Three thousand miles in exile

There was heavy snow in the sky, and the snow had not stopped since Liu Zhan returned to Wuyuan County.

The training in the county barracks also stopped, Liu Zhan didn't have to go to the Yamen and didn't go up the mountain for the time being, so he could only stay at home all day.

In the morning, Liu Cheng handed over the accounts for the second half of this year. Song Fenglin spent the whole day looking at the accounts on the kang, occasionally recording them down, and occasionally pairing them up. Anyway, he just ignored Liu Zhan.

Who made him angry with his sweetheart again, Liu Zhan had no choice but to lie down and coax him.

This winter seems to be colder than every year. According to this posture, many refugees in northern Xinjiang will definitely freeze to death.

The Cangxia Plain is now divided into two, and the Yan Kingdom occupies two-thirds of the four counties to the north with the Yangguan as the boundary.

Dachu occupies Furongpingding and Bijialing to the west of Yangguan to the area around Luming Ferry.

Since the battle of Ziyangguan, there has been no large-scale war between the two armies, and small fights from time to time can be ignored.

Da Chu didn't take the initiative to ask for a fight, and Yan Guo didn't take the initiative to invite a fight either, as if some kind of consensus had been reached.

During this period, Yan State was not idle either. Not only did it repair the Liyang Pass and Fan Yang Pass, but it also forcibly moved many people to the pass before winter. This was intended to be a long-term confrontation with the Chu army.

Compared with this, the Chu army seems to be doing nothing.

It had been a long time since Prince Rui was obsessed with female sex, and he hadn't asked about military affairs. After Liu Zhan sent beauties to Prince Rui, some people also saw the clues to send beauties to Prince Rui one after another.

Prince Rui's drunkenness and dreams all day long spread throughout the city of Jinyang.

From Zhou Chan's point of view, as long as Prince Rui stays in the mansion peacefully and does not cause trouble, then he will follow him around the flowers.

As for Zhou Chan, he spent most of his energy fighting with the Yan family.

With the change of Emperor Xuan's attitude towards the Yan family, the Yan family became more aggressive, and the people under him had conflicts almost every other day. Zhou Chan summoned counselors to discuss countermeasures every day, but it didn't have much effect.

Afterwards, northern Xinjiang entered winter, and the snow was vast, and all the gunpowder smoke fell silent with the midwinter.

After the snow, Qiyun Mountain is a vast expanse of whiteness.

As soon as the snow stopped, Liu Zhan immediately set off to go up the mountain, accompanied by his brothers from Tiancang Village.

Liu Cheng came over early in the morning to pack the luggage for the two of them, and Liu Zhan got up early to help Song Fenglin get dressed.

These few days Liu Zhan was very obedient, and he didn't dare to toss about at night. Song Fenglin never dared to go west when he said east, because he was afraid that the little ancestor would stop talking and ignore him.

There are more than 20 people going up the mountain together. The young people are riding horses and running on the snow, laughing and playing or chasing each other, as if they have returned to the time when they were thirteen or fourteen.

From a distance, there were many newly built tile-roofed houses standing on the hillside of Tiancang Village. When Liu Zhan first stepped into the village entrance, he thought he had gone to the wrong place.

Most of the old earth embryo houses have been refurbished and painted with white walls, and the roads are all compacted and leveled with stones.

The villagers who come and go are clean and tidy, and they are still the small and remote mountain village a year ago.

"This...is it all rich?" Liu Zhan was surprised.

Song Fenglin smiled. "Cao Zhuang is a captain of the seventh rank, Wei Chenggui is the deputy captain of the eighth rank, Cao Ming is the county captain of the eighth rank, Wen Qingshan is the master of the ninth rank, Zhang Xiaoman is a thousand households of the ninth rank, and the other three thousand households are all from Tiancang Village, what do you think? ?”

Not only that, Liu Cheng also selected some smart men in the village to join the caravan. Today, almost every household in Cang Village has children working for the Liu family, and they will become rich after coming and going.

A year can change a lot of things.

There is also Yunzhong Academy, including the Liu family, which has undergone another expansion.

The Yunzhong Academy has four courtyards, and the Liu Family has three courtyards. Together, the two buildings almost occupy the hillside at the end of Tiancang Village.

Song Fenglin explained. "After you left for the expedition, there was a heavy rain on Qiyun Mountain, and several roofs of the house were washed away. I thought I couldn't force the elders in the family to call the shots and took money from your private treasury to rebuild the house."

Liu Zhan's love for Song Fenglin is beyond words. "You've done a good job. As I said, you can make your own decisions when I'm not around."

Ever since Liu Zhan expressed his heart that day, Song Fenglin felt that he had become very strange, as if he had understood Liu Zhan's eyes overnight.

