Four years later

"Second brother, second brother!" An excited shout came from far away along with the sound of hurried footsteps. Even before seeing the person, just by hearing the voice, one can picture in one's mind an image of a happy young man.

Yuan Sikong was lying on a pile of neatly-stacked straw, reading a book. The dry straw, which had been exposed to the sun all day, was warm and gave off a green and simple scent that was very soothing to the nose. His eyes were still fixed on the yellowed pages, without blinking, and he replied lazily, "Here."

The next moment, a young man in a blue shirt rushed into the stable, ran to the straw pile in a few steps, and flipped over it neatly, with the straw pile only shaking slightly. His movements were so agile that it showed that he was very stable.

"Second brother!" The young man pounced on Yuan Sikong and moved his eyes to the book in his hand, "'Yiwenzhi'... What evil book are you reading?" He stretched out his hand to snatch it.

"What kind of evil book is this? It's a book of Yin and Yang." Yuan Sikong pulled his claws away.

The young man snorted: "You force me to recite Confucius and Mencius every day, but you have the leisure to read these books."

"Have you memorized it?" Yuan Sikong sat up and stared at the boy's pretty face with a serious look, and was a little absent-minded for a moment. Even though so many years have passed, sometimes he still couldn't help but sigh, how could they look so similar when they were clearly not related by blood.

Sitting on the pile of straw were two young men of similar age, similar looks, and even dressed in blue. They looked as if they were cast from the same mold, except that their temperaments were very different: one was full of youthful innocence, while the other was steady beyond his age.

This young man is the most beloved youngest son of the Yuan family - Yuan Nanyu.

Yuan Nanyu sneered: "I memorized it."

"Really? Let me test you..."

"Oh, second brother." Yuan Nanyu said coquettishly, "I haven't remembered it yet. I'll do it next time."

"You're carrying a ghost." Yuan Sikong cursed with a smile. He tugged at Yuan Nanyu's clothes and said, "How many times have I told you not to dress the same as me?"

"You left the house before daybreak, how would I know what you were wearing." Yuan Nanyufu became excited again, "Second brother, Mr. Li's family in the south of the city is marrying off their daughter today, it's so lively. Wow, there are huge boxes made of purple nanmu wood, it takes two strong men to carry them, and there are a total of 16 boxes of dowry! Dad is going to have a drink later, there must be a lot of delicious food, let's go together."

"No, it's not like we're getting married." Yuan Sikong said, "You should read more books and practice martial arts when you have time, and don't always go to join in the fun."

"Dad, don't you want to join in the fun?"

"Nonsense, are you going to join in the fun? Last year, Mr. Li donated 2,000 winter clothes to the soldiers. This year, we need to repair the southern city wall and ask the rich and powerful in the state for help. Do you think your father is in the mood to attend the wedding banquet?"

Yuan Nanyu scratched his head, not quite understanding, "Shouldn't the court pay for the purchase of winter clothes and repair of the city walls?"

Yuan Sikong's eyes suddenly turned cold: "The military pay in Liaodong has never been received on time and accurately. If not, my family..." The bitter past emerged in front of him, and he stopped talking in time.

Although Yuan Nanyu was the same age as him, he had the mentality of a complete child. It was useless to talk to him. He was much smarter than his peers, which made him seem like a heretic.

"If you don't go, then I won't go either." Yuan Nanyu said disappointedly, "I'll accompany you to watch the horses."

"The stable is occupied. Neither I nor you need to watch it. Either you go and help your elder brother, or go back and stay with mother."

"I accompany mom every morning and evening. My eldest brother is boring, so I like to be with my second brother." Yuan Nanyu said with a smile, "My father praised you to mom yesterday, saying that you raise horses well."

Yuan Sikong looked at the rows of stables not far away. The horses in the stables were healthy and shiny, and all had good qualities. You could tell at a glance that they were good horses. In the past four years, apart from studying and practicing martial arts, he had spent the most time and effort on these horses. He couldn't help but feel a little proud: "Our horses are from Hebei Road, with Khitan blood. Only good horses can be raised."

Yuan Nanyu seemed to be proud of it: "I also want my second brother to take good care of me."

"It's a pity that my father still won't let me cut open a horse..." Yuan Sikong was quite disappointed.

"Dad said that's against military law."

"Pedant." Yuan Sikong put away the book, "Go back and have dinner."

