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The winter of Kangxi's 34th year was spent in intense preparations for war.Yinhu knew that the West Route Army would encounter wind and snow during the march, and discussed with Fei Yanggu several times to prepare more blankets to solve the problem of keeping warm, but still felt that it was not enough.It is not easy to march thousands of miles in the snow. There are not many cavalry on the west road, but there are many infantry. Even if they wear felt boots, they are prone to frostbite.Once a soldier's feet are frostbitten, the speed of marching will definitely be greatly affected.When Yinhu and Fei Yanggu were frowning, a Manchu veteran suggested a good solution.

The Changbai Mountains in the Northeast are rich in Ulagrass, and it is very warm in the shoes in winter. Even in the cold weather of the Northeast, there will be no frostbite.Yinhu immediately wrote a memorial to Kangxi asking for instructions to purchase Wulacao from the northeast for military use.Ulagrass needs to be mowed in summer and autumn, and then used in winter after drying. I bought it temporarily, but I couldn't buy much.Yinhu got angry because of this matter, but it was Yinhu who relieved his urgent need.

In July, Yinzhen knew that there was going to be a war.He was young, so he felt that it was his turn, so he didn't think about going to battle to kill the enemy. Instead, he felt that this was a good opportunity to make money in the war.Over the years, Yinzhen has accumulated a lot of silver in his own small treasury, and borrowed some from the imperial concubine, and his starling gave some, but he dare not take it from the fourth brother, fifth elder brother, tenth elder brother Elder Brother and Eleventh Brother asked him to do a search and collected a total of 10 taels of silver. From Tong's family son, he found a reliable and shrewd person to go outside the customs to purchase various military supplies.The goods they do are not big and eye-catching, but are practical things, such as felts, raincoats, horsewhips, flints, charcoal, and patent medicines. Because they are connected to the government and have familiar people to guide them, things outside the customs are inherently cheap. Yinzhen's purchase price is extremely low.After changing hands to the capital, some of them were sold to the Ministry of War, which didn't make much money.The other part is sold in the city. There are many people who go to war. There are people from every family in Beijing who want to go to the battlefield. The women probably have to buy these for their husbands and sons, which is the big profit this time.Women's money is always easy to make. As soon as the news of the war broke out, Yinzhen's things were sold out, and he made a lot of money. He returned the borrowed money and quadrupled the money he got.

When buying felt, the purchaser thought of this kind of Ula grass, because it grows all over the mountains and plains, so he sent more than a dozen people into the mountain to cut a lot. If the felt is not enough, maybe this grass can also come in handy, anyway. It doesn't cost anything.The place outside the pass is large, and Tong's family has Zhuangzi, so there are many piles in Zhuangzi.When Yinzhen heard that the starling wanted this thing, he went to find Yinzhen in person, and sent thousands of bundles of Ula grass to the Ministry of War. He only asked that it must be delivered to Yinhu years ago. His starling must not be frozen.

Of course Yinhu would not freeze.The charcoal fire in the army tent was very lively, and Yinhu was discussing with Fei Yanggu how to coordinate the advance of the Gansu-Shaanxi and Guihua departments on the western front.

"Fei Shuai, I really can't do anything about this kind of thing. I still have to rely on you to think about it." Yinhu is not shirking responsibility. No matter how much he can think of and do, it is limited. Now Yinhu has Feeling that he was going to be drained, he did everything he could to prepare for this war.The rest is nothing more than fighting with all one's heart, it's all up to fate.

"Brother Ba is young, and his thinking is always open. The slave is already an old man, and I dare not be in this position. These things are not as thoughtful as Brother Ba." Fei Yanggu said frankly.

"It's definitely inappropriate to just rely on an appointed time. I read in military books that there are occasional emergencies such as getting lost, encountering enemy troops on the road, and being blocked by rain and snow. The speed of the march should be greatly affected. Of course, I have never fought , that is to say, we still have to listen to Fei Shuai." Yinhu thought for a while, and then pushed the troublesome matter to Fei Yanggu.