At this time, when Liu Zhan was so focused and only had him in his eyes, Song Fenglin felt flustered and hurriedly turned away from him.

As early as Liu Zhan and his party entered Tiancang Village, the villagers rushed to tell each other, and immediately there were bursts of firecrackers, and the villagers rushed out to welcome them.

At this time, an incense table had been set up in front of the Liu family's gate according to family etiquette.

The three brothers Liu Xueyuan and Song Yijun were wearing teaching gowns and led more than 30 students to stand on the road to greet them. The old lady Zhao, Li, and Fang stood at the door to greet them with their children, and the whole family came out.

"Big brother!" Cong'er started jumping up and shouting when he was far away, if Zhao Shi hadn't pulled him, he would have rushed over.

From a distance, Liu Zhan saw the excited little chubby laughing and waving at him, the little chubby was even more excited, and Mrs. Zhao couldn't help but ran out by him.

Liu Zhan got off the horse, caught Xiaopangdun and raised him up with one hand to let him ride on his shoulders. This move made other younger siblings and the surrounding children envious.

"What kind of dignity is it? How can there be a younger brother riding on the elder brother's head." Liu Xueyuan thought to himself that he must educate Cong'er well.

Liu Xueyi smiled and said: "Zhan'er is willing to pamper him, so let him go."

Everyone knows that Liu Zhan dotes on this little brother very much. When Zhao was pregnant, he tried every means to make up for Zhao. He was afraid that the conditions on the mountain would not allow him to conceive.

Suddenly Song Fenglin seemed to understand something, this is not being spoiled by his younger brother, he is clearly spoiled by his son.

Tiantiancang Village was bustling like never before, and Cao Zhuang, Wei Chenggui and his family were also celebrating. The sound of firecrackers rang for a whole day until it gradually subsided at night.

At the family banquet, Liu Zhan drank a few more glasses as soon as he was happy. The old sorghum brewed had a lot of stamina, so he drank it directly.

Liu Zhan and Song Fenglin's crowning ceremony is scheduled for the first day of the first lunar month, and there is still a month to go.

Thinking that the mountain will soon be covered by heavy snow, the entire Liu family became busy again in order to hold a wedding for Li Xiaolian before the heavy snow blocked the mountain.

The girl sent by the Liu family in the capital is a concubine from the Liu family. It has been more than a month since she came to Tiancang Village, and she lives in the old lady's courtyard with several young ladies from the Liu family, waiting for Li Xiaolian to come back and get married.

Liu Zhan didn't care about the trivial matters of preparing for the wedding, so he couldn't wait to take Song Fenglin to Tongtian Pass to check the defense on the third day, accompanied by Li Xiaolian and Cao Ming.

There was snow on the mountain road, and the four of them stopped and stopped from time to time and had to dismount to clear the snow before they could move forward.

"You stay on the horse." Liu Zhan led Song Fenglin's horse and carefully climbed up a pass.

Li Xiaolian led the horse and followed behind, but for some reason he fell on his back.

"Hahahaha!" Cao Ming laughed until tears came out.

Liu Zhan joked with a smile. "Will you lose your soul after meeting your daughter-in-law?"

Yesterday, Mrs. Zhao arranged for Li Xiaolian and Miss Liu Jiashu to meet from afar.

If that concubine doesn't want the Liu family, it's impossible to force him to get married, so as not to resent her in the future and add to the troubles.

At that time, Li Xiaolian glanced at his future daughter-in-law across the courtyard and lost his soul.

That concubine's dress and demeanor are unmatched by country women.

Li Xiaolian said in a daze while falling on the snow. "Brother, did that concubine really marry me voluntarily?"

He looked like a silly roe deer, Liu Zhan angrily grabbed a handful of snow and threw it on his face. "How many times have you asked me, how many times do you want me to say it?"

"How could she be willing..." The silly roe deer was still lying in the snow pit.

Cao Ming laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten up.

"Nothing!" Liu Zhan smashed several snowballs in a row, but the silly roe deer was still in a daze.

Riding on the horse, Song Fenglin pursed his lips and smiled, he couldn't stand it any longer and kindly explained his doubts.

"The father of that concubine passed away early, and the aunt didn't pay much attention to it. If she stayed in the clan to marry with the aunt, the concubine's background can only match the concubine of a small clan or a concubine of an aristocratic family. Marrying you is still an official wife, Beijiang No matter how hard it is, there is nothing to fear."

After hearing this, Li Xiaolian got up and laughed. "Thank you Mr. Song."

But having said that, Li Xiaolian has no shortcomings other than his bad background, and he is also good-looking, tall and tall.

Since the concubine dared to come to Northern Xinjiang, she made the worst plan. Now she saw Li Xiaolian, who was not bad, so how could she disagree.

