When the sky was dim, Liu Jinsuo carefully touched Liu Niang's bulging belly.
He stayed in Lin'an for two months and traveled back and forth for two months. When he returned home, it turned out that Liu Niang had not yet given birth, and she had been pregnant for more than eight months.
"I'm going to defend the city so that there won't be any fighting in Hanzhong, so that you can have a baby in peace..."
Liu Jinsuo murmured something in a low voice, and because Liu Niang was still awake, he quietly walked out of the door.
His residence, Liu Datong, is located in Yanku Lane, not far north of the Commander's Mansion.
After exiting the alley, turn into East Street, and when you look up, you can see the Hanwang Tower.
First, he and his entourage had breakfast in the restaurant diagonally opposite the Shuai Mansion.
It was already very cold, and smoke rose from the pots and pans, spreading over the old flags outside the shop, which read "Tianxiang Restaurant".
The reason for this name is that Hanzhong has been known as "Heavenly Han" since ancient times.
After slurping down the bowl of noodles and nibbling five pieces of hot walnut buns, Liu Jinsuo patted his belly before getting up, and saw Li Zhaocheng escorting a prisoner to the commander's mansion.
"Dalangjun!" Liu Jinsuo beckoned forward and shouted: "Would you like something to eat? Lao Liu please!"
Li Zhaocheng turned his head and refused.
He is good at cooking, and for breakfast he eats small meat porridge cooked by himself instead of eating these street snacks.
But the prisoner he was escorting said, "It smells really good. Can General Liu treat me to a bowl?"
"Huh." Liu Jinsuo recognized this man, stared at him with wide eyes, and said, "You were captured by me in Chengdu. What is your name? Jia...Jia...in short, you have the same surname as that cricket."
"Jia Hou Jia Peizhi."
"Oh, yes, Liu Heima's brother-in-law...hey, you've lost a lot of weight."
Although Jia Hou was in a state of embarrassment, he did not lose his elegant demeanor. He smiled bitterly and said: "I have lost weight. Even if I am a prisoner, I rarely treat nobles like Marshal Li."
"Isn't it just to do some work?" Liu Jinsuo laughed loudly, took a walnut bun and stuffed it into Jia Hou's hand, then led his people to the city head to change the defense.
With his hands bound, Jia Hou took a big bite of the steamed bun and licked his fingers at the end.
At this moment, he had walked through Hantai and entered the General Office of the Marshal's Mansion through a side door.
"This layout... faces south and faces north." Jia Hou commented.
Li Zhaocheng said nothing and just led him all the way into the meeting hall.
After waiting for a while, Li Xia strode in.
"Why are you treating Mr. Jia like this? Why don't you let go!"
Jia Hou shook his head and secretly scolded Li Xia for saying this with an expression that was not full at all and was too perfunctory.
Two soldiers stepped forward to untie him and retreated to guard outside the hall.
He rubbed his wrists, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Li Shuai."
"No need to be polite."
Li Xia was willing to act, but he only did one or two lines, and when he spoke again he was still straightforward.
"Without further ado, I invite you here today and I plan to let you go back."
As expected, Jia Hou smiled and said: "May I ask Li Shuai, what are the conditions?"
"There are no conditions." Li Xia said: "Please give Liu Heima a message... His Meng Ge Khan is dead and Mongolia is divided. Please ask him to surrender with the land in Guanzhong and protect his high official position?"
Jia Hou laughed loudly, picked up the rope on the ground and tied his wrists.
"Then please Li Shuai, please tie me back. I am willing to continue to work for Li Shuai."
"Just say something. It's none of Liu Heima's business. You can go back."
Jia Hou narrowed his eyes and said, "This is absolutely impossible."
"Ask him without losing any money."
"Oh, return to the Song Dynasty? You are dirtying the ears of my marshal."
Li Xia smiled and said: "Mr. Jia makes his own decision, whether he wants to go back and smear Liu Heima's ears, or continue to carry stones here."
Jia Houlang smiled and asked: "In the eyes of Li Shuai, my humble life is only worthy of humiliating the marshal?"
