Chapter 113
For any military general, engraving achievements on stone is a supreme accomplishment.
In the past, the great general Dou Xian pursued the Northern Huns all the way to the Yanran Mountain where he carved a stone to record his achievements, leaving his name in the history books. Now, Qiao Yan mentioned that he would also use this as a milestone when he won this battle. How could this not make everyone in the team excited!
Even if the act of engraving the stone to record the merits was only written in the Xianbei settlement of Sayinshand, next to the only water source, it would not in the slightest diminish the desire for freedom and pleasure in their hearts.
As for why the words of commendation were placed at Saynshand instead of by the Duluo River, Qiao Yan naturally had his own explanation.
Although what she was going to do next was to take advantage of the situation and treat those barbarians outside the Great Wall as leeks from which she would harvest cattle, sheep and horses, she still had to take the leeks' feelings into consideration.
Since she had already told Budugen that she wanted to support him to take the position as the new Xianbei leader, she should naturally give him some leeway, at least not letting him see the evidence of their Han army coming to the Duluo River every day.
It would be appropriate to place Saynshand here as an outpost.
Of course, Qiao Yan’s trip here again was not entirely to use this place to commemorate his achievements.
When she returned here, almost twenty days had passed since she set out from Yanmen County to swear an oath. If she wanted to return to Bingzhou at full speed, it would only take her two days.
In particular, this time she no longer needed to walk along Baidaochuan to avoid the Xianbei scouts. She could just ride back quickly on the flat plain, saving a lot of time.
But going back too quickly would do her no good.
She had no intention of letting Liu Hong know that she had reached a deal with Nabudugen to pay tribute every year, otherwise it would inevitably arouse the other party's vigilance.
If there is a change in Luoyang next year, before any signs of this "change" are reported, she should find a reason for herself to go out of the border again and pacify the Hu army so that she will not receive any news within a certain period of time.
Otherwise, if Liu Hong allowed her to come to the capital to assist the Eight Schools of Xiyuan in eliminating General He Jin and thus putting Liu Xie on the throne, then her plan would have completely failed.
Liu Xie might have become a qualified emperor, but the situation of the Han Dynasty was such that it was impossible to succeed without the destruction of the past.
It is meaningless to support the country at this time. It is better to let the first person who broke the cup take action in Luoyang.
So Qiao Yan had to stay outside the Great Wall for some time.
After returning to the Saynshanda base, she checked the medicines, food and defense barriers around her to make sure that this detention would not cause any casualties on her side, and only then did she feel relieved.
With these assurances, she even spent two days picking out a black stone from this slightly barren land to use as the stone tablet.
Because it was quite square, Qiao Yan felt even more satisfied.
Regarding Qiao Hou's "unprofessional" behavior, the accompanying generals actually...
Actually, I have no opinion!
They watched as Qiao Yan used the tip of the iron spear in his hand to carve the records of their march on the black stone.
That's really beautiful calligraphy!
Perhaps it was because they were inspired by their personal experience of the battle, or perhaps it was because carving on stone really felt better than writing on paper. In any case, the words on the commemorative stele that they saw could truly be described as iron-drawing and silver-hooked.
The only system that knew the truth, upon seeing that Qiao Yan's calligraphy level had been raised to level 7, it was hard not to fall into a long silence at this moment.
Previously, it thought that if there were extra points, it could move up to the next level to make its image as a strategist more convincing, but Qiao Yan rejected it with the reason that it was enough.
The busy affairs in Leping and Jinyang left her with little opportunity to practice calligraphy.
But at the moment when it felt that it was the last person to choose this skill, she came up with such a brilliant move.
But in Qiao Yan's opinion, any skill must be used at the most critical moment. If he can rely on this thing to win the hearts of his generals, it will not be in vain.
General Dou Xian carved a stone tablet at Yanran Mountain, and Ban Gu, who was accompanying the army, wrote the inscription on Mount Yanran.
Qiao Yan thought to herself that she did not have the literary talent of Ban Gu, so she simply wrote down these few sentences.
