Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

After the old man's birthday, everyone's purpose of coming back had been achieved, so everyone gathered their things and prepared to go back.

On the morning of the 26th, Zixuan and Jinghan took people back to the village, and then Jinghan ordered people to pack everything and prepare to return to Xizhou. Qian and others all went back to pack their own things. Everything that should be packed and boxed was organized.

As soon as the old man heard that Zixuan and the others were leaving, he called Zixuan over. "Zixuan, are you leaving now?"

"Well, grandpa, we won't be back for a long time this time. I'm afraid we have saved a lot of things over in Xizhou. We have to go back quickly. After all, it's too close to Beiyuan Kingdom. "Zixuan sat next to the old man and said with a smile.

"Well, it will take several years for you to come back now, right? I don't know if I will see you again." The old man sighed.

"Grandpa, you have to take good care of yourself. Don't you still want to see Qingyuan marry a wife?" Zixuan quickly spoke to comfort the old man. "Grandpa, think about it, how lively our family will be by then. Doesn't grandpa just hate the excitement at home?"

The old man was attracted by Zixuan's words and kept nodding, "Hey, this is the best. Grandpa has been looking forward to this day. Zixuan, after you go back, you should also take care of the house. You are a man "You can't just listen to your wife on everything." This old man can't let go of this matter.

The old lady next to her reached out and stabbed her husband, then smiled at Zixuan, "Zixuan, don't listen to your grandpa, your grandpa is a bit old and confused. You two live your life, do whatever you like, don't care what others say What. Jinghan is capable and doesn’t go to outsiders for the money she earns.”

Zixuan nodded and did not take the old man's words to heart, but in his heart, Zixuan was a little worried about the old man. The old man was a very sensible old man before. What happened this time? Why are you starting to get into trouble? Is it really because of my age?

When Zixuan came out of the old man's house, he went to find the Xing family, "Dad, my son is leaving tomorrow. You and your mother should take care of yourself at home. I see that grandpa seems to be not quite right these days. You two need to be more careful." Be careful, if anything happens, please tell me immediately." Zixuan was a little worried, so he specifically asked.

"Yes, your mother and I also feel that your grandpa has been seriously ill in the past two years and is a little confused. You also know that your grandpa was injured when he was young. He has been in poor health in the past few years. You have to take medicine. Okay, we will pay attention. You can go back to Xizhou with peace of mind." Xingjia patted his son on the shoulder, "Son, this emperor is very kind to you. You have jumped several ranks. You must guard this border in Xizhou and maintain the emperor's trust."

Xingjia is a real farmer. In his simple concept, if someone treats you well, you should repay him ten times. That's why he told Zixuan like this. This is also a father's expectation for his son.

Zixuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, dad, my son understands. My son is deeply favored by the emperor and will definitely live up to the emperor's expectations."

Mr. He over there also said, "Son, my mother doesn't understand those important national affairs, so I won't talk about them. As for me, my only request is that you get along well with your wife, and it's best to have more children. Just Qingyuan "And Qingyao, there are too few. Our Lin family is already quite thin, so you need to have more. It would be best to have two little girls. Mom, I also want to have several little granddaughters."

As soon as He said this, Zixuan and Xingjia all laughed, "Mom, I also want to have a few more children, but this matter of having children is beyond your control. Just leave it to fate. If God has mercy on me, he will definitely do it. Give me a few more kids.”

Father, son, and relatives were together, chatting with endless affection until dark.

On the morning of the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, Zixuan and the others packed everything. Anfu and others stood in front of the carriage, waiting for Zixuan and Jinghan to get on.

Zixuan and his wife took their children, knelt down to the old couple and Xingjia couple, kowtowed, and then stood up to say goodbye.

He held Jinghan's hand, tears welling up in her eyes, "Child, when you get there, you must take care of yourself, and take good care of Zixuan and the children. Not to mention other mothers, your grandfather is not well. Okay, Mom can’t go over to accompany you, so you should pay more attention to yourself.”

Jinghan also felt a little uncomfortable. Her mother-in-law had always been very kind to her. There was no conflict at all between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and their relationship was very harmonious. Jinghan held a purse in her hand and stuffed it into He's hand, "Mom, here is a thousand taels of silver notes. Take it carefully. Now that you and dad are getting older, don't worry about it. Do so much work and take good care of yourself. If you have any expenses at home, just stick to the money I give you. I will have some sent back to you after a while. "

He quickly refused, but couldn't get Jinghan to deal with it, so he accepted it.

