Liaodong, Liaoyang City.
After nearly a month of busy work, Jia Cong began to relax.
After officials from various places took office, the troops they sent out were slowly brought back.
Guangning sent 20,000 troops to guard it, but it was better to arrange for He Shiyuan, who was most familiar with it, to go there.
With He Shiyuan over there, he didn't have to worry too much.
Jinzhou, Haizhou, and Jinzhou each sent 5,000 soldiers to guard it.
These three places are all close to the seaside, so it is still necessary to leave necessary guard forces.
Although the nearby forces do not have powerful fleets, they still have to be on guard against them sneaking in to cause damage.
When the time is right, a small fleet can be established in the Bohai Bay to guard this sea area.
For other towns, there is no need to send troops.
Jia Cong arranged for some disabled veterans to go to these towns to serve as yamen servants and police officers to maintain local security.
As for the other armies, they have all entered training.
In order to improve the food supply for the army, Jia Cong bought 20,000 sheep from Mongolia.
He also sent someone to inform Wangcai and used the fleet to transport more than a dozen ships of rice, which amounted to four to five million dan.
In this era, rice is a rare commodity in the north. It is a happy enjoyment to have a mouthful of fragrant rice.
With so much extra rice, there is no need to worry about not having enough to eat this winter.
Han Nianci and Qingwen also took people out to buy a large amount of things.
They are all local specialties, various dried and fresh mushrooms, matsutake, pine mushrooms, Hericium and so on. I bought a lot of all kinds of dried fruits, including pine nuts, hazelnuts, wild walnuts, etc.
In fact, in previous years, Jia Cong would arrange for someone to purchase a batch and have the caravan transport them back to Ningguo Mansion for everyone to enjoy.
In this year's Liaodong war, all of them were occupied by barbarians.
In addition, he led troops to Liaodong, so he did not send anyone to do this.
These things are worthless in the local area.
With Jia Cong's current status, as soon as he opens his mouth, many people will take the initiative to help collect it and deliver it to his door personally.
Soon it was October, and a heavy snow covered the entire northern land.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw snowflakes falling from the sky.
The roofs and treetops were all covered with ice and snow. The entire earth was covered in white, as if we had entered a world of ice and snow.
Qingwen stuck her head out from the side and looked up at the falling snowflakes.
"Commander, it's snowing heavily this year. Next year will definitely be a good harvest year. When the snow stops, let's go hunting. We haven't hunted in the snow for many years."
Jia Cong turned around and saw Qingwen wearing a fiery red fox fur cloak and long deerskin boots, standing beside him playfully.
In this white world of ice and snow, it looks even more beautiful.
Jia Cong smiled slightly: "Okay, as long as you are not afraid of the cold, I will go hunting with you. It's snowing so heavily, and there is nothing to do at home anyway. Speaking of which, I haven't hunted for a long time, and my hands are itchy. .
However, with such heavy snow, riding a horse is definitely not possible. Let Li Biao and the others find some sledges, let the hunting dogs pull them for walking, and find some hunters to lead us. When the snow stops, we can go. "
"Uh-huh."
Qingwen nodded excitedly. They are all young people in their twenties. It is human nature to like to play.
Hong Luan came over, stretched out his head to look outside, and then looked at the two of them curiously.
"It's just snowing. Is there anything good to see? It's not like I haven't seen it before. Come in quickly and close the door. You guys have let all the heat out of the house."
The two smiled without saying anything.
Han Nianci shouted from inside: "Okay, you all come in, get ready for dinner."
The three of them closed the door and returned to the house.
Han Nianci stepped forward, helped Jia Cong take off his purple mink cloak, and hung it on the hanger next to him.
He took him to the stove and sat down.
There is a large iron pot on the stove, which is steaming. The meat and mushrooms inside are constantly tumbling. The aroma of meat wafts out of the pot, making people want to drink it.
"smell good."
Qingwen shrugged her nose and came to sit next to Jia Cong.
"Sister Nianci, what is stewed in this pot? Why is it so fragrant? My mouth is almost watering."
Han Nianci sat down on the other side of Jia Cong and pointed to the pot.
"It contains mutton, venison, beef, and pheasant meat. Yesterday someone brought a flying dragon and stewed it together. Then there are pine mushrooms, matsutake, Hericium, etc., and a fifty Vintage ginseng is just a hodgepodge.”