In the fifth month of Zhongping reign, Qiao Yan, Marquis of Leping and governor of Bingzhou of the Han Dynasty, together with Zhang Liao, an official of Wumeng, Zhang Yang, an official of Yanmen Commandery, and Lu Bu, a military official of Yanmen Commandery, reported on their duties and went on a tour of inspection, and attacked the Xianbei in the north. Ten thousand cavalrymen marched in parallel, chasing the Chanyu on Baidao Road, beheaded the Xianbei general Fuluohan here, and then went north again, chasing the Chanyu into the wild. This is called:
In the great majesty of the emperor, the divine might does not kill. Like the thunder, nothing can break it. The territory belongs to us, who dares to steal it? 】1
With the might of the emperor, the territory has its own owners!
The stone inscription left in the Sayinshanda headquarters could not point out any faults of Qiao Yan even if it was written in a memorial to the emperor.
Who made her attribute the reason for her attack on the Xianbei to the purpose of maintaining the power of the Han Dynasty's divine weapon?
Qiao Yan looked at the inscription for a moment, then put down the gun with satisfaction.
Even though his calligraphy level had been improved and he had the additional skill of engraving, his wrists still hurt from the vibration caused by this engraving method.
But the effect of this move was undoubtedly surprisingly good.
Zhang Liao has always been introverted, so it’s not that obvious, but Zhang Yang is different from Lu Bu.
Although they were a bit rough, they were not illiterate and could naturally recognize the words written by Qiao Yan.
Even though their names were ranked after Zhang Liao in terms of position, they couldn't help but smile when they saw the words "as thunderous as lightning".
If we translate their thoughts at this moment, it would probably be: These words must be memorized and remembered when telling others in the future.
And if Qiao Yan, the superior, had not made the decision to attack, they would not have been able to achieve such military exploits and records.
Qiao Yan felt that this was a move that was a perfect way to return home.
In addition, the five days of staying here were not just for rest and erecting monuments.
Budugen finally got the news of his brother's death, but he knew very well that he could not blame Qiao Yan for Kuitou's death at this time.
Because he also received another message at the same time -
Out of fear of the Han army, Qianman headed east without looking back and even chose to join the Xianbei branch.
So Budugen quickly gathered all his men together, and on the one hand, he tried to comfort the tribesmen who had fled in all directions because of the turmoil, and on the other hand, he put the matter of his succession to the Chanyu on the table.
In this move, the location of the Xianbei royal court was moved some distance to the north, at least across the Duluo River. In this way, even if foreign enemies attacked, it would be much easier for them to defend themselves.
Afterwards, Budugen started to do one thing without any delay, which was the collection of cattle and sheep remains that Qiao Yan had mentioned earlier.
Although he didn't know why the Bingzhou governor needed these things, the cattle and sheep that had died and only their skeletons were left were of no use to them.
It was really a good deal to exchange thousands of such skeletons for their temporary stability, rather than being hit back by Qiao Yan again.
So four days after Qiao Yan left the Xianbei royal court, Budugen had already loaded the wreckage onto a truck and sent it to the border. There was no need to reach Yanmen, so Qiao Yan took over halfway.
Also taken away by her were the horses that pulled the cart.
It was difficult for the envoy sent by Budugen to tell whether Qiao Yan's move of taking over was intentional or not from her natural action, and he was still in a confused state when Qiao Yan pulled him to admire the stone tablet in the pool.
"After I leave, this place should not be destroyed, right?" Qiao Yan asked, pointing at the words on the stone tablet.
The messenger shook his head quickly.
If they really dare to do so, given Marquis Qiao's temper, there's no guarantee that she wouldn't carve the words on their faces next time.
What's more, it is only placed here and not in their royal court. As the victorious party, Qiao Yan can naturally do so.
"Well, let's go!"
Upon hearing that this evil star was finally going back to the south of Yinshan Mountain, the messenger instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
He watched as the 6,000-man army headed south, carrying the bodies of their compatriots who had died in the battle, the cattle and sheep that were originally in the transit station, and all these dead and living tributes.
Seeing the other party's figure fading away, he felt that although he had lost some carriages and horses, he had finally fulfilled the instructions of Budugen Chanyu.
I just hope that this autumn's tribute can really bring peace between the two sides...right?
Of course Qiao Yan is still very trustworthy!
The Xianbei people, led by Budugen, are currently her main producers of cattle, sheep and horses. There is no way she would do anything like draining the pond to catch all the fish at this moment.
After four days of slow travel after leaving Sayinshanda, she finally arrived at the border between Yanmen County and the outside of the Great Wall.
