lady, please calm down

November twenty-fifth.

At one hour and one hour, there was heavy fog.

Xue Laishou, a worker at the official salt field in Boshan, Sizhou, picked up his eight-year-old daughter and slapped her on the butt several times.

The mother-in-law felt distressed, but she didn't dare to persuade him when she saw that he was really angry.

At two o'clock in the morning, Xue Laishou went out to work angrily. On the way, he couldn't help but sigh, "I just had a few good days, and I don't know how to cherish my blessing!" '

Their family was a refugee who fled from Huainan to Huaibei in the first year of Xuanqing, and was later resettled in Lianshui County, Sizhou.

Lianshui is close to the sea, with many tidal flats and saline-alkali land, and fertile land is scarce.

Xue Laishou was only allocated one-third of an acre of land. This amount of cultivated land alone would definitely not be enough to support a family of four.

However, the young district chief from Caizhou introduced him to a job as a saltworks employee. He could earn a monthly salary of 700 yuan, and his life suddenly became more comfortable.

Originally, the salaries of employees in the Boshan Salt Farm were not so high. At first, the salt farm only produced two products, coarse salt and fine salt.

However, whether it is cheaper coarse salt or expensive fine salt, it can only be sold to the Salt and Iron Bureau at a prescribed price, and the salt farm is not allowed to sell it privately.

Many industries in Huaibei are now allowed to be operated by private merchants, but the salt industry, which involves people's livelihood, is a government-owned monopoly.

Salt is sold at a low price in Huaibei, so the price purchased from the salt farm is not much higher. The profit of the salt farm is low, and the salary of the employees is naturally low.

Later, it was Tang Jing'an and Tang Qingtian, the prefect of Sizhou, who personally came up with a solution for the salt farm. The salt from your salt farm cannot be sold privately, but you can definitely produce an additional batch of coarse salt-cured marine fish after completing the production tasks set by the Salt and Iron Bureau. Sell ​​to the mainland!

Xue Laishou didn't know whether this was considered taking advantage of a policy loophole, but he knew that since then, the salt farm's efficiency had improved day by day.

After learning about this incident, the manager of the salt farm drew inferences about other cases and even built a tofu shop outside the salt farm. He hired employees' families and used the endless brine from the salt farm to produce dried tofu, yuba, Qianzhang and other dry goods that were convenient for long-distance trafficking.

The salt field is booming
This year, for example, Xue Laishou's salary increased from three hundred coins per string to seven hundred coins per string. In addition, he often sold the salted fish and shredded bean curd in the workshop, which did not look good, to his employees at almost no cost, so that he could always have meat at home.

But on such a good day, my girl actually muttered that she was tired of eating salted fish this morning, and secretly gave the fish pieces in her bowl to the kitten!
If you spoil your food, you will be punished by God!
Xue Laishou beat his daughter for this. Recalling the time when their family had just fled to Huaibei, the Huaibei soldiers brought a bowl of hot porridge. The daughter didn't care about the heat and slurped the porridge sweetly while holding the bowl.

It’s only been a few years, but I already dislike salted fish!

In his eyes, not cherishing food means not cherishing a good life. Think about the past in Huainan, where two meals a day were sparse, and sometimes it was impossible to eat.

Nowadays, you have three meals a day, and you can’t live without meat. How can you think of God?

With worries about the next generation, Xue Laishou came to the salt field where salt is dried.

It's foggy today, which is not good for drying salt. Several colleagues who arrived early are sitting in the work shed chatting.

". It is said that a million troops from the Kingdom of Jin and Xixia have come and surrounded the city of Tokyo. Our prince is leading the army to deal with them."

Recently, the news that Jin and Xia were at war with Qi at the same time has spread throughout Huaibei, and workers' chats are always about this matter.

But as soon as the man finished speaking, another person retorted: "Nonsense! The first part of the Jin Kingdom is blocked outside the pass. The Jin army and Xixia soldiers outside Tokyo are said to be 500,000, but in fact there are more than 200,000. ”

The person who was refuted was not annoyed and just said: "Hey, no matter if he has more than 200,000 or one million, he can't defeat the Huaibei soldiers led by our prince!"

