"The South and the North" are the two major problems that have always plagued the Ming Dynasty, and this is especially obvious in the Jiajing Dynasty, and it almost broke the national honor of the Ming Dynasty. As the name suggests, the Southern Wai refers to the Japanese who invaded the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty, while the Northern Invaders generally refer to the nomadic people in the north of the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with the southern Japanese, in fact, the threat of the northern captives to the Ming Dynasty is more serious, after all, the Japanese came from the sea, only in the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty to burn and loot, and will not endanger the Ming regime, and the northern captives are different, the nomads on horseback come and go like the wind, living in water and grass, they from the north to the south, always occupy the favorable terrain that can be attacked, retreated and escaped.

Because of this, the threat of ancient northern nomads to the regime in the Central Plains has never been eliminated, such as the Xiongnu in the Qin and Han dynasties, the Yuan and Mongolia who destroyed the Song Dynasty, and now the Tile Tarts and Tatars that threaten the Ming Dynasty. During the Tianshun period, Zhu Qizhen of Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty was captured by the Tile Thorn people in the "Tumubao Change", which became a very disgraceful shame in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and the siege of Beijing by the Tatar Altan Khan soldiers was another shame.

Xu Jin naturally didn't want to see the Altan Khan's soldiers besieging Beijing again, and now that the Ming Dynasty's "Southern Wai" problem has been solved, and the sea ban and trade have been opened, coupled with Zhu Houxi's kid's determination to make great efforts, in the next few years, the Ming Dynasty's national strength will be thriving, and it is time to free up his hands to solve the problem of "Northern Capture".

Let's say that Xu Jin and Cai Yue chatted for nearly an hour, and most of the content of the chat was about Tatar, because he wanted to know more about the current internal situation of Tatar. Cai Yue stayed in Youyu County, Shanxi Province for several years, and in order to inquire about the whereabouts of his friend Li Yingjun, he constantly collected information about the Tatars, so now Cai Yue can be said to be a Tatar, and even speaks some simple Tatar for daily communication.

Therefore, Xu Jin gained a lot from chatting with Cai Yue this time, and the biggest gain was naturally to inquire about the suspected location of Xue Bingxin, followed by a general understanding of the Tatar forces outside the Great Wall. In addition, Xu Jin wanted to confirm with Cai Yue whether the three ladies were Xue Bingxin, but seeing the latter's vigilant look, he finally gave up, planning to send a few reliable henchmen to Youyu County to confirm after returning to Beijing.

At this time, it was almost dark, so Xu Jin stood up and said goodbye: "Brother Haoran, it's not early, let's leave first." ”

Cai Yue politely kept him for dinner, but Xu Jin refused and left Cai's house with Xu Fu, Zhao Datou and others.

Cai Yue watched Xu Jin leave the alley, and then closed the courtyard door, but as soon as he turned around, he took a look at his wife who was standing behind him, and couldn't help but be startled and said, "Ye'er, what are you doing, scared your husband?" ”

Cai Yue's wife's surname is Shui, called Shui Yezi, a native of Youyu County, Shanxi, at this moment, her eyes flashed with a light called "gossip", and she said in a low voice: "Xianggong, don't you think it...... Huo'er is very similar to this classmate of yours Xu Ziqian. ”

Cai Yue was stunned for a moment, scratched his head and said, "Let you say this...... It seems to be a bit like that. ”

The gossip fire in Shui Yezi's eyes was a little more vigorous: "It's not a little similar, it's very similar, okay, Huo'er's eyes, nose and face shape are exactly the same as this Xu Ziqian." ”

"Uh...... Not so exaggerated! ”

"Xianggong, do you think Huo'er will be?"

Cai Yue was startled, and hurriedly waved his hand and said: "How is it possible, don't speculate wildly, lady, not to mention that it is not surprising that there are people in this world who look alike, hurry up and make dinner." ”

"Oh, but he guessed the third lady's surname Xue at once...... It's too much of a coincidence, isn't it? Mizuha muttered to herself and headed for the kitchen.

Cai Yue chuckled in his heart, yes, just now Ziqian suddenly asked if the third lady's surname was Xue ...... Is it really ......? Thinking of this, Cai Yue's heart couldn't help but jump up, if Huo'er was really ...... That's crazy.

Isn't it crazy? Xu Jin is a big official in the dynasty, but the third lady is a female bandit who occupies the mountain as the king, what is the story in this?

