Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

After Xu Huaiyi led his troops out of Beijing, the Jingning Marquis' Mansion closed its doors to visitors again.

Gu Huanxi lived a low-key life. Apart from looking through the account books every day, he would read books and practice calligraphy, while also taking care of his health.

She hardly needs to worry about the outside business, as Su Zhe handles most of it, and she has also trained several managers in the past few years, so they are more than capable of handling it.

Hu Yingjie was in charge of the affairs on the farm. He arranged the farming work clearly one after another, and the grain yield was guaranteed every time. The surplus was used as seeds and had already been sold outside the capital.

In just a few years, it will be popularized throughout Dayong, and the people will no longer have to suffer from hunger. If they are more diligent, every family can even have a small surplus.

Everything is moving in a good direction, except for the war in the north, which is causing panic among the people.

Even the Chu King's rebel faction no longer has much influence, thanks to Sun Yu.

Last year, Sun Yu did not return to Beijing. He spent a lot of effort to wipe out the remnants of the rebels. Those who hid in the deep mountains and forests were surrounded at all costs.

In the end, all the rebels died or surrendered, and the rest followed the King of Chu and fled to a deserted island overseas like a stray dog.

At this point, all the hidden dangers left by the King of Chu in Dayong have been completely cleared up.

When Sun Yu received the imperial edict and returned to Beijing, it was already August. Xu Huaiyi had already led a large army to fight the Tartars and narrowly won.

At night, Gu Huanxi was waiting for Xu Huaiyi in the car. After seeing him, he was busy bringing him food and drinks. The conditions at the border were difficult, and he had to worry about the war. He was visibly thinner and looked much more haggard.

Xu Huaiyi can be considered unkempt now, with rough skin and untidy beard, but he has no time to dress up for now, as he may have to take up his sword and go into battle at any time. The most important thing is to save his own life and the lives of his soldiers. Everything else doesn't matter.

No one cares!

If it weren't for the RV, he would have to stand in the cold wind with the other soldiers, eating hard dry food and drinking vegetable soup without oil or water.

"Eat quickly! The chicken soup has been stewed for an entire afternoon, and it also contains some Chinese medicinal herbs. This is the dietary supplement recipe that Ah Li and Doctor Jiao requested. Drink a few more bowls!"

"Hmm, hmm..." Xu Huaiyi held the bowl without raising his head, and the snoring sound was a bit loud. Gu Huanxi couldn't bear to scold him.

"Eat some more vegetables. There aren't any fresh vegetables in the food and fodder sent from the capital, right? Look at your hands and the corners of your mouth. They're all cracked. You're lacking vitamins..."

Xu Huaiyi picked up the tender rapeseed with chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it, mumbling vaguely, "The most scarce thing here is this green vegetable, which is more expensive than meat. People will feel weak if they don't eat meat, and they can't live without vegetables either. They all look dry, as if they are dehydrated..."

"Can't we buy some from the nearby prefecture?"

"It's difficult. The round trip alone will take four or five days. And who will pay for it? Now we can't even pay the soldiers, so how can we take care of other things?"

Gu Huanxi frowned and thought, "I heard that the Ministry of Revenue has tried its best to collect the money, but the treasury is empty and the court really can't afford it. The King of Qi also took the lead in donating some, and the court officials were also generous this time. At least they didn't squeeze the people anymore, and they didn't fleece the merchants."

Hearing this, Xu Huaiyi sneered, "The court officials are generous? Aren't they scared by Prime Minister Lu's methods?"

Gu Huanxi was startled, "You know?"

Xu Huaiyi nodded, "Master wrote a letter and mentioned a few things."

It was a fact that the treasury was empty, and even a good cook could not cook without rice, but without food and grass, what else could the court do? The court officials who had nothing to do with the matter could give up, but the cabinet could not ignore it, especially Prime Minister Lu and Minister Sun.

Publicly, the two of them are now the heads of the civil officials and must shoulder the responsibilities they should shoulder. Privately, it is Xu Huaiyi who is fighting on the battlefield, how can they remain indifferent?

Shangshu Sun kept an eye on the Ministry of Revenue and pieced together money from here and there, while Prime Minister Lu caught corrupt officials, and after raiding several houses in succession, all of a sudden all the civil and military officials in the court donated generously.

In this way, the collection of food and fodder was carried out without any delay.

However, Prime Minister Lu suffered a lot of criticism, and the impeachment memorials against him piled up on the desk of King Qi.

The King of Qi kept them all inside and did not send them out.

Fortunately, Xu Huaiyi won a great victory in the first battle, which severely warned the Tartars, restored face for the imperial court, and boosted morale. The resentment of the court officials who were cut into pieces and bled was finally dissipated.

This money is worth spending!