"That's true"

Strange to say, Tokyo is thousands of miles away from Sizhou. This distance is not close, but it is definitely not thousands of miles away.

If things go according to the past, the people of Sizhou will be panicked and ready to flee south at any time when they learn that the Tokyo War is in full swing.

But in fact, the local order remains the same. At most, various militia groups have been practicing more frequently recently.

However, when the common people talked about the Jin Xia Army's southern invasion, they did not show any worry. This shows how much the people in Huaibei trust their own soldiers.

Several people saw Xue Lai Shou walking into the work shed and greeted him one after another. Perhaps because Xue Lai Shou was the leader of the saltworks militia, someone immediately asked him: "Brother Lai Shou, do you think our prince can win?"

"Win, of course we can win! However, the Jin Kingdom and the Xixia Kingdom are so shameless when they attack one of us and bully the smaller ones!"

Xue Laishou expressed his opinion.

In the middle of the hour, the fog dispersed slightly, and everyone dispersed, each busy with his own work.

Xue Laishou walked along the salt fields toward the seaside to observe the crystallization.

About half a quarter of an hour later, Xue Laishou felt alarmed inexplicably, and looked up at the sea by accident.

The next moment, Xue Laishou's expression suddenly changed.

But on the calm sea shrouded in mist, one giant ship after another, piercing the fog with its sharp bow, slowly approached the beach outside the Boshan Salt Field.

This is not a harbor for ships!

Still twenty or thirty feet away from the shore, a harsh creaking sound penetrated the eardrums. It was the sound of wood deforming under pressure.

The giant ship at the forefront ran aground.

The giant ship quickly put down more than ten small boats on the left and right, and a sergeant armed with a sword and gun boarded the small boat and quickly rowed to the shore.

At this time, Xue Laishou was completely sure that the other party did not get lost here, but deliberately chose to land on a tidal flat that was not a port!
Who would do this?
It could only be enemy troops coming for a sneak attack.
Xue Laishou felt trembling all over. Although he had never been on the battlefield, he had received basic training from Huaibei veterans.

After being stunned for a moment, Xue Laishou ran away. He ran all the way back to the small clock in the salt field that was usually used to remind people to go to and from work, and started ringing as hard as he could.

'Dang Dang Dang'

"Thieves! Thieves, there are thieves coming from the sea! Go to the county seat and report."

November 25th, the end of the Chen hour.

Zhou Jun landed on a tidal flat outside the Boshan Salt Fields in Lianshui County, Sizhou.

After receiving the news that day, Tang Jing'an, the prefect of Sizhou, immediately organized Minzhuang to accompany the local garrison. At the same time, he notified Chen Jingyan and Guo Tao'er of six hundred miles of expedited action.

On the 27th, Chen Jingyan and Guo Taoer received the news.

The remaining troops of the Huaibei Army, since Yang Dalang led his troops to the north to aid, have canceled all their vacations, are on alert, and are on the highest alert.

Therefore, there was no need to make any more preparations. Guo Tao'er went west with the first part of Yingzhou's 2nd Brigade the next day, joining the Shou and Su defenders to rush to Sizhou.

If Chen Jingyan was still calm and composed at this time, then a piece of intelligence sent by Li Mulezi, the military commander on the 29th, caused a crack in his psychological defense.

On the 25th, Wu Gong, the governor of Jinghu South Road, led the Jingmen Army to suddenly break camp and march northward, gathering about 70,000 Xiangyang, Guanghua, and Zaoyang troops along the way. By the time the intelligence was sent out on the 27th, the Zhou Army's vanguard had already advanced. Dengzhou Xinye Line.'

After Chen Jingyan read the information, beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead.

Dengzhou is located in the west of Tangzhou and is under the jurisdiction of Jingxi Road. However, combined with Sizhou in the easternmost part of Huaibei, they just discovered that the Zhou army had landed and immediately attacked Dengzhou. Chen Jingyan would never naively think that the opponent was coming to Dengzhou.