"Coordination is difficult to say, easy to say, but it is also extremely easy. It is nothing more than two parties agreeing on the meeting place, and they can arrive at the same time. It is best. If not, just make a plan in advance and wait a few days for the party that arrives first. Where to wait, if the round fails, in order not to miss the opportunity, you can divide the troops. As long as you keep the morale of the army, the two sides of the West Route Army may not necessarily join forces. The slave has an idea, but I don't know if the eighth brother is willing Yes." Fei Yanggu smiled, with a somewhat secretive tone.

"Oh? Fei Shuai said it doesn't matter, as long as it's beneficial to the battle situation, Yinhu is only on assignment."

"I have been friends with Baye these days, and I know that Baye is a capable man. Although General Sun Sike is a famous general in the Han army and has rich combat experience, he is always soft-hearted towards deserters. If there are too many deserters, the army will be unstable. If Baye goes For Sun Sike's department, the slave is at ease. Even if the two departments lose contact during the war, the servant is confident that the two departments can support each other and help each other." Fei Yanggu looked at Yinhu, and did not hide the expectation in his eyes.

"It's okay for Fei Shuai to let me go to Shaanxi to go with General Sun, but Yinhu may not be able to do things that General Sun can't do. It's Fei Shuai's high opinion of Yinhu. I have to ask about this matter." Minghan Ama, what we say doesn't count." Yinhu said with a smile.

"The emperor sent the eighth elder brother to Guihua City. Naturally, he also valued the outstanding ability of the eighth elder brother. The eighth elder brother has been here for several months. Not only did he not affect the coach's decision-making, but it also helped us in our preparations for the western frontier of the Qing Dynasty. The emperor is sage, I will definitely be able to find out. However, after the Lantern Festival, the army will march, and the eighth elder brother is going to Shaanxi, so I am afraid it will be difficult to return to Beijing for the New Year."

"It doesn't matter. When I came out at that time, I didn't intend to return to Beijing before the end of the war. For this matter, Fei Shuai asked Khan Ama for an order. I... can't say it myself." Yinhu recalled that time when he came to naturalize, Kangxi was worried that he would go to danger alone. If he invites him to go to Shaanxi again this time, the reputation of unfilial piety will probably be confirmed.It's not that you can't ask for an order for this kind of thing, it's just that you can't ask for an order yourself.

Fei Yanggu was taken aback for a moment, then he understood, and said with a frank smile: "It's the slave who didn't think carefully."

After discussing this matter, there is a charter, and Yinhu said: "There must be an established method for the two armies to contact. When they reach the enemy's place, the military information is easily intercepted by others, and it is not safe."

"It's not difficult to write military information, just use some secret method, only we can understand it," Fei Yanggu said, "It's just that this secret method must be extremely difficult to decipher."

Yinhu's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered the password [1] that Yinhu used to communicate secretly with him in the previous life.Manchu written in the Latin alphabet, there is no way for the fourth child to stick to the pole.Yinhu smiled slyly, picked up a pen and went to write a paragraph on the table, in letters like symbols, which made Fei Yanggu dumbfounded.

"Eighth brother, this is... what does this mean?"

Yinhu pointed to the crooked characters and spelled out word by word: "Fei, Yang, Gu, General, Jun."

"This is the password?" Fei Yanggu looked carefully, "How is this password used?"

Yinhu explained to Fei Yanggu how to use this set of codes in detail. Fei Yanggu is also a capable person, and it didn't take long for him to fully master it.

"Brother Ba is so clever, he can come up with such a wonderful and miraculous secret method."

Yinhu smiled faintly, but his expression was melancholy: "I don't have such ability. This is what my younger brother came up with. He is really smart." Thinking of Yinhu, Yinhu smiled bitterly unconsciously.After regaining consciousness for a moment, he looked at Fei Yanggu who had a suspicious look in his eyes, and said, "Ninth elder brother has liked these things since he was a child. Those things he and tenth elder brother said when they were teasing people in the palace were only the two of them. I can understand. I told the general the password, we can use it for communication, please don't tell others, the general, if we Xiaojiu know, I'm afraid it will be annoyed."

