Xie Ming

Henan Province, a few heavy snows in winter, after the New Year, the next day, it is a new year.
It’s just right. Don’t be afraid of the severe cold that destroys the plants and trees, and sincerely invite the jade face to accompany the spring.

After the extreme cold comes the warmth, and the old is bid farewell to and the new is welcomed. In the blink of an eye, the second year of Hongguang begins, and winter has passed and spring has arrived.

On February 18th, Xiao Jingchuan returned to the west after reporting to Nanjing.

Why return to the court?

The main reason is that in the past half year, he has made great achievements in the control and management of Henan Province, and his relationship with Emperor Hongguang has become closer.

After all, they have been brothers-in-law since their marriage, and the situation has eased recently, the New Year has just passed, and the little emperor has more free time in the court.

He then urgently summoned General Xiao back to Nanjing and personally commended him.

Openly, due to external influence and public opinion, it was difficult to reward him with high official positions and salaries. Secretly, he really made excuses to allow him to raise a large amount of military supplies, firearms, armor, etc.

The amount of silver salary was even more unprecedented, with more than 450,000 taels approved.

In order to transport this batch of military supplies, Qi Gang and Ming Lu, who were assigned to the logistics and military supply brigade, also returned as companions on their return trip to Beijing.

And yes.

This time, not only did he get the military supplies from the court, but on the way back, he took a detour to Fengyang, where Gao Jie's old subordinates lived, which was a good opportunity to catch rabbits while hunting.

Since the New Year had just passed and he had some free time, he was able to deal with some of his old subordinates and make major arrangements.

First, in order to stabilize the core, Xiao Jingchuan gave in and formally adopted Gao Jingzhong, the youngest son of Gao Jie, as his adopted son.

Yu Fengyang held the ceremony, and Mrs. Xing took it very seriously.

2. Continue to work with Xu Wenzhe and Xing to thoroughly liquidate and verify the original financial assets in Fengyang.

After checking and comparing, the current account balance that can be moved is over one million taels of silver.

There were also countless weapons, firearms, food, etc.

In response to this, Xiao You mobilized a plan and brought back 800,000 taels of silver to quickly return to the court to replenish the national treasury.

He also wanted to shut up Nan Ting.

The remaining 200,000 troops, as well as military supplies and food fodder, were all escorted to Henan for use.

Third, punish Gao Jinku for his crime of not wanting to cooperate in the allocation of troops and thus missing the opportunity to fight.

Of the original Fengyang soldiers who numbered more than 20,000, 10,000 were forcibly gathered and marched to Henan with the army, where they were reorganized.

Keep ten thousand and still mark the high end and carry it into the warehouse.

The ownership of the territory was clearly defined, and many cities east of Fengyang were opened up and garrisoned by Gao Jinkuza's army.

The area west of Fengyang, from Shouchun to Haozhou, was placed under the jurisdiction of Gao Hu.

As a result, Fengyang was split into two.

Xing and Xu Wenzhe were stationed in Fengyang City from the same unit. Military supplies and food will be allocated from here from now on. They will be in charge of both eastern and western affairs, and will be able to restrain Generals Gao Hu and Gao Jinku.

After the Fengyang incident, another seven or eight days passed in a flash.

The journey was delayed for another two days. It was not until the evening of the 26th that Xiao Lang finally rode his team again and was the first to return to the city of Guide.

That night, it was just after 7 p.m. (after 9 p.m.).

In Guide City, under the eaves of the front hall of the government office, Yuan Ping sat alone on a bamboo chair in front of a small stove.

The flame of the stove was bright, and there was a black, smoked-looking iron pot with hot tea boiling inside, emitting tea aroma.

There were a few jujubes roasting by the stove. When the skins were burnt during cooking, Yuan Ping was told to throw them into the jar one by one.

He held the dry biscuit in one hand and used the iron tongs to pour tea to eat.

Just as I was feeling happy, I suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves outside the yamen gate.

Before long, the courtyard gate opened, and Xiao Jingchuan, accompanied by Chang Ting and Sang Menxing, rushed in, exhausted.