Obviously, the Zhou army moved east and west at the same time for Caizhou!
Chen Jingyan sat on the chair and stretched out his hand to stroke his beard, but in vain, "So, this military situation was already reported two days ago? Is there any latest progress?"

Chen Jingyan forced himself to calm down, and Li Mulezi said ashamedly: "Not yet."

The military commander occupied a lot of resources in Huaibei, but this time the Zhou army suddenly launched an attack, but almost no news was received.

It sounds like the military commanders have neglected their duties, but in fact they can't be blamed. Since they became powerful in Huaibei, most of their energy has been in the north and the areas along the Huaihe River.

This time, Huainan, across the river, was always calm and somewhat confusing. Moreover, the Zhou army's east-west route to the north was located on Fujian Road and Jinghu Road, which were out of reach of the army's tentacles and did not border Huaibei.
First, Zhou Jun had secretly planned it several months ago and had done enough to keep it secret.

Secondly, the power in Huaibei expanded too fast, and the spread of the intelligence system was not enough to cover the Qi, Jin, Xia, and Zhou kingdoms.

"Send more manpower quickly to find out the news."

This was not a good time to criticize the military commander. Chen Jingyan gave an order and called people to invite Xu Bang, Liu Erhu, Gou Sheng and others to come to discuss the matter.

While waiting for a few people, Chen Jingyan went to the back house to find his wife and had a conversation.

At the time of application that day, Tan, with red eyes, left the mansion and went directly to the Prince's Mansion in Sajin Lane.

However, she did not come here to visit her daughter and grandson. Instead, she came to see the princess.
No one knows what the two talked about when they met, but in the middle of the night, Tan left Hanchun Hall and went to Rouzhi Garden where Ayu lived. The worry is visible to the naked eye, and it seems that the meeting with the princess did not achieve the expected purpose.

And half a quarter of an hour later, Mao'er, wearing a phoenix crown and a princess uniform, with a solemn expression on her face, took a sedan to Chen Jingyan's official office.

The application time is in the middle.

In the bedroom on the second floor of Rouzhiyuan, after listening to her mother's solemn speech, Ayu subconsciously looked at the sleeping little meat ball next to her and murmured: "It's so dangerous?"

"How can your father be trivial about such a major military and national event? Listen to my mother, take Nian'er back to your hometown in Yingchuan and hide!"

In May this year, Ayu gave birth, adding a fifth child and a second boy to the palace. Chen Chu, who has never met his youngest son so far, wrote in a letter and named him "Nian".

Although the expression of longing for him is full of tenderness, it seems to lack a trace of expectation compared to the word "Ji" that implies great trust for the eldest son of the royal family.

Ayu thought for a moment and neither agreed nor refused her mother. Instead, she said: "Mom, you didn't persuade your sister when you went to see her just now, right?"

Mrs. Tan couldn't help but sigh. When she came to the palace, she was entrusted by her husband to ask the princess and her family to evacuate first.

Unexpectedly, no matter what she said, the princess would not respond.

Seeing this, Ayu guessed that what she said was true, so she continued: "Sister Cai is about to give birth, and she can't bear any bumps at this time. If we want to evacuate, Sister Cai will definitely have to stay. Sister will never do this." Do."

"Although your father didn't say it clearly, my mother could tell that he probably felt that Caizhou was in danger. Under such circumstances, it would be better for Cai Sanniang to stay than to risk your family in the city! What if the city is destroyed?"

When Mrs. Tan said this, she couldn't go on. She adjusted herself before continuing: "Ayu, listen to my mother's advice. If the princess doesn't leave, you can take Nian'er with you."

But Ayu turned sideways, gently tucked Nian'er's baby corner, and whispered back: "Mom, you have already said that we are a family. My sister and the prince have been together for many years. No matter who they are, it is impossible for them to be together." I left my family behind and ran for my life. Mom, just imagine, if the whole family doesn’t leave, and my daughter only escapes with Nian’er, how will I live at home in the future? Nian’er will also be looked down upon.”

