pei Gongli's hands and feet. "Take people away."