The day after Xu Huai arrived in Jingzhou, Jiangling City also received an unexpected visitor from afar.
Xu Huai stood in the front yard of Yinqingyuan in Jiangling City and watched Xiao Yanhan walk in holding the hand of her eldest son Xiao Bai.
On the eve of Xu Huai's decision to leave for Jingzhou to take charge in the name of supervising the construction of the Jingjiang embankment, he received a secret letter saying that Xiao Yanhan and her son were coming to Beijing and Xiangzhou.
Xiao Yanhan was very eager to go to the Central Plains again. Without waiting for a reply from Jingxiang, he embarked on the journey to Jingxiang under the arrangements of Zhang Xiongshan, Su Jucheng and others. Xu Huai did not know the details of Xiao Yanhan's mother and son at that time.
I decided to meet Xiao Yanhan and her son in Jingzhou.
At this time, looking at Xiao Yanhan's almost unchanged beautiful appearance, Xu Huai suddenly felt an irresistible sense of strangeness and alienation. He had never wanted to have a secret love affair. He had not been able to see each other again for eight or nine years. He had even been away for a long time.
Little did he know that Xiao Yanhan had given birth to a son for him.
At this time, Xu Wujiang, Han Gui and more than a dozen people were accompanying them in Yinqingyuan to welcome them. Xiao Yanhan secretly arrived with her eldest son Xiao Bai, who had never known each other since his birth.
????When they met in Jingzhou, Xu Huai didn't know how to reminisce about his old relationship with Xiao Yanhan. He even didn't know how to get close to his eldest son Xiao Bai. He just gave a slightly jerky greeting:
"Have you and Bai'er had a hard time together?"
Xiao Yanhan listened to Xu Huai's slightly unfamiliar greetings, and then thought that Xu Huai had come to Jingzhou to see their mother and son. She couldn't help but wonder if someone in Biyang didn't want their mother and son to go there, and she said in a calm tone:
"The Qionglai Mountain Road has been opened for the first time. After arriving in Jiazhou, we took a boat all the way down the river. General Zhang and Deacon Su arranged it very well, and it was not difficult to say. Now the fighting in Jianlu is getting tighter. I couldn't get away originally, but
It was Bai'er who had been studying and literate in the past two years and didn't know what his hometown in the Central Plains was, so he took advantage of the Qionglai Mountain Road to take him to take a look at the scenery of the Central Plains! We had only been in Jingzhou for a few days, and were about to embark on the return journey.
My son also has half Khitan blood, so we can’t completely abandon our clan and ignore him!”
"I didn't even sit down and say a few words when I came to Beijing and Xiangxi. Why are you thinking about the return journey?" Su Di heard the two people's unfamiliarity after seeing each other for a long time and hurriedly stood up to talk.
On the Jingzhou side, in addition to Xu Wujiang and Su Di, there are also generals such as Wang Zhang, Shi Zhang, Zhong Jitang, etc., all of whom are direct descendants of Jingxiang. Xu Huai came to Jingzhou to take charge under the pretext of supervising the construction of the Jingjiang embankment, except for Shi Hu and Wu.
Chi Hai, Xu Pang, Su Miao, Wu Sanrong and other generals led 5,000 elite infantry and cavalry from the vanguard to serve as bodyguards, and were accompanied by Han Gui, Zhou Jing, Xu Sheng, Xiao Chunyu and others.
Everyone came together to salute and greet Xiao Yanhan, and then, under Su Di's greeting, they walked into the flower hall to have a banquet and talk.
Xu Huai and Xiao Yanhan had a sense of alienation caused by long years of separation, but it was Xiao Bai who had just arrived in the Central Plains. He was very active by nature and was full of curiosity about everything in Jingzhou City.
Xiao Bai has always regarded his uncle and cousin Xiao Chunyu as his biological brother. After the banquet, Su Di arranged for Xiao Chunyu and Wu Sanrong to take care of him. Xiao Bai did not feel any discomfort, but felt that he could break away from his mother's restraints, so he hurriedly grabbed Xiao Chunyu's robe.
Just leave.
When everyone retreated, Xu Huai noticed Xiao Yanhan sitting in front of the case. His seemingly calm face was as beautiful as before when illuminated by the glass lamp, but there was actually a lot of uneasiness and anxiety in his heart. He couldn't help but smile and said: "We met a few years ago.
No, I don’t think you are so uneasy?”
"It is said that after a few years of separation, things are destined to change. But how many people in the world can calmly face the reunion like worn out shoes?" Xiao Yanhan said leisurely, "If I had known this, I should have waited for your reply.
Then consider whether to take Bai'er to the Central Plains, so as not to appear too ignorant at this time!"
"Ah?" Xu Huai was slightly surprised, stretched out his hand to touch Xiao Yanhan's delicate cheek, which was not exposed to the wind and frost outside the Great Wall, and asked, "Do you think I have ulterior motives for meeting your mother and son in Jingzhou?"
"Isn't there someone who doesn't want us, mother and son, to go to Biyang?" Xiao Yanhan asked.
"..." Xu Huai said with a smile, "If others can think this way, maybe I have unintentionally covered up the intention of my trip - maybe when you come to Jingxiang, I can spread the word a little bit and disturb some people.
Eyes and ears.”
In the Chushan camp period before the official establishment of Jingxiang Road, Xu Huai would have been extremely ambitious if he wanted to absorb the remnants of the Khitan.
.
At this time, Jingxiang governed nearly 40 counties in six states (prefectures), with more than 4 million people, and at most 300,000 soldiers and horses were recruited to form an unprecedented scale red army.
