These students of Jiufeng Academy were still studying, but they did not expect that they were suddenly kidnapped from Shanxi to Tongguan. They did not expect that the entire Guanlong area would be occupied by the Song army in an instant.

I was shocked, frightened, and at a loss what to do.

Lin Zi saw their expressions, but he was very proud...

His spies crossed the Yellow River and inquired about the whereabouts of Zhang's girl and her group along the way. They found Jiufeng Academy and met these scholars.

When they asked, Yuan Congzheng was willing to tell at first, but later he realized something was wrong and exclaimed, "Who are you? Go and report to the official!"

The spies didn't dare to let the scholar do anything bad, so they simply kidnapped them back.

Since the commander-in-chief entered Chang'an, he has had too few scholars at his disposal and has had to do everything by himself. They have seen it for all to see. Of course, when he encounters scholars, he must be interrogated by the commander-in-chief himself before recruiting them.

At this time, Yuan Congzheng was slightly frightened. Everyone had been kidnapped. He didn't dare not answer, but he still asked: "I wonder if the commander has any ill intentions in looking for them?"

"There is no malice." Li Xia said sternly, "I am a close friend, so I went to look for him."

"That's it." Yuan Congzheng breathed a sigh of relief and replied: "Actually, the 'female Taoist priest' the Marshal called was the second daughter of Mr. Yishan and the aunt of the student clan. Her husband's family suffered an early disaster, so she became a monk.

For the Tao, the name is 'Master Wuxi'."

Although Li Xia didn't expect it, he heard Han Chengxu say that Yuan Hao asked his second daughter.

"Yuan Yan?"

Yuan Congzheng felt a little embarrassed when he heard him call her by her given name, and responded: "Yes, now it's better to call her Wuxi Zhenren."

"The Yuan family has a good relationship with the Shuntian Zhang family?"

"When Jin died, Mr. Yishan was fortunate enough to be protected by the Zhang family, and he worked with Zhang Shuai to preserve the "Jin Shilu". They had a deep friendship."

Li Xia didn't hesitate and asked again: "Do you recognize the young man who was traveling with Master Wuxi?"

"I don't know." Yuan Congzheng said: "But... it is said to be Xiao Langjun, but it seems to be a daughter dressed in men's clothing? She and the clan aunt are considered sisters, and they can be regarded as the elders of the students."

"Can you tell me more about their whereabouts?"

"The commander really means no harm?"

"There's no harm in that. That's my friend."

"Well, they wanted to go to Chang'an, but they encountered Tongguan blockade on the way, so they had to cross the Yellow River north and head west from Shanxi. On the way, they passed the academy, stayed and rested and bought dry food, and set off on the road the next day. The students only went with Wu

Master Xi just talked for a few words."

Li Xia asked: "Where do they plan to cross west?"

"It's Pujin Crossing." Yuan Congzheng responded, "However, not long after, I heard that there was a war and crossing the Yellow River was prohibited. I don't know if they crossed the Yellow River."

"Didn't you go back to the academy?"

"No, Fenglingdu is also prohibited." Yuan Congsheng glanced at the forest and said: "The officers and soldiers are strictly guarded. It is difficult for ordinary people to find a boat and disembark from the countryside like this general."

There was some resentment in his tone.

Lin Zi grinned.

Li Xia asked again: "What else do you know?"

"Furthermore... only two days after they left, members of the Shuntian Zhang family went to the academy to investigate or took them back... This is all the students know."

Li Xia felt a little regretful.

Thinking about it, if Zhang Hongdao sent someone to catch up with Zhang Wenjing, it would be possible to take her back to Baozhou from Shanxi.

As for Zhang Hongdao's letter, he probably knew that his sister was going to Shanxi, so he boldly wrote a letter to question Shang Ting.

——"My sister-in-law left home in June and checked along the way. She only went to Shanxi to send the Yuan family home. What does it have to do with Li Xia? If the daughter of the Zhang family in Luoning is not in Jingzhao now, where is she? Shang Gong detained her.

What does this person want to do? Do you doubt the Zhang family?"

It probably means something like that, no wonder his tone is so harsh.

Therefore, Lian Xixian burned half of the letter.

as expected.

When Li Xia thought of this, he hated Lian Xixian deeply for his cunning, but he could also feel the other party's helplessness...

At that time, Lian Xixian's situation was in a state of disarray and he abandoned Guanzhong without authorization. If he escaped, his whole family would be implicated. To make a comeback, he had to kill Li Xia, and at the same time, he had to defend Tongguan to preserve the possibility of counterattack, so he could only hide his surprise troops there.

Huashan, and then force him to go to Huashan.

