Perhaps some unknown god reminded the far-away Marshal Gu that his son was about to be abducted by the bald donkey. In any case, a month after the Black Iron Camp set out, Gu Yun actually remembered to bring a letter from home to Chang Geng when he wrote a memorial to the emperor.

Chang Geng wrote several pages in a very familiar handwriting that he had copied many times. He first admitted his mistake earnestly, then explained the reasons for his departure without saying goodbye in a logical and emotional way, and finally expressed his longing for her frankly and promised that if everything was safe in the northwest, he would return to the mansion to celebrate the New Year before the end of the year.

Chang Geng finished reading it from the beginning, sneered softly and put it aside, because he knew with a simple calculation that this thing must not have come from the hands of Marquis Anding.

Corny words like "I can't sleep well after a thousand-mile separation" and "Please give me more food and clothes, don't worry about me" could never sprout from the soil in Gu Yun's mind. The nagging between the lines showed that it was written by Shen Yi.

The bastard stepfather at most copied it himself.

However, Chang Geng discovered sadly that he had thought so clearly in his mind. When he remembered that these words really came from Gu Yun's pen, he couldn't help but pick out each word and put it into his eyes.

Unfortunately, Gu Yun broke his promise.

Gu Yun knew he was guilty, so he let Shen Yi, who had made the promise on his behalf, go away. He personally wrote a long letter to Chang Geng. Chang Geng laughed in anger after reading it, although he felt that this family letter was quite sincere this time - Gu Yun really had no talent for coaxing people, and was simply adding fuel to the fire.

Marshal Gu first talked about a bunch of trivial things that he thought were interesting, and wrote thousands of words, which were far away from the topic. Only at the end, he used the four words "busy military affairs" to summarize the reason why he could not return to Beijing.

Chang Geng didn't care how to roast the scorpions in the desert, but he searched for it several times and still couldn't find the sentence he cared about the most - if Gu Yun didn't come back this year, when would he come back?

But there was nothing after "busy military affairs", and only a long list of gifts was attached.

Gu Yun probably felt that his apology in words was not real enough, so he expressed it with actions - he transported all the good things he had obtained this year back to the Marquis' Mansion and stuffed them all into Chang Geng, ranging from jewels and precious stones to small things.

On that day, the fifteen-year-old Chang Geng locked himself in the room, and with the Loulan dagger that Gu Yun gave him, he endured an attack of the Wuergu, and then made a decision - he didn't want to stay in the Marquis' Mansion like a coward, and didn't want to follow the old scholar and the trembling master to learn some armchair articles and martial arts. He wanted to go out and see the outside world.

On the first day of the new year, Chang Geng followed Zhu Xiaojiao from the palace into the palace alone to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor. It was just a formality as usual.

Then he stayed in the marquis's mansion until the 16th day of the first lunar month. He asked the kitchen to cook a bowl of longevity noodles, brought it back to the house and ate it himself. Then he calmly announced a decision that again shocked the entire mansion.

Chang Geng said: "I plan to live in Huguo Temple for a while."

After saying that, he looked at the old housekeeper's miserable expression and added, "Don't worry, Uncle Wang. I'm not going to be a monk. I just want to practice with Master Liaoran for a while and pray for my adoptive father."

Old housekeeper: “…”

What else could the old man say? He had no choice but to prepare the money for incense offerings, endure the pain in his chest, and send someone to send Chang Geng, Fatty Ge, and Lady Cao to the Huguo Temple.

This year, the old butler of the Marquis' Mansion felt that the solemn and majestic gate of his house might have been cursed by some barbaric witchcraft. Anyone who entered this gate, no matter whether they were born in the family or adopted from outside, was more difficult to deal with than the other. The old butler still remembered how cowardly Gu Yun was when he was a child. He was like a little wolf who had been hurt and hated everyone around him indiscriminately.

The man finally grew up with much difficulty and was able to set up his own household.

Here comes someone even more puzzling.

After Gu Yun left, Chang Geng started running to the Huguo Temple all day.

Who can't he play with? He goes to the temple every day. The Fourth Prince Li Min is really a man who doesn't go out. But when he does go out, his destination is extraordinary.

The old housekeeper was very worried and concerned every day about whether Chang Geng would become a monk.

But he knew that teenagers aged fifteen or sixteen were the least likely to listen to the advice of the elderly. Besides, Chang Geng was not brought up by him. The old housekeeper did not dare to interfere too much with him, so he had to run to Madam Cao and Fatty Ge to beat the gong.

When Madam Cao heard this, the powder on her eyelids fell off and she angrily asked, "What? That bald ass wants to seduce my brother Chang Geng to become a monk?"

There are very few handsome men in the world. The Marshal left without a trace, and now there is no trace of him. Only Chang Geng is by his side. Chang Geng has not grown ugly at this age, which is not easy. He is even in danger of becoming bald. Immediately, Madam Cao became the old housekeeper's ally.

The next day, he deliberately changed into men's clothes and shamelessly insisted on going with Chang Geng to visit the Buddhist holy land. Before leaving, he rolled up his sleeves and made a gesture of determination to win towards the pair of iron puppets at the door.

