Chapter 251 Northwest Spring
March, Northwest.
The sky is vast and boundless, showing distinct layers of blue.
From the azure of the mid-sky to the indigo of the west.
Spring comes late in Tingzhou, but it finally arrives.
The snow on the mountains has melted and the meadows are turning green.
The sunlight was dazzlingly bright, and clusters of cloud shadows fell on the grassland.
A ten-year-old boy, wearing armor, sat in the shadow of a cloud on the boundless grassland, carefully reading the letter from Chang'an.
Xue Che was still wearing the same set of armor he got in Black Bandit Mountain, because the armor in the army was too big for him to wear.
His father said that in two years, when he grows taller, he will give him new armor.
Xue Che read Su Zhizhi's letter over and over again.
I saw Su Zhizhi say that they bought a big house in Chang'an at a low price.
Xue Che was not surprised, after all, Su Zhizhi had always had good luck.
He couldn't help laughing when he read that Su Zhizhi said she wanted to go to academy to study.
He could imagine Su Zhizhi's expression when she wrote this. She must have been supporting her head with her hands, with a look of deep resentment and bitterness on her face.
Finally, Su Zhizhi even said she wanted to compete in arm wrestling with him.
Xue Che was looking forward to it.
Because he practiced martial arts every day, his strength increased and his appetite increased a lot.
The clouds drifted away slowly.
Xue Che folded the letter and put it back on his chest, then went to his father's tent.
In the tent, Xue Yucheng also finished reading the letter written by Hao Ren.
Xue Yucheng saw his son coming back and asked with a smile, "What did Zhizhi say to you?"
Xue Che: "They have already settled in Chang'an."
There was a smile in Xue Che's eyes when he spoke.
Xue Yucheng knew his son was happy, but he still had to light a brazier and burn the letter in his hand:
"Che'er, I know this letter is precious to you, but the military camp is not like the mansion. There are not many places to hide things. We can't keep any evidence against you."
Xue Che was mentally prepared: "I understand."
He took out Zhizhi's letter and placed it on the brazier, watching the flames devour the black words on the paper.
This was the first time he received a letter from Zhizhi. He felt sorry for it and moved his fingers beside him, but did not try to save the letter from the fire.
Xue Yucheng took in his son's subtle movements and comforted him:
"Che'er, some things are more important to remember in your heart than to hold in your hands."
Xue Che nodded: "I have memorized them all."
Xue Che read the letter carefully many times and could remember the original text in his mind. Even if he burned it, he would still remember it.
Xue Yucheng patted Xue Che's shoulder and said, "Let's go and take a look at the fields."
Spring is the most peaceful season in Tingzhou.
After winter, the northern Hu people will be busy with grazing and production in the spring and summer when there is abundant water and grass, and will not move south in large numbers at this time.
Xue Yucheng and Xue Che rode for several miles and saw groups of Xue's army busy sowing in the fields.
Not only the soldiers, but also the lieutenants bent down and faced the loess.
After Xue Yucheng and Xue Che dismounted, they also joined the sowing team.
They were sowing cotton seeds.
At the end of the year before last, Hei Feishan brought cotton seeds to the northwest, and Song Yu gave the seeds to the Song family.
With the support of Xue Yucheng, the Song family cleared a piece of land to try growing cotton last spring.
They decided to give it a try, and when it was time to pick the cotton in autumn, they found that the cotton was growing well, with many bolls and long cotton fluff.
When the people from Heifei Mountain came again at the end of last year, they were also surprised that the cotton harvest in Tingzhou grew better than theirs.
If you think about it carefully, the northwest has plenty of sunshine and little rain, and the terrain is flat and open, which is perfect for growing cotton.
Wei Dashuan and Qin Xiao told Xue Yucheng about their methods of training the Black Mountain Army in Lingnan.
Let everyone farm during the busy farming season and train during their free time, without delaying either.
Qin Xiao and Wei Dashuan summarized this method as: "Combining soldiers and farmers, fighting when the enemy approaches, and farming when the enemy retreats."
Xue Yucheng thought this method could be used as a reference.
As spring was not a wartime season, he sent his troops to train and plant cotton in turns.
The soldiers train today and sow tomorrow, alternating like this so that neither side is delayed.
They had a hundred thousand soldiers and a vast territory.
There are many people and a lot of land, so we can grow hundreds or even thousands of times more cotton than in Black Bandit Mountain.