"Don't worry, Eighth Brother." Fei Yanggu didn't say much, and only responded with one sentence.

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Kangxi's decree and Yinzhen's ulagrass were sent to the camp of Guihua City.The upper edict: Fei Yanggu was named the General of Fuyuan, and the eighth son of the emperor Yinhu was the deputy, and he was in charge of the soldiers and horses of the West Route.Immediately, Yinhu, the eighth son of the emperor, went to Shaanxi to meet with General Zhenwei Sun Sike's troops and headed for Bayan Ulan.

Along with the decree and hay came Kangxi's reward and a large box of letters.Yinhu can't go home to celebrate the New Year, but he really wants to kill a bunch of people.From the crown prince down, almost every prince has written a letter to Yinhu, as well as the one written by Gan Xitou about the family situation, and the one written by the concubine Liang of Qixiang Palace.Kangxi even wrote in the peace letter sent back by someone: The empress dowager is safe, and my bow is also safe. Is everything going well outside?How is your body? Can you gain weight?Send a few pieces of newly made clothes to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It's cold in Guihua City, so don't be greedy for cold.

Yinhu looked at the line of greeting written by Zhubi, carefully closed it, opened the box containing the letters, and opened them one by one.

Er Niang wrote that she was in good health, and said that Namu was already pregnant, and she liked to eat sour plums. She also wrote a pregnancy dream, saying that it was understandable, maybe it was an elder brother.The next step is to tell him to pay attention to his body, one by one, in detail, Yinhu unconsciously thinks of the gentle smile of Concubine Liang, and smiles unconsciously.

Looking at Xiao Jiu's writing again, there is a large section about Wulacao, and there is no claim of credit, but I am afraid that Yinhu will freeze to death.By the way, he also said that the money given by the starling has been earned back, and he will pay it back in the future, but he did not describe in detail how he earned it.

In Xiao Ten's letter, he boasted a lot about himself, so what's the point of riding and shooting himself?I worriedly asked a lot of questions about myna, and finally mentioned that I might have the opportunity to follow the expedition, and then I would be able to see myna.

Fourteen's letter was full of anticipation and envy, and asked mynah to remember everything about the battlefield so that he could tell him stories when he came back.Moreover, you must only tell him and don't talk to Brother Thirteen.

Yinqi's letter was the simplest, just greeting the New Year, but it was appended with a sentence at the end, "Liang concubine and mother are very good."

Both the crown prince and elder brother also wrote letters, the crown prince only wrote to tell Yinhu not to worry about the annual ceremony, and let the crown princess handle everything, the etiquette is not wrong, and the rest are official words.Yinbi wrote some words of greeting and concern, and also mentioned some information about generals in Gansu and Shanxi.

……

I have opened and read them all, and wrote a reply, only the last one is left, the envelope is very strict, and the writing is very thick.Yinhu smiled wryly, but still opened the letter, and inside was Yinzhen's neat handwriting.The letter first wrote about the situation of the military parade that day in detail, and then wrote a lot of tactics and precautions for various guns and firearms conveyed by Dai Zi. interval method.The last sentence is: Brother has completed all the tasks entrusted by brother. I look forward to congratulating you with wine on the day you return from victory.

Yinhu thought to himself: "It's enough to do good things. Drink? Forget it. Fourth brother, you can't be flattered by your drinking capacity."

Yinhu simply replied, "Fourth brother is working hard." After thinking about it, he added a few more auspicious words for the New Year, and sealed the envelope. It was almost not thick, and it looked much thinner than other people's replies. Yinhu She didn't seem to notice.Then I wrote a note to please An Xien and sent it out together.Then he packed his bags, resigned from Fei Yanggu, and left for Shaanxi early the next morning.

The author has something to say:

[1] This kind of password in Baidu Encyclopedia is spelled Manchu in Latin alphabet.It is said that there is another way of saying that it is written in Russian with the Manchu alphabet.Because I think Fei Yanggu should not understand Russian, so here is the Baidu Encyclopedia.