"That's better than waiting to die!"

When it was a matter of life and death, Tan was more concerned about her daughter's safety than anything else.

But Ayu saw things more clearly than her mother. She said softly, "Mother, first of all, I think Caizhou may not be lost. Secondly, if Caizhou is lost, the prince will be defeated. He has suppressed so many political enemies in the court and the public over the years, how could he let me and Nian'er go? Rather than waiting to be humiliated and killed in the future, it is better for the whole family to die in Caizhou."

These words brought Tan to tears. Ayu reached out and held her mother's hand, and then she laughed, revealing a pair of shallow dimples, "Mom, Huaibei is in danger this time. Will father escape?"

Tan shook his head immediately and said, "Your father has made up his mind to live or die with Caizhou."

"What about you, mother?" Ayu asked again.

"That's your father and mother's husband. Wherever he is, mother will naturally be there!"

Tan's tears rolled down, Ayu took the handkerchief and wiped her mother's tears, but said: "The so-called husband and wife are one, isn't that what the mother wants to follow her husband? Although her daughter's husband is not around, her daughter is also You have to guard your daughter and husband’s home.”

Having said this, Mrs. Tan knew that further persuasion was useless. She sighed softly, raised her hands to hold her daughter's face, and said lovingly: "It's okay, anyway, your brother and second uncle's family are all on this big ship. No matter what, If we run away, we will not run away. If we live together, we will live together. If we die, we will die together.”

At the end of Shen Shi.

At the official government office in Huaibei, Caizhou, the atmosphere in the hall was depressing and heavy, and opinions were divided.

Liu Erhu of the military stated that if the Zhou army invaded, the Caizhou defenders would fight to the last soldier.

However, Xu Bang advocated that the military escort the royal family members to evacuate north.

Liu Erhu did not object to this opinion. In short, in his eyes, the safety of King Chu's family trumped everything else.

But Gou Sheng said: "Now that the enemy has gathered hundreds of thousands of troops outside Tokyo to fight, where can the princess and her family escape? If they run into enemy troops during the evacuation, and the royal family is injured, who will bear the responsibility?" ? Might as well defend the city!"

Xu Bang immediately retorted: "Preliminary information shows that there are more than 80,000 Zhou troops on the east and west routes. We only have 2,500 people in Liu's command in Caizhou. Along the river, Jiang Shuquan and Shi Dalang need to guard against the Zhou navy. Don't move lightly! How can Caizhou hold on to such a situation!"

"Master Xu"

After many years of experience, Gou Sheng could no longer see the slick air he had when he was a subordinate official. He stood up, cupped his fists and said, "We do not have many regular troops, but we still have hundreds of thousands of young men and militiamen who have undergone simple training. The army is weak, so we may not be able to fight.”

They are all directly related to Huaibei, so they naturally know the situation in Tokyo at this time. The fight between the King of Chu and the Jin Xia Army has reached a life-or-death moment.

At this time, if the King of Chu sends his troops south to assist, the 58th Route Qinwang Yishi will lose its main force in Huaibei and will inevitably collapse.

Therefore, none of them pinned their hopes on reinforcements.

They need to fight this battle themselves.

But when Xu Bang heard this, he shook his head repeatedly, "Qingzhuang and the militiamen have never seen blood. Do you expect them to do it?"

Because Gou Sheng had a good personal relationship with the King of Chu and was not afraid of Xu Bang, he finally couldn't help but point out the important point, "Master Xu! The King of Chu has worked hard in Huaibei for many years and won the love of four million people! If so In the autumn of life and death, if the princess and her family evacuate, the people's hearts will definitely be lost, and Caizhou will definitely not be saved! If the princess can stay with millions of soldiers and civilians, Caizhou may not be lost!"

When Chen Jingyan learned that the Zhou army on the West Road was rapidly approaching Xinye, he immediately asked his wife to persuade the princess to evacuate, which was indeed a little selfish. After the princess left, his Ayu would naturally follow.

But now he gradually calmed down and realized that what Gou Sheng said was reasonable.

