65 Chapter 65

◎First update◎

In Li Cheng's view, Yanzhou is a barrier. If this barrier always exists, he will not be able to expand, but if he takes it completely, he will face various military leaders directly. It will no longer be like when the King of Wei was in power. He was just sent out to fight and had no direct connection with him.

But he still had to do it. For him, Prince Yuzhang was too young, and Xie Jiuyi did not have enough prestige to lead the overall situation. He had ability, but not the strongest, which could easily lead to problems.

Just like when the emperor is sick and weak and unable to attend to affairs, the people below will be restless and no one will obey anyone. Everyone sees the torn hole, and everyone will bleed. He once chatted with his wife, and his wife would often be anxious in front of him, but she would rarely show weakness in front of the servants, because when the master is at a loss, the servants will be active.

When Huiyin received Li Cheng's letter, it was already late autumn. The golden fallen leaves of the big tree in front of the yard piled up like small towers. The maid cleaned them all up in a short time. After reading the letter, she seemed much more relaxed.

This is not an era of reasoning, it is an era of the survival of the fittest. If you have strong soldiers and horses, you can speak loudly. Li Cheng did not let her down, and there was a touch of warmth in the cold political calculations.

"We'll have the Boxia offering today, and send a portion to Guo's son as well." Huiyin made arrangements with a smile.

Mother Nan immediately began to assign tasks. Seeing that the princess was in a good mood, she guessed that it must be good news from the front line, and she also became happy.

Jing'er is one year older this year. She is tall, but very naughty. She even wants to play with straw grasshoppers while eating. Only after Huiyin glared at her did she shrink her neck and eat.

There is no other way. It is better to be disliked by my son than to let him be undisciplined and inattentive.

This world admires the strong. You may have many shortcomings, but as long as you are strong enough, people will follow you. On the contrary, if you are a nice person who is good at everything but has no ability, everyone will look down on you.

Huiyin actually knew that this statement was extremely wrong, but she couldn't really teach her children according to the sage books, because the children taught in that way would be out of place.

After dinner, Jing'er was doing his homework alone in the small study room. Huiyin didn't allow anyone to serve him tea or water to disturb him, as this was also a way to cultivate his concentration.

After finishing, the son brought the homework over. After Huiyin checked it, the mother and son went outside for a walk to digest the food.

At this time, whether he wanted to climb trees, run or jump, Huiyin would not care about him. Sometimes, she would even play shuttlecock when she was in a good mood. Jing'er sometimes missed his father, but it was only a rare occasion. Most of the time, he was happy.

The next morning, Huiyin had a guest. It was none other than Xue Huanhuan. Her husband, as Xie Jiuyi's confidant, went to Nanjun to participate in the war and unfortunately died last month.

She was in mourning, which normal people would be very cautious about, but after her husband's death, she returned to her parents' home and was brought by Madam Xue, so Huiyin gave the Xue family some face.

"My condolences."

Huiyin could only say this: outsiders could not empathize with the pain of losing a husband.

Xue Huanhuan's eyes were slightly red: "Thank you for your comfort, little princess. I was originally from Wei. Now that my husband has passed away, I have also come back from Jianye. Thank you for accepting me."

If Xuzhou does not accept her, she will have to stay in Jianye. Otherwise, the two sides are no longer the same fiefdom and she cannot travel freely.

"Stop being like this. You were in deep mourning, and I was afraid you were still in mourning. Now that you're here, just live a good life at home." Huiyin was just saying this for politeness' sake.

The old lady of the Xue family was originally a daughter of the royal family and had a good relationship with Concubine Wu, so they also gave the Xue family some face.

Mrs. Xue knew that her daughter was in mourning and it was not appropriate for her to stay in the palace for long. Seeing Huiyin did not say much, she dragged her daughter out. Xue Huanhuan got on the carriage and said, "Mother, the fighting on the front line is fierce. I think the princess is quite calm."

She has a very good relationship with Yin Liyi, but Yin Liyi is very anxious.

Madam Xue said, "She may not be as she appears to be. But if she gets anxious before anything happens, how will the people in the fiefdom think of her?"

"You're right. That's right. I heard that the Cao family has moved here. Has Mrs. Cao been betrothed to anyone?" Xue Huanhuan was good friends with Yin Liyi. She knew that Yin Liyi had been troubled by Cao's daughter, but fortunately she later thanked General Xie for his wisdom.

Mrs. Xue shook her head: "I haven't heard of that."

How could Mrs. Xue know about this, since she is just a merchant girl?

Xue Huanhuan became a widow at a young age. Mrs. Xue knew that she and her husband were deeply in love, but she wanted to wait until she had been widowed for a year before finding a husband for her daughter so that she would have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.

But if she were to find a husband for her daughter again, she could not choose a military general, as military generals tend to die early. If her son-in-law were to die, what would happen to the widow and orphan?

The Nanjun army was defeated this time, and I don’t know how many people were killed or injured.

The Cao family thought the same, and they were thankful: "I have long said that General Xie is really incompetent. Look, now there is a problem. Fortunately, we have arrived in Xuzhou, and the prince has handed over all the business south of Jiahu Pass in Qingzhou to us. This is not a bad thing for us."

Mrs. Cao smiled and said, "Yes, last Mid-Autumn Festival, I brought my daughter to pay respects to the princess. With our status, how could we meet the princess? But she praised our Cao family for our righteous deeds, took one look at my daughter, and said that she was a blessed person. After she said that, I almost cried."