"Why."

——

At dusk, the two returned home, but saw Yuan Mao in the courtyard. He should have gone to Mr. Li's house to attend the wedding banquet.

Yuan Mao was walking out with a boy of about sixteen or seventeen and talking about something. The boy was handsome and tall, with an imposing manner. He was wearing light armor and looked very heroic.

"Dad?" Yuan Nan asked in surprise, "Why haven't you gone yet?"

"Dad has something to do, you guys go and have dinner." The young man was Yuan Mao's eldest son, Yuan Shaoxu, who had already joined the army.

Yuan Sikong noticed that Yuan Mao's expression was unusual, but he didn't dare to ask more questions and led Yuan Nanyu to the main hall.

"Kong'er." Yuan Mao suddenly called him.

"father."

"Come here, Dad wants to ask you a few questions."

Yuan Sikong walked over.

Yuan Mao had not changed much from four years ago, except that his expression was more resolute and steady: "Kong'er, do you know how many war horses Guangning Guards, including the surrounding counties, can mobilize at most?"

Yuan Sikong was shocked.

Yuan Mao is the garrison commander of Guangning. His biggest responsibility is to guard Guangning City. There are other troops guarding Huangshui. As long as the Jin army does not cross Huangshui, the superiors will not make any deployments. Yuan Mao only needs to store food and train the troops and keep them on standby. But now Yuan Mao asked him about his war horses. Could it be that... this day is finally coming?

After giving up the seven states of Liaobei, Sheng's army retreated to the south of Huangshui River. The court negotiated peace and opened trade, which brought three years of peace. Last year, the situation changed. The Jin people tried to cross the Huangshui River, but were forced back by Sheng's army. In fact, they all knew that this was not a long-term plan. Without the natural defenses of Liaobei, Liaodong was already exposed to the iron cavalry of the Jin people. Midwinter was approaching, and the Huangshui River was about to freeze again, paving the way for the invasion of the Jin people.

Yuan Sikong secretly clenched his fists: "We should be able to mobilize 2,000 good horses."

"Okay, I'll let Xu Hu arrange it, and you can let him choose."

"Dad." Yuan Shaoxu frowned and said, "Kong'er is still young. How can you appoint a child to handle such an important matter?"

"Kong'er has been raising horses for many years. He is good at studying and is better than anyone else in raising horses. He is also very accurate in judging horses. I asked him to follow Xu Hu to gain more experience, but I cannot talk about employing him."

Yuan Sikong listened to his own heart beating wildly: "Dad, is it...the Jin bandits attacking?" He was born in Liaoning and grew up with stories about the Jin people eating human flesh and drinking blood. He also saw the tragic conditions of cities looted by the Jin people, and his family was destroyed because of the Jin people. He was afraid of the Jin people, but his hatred was even stronger.

"Not yet. It was the general of Datong who asked us for horses."

"General of Datong?" Although Yuan Sikong didn't know much about the situation, he had read military books diligently and knew that Datong was still some distance away from them. Guangning was not a good place for breeding horses, and the limited horses were all supplied to Liaoning. It was not Datong Prefecture's turn to ask for them.

"They will enter the city tomorrow. Dad has a lot of things to prepare. We'll talk about it later. Shao Xu, I'm leaving." Yuan Mao said and left in a hurry.

"Brother, what's going on?" Yuan Nanyu grabbed Yuan Shaoxu's sleeve, "Datong is far away from us."

"It's not too far." Yuan Shaoxu's expression was a bit complicated. "Prince Jingyuan led his troops to pursue the defeated Oirat tribe and chased them all the way to Neikar. He was almost ambushed and abandoned his baggage before he escaped unscathed. Now he needs to come to Guangning for supplies, otherwise he can't go back."

Yuan Nanyu was puzzled and asked, "Wouldn't it be closer to go to the capital for supplies?"

"Nonsense." Yuan Shaoxu patted his head. "You don't understand anything. Go eat." After saying that, he chased after Yuan Mao.

After Yuan Shaoxu left, Yuan Nanyu was still confused: "What? Datong is quite far away, right? Second brother, do you understand?"

"Hmm." Yuan Sikong thought as he walked into the house.

