Bianshanhan [farming]

When Li Qingwen was planting grass and trees in the eastern part of Bingzhou, a major event happened in the capital, shaking the government and the public.

Privy envoy Zhu Xiang was impeached. This important court official in charge of military defense and military affairs was listed with dozens of crimes, including forming a party for personal gain, corrupting the law, and framing Zhongliang.

Because there are hundreds of officials implicated in this matter, and countless family members of criminal officials, the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice cannot hold it for a while.

Zhu Xiang was the elder of the three dynasties. After being impeached, various crimes were quickly investigated. This towering tree fell down at an incredible speed, revealing its rotten and dirty interior to the world.

Zhu Xiang's nephew, Zhu Qingqi, was the person who pronounced the sentence for the rebellion case in Huzhou. Back then, the post station under Huzhou's jurisdiction not only exploited the people, but also became a place for Zhu's family to collect money from past officials.

It was already August when the news spread from the capital to Qingcheng. Li Qingwen went to the capital immediately, first to find his second brother, and then he and Ma Yongjiang appealed to the Ministry of Criminal Justice to retry the case against Tao Ruoning's grandfather.

Zhu Xiang and the right minister Zheng Luming have been fighting secretly for decades, and have attacked each other countless times. This time, Zhu Xiang collapsed suddenly. Although the document of impeachment has not been revealed yet, everyone thinks it is the dead hand of the Zheng family.

While waiting, Li Qingwen turned his head frequently to look at the second brother next to him. Li Qingzhuo was seriously reading the complaint, which was written by him, to check for omissions.

When Li Qingwen first arrived in the capital, he asked his second brother what this matter had to do with him. Li Qingzhuo didn't hide it this time and told him that he had presented evidence against the Zhu family. Know that those seem a little less.

Because of Zhu Xiang's case, the criminal department was very busy. They sat for a while and waited for Yang Xie.

Before Li Qingzhuo could speak, Yang Xun called out "Senior Brother", Li Qingzhuo's jade-like face was stunned, and immediately called: "Senior Brother."

Since his mentor had an accident, he hadn't heard such a title for a long time.

After Zhu Xiang was imprisoned, all kinds of unjust cases caused by Zhu's family have now surfaced. Li Qingzhuo had been prepared to present the whole story of the Huzhou case back then, and the family members of the victimized scholars at that time were also brought together. In the capital, they were all tortured and tortured at the beginning, and they escaped because they could not read a single word, and they are still terrified in retrospect.

The case in Huzhou has been going on for a long time, and it is very slow to investigate, but the case of the Tao family happened a few years ago, it is very simple. Zong.

After returning from the Ministry of Criminal Justice, several people let out a sigh of relief at the same time. Only then did Ma Yongjiang realize that Li Qingwen's face was tanned like a monkey's butt, and he was quite puzzled: "Why, you have to work hard even if you pay money?"

As soon as he reminded him, Li Qingwen's arms, legs, and shoulders began to ache, and he was tired from planting trees and carrying water.

They all knew about Li Qingwen planting grass and vegetables in Bingzhou, because at the beginning of the year, the seeds from the border town to the capital were taken away by people. Originally, many of them were for old man Du and Xueyin's private school, but because of Li Qingwen's In the letter, they didn't keep a single seed, and even bought some medicinal seeds to supplement them and brought them back to Bingzhou.

At the teacher appreciation banquet held by Li Qingwen, Zhu Chun met Qin Lin and old man Du, and later became personal friends. This time when Li Qingwen came, he brought a letter for him.

Li Qingzhuo is very busy every day, Li Qingwen was having dinner with Su Shuqing and Su Yuanbao, and heard someone whispering in the restaurant, "Then I wish the old thief would not die, but bit that one instead, I heard that the bite was severe..."

Hearing this, Li Qingwen paused while holding the chopsticks.

At the time when the second brother had an accident, Li Qingwen insisted on asking for some things from him. Although it was not much, one thing is clear. The murder in Huzhou back then was caused by Zhu Qingqi who wanted to kill people, but Lin Weisheng's death all pointed to the right minister Zheng Lv's forces. .

During the time of Emperor Xian, these two people had feuded openly and secretly, and trampled on each other. Lin Weisheng and the case back then were a knife for them to frame each other.

