The bamboo pipe ticked out the wine, Pan Zhen asked the craftsman to take it, took a sip gently, his face was weird, and he whispered to Cheng Wenli: "Push the official, what comes out is really liquor." However, the flavor is more intense and a little less fragrant. ”

Cheng Wenli took the cup, took a sip gently, frowned, and was speechless.

Du Zhongxiao said: "What, isn't the wine that came out strong?" ”

Cheng Wenli shook his head: "It's strong enough, but it's too choking, and it has less fragrance than the previous liquor." Don't hide it from the army, the lower officials don't like this kind of wine. However, the military men in the city, their preferences are different from ours, not necessarily. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The fragrance in spirits comes from sake lees, so the better the sake lees, the more mellow and delicious the steamed wine, which has nothing to do with the water and wine used to steam the wine." This liquor has no stamina, and the mouth is like a fire. The wine is originally sent to the army, as long as the officers and soldiers in the army like it, why bother so much? Later, we will harvest some sorghum grains to make good wine, and then we will talk about other things. ”

Cheng Wenli nodded and instructed Zhou Xintian to use all the water and wine that could not be sold in the restaurant to steam liquor.

Out of the Jiuqu Pavilion, Cheng Wenli instructed the public officials to bring the stored water and wine from the military treasury and steam them into white wine together.

In the barracks near the south gate of the military city, Pang Xun sat on a chair under a big poplar tree, shaking a pu fan to cool off. A soldier stepped forward and said, "Command, the military government sent someone to bring wine." It is said that it is a reward for the commanders, one team and one altar in the army, and another ten altars for the commander. ”

Pang Xun said: "Bring a jar, I'll taste it." Those handful of birds are accustomed to using water and wine to deceive people and deceive our army. If the smell of wine is not strong, they will fall to the door of the yamen, and let them know that our army is not easy to mess with! ”

The soldier sang a promise with his hands crossed, turned and ran away.

The formed army in the city includes most of Wu Wenzuo's Guangrui Army at the north gate, and most of Pang Xun's Xuanyong Army at the south gate, and the rest are mostly scattered in the walled fort. The command of Zhuangcheng is used to defend the city, but in fact, most of them are engaged in various engineering work, and it is not systematic. Pang Xun's Xiangjun was transferred from the Central Plains because of the party's war, and most of his family members were in the Central Plains. On the contrary, it is the Guangrui Ma Army of the Forbidden Army, although it belongs to the Ma Military Division, but it has been stationed in the Volcano Army, and it is stationed in the Forbidden Army, and its family members are with the army, and they are locals.

Guangrui Army is subordinate to the Ma Military Division, and Xuanyong Army is subordinate to the Bu Military Division, and there is a contradiction between the two yamen. In addition, the treatment of the forbidden army and the box army is very different, but they are often indistinguishable when fighting, and the terrain of the volcano army is rugged, and the cavalry is useless most of the time, and the three box armies led by the Xuanyong army do not know how much dissatisfaction they have accumulated. As soon as there is a reward, these soldiers will make noise, and they are always afraid that they will have less money.

Not long after, several soldiers held three jars of wine and came to Pang Xun to sing a promise.

Pang Xun took a jar, slapped it open, and raised his head to take a big sip. Before he could put the jar down, he coughed non-stop.

Several soldiers turned pale with fright, and hurriedly said, "Commander, isn't this wine right?" Damn the little ones! ”

Pang Xun coughed for a while, and his eyes held back tears. He took a long breath and said loudly: "Straight lady thief, this wine is so strong!" Did the animals in the yamen turn their sex? Give us such a good wine! Come on, boys, drink tonight! ”

When a few petty officers on one side heard this, they thought it was strange, and they took the wine jar, and each tasted a small sip, and they all smacked their tongues. The price of liquor is as much as ten times that of water wine, and most of the people who are usually issued to the Xiang army are water wine. Occasionally, liquor was issued, and the officials of the yamen also desperately poured water into it.

