Chapter 205 Enemy!

When Lin Ruhai received Chen Heng's letter, it was already the end of January of the second year of Jianping. During this season, the temperature in Yangzhou also begins to gradually warm up. At noon, the prefect, who had just walked out and was sweating a little, took off his coat and sat in the study, opening the letters sent by the students.

He was only halfway through seeing it when the door to the study room was opened from the outside. Lin Ruhai didn't even need to raise his head to guess the identity of the visitor, and said with a smile: "You got here quickly."

Lin Daiyu wrinkled her nose, shook the towel in her hand, and said in surprise: "What is daddy talking about? My daughter is here to give something to daddy."

When Lin Ruhai heard this, he looked up from the corner of his eye and saw it was a handkerchief used to wipe sweat. He said disapprovingly: "Oh, it seems that dad misunderstood." He looked at it again and saw that the embroidery on the handkerchief was exquisite and tasted interesting. , "You asked your servants to do it, right?"

That's why it's not good to talk to smart people. Lin Daiyu pursed her lips, but without any embarrassment, she still said in a strong voice: "My daughter also had her stitches patched up."

"Yeah, yeah." Lin Ruhai nodded, looking down at the letter, "Put it down."

Then you have to let it go. Lin Daiyu narrowed her eyes. He smiled and walked to his father's desk to help arrange the furnishings on the table. After a while, she said curiously: "Ah, someone wrote a letter to dad again."

Lin Ruhai turned sideways and pretended not to hear.

Unwilling to give up, Lin Daiyu walked behind the desk again and slowly organized the books scattered on the table. During the gap, she turned her peripheral vision and saw that Lin Ruhai had folded the letter and looked directly at her precious daughter.

"father----"

After all, she was not as thick-skinned as her brother. Lin Daiyu's face turned red visibly when her father caught her like this.

"Hahahahahahaha." Lin Ruhai laughed again and again, until she choked on her laughter, her voice gradually slowed down.

Seeing this, Lin Daiyu stopped pretending. He piled up the books in his hands and threw them on the table. He raised his hand and gently squeezed his father's shoulder. "Dad, what did brother say in the letter?"

Seeing her daughter acting stupid, Lin Ruhai hummed twice and raised her finger to her sore neck, signaling her daughter to have some more snacks.

As the saying goes, people who ask for things are inferior to others. Lin Daiyu had no choice but to be a good girl. Lin Ruhai knew the temperament of the charming girl and knew that it was not good to control her too much. The rabbit would bite people when it was anxious. Wait until Daiyu speaks again. He smiled and said, "Just talking about common things."

Lin Ruhai paused for a moment. It was hard to mention the illness of Zuodu Yushi. He picked something he could tell and prepared to send his daughter away quickly. "Heng'er is following the people from the Ministry of War, heading north out of the capital, and is about to go to the border."

When Lin Daiyu heard this, her face was startled, and she even stopped moving her hands, and just exclaimed: "Why is that? Isn't there still a war over there at the border?"

Border, what a far away place it is. Even though Lin Daiyu is well-read, she knows very little about this place. Most of the words about the border that can be thought of in my memory are words such as remoteness, sparsely populated, and snowy.

"That's why they went there." Lin Ruhai was also a little worried, but when he thought about it carefully, he knew there was nothing he could do. They all say that when you are away, your orders will not be accepted. In the officialdom, this person sometimes can't help himself.

Lin Ruhai was afraid that her daughter would have random thoughts, so she added, "Heng'er was very happy in the letter and said that she would write me a good account of the scenery in the border area."

Daiyu nodded, somewhat noncommittal. I just wanted to go back to the temple and pray for my brother's peace in front of the Buddha.

"You shouldn't tell Heng'er's family about this," Lin Ruhai warned.

"My daughter saved it."

Lin Daiyu thought for a while and asked curiously, "What else was said in the letter?" She had just glanced at it and found that the letter was long and densely packed with words. She couldn't not mention herself at all.

Chen Heng really didn't mention it. Most of the letters he wrote to Uncle Lin were about trivial and serious matters. Lin Ruhai had no choice but to deal with some of the trivial matters, "Nothing else. He said in the letter that he had a dispute with Baoyu from the Jia family."

