From the names of the people, Xu Huai guessed that the middle-aged official was Wang Xuan's maternal uncle, but he had never heard Wang Zhen talk about Wang Fan's wife's family before, and he himself was not familiar with the complex relationship between officials, ministers and in-laws in Bianjing.
They were familiar with each other, so when they gathered around Wang Zhen, Wang Fan and the middle-aged officials and rushed to Nanyu Lane Puyuan, they had no idea who this middle-aged man was and what his background was.
Zheng Tu was a clever man. When he saw Xu Huai frowning slightly and thinking about something, he deliberately fell behind and asked Lu Xiong: "Miss Xuan, who is her uncle? He seems to have extraordinary bearing. We can't neglect him."
It’s over!”
"Mr. Zhu Hang, although he is the husband of the Lord of Rongle County, he is easy to get along with..."
There were too many things to talk about all the way from Zhufeng Villa to Kelan City. Before that, Lu Xiong had not thought that Zhu Hang, Zhu Zhi, and Zhu Tong and his son had also arrived in Lanzhou. Now they deliberately slowed down and couldn't follow them.
Xu Huai, who was familiar with the situation, told Zheng Tu some of the things he knew.
Zhu Hang was the son of Zhu Tan, a former servant, and because the daughter of Zhao Erqian, the king of Shoulong County, was the daughter of Ronngle County, she could be said to be a member of the clan.
Zhu Hang entered the official position because of his kindness. He had previously served as a judge in Jingjiang Prefecture (Guilin), but was suppressed and excluded by his colleagues and resigned angrily. However, when Wang Zhen was demoted to Tangzhou, Zhu Hang had not yet returned to Bian from distant Lingnan.
Jing, Lu Xiong didn't know why he appeared in Lanzhou at this time.
Zheng Tu approached Zheng Shou again and inquired, only to find out that when Zheng Shou escorted Wang Fan back to Bianjing, Zhu Hang had been idle in Bianjing for a long time.
Although Zhu Hang resigned in anger and lost his commission (officer), as a county horse, and because of Yin Xi's father, he still had the rank of casual officer who had been promoted from one step to the next. This time he asked for a military officer.
With a false title, he accompanied Wang Fan to the north, so he was more qualified to enter and exit the official hall than those generals who commanded envoys and waited for Yu.
The dynasty had very strict restrictions on the favor of the clan. Brothers Zhu Zhi and Zhu Tong, as the sons of the county lord and the grandsons of Zhao Erqian, Prince of Shoulong County, could enter the officialdom, but like the sons of ministers, they had to start as low-level casual officials.
There will be no special preferential treatment if you move up the ranks. You still need to have meritorious service and rely on the recommendation of the ministers of the DPRK.
Just like when Zhu Hang served in Jingjiang Mansion before, as a county horse, he was squeezed out and suppressed by his colleagues and superiors. He even had no room to reason with others compared to ordinary officials.
Zhu Hang, Zhu Zhi, and Zhu Tong went north this time not only to make a difference in the war against Yan, but also to be optimistic about Wang Zhen's recovery and the possibility of Wang Fan being reused by the imperial court.
After Zheng Tu understood the situation, he slowly came to Xu Huai's side and murmured in a low voice: "It seems that there are many people who are smarter than us! You said that their good royal relatives did not stay in Bianjing to enjoy their blessings, but went to
Why are you here in Lanzhou to join in the fun?"
He originally thought that Wang Fan would come to Lanzhou this time as the third-in-command of the Western Route Army, and Wang Zhen might revolt at any time. As the only force that Wang Zhen and his son could rely on, they didn't know how many benefits would be waiting for them.
them.
He did not expect that Wang Zhen's ancestors and grandson had to endure such a great danger in Tongbai Mountain, and no one from the Zhu family showed up. Now that he saw that the Wang family and his son were about to become famous, they actually followed Wang Fan to participate in the Northern Expedition ahead of them.
Zheng Tu saw that the few followers around the Zhu family and his son did not look like simple people. He was worried that their role and status around Wang Zhen and Wang Fan and his son would be weakened by the appearance of the Zhu family and his son, and he felt somewhat unhappy.
Seeing that Zheng Tu was still thinking about fighting for fame and fortune, Xu Huai smiled bitterly in his heart: He knew that he was worried about the war against Yan, but Zheng Tu and the others did not take it seriously.