The general of Datong is the famous Jingyuan King Feng Jianping, the only king of a different surname in Dasheng. He once worked hard to save the country and turned the tide, making great military achievements for Dasheng. After 20 years of guarding the border, the defense lines of Xuanfu and Datong were as solid as a rock. The Wala fought north and south, expanding their territory with the power of a tiger. It is said that they have even conquered Luosha. However, they have coveted the fertile Central Plains for many years but have not been able to enter, because there is Jingyuan King guarding the border.

Therefore, even if Datong Prefecture wanted to move Guangning City back, let alone horses, the imperial court might agree.

Of course, Prince Jingyuan could not go to the capital for supplies. It was a great taboo for someone with a large army to rashly approach the capital, as that would be considered as a sign of disloyalty.

Although it was not the Jin army that attacked, Yuan Sikong felt relieved, but he was still unhappy when he thought that the horses they had raised with great effort would be given to outsiders.

"Wow, then won't we be able to see the Feng Family Army tomorrow? I heard they are very impressive. Second brother, we must go and see them tomorrow!"

"Okay." Like many Dasheng men, Yuan Sikong was full of curiosity and fascination for the Feng family army, which was known as the best army in the world, although he still couldn't bear to part with his horse.

As they entered the house, the aroma of rice hit their noses.

"Mom, sister, we are back."

Yue Qingshuang came out from the kitchen with a pot of hot bone soup in her hand.

"Mom, why are you still going to the kitchen?" Yuan Sikong hurried over, took the soup from her hand, put it on the table, and complained, "The kitchen is full of fumes, you must be feeling chest tightness again."

Yue Qingshuang smiled and said, "It's okay. It's not that cold these days. I feel much better. Look, your father and your elder brother are going to the wedding banquet. We should eat something good at home."

"Dad..."

Yuan Nanyu was about to say something but was stopped by Yuan Sikong's eyes.

Yue Qingshuang was in poor health and suffered from asthma, and winter was especially hard for her, so they did not want her to worry about many things.

Yuan Nanyu immediately fell silent, grabbed a piece of braised pork with sauce and threw it into his mouth. The braised pork was still steaming from the pot, and as soon as he took it in his mouth, it rolled between his lips and teeth. He jumped and shouted, "Wow, it's so hot, wow, it's so delicious!"

Yue Qingshuang and Yuan Sikong couldn't help laughing.

"You are the youngest in the family, and you are the most unruly." A pleasant female voice came from behind. The voice was as sweet as a nightingale, but not as soft as that of an ordinary woman. Instead, it was clear, crisp, and refreshing.

The visitor was a young girl, Yuan Weiling, the eldest daughter of the Yuan family. She was famous in Liaoning for her extraordinary beauty and bold personality, and she and Yuan Shaoxu were a perfect match.

The Yuan family has a unique bloodline. Yue Qingshuang gave birth to two pairs of twins, and so did Yuan Nanyu. However, Yuan Nanyu's brother died in infancy. So when Yuan Mao saw Yuan Sikong on that cold rainy night four years ago, he resolutely took him home and adopted him as his son. One can't help but sigh at the wonder of fate.

"Big sister." Yuan Nanyu laughed, "The braised pork with soy sauce made by mom is so delicious."

"Mom, I've told you many times not to cook by yourself." Yuan Weiling pressed Yue Qingshuang into the chair, "I also know how to make braised pork with sauce. I'll do it next time."

"Bah, let my eldest sister do it, even pigs die unjustly."

"You bastard, are you looking for a beating?" Yuan Weiling rushed over to hit him, but Yuan Nanyu dodged behind a chair.

Yue Qingshuang pretended to be angry and said, "You dare to act so unruly at the dinner table when your father is not around." After she finished speaking, she laughed first. She held Yuan Sikong's hand and said, "Kong'er, you are still steady. Look at these two, the big and the small. The daughter does not behave like a daughter, and the brother is naughty. If you were not keeping an eye on him, he would probably go crazy."

Yuan Sikong said: "Yu'er is actually very sensible, he just likes to play." Looking at the Yuan siblings who were laughing and playing, his eyes were filled with a gentle smile.

When he felt that God had taken away everything from him and had completely abandoned him, Yuan Mao descended before him like a god and gave him a warm and happy home. He was already content.

His only wish was to pass the imperial examinations in the future, dedicate himself to his country, and ensure that the barbarians would never lay a hand on the people of Da Sheng.