After the great victory in Youzhou, the broken flags on the city walls were finally replaced.
Xia He was finally able to take off his armor and rest for a few days in the backyard of the governor's mansion.
The spring sunshine shines through the newly sprouted leaves, dappling onto the bluestone slabs, and even the air is no longer filled with the bloody smell of the past.
The Youzhou officialdom underwent a major purge.
The officials who originally came from the two great families were either killed or beheaded.
However, none of the lower-level clerks, Xia He, moved. These old clerks were familiar with money, grain, and criminal law.
Together with those large households who took the initiative to "help" to show their loyalty, post-war reconstruction went surprisingly smoothly.
In just three days, the gap in the city wall was temporarily filled with rammed earth, and the sentries at the four gates were rearranged.
"call……"
During his free time, Xia He always practiced archery in the training ground.
The sound of the bowstring vibrating startled the baby birds in the newly built swallow's nest under the eaves, causing them to chirp.
Oddly enough, ever since he had achieved the perfection of Hua Jin after breaking through, he could already feel a subtle stream of Qi flowing through his meridians when he drew the bow.
The target that used to require concentration to hit from a hundred steps away can now be shot with ease with ten rings.
Before all the twenty arrows in the quiver had been shot, the soldier guarding the target came running over to report, sweating profusely.
The bull's eye has been shot through.
[Skills: Archery (Minor Achievement)]
[Progress: 412/500]
[Effect: Bow can lift a hundred stones]
[Archery proficiency +1]
[Archery proficiency +2]
…
The proficiency has increased quite well.
"In another half day, I should be able to break through."
Early that morning, Xia He was wiping the newly found spiritual pattern bow when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Those people from Yanyu Tower actually disappeared?"
In his arms, he also held two magical weapons that he had taken from the heads of the two great families.
"Can this thing be mass-produced? I don't know what method is used."
Those killers didn't come to cause trouble.
"We have to be on guard."
While I was thinking, a guard came in hurriedly holding a red lacquered wooden box:
"General, a letter from Yunzhou!"
Counting the days, it has been nearly two months since I left home.
Xia He opened the wooden box and found three letters still warm from the galloping post horses.
There was a red seal on the top wax seal. When it was opened, a faint scent of magnolia could be smelled - it was Zhu Yi's handwriting.
The handwriting on the letter was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper. It began with six large characters: "General Xia's Power Shocks the Northern Frontier".
Zhu Yi obviously had a detailed grasp of the battle situation in Youzhou, and even remembered the details of how he killed A Gugan in battle.
The letter said that the four major camps fought with great force in this battle, and that Commander Li stood straighter than usual during the court meeting.
When those vassal generals heard that the eight thousand barbarian cavalry were completely wiped out, their faces were as pale as if a dye vat had been overturned.
Finally, Zhu Yi revealed that His Majesty was very pleased and the imperial edict of reward was on the way.
"Junior brother, now you are famous."
"Senior sister wants to pinch you in the future, don't put on airs..."
Zhu Yi also wrote clearly about the reasons why she was unable to come in person.
In addition to the 8,000 elite troops of Youzhou who were surrounded and killed by A Gugan, several thousand others went out of the city to pursue and kill them.
But because of Xia He's order, none of his men dared to advance.
However, there were still nearly 20,000 northern barbarians who fled back in all directions. If left unchecked, there would probably be a rebellion, bringing disaster to the people.
Commander Li had long anticipated that the defeated barbarian soldiers would wreak havoc in the village, so he specifically ordered her to lead the Black Armor Army to set up an ambush on the Yunyou Road.
The sentence at the end of the letter, "If the sky falls, the master will hold it up," made Xia He touch his nose.
“It feels so good to have someone to lean on!”
The second letter was written jointly by the Shan family siblings.
The handwriting in the first half is as beautiful as orchid, and Senior Sister Shan Ling describes the recent situation at home in detail.
What surprised Xia He the most was that the letter mentioned that Li Huilan and Shan Ling were actually sisters, and the two women were planning to jointly open an embroidery shop in the south of the city.
Turning to the second half, the crooked ink marks look like earthworms crawling.
This kid Shan Xiong really couldn't help showing off his great strength.
He also threatened that when Xia He came back, he would beat him until he knelt down and begged for mercy.
Xia He thought that if this kid knew that he had reached the perfect state of Hua Jin, he would probably climb over the wall at night to steal his skills.
The last letter was folded neatly, and when it was opened, a few dried peach blossoms fell off.
Huilan wrote every stroke of her words carefully, saying that the pear tree in the backyard bloomed especially early this year.
There was a smudge of ink on the letter paper, probably because he shed tears when he wrote about the day he left for the war.
Xia He gently stroked the words, as if he saw his wife's slightly furrowed brows as she wrote the letter under the lamp.
He immediately called for pen and ink.
The reply to Zhu Yi was brief and to the point, saying that Youzhou's defense had been properly arranged and that Senior Sister need not worry.
The reply to Shan Ling was to thank the senior sister for taking care of his wife.
He also stated that after returning, he would definitely fulfill Shan Xiong's long-cherished wish of a "one-on-one duel".
He wrote the letter to his wife intermittently, and finally wrote solemnly "Flowers are blooming on the roadside, you can go home slowly."
When I put down my pen, the setting sun was shining on the celadon vase on the desk.
There were wild apricot blossoms covered with dew in the vase, which were given to him by a little girl when he was patrolling the city this morning.
Xia He suddenly remembered that the official road outside Youzhou City should be full of wild flowers like this at this moment.
…
…
In a flash, several days passed and Youzhou City gradually regained its former vitality.
The cries of vendors could be heard on the streets, and the people were no longer as anxious as they had been when the war had just ended.
Early that morning, Xia Hegang went to the parade ground, ready to see how the newly recruited soldiers were training.
Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried horse hooves outside the city, followed by a loud announcement from the city gate guards - "The imperial edict has arrived!"
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