The Iron Golem had no human nature and stared blankly at his snake-like, bizarre and twisting back.

However, after returning from the Huguo Temple that night, Madam Cao never mentioned the matter of "making that evil monk show up" again, and from then on she resolutely joined the team of people who studied Buddhism every day - it was because the "evil monk" was too handsome.

Although the Marshal was handsome, he was too aggressive and could not sit there quietly for people to admire him. But it was different for Master Liangran. Madam Cao thought that he was simply a walking Udumbara. If he were put into a bonsai, his reputation would last forever. Looking at him more could make one feel relaxed and happy for several days.

The old butler didn't know what kind of love potion the monk Liangran had used on these two people, so he had to find out what it was on Fatty Ge's head.

Ge Pangxiao accompanied him without hesitation.

A few days later, Ge Pangxiao also switched sides.

Because Monk Liangran is not only good at chanting sutras, he is also very proficient in many existing lighters and puppets driven by purple gold, Ge Pangxiao even ran into people from Lingshuyuan at his place.

Ge Pang Xiaoer, who dreamed of flying a giant kite into the sky, bowed down at the monk's lotus platform without saying a word.

After a year, the old housekeeper actually got used to Chang Geng and his friends going to the Buddhist temple every few days, and he didn't take it too seriously at first.

Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince learned the bad things instead of the good ones, and on the second day after arriving at the Huguo Temple, he imitated Gu Yun and escaped without saying goodbye.

He first told the accompanying guards that he would follow Master Liangran in seclusion for a while and asked them not to disturb him. Of course, the guards did not dare to disturb him and just stood outside the door.

That night, Chang Geng took his two traitorous followers and followed Master Liao Ran to travel to the south of the Yangtze River.

A few days later, the guards realized something was wrong and went to look for the person, but there was only a piece of light letter left in the meditation room.

The old housekeeper wanted to cry but had no tears, so he had to ask someone to report to the emperor while sending someone to deliver a letter to Gu Yun.

The emperor felt relieved after hearing this. On the one hand, he didn't care much about his adopted brother. On the other hand, he was a devout Buddhist and had a blind trust in Monk Liaoran. When he heard that Chang Geng followed him on his travels, he felt a little envious - he only hated that he was burdened by worldly things and could not get some of the benefits of the great monk.

Gu Yun was even more out of reach and could not be relied upon. It was said that there were countless bandits in the Western Regions. He had been chasing the bandits all day long and had no idea where they were going. Even if the messenger reached Xiliang Pass, he would have to rely on luck to find General Gu immediately.

Although Liao Ran was a high monk, he rarely lectured on the sutras, and never talked about those obscure Buddhist teachings and verses. Most of the time, he talked about folk stories face to face. As a monk, he seemed to be very unprofessional and even a little too involved in the world. He would even talk about current affairs in a very unethical way, but he usually burned them as soon as he wrote them down.

More than half a month later, in a small teahouse in Jiangnan, three young men and a monk were sitting around a table.

Spring ploughing has begun in the south of the Yangtze River, but looking around, there are few people working in the fields. A few old farmers wearing straw hats are idly looking at the iron puppet working from afar.

Compared to the murderous guards of the Marquis' Mansion and the sword puppets, this iron puppet that works the land amidst the mist and rain of apricot blossoms is not in human form. It looks like a small cart, running back and forth on the fields, with a wooden carved buffalo head on its head, which makes it look very naive.

This was the first batch of farming puppets allocated by the imperial court, and was first tried out in the Nanjing area.

When Ge Pangxiao was in Yanhui Town, he had an unusual interest in the scrap metal under Shen Yi's control, and his eyes lit up when he saw it.

Liaoran knocked on the table to draw the attention of Chang Geng and others. After a year, Chang Geng and others could understand his sign language, and the monk no longer had to write every word.

"I have seen the farming puppets promoted by Jiangnan in the West. One puppet can easily take care of an acre of land. Although it still needs to burn some purple gold, after several improvements, coal is enough to support most of the power. In this way, the cost is very low. It is said that one puppet is more economical than an eternal lamp."

Fat Ge: "That would be great. From now on, I don't have to get up early and work late to farm."

The iron puppets for trial use were allocated to Nanjing by the imperial court. The gentry registered and took them away, and were responsible for their subsequent maintenance. If the tenants wanted to farm the land themselves, they could do so. If they did not want to, they could give the land they rented to the puppets. When the harvest was good next year, the rent would be increased by 10% to compensate for the coal burned by the puppets and a small amount of purple gold.

Few people did it in the first year, after all, the rent had to be increased by 10%. But it was widely promoted in the second year - the people saw that this thing was indeed more useful than people, and even after the rent was increased, they still had more food in their hands than before, and they didn't have to get up early and work late. Who wouldn't agree to such a good thing?

This is why there is a magnificent scene of no one in the fields of Jiangnan at this time.

He smiled clearly but said nothing.

Chang Geng suddenly said, "I don't think it's a good thing. If iron golems can completely replace humans, what's the point of humans? The land rented by the tenants also belongs to the squire. In the past few years, the squire was willing to support these idlers out of nostalgia. How many years can he support them?"