Chen Heng told Lin Ruhai this matter not to file a complaint. The original meaning is to let the teacher know that he and Jia Baoyu are not getting along. If several families meet in the capital in the future, it can save the time for the teacher to introduce them.

When Lin Daiyu heard this, her delicate and beautiful eyebrows knitted together, and she immediately said crisply: "But it's my second cousin who started it."

Lin Ruhai secretly screamed in his heart that it was bad, it was bad, he had forgotten that this girl was a biased and petty person. He shook his head. It was hard to defend his nephew and he didn't have time to speak.

Lin Daiyu nodded to herself and began to think about what happened, "Brother's temper is never like that of others. It must have been that the other party went too far, which caused the commotion."

The more she talked, the angrier she became. Lin Daiyu didn't even have time to ask follow-up questions. She suppressed her concern for her old friend and ran back to the boudoir angrily. She picked up a pen and wrote a letter at the table.

When Zijuan came in with tea, her lady had already written three letters in one go. They are for Tanchun, Xiangyun and Baoyu respectively. Seeing Daiyu's angry look, Zijuan couldn't help but ask Xueyan, "What's wrong with Miss? But why are you so angry?"

The latter shook her head, she didn't know either. All I know is that the young lady went out happily and then came back angry.

Zicuckoo couldn't figure it out, and waited until Daiyu finished checking the letter before she asked attentively. When she heard that Chen Heng and Baoyu were arguing, Zijuan didn't know what to say. Maid Hui thought it would be better to let the young lady continue to be sulky, so she suggested going to the temple to pray for blessings in the afternoon. Lin Daiyu's eyes turned from anger to joy, and she prepared to go out.

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When Lin Daiyu was busy going out, Chen Heng had just arrived in Ningyuan Prefecture. The road to the north is only halfway done. It's winter and spring in the south, but it's still snowy here in the north. Not to mention this group of people are still chasing the tail of the winter wind.

The days are short in winter, so there is not much time to travel along the way, and there is snow blocking the way. The official roads in the countryside are rarely repaired, so you can imagine how difficult the road conditions are. The high spirits when I left Beijing have turned into the fatigue of the journey today.

Chen Heng and the others were doing relatively well. They were still able to hide in the carriage without the cold northern wind blowing in their faces. Liu Xianglian's bodyguard was in a miserable situation, and even knives from the sky had to ride around to protect them. After all, there are two serious ministers sitting in this line.

The carriage drove hard on the snow, and the occasional cold wind blew in through the door, which made the drowsy colleagues wake up a lot. Naturally, a low-level official like Chen Heng cannot have one person and one car like the minister.

Three or four officials were huddled together, and the servants accompanying them hugged each other for warmth. There was a half-awake Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs. When he saw Chen Heng flipping through the pages of a book, he put his head over, read the words on the paper slowly: "Forty miles from the capital to Tongzhou, twenty miles To Yanjiao, twenty miles to Xiadian and thirty miles to Sanhe County..."

Hearing the faint voices, other people who were not asleep opened their eyes and looked at the two of them, and said to Chen Heng among them, "Chi Xing's travel diary is very detailed."

"Just to pass the time." Chen Heng replied that this was his habit. Love to read and remember. After getting along for a long time, people who travel with him also know the boy's quirks.

Some people nodded in agreement, and some people sighed, "Today we learned about Xu Xiake's difficulties."

Others asked why. This person said: "When I read books before, I always thought that the Xu family was well-off. Traveling with servants like Xu Xiake should be fun and comfortable. Now when I go out to Beijing, I feel..."

While he was talking, the carriage jolted, shaking everyone again. Everyone burst into laughter that made them happy, and some said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles."

Chen Heng also smiled. The journey was boring after all. Just like a climber who wants to see the sunrise, until the last moment when the sun rises and the sea of ​​clouds rolls, the efforts he has made and the darkness he has endured will not be rewarded a hundredfold.

Seeing that all the colleagues were awake, everyone was picking up their household chores or the scenery of their hometown, chatting and laughing in a low voice. Chen Heng listened silently, thinking about Ning Yuanzhou's information.

Ningyuan Prefecture, where Ningyuan Guards were set up in the early Ming Dynasty. The leader has seven commanders, one chief and six deputies, and twenty-four thousand households. These things are all recorded in the documents of the Ministry of War. The situation in the Yong Dynasty was different. Li Zhi only set up one general, nine generals, and 3,888 Hakka soldiers.