It is said that Cai Yue was a master on Heitai Mountain, although he didn't know the real name of San Niangzi, but he had heard others call her Miss Xue, so he knew that San Niangzi's surname was Xue!

Cai Yue stood in the courtyard and pondered for a moment, and finally ran to the kitchen to warn his wife a few words, asking her not to mention it to outsiders, after all, officials and bandits are born rivals, no matter whether this matter is true or not, but it will definitely be bad for Xu Ziqian if it is spread out.

Moreover, Xu Jin returned to his residence, and after eating, he stayed in Fei Jixiang's room that night to continue his spring sowing plan, and the details of this period are inconvenient to describe.

Early the next morning, Xu Jin and his entourage left Shangrao County in a carriage and went to Xujia Village, about 80 miles away from the city. Carefully calculated, since Zhengde went north to participate in the examination in the fifteenth year, Xu Jin has been away from his hometown for more than five years, and now he is revisiting his hometown, and he can't help but have mixed feelings.

Although Xie Xiaowan is a mother and an "old girl" who is over twenty years old, this Nizi is very excited at the moment, as if she has returned to her girlhood, holding her son and pointing at the scenery outside the car window, saying some short things in the past, Xiao Xu Kang listened to it with relish.

As the so-called one person gets the Taoist chicken dog ascends to heaven, Shangrao Xujia Village has such a figure as Xu Jin, and now it is terrible, the field roads that used to enter the village have all been expanded according to the standards of the official road, and every ten miles there is a pavilion on the side of the road to rest and shelter from the rain.

There are no thatched houses in Xujia Village anymore, all of them are brand-new big tile houses, and even courtyard-style houses, the village appearance is neat and generous, and a stone bridge has been erected over the small river outside the village entrance.

At this moment, the old patriarch Xu Deming led all the villagers of the Xu family to wait in front of the stone bridge at the entrance of the village, and the old man in his eighties stood at the front of everyone with crutches and high spirits, and next to him was the chief Xu Youguang, as well as several senior clan elders.

"Patriarch, it's coming, it's coming!" A villager riding a donkey ran back from the front, shouting at the throat, and in an instant, the villagers of Xujia Village, as well as the villagers from other villages who came to see the excitement, began to commotion.

The old patriarch Xu Deming solemnly straightened his clothes and said in a deep voice: "There is light, are you ready?" ”

Xu Youguang said awe-inspiringly: "Ready!" ”

Xu Deming nodded and said: "Brother Jin is different from the past now, he is the marquis of three thousand stones, and he is not much better than the grandfather of the country, and he lives in the left servant of the household department, a proper third-grade member, and several people in the family have also been sealed, the emperor's grace is vast, and my Xujia Village is also honored." Now Brother Jin has returned to his hometown in fine clothes to sue me that the ancestors of the Xu family must not be flawed in all etiquette, so as not to provoke outsiders to laugh. ”

It is said that Xu Jin sent someone back to the village to report the news when he was in Nanjing at the end of the year before last, and brought a thousand taels of silver with the letter, saying that he would return to the village and province to worship his ancestors this year, so the old patriarch Xu Deming began to prepare early, and consulted a lot of classics for this purpose, and even consulted a few Confucian scholars who have studied etiquette.

At this time, the carriage procession of Xu Jin and his entourage finally appeared in sight, and the villagers were boiling in an instant, and the sound of firecrackers rang out immediately, and the billowing smoke went straight into the sky.

The bundle of firecrackers was set off in such a way that it did not stop until the convoy reached the stone bridge, and the acrid smoke almost enveloped the entire village.

"Xu Deming, the fifteenth generation patriarch of Xujia Village, led the Rao Xu clan to welcome the Marquis of Jinghai back to his hometown." Xu Deming flicked his sleeves and took the lead to kneel to greet him.

Xu Jin hurriedly rushed forward and supported the trembling old patriarch, while the other villagers all knelt down and kowtowed.

"You don't have to be polite, get up!" Xu Jinlang said.

When the villagers stood up, this time Xu Jin knelt down in front of the old patriarch, and said respectfully: "The grandson of the Xu family has kowtowed to his uncle." ”

Xu Deming, who was full of white hair, was so excited that his beard trembled, and he smiled with a red face: "Okay, Brother Jin, get up!" ”

Next, after another round of extremely cumbersome etiquette, Xu Jin and his entourage were able to enter the village, Xiaowan and other female dependents went to the residence to settle down first, and Xu Jin and Xu Kang, the two fathers and sons, also got incense from the ancestral hall of Xujia Village to tell their ancestors.