"There is nothing cheap about human life."
As Li Xia spoke, he pointed at Li Zhaocheng and said, "This is my brother."
Jia Hou glanced at it, feeling quite puzzled.
Li Xia added: "I have a relationship with Liu Heima. Since he has the intention of marrying me, I shamelessly proposed to marry the daughter of the Liu family for my brother, and we will be friends for generations from now on..."
"Will the Li family return to Mongolia?"
"No, it's the same sentence. I put forward my opinion and asked Liu Heima to consider it."
"Then there's nothing to think about. Please don't be wishful thinking, Li Shuai."
"Mr. Jia is only responsible for delivering the message." Li Xia looked indifferent, raised his hand and said, "Please."
…
Li Zhaocheng's face became a little more gloomy, and he arranged for someone to send Jia Hou north. After much deliberation, he decided to return to the meeting hall.
"Erlang."
"You came just in time, help me go through this pile of documents." Li Xia didn't even raise his head.
Li Zhaocheng sighed, stepped forward to take the official documents, and said: "I am very happy that you are willing to recognize me as your 'brother', but my marriage..."
"I asked Yan Yunyun, she doesn't want to marry you."
Li Zhaocheng was stunned for a moment, feeling that these words were very heartbreaking.
Li Xia said: "She has discussed with Mr. Han and plans to recruit a bride-in-law. It does not require much ability and family background, but it is enough to live in poverty and live happily. She wants an old man who can take care of her housework, is honest, and is a bit clumsy.
you understand?"
"Actually." Li Zhaocheng said slowly: "I just want to open a restaurant and do..."
Li Xia didn't have time to listen to what he said slowly, and said directly: "You thought you were suitable, but you are not. You were young and inexperienced, not stupid. You will have grown a lot, so will you be able to continue as before?
?Yan Yunyun will not gamble the rest of her life on what will happen to you. If she doesn’t have time to bet with you, why should she bet with you? Everything she does is to control her own destiny. She is with you and will work hard for her.
How is it possible that half of the destiny that comes is handed over to the unknown for nothing?"
After saying this, Li Xia looked out the window.
Although it was about Li Zhaocheng and Yan Yunyun, how could he and Liu Heima not be the same?
But Li Xia still said: "It's impossible for her to fall in love with you, so give up."
Li Zhaocheng felt heartbroken.
Li Xia ignored his heartache and said: "She saw you as a good-looking person and got along with you once. But appearance is the only thing that matters. After that, she always looks at the person herself..."
"Erlang, stop talking... stop talking... I understand..."
Li Zhaocheng turned his back, sniffed, and tried to keep his voice steady.
"But how about letting me calm down for a while? For the time being, I really don't want to marry the daughter of the Liu family..."
"If you think too much, Liu Heima will not agree to marry his daughter to you, so go ahead and get busy."
"There is no way Liu Heima will agree, so why worry about it? The old Taoist has long said that you must be more free and easy."
Hao Xiuyang turned around, took out a copy of "Baopuzi" from the bookcase and handed it to Li Zhaocheng.
"I borrowed it from you to cultivate your moral character."
Li Zhaocheng took the scripture and sighed helplessly, saying: "In front of my second brother, I always feel...I seem to be childish."
"That guy..."
Hao Xiuyang murmured, not knowing what to say to Li Xia, and finally rubbed his arms.
"Really cold."
He hired many maids at home, but he was worried that they would hear him when he spoke. As soon as Li Zhaocheng came, he asked them all to leave, and he had to do many things by himself.
It was already night and it was very cold. Hao Xiuyang went out of the house, took a piece of coal with iron tongs and put it in the stove, then picked up a pot of wine to warm it.
"Look at this coal."
"The style is weird."
"briquettes were not made before you went to Lin'an...it's cold, and there's nothing to keep warm. It's time for people to get cold, especially for someone as old as this."
Hao Xiuyang also felt emotional. He took a blanket and put it on his body, leaning against the stove. He had a lot to talk about, but he didn't know how to talk about it for a while.