Since these brave generals were taken to the frontier by Qiao Yan, Yanmen Governor Guo Yu simply came here in person to guard the place.
However, what surprised Qiao Yan was that it was okay for this man to come to guard the pass by himself, but what did it mean that he brought his own six-year-old son with him?
The little boy looked at the soldiers who were covered in dust and dirt, and then at the herds of cattle and sheep they brought back, his eyes brightened surprisingly.
After being lifted up by Zhang Yang so that he could see the long line more clearly, he did not feel any fear. Instead, he pulled Zhang Yang's beard and asked, "Uncle, were those with only bones left eaten by you on the road?"
Qiao Yan heard his question clearly and replied without any guilt for deceiving the child, "Yes, these are the expenses on our march. We can bring them back and plant them in the fields to have new cattle and sheep."
"..." Guo Yu really wanted to say, although Lord Qiao, you are indeed only fourteen or fifteen years old this year, you don't need to be so childish.
But when he thought that this was the first victory after Bingzhou had taken the initiative to attack after years of invasion by the barbarians, he, as a Bingzhou native, should have felt very excited about this, and he was unable to speak for a moment.
He then heard Qiao Yan ask, "Grandmaster Guo, do you have any wine and meat for the soldiers?"
"Yes! Of course!" Guo Yu replied hurriedly.
They had been on the march for a month, and even though they knew that with Qiao Yan and the accompanying general's abilities, nothing would probably happen, they still felt uneasy if there was no news from them.
The climate outside the Great Wall, the possibility of getting lost, and the predatory nature of the Xianbei barbarians, how could people not worry about accidents?
Fortunately, they returned with results, and it was obvious that they did not experience too many hard battles. It was just because of the environment outside the pass that they all looked a lot thinner. This was the best result!
Even though Qiao Yan hasn't mentioned the real results they have achieved in this expedition, the soldiers who risked their lives in this battle should be rewarded with good wine and meat!
As early as when Qiao Yan left Yanmen, he had people put the wine in the warehouse of the provincial capital, and now is the time to put it to use.
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "Well, let the soldiers wash up and go to the training ground. I will write a letter and you can send it to Taiyuan to report the victory."
Not to mention these soldiers, even in this expeditionary force, Qiao Yan, as the commander-in-chief, naturally enjoyed the best treatment. At this moment, he felt like he was covered with a layer of sand and dust.
The Yinshan Mountains' blocking effect on wind and sand is indeed... quite obvious.
After she washed and changed into comfortable clothes, many grills and wine jars had already been set up on the parade ground, as she had previously instructed the soldiers to celebrate freely and without waiting for her.
Earlier, when they were recuperating in the Sayinshanda base, even though they had already achieved victory, Qiao Yan had no intention of letting anyone use the wine stored by the Hu people to celebrate, in order to prevent them from being attacked by the enemy while they were slacking off.
But now I can get drunk without restraint.
However, the most striking sound Qiao Yan heard here was made by Lu Bu after he drank two jars of wine.
He had previously reported to her what had happened during the pursuit of Kuitou. Now that he had heard the news of Kuitou's death from Budugen's envoy, he had even more room to brag.
Qiao Yan could not help laughing when he heard this fellow, who was very good at storytelling, describing the throwing of the Fang Tian Hua Ji as him shouting "I am Lü Fengxian from Wuyuan" while throwing it out.
Lu Bu was just talking about drawing his bow and drawing his arrow during the pursuit when he suddenly heard a voice of "Come on". He quickly looked in the direction of the voice and saw Qiao Yan throwing a jar of wine towards him, and he quickly caught it.
However, when he tilted his head back, he almost choked.
This was completely different in strength from the wine he had drunk before.
The soldiers around who had just heard Lu Bu's bragging burst into laughter. “Lu Fengxian, this is not okay. How can a Wuyuan hero not even hold back a sip of wine?”
Lu Bu had no words to express his pain.
According to modern classification methods, the alcohol in this era is at most 25 or 26 degrees. Even the so-called strong liquor is only in this category.
But the jar that Qiao Hou suddenly presented to him was much more than that.
He looked towards Qiao Yan and couldn't help but start to wonder if he had been too complacent just now, which led to him being punished by Qiao Hou.
