Pihanjin

On this day, in the Mahe Valley, outside the residence of the old leader, there were many natives who had heard the news from all directions.

Xie Changgeng, the envoy of Jiedu in Hexi, came here in person today.

It is said that he came here not only to visit the old leader, but also to discuss the future whereabouts of Mahe Valley.

People looked at the gate guarded by the guards, or waited, or whispered, with expressions on their faces, all mixed with joy and worry.

In the future, if there is no need to be trapped in the same way as before, and it will be difficult to even obtain daily salt, this is naturally a great good thing.

But for them, the ancestors have lived here for generations, and the land under their feet has long been integrated into their bones and blood. Now they are facing the fate of being relocated. Apart from reluctance, they are full of confusion and anxiety about the future.

Everyone is anxiously waiting.

Hours passed by moment by moment. Finally, the closed door opened, and a deacon ran out of the door and announced a message.

After inspecting the terrain on the spot, Jiedushi thinks that it is not necessary to remove all the residents here. He planned to select a site outside Taniguchi, build a Saixu, build an outer city, station troops, and set up garrison guards.

The natives were surprised, then ecstatic, and bursts of cheers erupted from all around.

In the deafening cheers, people saw that Jiedushi came out from the door, and beside him, the old leader was sitting on a chair and was also carried out.

There was a commotion. People all embraced, all smiling.

Xie Changgeng raised his arms and pressed his wrists.

The surroundings slowly quieted down.

Facing the countless gazes that were directed at him, he said, "Xie Mou came here to serve as Jiedu envoy on the order of the imperial court, and suddenly it has been more than four years. Thanks to the love of the people and the service of the soldiers, the northern invaders will be caught in Mubei. The northern robbers coveted my good land in Hexi, and their ambitions have a long history, and they will never die. You have lived here for a long time, for example, the landlord. When Xie came here, he knew that if there is no help from you, he will be alone. Now his wish has finally been granted. Compensation, the old leader of Meng is enlightened and generous, and is willing to do everything he can to help me fight the bandits. In addition to admiration, Xie also knows that his homeland is difficult to move. After discussing with the leader, he made a decision just now to build a city in Taniguchi. After the completion, he will send troops. Guard. In addition to my Hexi soldiers, the sergeants also hope that you and other volunteers will join us enthusiastically to defend against foreign enemies, so as to keep my parents happy and my wife safe!"

His official uniform is majestic, his body is tall and straight, his eyes are bright, and his words are short and powerful. Everyone is already grateful to him, but at this moment, they are deeply infected, and their blood is boiling, and they all kneel to him. Those strong native men are even more eager to join the army and serve the Jiedushi.

Xie Changgeng leaned over and whispered a few words with the old leader.

The old leader nodded. He stood up straight and said with a smile: "From now on, there will be another garrison city on the west side of my river. The name, I have just agreed with the leader, so it is called Wu'an garrison. With Wu Ding'an, the family will be forever Stop!"

As his voice fell, cheers resounded in the Mahe Valley again.

That night, the natives cooked cattle and killed sheep, and hosted a banquet to entertain Xie Changgeng and his party. After the banquet, Xie Changgeng said goodbye, and agreed to hold a banquet at the Jiedu envoy's residence to invite them into the city to discuss affairs.

Disregarding his physical weakness, the old leader asked someone to carry him out again and send him off in person.

Xie Changgeng resigned again and again.

"The leader's health is important, you don't have to send me. Please rest assured, the leader, what was agreed on today will not change!"

The old leader was filled with emotion.

"Madam is so loyal, how can Jiedushi be someone who doesn't believe what he says? We misunderstood Jiedushi in the past, and we turned our backs on good intentions many times. This irrelevant person has made the madam take the risk and have been involved to this point. I am so grateful that I cannot express my gratitude. I am willing to make a blood alliance with Jiedushi to express my will. As long as Jiedushi is here, I will die. Now, my children and grandchildren will inherit it too!"

Someone has already set up an altar. After the oath was over, Xie Changgeng went out of the valley with his entourage.

On the way, the subordinates were elated. Liu An said: "Moving the natives out is not only a waste of money, but it is also not a trivial matter to settle their livelihood in the future. If they are not handled properly, troubles will arise. This is the safest method for adults. It not only saves effort, but also encourages the natives to join the army and join the war. , it can be said to kill two birds with one stone.”