Now that one is doomed, naturally it won't make it easier for the other. Before Li Qingwen left the capital, the Zheng family was also investigated.

Li Qingzhuo didn't even go to see his younger brother off. He was busy avenging Hongyi's grievances. Although he didn't know why there was no movement in the princess mansion, Hongyi, who should be a hero, shouldn't be wronged all the time.

The fifth year of Datong was a year of turmoil. At the beginning of spring, wars continued in the north, and two important officials of the imperial court were imprisoned one after another. The roots of the hidden dangers left during the war.

For three days, people lost their heads at both ends of the execution ground, their homes were ransacked continuously, the treasury was enriched, and taxes were reduced that year.

Groups of donkeys and sheep rushed to Qingcheng from the pastures. I don't know how many sheep pens and donkey pens were built. Li Qingwen became a good mason.

On the bare saline-alkali land, rye and Suaeda salsa grew. These pastures can be cut two or three times a year and brought back to feed sheep. In places where the salinization is not so severe, white thorn fruit, sea buckthorn and wolfberry are planted. These small seedlings It is still young, and it will take a few years before it can be sold for money.

Iron oxen, brass donkeys and paper-made horses don’t eat much, and don’t get sick as easily as horses. It’s very cost-effective to raise donkeys for breeding every year, and to raise the donkey’s foal, whether it’s for work or for sale.

The winter in Bingzhou was slightly colder than that in the capital, so Li Qingwen didn't spend much time in the government office, and followed Qin Lin around the villages and towns.

Qin Lin had a book in his hand, and they wanted to visit the places and people listed on it before the Chinese New Year.

To deliver charcoal and food to the widowed and lonely elderly, to resettle the poor homeless people, to care about the harvest...

Sitting on the donkey cart, Li Qingwen looked at Uncle Qin's gray hair blown up by the wind, and lowered his eyes. The word "parents" is simple but too heavy. It is difficult for ordinary parents to support a family. As a parent officer, Worry more about complicated things.

In the twelfth lunar month, they returned to Dongming County and Dongquan County again. These two places have always been the poorest in Bingzhou because of the salinity of the land. .

Because of raising livestock for these people who couldn't farm the land, Zhu Chun borrowed money from the household department so that he could buy lambs and donkey foals.

When Li Qingwen and Qin Lin lived in the village, the owner killed a rooster, because the grass the rooster ate grew on the saline-alkali soil, and the water here was different from other places, and the chicken they raised tasted very special. The meat is also extraordinarily tender, even if nothing is added, it is very delicious when stewed.

If it was mutton, it would be more obvious, but now that the sheep are just getting older, they are all waiting to give birth to lambs, and they dare not touch them with a finger, let alone eat mutton.

After eating, other people in the village crowded over, no matter the old or the young, they all expressed their gratitude to Qin Lin and Li Qingwen.

Carloads of rice noodles were sent to needy families. Li Qingwen and the others packed a lot of things back home, including dried vegetables, pumice stones, small jujubes, eggs, chicken feather mats, and so on.

They had been running outside for the entire twelfth lunar month, and they returned to the government office the day before the Chinese New Year. Zhu Chun was receiving guests, and Li Qingwen was chopping firewood in the yard after taking a shower.

After chopping firewood, Li Qingwen went back to his house and wrote a diary. During the six months in Bingzhou, he wrote more than 100 entries.

When he was in the capital, he heard about the war in the border town, and he has been worried until now, but because of the war, the connection between the capital and the border town suddenly became closer, and military reports and battle reports often came from the border town, bringing Letters from Border Town.

He said in his heart that the officers and soldiers in the border towns had won many battles, the people of Luoche Kingdom were retreating steadily, and the enemy had been driven thousands of miles away. If it wasn't for the fear that the whole country would take advantage of the situation, none of them would be able to escape.

The population of Luoche Kingdom is sparse. This time, they dispatched more than 1 horses. After being defeated, they collected many good horses of different breeds.

After finishing writing, Li Qingwen put down his pen and thought about the matter for a long time. He only came back to his senses when he heard the knock on the door.

The door was not closed, Qin Lin stood outside the door, "Boy, it's time to eat."