Several people discussed a few words, and a small officer said: "Commander, isn't it a fraud to send such a strong wine this time?" ”

Pang Xun was stunned, his eyes rolled and said: "Don't be unguarded, those birds are used to bullying our Xiangjun, and I don't believe that they have changed their sex." You send someone to the north gate to inquire about what kind of wine was distributed by the Guangrui army. ”

On one side, someone agreed and went outside.

Pang Xun lowered his head and pondered for a while, and said to himself: "Today's wine is as strong as fire, and the world's good wine is nothing more than that." It's better, unless it's a fairy brewed elixir. I think it is because the officer is from the Jinshi, and he is different from the previous soldiers, and he pities us who are thousands of miles away from home. ”

Du Zhongxiao is the only Volcano Army intellectuals who have been born as a civilian official so far, and all of them have been generals of the forbidden army without exception. Although there are occasional subordinates under the military department and those who do not treat the Xiang army harshly, at most, they are only given a few percent of the treatment according to the forbidden army, and there is no bowl of water even.

After the military office, Cheng Wenli and Pan Zhen led the officers of the army to sit around, and surrounded Du Zhongxiao in the middle.

After the officials finished seeing it again, Cheng Wenli said: "The volcano army is located in the extreme border, with no people and broken terrain, which is really a rare bitter cold place in the world. How many of us are officials here, which one is not forced by life to come? If there is a way, or there is no shortage of food and clothing at home, who would rather stay in the capital? To hide from the officials, I have already passed my term of office for one year, and I am not allowed to leave because there is no one to replace me. Hey—"

Pan Zhen also sighed: "In the past, the intellectuals were all soldiers, and most of them were careless in political affairs, and whenever there was an incident, they would be angry with us civilian officials." The army and men were rampant in the city, and the yamen could not control them, and the people had many complaints. It's hard to say how to be an official in such a place! ”

Several officials around complained one after another, and even Sun Dan, who was patrolling the soldiers and horses, was also complaining. The Volcano Army has a garrison of 2,000 troops and 3,000 households, and it is completely a military town. Moreover, it is located in the border area, and almost all the households are organized into village soldiers, and they are also included in military control, so civil officials are naturally angry everywhere.

Du Zhongxiao said: "You don't have to complain, although the place here is deserted, fortunately, there are not many affairs." Not only does it not have to pay taxes, but the imperial court also allocates a lot of money and grain every year. As long as you manage it well, why not become a paradise? ”

Cheng Wenli shook his head again and again: "When the army first came, I didn't know the hardships of the place, so it is not surprising that I have this kind of thought. Zhijun, here is not as good as the Central Plains, not only the surrounding mountains are continuous, but also the terrain is broken, and the ravines are vertical and horizontal. Between the two mountains, people can see each other, but it takes ten days and eight days to really walk through. The surrounding villages, in addition to the main road access, if there is no guide into the mountains, you can't get out for a few years, which is a common thing. ”

Is it the Loess Plateau? As a result of the rain, countless valleys have been carved into the mountains, like a labyrinth. The large number of soldiers used here is because the surrounding mountains cannot be effectively governed, so they can only rely on Fanhu autonomy. Only in some large mountain valleys, slightly densely populated, can forts be set up and effectively managed. The Volcano Army borders the Khitan and is close to the Yellow River, which is said to be geographically important. In fact, the terrain of hundreds of miles around is too fragmented for the army to move, and it is a small corner that no one pays attention to.

Du Zhongxiao said: "I came north from the Ningde army and marched all the way along the Yellow River. Since entering the territory of the Volcano Army, I saw that the river valley was wide and the terrain was flat, and if it was reclaimed, it would get a lot of fertile land. This valley alone can support tens of thousands of people. ”

Cheng Wenli shook his head again and again: "Zhijun is easy to say, but it is difficult to do. It is close to the north, and most of the households are half farming and half herding. They farm, don't say intensive farming, but actually all depend on the sky to eat. It is rare to see one out of ten households who can cultivate and level the fields in the land where they can farm. Although there is a lot of wasteland on both sides of the Yellow River, they only pick up the most planted land to plant, and the rest have to be barren to graze sheep! ”