Since entering Yecheng, An Dashan and his men have been highly focused, fearing that they would encounter robbers on the road, but they did not see any robbers even when they reached Juyongguan. An Dashan was very surprised. When he was a soldier here a few years ago, the bandit problem was very serious, and there were even bandits who went to the village to rob in broad daylight. At that time, there were northern barbarians outside and bandits inside, and the people were really living in misery.
An Dashan couldn't help but stop a man in his thirties and asked, "Brother, excuse me for interrupting you. I have something to ask you."
The man was kind-hearted and said, "You said that I would tell you everything I know."
An Dashan said, "I remember when I came here a few years ago, the bandit problem here was very serious. Some bandits often dared to come out to rob in broad daylight. How come we haven't seen a single bandit along the way?"
The man laughed and said, "You may not know this, but since the new commander of Juyongguan, Zhenyuan Hou, came here, he found that there was a serious bandit problem here and the people were living in poverty. After repelling the northern barbarians, he sent a team of soldiers to suppress the bandits. The bandits were no match for these soldiers. Some were suppressed and some escaped. No bandits dared to cause trouble within the jurisdiction of Yecheng anymore."
When An Dashan heard this, he suddenly realized what was going on. However, he thought of something else and asked, "I remember that Zhenyuan Hou was the commander-in-chief of Juyong Pass before. How could Zhenyuan Hou be the new commander-in-chief?"
The man did not keep the secret and said, "You don't know yet, do you? The new Zhenyuan Marquis is the son of the old Zhenyuan Marquis, that is, the former Zhenyuan Marquis's son, who used to be in the capital. Last time, the Zhenyuan Marquis returned to the court in triumph, and asked for an imperial decree to confer the title of Zhenyuan Marquis on his son in advance. Then he retired to his hometown to enjoy his old age. This time when the Northern Barbarians attacked, the Emperor asked the new Zhenyuan Marquis to be the commander-in-chief. Unexpectedly, the new Zhenyuan Marquis is a capable man. He won a great victory as soon as he arrived, and in the following times he even penetrated deep into the heart of the Northern Barbarians, forcing the Northern Barbarians to retreat thirty miles. However, this year, the Northern Barbarians have suffered from natural disasters and poor harvests, and they are ready to make a move again."
An Dashan got what he wanted to know, bowed and said, "Thank you, brother."
The man waved his hand nonchalantly and left. An Ning also heard what the man said in the car and felt that the Marquis of Zhenyuan was not bad and was a person who cared about the people.
An Dashan drove a mule cart to the home of a former friend. This friend was from Juyongguan. At that time, he and An Dashan were in the same camp. The two had a good relationship. Later, An Dashan saved his life on the battlefield. From then on, the man insisted on becoming An Dashan's sworn brother. Later, An Dashan returned to his hometown, while he stayed in the army and has now become a lieutenant.
An Dashan felt that he could not go empty-handed, so he went to buy a lot of pastries and gifts first. After buying things, he drove the mule cart to Zheng Rong's home.
An Dashan arrived at his door and knocked. The door creaked open. A man in his fifties opened the door. He didn't recognize the man, so he asked, "Excuse me, who are you looking for?"
An Dashan didn't recognize the person who opened the door, so he asked, "Excuse me, is this Zheng Rong's home?" The old man nodded and said, "Yes, who are you? Do you want to talk to my master?"
When An Dashan heard that this was still Zheng Rong's home, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My name is An Dashan, and I'm Zheng Rong's sworn brother. Can you please help pass the message on for me, old man?"
After hearing this, the old man said, "My master has gone to the military camp, and my wife is at home. Please wait a moment, I will go and tell her."
After saying that, without waiting for An Dashan to speak, he closed the door and went inside to pass the message. After waiting for a while, the old man came back, followed by a woman about thirty years old. She saw An Dashan standing in front of the door and said, "Brother An, it's really you. I didn't believe it when I heard Uncle Fu coming to pass the message just now."
An Dashan greeted the woman and called out, "Sister-in-law."
The woman saw the people behind An Dashan and said quickly, "Come in and talk. You must be exhausted from the journey!"
As he was talking, he led a few people into the yard. When they arrived at the main hall, An Dashan introduced them: "Sister-in-law, this is my wife, this is my eldest uncle, and this is my daughter."
After the introduction, An Dashan said, "Sister-in-law, this time I came to ask Brother Zheng for help."
Zheng Rong's wife said, "Brother An, your words are too polite. You saved my old Zheng's life. If you have something to say, just tell me directly."
An Dashan said, "My eldest son, An Yong, joined the army years ago. We are really worried about him, so we wanted to come and see him. I would like to ask Brother Zheng to help find him so that we can meet him."
Zheng Rong's wife said, "That's not difficult. Although the situation is tense now, every soldier has one day off every month. When my old Zheng finds him, he will bring him out for you to meet."
An Dashan said, "Then I'll have to trouble my sister-in-law to tell her that we can find an inn to stay at first."
Zheng Rong's wife said, "Brother An, you are slapping your brother in the face! Now that you are at my house, how can I let you move out? Although my house is not big, there are still rooms available. Don't leave for the next few days, just stay at my house."
An Dashan was a little embarrassed and said, "Let's not bother you anymore. We can just stay in the inn outside for a few days."
Zheng Rong's wife said firmly, "No, Brother An, you just listen to me, otherwise Old Zheng will blame me when he comes back."
An Dashan had no choice but to agree and said, "Then I'm sorry to bother my sister-in-law."
Zheng Rong's wife laughed heartily and said, "That's right. You've been running around for a few days and you're all tired. I'll arrange for someone to take you to rest for a while. When Old Zheng comes back in the evening, I'll hold a welcoming banquet for you."
An Dashan and his companions stood up, bowed, and followed the servants to rest. Zheng Rong's wife was very thoughtful and prepared hot water for them. An Ning and his companions took a comfortable bath, then took a short rest before going back to the main hall.
In the evening, Zheng Rong came back. Hearing Uncle Fu report that someone named An Dashan had come, he immediately strode to the main hall. Seeing An Dashan, he laughed and walked to An Dashan's side. An Dashan also stood up, and the two punched each other. Zheng Rong said, "Brother An, you missed me so much. I thought I would never see you again in this life."
An Dashan also smiled and said, "I also thought I would never see you again in this life." Then he introduced the three Gao family members to Zheng Rong.
After they greeted each other, they sat down again. Zheng Rong asked, "Brother An, what is the matter with you coming to Juyongguan this time?"
An Dashan told the story from beginning to end again. After listening, Zheng Rong said angrily: "Why don't you let your nephew come to me? Although I am not a high-ranking official, I can still take care of him."
An Dashan could only say: "He left in a hurry, and I didn't have time to explain these things to him. I only told him how to save his life on the battlefield."
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