But he couldn't be stupid enough to attack Mount Huashan. Therefore, Lian Xixian deliberately left the Taoist priest to point out the climbing trails to create the possibility of a sneak attack, and then used the half of the broken letter to try to provoke him.

It's not a powerful method, but it's the only way. Others might have killed themselves to apologize to save the family, but Lian Xixian made a hasty plan, but it almost happened.

If I had been more impulsive at that time...

It doesn't matter anymore, the other party is dead even if he dies.

Li Xia took back her thoughts and felt that the pressure was much relieved.

Although he had already guessed that Zhang Wenjing was fine, he would have been afraid of the unexpected when making decisions before, but now he finally felt relieved.

"Let's wait a while and go find her after Guanzhong has stabilized..."

This thought passed by, and he waved his hand and asked people to take the scholars away.

…

"Commander, do you want to continue the investigation?"

"We have never arranged spies in Shanxi, right?"

"Yes." Lin Zidao: "But what Yuan Congzheng said is indeed true. Our people asked all the way, and the Zhang family girl did pass by Jiufeng Academy."

"Well, I mean, continue the investigation, but be more careful. It just so happens that we can infiltrate Shanxi... Forget it, no need for the time being. We will only pursue Wen Jing, and then withdraw. We can first stabilize Guanzhong and then talk."

Li Xia rubbed his forehead again, finally feeling exhausted.

Taking Guanzhong and subduing Liu Heima will go smoothly.

But the smoother it goes, the more troublesome the follow-up will be. The people are not loyal, the troops are insufficient, and petty tactics are rampant... and we cannot rely on the strength of Song Ting.

You cannot rely on the Song Ting. The most intuitive point is that none of the officials who belong to the Song Ting under you can be used.

The three prefectures and twenty-four prefectures in Guanzhong are twice as large as Hanzhong, and the population is more than three or four times greater.

What is this concept? With one-fifth of the number of officials in Hanzhong, two or three times the number of officials in Guanzhong can be governed.

It's far from time to talk about anything else.

Stability is paramount, and it would be good to be able to gain a foothold within a year.

This is why Li Xia is most afraid of Lian Xixian's details. Fortunately, Lian Xixian has made many mistakes and committed too many crimes, so he can only kill Li Xia for a quick victory, without the opportunity to lurk and cause damage for a long time.

This is why Li Xia is willing to go to Huashan to settle the matter. If he settles the matter early, he will feel at ease soon...

"In this way, for the scholars who are 'invited' back this time, we will send people to bring their families and children back and touch them all."

"yes."

"Notices have also been posted in Tongguan and Huazhou. I want to enrich the shogunate. Talented and learned people can go to Tongguan to apply for recruitment."

Lin Zi asked: "How long will the commander-in-chief stay in Tongguan?"

"We have to wait for the defenders from various places to mobilize. We must not be careful along the Yellow River. There are three old men and Liu Yuanzhen in Chang'an. I can feel more at ease..."

"Understood, we must find the Zhang family girl as soon as possible."

Li Xia smiled and said: "Go ahead... By the way, give this policy paper to those scholars to work on."

~~

In the past, Li Xia always thought that the imperial examination was unbearable, but recently he discovered that when it comes to selecting talents these days, the imperial examination is indeed the most suitable.

Apart from other things, the policy theory of the Song Dynasty was not at all the corrupt Confucian thing he imagined, and was quite practical.

At least, let him come up with a new method suitable for this era. It is nothing more than opening more colleges, which is what people have been doing at that time. Due to financial and material constraints, no one can make it available to everyone in a short period of time.

Therefore, his recent method of selecting talents is just to throw away a policy statement.

The topic this time is not new. In the fourth year of Xingchang, I heard about Yun Sun's policy discussion and changed it to ask how to make Guanzhong prosperous and strong.

A quick glance the next day revealed that among the scholars at Jiufeng Academy, Yuan Congzheng's knowledge was a bit too bright.

Li Xia was surprised for a moment and called him over again.

"I didn't expect He Yi to be so talented... Take a seat."

"Thank you, Marshal."

Yuan Congzheng saw that Li Xia was much more enthusiastic than yesterday. He seemed a little confused, but he still sat down honestly.

Li Xia just took a closer look today. Yuan Congzheng's behavior was indeed not simple. Underneath the hesitation and fear, he was clearly calm and confident.

There was a bit of admiration in his eyes, and he asked: "How old is He Yi?"

"Commander, you are twenty and four years old."

"You are very talented, but you have never been an official? It's a pity that Mongolia doesn't know how to employ scholars."

Yuan Congzheng bowed slightly and said: "There are no imperial examinations in Mongolia today, so there are talented people in the countryside. As for the students, their talents are sparse and their learning is shallow. They have been in remote villages for a long time, so it is appropriate for them to have not entered officialdom."
To be continued...