Huan Rong

The first year of Xian'an, September

After receiving Huan Rong's letter, Gong Shuchang and Xiangli Liu rushed from Yandu without delay to make fake hands for Qin Yu.

After inspecting Qin Yu's broken arm, Master Gongshu personally went to the mountain to select the wood, and after returning, he used a unique method to process it, and the finished product was almost like the real one.Xiangli Liu buried his head for several days, installing delicate mechanisms in the prosthetic limb, unable to use weapons, and grabbing some light objects is no problem.

Qin Jue was not used to it at first, especially the connection between the broken arm and the prosthetic, which always made him feel uncomfortable.

Gongshuchang discussed with Xiangliliu and modified the prosthetic limb according to his questions.However, the problem was solved within a few days, and the prosthesis was reinstalled, and the rough friction disappeared without a trace.

Qin Yu couldn't help showing surprise, pressed the inner mechanism, and saw the wooden fingers slowly bend and grip into the palm, almost froze on the spot.

"This……"

"Mr. Qin Lang, please forgive me. I have never made this thing before, and there are some shortcomings." Xiangli Liu said, "The mechanism installed in it is certainly exquisite, but its use time is short. It needs to be replaced in two to three years, otherwise it will be damaged." Out of action."

"The joints are made of cork and lined with silk cloth, so they are not of human flesh and blood." Gong Shuchang is not satisfied with his work, but with the current material conditions, this is the only way to go.

"Mr. Qin Lang, remember not to wear it for a long time, and take it off at night to prevent injury to your arm."

Qin Jue nodded his thanks, and moved his fingers excitedly.

Qin Jing ordered people to send fifty gold to thank the two master craftsmen for their help.

"Mr. Qin Lang doesn't need to do this." Gong Shuchang waved his hand and declined.

Xiangli Liu said with a smile: "The servants and others are ordered by the envoy Huan, this is their duty."

The attitude of the two is very clear, the reason why they help is all because of Huan Rong.If Qin Jing wants to express her gratitude, she might as well give the gold to Huan Rong.

In short, verbal thanks are fine, and gifts in kind are absolutely not acceptable.

Knowing that the two were not lying, Qin Jing didn't force it, and bowed solemnly, "Thank you both."

Gongshu Chang and Xiangli Liu returned the gift and told Qin Yu that there should be no delay in the problem of the prosthetic limb, and they should write to explain it as soon as possible, and they will solve it as soon as possible.I can't go south, but I can send someone to pick it up.

Qin Jing and Qin Jue thanked each other again, and watched the two leave.

Qin Jue sat on the side of the couch and tried to hold the lacquer cup with his fake hand.

It's a pity that a mechanism is a mechanism after all, and it can't compare to a real arm. The tea soup in the cup splashed out and wet his robe, but he didn't care at all, his face was full of joy and excitement.

"It's time to get ready to go." Qin Jing said suddenly.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Xihe sent a letter the day before yesterday, Murong Xianbei fought twice in a row, Murong Chui and Murong De joined forces, and Murong Ping suffered a lot of losses. But with the Rouran tribe as an ally, Murong Chui did not dare to pursue rashly. The two sides faced each other in Kumoxi territory. Shi Wei has also been implicated, and is currently swinging from side to side, not knowing where to go."

Qin Yu's expression changed slightly.

He didn't care about Murong Xianbei's life or death, it would be better for both of them to be hurt or even wiped out.The problem is that the battlefields of the two sides are too close to the border of the Qin family, and the people in the territory are likely to be affected.

"Brother, if we continue fighting like this, there will never be fewer soldiers."

"I know."

Qin Jing dipped his hands in the tea soup and drew a rough map on the low couch.Because I don't know much about the border between Rouran and Goguryeo, I only draw a few counties that belonged to the Yan State, but are now in the hands of the Qin family.

"The Majesty's letter stated that not long ago, troops were increased in Changli to prevent the Xianbei's rebels from invading the border. What I am worried about is that Murong Chui's plan may appear to be a decisive battle with Murong, but in fact he will send troops south to seize the border counties."

"Brother, if he dares to do this, isn't he afraid that Murong Ping and Rouran will rob Goguryeo?" Qin Yu said in shock, "Besides, if Murong De knows, he will probably turn against him."

If Murong Chui attacked south, Murong De would have to face Murong Ping and Rouran's army alone.

The two occupied the land of Sanhan, divided the land and governed it. It seemed that the alliance was strong, but in fact they had their own plans.

Murong Chui really dared to lead his troops south and leave Murong De as a target. The latter would never let it go, and would even think that the other party had evil intentions, and wanted to use this to weaken his own strength and annex all the territories he had conquered.

"That's just my guess."