"Heroes also deserve strong liquor. Any problem?" Qiao Yan raised his eyebrows.
This seems to be true.
Lu Bu recovered from the burning sensation in his throat and felt that only this wine could live up to the heroic spirit of the people of Bingzhou.
At most, it was because Qiao Hou did not inform him in advance, which almost made him look bad.
How could he know that Qiao Yan was actually planning to promote him so that he would be loyal to her, but at the same time she would have to suppress his arrogance appropriately to prevent him from being too cocky.
But now was the time when the battle was just over, so it was not appropriate to abandon him after he had done his job, so he was just given a mouthful of Shaodaozi first.
This is really a serious way of burning knives.
The nine times of adding materials to the fermentation method earlier helped Jinyang Wang's winery to optimize its wine quality. Qiao Yan himself also retained some winemaking business in Leping.
After she established her independent workshop in the mountains, she had enough manpower and could start researching some things.
For example, alcohol.
But before the distillation technology with the approximate effect described by Qiao Yan developed to a certain level, distilled liquor was still produced first.
As soon as distilled liquor came out, sorghum liquor was also put into production. 2
This crop was introduced from the Silk Road and is only grown on a small scale in Bingzhou, but the importance of sorghum to distilled liquor is unquestionable.
This is the strong liquor that Lu Bu now has in his hand.
Qiao Yan sat down on the platform of the training ground, pointed at the wine in Lu Bu's hand and said, "I only left this jar here before leaving Yanmen to go to war, as a reward for the one who has made the most outstanding contributions in this battle. Shouldn't you finish it?"
Just this one jar?
Then he had to drink it all even if he had to grit his teeth!
But there is a reason why Shaodaozi with an alcohol content of 70 to 80 degrees can be called the strongest liquor. Even though Lu Bu believes that he can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk on a normal day, he will now be knocked down by a jar of wine.
Qiao Yan waved his hand and asked someone to carry Lu Bu away.
She pointed to the secretary in the camp and said, "Tell Lü Fengxian to write this down and put a jar of it down at the celebration banquet."
There was another burst of cheerful laughter on the training ground.
If the knocked-down Lu Bu had known this would happen earlier, he should have chosen to share the wine.
However, Qiao Yan had no intention of selling the sorghum wine for money. She was still waiting to continue using alcohol or strong liquor to disinfect. Probably, apart from Lu Bu, no one else would have this treatment in the short term.
Qiao Yan had already raised the pot of wine prepared by Guo Yu in his hand and said to the people below: "Everyone, I always keep things short before I leave, and I will do the same today."
"I won't come back until I'm drunk!"
This sentence is indeed short enough, but for these soldiers who are celebrating their victory, it is the perfect slogan to start the movement.
The one-month march outside the Great Wall completely eliminated the remaining childishness on Qiao Yan's face, and the sharpness in her eyes and eyebrows became more prominent.
But for these Yanmen soldiers, this sharpness does not make them feel unfriendly. On the contrary, it is the mark of going on an expedition with them.
Don’t go home until you are drunk!
The young governor sitting on the stage raised the jar of wine from afar. In the gradually darkening sky, it seemed that only the silhouette of the action could be seen clearly. However, in the light of the bonfires around her, she seemed to be the brightest beam.
"Drink this cup with me!"
This is the glory of victory!
By the time Lu Bu got up with a splitting headache, it was already noon the next day.
Upon hearing that Qiao Yan had already rushed back to the provincial capital on horseback, he was petrified on the spot.
Fortunately, someone brought him a message on behalf of Qiao Yan, asking him to continue to sit in the position of Bingcao Yuan of Yanmen County. After she reported her military exploits to Luoyang truthfully and received a reply, his position would naturally be transferred.
Lu Bu immediately turned over and sat up.
After hearing that the cattle, sheep and horses confiscated from the Xianbei had been temporarily raised in Baidaochuan, he became even more excited.
Qiao Houcheng never lied to me!
No matter whether he had completely recovered from his drunkenness, he just picked up the Fang Tian Hua Ji and went to patrol the Great Wall.
Even though he was facing a wall covered with weeds, it did not dampen his enthusiasm.
Qiao Yan had indeed already started writing the memorial to be sent to the capital.
However, how to write this letter still requires some consideration.