After a while, the silly roe deer started to giggle again.

Without seeing it, Liu Zhan pulled up the rein and led the horse with Song Fenglin to take a step ahead.

The defense of Tongtianguan is as usual, Cao Ming is still very dedicated to his work, and Liu Zhan has made a round of inspections and is impeccable.

Liu Zhan plans to stay in Tongtian for two days before going back. His small courtyard is still preserved, and the beds and bedding are complete, and Cao Ming has been sending people to clean it.

Standing on the tower overlooking the direction of the country of Yan, Liu Zhan suddenly had other thoughts in his mind.

Song Fenglin saw his eyes suddenly became listless. "what you up to?"

Liu Zhan touched the saber at his waist. "I haven't seen you for a year. The villages at the foot of the mountain should be fattened up."

Song Fenglin smiled, he knew it would be like this.

"It's going to be midwinter soon. If we go down the mountain at this time, those people may not survive this winter."

"Then after the new year, when the snow melts."

Liu Zhan looks far away, and wherever he looks will be his granary.

Although he would not send troops for the time being, Liu Zhan, who couldn't be idle, led the team to hunt the next day, and returned after catching two big wild boars and a big buck in a long time.

The wild boar meat was removed on the spot to serve as an extra meal for Quanguan soldiers, while the male deer was left behind and sent to the Liu family to add another dish for Li Xiaolian who got married in a few days.

At night, Liu Zhan took the initiative to warm the bed for the little ancestor, while Song Fenglin read a book, and he hugged his cold jade feet and stuffed them into his little belly to warm them up.

Song Fenglin was watching engrossedly, when he suddenly felt that something should be stepped on under his feet, and when he looked up, he saw that Liu Zhan had actually stuffed his right foot into it...

this!This shameless person! !

Song Fenglin's fair face was flushed red, and Liu Zhan's strange ways of playing caught him off guard every time.

"I bought some ointment from Doctor Shi..." Liu Zhan pressed Song Fenglin's foot that he wanted to take away, and kneaded it along the calf with his warm palm.

Song Fenglin was so ashamed that he didn't know what to do. He didn't expect him to ask Dr. Shi to buy these things.

"Fenglin, your feet are not too different from mine."

"Shut up!!" Song Fenglin felt the hairs all over his body explode.

"Do you want to drink some deer blood?" Liu Zhan coaxed. "Let's take our time tonight."

I have been taking the medicine prescribed by Dr. Shi for a few days. Although it is impossible to see the effect immediately, I have to try it to see if it works, right?

Liu Zhan coaxed, but he didn't dare to force it because he was afraid that Song Fenglin would get angry again. He had learned to be smart, and he would rather coax beforehand than afterwards.

I don't know whether it was the deer blood, the medicine, or Liu Zhan's amazing technique. When he woke up in the morning, Song Fenglin covered his head and didn't even dare to recall, his ears felt hot just thinking about it.

The weather outside the house was gloomy, Liu Zhan saw that the weather was not right and hurriedly called Li Xiaolian to arrange to go down the mountain. "Look at the weather, I'm afraid there will be heavy snow, let's go down the mountain now."

In case of being trapped on the mountain and delaying Li Xiaolian's marriage, Liu Xueyuan would have to skin him.

Returning to Tiancang Village again, the inside and outside of Liu's house were already decorated with lights and festoons.

The house assigned to Li Xiaolian has two rooms and one living room, which is enough even if there is a child in the future. The new house is also well furnished, and all the furniture and bedding are newly bought.

Mrs. Li asked Li Xiaolian to see what he needed to add to the new house, but Li Xiaolian would just smirk and say yes to everything.

As for Liu Zhan returning home, there is nothing for him to intervene.

Butler Liu led his servants to keep the inside and outside of Liu's house in order, so Liu Zhan still went to Song Fenglin's study every day.

Soon came the day when Li Xiaolian got married.

Since there was no need to pick up the bride, a lot of etiquette was saved, and the two directly came out of their respective rooms to pay homage to the high hall.

The brothers in the army and the neighbors in the same village all came to congratulate. Although the etiquette was omitted, the scene was very solemn and lively.

After the wedding, Qi Yunshan entered the depths of winter, the sky was covered with snow, and it was freezing cold outside, and the snow was waist deep when going out, so it was impossible to go anywhere.

Li Xiaolian's newlyweds are happy to stay at home.

Probably only Liu Zhan felt bitter. After returning home, he couldn't cling to Song Fenglin unscrupulously, especially since he had an extra light bulb.

"Let's go, go find your Brother Song." Liu Zhan walked around the corridor looking for Song Fenglin with the little chubby Duncong'er in one hand and the food box in the other.

