Zheng Boyuan sat down on the edge of the kang and said, "In the past, there were some villages around here. Da Yan often came over, and the number of people in the villages decreased. Later, many people simply moved to places far away from here. However, there is a market nearby that is open once every two weeks. When the market is open, it is quite lively."

When Zheng Yuanyuan heard that there was a market, she asked with great interest, "Brother, can my sister-in-law and I go to the market?"

Zheng Boyuan said, "Of course you can go. Sellers need to apply in advance to set up a stall, but buyers don't need to apply. They can just go directly. The land in Da Yan is less barren than our Da Liang, but there are some delicious and fun things there. Buying them and bringing them to the capital as gifts would be quite nice."

Xu Zhi recalled what she had inquired about in Wuzhou, and it was indeed true.

Zheng Yuanyuan was very interested and said to Xu Zhi, "Sister-in-law, let's go together. I want to buy a lot of nice things to take back to the capital as gifts."

Zheng Boyuan said to Xu Zhi, "The guards have been settled. They will go to Wuzhou with you tomorrow and then return to the capital. If you have anything to bring back to the capital, you can trouble them."

Xu Zhi nodded and said, "Tomorrow I'm going to Wuzhou to buy some local specialties. Please ask the guards to bring them back for me."

Actually, this is also an opportunity to make friends with these people. The Imperial Guard is the emperor's personal guard, unlike other guards. They are all promoted based on their military merits. Moreover, there are many sons of nobles among them. There is no harm in making friends with such people.

How do people get along? Isn't it through mutual help and support? Xu Zhi naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

Xu Zhi invited Hong Gu over and asked her to arrange for people to go to Wuzhou City to purchase the items on the list Xu Zhi had given her early the next morning. These items were not only to be sent back to the Yongning Marquis's residence, but also to be prepared for each of the hundred Imperial Guards.

Zheng Boyuan naturally saw Xu Zhi's arrangement for Hong Gu and nodded in approval. After joining the army, he had been to three different places and was no longer the naive man he once was in terms of interpersonal relationships.

After having dinner with Xu Zhi and Zheng Yuanyuan, Zheng Boyuan told them to rest well and then went to the back.

When General Mu Yiqian saw Zheng Boyuan approaching, he smiled and asked, "Have you already had dinner with your sister-in-law?"

Zheng Boyuan nodded and said, "General Mu, I'll be troubling you tonight."

General Mu chuckled and said, "Don't bother me. But the women in your family are truly remarkable. They traveled all this way to send us cotton-padded clothes they made themselves. This is the first time such a thing has happened in this dynasty."

Zheng Boyuan sighed and said, "It was all my younger sister's idea, and my wife helped with the arrangements. However, all the dowry that my eldest brother had saved for my younger sister over the years has been used up, and my wife has also contributed a lot."

General Mu nodded and said, "Your Zheng family was known for its generosity and magnanimity back then, especially your grandfather. My father told me that he and a group of noble sons in the capital admired your grandfather. It's just a pity that such a good man as your grandfather died young."

The grandfather Mu Yiqian mentioned was Zheng Boyuan's current grandfather, not the old Marquis of Pingxi. When Zheng Boyuan first came, Mu Yiqian didn't think highly of him. It was only after Zheng Boyuan accomplished one thing after another that Mu Yiqian gradually accepted him. Mu Yiqian felt that with someone as serious, responsible, hardworking, and tireless as Zheng Boyuan leading the troops, the garrison in Wuzhou would definitely be different from before.

Having lived in Wuzhou for many years, Mu Yiqian naturally knew the level of the soldiers there. Over the years, he had considered training them properly, but unfortunately, the problems were too deeply entrenched. Mu Yiqian was also getting old and lacked the strength to change things. After several attempts, he simply couldn't manage it. Moreover, he wasn't the highest-ranking officer in the Wuzhou garrison, and he had to explain some things to Feng Zhongyi. However, Feng Zhongyi wasn't an expert in this area. Most importantly, the Wuzhou garrison had been guarding a poor and backward Wuzhou for many years, while the Great Yan hadn't taken any large-scale actions. They would only send small groups of soldiers to harass them from time to time, like the boy who cried wolf, which had made the Wuzhou garrison feel fatigued.

After Zheng Boyuan arrived, he naturally noticed the state of mind of some of the soldiers here, which was very dangerous. As a border guard, he had to be vigilant at all times because the Great Yan on the other side had always been eyeing the Great Liang. Wuzhou was the first pass that Great Yan had to pass through to Great Liang. If this pass was breached, they could basically advance straight in. Only by guarding this place could they hold the gateway to Great Liang.

Zheng Boyuan's initial training plan was not so easy to implement. Many people had been here for years, seeking no merit but only avoiding mistakes. Some of the generals in charge of the troops were even worse. Their soldiers were undisciplined and scoffed at some of Zheng Boyuan's claims, thinking that he was exaggerating. They said that the Great Yan was preparing to attack Wuzhou, and that the Great Yan had been preparing for many years, only to take Wuzhou in one fell swoop. They had been guarding Wuzhou, the front line of the Great Liang, for so many years. Didn't they know what the situation was?

The Great Yan's geographical environment is unfavorable, its people are poor and sick, and its national strength is weak. If they were capable of attacking, wouldn't they have attacked long ago? Why would someone who just arrived be pointing fingers here?

Thinking of the difficulties Zheng Boyuan faced when he first arrived, Mu Yiqian said with some guilt, "Boyuan, I've seen it all these days. You are truly someone who can dedicate everything to your country. I am really not as good as you."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Boyuan showed no emotion on his face, but was filled with deep feelings in his heart. He said to Mu Yiqian, "General Mu, since we have chosen this path, we must do our best to move forward. We are in Wuzhou, and behind us are our brothers and sisters who need our lives to protect. I dare not slack off for a single day. These days, thanks to General Mu's help, General Mu, thank you."

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