Chunlan, summer bamboo, autumn chrysanthemum, winter plum, and red luan also sat down around the stove.
Han Nianci picked up the spoon, scooped out a spoonful of meat and mushrooms, and put them into Jia Cong's bowl.
"Commander, how do you like it?"
Jia Cong smiled and said: "Just smelling it makes people drool. You don't need to taste it to know that it must be delicious."
As he spoke, he took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a pine mushroom, and put it into his mouth.
Take a light bite and you'll find it's delicate, tender, smooth texture, rich in fungus aroma, and mixed with a hint of meaty aroma, making it a delicacy.
"It's delicious. It's so delicious. Nianci's cooking skills are getting better and better. Don't just watch, eat together."
Hearing Jia Cong's praise, Han Nianci smiled even more.
When the others saw Jia Cong starting to eat, they picked up their bowls and chopsticks and started eating together.
Qiu Ju said while eating: "It's so delicious. Sister Nianci's cooking skills have caught up with those of the cooks at home. She is really versatile and much better than the rest of us. She can do nothing but dance and shoot. meeting."
Hong Luan sighed in his heart, there are so many good things in it, it’s strange that it doesn’t taste good.
This pot of meat is worth as much as an ordinary family can live on for several years.
The others are not very valuable, but the ginseng and the flying dragon are still worth some money.
Her family used to be a wealthy family and her life was very affluent.
Only after following Jia Cong did she know what the life of a truly wealthy person was.
Those delicacies from mountains and seas can be eaten every once in a while.
Foods such as ginseng and bird's nest are relatively high value and good for the body and can be eaten almost every day.
When Jia Cong was away on an expedition, Han Nianci was responsible for his food. Almost every meal was medicinal, and everyone benefited from it.
Hong Luan ate silently without interrupting.
After all, I joined a little late, having only followed Jia Cong for a year.
Although everyone was very kind to her and didn't suppress her, her qualifications were still inferior.
These people all grew up with him and have been with him for more than ten years.
After learning about Jia Cong's past, I admired this man even more.
The corners of Han Nianci's mouth raised slightly: "You are all so skilled, I can't compare to you. I can only do what I can to avoid looking too useless."
Chunlan smiled and said: "Nianci, you are too humble. We are not outsiders. This way of eating reminds me of the days when we were in Guangning a few years ago, and we were the same people, except that Hongluan was missing. , now that I think about it, I really miss it.”
Jia Cong swallowed the piece of venison in his mouth and nodded.
"The house in Guangning has been well preserved. Gu Qi knows where it is. When the barbarians attacked, Gu Qi also followed him there and left it untouched. When we have time, we can stay there for a few more days. .”
Qingwen said: "That guy Gu Qi has done a good deed, and the friendship he has had for so many years is not in vain."
Xia Zhu said: "That guy is not honest. He sent false news last time and almost tricked us. Fortunately, the commander is always cautious when doing things.
, so that they didn’t fall into their tricks, but they suffered a big loss, so that they didn’t dare to have any evil intentions again. "
Jia Cong shook his head and chuckled: "The two countries are at war, and each is its own master. Everyone has their own reasons. Besides, the two sides are only in a cooperative relationship. There is no need to be too fussy. With us sitting in Liaodong, there should be no one who dares to provoke us again. .”
Qingwen nodded: "Amin knows our relationship with Zhang Hu and the others, so he will definitely not dare to provoke us again. Otherwise, if we send troops together, we can destroy them and occupy his territory by the way."
Hong Luan put down the bowl and chopsticks and said, "No matter whether Amin dares to cause trouble with us or not, it's better to keep them. Only when a powerful enemy is watching, the court will rely more on the commander-in-chief.
Once the foreign enemies are eliminated and the court is no longer in danger, the commander-in-chief will face the end of losing all the birds, hiding the good bows, dying the cunning rabbits, and cooking the lackeys. When the time comes, all kinds of overt guns and hidden arrows will be aimed at the commander, making it difficult for people to guard against him. "
After hearing Hong Luan's words, everyone suddenly fell silent, and the scene was silent for a while.
Jia Cong smiled softly: "Okay, don't worry, I have a plan for this. As Hong Luan said, we will not kill Amin and the others, but will keep them as our shield.
