On April 20, the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly on the northern border of the Ming Dynasty.
Outside the Nanguan of Xuanfu Town, the two imperial wives of the Zhang Mansion and Zhang Lifang, the daughter of the Zhang Mansion, were seeing off Zhang Cheng. Also coming to see him off were He Shihui and Lin Fangping.
"Mom, aunt, this boy's name is Zhang Chengfang. He is our newly adopted son. From now on, when Cheng'er is not in town, he will fulfill his filial piety on Cheng'er's behalf."
After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he called Zhang Chengfang and said: "Come, Chengfang, kneel down and kowtow to grandma and second grandma. Oh, by the way, this is your aunt."
Zhang Chengfang knelt down and kowtowed to Mrs. Zhang Yang and Mrs. Zhang Han, shouting: "Chengfang goes to grandma and greets the second grandma."
"Cheng Fang sends greetings to aunt..."
When Zhang Chengfang knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Lifang to say hello, Zhang Lifang jumped up: "Oh my god, brother, when did you have such a big son..."
Zhang Cheng smiled, then hit his sister on the head with a sudden blow, saying: "It's not a bad idea to have such a big nephew to tease you with so much nonsense."
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Cheng smiled heartily and no longer paid attention to his sister Zhang Lifang's nonsense. He waved to He Shihui and Lin Fangping and said, "I'll leave it to you two here in Zhencheng. Fangping, you have to train those dolls with all your heart.
I will be of great use in the future."
Li Fangping replied in a deep voice: "General, don't worry, Fangping will definitely do his best."
"Well, after I have settled down on the North Road, I will call you and those children over. Before that, be sure to settle down and practice well.
He Shihui, I am not in the town, so you should pay more attention to all aspects. If there is an emergency, you can go to Yang Shuai for advice, and you should also keep an eye on Diao Dacheng's properties." Zhang Chengchen said.
The voice explained.
Seeing that everything was as ordered, he walked to his mother and aunt again, knelt down and bowed his head and said: "Mom, aunt, you two should take care of yourself, Cheng'er has gone."
…………
Zhang Cheng and Chen Zhong led thirty guards and rode horses along the official road.
There are green willows on both sides of the official road, and the sunlight shines on the official road through the branches and leaves.
There were more people walking on the road than in winter. They were all in groups, walking together under the shade of willows beside the official road.
Occasionally, there are caravans of dozens or hundreds of people. He drives a large number of carts slowly, and there are even knights riding back and forth shouting.
Zhang Cheng led the knights in the middle of the official road and galloped forward. Except for the occasional large caravan that blocked the road and made it inconvenient to gallop, the journey went smoothly.
"General, after passing the Jiming Post in front, we will reach the boundary of the security guards. Shall we take a break?" Chen Zhongce asked on his horse.
Zhang Cheng also slowed down his horse speed and said in a deep voice: "After passing Jiming Post, go directly to Xiaoxiaoyu to rest, and take a look at Liu Quan and the others."
"General, I will send two cavalry to inform you in advance so that Liu Quan and the others can be prepared," Chen Zhong said.
"No need, I'm just going to make a surprise attack on him!"
After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he galloped out on his horse, leaving a burst of laughter behind him.
"Hahaha……"
Chen Zhong also laughed, waved his hand and shouted: "Follow me!"
He laughed and chased after him.
…………
After passing the Baoan Guard City, we are getting closer and closer to Xiaoyaoyu. The flow of people on the official road here is obviously not as much as that to the west of the Bao Bao Guard City.
When the few passers-by saw Zhang Cheng and others galloping, they all hid on both sides of the official road and moved out of the middle of the official road from a distance.
They are all poor people and small businessmen and hawkers. They live a hard life and don't want to get into trouble. In these days and days, men in their thirties and forties wearing strong armor are a force that cannot be underestimated.
The group of people gradually came to the outside of Xiaoxiao Valley. From a distance, they saw a group of farmers looking like people walking back and forth in the fields. The fields were golden and interspersed with green clumps.
"General, it's not bad. The harvest here is better than that of Xinzhuang Castle." Chen Zhongce was on his horse, looking at the farmland in front of him, feeling a little excited.
Zhang Cheng also looked at the golden color below the hill with satisfaction, and said: "It takes almost two months to settle down here than in Xinzhuangbao. Winter wheat has been planted. Look at the fields that will be opened later.
It’s great to be able to plant spring wheat!”
Suddenly, Chen Zhong shouted: "Master General, look."
Zhang Cheng looked in the direction he pointed and saw a cloud of smoke in the distance, rolling towards him.
Chen Zhong waved his hand and said: "Separate, be on guard, Liu Jinhai will protect the general!"
Zhang Cheng looked at the direction in which the group of knights was coming. It was more than 500 steps west of the south gate of Xiaoxiao Valley. He said coldly: "Don't be nervous. At most, there will be ten knights. Chen Zhong, send a group of people to meet them. Look.
Let’s see if they are Liu Quan’s men.”
Chen Zhong received the order and shouted: "Li Changsheng, your team comes up to see the situation."
A strong man answered the order loudly, led ten cavalrymen and galloped down the hill, and met the cavalry team running towards the west.
…………
"General, when you come, you don't send a letter to your subordinates first. It's a humble job so that you can be prepared."
On the watchtower west of Xiaoxiao Valley, Liu Quan said a little aggrievedly.
"Why, do I need to report my general's whereabouts to you?"
Zhang Cheng stared and said, while Liu Quan smiled awkwardly and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"This... the general is really unjustly wronging his humble position. We dare not... just, should we summon Sun Dashan and Zhao Shihu to come over and listen to the general's instructions."
Liu Quan said timidly.
Zhang Cheng stopped teasing him and said in a deep voice: "Send the knight to ask them to come over and have dinner together in the evening."
After saying that, he pointed to the farmland outside the valley and asked, "Liu Quan, a lot of new acres have been planted in this field. What do you think the harvest will be this year?"
Liu Quan took a step forward and introduced: "General, most of the 5,000 acres of land originally opened were abandoned old fields. After they were cleared, they were filled with winter wheat.
There are still about 2,000 acres of newly opened fields that have only just matured. I only had time to plant some spring wheat. It is hard to say what the harvest will be. I estimate that the old fields will produce more than one stone per mu.
Three thousand stones of wheat can still be harvested here. In addition, according to the general's instructions, we will also harvest the two abandoned small forts outside the valley. This year we will repair the houses, village walls, and level the fields.
Now the two forts have leveled nearly 6,000 acres. We are short of manpower and have not reclaimed new wasteland yet. When autumn comes, we will harvest the wheat here and plant millet.
The old fields on the two forts can also be planted with millet. In addition to the expenses of our Xiaoxiao Valley, there will definitely be some surplus. For this reason, we have built three more granaries in the valley to store these grains.