"I think the Prince of Huaiyin is young and strong. If he can take over Yanzhou, it will prove that the master we follow is right. We have just come to him for surrender, so don't be too eager for quick success. In the future, when the prince understands our intentions, our status will be almost the same as that of the Jiang family." said the head of the Cao family.

Mrs. Cao was a woman and had no say in business matters, but her daughter's lifelong event was the most important to her. Seeing the men so proud, she didn't want to spoil their fun, so she waited until they left before going to her daughter's room.

Cao is now living in the palace. Although she has a leisurely life, she is secretly anxious because she doesn't know whether she can get married at her age.

Seeing Madam Cao coming over, she stood up again and called out, "Mom."

Mrs. Cao laughed and said, "She's sewing again. There are so many people sewing, why would she need to spend so much effort?"

"My daughter has nothing to do, so she can pass the time by doing some needlework." Mrs. Cao lowered her head.

Mrs. Cao said, "Don't be discouraged. I'll bring some invitations in a few days. Let's go out and walk around more. If we don't walk around, how can we know who is good and who is not."

Cao knew that her mother was worried about her, so she agreed. It is really pitiful to see the love of parents all over the world.

Similarly, it was the same with Ji. Pei Shuo and Zheng Wuheng were both brothers. The eldest son was as talented and capable as the younger son, but Ji always put the younger son first in everything. Although she knew this was the case, she still felt uncomfortable. Therefore, she would always be generous in private when Xin came with her grandson.

When Jizhou was hit by a famine, she also asked Xin to come and get some meat and food, which made her younger daughter-in-law Cui a little unhappy.

Cui said to Zheng Wuheng again: "We don't have enough rice and grain at home now. My eldest brother and his wife have long since separated from the family. My eldest sister-in-law is such a smart person. I heard that she has hidden a lot of food in the cellar. Mother didn't know the truth and gave a lot of it to us."

"Please say less. Big brother is my biological brother. Every time I go to war, he serves me wholeheartedly. I get all the credit and he bears all the suffering. He is also my son, so it is only right that he gives me some rice and food." Zheng Wuheng didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

There are not many available people in Jizhou. My father has been living off his past achievements these years. I don't know why there have been so many bandit problems recently and he has to arrange for my brother to fight them. How can we let these little things damage our brotherhood?

Cui and Zheng Wuheng were a young couple and had never quarreled before. Now when Cui heard Zheng Wuheng say this, she had no choice but to shut up: "I was just talking casually."

"You shouldn't just say that. You don't know that the situation in Jizhou is not what you think. You also don't know if it's because of a bad harvest. There are so many bandit problems. Those bandits are extremely difficult to deal with." Zheng Wuheng explained it to Cui.

Cui quickly admitted her mistake: "I am wrong. I shouldn't have said that. Please don't blame me."

Seeing his wife sincerely admitting her fault, Zheng Wuheng did not blame her at all. He helped her sit down and said, "It's good that you know these things. My brother is also my mother's treasure."

But in Cui's mind, Pei Shuo was just a burden brought by Ji, how could he be compared with Zheng Wuheng.

Zheng Fang was already very lucky to treat his stepson like this. Could he really want to compete with the real owner? But she could never say these words out loud. She just kept them in her mind.

Xin was not happy. "It's late autumn now. Food and grass are scarce. Those bandits and robbers are so powerful. Last time you went into the mountains, you only destroyed one of their nests. Now you are sent again. Why don't you go? You should split up and wipe out the banditry quickly. Otherwise, the autumn harvest will come soon. How are we going to celebrate the New Year?"

"A son of a wealthy family cannot sit in the hall, what do you know?" Pei Shuo knew that his second brother would be the lord of Jizhou in the future, so how could he let his second brother go out every time? What if something happened?

But he was still sad in his heart. They were brothers, but now he had to kneel down and serve his younger brother. He seemed a little unwilling to accept this.

Thinking of this, an unformed idea came to his mind, but before that he had to help his brother clear the obstacles so that he could leave with peace of mind.

It was a cold late autumn day. Zheng Wuheng came to see his brother off in person. Pei Shuo smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder: "Go back, second brother. Don't see me off. Don't worry. I will wipe out these bastards as soon as possible. Even if they hide in the valley or bury themselves underground, I will dig deep to find them."

Zheng Wuheng whispered to Pei Shuo: "Brother, after you come back this time, don't leave. I will take people out next time."

"No, you can't go out. You better guard Jizhou well." Pei Shuo's eyes turned red. They had always had a good relationship as brothers. It was his own fault. He was unwilling to be inferior to his younger brother.

Zheng Wuheng smiled and said, "Then I'll tell you when you come back."

The two said goodbye. This time, Pei Shuo was suppressing bandits before the New Year. The bandits were very cunning, perhaps with the guidance of an expert. The weapons they used were surprisingly difficult to deal with. For example, when they shot arrows, they had high-quality shields to block them. They were different from the bandits he had seen before. As a result, he did not defeat them and instead wasted a lot of effort. When he returned, Zheng Fanghao scolded him.

Pei Shuo had been fighting outside for the past year without a break. Even if he was leaving, he wanted to help his brother clear the obstacles. However, his ability was limited, so he implemented the plan that was still in its embryonic form directly without any more procrastination.

【Author’s words】

There will be another update tomorrow at 9am