Xu Bang couldn't say anything to Gou Sheng, so he snorted coldly, "Gou Tuanlian said it nicely, so go ahead and persuade her. Go and persuade the princess and her family to stay!"

This is the crux of the matter!
Whether they want the princess to stay is one thing, but whether the princess dares to stay is another matter entirely.

Although the princess has a reputation as a virtuous person, she is now faced with life and death for her entire family. How can a woman like her have the courage to defend an isolated city?

Unexpectedly, Gou Sheng was quite confident in the princess. He laughed and said, "Did you all forget? In the winter of the seventh year of Fuchang, when the prince was plotting great things in the Caiwei Pavilion in the city, it was the princess who was sitting guarding Luliuwei alone. ! The princess was not afraid at that time, but now I have two thousand armored men and tens of thousands of loyal and brave men in Caizhou, and the princess is not afraid at all!"

At this time, the forces in Huaibei were no longer taboo about the murder of Feng Changning.

Xu Bang and Chen Jingyan were distracted for a moment. Both of them had experienced it, and their life experiences had undergone earth-shaking changes because of this incident.

It was indeed as Gou Sheng said back then, when the princess was in Caiwei Pavilion and her situation was unknown, she stayed alone at Luliuwei!

At that time, she was only fifteen or sixteen years old.
The hall was quiet when suddenly someone came to report that the princess was here in person.

Several people hurried to the second door to greet him.

When they saw Mao'er, who was a married woman, several people saluted.

The upright Mao'er received the salutes of several people generously, and then bowed down again. Then he maintained his saluting posture and said warmly: "Second brother, third brother, Brother Gou, Brother Erhu." The tree wanted to be still. The wind has not stopped, and now it is time for us to fight to protect our hometown. Now, my husband is fighting with thieves in Tokyo. This Caizhou and this Huaibei have to rely on you."

Mao'er's calls made several people return to Tongshan in Fuchang seven years ago in a trance.

Gou Sheng remembered that in mid-autumn that year, the third class of government officials were admiring the moon and eating melons at Luliuwei. At that time, when they saw people who were still timid cats, they called themselves like this, "Brother Gou, my husband is young and tired." Brother Gou teaches and takes care of you a lot on weekdays.'

Liu Erhu's mind was about the afternoon when he and his eldest brother were taken back to Luliuwei from prison. The sun was shining everywhere, and Mao'er personally toasted his mother a glass of wine and said, "In the future, the officials will lead everyone to live a happy life." good old days'

Even Xu Bang's nose was slightly sore.

In recent years, among the five golden flowers, he has the lowest sense of existence. Except for Renchu ​​Geer and his wife, who among the third and fourth children calls him second brother!
As if to confirm, Chen Jingyan asked in a low voice, "Princess, are you leaving?"

Mao'er slowly shook his head, "I won't leave. I don't know about marching and fighting, but we were able to defeat Zheng Yi with only one county. Now, we have four million villagers to rely on. Is it possible that you are still afraid of a mere 80,000 Zhou army? My husband often said that as long as the people are mobilized, there will be a vast ocean. Even if the underworld soldiers come, they will drown in it. Back then, Tongshan could win, but now Huaibei can win. "

Mao'er's words were never slow or impassioned.

But after speaking such peaceful and simple words, Caizhou's internal disagreements were bridged before facing a powerful enemy.

November 29th, evening.

Caizhou posted notices in the name of the three-level military and political offices of Huaibei Road, Caizhou Mansion, and Huaibei Army.

It directly shows the crisis situation faced at this time.

If you want to mobilize the people, you must at least let them understand the current situation.

As expected, there was a commotion inside and outside Caizhou City, and some people habitually packed up their belongings and fled.

A large number of factories outside the city stopped work urgently and merchants closed their markets.

But after more young people learned the news, they walked from the dormitories and village fields to the nearby gathering point and took away the swords and guns.
After Daling River and Tokyo, it seems that another battlefield is about to open up.

The world-famous Three Kingdoms Siege, or the last player standing in Qi's 1v3, is now on the table. (End of chapter)