Just like when she requested permission to send troops, she rounded up the number of people going out of the border. At this time, under the premise of maximizing her interests, this battle report also needed to integrate and change some information.
For example, the "tribute" thing she had thought of earlier.
So she wrote in this memorial.
In order to avoid being detected by the Xianbei scouts, she chose to cross the Yinshan Mountains from Baidaokou, killed the Xianbei noble Fuluohan at Saiyinshanda, and attached his head as evidence with the document.
However, she was on an expedition to the frontier, so how could she have the time to bring lime to preserve the head? Although the north was cold, by this time, Fuluo Han's head was already in a somewhat unrecognizable state.
The purpose of presenting this gift respectfully is to let Liu Hong see my attitude, so I have to give it to him anyway.
She went on to write that the time she spent on this journey to the Xianbei royal court was much longer than the time she spent going straight to Saynshanda.
Of course, this is true in terms of distance, but how Liu Hong understands it is another matter.
For example, it would be fine to understand that she was lost in the frontier for a while and then slightly embellish the words.
This also leaves room for her next trip.
The next paragraph mentions the results of the battle.
During this march of "10,000 people", they killed 4,000 Xianbei frontline soldiers at Sayinshand and caused chaos in the Xianbei royal court in front of the Duluo River. About 2,000 Xianbei people died in this battle. Among them, the son of the previous Xianbei Chanyu fled far away to Liaodong, and the current Chanyu Kuitou died after being seriously injured.
With this deterrent, the Xianbei will definitely not dare to invade the border this year, so we can ensure peace during the winter. If necessary, she can do it again next year.
[This time, they looted 8,000 Xianbei cattle and sheep, of which 5,000 were grazed on the Baidao River, and 1,000 were given as rewards to the accompanying soldiers. 】
In fact, the thousand were originally debris and were to be used as fertilizer, but Liu Hong didn't know this. Including the thousand cattle and sheep grazing at Saynshand, the total number is eight thousand, which sounds more impressive.
Otherwise, people might suspect why she only brought these back.
Qiao Yan held the pen and looked at the words on the book in front of him. The words were more vigorous and powerful than before, and he felt they were more convincing.
Then she wrote, [In the battle of Sayinshanda, Lu Fengxian, a military official of Yanmen County, fought bravely and beheaded Fuluohan, and he deserves a heavy reward. When the Xianbei people heard his name, they were frightened. Please allow him to be the commander of Yunzhong County. Set up a pass at the entrance of the army to prevent the barbarians from going south. Order him to be the general guarding the pass to ensure that the mountain pass is not lost.
This was her promise to Lu Bu.
Finally, a little cliché -
[I am able to return in triumph, fortunately for the important task entrusted to me by Your Majesty. I would like to engrave this on a stone tablet with the four characters “皇威弘” (imperial majesty) to show Your Majesty’s majesty on the frontier.
I hereby submit this memorial to your attention. 】
After the last word of the memorial was finalized, Qiao Yan sent it to the capital by express horse, and it soon appeared on Liu Hong's desk.
"Bai Daochuan..."
Liu Hong muttered the place name mentioned by Qiao Yan.
Based on his understanding that Bingzhou was a wild and desolate place, he naturally could not imagine how high the grain yield could be if the land here was reclaimed.
He also really followed Qiao Yan's idea that "Since we are sending troops at Baidaokou, we might as well set up a strong defense town at Baidaokou as a warning to the Xianbei."
If it is for this reason—
There was no need for Liu Hong to reject her suggestion of setting up a pass.
Including the official position of the captain, it was just a reward that he could approve at will, and there was really nothing to pay much attention to.
But there is more than just no need to refuse!
After receiving this letter from Qiao Yan, he was definitely more happy than surprised.
The battle record given by Qiao Yan was indeed not shocking.
In the past, General Wei and Huo Huoqi fought a decisive battle in Mobei, and both won the battle in one fell swoop. Later, General Dou inscribed the stone tablet at Yanran. This time, Qiao Yan could only say that he dealt a head-on blow to the Xianbei, forcing them not to rashly invade the border.
Even compared with General Duan, Qiao Yan's actions seemed to lack some ferocity.