On the day of the Chinese New Year, the sound of firecrackers was endless, and the backyard of the government office was more lively than usual. The old hen led a group of half-sized chickens back and forth to train, and the chimney was full of smoke from the morning. Make dumplings with Qin Lin.

Today is the happiest day of the year.

After the dumplings were made, the blessing characters and couplets on the outside were pasted up. A few people sat cross-legged on the kang, had tea and talked, and had a New Year's Eve dinner in the evening. A year passed peacefully like this.

In the sixth year of Datong, the Puju Kingdom once again intercepted Daliang's sea ships, and there was another conflict in the direction of the border town. The navy and the border town dispatched troops at the same time, and the war resumed.

Relying on the abundant food and grass in the border town and the loyal and brave soldiers, they attacked like a broken bamboo all the way to the capital of Puju, and a black and green arrow pierced straight into the tall city gate.

This arrow reminded all the Puju people of that legend, and the past of crawling at the feet of a powerful tribe made them tremble.

The war ended more simply than it began.

In winter, a group of people from the north entered the north gate of Yuanbei City, and they went to Qingcheng without stopping.

Li Qingwen and Qin Lin were delivering lambs in a family, when a child from this family suddenly ran in, speaking inarticulately, there were guests coming outside and they were looking for them.

Thinking it was the county government servant, Qin Lin stood up and went out, stunned for a moment.

The tall man was leading a powerful war horse, standing on the thin snow, with deep brows and eyes. Although he had never seen it before, he felt familiar.

"elder brother!"

A shout of surprise came from behind, Qin Lin watched Li Qingwen gallop over like a rabbit, and jumped on the person who came.

There is no doubt that Jiang Cong is really there, Qin Lin thought.

Because of the victory, the soldiers from the border town were called to Beijing, and Jiang Cong came to Qingcheng to pick them up.

I haven't seen him for almost two years. I know that they fought several times. After the surprise, Li Qingwen began to grope for Jiang Cong's hands and feet on the snow, watching him nervously and carefully, trying to make sure he was not injured.

Jiang Cong only held his hand vaguely, without stopping Li Qingwen's movements, saluted Qin Lin, and called "Uncle".

Although he hadn't seen it, Qin Lin had heard too much about Jiang Cong from Li Maoxian and Li Qingwen, which was really good.

The children in the village showed Jiang Cong the way, knowing that Li Qingwen was going with him, and as soon as the announcement was made, everyone in the village knew about it.

As a result, when Qin Lin and the others left, adults and children ran out to give them away, carrying all kinds of things from their own homes.

No matter what Li Qingwen said, there were more and more things piled up on the car, and even Jiang Cong was stuffed with several pairs of cloth shoes and a bag of candy.

An old lady pulled Jiang Cong's cloak and opened her toothless mouth, "Our son is a good boy. We have suffered a lot for us in the past two years. Seeing that life is getting better, he is going home. I don't know what will happen in the future. Can't you see him..."

"He will come back." Jiang Cong grabbed Li Qingwen with one hand and the old lady's arm with the other, "We are together."

"That's great, I have to work hard to live for a few more years!" The old lady immediately cheered up, and a look of joy appeared in her cloudy eyes.

Being sent far away by the villagers, people from other villages saw it and came to join in the fun. When they heard about Li Qingwen's leaving, they quickly ran back and told Xin'er.

Fearing that more and more people would come around, Li Qingwen hastened his pace and told the villagers to go back.

Qin Lin opened his mouth, and the villagers stopped obediently. The old lady also let go of Jiang Cong, but she held onto Li Qingwen, and quickly put the hairpin on her head in Li Qingwen's hands.

Even if he could wear it himself, Li Qingwen couldn't accept it, but the old lady said: "This is handed down from our family. It's not worth much. It's for my daughter-in-law to keep safe. Seeing that I've lived to this age, I know how accurate it is." It's..."

The old lady is the oldest in the entire county. She is 89 this year, and her mother-in-law lived to 91. In such a poor family, she has lived a very long life.

The old lady gave birth to five daughters, and there will be no daughter-in-law in the future.

Hearing "daughter-in-law" and "keep safe", Li Qingwen hesitated for a moment.

Jiang Cong put the cloak on the horse back on the old lady, but the hairpin never returned.

