The old man noticed his hesitation and said, "Don't worry, just send it. It will only benefit the border troops and not harm them. If you can't see the general, you can give it to He Xiong."
He Shan asked, "Do you want to bring something for Yong'an?"
"No need, he just left a few days ago. Send this letter to the general as soon as possible, don't delay." The old man waved his hand and called Liu Dongniang to prepare some dry food and change for He Shan.
He Shan took the letter carefully, did not bring anyone else with him, rode a horse, prepared another one, and hurried out.
He hurried all the way, galloping his horse as fast as he could, and finally arrived at the border at dusk the next day. He dismounted, bought some things, and went straight to the gate of the military camp.
Fortunately, the soldier guarding the gate had a familiar brother. He was very happy to see that it was him who came back. When he asked about it, He Shan did not tell the truth.
He made up an excuse, "Our master has a caravan at the border, and I'm helping deliver some supplies. I was thinking about my brothers, so I came back to visit and see how everyone is doing."
After saying that, he picked up a few roast chickens and two jars of good wine in his hands and shook them to show off, which made everyone roar even more.
Someone went to ask for leave from Shangguan, and then pulled He Shan back to his tent.
After three rounds of drinking, everyone was a little tipsy and it was completely dark. He Shan used the excuse of going to the bathroom to go find He Xiong.
He Xiong was very surprised to see him. He stepped forward and patted his shoulder vigorously, shouting, "I heard that you were back. I thought everyone was joking, but I didn't expect it to be true! Logically speaking, the Tai family convoy has just entered the grassland. You come here now, are you trying to catch up with the convoy to deliver something?"
"I'm here to deliver something, but not to the Tai family's convoy, but to the general!" He Shan pulled out the letter from his arms, revealing a corner.
He Xiong understood and immediately took him away from everyone and into the general's tent.
The general also had some impression of He Shan. After all, they were both veteran soldiers who were good at fighting and had made great contributions to the border defense army. Otherwise, they would not have been chosen by He Xiong and sent to the Tai family.
The general didn't rush to talk about business. He took him to have tea and chatted about some family matters.
"How are you doing at the Tai family? What are you busy with every day? How are the food and accommodation?"
He Shan quickly responded, "Don't worry, General. The Tai family treats us like their own family. We are well fed and well clothed. Apart from patrolling the village day and night to ensure its safety, there is no other work for us."
When it comes to patrolling, he feels a little anxious.
After all, most of the people in the village are now in the mountains and forests, and he has come to the border. If someone does something bad to the Tai family or the village, it would be bad.
Thinking of this, he quickly took out the letter and held it in both hands.
"General, this is a letter Uncle Tai asked me to deliver to you. Please read it and write a reply. I will take it back with you."
The general took the letter, looked at him again and laughed.
"It seems that the Tai family has treated you well. You have already taken root there. Even after returning to our barracks, they still miss you. This is great. We are all relieved now!"
He Shan didn't even realize it himself, and after a moment of silence he started laughing.
The general opened the envelope, read it quickly, and looked a little strange.
He Xiong couldn't help but ask, "General, does Uncle Tai have anything to entrust to us?"
The general shook his head, turned to He Shan and ordered, "You can't cross the border at this time. Stay in the barracks for one night and return tomorrow. There's no need to write back to the Tai family, just say thank you."
He Shan nodded, saluted quickly, and walked out.
He Xiong became more and more confused, but fortunately the general handed him the letter to read.
It turned out that there was nothing else on the letter paper except a person's name, about a hundred in total.
"Is this... the list of officials accompanying the emperor on his journey north?" He Xiong was surprised.
The general nodded, "It should be sent by the Sixth Prince through the Tai family."
"The Sixth Prince has good intentions. He knows what's going on in Kyoto and wants to show his goodwill to us?" He Xiong got a headache just thinking about the news from Kyoto. If it weren't for his status and distance, he would have wanted to give the second young master in the general's mansion a good beating!
They say a tiger father has a tiger son. How could a general of such stature have such a fool? He's not only of no help at all, but also a hindrance!
The great general guarded the border for many years without fear of wind, snow or severe cold, but his achievements and hard work were not recognized. Instead, he was reprimanded by imperial decree because of a few rumors. It is really chilling and ridiculous!
The general saw his expression changing, guessed something, and sighed inwardly.
Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be achieved at the same time. He has been at the border for many years, and his second uncle's family is a constraint in Kyoto. It is not easy for his wife to support the general's mansion. If there is a problem with his son's education, he can no longer blame her.
Sometimes, he even thought that it would be better if the emperor really removed him from his position as general, at least the family would be reunited.
But when he thought of his deceased father, the many soldiers and generals who followed him, the enemies outside the Great Wall, and the millions of people, he couldn't lift the burden from his shoulders.
We can only wait and persevere. Maybe one day when the time is right, all problems will be solved.
As for when the time will come, no one knows...
His eyes fell on the blank envelope, and a light flashed in his eyes...
At daybreak, He Shan said goodbye to his familiar brothers and rode back to Taijia Village as usual.
After only three or four days, there was naturally no change in the village, and no outsiders noticed that there was one less person patrolling Taijia Village.
Of course, it’s because there is even greater joy coming.
A light snow fell at some point in the night, covering the earth and the mountains with a thin layer of cotton.
A naughty boy ran out crying, trying to grab a snowball and throw it out, but unfortunately there was not much snow to begin with, and it gradually melted when the sun came out!
The naughty boy was very disappointed and wanted to collect it on the wall or tree, but his mother pulled his ears and took him home to change into thick clothes.
At this time, the naughty boy suddenly jumped up and shouted at the top of his voice.
"Mom, it's my dad, it's my dad! They're back!"
The woman turned her head to look at the dirt road outside the village, and sure enough, there was a group of ragged and dirty people staggering home with packages on their backs!
She immediately forgot about her son and went to meet him crying.
"Woo woo, boss, you're back!"
The quiet morning was broken, and almost every village became noisy on this day.
Without anyone else reporting the news, the women of Taijia Village had already rushed to Taijia to report the news.
"Sixth Uncle, they're back! All those people who were doing corvée labor are back!"
It happened that Uncle Tai San was there too. The two old brothers were sitting under the eaves, looking at the corn cobs hanging all over the yard and talking with smiles. Naturally, they were happy when they suddenly heard the news.
"Really?" Master Tai slapped his thigh and laughed, "Finally, they're back. I've got a lot of work to do at home, and the boys are finally back!"
Old Master Tai also laughed, "It's the same at my house. I don't feel it normally. But when the boys aren't home, I suddenly feel like there's work to do everywhere!"
"Uncle San, Uncle Liu, can you get the people on the mountain to come back quickly?" The woman was also anxious and wanted to go up the mountain immediately to report the news.
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