Everyone agrees. Xie Changgeng didn't say a word, and his face didn't show much joy. When he reached the fork in the road, he stopped his horse suddenly, looked into the distance, and said, "I still have something to do, you all return to your positions, and from tomorrow, immediately start building a city and prepare an army. thing."

After he finished his instructions, he turned his horse's head, took the fork in the direction of Beishan Racecourse, and galloped away.

He arrived very late, and the guard Liang Tuan, who was in charge of the guard, called out the maid.

Xie Changgeng asked Xier about her diet and daily life these days. The maids came one by one.

"According to the explanation of Lord Weng before he left, the young master rests every night at Xu, and he is already asleep now."

Xie Changgeng stood in the courtyard for a while, then entered, gently pushed the door open, and walked in.

He was sitting on the chair in front of the bed with a solitary fire on, looking at the sleeping child on the opposite bed with his eyes closed, his expression gradually relaxed.

The ear was silent as water, and the night was getting darker and darker. He hadn't had a good rest for many days, and at this moment, he felt endless tiredness, as if from the depths of the darkness where the lights could not illuminate, attacking him. Just like that, he leaned back in the chair, tilted his head back, and slowly closed his eyes.

He didn't know how long he slept, but suddenly, he shuddered, opened his bloodshot eyes, and saw a small figure standing in front of him, on the ground in front of the bed.

The child didn't know when he woke up, but he actually climbed off the bed, wearing pajamas, with bare feet, standing on the cold ground, and was reaching out a hand towards him, as if frightened by his reaction, he moved his hand. Stop, people will be there.

"Mr. Xie... I woke up and saw that you fell asleep. I was afraid that you would be cold, and I wanted to ask you to sleep in my bed..."

Xi'er slowly retracted her hand and whispered.

Xie Changgeng was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, stood up immediately, picked the child up from the ground, rubbed the soles of his feet with his palms, and put him back in the bed.

"I'm fine. Don't freeze." He said hoarsely, raised his hand, and rubbed the child's little head.

"Did I wake you up?"

Xi'er shook her head: "I woke up and saw you sitting here and fell asleep..."

"If you're tired, just sleep beside me."

The child moved generously to the inside of the bed.

Xie Changgeng hesitated for a while, but finally took off his coat and lay down slowly.

The child thoughtfully covered him with the quilt, and said, "Mother said that you have to protect a lot of people. Sir, you should cover the quilt so that it won't freeze, in case you get sick."

Or because he drank the wine tonight, when Xie Changgeng suddenly felt a dull feeling in his chest when he heard this child's whisper, secretly surging.

He stretched out his hand, covered the child with the quilt, and said softly, "Go to sleep."

Xi'er closed her eyes, and after a while, she opened her eyes and said, "I can't sleep."

"Why? If you don't sleep, your mother..."

"She knows, or she's not happy," he said.

"I dreamed of her just now. I miss her and can't sleep." Xi'er said softly.

Xie Changgeng paused.

"Where is she now, sir, do you know?" the child asked.

Three days have passed, and tonight is three nights.

According to the speed of the team and their westward path, they should have reached the vicinity of Jialinshu today, but it was only the beginning. It was a long way from Tianshan Mountain.

We still have to go through Yan Zhishu, Gan Junshu, Heli Shu... Passing alone to climb the mountain, passing through the mountains, and then going west for hundreds of miles, we can finally reach the end of the lonely city on the bank of the Golden City.

"She's on her way, and she'll be back when the time comes."

"Go to sleep, it's late." He was silent for a moment, then said with a smile.

The child bit his lip, hummed, closed his eyes, and opened them again after a while.

"It's so warm in the house, but where will she sleep tonight? If it snows again, will she be very cold?"

The stuffiness that was surging in his chest seemed to strike again.

Xie Changgeng felt like a blockage in his chest, he slowly let out a sullen breath, and said softly, "Don't worry. Someone walking with her will take good care of her and give her a place to sleep, and it won't be cold."

Xi'er didn't ask any more questions, she just said dully: "I want to go with her. But I don't dare to tell her. She won't agree."

"My lord, I dream of growing up faster so I can protect her."

Xie Changgeng's voice was low: "Go to sleep."

The child yawned, closed his eyes, and finally fell asleep again.

Xie Changgeng didn't want to go back to the city. But he must return.

Early tomorrow morning, his subordinates and subordinate officials will wait for him to show up in the office to discuss the matter of the Mahe Valley garrison.

It's a big deal, and he can't help but come back.