During the day, Song Fenglin urged Xiaopangdun to write and study, while Liu Zhan was playing with the map and sand table, and the time flew by so fast that it was New Year's Eve.

This year's sacrifice to the ancestors of Liu's family and Zhang Luo was particularly grand, and all rituals followed the etiquette system.

Because the ancestral tablets of the Song family and the Liu family are enshrined in the same ancestral hall, the ancestor worship of the two families is also held together.

Liu Zhan is the eldest son and the eldest grandson worshiping the ancestors cannot do without him every step of the way, as is Song Fenglin. Since dawn, the two have been busy with Butler Liu.

"What are you thinking?" Liu Zhan pinched the back of his neck.

Song Fenglin was startled and quickly looked around. The servants were all busy and no one paid attention to them. Liu Zhan always likes to touch his hands, which made Song Fenglin a little surprised. He was afraid of being spotted by his elders at home.

"I'll kiss you if you don't tell me." Liu Zhan whispered harshly in his ear.

Song Fenglin gave him a blank look and ignored him.

Seeing his beautiful Danfeng's eyes full of sadness, Liu Zhan understood somewhat in his heart. "Are you wondering who will worship your family's ancestors in the future?"

Song Fenglin was silent, which seemed to be his biggest concern.

The difference between modern people's thinking and ancient people's thinking is vividly reflected at this time. Liu Zhan never took the issue of heirs to heart.

Even without Cong'er, he couldn't force himself to find a woman to have a child. In his opinion, this life should be terminated after death. After death, it doesn't matter whether the ancestors have heirs to sacrifice?

But Song Fenglin cared very much, and Liu Zhan felt distressed when he saw that his eyes were no longer as bright as before.

At this time, Steward Liu and his servants were burning paper money at the entrance of the ancestral hall, and the two sat in the corner of the ancestral hall without anyone paying attention to them.

Liu Zhan boldly held Song Fenglin's hand, and Song Fenglin immediately withdrew his hand and glared at him. "Be more solemn in the ancestral hall."

"I'll figure out a way." Liu Zhan tilted his head on the teacher's chair and looked at him sideways.

"What?" Song Fenglin didn't understand.

"The issue of heirs, don't you care about this?" Liu Zhan said calmly. "Your Song family should have distant relatives, right? I'll send someone to look for it, and if I find it, I'll adopt a boy back."

Song Fenglin's eyes twitched, more than a hundred relatives in Song's lineage, Ding Buwang and Wufu, were all killed by Emperor Xuan. If he really wanted to find them, he could only find out the common people in Wufu.

He remembered that there was a descendant of the Song family in Fuzhou. If there is no other way in a few years, he can only send someone to find it.

"There are always more solutions than difficulties, so don't think too much." Liu Zhan squeezed his hand again.

Song Fenglin tucked his hands into his sleeves angrily and hid them, making Liu Zhan laugh out loud.

On the first day of the first month of the first lunar month, the two held the crowning ceremony, and the sky was rarely clear, blue and cloudless.

The Great Chu followed the Zhou rituals and evolved through the Zhou rituals. The sons of the clan can wear the Juebian for the crown ceremony, the middle-aged can wear the leather hat for the crown ceremony, and the untouchables can only wear the black cloth crown for the crown ceremony.

But in this big mountain, who will take care of it, Liu Xueyuan has prepared a royal banquet for the two of them, and the etiquette is also in accordance with the etiquette of the aristocratic family.

Under the watchful eyes of the whole family, the two men knelt in front of the ancestral hall wearing crimson and black-edged Confucian uniforms, and were crowned by Liu Xueyuan and Song Yi respectively.

Liu Xueyuan sang a congratulatory speech: "On the auspicious day of Lingyue, I will start to add Yuanfu, and I will give up my little characters, and I will become a virtue. Shoukao Weiqi, Jieer Jingfu."

Liu Xueyi sang a congratulatory speech: "Auspicious moon and celestial days, Shen Erfu, respecting Er's majesty, Shu Shende. My sister will live forever and be blessed by Hu Fu forever."

Liu Xueli sang a congratulatory speech: "With the righteousness of the year, with the order of the month. Xianjiaer obeys. Brothers are here, so that they can become Jude, Huang Lao has no boundaries, and be celebrated by heaven."

After that, there are tedious sacrifices, prayers, and kneeling.

Finally, Liu Xueyuan put his hands together. "Li Cheng!"

Butler Liu immediately signaled his servants to light the firecrackers.

Amidst the sound of firecrackers, Liu Zhan pulled Song Fenglin. "Do you think this looks like our wedding?"

Fortunately, Liu Zhan supported him, and Song Fenglin almost didn't trip over the hem of the Confucian uniform.