"Liu Heima, Guanzhong, coal... Li Jieshuai has a lot of things on his mind... How can I put it in words? Let's talk about heating. Although there has been coal since the Han Dynasty, it has been scarce. People have to cut wood for warmth in winter.
In the land of Guanzhong, the mountains and forests are gradually decreasing. In the ancestors, it was strictly forbidden to cut mulberry. Forty-two feet was considered as one count, and more than three counts were punishable by death. During the Taiping period of the Song Dynasty, every winter, the three divisions produced hundreds of thousands of charcoal at half price to help the poor.
civil……"
Having said this, Hao Xiuyang pointed to the briquettes in the stove.
"Small objects are not difficult to make... Before Li Jieshuai went to Lin'an, he gave Lao Tao this thick stack of manuscripts. Some are difficult to make, but there are many easy-to-make things like this. The difficult thing is how to give it to each family
Used by every household.
It took Lao Dao two months to prospect for coal in Huaying Mountain, but what happened? The fields needed people to plant, the water conservancy needed people to repair, the roads needed to be dug, the iron and stone needed to be mined, and the harvesting needed people to make it...everything needed people, and
In order for people to have enough to eat, they must first cultivate the fields. There are only these people in Shu, but how many people does the old Taoist have under his command?
The difficulties are far beyond these.
In the winter, coal is not enough to keep warm. Clothes, kudzu, hemp, and silk are not enough to keep warm. Li Jieshuai said that cotton must be planted extensively in Sichuan and Sichuan.
"Clothes, soap hats and curtains", Jibei Shangyi, which he calls "cotton clothes", have been around for a long time, but it is difficult to implement them.
I sent people to the south to search for Jibei seeds. After four months, I came back with seeds. When the spring plowing comes next year, I wonder if some companies are willing to change the land to cotton?
If this thing in the hands of the old Taoist is good for the people, it must be good for the people. Start doing it as soon as possible. Next year, the cold of the people in Nanzheng County will be somewhat relieved. In two or three years, the cold of the people in Hanzhong will be somewhat relieved. In six or seven years, it may be somewhat relieved.
The people of Sichuan and Sichuan are in a state of despair. However, they will not be able to change the situation of the country for ten or twenty years.
The reason why Li Jieshuai wanted to take Guanzhong can be understood by an experienced Taoist. There are cattle, sheep and horses in Guanzhong, which are livestock power, wool, coal, population, and fame and prestige. They are all things he urgently seeks. To take Guanzhong, he
He also wanted to take Shanxi in order to have mined mountains of coal and iron mountains.
And the things Li Jieshuai had, including briquettes, cotton-padded clothes, and his heart to help the people, should also be what the people in Guanzhong need.
It's a pity that he doesn't have the military strength, so he wants to win over Liu Heima... Whether he can succeed or not, I don't know. Tonight, I just lament that he has many things on his mind. For either party, everything is not simple."
Listening to Hao Xiuyang's long emotion, Li Zhaocheng felt quite ashamed.
Some things are often determined by status. In the past, he only wanted to open a restaurant, but now because of Li Xia, his ambition is somewhat different.
"Now that I have said that, just marry the daughter of the Liu family."
"Ha, the old Taoist said that it is impossible for Liu Heima to marry his daughter to you."
Hao Xiuyang chuckled, picked up a pile of wooden parts nearby and started playing with them.
Li Zhaocheng knew what it was, so he took a piece of wood and started carving it with a knife.
His hands are very steady and he carves very carefully.
After a while, She Xiuyang fell asleep sitting on the recliner.
Li Zhaocheng was thinking about Yan Yunyun and didn't want to go home and be alone. He still sat there carving the wood, occasionally getting up to add some charcoal to the fire.
The whole night passed like this.
When Hao Xiuyang woke up at dawn, Li Zhaocheng was no longer there. He must have gone to deal with paperwork again.
He turned around and saw that the sets of molds on the case were already ready. He picked them up, looked at them, and sighed.
"Let's wait until Commander-in-Chief comes to inspect the workshop and then we can talk..."