After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 682 Old Friends

He Huanyuan was one of the Wumen exiled to the northwest. He was born into a family of officials and was already a fifth-rank official in Beijing before he was exiled. After being pardoned and returning to the court, he continued to work at the fifth rank. In recent years, he has been promoted frequently and is now the Minister of Rites, the highest-ranking official among the Wumen exiled.

He was one of Wu Wen'an's earliest students. He was older than Xie Wenzai and others, and was exiled a few years later than Xie Wenzai. However, in Chang'an, Ganzhou, Suzhou and Guazhou, he was always assigned to serve in the same place as Xie Wenzai, and later he simply moved into the Hai family. After being pardoned and returning to the court, he wrote letters to Hai Xiya, Xie Wenzai, Cao Gengyun, Lu Bainian and others every year, and never lost contact with his old friends.

Haitang didn't have a deep impression of him. Although he had written textbooks for little Haitang when she was just starting out, she was too young at the time and didn't remember much. He was also one of the first batch of Wumen students who returned to Beijing to serve as an official after being pardoned. When he left, Haitang was only a few years old. Later, Haitang, who traveled through time, only had a vague impression of him. If Ma hadn't mentioned him specifically, Haitang wouldn't have remembered that there was such a person.

So that's how it is. The son of a high-ranking official in Beijing that Tang Ruo married is his grandson...

Haitang suddenly realized and said with a smile, "So our family can still contact the old people of Wumen? Why is it that when I suggested that our family look for connections other than Tao Ge Lao and General Tu in the capital, grandma only thought of Ma Ma and Sister Peng?"

Ma laughed and said, "Of course. Those old friends who lived in our house in the past are all civil servants in the capital. They are not like Tao Gelao, who is also in charge of the Imperial Guard. How can they help your second uncle and brother? If we want to ask for help, of course we can only find those who have a say in the military in the capital. Miss Peng is the young lady of the Yingchuan Marquis's Mansion, and Sister Ma knows the people in the Imperial Guard. If we don't ask them for help, who else can we ask?!"

I see……

Haitang accepted this and said with a smile, "My brother is several years older than me. Does he still remember the grandfathers who lived in our house? If he goes to visit them after entering Beijing, those grandfathers should recognize him, right?"

Ma thought for a while and said, "When your second uncle's job is decided, let him take your brother to visit these old friends. No one in our family has lived in the capital, and we don't know the market prices there. If we have an official acquaintance to take us, we won't be afraid of being cheated." Thinking of this, she suddenly felt that it was necessary to prepare a gift for these old friends. It's a pity that the adopted son and grandson will have to travel light and can't even bring much luggage, let alone souvenirs. What should she prepare? She can't just send a letter of greetings...

The Hai family began busy preparations for Hai Chang'an and Hai Jiao's long journey. Hai Jiao went to the Zhenguo Mansion to find Zhou Yijun and asked him about the specific itinerary. Zhou Yijun was also worried about this.

He was not afraid of forced marches. When he was training on the frontier, he once rode for four days and four nights without getting off the horse even to eat, drink water or take a nap. He managed to get through that time. This time he was just going to Beijing, so what did it matter?
He was only worried about one thing: he was originally going to Beijing with his sister Zhou Xuejun. Now his grandfather arranged for him to go with Tu Rong and his group, what about his sister Zhou Xuejun? She was a delicate little girl, and although she was also familiar with riding and shooting since childhood, she was still young after all, and her physical strength and endurance could not compare with those of grown men. Moreover, it would be inconvenient for them to bring female relatives with them on the road. He couldn't take his sister with him, but if he did, his sister would have to go to Beijing by herself.

Even though she would be escorted by a caravan, accompanied by guards and male and female servants, he still couldn't rest assured. His sister was only a little girl in her early teens...

Seeing Zhou Yijun was troubled by this, Haijiao told him, "If you are really worried, ask around and see if anyone in Chang'an is going to be transferred to Beijing in the next few months. If they have family members accompanying them, ask them to take your sister with them."

