Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 40 I have three provinces in my day
"You shouldn't have agreed so quickly in class today."

In a courtyard in Shandan City, when Suo Zhongyi scolded Suo Xun who had hurried back, Suo Xun looked dissatisfied.

"Yeah, yeah (father), the child has grown up."

"If I don't have the ability to achieve success, the worst that can happen is that I'll just waste a few years, but I can't blame others!"

Suo Xun was a decent person, but his words made Suo Zhongyi furious.

"The situation in Shandan is complicated. If you do well, you won't get much credit. But if you don't do well, you will be held responsible and punished."

"Then Li Endu arranged for his youngest son to go to Zhangye. I wanted to do the same, but you insisted on making achievements here."

"I originally thought that you were stationed in Shandan, but now you have been assigned to Qiliancheng."

"Qi Lian City has long been abandoned. It will take you at least half a year to station there."

"I might as well tell you that after the governor returns to Shazhou this time, he will organize the army and march to Yizhou in the early spring of next year. Yizhou is the place where you will make achievements!"

Suo Zhongyi told Suo Xun an important piece of news. Suo Xun's face changed slightly, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "A real man will never regret it!"

"You, you..."

Suo Zhongyi was also helpless. If he had a few successful sons, he would have dealt with Suo Xun long ago.

However, although he had many sons and daughters, only Suo Xun became a successful one, and Suo Xun was still young and his mentality had not yet been adjusted.

"Yeah, yeah, just now..."

Suo Xun wanted to change the subject, so he told Suo Zhongyi about Liu Jilong's performance just now.

After hearing this, Suo Zhongyi was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted and shook his head.

"It's a pity that he is already under Zhang Huairong's command, otherwise he could have become your right-hand man."

"Yeah," Suo Xun nodded in agreement. He did feel a little sorry that Liu Jilong was under the control of someone else.

"Forget it. You stay in Shandan for now. If the governor takes Yizhou and intends to retake Xizhou, I will transfer you back to Shazhou then."

Suo Zhongyi could only acknowledge the fact that Suo Xun was working in Shandan, and patted him on the back:
"You must be cautious here. Don't seek to do nothing but avoid mistakes. If there is a chance, I will try to transfer you to Zhangye. It will be more convenient to transfer you back to Shazhou at that time."

"Of course!" Suo Xun also wanted to be transferred to Zhangye, but not to be transferred back to Shazhou, but to prepare for advancing eastward to Liangzhou.

In his opinion, Liangzhou was the place where he could achieve success, while Ganzhou was just a place to lay the foundation.

The more solid the foundation in Ganzhou, the easier it will be for him to achieve success in Liangzhou.

"As for Liu Jilong, even though we cannot win him over, we still need to exchange gifts with him."

"Since he has some talent, you should make friends with him on a daily basis."

After saying that, Suo Zhongyi shook his head and walked towards the inner hall, and Suo Xun also turned around to make arrangements.

At the same time, the courtyard where Liu Jilong lived became lively.

Originally, he asked the soldiers at the door to call Zhang Chang and Ma Cheng over, but he didn't expect that Zhang Chang called Jiu Juyan, Chen Jingchong and others as well.

In addition, Cao Mao, who stayed in the military camp, also came along as a civilian laborer.

Seeing them, Liu Jilong became much happier. He spent all his remaining money and bought a sheep and some wild vegetables for a feast.

"There is a prohibition on alcohol in the army. Today we will use water instead of alcohol. Just take a sip!"

In the small courtyard, Liu Jilong, who was sitting in the hall, stood up and greeted everyone, and the people in front of him also stood up to return the greeting.

The small courtyard they were in was allocated to Liu Jilong by Zhang Huairong yesterday. The original owner was a centurion from Shandan, but now that man and his family were living in the military camp outside the city.

Before the army returned to Shazhou, all the Tibetan generals and soldiers except Meiluyan had to live in the military camp outside the city with their families so that they could be monitored.

This courtyard is a rectangular two-entry courtyard consisting of eight houses.