The water stains on the low couch were gradually drying, Qin Jing tapped her fingers, and said in a deep voice: "Murong Chui is a hero in this world, before he invaded Goguryeo to the north, absorbed the local financial resources, and reorganized the army, he might not know how to make dangerous moves. "

It wasn't long before the Qin family conquered the territory of Yan, some counties and counties had just sent officials there, and the government affairs were a little rusty.Coupled with the limited force and the need to guard against Di people, the defense is inevitably empty.

With the help of Duan's family, Murongchui avoided the battle of Yecheng, and now occupies the territory of Sanhan, has no shortage of generals and rich financial resources, so he is ready to show his talents.As for whether the Goguryeo people will explode, Murong Chui may not care.

The Han people regarded the Hu people as barbarians, and in the eyes of the latter, the Goguryeo people were also aliens.

Every time Murong Chui and Murong De conquered a territory, they would send troops to plunder.Captured the capital city of Sanhan, and there was a massacre of the city.

They are not targeting common people, but royal family members and civil and military officials.Kill these people, kill them, tie them up, hang their heads on the city wall, and frighten the people in the territory. If they dare to resist, they will all end up in the same way!

The means are tyrannical and the effect is remarkable.

The Goguryeo people were terrified of being killed, and they worried about their heads every day, so they didn't have the thought to gather crowds to resist.After conquering Baekje and Silla, the number of sheep slaves easily exceeded [-], and many of them came from clans and officials.

Now, all the lands of the Three Hans have surrendered, even if they have grievances, they dare not speak out.

It is not impossible for Murong Chui to intend to expand his territory and even go south to restore the country.

"Brother, who will the majesty send to lead the troops to Changli?"

"Third brother." Qin Jing said.

"Third brother?" Qin Yu asked in surprise, "What about Jingzhou?"

Qin Jing didn't speak, took out a silk cloth from her bosom, and spread it out in front of Qin Jue.

"This is?"

"transfer order."

After reading the content on the silk cloth, Qin Yu's eyes widened.

"I?"

"Yes." Qin Jing raised her long eyebrows, not surprised by Qin Ju's performance, and said with a smile, "I have already said that since I am the son of the Qin family, I cannot shirk my responsibilities. A Rong, do you think you lost half of your life?" Can you hide with your arms?"

"Of course not!" Qin Jue clenched his fist violently, clenching the silk cloth tightly.

"That's good." Qin Jing nodded and continued, "After leaving Youzhou, I will return to Pengcheng, and you will take a team of soldiers to Jingzhou."

"Go right away?"

"The third brother is not in Jingzhou, and the situation may change at any time. Knowing that the border is empty, [-]% of the Di people will send troops. Before losing three counties in a row, Fu Jian's life is very difficult. If you want to calm people's hearts, you must win a battle."

Speaking of which, the regimes in the north are all suffering from internal and external troubles, and the Qin family is not immune to it.Even though the southern land in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was full of troubles, it may not be short-lived.

"You have also seen Youzhou. Compared with Xihe and other places, maybe you can see the difference?"

Qin Yu frowned and didn't answer right away.

It's not that there is nothing to say, but that there is too much to say, and I don't know where to start.In the end, only four words were spoken: "What the people want."

"Yes." Qin Jing nodded, "The hearts of the people are available, and they are better than thousands of soldiers."

"Brother, isn't it..." Qin Jue clenched his back molars, unable to utter the second half of the sentence.

Qin Jing looked at him, put away her smile little by little, and shook her head slightly.

"It's not time."

"Timing?" Qin Yu frowned.

"The current enemy is actually the gangsters of various tribes. Brother Rong is not a man in the pool, he can be called a hero of the world. Even if there is a battle in the future, he should be fair and fair, and use his strength to decide the victor."

Qin Yu opened his mouth and closed it again.There was both worry and inexplicable relief.

"I listen to brother."

On the same day, another black eagle flew into the Assassin's Mansion.

Seeing Qin Ce's handwritten letter, Qin Jing and Qin Jue knew that the situation was urgent and could not continue to delay, so they bid farewell to Huan Rong and prepared to leave for the north.

"Time is short, there is no time to prepare a thank you gift."

Before leaving, Qin Jing took out a hairpin made of ancient jade and solemnly gave it to Huan Rong.

"This is an item from the Warring States Period, and it was worn by the son of the Qin Dynasty. I am presenting it to Brother Rong as a token of my heart."

The jade hairpin is not Wei Jin style, but slightly flat, like a shrunken long sword.The head of the hairpin is carved in the shape of a beast, with its mouth wide open, biting an elk tightly.There are several seal characters engraved in the middle of the hairpin body, not like a surname or title, but rather a place name.

It's a pity that the time has passed and the place names have changed repeatedly, making it impossible to recognize for a while.

