Lin Xuan and Zhao Qinmin accompanied Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting in the front hall of Caotang, talking. Li Zhuo was quite interested in sea transportation, Lin Xuan naturally spoke freely, Gu Wu Chen planned that after this autumn's grain harvest, he wanted to make Jiangdong Prefecture's grain supply to Yanjing reach 12 million stones, and they had to prepare for the sea route to prevent blockage of inland waterways.

  Lin Xuan had someone send a message back to the city that Li Zhuo was approaching the river mouth, and Yang Pu led the pursuit cavalry and the Guard Battalion to take over the defense of the river mouth. Knowing that the officials from Jiangning would soon arrive, Lin Xuan also found it inconvenient to have Liu Yue'er prepare some tea and snacks for Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting at the grass hut.

  At first, he was still accompanying in the front hall of Caotang. After officials such as Wang Xueshan, the prefect of Jiangning Prefecture, Jia Pengyu, the inspector of Jiangdong, Gu Wuchen, the vice-inspector, and others arrived at the river mouth one after another by car, sedan chair or horseback in the evening, there was no place for Lin Xue to set foot or speak in the front hall of Caotang. He still couldn't take a boat to hide on Prison Island.

  The river mouth was handed over to the Jiangning Guard Town Military Camp for defense, and the corner tower's lanterns shone brightly like a full moon. The many recruited workers, military dependents, and refugees from Dongyang who were originally stationed at the river mouth were ordered to return to their homes and not allowed to wander around or make noise outside. However, the attendants and followers of various officials were numerous, with big temperaments and attitudes, and they didn't dare make a disturbance in front of the thatched cottage where discussions were held. They would summon the members of the Ji Yun Society to follow their orders like Commander Sun's subordinates, and Lin Jingzhong, Qian Xiaowu, and others could only swallow their anger and serve with all their might.

  All the officials of various yamens in Jiangning Prefecture were planning to welcome Li Zhuo's arrival based on his itinerary, but at dusk they heard that Li Zhuo had arrived with Gao Zongting, a famous scholar from western Zhejiang, at the mouth of the Jin River. This was also verified by the Surveillance Commissioner's office, and for a time everything was in disarray and without a plan or procedure.

  On this side of the river, apart from the thatched cottages and grass houses where the refugees lived, there were no temporary lodgings for officials to stay in. Everyone didn't know whether they should welcome Li Zhuo into the city tonight or arrange another place for him outside the city. The nearest official post house was located sixty miles away in the county town of Miling, or it was the Chaotian Post House on the north bank of Chaotian Tang; Quyang Town was very close and had luxurious guesthouses, but it was also inappropriate to accommodate Li Zhuo in Quyang Town. Moreover, after dark, suddenly strengthening the defense of Quyang Town and driving out unrelated personnel would be a bit disturbing to the people. The main officials in Jiangning City were considering whether to go out of the city first to welcome him, or whether to enter the city tonight depending on Li Zhuo's intention, and they also sent someone to arrange things in Quyang Town in advance to avoid being flustered when the time came.

  Lin Jie sat on the earth mound outside the thatched cottage, with Xiao Man and Liu Yue'er sitting on either side of him. In Xiao Man's words: "I'd rather not serve those lecherous old officials..." Everything was left to Lin Jingzhong to handle.

  "Does this count as a magpie occupying a cuckoo's nest?" asked Liu Yu'er.

  "...I'm afraid others may still look down on this thatched hut." Lin Fu said with a smile.

  "Others may look down on it, but I like it," the naive and innocent little girl hugged Lin Xie's arm and asked him, "Do you think the thatched hut is good or not?"

  "What's good or bad, a thatched hut or a mansion, as long as you two are together, it's fine," Lin Xie said with a smile. "As the saying goes: Where the heart is at peace, that is one's hometown!"

  "What's this proverb you're talking about, I've never heard of it before?" Xiaoman asked seriously, staring at Lin Xie's face. Liu Yue'er, on the other hand, was thinking about the emotions conveyed in Lin Xie's words, and she lowered her head, burying her slightly flushed pretty face in her knees, but her body still leaned against Lin Xie's sturdy waist without avoiding him.

