Compared with the past, the New Year in Beijing seems particularly cold. Under Dorgon's various slavery policies for four consecutive years, the people here have become numb.

The once center of the Ming Empire, on the New Year, there was no sound of firecrackers, only scattered sounds came from the alley.

At the same time, the soldiers of the Fiery Camp stationed in the city had already packed up their salutes. This was another New Year they spent on their journey in a foreign land, but everyone knew that they were about to return to their hometown. Four years of endless battles finally came to an end. Many people's fatigue was even wiped out. It can be expected that the speed of this marching may exceed any previous one.

Hou Xuanyan got up early in the morning and played a five-animal show. After hearing the noise outside, he walked out of the mansion happily. All the soldiers greeted him and greeted him. Hou Xuanyan replied one by one. The entire military camp killed pigs and sheep, full of the New Year atmosphere.

Hou Xuanyan simply walked around the military camp, and slowly followed a group of military generals behind him, surrounded Hou Xuanyan in the middle and listened to him blowing magic snails.

Slowly, Hou Xuanyan felt something was wrong. He stopped and stood at a high place to look into the city. The streets were deserted and there was no trace of the appearance of the former Shenjing Gate.

Military music and civilian affair are not a good phenomenon. Hou Xuanyan frowned and pointed to the city below and said: "This is the first New Year after driving away the Tartars. You must revitalize the hearts of the people to better restore people's livelihood. As lifeless as this, when will the grand scene be reproduced?"

Li Haoxian's dog-headed military advisor Bai Junyan shook his head and said, "The Duke of the State does not know that most of the people in the capital have lost their close relatives under the Iron Cavalry of the Tartars. There is a saying that three years of great funerals will last for the New Year in the north. This situation is normal."

"After all, the people are suffering too deeply. This year must be passed, so that everyone knows that their own people have been fought back, which is different from thieves, Tartars, and traitors. This time, their own people have been fought back." Hou Xuanyan raised his hand and pointed to the empty streets of Beijing, and said firmly.

It doesn't matter to Li Haoxian. He is ready to return to Jinling. His family in Shandong had been killed by Qing soldiers. Li Haoxian, who was named Duke of Qi, was not going to live alone in his hometown and want to return to Jinling to settle his home. In this way, there are more opportunities to get close to his old subordinates.

With this idea, Li Haoxian, the most powerful general in the Northern Expedition, is now very Buddhist. When he heard Hou Xuan's plan, he said happily: "Then hold a grand event in Shenjing."

Hou Xuanyan's eyes lit up and said, "This idea is good, what name should I use?"

Looking around in a blink of an eye, I saw the celebrating look of the soldiers in the camp, and an idea jumped into my heart.

The streets of Beijing were decorated with lights and colorful colors, and countless soldiers walked around the streets and posted notices.

In front of the imperial city, a military parade of the Northern Expedition Army's Fire Camp will be held to commend the meritorious officials of the Northern Expedition. Anyone who participates in the capital can receive a rice bag, and every child has a candy. Various small shops with poor business in the capital suddenly become busy. These small shops have received orders from the Fire Camp, and there is no need to worry that these elite soldiers will be stolen, and others will pay first. Of course, the Fire Camp is not afraid that you will not do well if you pay the bill...

The people in the city walked out of their homes curiously, and after reading the notice, they were skeptical, but the platform had indeed begun to be built outside the imperial city.

On New Year's Eve, all those who have made contributions in the Fire Camp became nervous. They were even more nervous than before the eve of the war. Some barracks were notified to come to power tomorrow and were surrounded by brothers in the tent, cheering him up and polishing his weapons and armor.

Behind Bai Junyan, several soldiers each followed Bai Junyan into Li Haoxian's tent with a thick stack of credit cards, but found that Li Haoxian was not asleep yet.

Li Haoxian was full of energy and sat by the stove, wiping his gilded wrist guard. After seeing Bai Junyan, Li Haoxian smiled silly and said embarrassedly: "Oh, look at the commander-in-chief, you're so kind. He had no reason to hold a military parade and award meritorious deeds, which made people panic. Even the official was a little embarrassed."

Bai Junyan thought to himself that you were so happy that you were almost open. Are you embarrassed? Old Man Bai was well aware of the great truth of seeing through but not telling it out loud, and held back a smile and said, "These are the credit cards of our wars over the past four years. Some of them have been to the Jinling Martial Arts Hall, and some have been sent to various places to serve as officials."

Li Haoxian stood up, flipped it around, and said, "At that time, I made a lot of choices and arranged all the most creditworthy ones. Unexpectedly, they missed the opportunity to show their faces. But they were always an official position, and Guangzu Yaozong's errands would not be in vain. They followed me. Okay, that's it, but one thing is said in the head that no one is allowed to lose the chain for me tomorrow's military parade, otherwise I'll send him to Xuzhou Prefecture to dig mud and sand."

In Hou Xuanyan's mansion in Beijing, his personal soldiers besieged the city and guarded a brazier. Everyone burned old peach talismans, changed into new clothes, burned firecrackers, and bite carrots...

Amid the sound of firecrackers, Hou Xuanyan collapsed on the head of the bed, looking at everything that was lively outside, and the joy of the success of the Northern Expedition surged into his heart again.

A knock on the door sounded, Hou Xuanyan responded, and seven or eight confidant soldiers outside the door said happily: "Master, brothers want to wish you a New Year. We are the first to wish you a happy new year." After saying that, he bowed, and he talked all kinds of auspicious words, and he couldn't hear any noisy words clearly.

Hou Xuanyan stood up, put down the warm wine pot, and said, "Go out and have fun with everyone, have a New Year!"

It was cold outside and the room was as warm as spring. Chen Yuanyuan looked outside through the crack of the window.

Hou Xuanyan was surrounded by everyone, and his eyebrows were dancing, and everyone was circling around him. Every word he said could cause a sensation among hundreds of fighting men around him. He could laugh loudly, or beat his chest and stamp his feet, and their emotions moved with Hou Xuanyan in the middle.

The ground was covered with heavy snow, the bonfires, the burly soldiers, the loud laughter, it was the world of men, and the figure in the middle was the king of this world.

An unspeakable emotion surged into Chen Yuanyuan's heart, warm, envious and even a little proud. What if he is overwhelmed by Jiangnan? After all, he is a weak woman with a broad life experience and needs to rely on a powerful man to protect herself. He is strong enough, but is he trying to protect himself?

The more noisy the world outside the window, the more deserted the room seemed. Chen Yuanyuan twisted her waist, closed the window frame, pouted her lips and came to the bed, wrapped herself up with a soft quilt.
Chapter completed!