After Li Qingwen and the others left in a hurry, people from other villages also ran to them, but they only saw ruts and horseshoe marks on the ground.

The old lady was helped back by her elderly daughter. When she got home, she realized that she had put on her clothes. She quickly folded them up and wanted to return them. Golden leaves fell out of her pockets.

One, two, three, four, five, exactly five gold leaves.

On that side, Li Qingwen saw Zhou Fengnian and Zhou Congxin brothers, Chen Wen and Jiang Liping in the Qingcheng government office. He was overjoyed and did not stay here any longer. He said goodbye to Master Zhu and Qin Lin, and Li Qingwen went to the capital.

After staying in the border town for a long time, this snow is nothing at all, and the group hurried on their way.

On the way, Li Qingwen asked Jiang Cong about the war. Jiang Cong only had three or five words in total, so he turned to look for Zhou Congxin.

When beating the people of the Luo Che Kingdom, Zhou Congxin buried the pot and cooked in the back, because he was not good at archery, so he went to clean up the battlefield after the fight, and praised the Luo Che Kingdom's boats to Li Qingwen, they were light and stable, and they were not damaged. They were all dragged back, and some craftsmen disassembled them. They will be able to make such a good boat in the future.

When he was beating the Puju people, he fell off his horse and went to the back to recuperate, only knowing that he had won.

Jiang Cong had been listening to the two of them talking, and when Li Qingwen was shocked by Zhou Congxin's experience, he stretched out his hand and said, "Zai'er wants to know so much, come here and tell you carefully."

"Carefully and carefully" spat it out from the tip of Jiang Cong's tongue a few times, Li Qingwen's face became hot, and he lowered his head and said, "I-I'm not in a hurry..."

Zhou Fengnian didn't wait for Li Qingwen to ask him for a long time, so he coughed twice.

Li Qingwen looked up at him, "Master Zhou, this cloak is not bad."

After finishing speaking, Li Qingwen was a bit at a loss, not knowing why he blurted out this.

Zhou Fengnian showed a self-sufficient smile, he bought this when he was in the capital, it was good, but it was a bit old.

Staying at the inn that night, Jiang Cong kept his word and responded to Li Qingwen's words "carefully and carefully".

On the second day, Li Qingwen looked a little sluggish, and Zhou Cong, who lived next door to them, said, "What time did you guys talk about yesterday? I fell asleep and woke up to hear you talking."

"Ahem..." Li Qingwen coughed in shock, pretending to be nonchalant and said, "I went to bed early, so I must be talking in my sleep."

The group of them separated briefly after they arrived in the capital. Zhou Fengnian and the three of them went home, and Li Qingwen, Jiang Cong, and Jiang Liping went to the shop in Dongcheng.

Although they are in the capital, everyone here is thinking about the border town all the time. When Jiang Cong arrived, he was surrounded by big guys. Only when he heard that the border town was safe and sound could the big guys feel relieved.

The border towns fought successively for two years, because the battlefields were thousands of miles away, the people in the border towns were not affected, and they kept farming and working. However, they did not go to the far distance to pick mushrooms, nor did they go to the forest.

Many things have happened in the capital in the past two years. The interrogation of "Zhu Zheng" lasted for more than a year. His murderer was also executed.

Li Qingzhuo sent the coffin of his mentor who had regained his innocence to Huzhou to be buried with his wife.

Tao Ruoning's grandfather was found innocent and had already left the border town and returned to his hometown.

In order to celebrate the victory and the reunion, the shop closed early, and the big guys drank together in the backyard. Su Yuanbao, who had received the letter, also arrived. Although he was no longer short, the movements of holding Li Qingwen were still familiar.

This courtyard has not been so lively for a long time, because after Li Qingyong and the others got married, they moved out one after another, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye, and some of them had already become fathers.

It's obviously a happy thing, but drinking, drinking, many people's eyes are red.

Ma Yongjiang hugged Li Qingwen's neck drunkenly, with tears in his eyes, "Ten years, son, ten years..."

Ma Yongjiang was 16 years old when he first entered the Xijiang Mansion, and entered the prison as soon as he left the house. When he was squatting by the river to fetch water on the way to the border town, he thought about dying, because there were a group of brothers around him, so he gritted his teeth and held on. Arrived at Li Qingwen.

