Lin Jie and Zhou Pu followed Yang Shi to the Gu mansion on horseback.

  Compared to the previous days, there were a few more guards wearing military uniforms and carrying swords in front of Gu's house. Yang called over the leader of the small school and said: "This is Lin...". After introducing him briefly, he led Lin into the house without saying much else. Zhou Pu waited with the horse in the front yard.

  Yang Shi brought a woman to ask and learned that Gu Wu Chen was in Jingyuan, so he took Lin Xie towards the direction of the back house. Only then did Lin Xie know that Jingyuan was a small garden in the back house of the Gu family, which Gu Wu Chen had given a elegant name. Lin Xie entered Jingyuan from the Moon Gate and saw several plum blossoms in front of him. He heard someone calling out behind him: "Father, I'll bring you the book you wanted to read..."

  Lin tied up the strange station, turned around and looked back, but saw Gu Jun Xiang holding a corner of her skirt, revealing the embroidered shoes under her skirt, and the flower pants, running over happily, with several books still in the crook of her other arm.

  Gu Jun Xun saw Lin Xuan turn his head back, and only then did he realize that he had shouted at the wrong person. His small face turned bright red with embarrassment, and he didn't dare to greet Lin Xuan. He quickly lowered his head and rushed towards the garden, but tripped on the doorstep and almost fell over. His books scattered all over the ground. With great difficulty, he managed to steady himself by holding onto a tree trunk, feeling even more embarrassed and flustered, not daring to look at Lin Xuan. His face was so red it seemed like blood would drip from it, and his ears were a deep crimson color. He looked at the books on the ground near Lin Xuan's feet, watching as Lin Xuan bent down to pick them up. Not having the courage to go over and help pick them up, he summoned his bravery and said in a soft voice: "These books are for my father to read..." before turning around and running out of the garden.

  Lin Xian's face turned red as he picked up a few books, which were "Wu Xue Qi Jing Zhu". This was not referring to the writings of fist and foot techniques, but rather a compilation of military strategies from previous dynasties. The founder of the current dynasty, General Su Jin, had organized and annotated these works, making it a comprehensive collection of contemporary military literature. These books were banned from being printed and sold in common bookstores, and Lin Xian had been unable to find a copy despite his high offers. It wasn't surprising that the Gu family possessed such a book, given Gu Wudu's ten years of exile in the army and his interest in military strategies. What was unexpected was that Gu Junxian would borrow this set of books from her father to read, could it be that this shy girl had dreams of becoming a female general?

  Yang Shi took the book from Lin Xie's hand and said, "Miss really doesn't look at people before shouting randomly..." Compared to usual, his tone was much more polite towards Lin Xie.

  Lin Xie smiled and looked at the thick "Wu Xue Qi Jing Zhu" and was moved, following Yang Shi into the garden.

  In the warm pavilion at the corner of the garden, Gu Wu Chen and his son Gu Si Yuan were having a meal inside. When he saw Lin Xie approaching, he called out: "Come, come, come, no need to have breakfast, just sit down and drink a bowl of porridge..."

  Lin tied didn't give birth to Fen, sat down and let the servant woman beside her help her eat a bowl of millet porridge.

  "Did you say that last night at the county building, you invited Zhang Yubo from Jiangning's garrison to have a drink?" asked Gu Wudian.

  "Uh," Lin Xuan guessed that Gu Wu Chen had called him over early, probably for this matter. He thought to himself that even if Gu Siyuan didn't say anything, Gu Wu Chen would still hear about it from someone else. He said, "Before Zhang Yu Bo took office as the Left Guard of Jiangning Prefecture's Military Affairs Department, he served as a Secretary in the Censorate for three years. Lin Xuan was afraid that following you to the Censorate wouldn't know the rules, so he made an appointment with Zhang Yu Bo to meet up. Also, regarding the Dongyang Party, Lin Xuan had a deep impression of Zhang Yu Bo. The Ji Yun Society wants to establish itself in Jiangning and hopes to borrow more from Zhang Yu Bo... Yesterday's meeting was very pleasant, and after leaving the government office building, they even found a secluded alleyway hotel with Zhang Yu Bo. It's said that the hotel's lamb skewers are exceptional, but unfortunately, they didn't get to eat them yesterday. However, the braised lamb was not bad. When you have some free time, Lin Xuan invites you to go there for drinks and lamb." There's no need to mention the government office building matter again; let's just briefly talk about what happened with Zhang Yu Bo.