The Hakka soldiers in the Ministry of War are not talking about the Guangxi children who fight bravely, but that the soldiers and horses here are from outside the country, so more attention should be paid when dispatching them. In addition to the people, there were thirty-two wheelbarrows, one hundred military horses, and three thousand three hundred and sixty-eight mules.

Chen Heng remembers all this information. When they arrive at the place, their immediate superiors will order them to take charge. This trip involved both negotiation and armament inspections along the way. Ah, people in the Ministry of War, life is so stressful.

Chen Heng's extensive knowledge and strong memory have already left an impression on Yao Ziran. Sure enough, as soon as they got off the carriage, they, together with Chen Heng and other junior officials from the Ministry of War, were called to inspect various armaments.

Colleagues like Chen Heng the most at this time. If you don’t remember any data, just ask the young man and you will get a detailed answer in no time.

By the time they finished counting Ning Yuanwei's things, it was already dark. But the people in the Ministry of War cannot rest. These ruffians were not very literate. Occasionally, a few mules died, and they only used their knives to draw a line on the wall to record the deaths. Chen Heng and others wanted to update the news and just wait to return to Beijing to record it. Whether to make up for it or to release it, we have to go back and discuss it.

After resting like this for a night, it was dawning the next day and it was time to set off again. The few people who had stayed up late for a long time naturally fell asleep in the carriage.

After half a month like this, they finally arrived in Shenzhou. It is said to be Shenzhou, but actually it could also be called Shenyang. The Ming Dynasty established the Shenyang Zhongwei here, so the locals often called it Shenyang.

This place is still some distance from the border, but it is already the last majestic city in the north. The two ministers naturally wanted to rest here to coordinate the overall situation. The doctor and chief of the Ministry of War, headed by Yao Ziran, had to continue heading north for more than a hundred miles until they could stop in Tieling County.

Sixty miles behind Tieling County is Kaiyuan County, and behind it are dotted villages and military stations. The northern land is vast, with mostly endless mountains and ridges, and there are a lot of people.

The magistrate of Tieling County was very enthusiastic about these distinguished guests who came from afar, and asked people to beat the deer deer in advance to entertain the guests. This was the best meal Chen Heng had eaten recently, and he was very impressed.

Yao Ziran was chatting with the county magistrate in the inner hall. They, low-level officials, could gather together and enjoy themselves. The next thing is to find a way to reach contact with the grassland ministries. This matter was too confidential and important for Chen Heng and others to intervene.

These people were brought here just to complete the inspection of armaments assigned by the Ministry of War. Whether it is war or peace, find out how much wealth you still have and how long you can continue to fight. This is the way to know oneself and the enemy in the art of war.

This matter requires the hard work of running out of the city gate. Fortunately, the weather is showing signs of warming up. The official with Chen Heng is named Yan. The two unlucky guys drove a carriage and, escorted by Liu Xianglian, began to inspect the area they were responsible for.

After passing three military stations in a row, on the tenth day, Chen Heng finally saw Xin Suzhao, who was wearing armor and frosted, at the Tuitun Station. After not seeing each other for several years, Xin Suzhao has become the head of the military station. He is in charge of hundreds of people.

The latter was very surprised when the two met for the first time.

"My brothers told me that an old friend from the capital came to see me. I was still wondering which enemy came." Xin Suzhao just got off the horse and stood in front of Chen Heng, breathing heavily. He couldn't help but nodded and smiled, "I really didn't expect it would be you. Brother Heng, this fate is too coincidental."

Before Chen Heng could speak, Liu Xianglian laughed, "Brother, do you really think it's a coincidence?" He said proudly, "Chixing has seen your location in the documents of the Ministry of War a long time ago, and I came to see you today."

"Brother Heng, are you working in the Ministry of War now?!" Xin Suzhao raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect his good friend to have such an opportunity. He looked around Chen Heng, and the other party happened to be looking at him.

The two looked at each other's changes. Chen Heng's height had begun to catch up with Xin Suzhao. The latter was also much older than he was back then. He had grown a beard on his chin. His face, which was originally pretty and bright, was now rough and bold with dust on his face and frost on his temples.

"Yes." Chen Heng sighed, "Brother Xin has changed a lot."