  "What nonsense, I'm just talking randomly..." Lin Mou muttered to himself as he pushed Xiao Man away, thinking: Hasn't the phrase "where the heart is at peace, that is my hometown" been born yet? Maybe it hasn't spread widely, and with his level of literature and history, he doesn't even know where this phrase comes from.

  Under the lantern light, Lin Xie looked at the bustling scene inside the city wall and thought that among the big shots in Jiangning City, only Wang Tian, the pacification commissioner of Jiangdong, and Qin Chengbo, the defense general of Jiangning, had not appeared. Li Zhuo was here to take over as the new defense general, so it was natural that Qin Chengbo would not be enthusiastic about coming out to welcome him. Moreover, in terms of military rank, Qin Chengbo was even more prominent than Li Zhuo, but this did not prevent the officials from the Jiangning Ministry of War and the generals from the Defense Command from coming to the river port to welcome Li Zhuo. After all, in terms of prestige, Qin Chengbo knew he was far inferior to Li Zhuo. The Jiangdong Pacification Commissioner's Office and the Jiangning Defense General's Office did not overlap in their powers, so Wang Tian would not be in a hurry to come and pay his respects. He could wait until Li Zhuo took office and then visit him. Although the Jiangning Defense General usually had no control over the Provincial Military Commander's Office, there was still the nominal authority of wartime command. After arriving in Jiangning, Lin Xie had never seen Zuo Shangrong, the provincial military commander of Jiangdong Prefecture, who came out to welcome Li Zhuo with his deputy. Looking at this lineup, the welcoming ceremony was much grander than when Gu Wuduan first arrived in Jiangning.

  Rumors spread in the thatched cottage that Li Zhuo would enter the city tonight, and Lin Xie let out a sigh of relief. The small temple couldn't accommodate the great Bodhisattva, and if Li Zhuo really stayed at the river mouth for another day, the river mouth would have to be heavily guarded for another day, which was very inconvenient. Watching Li Zhuo walk out of the thatched cottage surrounded by officials from Jiangning in a star-studded manner, Lin Xie also stood up, patted his butt, and said to the two women: "I still need to go over there and bow..." Regardless of whether Li Zhuo noticed this small ninth-grade Confucian scholar or not, when Li Zhuo was about to leave, Lin Xie had to go forward to bid farewell. He didn't have the qualifications to get too close, so he followed behind the crowd, bowing his head and waist as he watched Li Zhuo ride his horse ahead.

  Li Zhuo mounted his horse, grasped the reins and was about to depart when he glanced over at Lin's face, then turned his head to gaze at the distant corner tower. He didn't say anything, but instead rode off surrounded by the guarding military officials. The six hundred elite cavalry of Jian Rui Camp followed closely behind, pulling up their camp as they left. Hundreds of lanterns illuminated the newly laid road, making it seem like a fiery dragon was winding its way through. The various officials who had come to welcome him at the river mouth were also in disarray, bringing along their attendants and following behind on horseback or by sedan chair or carriage, stretching out the procession even further.

  Gu Wu Chen left last, he came over in a horse-drawn carriage. Before getting on the carriage, he called Lin Fu to his side and asked him: "Before nightfall, what did Li Zhuo talk to you about?"

  Lin Xian looked at Gu Wu Chen's expression, and for a moment, he couldn't figure out what he meant by asking this question. He also didn't know what Zhao Qinnin had said to him in private. Xiao Yi said: "Actually, we didn't say too much, Li Du Xu passed through the river mouth and asked some questions about the prison island. I answered truthfully as much as I could."

  "Uh," Gu Wu Chen sat into the carriage, Yang Pu lifted the curtain for him, his face hidden in a very deep shadow, making it even harder to see the expression on his face. After a while, he finally spoke from within the shadows, "Li Zhuo should have arrived at Jiangning three to five days ago. This message must not be leaked to anyone else, no matter who they are, Li Zhuo is after all recommended by Chen Xinbo, don't you forget this..."

  Lin Zhan felt a chill run up his spine and hastily replied, "I know..."