In recent years, more and more civil and military officials have gone from the northwest to the capital or the Central Plains and Jiangnan regions to take up posts, and there are also many scholars going to the capital for the imperial examinations. Are you still worried that you won't be able to find someone who can accompany Zhou Xuejun and has reliable character?
Zhou Yijun thought about it and really remembered something: "General Gu of Suzhou Guard... seems to be transferred to Shanhai Guard? I heard the news two months ago. I wonder if he has set off now? If he hasn't reached Chang'an yet, I can ask him for help! He is an old subordinate of my third uncle and my cousin's father-in-law. He is more reliable than outsiders." Haijiao was stunned for a moment and also remembered this person.

General Gu Qinghong of Suzhou Guard was his father's former superior. When the Hai family was still in the border town, General Gu had always taken good care of them. But after returning to Chang'an, his family had not been in contact with General Gu for a long time.

Is General Gu going to be transferred to Shanhaiwei?
Hai Jiao asked hurriedly: "What position will General Gu take in Shanhaiwei?"

"Of course it's the guard commander." Zhou Yijun replied, "Third uncle always said that he hindered General Gu's future. As long as he was in Suzhou Guard, General Gu would not be able to move up. Now General Gu can be promoted to Shanhai Guard and take charge of an army alone. Third uncle is very happy! However, Shanhai Guard is also a mess now, and no one in the capital wants to get involved. If it weren't for the fact that there was no one left, the court would not have thought of General Gu who was far away in Suzhou City."

Zhou Yijun was a son of the Duke of Zhenguo. Now he was a young man who had gone through the trials of the border city and was valued and cultivated by his family. Naturally, he knew much more about the military and political news in the capital than Haijiao. Haijiao had no idea what was wrong with Shanhaiwei before. Now he remembered that his hometown, Yongping City, was not far from Shanhaiwei, and his grandmother Ma's late father had served in Shanhaiwei before his death. He hurriedly asked Zhou Yijun: "What's going on with Shanhaiwei?"

Zhou Yijun had only heard some rumors: "It is rumored that there was a big corruption case. The former commander colluded with his subordinates, embezzled military funds, and used the port to smuggle goods for personal gain. The commander sent from the capital discovered it and started a fight. Several lives were lost, including the commander. The main culprit of this case has been brought to justice, but the subordinates are intertwined and it is unknown who can be trusted. It is said that there is not much money in the account of Shanhaiwei. The former commander's family and the commander's co-governor are blaming each other, saying that the money in the account was swallowed by the other party, but unfortunately there is no evidence. Now the new commander who is transferred to Shanhaiwei needs to save money while eliminating the malpractices in the army and then pull the team back together. If he is not a veteran general who has made many achievements and is proficient in training, he will not be able to control the situation. General Gu is a suitable candidate in terms of qualifications and talents, but he has never left the northwest, and it is not known whether he can handle it!"

Haitang couldn't help but feel a headache for Gu Qinghong after hearing what he said. Haidingcheng lost his life on the battlefield just to save Gu Qinghong. It was a good thing for the good general that his father risked his life to leave the border town and take up a post closer to the capital, but he hoped that his career would not be hindered because of other people's bullshit!
Zhou Yijun went to ask someone about General Gu's itinerary. On the way home, Haijiao remembered that he had not yet told Jin Jiashu that he would leave early, so he passed by the house without entering and instead knocked on Jin's door.

The person who opened the door was Lu Ga Wa. He was very familiar with Hai Jiao. As soon as he saw Hai Jiao, he smiled broadly and welcomed the person in.

Hai Jiao walked in and casually asked where Jin Jiashu was. He accidentally saw that the door of Guard Lin's room was closed, so he asked, "I haven't seen Guard Lin for a few days. Where did he go?"

"Uncle Lin went to Yunyang Prefecture and has been gone for two days."

Haijiao stopped and asked: "Yunyang Prefecture?"

(End of this chapter)