If his worries were correct, I don't know how many people would have survived this battle; besides, even if there was no serious danger, he would not have anything to argue with Zhu Hang and his son. What about him?
If there is peace in the world, his greatest yearning is to be a martial arts swordsman and take Liu Qiong'er around to see the mountains and rivers north and south.
Of course, looking at Lu Xiong's expression, he was dissatisfied that the Zhu family and his son still ignored Wang's report and Wang Xuan's descendants were demoted to Tongbai Mountain after they returned to Bianjing, but Xu Huai had no time to care about this at this moment.
It had been a year since the last time he was in Mopanling, and the memory fragment of the emperor in the first year of Jianhe Dynasty moving to Nanyang to block the way for the great bandit Chen Zixiao appeared in his mind, and at this moment, a similar memory fragment appeared in his mind again. :
In the first year of Jianhe, the Red Husbands captured the emperor. Thousands of emperors, concubines and other clan nobles and ministers went northward. Zhu Hang followed from the north. He did not eat millet on the road, but only drank soup when he arrived at Guangwu Village. The driver said: After crossing the boundary wall, Zhu Hang stood up vigorously, shouted to the sky, and then became silent. He died tomorrow at the age of forty-seven...
Xu Huai didn't know whether the "Emperor" mentioned in this memory was the same person as the "Emperor" mentioned in the previous memory, or whether the latter was the newly established emperor of Dai Viet after the former was taken prisoner, but this memory It clearly mentions Zhu Hang's age when he died of hunger strike.
This is also a yardstick by which he can clearly judge how long it is since the first year of Jianhe.
Xu Huaiqiang suppressed the turmoil in his heart, pulled the reins slightly, waited for Zheng Shou to come near, and asked in a low voice: "Look at the county horse's handsomeness, and the two young masters are not young. How old are they?"
"It seems that you are already thirty-three, right? I'm not sure." Zheng Shou said.
Hearing Zheng Shou's words, Xu Huai was frightened:
Only four years is the first year of Jianhe?!
The current situation is very clear. Even if the Khitan people severely defeat the Yue army and attack Yan, they will not have the strength to invade south without understanding the threat of the Chihu people, let alone break through Bianjing City and capture the Dayue Emperor, thousands of clan members and ministers. People go north.
In the first year of Jianhe, after the Chihu people destroyed the Khitan, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of cavalry went south like a torrent, sweeping across the entire Central Plains.
Xu Huai always thought that the first year of Jianhe was not far away from now, but he didn't think it would be that close now!
…………
…………
Everyone rushed to Nanyu Lane. Wang Xuan, who heard the commotion, waited at the door of the shop courtyard. When she saw Wang Fan getting off the carriage, she rushed towards him, her pretty face already covered with tears.
"Let's all go in and talk. Where can we block the alleyway and cry?" Zhu Hang and others were not angry at all, so they rushed everyone into the courtyard to talk.
There were not many manpower arranged in the shop courtyard. Liu Qiong and his daughter dressed up as men, and Zheng Tu personally came out to greet everyone through the hall to transfer the property and go inside; Xu Huai was thinking about something, and he was somewhat dull and dull.
"Zhufengtang is so impressive. Any branch in Lanzhou occupies such a large area. What kind of business is this? Why can't you see a few people inside and outside? It feels a bit desolate. ?" After walking through the courtyard for three consecutive times, Zhu Zhi couldn't help but look around curiously.
Yin Peng and the others were accompanying them, mainly to protect everyone. At this time, they took the horses to the stables to add horse feeds, and then went to the side yard to recharge and recuperate. They would not bother to accompany them all the way, and they would not have to deal with complicated matters - otherwise they would not Do you have time to stretch your muscles and bones, hone your martial arts skills, and study the art of encirclement and killing in military formations?
Yin Peng and others did not follow, leaving only Xu Wu, Zheng Tu, Liu Qiong'er and the steward of Puyuan. They were all veterans of the Jingsheng Army. Zhou Jing, who was familiar with the situation in Landai and other places, accompanied them. Naturally, there were not many people.
In addition to the shop selling Wubing across the street, Puyuan is also responsible for purchasing well-bred horses in Lanzhou and other places.