Walking through the courtyard and the corridor, a man wearing a sable fur coat with the outside open and a brocade hat on his head walked under the eaves.

"Wow! It smells so good!"

"Brother, hurry up, give me some."

As he was speaking, Xie Hou Changting reached out to take the hat that Xiao Suizou had thrown.

Qiu Chang also untied himself and took the hand of the other death star.

Xiao Jingchuan strode to the fire.

Yuan Ping sat steadily on the small chair, eating tea and cakes without stopping, and did not look up in a hurry.

In terms of action, he intentionally swept his leg and pulled the small stool next to him closer.

Just then Xiao Lang approached, sat down on it, and peered into the black jar.

"Oh, you're back." "You're here earlier than I expected."

"What? I finally came home, but I don't know how to stay a few more days."

"Everything is normal here, nothing will happen, why are you in such a hurry to return?"

"You're just messing around."

Yuan Ping is a man of foul words but a kind heart. He originally meant to take care of Xiaochuan, but when the words came to his lips, they turned into reproaches.

Hearing this, fortunately Xiao Lang didn't mind.

"Hehe, the combined forces are all stationed in Henan, so how can I be an exception?"

"Once the work is done, we will rush back immediately." Xiao Suiyan replied.

"Humph!"

"It's a good thing that you will become a father soon."

"Next time, since it's rare for you to come back home, spend more time with your younger brother and sister-in-law."

"According to estimates, Xiao'e should be pregnant soon, right?!"

Zhu Yu'e, since her marriage in October, Xiao went to Henan and there has been good news.

The news was brought to the army by Zhizhong, and many generals were delighted when they heard it.

According to the date and month calculation, by February of the following year, it would have been four or five months in total.

Yuan Ping was therefore very concerned about this matter, and when he saw that Xiao had just returned from Nanjing after reporting on his work, he started asking about it.

As he spoke, he broke another piece of cake, found another small bowl, and made a bowl of tea for Xiao Lang.

This taste of stewing tea in a pot and eating steamed buns was something he learned during his early days as a wanderer, when he stayed in Tianshui, Gansu for two years.

You can put as many red dates, rock sugar and various dried fruits in the jar as you want. A bite of it will give you a sweet and satisfying taste, and it is very good for resisting hunger.

Today, the weather in Henan has not been very good in the past two days, with more cloudy days than sunny days. My body is damp and cold, so it is a good time to eat some stomach-warming food to dispel the cold.

Then he fiddled with it for a while and pushed the small bowl away.

While chatting, Xiao Lang was handed to his side.

"hey-hey."

"Slurp!" Xiao Jingchuan didn't reply in a hurry. He was greedy and first sucked on the edge of the bowl.

But what can I do? The hot tea has just boiled and burned my tongue, and the grinning face disappeared immediately.

"kindness?"

"Hey, what are you in such a hurry for?"

“It’s hot!”

Seeing Xiao Lai's clumsy look, Yuan Bai showed his elder brother's scolding expression. A smile appeared on his face.

"Haha, you really can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."

"Yes, uh, Xiao'e's belly is bulging and round. Not only is it obvious that she's pregnant, but it's also difficult for her to walk."

"But the doctor said that the girl is very lucky. She has not shown any signs of being sick during these months of pregnancy."

"I can eat and sleep all day long."

"This is what it means to make the baby in your belly grow fast."

Speaking of this, Xiao Lang was obviously smiling and was extremely excited.

"Hahaha, okay, great."

"That girl is indeed a lucky girl. When she was with her two sisters, I thought she had a good life."

"Speaking of which, you are also lucky."

"Hey, it won't take many months for the baby to be born. I have prepared some things here."

"Why don't you take it back yourself? If you can't leave for something, you can ask someone to take it back."

"I gave this to Xiao'e."

"You are not allowed to stop me, do you hear me?!"

Yuan Ping's words were filled with joy, and he was happy for Xiaochuan and his brother's sister Xiao'e.

It is rare to see such a loving expression on the face of this green-faced evil star.

(End of this chapter)