Yidu County and Licheng County of Qi County, where Zhang Xuan garrisoned are about 300 miles apart, all the way to the mountains, Yao Mountain, Niu Mountain, Changbai Mountain, Ji Mountain, Huashan and other mountains cross the two counties, but the official road is very spacious and flat, the ground is very solid, not a single inch of grass grows, Zhang Xuan led more than 100 cavalry on the official road slowly.

The Shandong Peninsula finally ushered in the first snow, the heavy snow fell from the gray sky, the fields and mountains seemed to be covered with a snow-white blanket, and the big trees seemed to be draped in white scarves, and the world became quiet.

On both sides of the official road are large abandoned fertile fields, hundreds of miles of deserted people, villages have long been burned to ruins, the black broken walls are also covered with snow, and the desolate wilderness is compared with the prosperity of the year, which has to make people sigh.

"General, look!"

One of the horsemen pointed into the distance and shouted, "There seems to be a house over there!" ”

Zhang Xuan also saw that there was a thatched hut next to a forest two miles away, surrounded by a courtyard wall, and the chimney on the roof was emitting white smoke, and people suddenly appeared in the deserted wilderness, which was really exciting, Zhang Xuan immediately ordered: "Go and see!" ”

Everyone urged the horse to rush out of the official road, along the wilderness to the thatched hut two miles away, dozens of steps away from the thatched hut courtyard wall, they heard the barking of the dog, Zhang Xuan waved his hand, and everyone restrained the war horse.

At this moment an old man rushed out of the hut, and he rushed out of the courtyard and fell down in a panic, and an old woman also knelt down after him, and they were frightened by the sudden rush of the large group of cavalry.

Zhang Xuan also realized that he was a little abrupt, galloping with a hundred horses, this kind of momentum is not something ordinary people can bear, he turned back to everyone and ordered: "Go back to the official road and wait!" ”

Everyone turned their horses' heads and ran towards the official road, and Zhang Xuan dismounted with two personal soldiers and walked quickly to the old couple, the old man kowtowed again and again and said in a trembling voice: "Little old man to meet the king!" ”

It turned out that they regarded themselves as bandits, Zhang Xuan was amused in his heart, and stepped forward and said, "We are not bandits. We are the Sui army stationed in Beihai County, heading to Qi County, passing through here, I will not hurt you. Two, please! ”

The two old men let go of their hearts with a heart, it turned out to be the Sui army, and they also knew that Zhang Xutuo's army was strictly disciplined and would not disturb the people, so the two supported each other and stood up tremblingly. The old man said in a low voice: "Please sit in the general's house!" ”

Zhang Xuan followed them into the courtyard, the courtyard walls were made of mud and tree branches, the house was also very shabby, the windows were sealed by tree branches, it looked very simple and dilapidated, the room was dimly lit, a crude table, two broken mats on the floor, and all kinds of clay bowls and pots were placed around. Only the roaring firewood burning in the earthen stove gives a warm feeling.

"General, please be seated!"

The old man spread a broken mat in front of the stove and asked Zhang Xuan to sit down.

Zhang Xuan sat down and roasted the fire, looked around and smiled: "Is it only you two?" ”

In fact, Zhang Xuan found that there was still a person hiding in the back room, and when he entered the house just now, he glanced at it, it seemed to be a young woman, probably their daughter or daughter-in-law, the old man hesitated and said: "There is also a son who went into the mountains to hunt." ”

Zhang Xuan smiled and asked, "May I ask my father-in-law's surname?" ”

"The villain is exempt from your surname Dong."

The old man had been in the process for a long time, and he could see that the young general in front of him had a very positive temperament and was by no means a brutal person. The nervousness in his heart was slightly removed, and he even poured a bowl of hot water for Zhang Xuan, "General, drink some hot water!" ”

"Thank you!"

Zhang Xuan took a sip of hot water, and his chest and abdomen were much more comfortable. He nodded and asked with a smile: "I didn't expect there to be people here, when did my husband come back?" ”

"I only moved back from Zhangqiu County, Qi County, two months ago, and it's called Dongjiazhuang, and the village is behind the woods, and in addition to my family, five or six other families have also moved back. This place is close to the official road, and I plan to open a tea shed here in a while. ”

Zhang Xuan was quite happy that there were still five or six families back, and he asked again, "Why do you think of coming back?" ”

The old man sighed, "The ancestral land is hard to give up!" Moreover, the land here is fertile, the water source is sufficient, there is no problem in growing food, and you can also rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, as long as there is no banditry, you will not be starved to death. ”

Zhang Xuan nodded, "Now that the bandits in Donglai County and Gaomi County have been exterminated, the next step is to fight the bandits in Langya County and Qinghe County, I believe that by this time next year, there will be no more bandits in Qi County and Beihai County." ”

"We also hope that so, as long as there are no bandits, the population will grow slowly, and one day it will return to the way it used to be, I don't think I can see it, I hope my children and grandchildren can see that day."

