Chapter 45: Visitors from the Frontier (2)

Over the past three years, Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan had repeatedly used their advantage as locals to help Chang Yao procure grain, winter clothing, rattan armor, leather armor, sabers, spears, and other supplies from farmers, merchants, craftsmen, gentry, and even bandits across Tang County and its surrounding districts.

During the first two years, when the times were unsettled, the two of them even went so far as to use hunting in the mountains as an excuse, disappearing for days at a time to help escort military supplies for the trusted subordinates sent by Chang Yao.

After the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, the situation of the northern border garrison improved somewhat, but constrained by national strength, they were still unable to obtain fully sufficient military provisions and pay.

This meant that Chang Yao’s father, Chang Hongchuan, the Marquis Defending the North and the commander-in-chief, still had to find ways to procure some grain, winter clothing, and military pay on his own.

This was why, even though the Great Wei had already quelled its internal rebellions, Chang Yao still needed Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan to help him source grain and winter clothing.

The three of them, who had not seen each other for a long time, met once again at the county post station under the cover of Chang Yao’s subordinates.

It was only then that Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan learned that Chang Yao’s father, Chang Hongchuan, had been ennobled as the Marquis Defending the North, while Chang Yao himself had not only become the Marquis Heir but had also been promoted by two official ranks to become a Third-Rank Regional Vice-Commander stationed at the Zijing Pass.

After exchanging pleasantries and briefly updating each other on their recent lives, Chang Yao personally tested Jiang Yuan to see whether his martial arts had progressed and what shortcomings still remained.

Jiang Yuan was already accustomed to being tested by Chang Yao every time they met. The two of them went through a full round of bare-handed combat, broadswords, spears, and archery. Fully satisfied, Chang Yao dragged Jiang Yuan back into the room.

After offering detailed guidance to Jiang Yuan, Chang Yao brought up a previous topic once again.

"A-yuan, you will turn sixteen after the turn of the year. It is time to start considering your own future."

"I have the final say at the Zijing Pass now. If you are willing to return with me, I can give you a position as a personal guard, allowing you to stay by my side at all times."

As the commanding general, his side was the safest place in the entire Zijing Pass. Moreover, serving as his personal guard would make it much easier to achieve military merits.

Jiang Yuan was very grateful to Chang Yao, but he did not want to leave Mingfu Village just yet. "Let's wait until next year or the year after. Right now, I still have unfinished business and truly cannot pull myself away."

Hao Yu glanced at him without speaking.

In the past, he had wholeheartedly wished for Jiang Yuan to return to his parents, reclaim what rightfully belonged to him, and easily enjoy wealth and power. Therefore, he had never wanted Jiang Yuan to follow Chang Yao to the battlefield to fight and risk his life.

Yet now, that path was no longer viable. No matter how worried he was about Jiang Yuan, he could not watch him remain buried forever in such a small place like Mingfu Village.

Hao Yu harbored a suppressed desire in his heart, wishing that Jiang Yuan would enlist in the army today, achieve peerless merit tomorrow, leap straight to a marquisate and generalship, and trample over his biological father’s old face while basking in glory.

However, he did not make decisions on Jiang Yuan's behalf just because of his own internal unrest. If Jiang Yuan wanted to leave with Chang Yao right now, he would not stop him; conversely, if Jiang Yuan still did not want to go, he would not offer any persuasion.

When all was said and done, even though Chang Yao had promised to take good care of Jiang Yuan, once Jiang Yuan went to the Zijing Pass, it would be impossible for him to be completely free of danger.

On the battlefield, opportunities always coexisted with risks. By its very nature, the status of a commanding general had since ancient times destined him to be a thorn in the side of everyone in the opposing camp.

If Jiang Yuan went to serve as his personal guard, it would be fine if there were no battles, but once a battle broke out, the danger coefficient would undoubtedly increase exponentially.

After a deep discussion and having lunch together, Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan, knowing how busy Chang Yao was, bid him farewell and left.

The large bundles and parcels they had brought were left with Chang Yao, and in return, they brought back a pile of return gifts prepared by Chang Yao.

Just like in previous years, this pile of gifts included food, drinks, clothing, daily necessities, and even some spoils of war that Chang Yao had specifically prepared for the two of them.

Upon returning to Mingfu Village, the two men knocked on the courtyard gate and drove the horse-drawn cart inside.

Xie Wanniang closed the courtyard gate again amidst the curious gazes of the village children, then hurried over to the main room, moving her embroidery frame and the brazier on the floor into her own room where they would not get in the way of Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu.

While she was moving these items, Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu had already begun unloading the cargo.

The first things they moved were the charcoal, oats, fine flour, dried meat, and mare's milk wine. After storing these items in the warehouse, the two men unloaded two jars of tea, two boxes of pastries, two boxes of preserved fruits, a box of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, a box of books and official gazettes, a box of milk curds tightly wrapped in oiled paper, and a box of spoils of war recently captured by Chang Yao.

The spoils included a dagger, a belt, two neck ornaments, two chest ornaments, and two pairs of bracelets.

The dagger served more as a decoration than a weapon for killing, because although its blade looked sharp, its hilt was inlaid with numerous red carnelians and turquoises.

The belt was made of raw leather, decorated not only with gold and silver trim but also inlaid with several silver ornaments shaped like wolf heads.

The neck ornaments, chest ornaments, and bracelets were all made of sterling silver, inlaid with turquoise, carnelian, volcanic glass, and other gemstones, featuring complex craftsmanship and exquisite designs.

These three items were obviously meant for women. As Hao Yu opened the box and felt puzzled, Jiang Yuan quickly and deftly fished a slip of paper out from the bottom of the box.

The note was left by Chang Yao, bearing a brief line of text—"The times are peaceful, Uncle Hao should also take a wife."

"Hahaha—" Jiang Yuan, who was usually stern and unsmiling, laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes because of Chang Yao's mischievous trick.

He handed the note to Hao Yu, who was caught between anger and laughter. "You two share quite the tacit understanding, don't you?"

One kept urging him to get married, while the other went so far as to send exotic-style jewelry along with it; just how impatient could they be?

Jiang Yuan put away his smile. "Master, while I am more than happy to provide for you in your old age, that doesn't conflict with you having your own family and enjoying domestic bliss. Surely you wouldn't want to go down into the netherworld after a hundred years and be pointed at by my grand-master, scolded as an unfilial descendant?"

Because of the war, the Hao family was practically left with no one. If Hao Yu refused to marry either, the ancestral incense and sacrifices of the Hao family would become a problem in the future.

In the current era, everyone placed an extraordinary emphasis on lineage and ancestral sacrifices, so Jiang Yuan's words struck right at Hao Yu's Achilles' heel.

Uncharacteristically, Hao Yu did not brush the matter off with evasive remarks this time. He furrowed his brows. "I'm already at this age. If I look for a young girl in her teens, I won't be able to cross that mental hurdle myself; if I look for a widow with children, I might as well stay a bachelor for the rest of my life."

It wasn't that widows with children were necessarily bad; he had simply grown accustomed to a quiet life and did not want to become entangled in endless domestic disputes just because he got married.

Aside from the frequent friction caused by blending children from previous marriages, he also didn't want the meager family fortune he had risked his life to accumulate to end up benefiting some stepchildren who had popped up halfway through his life.