Xu Huai stacked the letters and newspapers brought back by Zhou Jing and Wang Zhen's letters on the desk, and in a calm tone, he saluted Zhuang Shouxin and said:
"Master Zhuang, you have been working hard all the way. Everything here in the Qingyi Ridge Camp is shabby. I will arrange for manpower to escort you, Master Zhuang, directly to Huaiyuan to settle down. At present, the imperial court is blindly weak and retreating. Even if this peacemaking is successful, it will definitely be
It stimulates all kinds of greed among the bandits. When the bandits invade the south again, the war disaster will be doubly severe, and we must take precautions. Now there are more than 200 armor-repair craftsmen in Chushan, which can barely be regarded as the foundation for the preparation of the Five Armed Forces.
, but it is difficult to make heavy armor and large crossbows. It depends on you, Zhuang, you guys..."
"Don't hesitate to do whatever is right." Zhuang Shouxin returned the courtesy.
After hearing such a shameful and humiliating news, everyone was agitated and in no mood to hold a reception banquet for the arrival of Zhuang Shouxin and others at Qingyi Ridge Camp. Xu Huai arranged for people to escort Zhuang Shouxin, others and his family of more than 40 children directly to Huaiyuan.
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Although Zhuang Shouxin was the only three great craftsmen invited by Shi Zhen to come to Chushan, craftsmanship in this world emphasizes "teaching from master to apprentice, and from father to son." The sons and nephews of Zhuang Shouxin and others have been learning carving since they were young.
In the art of armor forging, when he grew up, he often worked as a prisoner and as a craftsman in case repair. His level was considered to be among the first and second-rate figures in the world.
With the arrival of this first batch of manpower alone, Chushan's armor-repairing capabilities will be greatly improved.
At this time, there was a large-scale search for gold and silver in Beijing to pay off the barbarians. The control in Bianliang City would become even tighter, and the Chihu people specifically asked for 3,000 craftsmen of various colors in compensation. Zhuang Shouxin and others, as well as the rest,
The craftsmen who have not yet had time to send them out of Bianliang City are likely to be wanted by the court.
This means that the next batch of personnel may need to find a place to move to central Beijing, hide, and wait until a more suitable time before heading south.
After sending Zhuang Shouxin and others away, not long after Xu Huai returned to his residence, it started to rain heavily.
Xu Huai opened the window and looked at the raindrops falling in the courtyard. The fire that had been lingering in his chest for a long time ignited at this moment, scratching his heart and lungs as if it was about to burst out.
Xu Huaiqiang suppressed the urge to look up to the sky and roar, grabbed the long straight-spine knife on the desk and walked out into the rain in the courtyard. The knife struck out continuously at first, and soon turned sharp. Each strike was more powerful than the last, and each strike was more powerful than the last.
Quickly, it finally turned into a ball of sword light rolling slowly against the ground.
At a certain moment, the sword light suddenly stopped.
Xu Huai sat on a stone bench in the corner of the courtyard with his sword in hand. Even with the raindrops falling on his head, face and armor, he still felt uncomfortable with the tightness in his chest, and he spat out a pool of blood.
"What's wrong with you? You can hurt yourself while practicing swordsmanship?" Liu Qiong'er stood at the entrance of the courtyard holding an oil umbrella. She walked over in panic and saw that the pool of blood spread quickly on the rain-covered tiled floor.
He took a sweat towel to wipe Xu Huai's face that was wet by the rain, and said, "Hurry up and change into clean clothes. Don't get typhoid fever again!"
"I don't have anything. I practiced the sword too hard just now and inadvertently involved the internal organs. This may be a good thing for me -" Seeing Liu Qiong'er's confusion, Xu Huai explained, "I used to practice the python stake and the
Boxing, swords and spears can strengthen the muscles and bones, and you can feel obvious changes, but the internal organs are not involved - not only did my father teach the Fu Python Spear and Fu Python Sword to a higher level, I have also been practicing martial arts day by day.
I deeply feel that martial arts should be able to advance to a higher level, but I still can't see where the door is. When I heard the news today, I felt really panicked and depressed, and I wanted to vent myself into the power of the sword.
When I went out, I accidentally discovered that when the knife was extremely violent, it could involve the internal organs, which was unprecedented. It was just that I had not finished my intention, the knife could not rest, the force was too strong, and the force was too deep, so I vomited a mouthful of blood.
In fact, it’s nothing serious, just rest for a couple of days.”
"Really?" Liu Qiong'er didn't know how to practice martial arts, so she hugged Xu Huai from behind worriedly.
Wang Xuan came over and saw Liu Qiong'er hugging Xu Huai. She paused for a moment at the door of the courtyard without turning around and left. She walked in and asked, "What is the situation in Bianliang City now?"
After Shi Zhen passed away, Wang Xuan did not return to Mrs. Zhu in Jinsha Gou Village, but stayed to help Liu Qiong'er organize the information and materials collected from all parties.
When Xu Huai met with Zhuang Shouxin and others just now, Wang Xuan was not present, but the letter sent by Zhou Jing, Wang's handwritten letter, and the dictation of Zhuang Shouxin and others would eventually be summarized in Yue Yu Tower, or in Yue Yu Tower.
