Dahan first prince

Chapter 118

The New Year's Eve is approaching, outside the Hangu Pass, there is a lot of panic.

In Guanzhong, as the end of the new year draws closer, the air is filled with longing.

"Whoo~"

"I don't know how the battle is going. Is Dalang still okay?"

Looking at the northeast direction, Zhang Pengzu couldn't help but put down the wooden hoe in his hand, and leaned on the hoe pole to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Even Zhang Pengzu, the youngest son of Zhang Jiazhai's third elder Zhang Bingji, has turned 43 this year.

And Zhang Pengzu's eldest son, who is over 25 years old, was conscripted by the emperor Liu Bang as a soldier and went outside Hangu Pass a month ago.

In the past few decades, the land of Guanzhong has been turbulent. First, the Zhengguo Canal was repaired by the King of Qin, and then the world was unified, and infrastructure construction such as straight roads, water conservancy, and palaces began to be implemented.

Not long after that, the First Emperor passed away, and the Second Emperor succeeded him, and the flames of war in the world suddenly ignited.

Until today, when Liu Bangming, the king of the Han Dynasty, repaired the plank road, darkened Chencang, regained control of the land of the Three Qins, and the fertile soil of Guanzhong, he finally returned to the peace and harmony of the reign of King Zhuangxiang of Qin Dynasty 50 years ago. .

But tranquility can be regarded as tranquility, and the broken land in Guanzhong cannot be repaired in three or two years.

From the first year of the Han Dynasty, the land of Sanqin was restored to the Han Dynasty. Until now, the people in Guanzhong are still contributing their own strength for the emperor Liu Bang to go out to conquer, so as to completely pacify the world.

Such a turbulent past few decades has made the land of Guanzhong, and the people of Guanzhong, the atmosphere and idea of ​​"Celebrating the New Year" have not appeared for a long time.

But this year, the situation seems to be a little different?

"Brother Zhang Ji~"

A rough roar sounded on the canal, causing Zhang Pengzu to raise his head subconsciously, and saw his cousin from the same country standing standing beside the canal.

Just as he was about to answer, he saw two figures, one big and one small, appearing along the side of the canal, causing Zhang Pengzu to throw away the wooden hoe in his hand, and hurriedly climbed up.

After climbing up the edge of the canal and seeing who was coming, the corners of Zhang Pengzu's mouth immediately formed an exaggerated arc, his expression was full of happiness and joy.

"Young Master!"

With a soft cry full of joy, Zhang Pengzu grasped the woman's arm, and on Zhang Pengzu's already aging face, there was a touch of endless tenderness.

Seeing that woman also nodded with warmth on her face, she immediately twitched her hands slightly, lowered her head, and gently pushed the little one beside her forward.

This time, the joy and happiness in Zhang Pengzu's expression deepened even more.

"Daddy~"

With a baby-like cry, Zhang Pengzu hurriedly bent down, picked up the youngest son from his armpit, and walked around proudly, as if showing off to his fellow villagers, relatives and friends.

After such a full [-] breaths, and after saying hello to relatives and friends around him a few times, Zhang Pengzu carried his youngest son Zhang Weiyang and his wife Zhang Zhaoshi to the civilian husband's residence which is nearly a hundred steps away from Quyan.

Along the way, neighbors and friends greeted Zhang Pengzu's family from time to time, and Zhang Pengzu responded to each of them with joy.

But soon, Zhang Pengzu discovered something strange.

——It seems that not only his own wife and children came to come, but most of the folk husbands who have already married have waited for their wives and children to come.

Especially the neighbors who came from Zhangjiazhai in the north of Weibei with Zhang Pengzu, they are basically the same as Zhang Pengzu, holding a cub in their arms, followed by a bad wife.

Thinking secretly, Zhang Pengzu took his young son and wife into a cloth tent and sat down on a wooden couch that belonged to Zhang Pengzu.

"Is the house okay?"

"How about your lord, is there enough food?"

Hearing that Zhang Pengzu asked about the situation at home, Zhang Zhao only smiled gently.

"Everything is going well at home, and the eldest brother and sister-in-law also come to the door occasionally to serve the adults together."

"Adults are also very healthy, they eat a catty of rice, and they still have the energy to go out in their spare time and talk to old friends in the neighborhood..."

Hearing this, Zhang Pengzu finally calmed down, nodded slightly, and then looked at his wife with a little shame.

"The matter is not over yet, and it will take more than a month for me to return home. It's just hard work, Xijun..."

But Zhang Zhao only shook his head gently, and quietly swallowed the bitterness in his heart.

After such a moment of silence, seeing Zhang Zhao raised his head as if remembering something, he said with a little joy, "That's right."

"Before going out, Da Lang sent a message back..."

"how?!!"

In an instant, Zhang Pengzu's originally calm expression suddenly appeared a little apprehensive!

But seeing Zhang Zhao's gentle smile, there was also a little pride in his brows.