After Xu Huaiyi finished eating, Gu Huanxi urged him to wash up briefly. He didn't dare touch his hair, but at least he wiped his body and changed his underwear, which would make him feel a little more comfortable.

After finishing his work, Xu Huaiyi leaned on the sofa, drowsy, but did not dare to lie down on the bed.

Once you lie down, you won’t want to get up again.

Gu Huanxi massaged his shoulders with concern and told him about Sun Yu's return to the capital. "He brought back 50,000 troops with him. The parade was very grand. The people all went to the city gate to watch. It was quite lively..."

"Well, it's time to come back." Xu Huaiyi closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "The remnants of the King of Chu were expelled to a small island overseas. In the eyes of the court, it is a wild place and not worth worrying about. Naturally, they will no longer take it to heart. It is meaningless for Master to stay there. If you come back, you can do a lot more."

Gu Huanxi asked worriedly, "Is he coming back to contain our family?"

Xu Huaiyi curled his lips, "Maybe. Master is like father to me. In the eyes of those people, I can give up my wife and daughter, but I can't ignore my master. Otherwise, it would be considered unfilial and I would be criticized by everyone wherever I go."

"So what do you think of Master Sun?"

"It's hard to say." Xu Huaiyi said calmly, "Master definitely has feelings for me. If I run into trouble, he will definitely help me. I have no doubt about that. But the ancients' thinking is limited. They are too loyal to the emperor. The emperor is the heaven. No matter if it's right or not, they obey unconditionally. It's hard for Master to jump out of that circle.

Therefore, if Emperor Jianxing really wants Master to restrain me, or even force me, he might do it no matter how reluctant he is. He has the Sun family behind him, with more than a hundred people, and their weight is definitely greater than ours!"

"Aren't you feeling uncomfortable?" Gu Huanxi asked in surprise when she saw that he spoke so easily.

Xu Huaiyi said indifferently, "Why are you upset? This is a matter of choice. If it were me, I would definitely choose you and my daughter over him. Isn't this natural and reasonable? What I did, he did too. I'm not a hypocrite."

Gu Huanxi smiled and said, "Just be positive."

Xu Huaiyi snorted and changed the subject, "Yun Ting and Zhao Sanyou and the others came back with us, right? Did they go to our house?"

Gu Huanxi said, "Zhao Sanyou didn't come back. I heard that he has been promoted to the fifth rank lieutenant. He has more opportunities to accumulate military merits there. Li Yunting was transferred back and came to our house with his wife. He didn't mention Xiaoyu, but he must have come for that. I played along for a while. Alas, I am getting more and more uncomfortable with him deceiving people like this all day long. When will it end?"

Xu Huaiyi smacked his lips, "There's no head. Even if Xiaoyu becomes the emperor, everyone knows it in their hearts, and we can't admit it openly."

Gu Huanxi sighed.

Xu Huaiyi patted her hand soothingly and stood up. "Go to sleep. I have to go."

"Take a nap. Isn't there no war now?"

"It could happen anytime. I can't sleep well here, and I'm disturbing you..."

"Then you must be careful!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely come back to see you safe and sound. I haven't let you get pregnant with a son yet..."

"..."

Next, for nearly a month, Xu Huaiyi was very busy. Even when he entered the RV, they only met briefly. Sometimes, their schedules didn't coincide, so they could only leave a note to pass on the message.

There was nothing big happening in the capital, so Gu Huanxi just talked about some trivial matters to reassure him. The most she did was to help arrange meals so that he could eat as soon as he came in.

Xu Huaiyi would also tell her about the war, saying that the soldiers had won more battles than they lost and the overall situation was good. The soldiers had gotten rid of the shadow of their past habit of only defending and not attacking, and had finally turned the situation around.

The casualties were quite heavy.

But there is no war without casualties, and sacrifice is to prevent others from being sacrificed in the future.

Gu Huanxi could clearly feel that Xu Huaiyi's heart had become harder after being tempered by this war, and he finally achieved the goal of "a man of great kindness is not fit to lead an army".

She didn't know whether this was a good thing or misfortune and helplessness.

When news of the great victories spread back to the capital, the people cheered and celebrated, and the court finally breathed a sigh of relief. Deep down, they believed more and more in Xu Huaiyi's reputation as a lucky general. Some of those who had hesitated and did not send their sons to the army regretted it to death.

As winter approached, heavy snow fell on the border. The Tartars were defeated step by step and dared not show their heads again after being beaten. Even though winter was a time of food and clothing shortage and it was a good time for plundering, the Tartars did not dare to invade.

Food and clothing are important, but life is more important.

After this much fighting, even if the border is peaceful, complete liberation is impossible. If the Tartars behave themselves for a few years, they will become rebellious.

Unless they are all killed.