  "...Gu Wu Chen was worried just now, but after hearing Lin Xuan say that, he smiled and said, "Great, this weather is perfect for eating mutton to warm up. Next time you go, remember to call me."

  Gu Suiyuan sat on the side and saw Lin Xian's light and casual expression, but didn't mention that he had threatened the young master of the mansion last night, so he said: "I didn't expect you to have such a leisurely mood. I told my father when I came back last night, and my father even let Yang Shu bring people to go out and find you on Donghua Street..."

  Lin tied down his bowl and chopsticks, turned to Gu Wu Chen and said: "Sir is so concerned, Lin Tie has no way to repay." He stood up to make a bow.

  "Sit down, I was overthinking... " Gu Wu Chen said, letting Lin Xuan sit down and continue drinking porridge, and then dropped the matter.

  Gu Suiyuan felt depressed in his heart, thinking that his father had called Lin Xie early in the morning to warn him not to be too arrogant and domineering in Jiangning in the future. After all, from the discussions heard at the mansion yesterday, the Gu family's label had already been attached to Lin Xie's body at this moment in Jiangning.

  Gu Suiyuan finished his breakfast, he was a student of Guozijian, after following Gu Wudun to Jiangning, he transferred to Jiangning Guozijian, next year participated in the national examination and achieved excellent results, only then could he go to the government office to see the situation and make up for the official vacancy, at this time still had to honestly go to Guozijian to accept the teaching.

  "I'm going first after I finish eating." Gu Siyuan put down his bowl and chopsticks, preparing to get up and leave.

  "When I first arrived in Jiangning, I saw that you still put too much thought into Wen Shu. " Gu Wu Chen instructed Gu Siyuan to leave and after a while, he said to Lin Fu, "It was only last night when Yang Pu came back and told me that Siyuan had gone with Yuan Jingsheng to the Wangfu Temple to meet the young master of the temple and the son of the king. This child is still unable to share my worries..."

  "The adults are worrying too much, Shao Jun is clever and has a sense of proportion, which is beyond Lin Fu's reach." said Lin Fu.

  "Don't speak for him," said Gu Wu Chen, "the relationship between the mansion and the Yongchang Marquis's residence is not ordinary, you had heard of it before last night, hadn't you?"

  "Hmm," Lin nodded, "thinking that in the future, we won't be on the same path as the Hou family, there's no need to swallow our pride and compromise, didn't expect to cause you trouble..."

  Gu Xudun thought that as a new noble of the Chu Party, coming to Jiangning to take up the position of Deputy Inspector, it wouldn't be simply for the sake of gaining wealth and status. It was impossible for him to get along peacefully with the existing powers in Jiangning. The Chu Party officials who had sent Gu Xudun to the position of Deputy Inspector in Jiangdong also wouldn't want to see him getting along with the local snakes in Jiangning. However, Gu Xudun had his own difficulties: firstly, the Chu Party hadn't yet gained complete power in the imperial court; secondly, high-ranking officials and nobles were everywhere in Jiangning, even the Prefect of Jiangning was a prestigious third-rank official, making it difficult for Gu Xudun's fourth-rank position to control the situation.

  Gu Wu was in a dilemma. To gain a foothold at Jiangning Station, he had to maintain a harmonious relationship with the local snakes on the surface, and couldn't immediately mess up the relationship. He needed enough time to build his own power circle in Jiangning by forming alliances and friendships. However, he also had to show some ferocity to let the officials of the Chu Party in Beijing see that he wouldn't compromise with the local snakes.