  "That's it, I'll follow them into the city first and see how things go until late at night; tomorrow you come over for dinner, it's been many days since we've had a drink together." Gu Wu Chen said this and then dropped the curtain, following the large group of people into the city.

  Looking at the winding team dragging on for more than two or three miles, countless wind lanterns stretched out under the night sky, like a fire dragon. Lin Xuan stood in front of the fence gate, and Gu Wu Chen's last words before he left still made him feel cold. He glanced at Zhao Qinmin and said with his fists clenched: "Mr. Zhao, you must be tired too, go back and rest early..." thinking that he should have told Gu Wu Chen something privately.

  Zhao Qinmin bid farewell and left, Lin Xie also stood far away waiting for his two daughters to return to the grass hall.

  "Are you thinking of something?" Xiao Man asked as she walked back to the thatched cottage.

  "Huh," Lin Yu was taken aback, looked up at Xiao Man and asked, "Is it that obvious?"

  Not just Xiao Man, Liu Yue'er also nodded in deep agreement.

  "There's nothing else, just a sigh at the party struggle between the ruling and opposition parties." Lin said, thinking that his worried look might also be seen by Zhao.

  When Haotian deliberately made friends with this side, Gu Wudu didn't say anything; and without saying whether Li Zhuo's appearance at the river mouth today was intentional or unintentional, Lin Xie was extremely cautious and didn't show too much, but Gu Wudu became exceptionally vigilant, after all, it was still a deadly party struggle.

  During the She Anshi Rebellion, the Dongming army was defeated or surrendered within three months. The court urgently dispatched troops from Liangzhe and Jiangxi to fight in Fujian. Li Zhuo was recommended by Chen Xinfu, who was serving as Deputy Prime Minister at that time, to lead the Jiangxi army into Fujian as the Vice Censor-in-Chief of Jiangxi. All the armies were defeated, but Li Zhuo's route stabilized the situation on the Shaowu front line. In the following years, with Chen Xinfu's support, Li Zhuo held positions such as Governor of Dongming, Pacification Commissioner, Minister of War for Jiangning, and Commander-in-Chief of Dongming, leading the war efforts in Fujian under extremely unfavorable circumstances, suppressing the She Anshi Rebellion back to the Jin'an, Chaozhou, and Quanzhou lines until the She family surrendered and was enfeoffed.

  The previous winter, the northern line of Chentangyi suffered a disastrous defeat, with tens of thousands of soldiers killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians falling into the hands of the Eastern Hu people. The Western Qin Party could not avoid blame for this, and almost all officials from the Western Qin Party in the Yanjing Ministry of War, Ministry of Officials, and Ministry of Revenue were implicated and purged. It was against this backdrop that the Chu Party rose to power. However, Chen Xinbo, the leader of the Western Qin Party, still holds his position, and it seems that the current emperor is not eager to replace him with someone from the Chu Party.

  Li Zhuo was able to rise in the southeast because of Chen Xibo; many people believed that after Chen Tangyi's defeat, Chen Xibo was able to keep his position as prime minister only because of Li Zhuo - at least this is what the Chu party thought.

  After the Battle of Chentangyi, there were only a handful of famous ministers and generals who could give the court and the people great expectations to turn the tide on the Northern Line. Li Zhuo was ranked first among them. Most importantly, Li Zhuo had been fighting in the southeastern battlefield for nearly ten years, with elite troops under his command who were good at fighting, and also the most reliable large-scale elite garrison army at present.

  Perhaps the current Holy One, or perhaps it is within the Chu Party that they believe only by keeping Chen Xingbo in the position of Prime Minister can they calmly and unhurriedly transfer the elite troops from East Min to reinforce the Northern Line. Of course, when the Chu Party thinks everything is arranged calmly, they probably won't tolerate Chen Xingbo staying in the position of Prime Minister anymore, on the contrary, they will try every means to overthrow Chen Xingbo, making it impossible for the Xi Qin Party to revive from the ashes.

  In Gu Wudu's eyes, Li Zhuo is also a great enemy of the Chu Party.

  *******************

  P.S: Looking for red tickets.