Yulou archived it, and Wang Xuan also knew what was happening in Bianliang City.
What is happening in Bianliang City may be slightly better than the destruction of Bianliang City and the massacre of millions of soldiers and civilians.
Wang Xuan could not imagine what kind of suffering his grandfather Wang Zhen, who had always been upright in his life, was in at this time, so that his letter was so silent.
th.
When they first heard that the imperial court was determined to seek peace, everyone in Chushan was astonished. Who would have thought that the imperial court would go so low as to seek peace?
"The flood season of the Yellow River is approaching. At the same time, the intention of severely damaging the resistance of the government and the opposition has been achieved. The main force of the Red Hudong Route Army should soon cross the Yellow River and withdraw northward, focusing on digesting the areas east of Hedong and northern Hebei..."
Xu Huai wiped off the water stains on the blade with a deerskin, put the knife back into its sheath, and walked back to the house to ask Liu Qiong'er and Wang Xuan to help take off the wet armor. The clothes inside were not soaked by the rain, so he simply
After wiping the rainwater from his face and neck, he said to the guards Wang Hua, Shi Hu and others standing in front of the corridor,
"Go and invite Mr. Shi, Uncle Qi and the others over..."
…………
…………
Xu Huai did not go to the government office, but instead invited Shi Zhen, Wang Ju, Su Laochang, Xu Wiqi, Guo Junpan, Tang Pan, Xu Xin'an and others.
The rain was still pouring down in the yard, and a clump of green bamboo was planted in the corner of the yard, but all the leaves had fallen.
Xu Huai said: "I will resign to the imperial court from the posts of inspector of Chushan City and magistrate of Chushan County, etc., and recommend Uncle Qi to hold both posts..."
"Are you going to Bianliang now?" Shi Zhen asked in shock.
"I originally wanted to wait for the Chihu people to withdraw their troops before going to Bianliang, but I never thought that Wang Qiyong, Wang Boqian and the superior saints would stoop to this level in order to seek peace."
Xu Huai said solemnly,
"The more they grovel at this time, the more frenzied they will be in squeezing out the main combatants and attacking after the war in order to cover up their inner weakness and cowardice - before the Chihu people invade south again, the situation in Bianliang City may be
It's even more sinister than I expected. Another thing is that the Chihu people openly asked for craftsmen, and Wang Qiyong, Wang Boqian and others were so groveling and had no bottom line. I'm worried that Zhou Wenli and others are in a difficult situation in Bianliang and may not be able to do it.
If you can escape smoothly, I have to go and handle this matter myself!"
Su Laochang, Wang Ju, Xu Wuqi, Guo Junpan, Xu Xin'an, and Tang Pan were all silent. They did not expect that the imperial court would be so humble as to be almost shameless in order to seek peace.
At this moment, they all wanted to pull the men out and give them a good fight with the barbarians. Even if they died on the battlefield, even if their bodies were wrapped in horse leather, even if their bodies were broken into pieces, it was better than suffering from this cowardice.
At this time, Xu Huai said that he would leave for Bianliang, and they felt that this was the right thing to do.
Even though what they can do is still too limited, they can't bear to do nothing and watch these cowardly and incompetent people degrading this great country.
They cannot stand by and watch.
"Of course General Wang Ju is qualified to hold both positions based on his qualifications, but you also know that Wang Qiyong, Wang Boqian and others will definitely interfere with it," Shi Zhen said, "Or are you just using this to delay time?"
Xu Huai can go to Bianliang, but there are some problems that must be solved.
Xu Huai was the county magistrate of Chushan and the inspector of the capital of Chushan. Not to mention Wang Qiyong, Wang Boqian and others, Caizhou officials who had serious differences with Hu Kai and Chushan on peace and war and other matters were impossible.
Watching him leave his post without permission for a long time - Xu Huai, as the leading general, could not run to Bianliang without permission.
Xu Huai wanted to go to Bianliang and even make a public appearance, so he had no choice but to "resign and leave" first.
Before the Jiao Zhao Incident, Wang Ju was already the commander of the Xiang Army Capital in Jingzhou. The Jiao Zhao case should be settled. Wang Ju had repeatedly made military exploits, so he was qualified to serve as the Chushan Capital Inspector and knew Chushan.
The problem is that Wang Ju is qualified, but the court may not necessarily accept Xu Huai's recommendation. It is even normal for the court to categorically reject such a recommendation.
Over the years, what the imperial court has been wary of is that powerful officials specialize in local areas.
The nephew resigned and recommended his uncle to take over the two posts. Isn't this the style of the vassal town?
However, as Shi Zhen guessed, Xu Huai was just using this as an excuse to delay time.
Xu Huai nodded and said: "In short, I am sick of killing an enemy. I urgently need to go to Bianliang to ask for famous doctors for treatment. I have to temporarily use my seventh uncle to take charge of two posts. No matter whether the court allows it or not, it will take three to five days."
Months are not difficult!”
Shi Zhen hoped from the bottom of his heart that Xu Huai would stay put and wait and see how the situation would change. However, looking at Wang Ju, Xu Wuqi and others did not intend to do so. They sighed softly and said: "There is no need to worry about Chushan. The military princes will go to Bianliang and everything will be done."