Don't worry, no matter what, we will be fine. As long as we are strong, no one can touch us. Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore, let’s destroy this pot of delicious food first. Qingwen, go bring out the jar of good wine. Let’s have a good drink in this snowy day. "
"I know, I'll go get it right away."
Qingwen stood up, went to the next room, and brought out a jar of wine.
Hong Luan got up and got eight wine glasses, placed one in front of each person, and filled it for everyone one by one.
Several people ate meat and drank wine while chatting and having a good time together.
······
It snowed heavily for three days in a row.
Looking around, it is true that thousands of miles of ice and thousands of miles of snow are falling, and the land of the North is completely vast.
In the past three days, Jia Cong didn't go out.
He has been eating, drinking and having fun with the girls, and he is quite happy.
There was a big iron stove burning in the room, which was warm and not cold at all.
At night, we slept on the heated kang, with several people sleeping together, hugging each other for warmth. They were also very warm.
In these few days, Hongluan also fell and officially became Jia Cong's woman.
Several people ate and lived together and played like crazy, which made Jia Cong addicted to Wei Xiaobao.
It wasn't until the heavy snow stopped that everyone went out.
Jia Cong held his old waist, feeling both pain and happiness.
The women watching all covered their mouths and snickered.
If it weren't for Nianci making medicinal meals every day to recuperate herself, she would really be unable to hold on.
Qingwen chuckled and said, "Commander, do you still dare to challenge us now?"
Jia Cong rolled his eyes. They were all like wolves and tigers. With one against seven, he was really no match for them.
"Qingwen, just go ahead and be careful, I will deal with you alone in the future."
He ignored her and pointed to the thick snow in the yard.
"In a moment, you will gather all the maids in the backyard and clean up all the snow in the inner courtyard. Starting from tomorrow, we will get up early to exercise. Good health is the real good thing."
The girls laughed softly when they heard the words, and couldn't help but feel flushed when they thought about the situation in the past few days.
"I got it. We'll take the lead in cleaning in a while. Just treat it as exercise. Commander, you can go back and rest."
Jia Cong rubbed his waist and shook his head.
"Forget it. I'll go to the front yard and ask Li Biao to arrange for people to clear all the snow in the front yard. Then people will clear all the snow in the city to prevent it from freezing and slipping everywhere. Slipping around."
Han Nianci took the mink fur cloak, put it on Jia Cong, and warned, "It's okay, come back soon."
Jia Cong nodded: "I may have to go to the military camp, but I will be back for lunch at noon."
Qingwen stepped forward to help him adjust
He straightened his clothes and asked, "Commander, when are we going to hunt? The snow has just stopped. It's easy to find the prey by following the footprints."
Jia Cong thought for a while and said, "Let's do it tomorrow. If you want to go, if you want to go, please come with us. If you don't want to go, just stay home and warm yourself. Prepare everything you need to prepare."
Arriving at the front yard, Li Biao was already leading people to clear the snow.
Seeing Jia Cong coming out, he hurriedly greeted him.
"Commander, what do you have to do today?"
"Well, I originally asked you to clean up the snow, but I didn't expect that you have already started to do it."
Li Biao smiled and said: "In previous years, when it snowed, the commander also arranged for people to clean up. We are all used to it. When the snow stopped, we also arranged for people to clean up."
"Well, you did a good job. Li Biao, take a team of people with me to the city and the military camp, arrange for them to clear all the snow in the city, and also clear the official roads outside the city. Clean it up."
Li Biao said: "Commander, the snow outside is more than a foot thick, and it hasn't been swept away yet. Why do you have to go there yourself? I'll arrange for someone to come over, or just notify them."
After a slight hesitation, Jia Cong nodded.
"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. You go and notify the officials in the city and ask them to mobilize the residents in the city to actively participate in clearing all the snow in the city and transporting it to the farmland outside the city.
Go to the military camp again and inform the generals of each battalion to clear all the snow on the General Road outside the city. I want all the towns in Liaodong to be unobstructed. By the way, I would like to inform all towns that every time it snows in the future, the official roads must be cleared as soon as possible. "
Li Biao bowed his hands and saluted: "Don't worry, Commander, my subordinates will arrange manpower to go to various places to convey the Commander's orders."
