The return of the son-in-law

A month later, the cold wind from the north hit, blowing day and night, the cold even penetrated the bricks and tiles, and crawled along the walls to fill the whole house.

Sure enough, just as Jiang Yannian was worried, there were a lot more Tatars coming in and out of Xuzhou than before.Fortunately, Guo Zhanan came up with a countermeasure and arranged it early.

Since half a month ago, the soldiers in charge of guarding the city gates in Xuzhou have received orders—from now on, any Tatars who enter and leave Xuzhou, once the daily number exceeds 50, immediately prevent the Tatars from entering Xuzhou state.In addition, the number of soldiers patrolling every night has also doubled to prevent Tatars from sneaking into the city at night, or someone to respond.

Xuzhou was only established in this dynasty. It was named after Xuzhou City directly. It has a huge area, but there is very little arable land, mostly mountains and wastelands.There are several prefectures and counties under it, but due to inconvenient transportation, the transmission of government orders is relatively slow.Therefore, Guo Zhanan's decree was implemented in all places in Xuzhou, but it was only a few days ago.

Fortunately, Xuzhou was stationed in the Northwest Military Camp. Jiang Yannian finally got Li Shian's full support in the military camp, and sent many troops to station on a large piece of uninhabited land in Xuzhou to closely monitor the movements of the Tatars.

On this day, Guo Zhanan was looking at the number of Tatars who appeared last week submitted by various places. Compared with the number of Tatars who appeared in Xuzhou yesterday, the latter was even more than the sum of the former.

Guo Zhan'an put down his pen, called Hao Yun, and told him, "Hao Yun, go to the guards on duty at the two city gates yesterday and ask how many people are there in Tatar who were stopped outside Xuzhou City yesterday."

Hao Yun took the order and went, while Guo Zhanan pinched the bridge of his nose wearily - he was too tired.

In the past few days, the number of Tatars who entered and left Xuzhou every day has reached 50, which was completely unimaginable before—after all, Tatars fought several times with this dynasty, and in the past when Emperor Wu was alive, they fought eight times in a row Sending troops, they were victorious in every battle, forcing Tatar to flee to the barren land further west.The Tatars and the people of this dynasty can be said to be natural enemies. If it is not forced by life, who would be willing to swallow their anger and buy food and items at the place of the enemy, and beware of being beaten, or even worse, being arrested and imprisoned? , Never go back to your homeland again?

Guo Zhanan understands that his previous countermeasures will soon fail—more and more Tatars are being stopped outside the city. It will be twisted into a rope.Maybe these people can't make any waves. With tens of thousands of troops in the Northwest Army Camp, they must be able to suppress them quickly.But behind these Tatars are dozens of Tatar tribes, large and small, and there is no guarantee that none of the Tatar tribes will use this to provoke a war.

Today's emperor Li Chonghao is notoriously dislikes military generals. A few years ago, it even broke out that in order to celebrate the birthday of the concubine Hua Gui at that time, he embezzled the funds for preparing military pay.In addition, because of Shi Guogan's embezzlement of a large amount of military pay in the past five years, the Northwest Army Camp has become more and more backward, and there are few horses. Compared with Tatar, who is famous for his cavalry, it is difficult for the Northwest Army Camp to win.

Although once the flames of war ignited, the Northwest Army Battalion would be able to resist in a short period of time, and there would be continuous supplies and reinforcements arriving one after another, but Tatar's cavalry was not so easy to repel.The war was stalemate, and the people of Xuzhou had to flee their homes and flee, which would affect other places.It can be said that this incident affects the whole body, and Guo Zhan'an has to handle it carefully.

Just as he was thinking, Guo Zhanan heard someone report from outside: "My lord, Mr. Zhizhou, please go over."

Guo Zhan'an responded, "I'll go over there." After speaking, he took a sip of tea, closed his eyes forcefully, then opened them again, and then led the people to find Xie Bing, the new prefect.

Xie Bingzheng was looking at a roll of official documents, frowning. Hearing Guo Zhanan's arrival, he hurriedly got up to greet him: "Master Guo, it's just in time for you to come. There is a matter right now, and we need you and me to make up our minds."

After all, it was his own summit, Guo Zhanan saluted, and then asked: "I don't know what is it?"

Xie Bing sighed, handed the official document he was looking at to Guo Zhan'an, and said, "Let's take a look, my lord. This happened four days ago."

Guo Zhanan took it, and it turned out that it was sent by a county in Xuzhou.A few days ago, there were suddenly a few more Tatars who came to Shen County to buy food and clothing. The magistrate of Shen County kept an eye out and quietly sent people to follow these Tatar women, hoping to see where these Tatar women came from. Where did it come from.You must know that Shen County is an inconspicuous place in Xuzhou, and it is still some distance from the northwest border. There are rarely Tatars on weekdays.

