The prince was very happy to have solved a major problem. After returning to the East Palace, he immediately wrote a letter and sent it to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, now the Duke of Ying. Then he summoned the staff in the palace to the study to discuss how to distribute these captives so as not to cause unrest.
After the Minister of Revenue returned, he began to pack his bags, and a group of officials in the Honglu Temple also received the imperial edict. Although they had to go to the border, this was a negotiation with a defeated country, and as long as they didn't make any mistakes, they could get some credit, so they were all very happy.
On the second day, the Minister of Revenue, seen off by the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and all the civil and military officials, led a group of officials from the Honglu Temple on the journey to the border.
By the time the Minister of Revenue and his entourage arrived at the border, it was already the end of February. Duke Ying and his generals stood at the city gate to greet them. Marquis Zhenyuan looked at the officials who looked a little embarrassed and said with concern: "It's bitterly cold at this border, thank you all for making this trip."
The Minister of Revenue cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, you are too kind. How can we compare to the hard work of the soldiers?"
The Duke of England smiled and said, "We have prepared accommodation for you all. If you have anything to say, it won't be too late to talk about it after you have rested."
The Minister of Revenue nodded and said, "Thank you, Duke Ying for your kindness."
The Duke of England led the way and said, "My Lords, please follow me."
The adults followed the Duke of England to a courtyard. The Duke of England said, "The dinner is ready. The adults should take a rest, take a bath and change clothes. We will welcome you in the evening."
The Minister of Revenue said, "I'm sorry to trouble Duke Yingguo." After a few more pleasantries, the Duke Yingguo led the generals back to the commander-in-chief's residence.
The dinner was lively with clinking glasses.
During the banquet, the Minister of State asked the Duke of Ying, "Who is General An Yongan?"
The Duke of England pointed to the young general sitting in the back and said, "This is General An."
The Minister of Revenue said, "An Yong has a promising future. You may not know this, but his father and sister have grown winter wheat and a wheat yield of 800 kilograms per mu. His sister has also invented a method of refining rock salt into fine salt. The emperor attaches great importance to these two people and has conferred them the title of Rongchang Earl and Yongjia County Lady."
The Duke of England thought about it carefully and only remembered an honest middle-aged man and a beautiful woman. An idea suddenly occurred to him. He thought that the wheat seeds that were still in the granary because they missed the planting season were collected by An Yong's sister and father when they came to visit. But there were no caravans during that period. How did they transport them here without anyone noticing?
The Minister of Revenue saw the Duke of England frowning in thought and called out, "Duke of England?"
The Duke of England came to his senses and said, "I met this father and daughter some time ago. They looked quite ordinary. It's true that you can't judge a person by his appearance, and you can't measure the depth of the sea by a bucket!"
The Minister of Revenue nodded and said, "That's true."
After talking about these things, everyone started to clink glasses and the banquet did not end until the afternoon.
The next day, Duke Ying prepared an incense table and led a group of generals to stand in the yard waiting to receive the order.
This time, there was no eunuch delivering the imperial edict, but the Minister of Revenue. The first imperial edict was to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, now the Duke of Ying. The Minister of Revenue read aloud: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: The Marquis of Zhenyuan fought bravely and won a great victory, which is commendable. He is conferred the title of Duke of Ying, with a fief of 3,000 households and 10,000 taels of gold. This decree is announced to the world, so that everyone can hear it. I decree this."
The Duke of England said, "I accept your order."
The second imperial edict was for An Yong. The Minister of Revenue read out: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, declares: General Dingyuan An Yong is resourceful and has made meritorious contributions by offering advice. He also captured the leader of the northern barbarians and made invaluable contributions. He is hereby appointed as the Fourth Rank General of Loyalty and Martial Arts, and is awarded 100 taels of gold and 1,000 taels of silver. This is my decree."
An Yong said, "I will accept the order." Then he took the imperial edict with both hands.
After reading the imperial edicts from Duke Yingguo and An Yong, several more imperial edicts were read out in succession, all of which were edicts promoting the generals.
After the imperial edict was read out in full, the Duke of England brought the Minister of Revenue to the conference room to discuss matters.
After the Duke of Ying and the Minister of Revenue went to the meeting room, the generals in the courtyard walked out while congratulating each other. General Li patted An Yong on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, you can't escape this feast now. When will you treat us to a drink?"
An Yong smiled and said, "Okay, we'll have a banquet at my house tomorrow. Everyone come, and we won't leave until we're drunk." The generals left the commander-in-chief's mansion chatting and laughing.
The border negotiations were proceeding step by step, while An Ning was preparing to go to the border.
It is already the end of February, and there are only more than three months left until An Yong's wedding. Now that they have little An Rui, they will spend more time on the road, and they will also have to help with all the affairs of the wedding when they arrive, so the An family decided to set off early.
An Ning's uncle is taking care of household affairs, so the An family feels relieved, and maybe he can even come back in time to harvest the wheat.
After they made up their minds, they went to Gao's parents' home again. When they arrived, Cui was about to go out. She saw the mule cart of the An family parked at the door, but she didn't go out either. She said enthusiastically: "Brother-in-law is here, where are Yingniang and the others?"
An Ning pulled open the car curtain and said with a smile, "Aunt, we are all here. Are you going out now?"
Cui smiled and said, "Go and give some gifts to your uncle and his family. Your uncle said Yunfu is getting married soon and wants to make more money. He is now working in the town with a few people."
Gao said, "Sister-in-law, please come back first. We have something to discuss with you."
When Cui saw the men coming, she didn't plan to go to town anymore. She agreed verbally, then helped open the gate and let An Dashan drive the mule cart in.
After entering the yard, An Ning helped Gao get off the carriage, and they went straight into the main hall. The rest of the Gao family also heard that An Dashan and his men had arrived, and they all came to the main hall. Wang said, "I heard you say you had something to discuss, but what happened?"
Gao said, "Mom, Dayong's wedding day is coming soon, and we are thinking of getting ready to go to the border in the next few days."
Cui was straightforward and said, "Are you going so early?"
Gao nodded and said, "It's not too early. With little An Rui here, it will take more time on the road. Besides, she is a daughter of an official family, so we have to prepare well and must not neglect her."
Wang nodded and said, "That's right. Do you need any help this time?"
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