Dingjiangshan

Even though Ning Yan was already mentally prepared, the personal recruitment was still very different from what he had imagined.

He has a high status, so he can't always go to the turbulent places outside. As soon as he arrived in Nanyang, he was welcomed into the city and settled in the Nanyang government office.

But this is also normal. Nanyang is quite close to Anqing Mansion, and there is only Xinyang Mansion in the middle, which is also occupied by Ning Zheng, not to mention the few small cities around Nanyang that were occupied by Ning Zheng. The geographical situation is really not advantageous. Ning Huai It is common sense for Jin to worry about him going out of the city.

In the short three or two days between Xie Jue's entry into Nanyang and Ning Yan's arrival in Nanyang, Ning Zheng had quickly replaced the defenders of Tongbai County and Sui County with his own.

I don't know if it's because the phrase "Yinghuokexin" gave Ning Zheng unnecessary confidence. He not only tore up the summons letter sent by Ning Yan, but also stripped off the official uniforms of the two counties. They found a few beggars and sent them to Nanyang Mansion, under Ning Yan's nose.

Ning Zheng was so rampant that even the emperor could turn a blind eye to him, and the court didn't have to give him any face.

Ning Yan made a decree to announce to the world that night, bluntly saying that Changle Wang Ningzheng was rebellious and despised the Holy Majesty, so far he cut off the genealogy and only regarded it as a traitor to the party.

This imperial decree tore away the last face between his two brothers, and even the battlefield became tense.

But Ning Yan wanted to stay in Nanyang to control the overall situation, and the others had no time to relax.

Suixian and Tongbai, one on the left and one on the right, are the two must-pass roads from Nanyang to Xinyang. If these two cities are not taken back, Nanyang will always be within Ning Zheng's easy reach.

But Ning Yan brought out many soldiers and horses this time, but there were only a few generals. Except for Xie Jue and Zheng Shaohui, there was no one who could lead the troops alone.Although Qin Liu had the title of commander, he was born as a shadow guard after all. He was good at killing, but he didn't know how to lead troops.

But Tongbai and Sui County can't be ignored, and it doesn't matter if Sui County is smaller, but the county seat of Tongbai County is also two-thirds the size of Nanyang, and there are many villages around. The other small towns add up to a large number, and they really cannot be underestimated.

Xie Jue looked at the map for two days in the government office, and finally decided not to rush in, and could only lead troops to check the situation.If the situation is good, I will try to find a way to fight. If the situation is not good, I am afraid I will have to camp on the spot, and there will be gains.

There is a long distance between Tongbai County and Nanyang, but it is closer to Xinyang, and it takes two days to march there.The fighter planes on the battlefield are fleeting, and you can never come back for help when you encounter a situation.So Xie Jue couldn't lead the troops alone, he always had a deputy at hand.

But Zheng Shaohui still had to go to Sui County, and this kind of back and forth made Ning Yan embarrassed.

Later, it was Ning Huaijin who stood up and spoke out, saying that she was willing to take over the job as a lieutenant in the army or something. If there was any situation on the front line, she could discuss it with Xie Jue.

Ning Yan didn't want Ning Huaijin to go to the battlefield, he wanted to put Ning Huaijin in a safe place to protect him.But who knows what's wrong with Prince Gong recently, he really doesn't listen to the "decree" like before, Ning Yan always listens to what he says.

It was better when he was in the palace, but it got worse when he was out of the palace. In this kind of matter, Ning Yan couldn't beat him, and in the end he had to settle for the next best thing, handing Qin Liu to him and taking him away, so that he could feel a little relieved. some.

So even Ning Huaijin couldn't stay in Nanyang Mansion for a long time, but changed his armor on the second day after arriving in Nanyang, and went to Tongbai County with Xie Jue.

The terrain of Tongbai County is different from other cities. The villages outside the city are scattered, and there are mountains and forest farms, and there is a Huaihe River in the middle. It is really difficult to deal with.

Xie Jue didn't dare to venture in, and set up camp a hundred miles away with his soldiers. The spies sent out batch after batch, but they still couldn't figure out the situation within a short time.

"Tomorrow will be the third day." Xie Jue stretched out his hand to roast by the fire in front of him, and said casually, "The second batch of spies still haven't come back."

"After all, we have to cross the river." Ning Huaijin said, "It's normal to come back slowly."

The camp selected by Xie Jue was backed by a low mountain, and there was a small stream not far away.Xie Jue ordered the soldiers to cut down the side of the forest at the foot of the mountain, leaving only the outermost circle of thick trees as a cover, and started a fire in the night, and there was no smoke or fire outside.

Xie Jue and Ning Huaijin sat opposite each other by the bonfire in front of the big tent, facing the wild rabbits that had been scorching all the time, each with serious expressions.

"Ning Zheng is much smarter than ten years ago." Xie Jue said.

He didn't know what he thought of, but he suddenly gave an incomprehensible laugh, reached out and flipped the wooden shelf with the hare on it.

"Ten years ago, he was still an idiot." Xie Jue said, "Mingyuan forced him out of the fief with a few words, and he didn't even touch the side of the reserve."

Ning Huaijin was also a witness to the absurd "prince battle" back then, so she naturally knew what Xie Jue was talking about.

"You've been talking about it for ten years, no matter how stupid you are, you should have improved." Ning Huaijin said, "Besides, in his eyes, he must have tried his best for the past ten years."

Xie Jue smiled sarcastically.