But what the county magistrate didn't expect was that the servants who followed the Tatar woman never came back!Then send someone to follow the trail, and the trail will be broken after two miles out of Shen County!

The county magistrate didn't dare to be careless. Fortunately, there were troops stationed near Shen County, so he hurriedly told the centurion of the military camp, and the latter also promised to pay more attention.However, Tatar women came to Shen County to buy daily necessities every two or three days, but none of the government servants sent to follow up came back.

The county magistrate was in a hurry, and went to the centurion of the barracks again, but the other party was still the same as before, and agreed, but did not act for a long time.The county magistrate worried that the centurion had been instigated by Tatar, and was anxious, but he did not dare to act without authorization.After all, if he really wanted to fight head-on, he would be at a disadvantage.Therefore, the county magistrate hurriedly wrote an official document and sent it to Xuzhou, wanting to ask the magistrate and the general judge of Xuzhou to come up with an idea.

Not long after this issue of military pay, and someone in the barracks might be instigated to rebel, it's no wonder that Xie Bing didn't dare to pick up such a hot potato by himself, and waited for Guo Zhan'an to come and make up his mind together.

After reading the official document, Guo Zhanan handed it back to Xie Bing and said, "It is inconvenient for us to intervene in the affairs of the military camp. I also ask Mr. Xie to revise a letter and give it to Li Shi'an, General Li, and General Li to come forward."

Xie Bing nodded and said: "Naturally, but what about Shen County? We don't know where those Tatar women came from and where they went. This Shen County is not close to the border. It will take about three days to go there, if the Tatar women who go to Shen County every two or three days to purchase are the same batch, I'm afraid they will stay in the territory of the dynasty forever!"

Guo Zhan'an also considered this point, and said: "If the centurion will do what he says, I'm afraid he has found the hiding place of these Tatar women. Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers in the Northwest Army Camp, most of them will stay at the border. In case of Tatar raids, it will be difficult to spare manpower to go to Shen County for a while. In my opinion, it is better to transfer about 20 people from our side, plus the depression and strong men in Shen County, to ensure that Shen County is not affected by Tatars. Tartar harassment, and then send people to investigate the whereabouts of these Tatar women."

Xie Bingchu has just arrived, and he has not yet fully understood many matters in Xuzhou, and he has heard of Guo Zhanan's "merits"—became an official in two places, and pulled down the top peaks in both places, while he himself Unscathed.He had originally counted on Guo Zhan'an to make up his mind, and anyway, he didn't expect to make any political achievements. After these three years of stability, he was satisfied.

To put it more harshly, even if things go wrong, he will be implicated at most, and Guo Zhan'an will be the first to take the lead.

Putting all these reasons together, Xie Bing nodded immediately and said: "This matter is not big, but it is not small. As the saying goes, an embankment of a thousand miles was destroyed by an ant nest. When I think of the fact that there are so many Tatars in the Xuzhou territory Man, I have trouble sleeping and eating. Master Guo, I would like to trouble you to go to Shen County to sit in the town and seek safety for the people of Shen County, and even the people of Xuzhou."

Although Xie Bingcun was so careful, Guo Zhan'an was not afraid that Xie Bing would run amok while he was not in Xuzhou.

For one thing, Li Shaojun, Xie Bing, had already investigated him, and he was not from the fourth prince Li Shaojin's faction. At the beginning, Li Chonghao pointed him out as the magistrate of Xuzhou, because he was honest and cautious in doing things.Secondly, Guo Zhan'an has his own eyeliner in the government office. If Xie Bing really wants to do something, Guo Zhan'an, even if he is in Shen County, can receive the news in time.Thirdly, looking at Xie Bing's performance these days, he obviously wants to be a meek and good official, and he doesn't have a strong desire to climb up, so there is no need to worry about what he will do for political achievements.

Moreover, as Xie Bing said, the matter of Shen County may not be big, but it is definitely not small, and there must be someone who can afford it.Guo Zhan'an didn't trust others, and Jiang Yannian, the only one he could trust, was in the military camp and couldn't interfere.After some calculations, he was the only one who went by himself.

"It's getting dark today, so it's inconvenient to leave. I'll pick 20 people today, and I'll leave for Shen County at dawn tomorrow. I still have some official business to deal with. After sorting it out today, please take over."

Xie Bing naturally agreed, nodding repeatedly.

"Brother is going to Shen County?" In the evening, Huo Yu heard the news from Guo Zhan'an, and couldn't help but be taken aback, "It's all right, why are you going to Shen County all of a sudden?"