If Xu Huai were to request the imperial court at this time to move the remaining Khitan tribe, with only 70,000 to 80,000 people, to be resettled in Beijing and Xiangxiang, no matter whether the imperial court would allow it or not, his request itself would not seem too abrupt.
Therefore, Xu Huai would not particularly care about Xiao Yanhan's whereabouts in Jingzhou being leaked at this time. It would be better if his true intention of coming to Jingzhou could be concealed.
"Then why are you in Jingzhou at this time?" Xiao Yanhan asked curiously.
"This matter is quite complicated. It's getting late now. Let's take a rest first. I'll talk to you in detail tomorrow if I have any questions!" Xu Huai said.
"If you don't tell me, how can I sleep?" Xiao Yanhan looked over with widened almond eyes and said.
"Who said I'm going to let you sleep tonight?" Xu Huai reached out and grabbed Xiao Yanhan's catkin jade palm, and said with a smile, "We haven't seen each other in these few years, but have you forgotten all your fists and kicks? I'm going to work hard tonight
Check, check…”
Xiao Yanhan turned her palm and stamped it on Xu Huai's chest, yelling: "Then you come and test me. If you can't subdue me, don't even think about touching me today!"
Xu Huai put his elbow against Xiao Yanhan's palm, and connected his elbow and palm. After removing the force pouring from his palm, Xiao Yanhan's palm posture did not change, but a new force spurted out from his palm like an undercurrent.
Xu Huai's lower body was as solid as a rock, and he was suddenly pushed away half a step. He said in surprise: "Have you also developed your strength to reach your internal organs?"
"Eighty or nine years apart, my eldest brother, General Shi Hai, and the others are in charge of important matters in the clan, and Bai'er has been raised by my sister-in-law, so I don't have anything to worry about," Xiao Yanhan said with cross-eyed eyes, "You still want to test me now
Not good at martial arts?"
"Of course..." Xu Huai smiled.
Xu Huai hugged Xiao Yanhan and walked to the bed. Before he knew it, it was getting dark.
The two fought several times throughout the night, and naturally there was no longer the alienation they felt when they first met. The two hugged each other naked and watched the morning light filtering in through the crack in the window.
Xu Huai intimately touched Xiao Yanhan's delicate and smooth skin. It was precisely because Xiao Yanhan had reached a higher level in martial arts practice over the years, and her internal organs were tempered. Even if she was in the cold and harsh land outside the Great Wall, it was like being in a warm place in the south of the Yangtze River, and her body had not suffered any harm.
Worn by wind and frost, she is as delicate as a girl - her body is even much softer than when she was a girl.
After a night of fierce fighting, Xiao Yanhan was now like an enemy soldier who had been cut off his horse many times. His body was too weak to be whipped again, and he snuggled powerlessly in Xu Huai's arms. Listening to him explain in detail the causes and consequences of his trip to Jingzhou, it was not what she had misunderstood.
General.
"Hu Kai was expelled from the court, Liu Yan was dismissed from the army, You Xiaosheng's army changed commanders hastily, and Sun Yanzhou was added. Hu Dangzhou and his like had ulterior motives. There are many loopholes." Xiao Yanhan raised her head and looked at Xu Huai
With a firm chin, he asked, "However, if the Chihu people can see the opportunity here, they will probably be able to see through your motive of sitting in Jingzhou!"
"Yes," Xu Huai said, "Ulu Lie and Brother Tu have a close relationship. They will communicate with each other whenever they have any news. Unlike Ulu Lie, Brother Tu and the others have a rift with King Jingtan. Now the flood season is about to pass.
, in the west of Beijing and Heluo, it is difficult to mobilize large-scale troops and horses to attack Rucai, but the Chi Hu people are in the west of Beijing, and Heluo has 40,000 to 50,000 elite garrison cavalry stationed - the Uluru Lieutenants only have 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry.
Concentrate on Xuzhou and Chenzhou, and take advantage of the short-term freezing period of the Ruying River to penetrate into the hinterland of Beijing and Xiangzhou, so that we will not dare to dispatch too many elite troops to reinforce Huaixi!"
"It's too complicated. I'm too lazy to think about it. I have to catch up on some sleep!" Xiao Yanhan said, stretching.
Jingzhou has Xu Wujiang as the governor and the commander of the military and horse capital. The government army and Jingzhou navy are all under the control of Wang Zhang, Zhong Jitang and others.
The appointment, promotion and transfer of major officials are also under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment.
Xu Huai, as the highest military and political officer in Beijing and Xiangzhou, went to Jingzhou to personally supervise the construction of the Jingjiang embankment. It was impossible for him to only have contact with Xu Wujiang and other direct line generals——
The Jingjiang Levee actually connects the large embankments that have been built between Bailu Lake and Jingjiang River, forming a series of water conservancy engineering systems such as levees, estuaries, and flood discharge channels from Jiangling to Jianli. This is naturally inseparable from Jingjiang River Embankment.
All the officials and citizens of the four northern counties actively cooperated.
Even if Xu Huai used Datuk's battle against the Jingjiang Embankment as an excuse, after arriving in Jingzhou, he had to come out in person and sort out all the links before it was like that.
During this process, Xu Huai no longer avoided the possibility that Xiao Yanhan's existence would fall into the eyes of interested people. He even intended to stay and fly with Xiao Yanhan during a private banquet with Jingzhou officials, but he would not directly reveal Xiao Yanhan's identity.
During this process, Xiao Yanhan also saw more deeply what people in Chushan had done in Jingxiang over the years. Even from the situation in front of him, it was difficult to imagine that before Nancai recruited the Sipingjinghu bandits, the four counties in northern Jingbei were affected by floods.