Inside the courtyard, along the central axis from south to north, there are buildings such as the entrance hall, the main hall, and the back room. There are two wing rooms on the east and west sides of the three buildings. The middle wing room is taller and larger, while the north and south wing rooms are slightly smaller. Among them, the wing rooms on the left and right sides of the entrance hall are mainly residences and warehouses for night duty soldiers, storing firewood, rice, oil, salt and other supplies.

Although all the buildings had rammed earth walls, they were still remarkable residences for people of commoner origins such as Liu Jilian and Jiu Juyan.

They sat in the hall, and since they were of common origin, they still retained the habit of eating together.

Everyone sat at one table, and it seemed quite lively, without the alienation of the separate dining system among the nobles.

"This table and chair are not comfortable to sit on. I'll have it improved someday."

Liu Jilong looked at the tables and chairs in front of him that seemed awkward no matter how he looked at them, and greeted everyone with a smile. Everyone just smiled but didn't dare to say anything.

"Now that you are all brigade commanders, you should be able to be assigned your own courtyards in a few days. When the time comes, pick those that are closer to me so that they are usually more lively."

"As for Cao Mao, you should not leave later. Just stay here and take care of my daily life."

Although he was drinking water, Liu Jilong did have the aura of someone who had become rich suddenly.

It’s not his fault. Who wouldn’t show off after getting a promotion and a raise, especially him who has suffered for so many years.

No one had any special emotions about this, they just smiled and agreed.

Anyone who is not blind can see that their general has become a favorite of the Zhang family. Following him will always be easier and more prosperous than looking for someone else.

"Come on, eat some meat!"

Liu Jilong asked everyone to share the mutton, and at the same time asked Cao Mao to give two large pieces of meat to the soldiers at the door.

The banquet lasted from afternoon to dusk, and Jiu Juyan and others said goodbye and left one after another.

Standing at the door, after Liu Jilong saw Jiu Juyan and the others off, he felt that this banquet was an unexpected surprise.

After all, Jiu Juyan and Chen Jingchong were Zhang Huaishen's old subordinates, so he did not deliberately instruct the soldiers to summon Jiu Juyan and the other two today.

I never thought that Jiu Juyan and the others followed Zhang Chang to my place, which means that they also want to follow me.

Naturally, there was no reason for me to refuse this.

As for whether Zhang Huaishen would be angry, Liu Jilong thought it was impossible.

Although he did not have much contact with Zhang Huaishen, Zhang Huaishen was indeed not a stingy person. Besides, he did not want to set up his own business, but would still work under Zhang, so he would not be dissatisfied with himself.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong calmed down.

He turned around and walked back into the yard. Looking at this yard that belonged to him, he couldn't help feeling a little elated.

But when he walked back to the hall and sat down, looking at Cao Mao who was busy cleaning up, he slowly calmed down and couldn't help laughing and scolding himself in his heart.

"Liu Jilong, Liu Jilong, you are so happy about just a small courtyard. With your personality, what great things do you want to accomplish?"

I examine myself three times a day. This is something Liu Jilian has done almost every day since the Battle of Zhangye.

When Zhang Chang and the others were all here, he felt happy but a little frivolous. But now that he realized it, he felt that he was a little too proud of himself.

Shandan is just one of the four states and eight counties under the jurisdiction of the Shazhou Army. It is such a small place. What is there to be happy about?

After thinking about it, Liu Jilong finally calmed down. He stood up, glanced at Cao Mao, and gave instructions softly.

"Rest early after you finish packing. I'll go to the treasury tomorrow to see if I can get some salary so I can get you and me some clothes first."

"Oh... okay, thank you, General!" Cao Mao was a young man after all, and he agreed with a cheerful smile, then lowered his head and continued sweeping the floor.

Seeing his happy look, Liu Jilian also took the paper, pen, inkstone and ink brought back by the soldiers to the east wing of the hall.

After instructing Cao Mao to use this place as his study in the future, he sat on the chair and began to write the regulations for governing Shandan.

(End of this chapter)