"Don't act like a child." Xin Suzhao smiled and raised his hand to pat Chen Heng on the back. The sudden strong force made the young man's body shake again and again.

"Let's go, I'll go with you to check everywhere." Xin Suzhao took Chen Heng out of the door, talking while walking, and was unbelievably neat. The two were still restrained in their mood, but Liu Xianglian didn't care, talking about the guards' clothes on his body, and talking about the changes in the capital.

Xin Suzhao occasionally talked about his own things. The winter snow had not yet melted. The soldiers in the military station still had a chance to rest, and when spring came, they would be involved in a new round of battles.

Chen Heng asked a few questions about the battles and casualties of soldiers over the years. Xin Suzhao sighed and said only: "All the people who came with me in the first year died."

When the others heard this, they all remained silent. The war was rotten and the bones were piled up. The bitterness in one's heart can only be known by the men who fought hard. After checking the military equipment, Xin Suzhao invited Chen Heng and others to his residence to welcome his friends.

At the banquet, Liu Xianglian saw that Xin Suzhao had not drunk a drop of wine, so he advised: "Brother, I have come here from a thousand miles away, won't you drink a glass with me?"

Xin Suzhao, who used to be addicted to alcohol, shook his head and said, "I can't drink, I can't drink. Once I drink, my brothers will also want to drink. Once they drink, they will miss home."

After saying this, Liu Xianglian lost the interest in drinking. The hand holding the wine glass stopped in mid-air, and suddenly felt a thousand pounds of weight. Seeing this, Chen Heng picked up the hot water and said, "Brother Xin, toast to you."

Xin Suzhao smiled and also picked up the water bowl. After a crisp collision, the two drank it all in one gulp. Xin Suzhao raised his hand to wipe the water drops on his beard and smiled, "I thought Brother Zhixing would recite a few poems."

Chen Heng shook his head and said, "Thousands of words are not as good as seeing it with your own eyes."

Xin Suzhao didn't care about the complex emotions in his words, but said heroically, "Hahaha, why bother so much. To die for the country with a generous song is the lifelong ambition of a man. If you just want to die for a good cause, why do you need to return with your body wrapped in horsehide."

Liu Xianglian's blood boiled when he heard this, and he began to impulsively say, "Brother, when I go back, I will quit this bird official and come to fight side by side with you."

Xin Suzhao couldn't help frowning. The flickering lights shone on his face, which was a few years older. He showed a strange look and asked, "Aren't you here for peace talks? ? "

"Huh? Big Brother Xin also knows?"

"You can see it. If the fight continues, both sides will not be able to hold on. It's just that they didn't get any benefits, so it's hard to explain to the people. It's almost the same on our side..." Xin Suzhao said this, already showing some worry, "Brother Heng, you came from the capital, do you know what the superiors mean? The soldiers have fought bloody battles until now, if they talk about peace in a muddle, it will really hurt the morale of the army. If they want to fight again in the future, there will be no one."

Chen Heng hurriedly comforted the other party and said, "Brother Xin, don't worry, the person in charge this time is Lord Wang Zhongjie, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War. He will never be so stupid as to ignore the merits of hundreds of thousands of soldiers."

Once the decision is made to negotiate, the original reward for winning the battle will also be discounted. At this time, if the compromise is blindly negotiated, it will be the real chilling of people's hearts and the army.

After listening to this, Xin Suzhao felt a little relieved. They are far from having the opportunity to appear on the stage. Their own destiny will also be controlled by others. Apart from complaining and worrying, all they could do was sit and watch the tides rise and fall.

That night, several people slept on the same bed. In the middle of the night, the window rustled. Chen Heng, who was awakened by the heat in the pit, opened his eyes and could hear Xin Suzhao's snoring and the sound of Fengxue.

The next day, the snow stopped and the sky was clear. Today, he would return to Tieling County to report to Yao Ziran. Chen Heng said hello to his colleagues and asked him to accompany him to stay in the military station for another half day. In the extra time, Chen Heng followed Xin Suzhao around and talked again and again before letting the latter send them out of the military station.

This is the only farewell, and I don't know when we will meet again. Xin Suzhao rode Chiguang and sent his friends off again and again. Halfway through the road, Xin Suzhao stopped his horse and tightened the reins in his hand. He pointed at the white light on the steep mountain with his whip. It was all accumulated by the wind and snow overnight, and the sunlight reflected on it.