At present, the northern slopes of Yuhuangling, Shituoling, Jinshagou, Xiema Mountain and the gentle slopes of the surrounding mountains have been transformed into horse breeding pastures, which can produce almost thousands of foals a year.
The Xu family has been in this business for several generations and has rich experience in horse breeding. However, the Xu family previously produced five to six hundred mules and horses every year, including donkeys, mules, cattle and horses. Among them, only three to five can be called well-bred horses.
Ten horses.
The pastures on the Yuhuang Ridge side have been converted to make it easier to raise horses, and even grass species can be improved; there is no shortage of horse breeds in the surrounding area.
However, there is a huge shortage of thoroughbred horses that can be used as war horses in Tongbai Mountain and its surrounding areas.
If Yuhuangling wants to expand the size of its well-bred horse population, internal breeding alone is not enough. Horse breeds may even degrade, so they must consider purchasing them from other places.
In places such as Landai, even if there are no border markets with the Khitans, local villagers still have the habit of raising horses, and there are many fine-bred horses. Since they want to establish a public foothold here, Xu Huai decided to purchase fine-bred horses first.
Transported to Tongbai Mountain. The scale of the five-army trade is actually very limited. There is no shortage of local craftsmen, and the Forbidden Army has its own channels to replenish the soldiers and armor, and even some high-quality soldiers and horses secretly flow out.
Puyuan purchased well-bred horses from Lanzhou. The plan was to gather forty or fifty horses before rushing to Tongbai Mountain together. The stables could not be too small. At the same time, they also considered that Xu Huai might lead a large group of horses into the city to rest.
, how can the area of Puyuan be small?
The front and back of the shop yard occupy a large area, but the manpower responsible for daily maintenance of the shop and stables are all hired from the local area, and they usually do not come to the yard casually. The yard is only taken care of by three old ladies hired from the local area.
Compared with a house full of fine clothes, fine food, servants and maids, the shop courtyard really occupies a large area in vain, but it looks desolate and strange.
Zhu Zhi originally asked Xu Huai next to him, but Xu Huai was distracted and thinking about other things. Zheng Tu leaned over and said with a smile: "I don't know if the news of conquering Yan has spread out a long time ago, and many people are afraid of being affected.
Here, families are moving south one after another. The land price in Kelan City is also very low. It doesn’t cost much to rent a large yard, so they simply rent it in Dali. Of course, maybe it is God’s will that we prepare such a big yard.
Just wait for Wang Fanlang's secret envoy to return to Lanzhou to take up his duties, so there is no need to find another place to live."
Zhu Zhi saw that Xu Huai was dumbfounded and ignored him. He didn't want to pay attention to Zheng Tu, who looked unattractive and seemed to have a lower status. Instead, he directly said to Zhu Hang who was walking in front:
"Dad, I think if we ask them to clean up here, we can barely cope with it for a few days - anyway, we will go to Ningwu City with my brother-in-law then!"
"That's fine." Zhu Hang said.
With so many generals gathering in Kelan City, the post house is definitely not enough. Although the state government will be responsible for the residence of many generals and their retinues, he and Wang Fan do not need to worry about food and accommodation, but they must have suitable accommodation in the city.
The residence is naturally more comfortable.
"We are in a hurry all the way, and we don't have any slaves with us. My mother-in-law will take care of me. You go and gather a dozen or twenty people to come. Remember to look for someone with a dignified appearance and quick hands and feet." Zhu Zhi directly ordered Liu Qiong'er.
Xu Huai originally thought that Wang Fan's foothold in Kelan and even Ningwu should be organized by Zhufengtang, so that in the eyes of outsiders they would appear to be the inner circle of the Wang family. He had also secretly ordered Zheng Tu to do so in the state government.
Take care of these things.
Unexpectedly, Wang Fan didn't say anything, and Zhu Zhi acted arrogantly towards them. Zheng Tu had a rogue background, so of course he was unhappy with the boss. He fell one step behind and complained to Xu Huai:
"The Fifth Master has come all the way with us, and he must be exhausted. There is no need for the Fifth Master to take care of such trivial matters in person!"
"Ah..." The new memory fragments that emerged in his mind made Xu Huai a little distracted. He didn't pay attention to what Zheng Tu, Zhu Zhi and the others were saying for a moment. He raised his head and asked in confusion, "What do you want to do? I'll do it..."