At this time, there was a baby's cry in the room, the old man's face changed in fright, Zhang Xuan understood his fear, took out a handful of money and put it on the table, got up and said with a smile: "Thank you for the hot water, I hope that the next time I come back, I can see my father's tea shed open, I will leave first!" ”

Zhang Xuan turned around and walked away quickly, the old man looked at Zhang Xuan's back and walked away, and sighed lowly

Two days later, Zhang Xuan and his subordinates arrived in Licheng County, Zhang Xuan led the army to the front of the camp, and the soldiers on duty immediately ran in to report, and after a while, Qin Qiong hurriedly walked out of the camp and said with a smile: "General Zhang, I haven't seen you for a long time." ”

Zhang Xuan also smiled and returned the salute, "Uncle Bao's demeanor is still the same, congratulations!" ”

Zhang Xuan's tone was a little unnatural, after all, there is no impermeable wall in the world, Qin Qiong reminded Zhang Xutuo several times to beware of himself, Zhang Xuan still heard some rumors around the corner, which made Zhang Xuan secretly vigilant.

Of course, this is not to say that Qin Qiong's character is problematic, Qin Qiong's character is very good, he is righteous, and he treats people sincerely, Zhang Xuan is not dissatisfied with Qin Qiong, but Zhang Xuan is very wary of him.

Zhang Xuan knew that Qin Qiong was as loyal to the imperial court as Zhang Xutuo, but Qin Qiong was more sensitive than Zhang Xutuo, and he sensed a trace of ambition hidden in his depths.

Especially this time, the plan to divide troops and garrison the counties was put forward by himself, which made Qin Qiong suspect that he had the ambition to rebel, after all, it has only been ten years now, and the only court official who really dares to rebel is Yang Xuangan.

Zhang Xuan also secretly warned himself that he must be extremely careful, so as not to be seen by Qin Qiong again, he was very worried that Qin Qiong would secretly report to the court, and it would be troublesome.

However, Zhang Xuan felt a little change in Qin Qiong at this time, he used to always see Qin Qiong's eyes blazing, a kind of self-examining eyes, but today Zhang Xuan saw that there was a kind of gratitude in Qin Qiong's eyes, which made him feel a little strange in his heart.

However, this strange feeling only flashed in Zhang Xuan's heart, and he didn't delve into it, and asked with a smile: "I don't know if the handsome man is there?" ”

"It's really unfortunate, Dashuai just went to the county seat, and now he should be in Qiwuxing, or the general will rest for a while in the first camp, and I will send someone to find Dashuai and come back."

Zhang Xuan looked at the sky, it was only morning, and he smiled slightly: "No need, I just want to go into the city for a walk and see if I can meet the big handsome, thank you General Qin!" ”

Zhang Xuan turned on his horse and said to the cavalry, "You are waiting for me in the camp." ”

Zhang Xuan asked Qin Qiong to take care of the accompanying cavalry, Qin Qiong smiled: "Don't worry! Just leave it to me, and I'll arrange for them to eat and rest. ”

Zhang Xuan hugged his fists and saluted, and then led the two personal soldiers to turn their horses' heads and run towards the county seat.

．．．．．．．

Since the two bandits of Donglai County and Gaomi County were exterminated by the Sui army, they have led to a huge stability for the entire Shandong Peninsula, the most obvious manifestation of which is that commerce has become more prosperous, the number of shops has increased by at least 30%, and the streets are extremely lively and bustling.

"General, there it is!"

The two soldiers were natives of Licheng County, and they were very familiar with the county seat, so it was easy to find Qi Wuxing.

Qi Wuxing is also the largest government-run martial arts hall in Licheng County, covering an area of 200 acres, with more than 2,000 apprentices, who are over 15 years old, learning strength, fighting, cavalry and weapons in the martial arts hall, and will join the Sui Army after completing their studies and become the backbone of the Flying Eagle Army, such as Luo Shixin stood out from this martial arts hall and was favored by Zhang Xutuo and accepted as an apprentice.

Another example is the five hundred heavy armored infantry of the Flying Eagle Army, which was selected from the martial arts hall students.

Zhang Xutuo attaches great importance to the cultivation of high-quality soldiers, and he ordered last year that officers above the rank of lieutenant must take one day a month to come here as instructors to teach the students and apprentices the experience of actual combat combat, including himself.

Today happened to be the day when Zhang Xutuo came to the martial arts hall once a month to teach the students, and he didn't expect Zhang Xuan to rush back today.

There were still dozens of steps away from the main hall of the martial arts hall, which covered an area of more than ten acres, and Zhang Xuan faintly heard Zhang Xutuo's shouting, "Okay! Again. ”

In fact, Zhang Xuan is also quite interested in the martial arts hall, he also stayed in the Yang Qi martial arts hall for ten days, and he is very aware of the operation of the martial arts hall, and he will do whatever it takes to attract students to spend money.

However, this Qi martial arts store is not like this, it is a government-run martial arts hall, not to make money, but to select talents and train soldiers, which made Zhang Xuan very interested, so that he faintly saw the shadow of the military academy.

Zhang Xuan walked into the martial arts hall through a small door, he had already changed into his usual clothes, wearing a flat scarf on his head, wearing a black samurai robe, and a leather belt around his waist, plus he was very young, and he looked no different from an ordinary samurai apprentice.

The hall of the martial arts was crowded with apprentice warriors, because it was Zhang Xutuo who came to teach in person, all the more than 2,000 apprentices came, all of them sat against the wall, and surrounded them tightly.

Zhang Xuan found a small seat and sat down, watching with great interest Zhang Xutuo teach the students martial arts.

．．．．．．． (To be continued.) )