But when compared with the rebellions in Liangzhou and Youzhou which had not yet been quelled by April of the fifth year of Zhongping, Qiao Yan was even able to spare time to disperse the Xianbei forces while handling Bingzhou's internal affairs to ensure that Bingzhou would not be invaded this winter. Her political achievements as the youngest governor were even more outstanding.
This undoubtedly also proves that there was really no problem with the decision he made last year.
Qiao Yan is the most suitable candidate to take over the position of Bingzhou Mu!
As spring progressed, the illness in Liu Hong's body faded a little, making him feel that he could live a few more years.
Therefore, he first gave up the idea of choosing a minister to entrust Liu Xie with his care as soon as possible. At this time, he even felt that Qiao Yan, the sharp knife in Bingzhou, was unsheathed and slashed at the Huns, which was a good sign that he could still make progress.
What's wrong with her just wanting to build a new city in Baidaochuan!
He looked at the memorial for a long time, because he liked calligraphy and was naturally pleased with Qiao Yan's progress.
Just before the battle, the frontier was stained by wind and frost, which gave rise to the feeling of sharp edge revealed in such a depiction.
OK! This is his most loyal and trusted minister.
He never realized that his good health in the gradually warming sun was just an appearance, and the truly fatal disease was already lurking in his vitals and could not be cured by any medicine.
At this time, he simply asked the eunuch beside him to grind ink for him, and then he picked up his pen and wrote a letter of approval.
The edict arrived in Jinyang a few days later.
Within a month after Qiao Yan left Bingzhou, many matters had already been settled in the winter, and with many talented officials in the state to manage government affairs, all matters went on as usual.
Perhaps the only thing that was a little unusual was that she was the core of the team's operation. During her temporary absence, even Jia Xu, who wanted to just sit back and relax in his current position, had sensed the unusual atmosphere in the provincial government.
He even felt for no reason that he was a little uncomfortable because he had not received any assignments from Qiao Yan during that month.
Fortunately, the governor of Bingzhou who went on the expedition personally returned safely. Although no one in the provincial government said anything overly sentimental, their concerns for her were reflected in their every move.
What moved Qiao Yan the most was that Cheng Yu was simply a model worker in handling logistical affairs. Except for the memorials from the governors of prefectures and counties that had to be approved by her, he had almost cleared up everything for her.
Before the emperor's envoy came to Bingzhou to announce the decree, Qiao Yan even found time to go to the fields to make sure that the improvements in fertilizers and farming tools had indeed brought about real changes in Bingzhou's farming.
It was Bi Lan who received the order to announce the imperial decree this time.
Seeing that Qiao Yan's hair was still stained with grass debris when he was invited back to the provincial capital, he couldn't help but think of the dragon bone cart that Qiao Yan had asked him to develop earlier, and smiled a little.
This Lord Qiao... is really unusual.
But it was no coincidence that she was able to get the position of Marquis of Leping when he announced the decree last time, and that His Majesty also issued an order this time.
Thinking that Qiao Yan was now regarded as a trusted minister by Liu Hong, Bi Lan put on a friendly look towards her again before she began to read.
"Bingzhou Mu Qiao Yan listens to the decree—"
Qiao Yan was completely caught off guard by this sudden decree.
She originally thought that all she needed to do was get a permission reply from Liu Hong, but she never expected that even the military exploits she reported to Xiaoli were the only good news Liu Hong received this year.
Because of this, he must also show a commendatory attitude to the outside world.
A recognition that is not too excessive but is also significant enough.
"According to the will of Heaven and the time, I accept this mandate"
"On April 7, the fifth year of Zhongping... an imperial edict was issued to Qiao Yan, governor of Bingzhou."
"When you were invaded by foreign powers and insulted by domestic forces, you fought against the barbarians with your weapons and spears. You held high positions and commanded the people. Your power was so great that it extended to the remote areas. Your purple palace was like scales, and your light flowed to the border. Although you are young, you still have the ambition to join the army. You are short of soldiers and have to fight against the evil of the felt and fur coat. I hope you will govern with all your heart and overcome the foreign difficulties. I specially appoint you as the general who suppresses the enemy. I respect you!"
When Qiao Yan raised his eyes, there was a look of astonishment on his face.
The General!
Even though this was a general of miscellaneous title, there were generals of four directions, four expeditions and four garrisons above him, but in today's world where the title of general was not yet rampant, this was still a rare honor!
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