Seeing this magnificent landscape, Xin Suzhao said with high spirits: "After accompanying you for thousands of miles, we must finally say goodbye. Brother Heng, I will send you here. Do you really have no poems to give to me?"

Chen Heng stood in the carriage, feeling the rustling winter wind. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "When we parted in Yangzhou, I did think of a poem about a wise man. I didn't have time to read it to you that day, so I'll just say it as a parting word today."

"Okay."

The wind blew the cloak behind his armor. Xin Suzhao raised his chin, signaling his friend to read it quickly.

Chen Heng cleared his throat and said aloud, "In my prime, I led thousands of men under the banner, and crossed the river with brocade robes. The Yan soldiers prepared their silver bows at night, and the Han arrows flew towards the Jinpugu. Looking back on the past, I sigh for my present self, whose white beard is not stained by the spring breeze. I exchanged the ten thousand-word strategy for the book on planting trees for the landlord."

Hearing the end, Xin Suzhao was already smiling, and his face, covered with frost, was full of the vigor and spirit when he joined the border. He raised his whip and pointed to the road ahead, saying, "Brother Heng, it has been said that heroes have been around for many years. Huo Qubing is like this, Xin Qiji is like this..."

Striving to whip, the horse galloped. As the man left, he spoke in a heroic tone, echoing through the deserted northern land, "You and I are like this too."

Chen Heng had no words to answer, but bowed and said goodbye on the carriage that was going away.

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After returning to Tieling County, he reported the situation of the military posts to Yao Ziran, who frowned deeply when he heard the situation and just sent his subordinates to rest first. After another half a month, the sun became warmer. Only the top of the mountains had some white left.

I don't know what method Yao Ziran used, but finally waited for a group of people from the grassland tribe to arrive. The two parties came together, and the Ministry of War dispatched another 500 guards to monitor and escort them. The two parties returned to the Shenzhou government office together, and the gate here was immediately closed tightly.

This negotiation lasted more than a month. In the meantime, the two sides fought and stopped, and there was no sign of stopping the war. The most common thing heard in the government office was that they accused each other of not keeping their promises and pretending to be in a state of paralysis under the name of peace talks.

Chen Heng, who had a good handwriting and was also the official in charge of the Ministry of War, participated in the whole process with two other colleagues. They had no right to speak, but just had to record the words and deeds of the two parties in a book for Li Zhi to read after returning to Beijing.

This indirectly opened Chen Heng's eyes. The left assistant minister of the Ministry of War had a very hot temper and was not inferior when scolding people. The right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites was too bookish. When speaking to the outside world, he was still very literary. He often lost or was ignored.

I thought that the officials in the court were all disciples of some black-bellied school. After seeing it with my own eyes, Chen Heng realized that they were all normal people who ate grains. They were happy and angry, and they would be angry to draw their swords to kill people, and they would also persuade themselves to calm down and not ignore the overall situation.

This went on and on until early May. Due to the bad weather on the grassland, the border troops frequently attacked and confronted each other, and the other side was the first to collapse. Sometimes, some things are born from the desperate situation. The progress of the negotiations soon entered the specific details of barter.

The trading items of those border merchants were naturally not on the table. What was discussed were important tea, horses, salt, and silver. Among them, Chen Heng from Yangzhou in Jiangnan was privately questioned by Yao Ziran and the Minister several times.

In the entire Dayong delegation, only Chen Heng had actually done business and succeeded. Report the economic data and opinions collected by himself to the superiors one by one.

Near the end of May, after several rounds of haggling, the two sides finally reached a deal. The remaining part was the exchange of letters of credence, which was the most important matter. The two ministers accompanied the grassland delegation on a fast horse and simple dress, and went ahead. Small fish like Chen Heng can go to Shenzhou for a day or two before going back.

It is worth mentioning that in order to make this negotiation go smoothly. Under the unification of the people with good intentions, all the tribes in the grassland were united and the country was named Jian.

This is really bad news that can't be any worse.

Maybe looking back, they might have planned it with such an idea from the beginning. Chen Heng wrote his conjecture on paper, only for the sake of enlightenment in the future, and did not dare to show it to outsiders.

I can't stand the hunger. I haven't eaten for a day. I'm going to eat first. Remember to vote, go, go.