  Gu Suiyuan, as Gu Wudi's son, did not understand these principles.

  As for what kind of deal there is between the Wang family and the Yongchang Marquis's residence, it's not necessary to hide in the dark and support the Wang family with ulterior motives. This question really can't be investigated further at this time.

  Gu Wudu's eyes were fixed on the silver-inlaid chopstick tip, thinking that Lin Xuan was satisfactory in every aspect except for his poor writing skills. If he had clashed with the young master of the Fang Lou yesterday out of temporary righteous indignation and hot-headedness, then there really wasn't anything to it, and he was just a reckless youth after all. What was rare about him was that he completely understood the situation, and his courage and strategic thinking were in no way inferior to others.

  Gu Wu Chen didn't mind that young people were more outstanding and had more tricks up their sleeves than him. To grasp the situation in Jiangning, relying on those mediocre talents wouldn't work. Gu Wu Chen was quite satisfied with Lin Xuan's performance over this period of time, and the multiple relationships made him willing to treat Lin Xuan as one of his own people.

  In his heart, Gu Wu Chen thought: Jiangning is the southern capital of the Great Yue Dynasty, apart from the normal reporting system that conveys military and civilian information, the central government must have another eye watching over Jiangning. It's likely that everything that happened in the mansion last night has already been written into a document and sent to the capital. He should also make it clearer to his colleagues in the Chu Party who are keeping an eye on Jiangning from the capital: Lin Xuan is his man.

  Even in Jiangning, I have to let those local snakes know that Gu Wu Chen is not an easy bone to chew. Thinking of this, Gu Wu Chen turned his head to look at Lin Xuan and asked: "The thing I told you the other day, have you thought it over?"

  "Hmm, I've been thinking about how to serve the adults more wholeheartedly," Lin Gu said, considering how to persuade Gu Wu Chen to agree to let him go to Jiang Island Prison as a prison head. "Lin Gu dares to guess that the adult has a grand ambition to bring good governance and military discipline to Jiangning..."

  "Hmm..." Gu Wu Chen hummed softly, neither confirming nor denying, indicating for Lin Xuan to continue speaking.

  "The affairs of the official, Lin Xie's slight achievements and fame are difficult to squeeze into the ranks of the clear stream, I'm afraid it won't be of much help to the adults; Lin Xie encountered bandits in Baisha County this autumn, which is a great calamity in life, from then on he has an even greater hatred for the bandits on the river; To tell the truth, Lin Xie also resents the local military preparations for being lax and allowing the bandits to be so rampant, hating that he cannot take up arms and horses to sweep away the bandits. Lin Xie does not dare to hope that in his lifetime he can be an official in charge of troops and military affairs; When he first arrived in Jiangning, on the way through the Jinjiang River mouth, he saw the Jiangdao Island Prison of the Procuratorate, looking at the situation on Jiangdao Island, Lin Xie had some wild ideas: The Jiangdao Island Prison is situated facing the sky and overlooking a hundred miles around, it has always been a place where Jiangning hides bandits and shelters rebels, Lin Xie wishes to take charge of the prison and guard the island, protecting the entire prison, also making the river and lake bandits not dare to disturb the local area of Jiangning from the Jinjiang River mouth...also making that three million-strong Jiangning garrison look at it, how can a few hundred elite troops refuse the bandits outside the borders?"

  Yang Yi, who was standing by, raised an eyebrow upon hearing Lin Xie's words and felt a sense of disdain in his heart. He had followed his father and Gu Wu Chen's army for ten years, growing up in the military camp since he was young, and had some understanding of military affairs. However, he did not think that Lin Xie, a Confucian scholar who thought he knew something about war just because he had read a few pages of military books, really understood what military affairs were all about.

  "Come, come, let's just talk on paper. Tell me, how can you guard the Jiang Island prison with only three to five hundred elite soldiers and still prevent the Jiang pirates from harassing the Jiangning area from the Jinjiang River mouth?"