Even though the Xie family suffered catastrophe because of Ning Yu's scheming back then, Ning Zheng, an idiot, also took a shot here.Although Xie Jue wouldn't be dazzled by such old hatred, he is not a saint either, and he can't give Ning Zheng any good looks clearly.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this." Xie Jue tore off a hare's leg and handed it to Ning Huaijin, saying, "Does the lord know the general next to Ning Zheng?"

When Xie Jue set off from Nanyang, he sent spies to Tongbai County to find out the situation.According to the reported news, Ning Zheng himself is not in Tongbai County, and has probably retreated back. It is not known whether he is in Xinyang, or temporarily dragged back to Anqing Mansion.

Ning Zheng was stationed in Tongbai County by a fierce general beside him. I heard that his surname was Feng. Before, he wanted to take a team of cronies into the surrounding villages from the valley near Tongbai to inquire about the situation, but he was caught off guard by his ambush army.

But General Xie racked his brains, searched the whole capital, and even pulled out the relatives of Ruan Yin's family who couldn't be reached, but he couldn't find a surname Feng.

"I have never heard of such a person in anyone's family—" Ning Huaijin frowned and thought for a while: "But if I remember correctly, Ning Zheng was originally in the palace in the middle of the capital. His servant is named Feng."

"Your servant?" Xie Jue couldn't believe it: "Can a servant have such vision?"

"This king also thinks it's unlikely." Ning Huaijin shook his head: "That person is one of Ning Zheng's housekeepers, much older than him, and it is unlikely that he is the guard of Tongbai County."

At this point, the matter has been put on hold. Ning Huaijin and Xie Jue looked at each other, and they both saw confusion in each other's eyes, so they decided not to dwell on this matter at all. After all, Ning Zheng has been away from Beijing for ten years. It is not impossible to recruit talents from anywhere.

"Actually, if we can sneak into Tongbai County in disguise, it will be much more useful than us trying our best outside." Ning Huaijin said: "And even if we find out the situation outside, for the sake of the people inside, we still have to It’s best not to attack by force, it’s always better to be outsmarted.”

"But it's difficult." Xie Jue shook his head and said, "Tongbai County has now set up a wartime sentry. It is difficult for even the surrounding farmers to enter the city, let alone strangers like us."

Just as Ning Huaijin was about to say no and asked Qin Liu to try it, she saw the curtain behind Xie Jue move, and then Cheng Yuan came out from inside carrying a small tray with his shoulders arched against the curtain.

After all, Cheng Yuan was not a member of the imperial court, so it was difficult to say clearly about the shadow guards, so Ning Huaijin stopped talking for the time being and diverted the topic to another place.

Doctor Cheng didn't understand the matter of leading troops, and he didn't listen to him very much, so he walked up to Xie Jue and greeted Ning Huaijin politely.Then he put the tray in his hand on the ground, lightly touched Xie Jue's calf with his toes, raised his chin at General Xie, and said condescendingly, "Take it off."

Xie Jue: "..."

Ning Huaijin: "..."

"...This is too ambiguous, Xiao Yuan, it's better to be so direct." General Xie said tactfully, while hesitantly stretched out his hand to open the skirt of his shirt, revealing his left arm: "It's nothing, just wipe it."

There was a bloodstain on Xie Jue's left arm, it didn't look serious, it was just scratched a little.Cheng Yuan leaned over to take a closer look by the light of the fire, then picked up a bottle of ointment from the tray, and applied it to the wound.

"Indeed." Cheng Yuan said solemnly: "The war is not serious now, if it really hurts you, you won't be silent all afternoon."

Xie Jue: "..."

Ning Huaijin burst into laughter.

"The two have a very strong relationship." Ning Huaijin smiled and said, "It's really enviable."

"It's all about living." Cheng Yuan wiped his hands clean, stuffed the medicine bottle into Xie Jue's arms, smiled at Ning Huaijin, and said, "My lord will also meet someone he loves in the future."

Xie Jue subconsciously remembered Ning Yan who was still coveting Ning Huaijin, and suddenly choked up, suppressing his cough and turning the hare on the fire.

Fortunately, Ning Huaijin didn't notice his discomfort, and Prince Gong didn't know what was going on in his mind, he hesitated for a while clutching a hare's leg, and actually continued to talk along this topic.

"There are so many people in this world who we can talk to, but there are very few who may stay together for a long time." Ning Huaijin said: "Dr. Cheng has a sharp eye, so he picked the right person."

"My lord has put the cart before the horse." Cheng Yuan said.

Ning Huaijin was taken aback for a moment, and asked puzzledly, "What?"

"I'm sorry, I forgot that the prince is a relative of the emperor." Cheng Yuan smiled embarrassedly and said, "Actually, the prince doesn't know that although a man can have three wives and four concubines in this world, to marry a wife requires three letters and six rituals. Ordinary villagers in the mountains and fields do not have this requirement to spend real money—most people in this world are still monogamous, and they will end up with one person if they decide on one person, so it’s possible that these people are all astute.”

Ning Huaijin thought about it, and asked, "What does Doctor Cheng mean?"

"A lot of things need to be thought about first and then done - only when you have an idea, you will work hard for it. It is not necessary to first determine whether the result after doing so is good or bad, and then decide whether you dare to think about it or not." Cheng Yuan said: " I first made sure that Xie Jue was the right person, and everything I did after that was to stay with him forever. Thinking about it this way, I will naturally be able to grow old with him forever."