"The person who transmits the letter will meet with the adults."

"According to what your lord said, it seems that Da Lang has captured one of the enemy's soldiers and made some military achievements?"

Hearing this, Zhang Pengzu finally put his heart back in his stomach, and suddenly slapped his thigh full of joy.

"Good boy!"

"It's only been more than a month since the expedition, and you have already achieved martial arts!"

"You are worthy of being my son of the Zhang family!!!"

Hearing Zhang Pengzu's heroic shouts, Zhang Weiyang who was hugged by Zhang Pengzu's lap couldn't help getting a little excited.

"Brother mighty~"

"When I grow up, I want to join the army. I want to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds, so that I can shine on my family~"

Hearing the young son's words of ambition, Zhang Pengzu laughed so hard that he couldn't see his teeth.

"Good~"

"When Weiyang is old enough, father will go to ask your lord to send Weiyang to the Northern Army as a soldier, okay?"

When Zhang Weiyang crawled down his father's legs with a tiger's head, he nodded solemnly, on the faces of Zhang Pengzu and Zhang Zhao's husband and wife, there was only a touch of endless happiness and pride.

After a while like this, there was the sound of children chasing and playing outside the tent, Zhang Weiyang couldn't bear the loneliness in the tent, and ran out with short legs after getting his mother's permission.

Looking at the back of his youngest son running away, Zhang Pengzu only smiled again before turning around and looking at his wife Zhang Zhaoshi with a light smile.

"Just outside the tent, I seem to have seen the wife and children of the sixth uncle at the entrance of the village and the fourth uncle at the end of the village, who also came to look for the husband?"

As he said that, Zhang Pengzu asked with a light smile: "Could it be that the New Year is approaching, and the adults send the women and children from the village together?"

But when Zhang Zhao heard the words, he shook his head with a warm smile, lowered his eyebrows and untied the cloth bag behind his back, and then opened it.

With her hands busy, Zhang Zhao did not forget to reply: "It's not the lord, but the queen..."

Halfway through Zhang Zhao's words, Zhang Pengzu frowned slightly.

Looking around nervously, Zhang Pengzu made sure that there was no one in the tent, so Zhang Pengzu looked at Zhang Zhao with a little reproach.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"The queen's mother is honored all over the world, and she lives in Weiyang. Did you ever visit the door in person to make it impossible for you to come?"

"Why are people and things in the Tian family talking so nonsense?"

Looking at the lingering fear on her husband's face, Zhang Zhao's face froze for a moment, and finally smiled helplessly.

"It's not nonsense, it is indeed the empress who sent someone to bring the concubine with her son..."

Seeing that Zhang Pengzu was still looking at him in disbelief, Zhang Zhao could only shake his head and smile again, took off the cloth bag on his back, and handed it to Zhang Pengzu.

When Zhang Pengzu opened the cloth bag suspiciously, he saw a brand new winter coat, which Zhang Pengzu picked up hesitantly.

Flipping back and forth, looking at it, and comparing it to his body, Zhang Pengzu realized: This winter coat fits me well?

Looking up at his wife Zhang Zhao again, the confusion in Zhang Pengzu's expression intensified.

Only then did Zhang Zhao put all the reasons why he brought his young son, women and children in the village together, and the reason for the winter coat in Zhang Pengzu's hands in front of Zhang Pengzu.

"Shortly after Lang Jun went out, the queen sent the palace servants to the house and gave him a piece of cloth and three catties of cotton wool."

"The man from the palace told the queen: Guan Zhongmin went there spontaneously to help the prince build the Zhengguo Canal. Don't chill the hearts of loyal ministers and righteous men."

Hearing this, Zhang Pengzu only nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes."

"For more than a month, the crown prince gave two catties of rice grain every day to all the Guizhou heads who came to build canals for food."

"The prince also said: Don't chill the hearts of loyal ministers and righteous men."

Seeing Mrs. Zhang Zhao nodded, pointed to the winter coat in Zhang Pengzu's hand, and continued: "This winter coat is ordered by the palace servants sent by the empress. Cloth and wadding are used as winter coats."

"According to the people in the palace, it was the empress who said: the New Year is approaching, and there will be a sudden cold in Guanzhong. Don't let the people who went to build the canal be hungry or cold?"

Hearing this, Zhang Pengzu finally believed his wife's words, and finally believed that his wife's visit was indeed 'by the Queen's order'.

"Your Majesty is benevolent and loves the people, the prince is kind and generous, and the queen is so concerned about us..."

Full of emotion, he let out an admiration, Zhang Pengzu's expression finally showed the warm smile he had before.

"The Mrs. Liu will be the king of the world, and His Majesty will be able to establish the country..."

Hearing her husband's words, Zhang Zhao only nodded in agreement, but did not speak.

Only a moment later, Zhang Pengzu came back to his senses, carefully folded the new clothes in his hand, put them back into the cloth bag, tied the cloth bag again, and handed it to Zhang Zhaoshi.