He looked at the sleeping child's brows and eyes for a moment, covered him with the quilt, got out of bed, and left the room lightly, disappearing into the night.

…

On the seventh day of Mu Fulan's departure, Xie Changgeng came back from outside at night. As soon as he entered the door, he was told that as soon as his mother called him back, he immediately went to see her and said that he had something to do.

It's been too busy recently, Xie Changgeng goes out early every day and returns late.

If a person is in the Jiedu envoy's residence, no matter how busy he is, he will definitely go to Xie's mother's place in the morning, but at night, there is really no time, so he will skip the past.

I don't know what happened to her.

Xie Changgeng asked the steward, the steward shook his head and said he didn't know, hesitated for a while, and then said, "The old lady didn't look very happy, so I asked for a long afternoon, and told my lord that if you come back, go see her immediately."

Xie Changgeng hurried over. When he entered the room, he saw his mother sitting alone on the edge of the bed, with a sullen face and an angry look.

Xie Changgeng walked in front of him, greeted him and said, "I've been busy lately, so I couldn't come to my mother to say hello at night. It's because my son neglected me. My mother asked me to come, what's the matter?"

Mother Xie grabbed her son's sleeve and asked, "Geng'er! What is the relationship between the godson that Mrs. Mu raised in front of her and her, do you know?"

Xie Changgeng glanced at his mother: "What do you mean by that?"

Mother Xie said in a low voice, "I heard that the child looks a bit like Mrs. Mu. My mother wondered, could it be Mrs. Mu's own seed? You definitely can’t have children, so why would you take such an adopted son like a baby with you? If you really want to adopt it, who wouldn’t choose to raise someone who doesn’t know what to do, and would take such a half-sized child home like her?”

There was a look of doubt on her face.

"Mother was thinking, is it possible that the child is a wild seed born by Mrs. Mu himself and others, bullying you to be honest, bringing it back to raise, but telling you that it is the godson you recognize! Geng'er, you must keep your eyes open. ,cannot…"

"Mother! Do you know what you're talking about? Where did you hear this?"

Xie Changgeng suddenly shouted loudly.

Mother Xie was startled, she was stunned, and she came back to her senses. Seeing her son's frowning, she muttered in a low voice, "Don't care where you heard it. Anyway, mother is for your own good! Mother is afraid that you will suffer. Remind you! What's the matter with you, talking to your mother like that?"

Xie Changgeng calmed down and tried his best to suppress a wave of annoyance and nameless anger gushing out of his chest.

"Mother, you've been worrying too much! There's absolutely no such thing!"

He paused, his tone intensified.

"You slandered the Mu family out of thin air. If outsiders know it, it is equivalent to shame on your son. Don't you understand this truth? In the future, whether it is in front of others or behind others, don't mention such absurd remarks again!"

The son's expression was stern, which he had never seen before. Xie's mother was timid for a while, and didn't dare to say anything anymore, and said hurriedly: "Mother knows! How can you go out and talk nonsense? I'm not afraid that you will suffer, so I remind you privately?"

"You've been busy every day recently, and you can't see anyone, so you're hungry, Fenger..."

"Very good, mother, why did you think of that child? Did someone in front of you mention it?" Xie Changgeng interrupted his mother's words and asked suddenly.

Mother Xie was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly waved her hand: "No, no! Don't you wrong Feng'er! She didn't say a word about Mu's bad! It was the mother who suddenly remembered and asked people to inquire, knowing that the child had good eyebrows, and Mu's looks a bit like, and my mother started to think about it herself."

"Mother, tell Qi on behalf of your son, and the one who served her..."

As he spoke, he turned around and walked behind the door, and suddenly, the door opened.

Outside the door, Qiu Ju, who was lying on the door, suddenly heard that she was about to mention herself, her ears pricked up more and more, and she was unprepared. , stared at him coldly, his face was pale, and he didn't care about the pain, he hurriedly got up, knelt, kowtowed, and stammered: "Fang is Qi Niangzi heard that the lord is back, and did it. For supper, order the servants to come and ask..."

Xie Changgeng said, "Go and tell Mrs. Qi that it's my reminder. I don't care what my original intentions are about this matter, and that's it! I don't want to hear half a word of speculation."

"Yes, yes, slave, let's talk about it!"

Qiu Ju got up from the ground and hurriedly retreated.

Xie Changgeng turned his head slowly, let out a breath in his chest, and said to his mother, "Mother, rest, my son has something to do, go first."