Jinghan held Qingyuan's hand, Zixuan hugged Qingyuan, and the family walked to the carriage. After putting Qingyuan and Qingyao on the carriage, Zixuan and Jinghan turned around and waved to their families before getting in the car.

The driver waved his whip and the carriage moved forward.

The Lin family watched the carriage leave until it was out of sight, then went home. Everyone felt uncomfortable, so there was no need to talk about it.

The carriage kept going, and when it arrived at the town, Wen Han and the others were about to leave. Everyone happened to be walking to the county together, and when they arrived at the county seat, they separated. Zixuan and others went north, while Wenhan and others went south.

Jinghan and the others walked all the way north, and it took them five days to return to Xizhou. As soon as Zixuan returned to Xizhou, he quickly summoned everyone in the yamen to understand the situation in Xizhou during this period.

"Sir, there is nothing wrong with us here in Xizhou. There is quite a movement over in Beiyuan Kingdom." said the Tongzhi next to him. "Last winter was too cold. The herdsmen here built livestock pens with the help of the yamen, so there was no loss of livestock. But over in Beiyuan Kingdom, a large number of cattle and sheep froze to death last winter. "My Lord also knows that the people on this grassland live with their cattle and sheep, but things are not going well in Beiyuan Kingdom now."

"That's it, the weather outside is still quite cold now, so the meat can still be stored for the time being. Those frozen cattle and sheep should still be able to be eaten. When the weather gets warmer, all the meat can be put away If we can't stand it anymore, I'm afraid Beiyuan Kingdom will start sending troops to grab things. They will never let the people starve to death. But we, Daqi, will suffer." Another person also said.

Zixuan listened and nodded, "In this way, starting tomorrow, we will go everywhere to check the city defenses. I see, we really need to prepare in advance. People in remote areas must find ways to gather them together. Those in our prefectural city The population was not large, and there was still a lot of space to expand the city. It was better to let the people living near the border move into the city temporarily under the protection of the city wall than to just scatter outside. "

"There is also the issue of defense. Although we have some troops stationed here, there are not too many after all. It is still the same as before. Each village organizes young people to gather together for patrols and training. Send more veterans to help, so be sure to pay attention at all times. The situation in Beiyuan Kingdom. "Zixuan adopted this method when he was in Zhendong. Every year during the slack season, he would organize young people from villages and towns for training. In this way, if something really happens, these young men will be a force that cannot be underestimated.

Most men in the north are good at boxing and kicking. Especially the herdsmen on the grasslands usually start learning bow and horse riding and shooting at the age of seven or eight, and they are very brave. Zixuan sent those veterans there to train, not in terms of kung fu, but in battle formations. The most effective way to deal with the people of Beiyuan Kingdom is not to compete with each other, but to unite. As long as they gather into a battle formation, the soldiers of the Northern Yuan Kingdom will be helpless.

This is the key that Zixuan found out after reading countless records of the war between Daqi and Beiyuan Kingdom, so Zixuan pays great attention to these. Fortunately, several generals stationed here have a good relationship with Zixuan. They all agree with Zixuan's approach and are very cooperative. They often send their generals to help.

When you go out, you become a soldier, when you enter, you become a people. Zixuan's approach is very consistent with these two sentences.

Jinghan was not idle either, and asked someone to find the manager of the workshop, and they all talked about the recent situation together.

"Madam, because a large number of cattle and sheep in Beiyuan have frozen to death, we won't be able to harvest much wool in the beginning of spring, so the output of the weaving mill will decrease in the future," said the person from the weaving mill.

"It doesn't matter, we have our own pasture now. Madam, the pasture can produce a lot of wool this spring, so we can make up for it, so as not to cause too heavy losses." The steward on the pasture said quickly.

Jinghan nodded. Fortunately, he saved some time and set up a few pastures, which are now in good use. "Okay, since that's the case, there's nothing to worry about. Everyone, in the past two years, everything has been going wrong here. There were floods last summer and it was so cold in winter, so the profits of these industries are also It has dropped a lot. Natural disasters are inevitable after all. There is no need for us to be discouraged. We all need to cheer up and do our best. I understand all your efforts and we just need to grit our teeth and get through it. It will get better in the future.”

"Jinghan is just a woman. Thanks to your help over the years, she has achieved what she has today. Your kindness will never be forgotten by Jinghan. I hope you will continue to support Jinghan all the way." Jinghan stood up and gave The men saluted.