Seeing Zhang Pengzu's actions, Zhang Zhao couldn't help panicking, stretched out his hand to take the cloth bag nervously, and asked softly, "Why don't you try?"

"But it doesn't fit, or it's not beautiful, you don't like it..."

Seeing the apprehension on Zhang Zhao's face, Zhang Pengzu just waved his hands casually.

"Hi~"

"How?"

"Such new clothes, who would think they are not beautiful?"

After calming his wife's emotions a little clumsily, some calculations quietly appeared on Zhang Pengzu's face.

"Now, I am busy working in the canal all day, and my side is covered with mud, sand and dirt. How can I wear such new clothes?"

"Furthermore, such brand-new winter clothes are made of cloth and wadding given by the queen, so they should be hidden at home."

"Isn't it too late to use it when it's urgent in the future, or when Dalang has no winter clothes?"

"It's also good to show filial piety to adults so that they don't fear the severe cold..."

Listening to Zhang Pengzu thinking about the future of this winter coat, Zhang Zhao could not help but feel a little worried.

"But now that the end of the year is approaching, when autumn and winter alternate, if you don't wear this winter coat..."

But Zhang Pengzu patted his chest confidently.

"It's okay!"

"With my body, I'm not afraid of the October cold!"

"Furthermore, His Majesty and Empress love the people so much, and the crown prince is quite worthy of His Majesty's appearance!"

"Wait until the winter solstice, the prince will allow me to wait for the head of Guizhou to return home for the winter, and wait for the early spring of next year to repair the canal!"

As he said that, Zhang Pengzu stood up involuntarily, and tied the cloth bag containing the new winter clothes on his wife's back a little rudely.

"Listen to me, take it back, and honor your lord."

"My lord is over seventy-seven years old. At this age, I am most afraid of severe cold and scorching heat."

"If your lord really suffers from the wind and cold, and if there is another accident in the future, the township party will poke my family's spine and say that my family does not know how to be filial."

Hearing Zhang Pengzu's words, Zhang Zhaoshi nodded hesitantly, and hurriedly said: "So, when the concubine returns home, I will find old clothes from the past and send them over?"

Hearing this, Zhang Pengzu finally nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's not rush."

"Wait until the winter solstice, if the work on the canal is not finished, I will send people back to my hometown to get it."

After these words, Zhang Zhaoshi finally nodded in reassurance, touched his chest, the tightly tied cloth knot, and a satisfied smile quietly appeared on his face.

In the next three or two days, similar scenes will not only appear between Zhang Pengzu and Zhang Zhao, but will also be staged on the entire south bank of Zhengguo Canal.

Countless wives brought brand-new winter clothes sewn by themselves, and with the unrelenting insistence of their husbands, they took the new clothes back intact.

But in Lianzhao County, which is about ten miles away from Zhengguo Canal in the south, Liu Ying only showed a wry smile full of helplessness when she heard about the incident here...

·
"Cough!! Cough...cough..."

As soon as he entered the county government office, before reaching the entrance of the main hall, Yang Chengyan heard a rush and some hoarse coughing.

After a while, he walked into the main hall worried, and saw Liu Ying rubbing his chest with a flushed face, Yang Chengyan didn't care about the ceremony, and hurried forward, and handed the water bowl on the case table to Liu Ying.

When Liu Ying poured it regardless, and coughed twice, the worried look on Yang Chengyan's face became more and more serious.

"At home..."

"Why don't you go back to Chang'an first at home, and let the minister watch over the canal repair?"

Yang Chengyan was able to speak well, and Liu Ying was finally freed from the 2-minute non-stop coughing, and let out a long breath full of exhaustion.

Squeezing his nose and breathing, he picked up a bowl and filled his mouth with warm water. Feeling that his throat felt a little better, he smiled and waved to Yang Chengyan.

"It's okay, it's just a sudden cold at the end of autumn, so it's just an occasional cold, and it will be cured in a few days."

After saying that, Liu Ying couldn't help but turned sideways, and handed the pottery bowl in her hand to Chuntuo who was beside her.

"Go, get some more boiling water."

"Remember, it must be boiling water, not cold water!"

After Chuntuo took the order to leave with a worried face, Liu Ying sat back in her seat, wiped her nose with a silk cloth, and then looked up at Yang Chengyan.

"Let's talk business."

"Can the Shaofu find out about the excavation of the mud at the end of the canal?"

"—Before the winter solstice, is it possible to finish?"

Hearing Liu Ying's words, Yang Chengyan had no choice but to let go of his worries for the time being, and bowed slightly to Liu Ying.

"Your Majesty."

"In the next [-] days, the excavation of the mud downstream of the canal will be over halfway."

"If there is no difference, after [-] days, it will be finished..."

　There is a dull pain in the rib side, and I can only type with one hand with my right hand. This chapter has been coded for more than five hours...
　　I adjusted and adjusted, and started to increase the amount when it got better.

　　Thank you for your understanding.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)