Xu Huaiyi was not a bloodthirsty person. He also knew very well that the problem of the Tartars could not be solved by war alone. A few years of peace would be a good life.

But he still wanted to have a ruthless fight, preferably to inflict serious damage to the Tartars. In this way, whether it was peace talks or the opening of border trade and mutual exchange, Dayong would have an absolute upper hand.

However, while he was still thinking about it, the imperial edict from the court arrived.

Along with the imperial edict came the general who was taking over.

It was none other than Sun Yu.

Even Gu Huanxi didn't know about this. If she had known in advance, she would have naturally reminded Xu Huaiyi, and he would not have been caught off guard by this cold water.

When he saw Sun Yu, Xu Huaiyi was stunned for just a moment before he understood something. After hearing the contents of the imperial edict, his mind became clear as a mirror.

Emperor Jianxing really lived up to his expectations and was about to get rid of him!

The master and disciple entered the tent. Xu Huaiyi looked calm and composed, but Sun Yu felt uncomfortable all over. Since he saw Xu Huaiyi, he looked at him carefully, but he couldn't tell what his disciple was thinking.

"Master, drink tea!"

"Oh, okay..."

"It's been a tough journey, right?"

"Well, it's snowing, so it's not easy to walk..."

The two of them were reminiscing about the past and chatting about these gossips. Xu Huaiyi's attitude was the same as before, friendly but also respectful, which made Sun Yu feel very uncomfortable.

In the end, he couldn't hold it anymore, put down the teacup, and said with a guilty tone, "Huaiyi, Master, I'm sorry for you this time..."

Xu Huaiyi's expression remained unchanged, "Master, where did you say that?"

Sun Yu didn't beat around the bush. "I received a secret order and brought people to the border to hand over the military power to you. But I didn't let anyone remind you beforehand. I'm ashamed to call you Master!"

Xu Huaiyi didn't play dumb, but he didn't get excited either. He even smiled and said, "Master, you also said that it was a secret order, so how could you send someone to remind me? Wouldn't that be disobeying the order? I don't dare to listen to you!

As for your question about your disciple Lai Gen handing over the military power, this was also a decision made by the court and has nothing to do with you. Even if it was not you, it was someone else. How can your disciple not understand this?

You really don't have to do this, I, your disciple, can understand!"

The more reasonable Xu Huaiyi was, the more uneasy Sun Yu felt. He explained with difficulty, "But logically, I should have told you. It was wrong for me to catch you off guard. Huaiyi, I have been thinking all the way, how would you feel when you saw me..."

Xu Huaiyi said calmly, "To be honest, when I saw you, four words flashed through my mind. It's true."

Sun Yu's expression froze, "You guessed it a long time ago?"

Xu Huaiyi nodded and said calmly, "Master, since ancient times, loyal emperors and righteous men have not had intact corpses, and most loyal ministers and good generals have not had a good end. I have been prepared for this, but I didn't expect this day to come so soon."

"Huai Yi, it's not as serious as you said, it's just, it's just..." Sun Yu couldn't continue. When he was summoned by the emperor, he was also shocked and found it hard to accept, but he could not disobey the emperor's order.

Xu Huaiyi took over the conversation and said, "You want to take away my military power, right?

After returning to Beijing, I will arrange a sinecure for my disciple, so that the court can rest assured.

Actually, there is no need for that.

I am not greedy for power. Even if I didn't send you here, would I stay here and not leave?

The conditions at the border are so harsh, who would be willing to stay here and suffer?

Just for those 100,000 soldiers?

To put it bluntly, I really don't need you and I can't afford to support you. As long as the court gives an order, your disciples can return to Beijing at any time. Why do you need to keep an eye on them?

There's nothing wrong with arranging an idle position for him. At least he has a title and salary, and can eat. Isn't it much better than when my disciples fled from famine?

I, the disciple, will not be dissatisfied or resentful. Alas, the court is really suspicious!"

He mentioned the imperial court all the time to avoid taboos. Sun Yu knew clearly that the imperial court was at most jealous of Xu Huaiyi, but was far from tolerating him. After all, Xu Huaiyi's foundation was too shallow, and he posed little threat to the aristocratic families. The one who was really afraid of him was the emperor.

The emperor was afraid that Xu Huaiyi would become too successful and that the next emperor would not be able to control him. Or perhaps there were some other reasons he didn't know about. In short, Emperor Jianxing seemed to have an inexplicable secret about Xu Huaiyi.

"Master believes in you!" Sun Yu said firmly, "But..."

Xu Huaiyi smiled and interrupted, "Master, I understand. You don't have to worry about it. I was eager to go home and spend the New Year with my wife. I just feel a little regretful that I didn't reach the Tartar's lair. It's a pity to give up halfway."