Guo Zhan'an didn't want to hide too much from Huo Yu, so he omitted the inconvenience, and he told about the sudden appearance of many Tatars near Shen County.

Huo Yu couldn't help worrying: "My brother only brought twenty people, isn't it too small? I read in the book, and the people of Xuzhou said that those Tatars are thugs who kill people without blinking an eye. Brother should bring more." People. Or I will follow, and if something happens, I can also stand in the way for my brother."

"Nonsense!" Guo Zhan'an couldn't help reprimanding Huo Yu's last words, "What nonsense are you talking about, who told you to block it for me? Are you healed from the injuries you suffered a few days ago?"

In less than a year, Huo Yu was injured twice because of him, especially the one a month ago, he almost lost Huo Yu!Thinking of this, how dare Guo Zhanan take Huo Yu to Shen County?

Huo Yu knew Guo Zhan'an's temper. Looking at him like this, he knew that he was determined not to take him there, so he had to persuade him: "Then brother, take more people. If it doesn't work, go to the barracks to transfer Some manpower?"

Guo Zhan'an laughed and said, "Do you really think your man is the one who calls the wind and rain? Now that there are Tatar tribes wandering outside the border every day, and now the military camp can't wait to double the number of troops, how can we spare some people to go with me? Don't worry, The Tatars are only born with strong physiques. Of course we can't match them alone, but we have the right time and place, and we are not afraid of those Tatars in Shen County. Besides, you and I are leaving, who will I leave in Xuzhou? Look? The new Zhizhou doesn't oppose me, but he also helps me. I still rely on you to keep an eye on Xuzhou's movements for me, and report to me immediately if there is anything unusual."

Huo Yu thought so too, after all, Guo Zhan'an is not someone made of colored glaze, and there should be quite a few people in Shen County, the scale of dozens of people, it is impossible for his brother to rush ahead alone.

He also went to the streets to inquire about the situation outside these days, and found that most of the Tatars who appeared in Xuzhou were yellow and thin, and their spirits were completely different from the ones he had seen before.Even if these Tatars are naturally brave, he doesn't believe that those who have been hungry for a few days can still have the same momentum as before!

In this way, Huo Yu was relieved, and he did not forget to pat his chest to reassure: "Brother, don't worry, I'm still here in Xuzhou, I promise to let my brother handle the affairs of Shen County with peace of mind!"

Early the next morning, Guo Zhanan just woke up, and Huo Yu in his arms also got up.

"Why did you get up so early today?" Guo Zhan'an was a little surprised, thinking that Huo Yu couldn't sleep well, so he lay back on the bed and patted Huo Yu's back with one hand.

Although Huo Yu has been practicing martial arts with Wu Xin for about a year, and his body has improved a lot because of it, but because of the root cause of his illness from the cold when he was a child, plus two injuries before and after, his body is cold when winter comes, and he can't get up early at all. .Guo Zhanan felt sorry for Huo Yu, so he simply waived half of his homework in the morning, and often waited for him to go to the government office to deal with official duties for a long time before Huo Yu came out of bed reluctantly.

It is rare to get up so early today.

Huo Yu half-opened his eyes, but couldn't stop the intrusion of sleepiness, he could only hug Guo Zhan'an in a daze, and said, "Brother, let me hug you again, I won't be able to hug him for several days."

This inadvertently exposed attachment hit Guo Zhanan's heart hard. If he hadn't rushed to Shen County, he really wanted to hold Huo Yu and sleep for a while longer.

But he still had important matters to deal with, so he could only make up his mind, kissed Huo Yu on the cheek, and said, "I'm not here for a few days, so you should pay attention to going to bed early, you know? Let them prepare a few more for you." Tang Pozi, don’t stop the charcoal fire in the house, if you don’t like the smell, throw more tangerine peel in it, don’t catch the cold, huh?”

Huo Yu agreed one by one. He was taught by Guo Zhan'an that he knew he shouldn't do this, and became Guo Zhan'an's restraint, but when he thought of those vicious Tatars, he really couldn't bear Guo Zhan'an.

The two were intimacy for a while, and seeing that it could not be dragged on any longer, Guo Zhanan bid farewell to Huo Yu.

As a result of such lingering, Guo Zhan'an had no time to eat at home, so he could only take two freshly made meat buns from the kitchen to the carriage, and hurriedly finished breakfast in the carriage.

In order not to startle the enemy, Guo Zhan'an and his party disguised themselves as businessmen who came to Shen County to make a fortune during the winter, while the twenty yamen servants pretended to be coachmen, shopkeepers, attendants and bodyguards.In this way, walking on the road leading to Shen County will not be very eye-catching.

After a whole day of driving, the group finally arrived at Shen County at sunset.