Fatty Ge was obsessed with all kinds of lighters, and he would dream about them at night. He immediately said, "They can stay and become long-arm masters!"

Madam Cao: "I know this. The combined steel armor of all the defenders in Yanhui City only requires two long-arm divisions. At that time, they only went to find Mr. Shen occasionally because they were too busy... General Shen, there is no need for so many long-arm divisions."

Fat Ge: "They can find other things to do, such as..."

For example, he couldn't say for the moment, but the butcher's family had an easy life after all. In Ge Pangxiao's eyes, there were so many other good things to do in the world besides farming.

Madam Cao tore her gaze away from the face of the man with difficulty and asked, "So if everyone can't find anything to do, or most people can't find anything to do, will they rebel?"

Liaoran lowered his eyes and looked at him, and Mrs. Cao's face turned pale.

Le Ran gestured and said, "Not in these years."

The three young men were silent for a while, and Chang Geng asked, "Is it because of my adoptive father?"

Ran Ran looked at him with a smile.

"I remember that on New Year's Eve two years ago, the tiger brought by the foreigners ran away, and the people on the street were in chaos. They only calmed down when they saw my adoptive father." Chang Geng paused and said, "I heard people say that there were so many people near Qiyuan Tower. If it weren't for my adoptive father who stabilized the flow of people, many people would have been trampled to death."

Le Ran gestured and said, "I took His Highness out without permission, which seriously offended Marquis Anding. If the truth comes out, I will forget that Your Highness saved the monk's life from the Marquis's sword."

Fatty Ge and Madam Cao both laughed, thinking that Monk Ran was joking - after all, in their impression, Gu Yun had always been kind and pleasant.

Liao Ran smiled bitterly, skipped the topic, and continued with a gesture: "There is still a legend among the people that the old marquis used thirty black iron men to make the North Wolf surrender. It is said that the Black Iron Camp is a divine army that can go to heaven and earth and is invulnerable to swords and spears. With the Black Iron Camp as a pillar, there are thugs who rebel against the government, but they are never large-scale."

Chang Geng sat up straighter: "But I heard someone say that if you want to demolish a house, the first thing to do is to destroy the main beam."

Looking at the young man in front of him clearly, if Gu Yun came back, he probably wouldn't recognize Chang Geng. In just one year, he grew several inches taller, and the childishness between his eyebrows was gone.

The young man who used to feel his scalp tingling when he went out on New Year’s Eve now sits in a teahouse in the fields of Jiangnan, chatting with monks about people’s livelihood.

Le Ran: "Your Highness, don't worry. The Marquis already knows all these things."

Chang Geng thought of the "inescapable world" in Gu Yun's room, and was slightly stunned. Suddenly, a flood of longing surged in his heart. He sat quietly for a moment, letting the longing run for a moment. He smiled bitterly, picked up the tea on the table, and drank it in one gulp.

Gu Yun, who Chang Geng was thinking about, was still in the vast desert of the Western Regions, and had been confronting the largest group of local bandits for more than a month.

At this time, Xiliang Pass was no longer as depressed as it used to be. Since Daliang and the Pope signed the Treaty of Xiliang Pass, the entire Xiliang Pass line had become a Feng Shui treasure land for gathering wealth. Merchants and tourists quickly gathered there, and the population in several towns skyrocketed. Westerners, people from the Central Plains, and people from small countries in the Western Regions lived together, and it was almost as if you were in me and I was in you.

Loulan, located at the entrance of the ancient Silk Road, became an important trading center and quickly transformed from an unknown small country into a land of gold.

The people of Loulan are warm and happy. They live and work in peace and contentment and do not like to cause trouble. They did not get involved in the rebellion in the Western Regions. The relationship between them and Daliang has always been very friendly. Therefore, the emperor deliberately placed the entrance to the ancient Silk Road here.

"Marshal, Xiao Jia has already taken down the thieves' den. Shall we start?"

Gu Yun: "Then what are we waiting for? After we catch the bandit leader, we can go to Prince Loulan's place for dinner tonight!"

As he spoke, he gently pressed his eyelids.

Shen Yi: "Are your eyes…"

"No," Gu Yun muttered, "My eyelids keep twitching, maybe..."

Before he finished speaking, a guard suddenly stepped forward and took out a letter from his arms: "Marshal!"

Gu Yun: "Well, where did it come from?"

Guard: "The letter from the Marquis' Mansion was delivered to Xiliang Pass. Your family couldn't find you, so they asked the Loulan people to deliver it to you."

Maybe it’s a reply from Chang Geng.

Gu Yun thought about it, opened it, and read it with great anticipation.

Then Shen Yi saw Gu Yun's face change.

Shen Yi: "What's wrong?"

"It's better if this bald ass Liaoran doesn't fall into my hands." Gu Yun said sinisterly. He turned around in the general's tent with his hands behind his back like a headless fly, and kicked over a small table. "Send me a few black eagles. Ji Ping, you can take care of things here for me for the time being."