In July of the second year of the Chuping era (191 AD), the nameless little mountain village welcomed a large number of special guests.
"Elder, elder, something terrible has happened, something terrible has happened..." In the morning, a man who had gone out to work in the fields ran back to the village as fast as he could, shouting incessantly.
"What's wrong?" Hearing the man's exclamation, the villagers who had gotten up early to work gathered around. The villagers inside the houses also came out.
Upon hearing the exclamation, the village elder rushed over and asked the man who had cried out, "Old Wu, what happened?"
Upon seeing the clan elder in charge, the man quickly said, "Elder, several thousand soldiers have arrived outside the village. They are all wearing armor and carrying weapons. They are already approaching the village."
"What... several thousand soldiers."
"Why would soldiers come here..."
Hearing the man's words, the villagers panicked. Some even ran home, preparing to pack their belongings and hide in the mountains. Regardless of the era, war is one of the most feared things.
The clan elder quickly instructed, "Quickly, inform every household to pack up their important belongings, take some food, and hide in the mountains. Send someone to tell the family in the grove and the child who went to learn to read to quickly hide in the mountains. These soldiers are just passing through; they can hide for a few days."
Upon hearing this, the remaining villagers hurriedly dispersed, notifying their respective households to pack up their belongings.
"Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up..." While the villagers were still frantically packing their belongings, more than ten cavalrymen had already ridden into the village along the path. The lead cavalryman, seeing the panicked villagers, shouted loudly, "Villagers, do not panic! I am Xiahou Yuan, a general under Cao Cao, and I have no ill intentions here."
"General," the clan elder said cautiously as he approached Xiahou Yuan, "what brings you to our humble village?"
Seeing the clan elder approach, Xiahou Yuan asked, "I ask you, does Lord Dingshan Marquis reside here?"
"Marquis Dingshan?" Upon hearing this, the clan elder, who had also heard of the Marquis Dingshan's great name, quickly said, "General, there is no Marquis Dingshan here, not even an official. How could the Marquis Dingshan live in our small village?"
"No, could it be that we've come to the wrong place?" Xiahou Yuan asked, puzzled. This was the correct address. He then asked the clan elder, "Tell me, is this Wu Family Village?"
"General Xiahou." Just as Xiahou Yuan was wondering, Zhang Shan, who had returned ahead of schedule after informing Cao Cao, rushed over from the mountain residence. Under the surprised gazes of the clan elders and villagers, he said, "General Xiahou, my lord heard that soldiers were coming and specially sent me to greet them. My lord said that the soldiers should not damage the scenery of the nearby mountains, disturb the villagers, or disturb my lord's peace."
"It's General Zhang Shan." Upon seeing Zhang Shan, Xiahou Yuan quickly dismounted and sat down, then instructed a cavalryman beside him: "Notify my brother Xiahou Dun to have the rear guard wait on the spot, only gather firewood from the mountains for cooking, so as not to spoil the mountain scenery, strictly control the soldiers, and not to disturb the villagers."
"Yes." A cavalryman accepted the order and quickly rode his horse toward the rear guard.
"General Xiahou, please follow me." Seeing that Xiahou Yuan had given the order, Zhang Shan gestured and said. He then led Xiahou Yuan and more than ten cavalrymen, leading their horses, toward the grove.
The villagers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Xiahou Yuan and the cavalry leave with Zhang Shan. At the same time, they were all shocked. No one had expected that Wang Han, who lived in seclusion in the grove, was actually the famous Marquis of Dingshan.
Over the past year, Marquis Dingshan proposed at Sishui Pass to control the harm of war to the people, and took the lead in having the feudal lords swear an oath together, which was widely circulated and deeply admired by the people in various places.
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Xiahou Yuan followed Zhang Shan into the courtyard built in the woods, where he saw Wang Han studying Go alone while waiting. Li Si and Zhao Lao were waiting beside Wang Han. Xiahou Yuan quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Xiahou Yuan greets Lord Dingshan. After Lord Dingshan left, my lord has been thinking of you. Unfortunately, my lord was preoccupied with important matters and was unable to visit you in person. He is truly sorry and has sent me to fetch new grain seeds, along with a pair of white jade pieces and some gifts to thank Lord Dingshan."
"General Xiahou, there's no need for such formalities." Wang Han put down the chessboard and said, "How has Lord Cao been lately? I recently heard that you have become the Governor of Yangzhou, but I haven't had a chance to congratulate you yet."
(Although Wang Han lived in seclusion, he still maintained contact with the outside world, and Zhang Shan returned early to bring back the intelligence given to him by Xi Zhicai.)
"Lord Dingshan is very kind. My lord will surely be delighted when he finds out." Xiahou Yuan quickly replied, then eagerly asked, "Lord Dingshan, where are the new grain seeds now? Can they be retrieved now?" This matter was of great importance, as it could solve the food problem for the people and soldiers, so Xiahou Yuan had no choice but to act quickly.
"Old Zhao, take General Xiahou to the fields first. Select three-tenths of an acre of potatoes and have General Xiahou send people to dig them up and take them away. Also, teach him how to plant, preserve, and eat them," Wang Han instructed Old Zhao. Then he said to Xiahou Yuan, "General Xiahou, there aren't many new grain seeds. After taking them back, we'll need to plant them for several more seasons to expand the planting area. Also, please tell your lord that I need a few renowned doctors. Ask him to help me find some."
"Thank you, Lord Xie Dingshan. Xiahou Yuan will remember this (I won't write their courtesy names to avoid confusion). I will tell my lord when I get back." Xiahou Yuan quickly thanked him, then led more than ten soldiers behind him and followed Old Zhao to the potato field. He also sent someone to summon the farmers who had accompanied the army and delivered gifts for Wang Han.
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