The only thing that is certain is that this item is priceless and can be worn by extraordinary people.

Qin Jing gave him a hairpin before, which has a similar meaning to this one, but it is indeed different.

"Brother is sincere, but younger brother dare not resign."

Huan Rong did not refuse, and solemnly took the jade hairpin, and at the same time took out a flat and long wooden box, saying: "Brother Qin is returning to the north this time, and I don't know when he will see you again. I also have a small gift, and please don't refuse it, brother." .”

The wooden box is exquisitely made, with red lacquer on a black background, and the patterns are carved along the wood texture, in the shape of auspicious birds, which is both interesting and ancient.

When handing out the wooden box, Huan Rong could clearly feel the back of his hand being scratched.On the surface, he remained calm and gritted his teeth in secret. Before Qin Jing closed his hand, he lightly hooked his index finger and brushed his fingertips against his cool wrist.

Qin Jing was slightly surprised, as if he didn't expect the other party to do this.

Huan Rong's expression was serious, and he was always serious.

The two moved so fast that not to mention the accompanying guards, even Qin Jue who was standing nearby couldn't notice them.

"Brother Rong take care, Jing bid farewell." Qin Jing boarded the carriage and bowed to Huan Rong.

"Brother Qin, have a good trip!"

Huan Rong stood where he was and watched the convoy go far before giving the order to return to the city.

Sitting in the car, Mr. Huan stroked his chin, the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily, smiling like a raccoon cat catching a big fish.

Seeing the gift in the box, what expression would Brother Qin have?

It must be very exciting.

After laughing, Huan Rong leaned his back against the wall of the car, brushed his fingers over his lips, several thoughts flashed through his mind, and slowly let out a foul breath.

When will we see you again?What will happen?

Shaking his head, putting aside the sudden surge of bitterness, Huan Rong closed his eyes, showing no sign of relaxation.

On the carriage returning to the north, Qin Jue opened his mouth to speak several times, but swallowed the words again.Hovering between asking and not asking, his expression was very tangled.

Qin Jing ignored it, opened the wooden box that she had been holding in her hand, and saw the contents of the box clearly, feeling dazed for a moment.

Curious, Qin Jue took a look with his head, and his jaw dropped instantly.

"Ah, brother?"

"En?" Qin Jing put down the lid of the box, took off the transparent silk cloth, narrowed her eyes slightly, and a trace of smile appeared around her mouth.

Lifting up his dropped chin, Qin Jue's face was full of horror.

"What?" Qin Jing turned her head.

"Did Mr. Huan be careless and send the wrong one?" Qin Yu said dryly.This explanation is too pale, even I can't convince myself.

Qin Jing didn't answer, picked up the golden Luanfeng hairpin, and brought it to her eyes for a closer look.It can be concluded that this is not the one he sent, but the handicraft of the southern land craftsmen.

Gift it with a phoenix, or return it with a phoenix?

Brushing the lifelike phoenix head with her fingertips, Qin Jing curled the corners of her mouth, and a smile welled up in her eyes.In an instant, it was like the flowers blooming in the warm spring, the ice and snow melted, and colorful reds bloomed one after another. The colors are indescribable, and people can't move their eyes away.

Gudong.

Qin Yu swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

It's not that I'm envious of Qin Jing's good looks, but that I'm too frightened.

Ever since he was sensible, he seldom saw his brother smile like this.Good-looking is good-looking, but it's beyond common sense, too scary, isn't it?

The smile was fleeting, and the warmth was quickly replaced by coldness.

Luanfengchai returned to the box, the lid fell, and the golden light disappeared instantly.

"Brother."

"kindness?"

"……nothing."

Qin Jue shook his head, looked at his brother who had returned to his usual appearance, thought of the smile just now, his throat seemed to be blocked by a stone, and he couldn't say a word.

The first year of Xian'an, October

In early winter, the first snow falls in Youzhou.

The name of Xuyifang City is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more caravans going to and from the city.

The clerks who issued wooden signs and collected taxes were busy from morning till night, their throats smoked when they talked, and their fingers trembled when they wrote, but they were in a particularly good mood.

The city became more prosperous, and the business tax became more abundant. The assassin ordered another year of grain tax exemption, and distributed grain seeds in the name of the state government to encourage the people to open up wasteland and farm.

The people in the state all benefited, and the civil servants were no exception.

Nowadays, there are few dry grass wastelands outside Xuyi City, and most of them are fields separated by wooden piles. Many farmers have opened their fields to plant winter wheat, and take care of them every day, hoping for a bumper harvest next year.

Huan Rong once wanted to further expand the workshop, but after discussing with Zhong Lin, Xun You and others, he dismissed this idea.