It's hard to regain freedom, and run around for the person you like. The hard work is willing, but the people who have been together all the time are busy, and it is too difficult to get together.

After hearing what he said, Li Qingwen's mood also began to sore, and he patronized Ma Yongjiang to comfort him, stabbed Lishen's hand obliquely, and blocked Ma Yongjiang's tears and snot that was about to flow with a handkerchief.

Ma Yongjiang had never been so agile before, and grabbed Jiang Cong's hand, "Brother, I'm so happy that you can come back safely!"

The good brother endured his nausea and wiped his nose vigorously. Ma Yongjiang was so excited that he couldn't help himself, but he didn't know that his good brother just didn't want him to stain Li Qingwen's clothes.

Ma Yongjiang looked at Jiang Liping again. Jiang Liping grabbed Qi Min and stood in front of him as if facing a big enemy. He was often tossed by Ma Yongjiang. Seeing his familiar expression, he felt vigilant.

He was tired from traveling, and he didn't want to deal with this fool anymore.

They were almost done drinking, and when Li Qingzhuo came back, he was dragged to the table without changing his clothes. Before he could say a word to his brother, his hands were stuffed with wine, and Li Qingyong, who was holding a jar and staring at him, was standing beside him.

Coming back late, Li Qingzhuo drank three bowls in a row before he had time to talk to Li Qingwen and Jiang Cong.

While drinking and talking, some people collapsed from too much alcohol, and then they were carried to the house to sleep. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer people at the table.

Li Qingzhuo walked back by himself. The room was a little hot. After lying down, he felt dark again and wanted to open the window.

The cold wind blew in with a "huh", and the smell of alcohol dissipated immediately. He looked up and saw Jiang Cong walking to the opposite room with Li Qingwen in his arms.

Li Qingwen drank both beer and white wine today, and was so dizzy that he just leaned against the wall obediently. After Jiang Cong sent everyone else away, he came back to carry him.

Although Li Qingwen was thin, he had long legs, and he didn't want to be carried on his back like a child.

Seeing the resistance in his eyes, Jiang Cong hugged him without saying a word.

Smelling the familiar smell, Li Qingwen squinted his eyes halfway and rubbed his eyes, his cold eyes fell on his face, his eyes sparkling with water were a little confused, his lips soaked in wine were like dewy fruits, let you pick them .

Jiang Cong, who had been patient because of the rush, paused slightly, leaned over and kissed him deeply.

Instinctively, Li Qingwen wrapped his arms around Jiang Cong's neck, fearing that he would fall. This action also sent him to the door...

On the second day after arriving in the capital, Jiang Cong and others burned incense, took a bath, and changed their clothes. Early on the third day, they went to the palace to face the saint.

Li Qingwen had checked the account book yesterday, so he will go to the private school today.

When he first arrived, the sedan chair behind him also fell to the ground, and an old man with white beard and hair came down from it.

Because Li Qingwen has not been appointed an official yet, he has to avoid anyone wearing official uniform and salute.

The old man's footsteps were originally aimed at the gate, but when he walked to Li Qingwen's side, he looked at his waist with surprise in his eyes, but Li Qingwen, who lowered his head, didn't see it.

Li Qingwen deliberately waited until the boss had entered before Li Qingwen took a step forward. Zhu Ze was reading a book with a hand warmer in his hands.

At noon, when Qin Yu and Zhu Zuyuan finished school, the three of them went to a hot pot shop in the outer suburbs to have dinner together.

Originally, Zhu Ze was about to go out with him, but he had to stay to receive guests.

In winter, the hot hot pot is the most warm, and the mutton is the most nourishing. The shop is very prosperous during the day and night, and this good location is available in advance.

Chen Tai in their bedroom couldn't continue to study because of his health, and went back to his hometown to recuperate, but the letter was not broken, and he would come to Beijing again after recovering from illness.

Qin Yu passed the provincial examination this year, but failed in the general election. There was some regret in his words. Although Zhu Zuyuan has been failing in the provincial examination, his family's business is getting better and better. He is still young and has enough money, so he just needs to continue his studies.

After the three of them finished their meal, it was snowing outside. Even though it was the end of the day, it was very dark outside.

Walking to the door together, the man brought a lantern, and the three parted ways here.