After the Song family successfully planted cotton last year, they felt much better and there was light in their eyes.
They met with a caravan from the Western Regions to discuss business, bought some fruit and vegetable seeds from the people of the Western Regions, and planted them together this year.
They didn't pick and choose when they bought the seeds. They planted grapes, almonds, figs, pistachios... They tried everything and would only see if it didn't work out.
Merchants from the Western Regions wanted Dayu's silk, porcelain, tea, paper, etc.
Dayu wants gems, spices, and blankets from the Western Regions...
While the Song family contacted the Black Bandit Mountain through Xue Yucheng, they secretly recruited people to form a caravan.
Several of Song Yu's cousins wanted to take a gamble and follow the Western Region caravan, saying they wanted to go to the Western Region to look for business opportunities.
Old Song was very worried that they would be sold, but risks and opportunities coexist. How could they turn things around if they didn't take a chance?
They not only wanted to grow cotton, but also wanted to open up trade routes to the Western Regions.
Xue Yucheng provided good cover for the Song family, allowing them to go to the Western Regions.
In March, the temperature is not high, but the direct sunlight on the skin still makes it a little red and hot.
Many soldiers who have stayed here for many years have gotten used to it, and Xue Yucheng doesn't feel anything.
Everyone was tanned red.
Xue Che's face had become much whiter during the winter, but after winter is over, he will probably get tanned again.
Xue Che looked at the darkening color on the back of his hand and smiled.
When they see Grandpa Qin again in the future, they can’t say that he has grown into a great beauty.
Xue Che helped with sowing in the morning, practiced martial arts with Elder Zixuan in the afternoon, and read military books in the evening.
Only after he finished reading the military book did he have time to write back to Su Zhizhi.
In the tent, the oil lamp flickered.
Xue Che thought over and over again before he started writing.
His current identity is a distant relative of Deputy General Yun Jin, and he lives in the same tent with Yun Jin.
Yun Jin lay in bed and asked with a smile, "Who are you writing to? To the little girl who came with you to deliver the military uniforms two years ago?"
Xue Che: "Her name is Zhizhi, and she's my good friend."
Yun Jin: "Friends? How good?"
"She saved me. We ate, practiced, and went to school together. We even fought together." Xue Che smiled when he thought of his time in Lingnan.
"Well, that's really good. You are so far away from each other, it would be inappropriate to just write a letter. You have to send a gift." Yun Jin touched his chin.
Giving a gift?
Xue Che thought of the time when he and his father hunted a snow leopard in winter and there was still a small piece of snow leopard fur left.
It's not big enough to make clothes, but it can be used to make a pair of small gloves.
Xue Che continued to write letters to Su Zhizhi.
Yun Jin couldn't sit still and came over to take a look.
Xue Che didn't let him see it and blocked the letter with his body.
Yun Jin didn't notice anything else but the random words and shook his head repeatedly:
"Are you writing this for the master or for a little girl? Who could possibly read it?"
Xue Che straightened his lips:
"Zhizhi will read it. She read the letter I wrote to her last time and she even wrote me a reply."
Yun Jin: "Did she write like this when she replied to your letter?"
Xue Che opened his mouth but said nothing.
"Okay, okay. Go ahead and write. I'm going to sleep. I'm so sleepy... I don't know where you got the energy to write a letter..."
Yun Jin yawned, his head touched the pillow, he turned over, and snoring sounds were heard from inside the tent.
Xue Che looked at the letter while snoring, his brows furrowed.
After thinking for a while, I took another piece of paper and started writing.
After he finished writing his reply, he carefully folded the letter, making sure that every corner of the letter was aligned, before stuffing it into the envelope.
Xue Che lay down on the camp bed and put the envelope under his pillow.
It is called a pillow, but in fact it is just an empty quiver wrapped in old clothes.
Supplies were tight in the Northwest military camps, but there were always people who found ways to make life a little more comfortable.
The oil lamp was blown out.
The night is very quiet.
Xue Che rested his head on the empty quiver and closed his eyes.
I hope the day will brighten soon.
When it's daybreak, I can ask my dad to arrange for the reply letter.
The night sky is boundless, merging with the vast land in the darkness.
The wind whistled past, making the stars in the sky flicker and the tents and campfires on the ground sway.
In the shaking tent, a child was sleeping peacefully with a letter as his pillow.
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