The population in Laizhou is limited, and a large number of strong men are needed just for farming and training soldiers.In order to open up wasteland, old women and even half-grown children are driving cattle and pulling plows. There is really no more labor to fill the workshop.

Even if there are refugees from all over the world to supplement, it is still a drop in the bucket.

Nowadays, not only neighboring states and counties intercept refugees, but also caravans traveling north often return without success.It was not that the Han people in the north were unwilling to go south, but Fu Jian ordered the conscription, and the Han people were among them.

At the same time, Wang Meng was still ill and still cared about government affairs. He noticed that there were fewer refugees near Chang'an, so he sent people out to investigate. Knowing that a caravan was secretly buying people, he immediately reported to Fu Jian and sent troops to intercept him at the border.

If the regime wants to consolidate, financial resources and military strength are indispensable.And to achieve both, population is crucial.

Once the other party tightens their grip, Huan Rong's plan to increase the population will inevitably run aground.

Every time he stared at the census book, the assassin Huan would sigh, people, where did they come from!

There are dignitaries in land reclamation and grain cultivation, and dignitaries in recruiting soldiers to guard the territory. The workshops in Yandu are as short of people as the salt farms.

Nowadays, there are almost no idlers in Youzhou.There were no beggars in Xuyi and Yandu cities, and even some Taoist priests were dragged down to invest in vigorous economic development, contributing to the construction of Youzhou.

As for whether he will be criticized by the world, the assassin Huan has no time to take care of it.

Besides, he didn't use people for nothing, and he definitely gave a lot of benefits.The Taoist priest took advantage, so naturally he didn't complain too much.Mutual benefit to each other, the Huan assassin also agreed to build a Taoist temple for him, and the other party was naturally happy to serve the assassin.

It's not that Huan Rong is a maverick, it's really limited by the times. If you want to find scholars, [-]% of them have to visit the gentry, and if you want to find a few "chemists", you must go to a Taoist temple.

There is also the fleet led by Huan Yi. It is said that it will go to sea again in September. The business is getting bigger and bigger, and the demand for boatmen is even higher.

Not long ago, Huan Yi sent a letter to Huan Rong, hoping to build two more sea-going ships, add more manpower, spend gold and silver without having to send it out of the state, and merchants interested in maritime trade will pay for it all.

The assassin Huan scratched his head on the spot.

With such good conditions, there is too little manpower.

There is really no one to adjust, is it possible to send troops to snatch it?

After struggling for a few days, Huan Rong could only send a letter to Huan Yi. The landlord's house had no food left, and the state government office was also unstaffed, so there was nothing he could do for the time being.

Huan Yi wrote back to express his understanding, and hinted between the lines that he could solve Huan Rong's worries and problems.The method is very simple. Yandu merchant ships go out to sea, looking for opportunities to stop at counties and counties near the sea, and take the opportunity to recruit young men.

When people got on the boat, they set sail and ran away without saying a word.

"The boat sailed on the sea without flying a flag. When the soldiers from the state came to find them, they had already been sent to Youzhou."

After reading the letter, Huan Rong was silent for a long time.

In other words, is this still his pure and honest brother?Is it the wrong way to read the letter today?

Huan Yi's idea seems to be feasible, but after thinking about it, there is indeed a huge problem.

Huan Rong didn't want to act rashly unless he was absolutely sure.It's okay not to be discovered, but if it is discovered, the local princes will definitely be angered, and the trouble will definitely not be small.

"Difficult."

It's no wonder that Uncle Liu always takes the people with him when he runs. Apart from being kind and benevolent, he probably also knows the importance of population.Even if I am a little tired, or even slowed down, I still have to take them all away, leaving none of them to that or that!

Just when Huan Rong had a headache, a caravan from the north arrived outside Xuyi City.

The leading carriage stopped, and a young man opened the door.

Tall, with snowy skin and black hair, high nose and deep eyes, delicate outline, quite a sense of indistinguishability between male and female.It's just that the eyes are cold, and there is blood all over his body that cannot be concealed.

"Your Highness, this place is Xuyi." A healthy servant said.

"En." The boy nodded, looked at the city not far away, and said in a deep voice, "Enter the city."

"promise!"

The motorcade continued to move forward. The young man was sitting on the shaft of the car, with one leg propped up and his arms resting on his knees.Thinking of the purpose of this trip, he had to grit his teeth, suppress his hatred for a while, and think about how to do things in order to achieve his goal and help his uncle succeed.

If Huan Rong was present, he would definitely be shocked to see the people in the car.

The young man was none other than Murong Chong, the prince of Xianbei who was captured alive by him on the battlefield, followed Murong Chui to attack Goguryeo in the north after escaping, and was the first to rush into Wandu City!