Hengzhou, Pingcheng.

Sheung Shui Village.

The cold wind blew, and the trees on both sides of the road swayed involuntarily, their branches waving, and the wind roared like evil spirits.

The road is very solid, hard, and quite wide.

Zhang Ning carried the package on his back and stood on a high ground. Looking into the distance, he could vaguely see the tall city wall of Pingcheng.

He ignored the city, walked down the high slope, and continued walking on the road.

Under the tree in the distance, there were two people sitting with their heads down, motionless. Zhang Ning walked past them vigilantly, and until they were far away, they did not move, and they still sat there in the same posture.

When the wind blew, the two of them suddenly fell down.

After passing a small stream, a village nestled in the woods came into view. The village was surrounded by dense forests on three sides. Even in the village, you could see big trees rising into the sky, but compared to

It's much sparser around.

A small stream flows from the entrance of the village to the low slope in the distance.

An old man and a young man were walking out of the village when they met Zhang Ning. They were both startled and turned around to run away.

"Uncle Guan!! Is that you?!"

Zhang Ning suddenly shouted.

Hearing this title, the old man stopped, turned around, and carefully looked at Zhang Ning in front of him. After examining him for a moment, he suddenly shouted: "Boy Zhang?! Is that you?"

"It's me! I'm back!"

The old man was overjoyed and stopped hiding. He hurriedly came forward and said, "I'm back. I'm finally back. We found someone to read the letter you sent earlier. We've been thinking of you since then!!"

The old man looked at the child beside him and said, "Go to your Uncle Zhang's house quickly and tell him that his uncle is back!"

The child got up and ran towards the village.

Zhang Ning smiled and chatted with the old man.

"Long time no see. How are you at home? How are my brothers?"

When talking about things at home, the smile on the old man's face froze. He just nodded stiffly, "It's okay, it's okay. My grandson survived."

Zhang Ning paused and didn't dare to ask anymore.

The two of them walked towards the village, but the old man couldn't hold back his words. Perhaps because he was too happy, he was shouting loudly all the way. Many people in the village also watched Zhang Ning grow up.

From time to time, people would go out and meet Zhang Ning. There were more and more people. When Zhang Ning's grandfather ran over, Zhang Ning was already surrounded by people and couldn't get out. The old man had to fight off a few young people.

Let their father and son meet each other.

Father Zhang was an honest and honest farmer. Looking at his lost and found son, he cried bitterly and was speechless for a long time.

Everyone returned to Zhang Ning's house together.

It was a dilapidated small farmhouse. The walls of the courtyard were incomplete, not to mention the house. The windows were almost unblockable, allowing the cold wind to blow in. Everyone ignored the cold wind and sat directly in the courtyard.

Zhang's father trembled as he went to look for food, but Zhang Ning opened the package directly and called a few children, "Come on, let's light a fire. It's rare for everyone to come, so I brought some food here."

Everyone declined for a few moments, and then a woman stepped forward and took over the cooking chores, making everyone even happier.

Zhang's father was not good at words. He just sat next to Zhang Ning and couldn't say a word for a long time.

Old Man Guan then spoke for him, "A few years ago you went to do corvee work outside the Great Wall, and there was no news. We all thought you were gone. Your grandpa is the most pitiful. He goes everywhere to find out about you, and we all want to ourselves."

Go and have a look”

Everyone was silent, including Zhang Ning.

Old Man Guan looked around and waved his hand, "Forget about this, is what you said in your letter true?"

“Now all the farmland and cattle are distributed in the north??”

Zhang Ning came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Yes, since General Liu arrived, he has been granted farmland and cattle according to the system."

Everyone listened very seriously, and Old Man Guan couldn't help but say: "This news is everywhere! Not long ago, there were many people passing by, saying that they were coming from the south and were going to the north to distribute farmland and so on.

Is there really anyone who is conferring farmland to others these days??”

"The general is different from those traitors. He keeps his word. Now I am working as an official under him."

“Ah??You became a senior official??”

"Incredible! Incredible!"

The crowd was noisy, and Zhang Ning was chatting with them when the sound of horse hooves coming from far away interrupted them.

Listening to the sound of horse hoofbeats, everyone around Zhang Ning became a little panicked, and some of the timid ones had already secretly left. Old man Guan frowned and said nothing.

After a while, a group of people appeared outside the courtyard gate.

“It’s really lively!”

I heard someone shouting, and the next moment, a chubby man led several burly men and strode into the courtyard.

Everyone stepped back one after another and bowed their heads in salute.

Zhang Ning smiled and saluted, "Greetings to Duke Murong."

The man looked at Zhang Ning with a smile, looking up and down, "You're back! I heard that you got a job in Beiheng. It seems like you're making a good living. Is this just what you're wearing?"

The man's eyes became a little unkind, "You can't cross the state without breaking the law."

Zhang Ning nodded and took off his waist badge, "This is my official badge. With this official badge, I can cross the states."

"Using official cards to cross the state? Who said that?"

"My general said so."

"Your general."

The man suddenly closed his mouth. He was silent for a moment, and a smile filled his face again. "If it is General Anxi's order, it does make sense. Are you here under the order?"

"The general gives leave every month, and casual officials are no exception, so I took a few extra days to come back and see my family."

"Ah, okay, that's good. You came at the right time. You see, our villagers won't run away. Why don't you go to my place first, let's eat some meat, and you can come back later to reminisce with them, how about that?"

"

"OK."

Zhang Ning nodded and looked at the people on the side. Old man Guan had some worry in his eyes. Zhang Ning nodded lightly and let everyone eat first, but he followed the noble man and left.

A group of farmers dressed in rags watched them leave in horror.

They passed through the village and headed south. After walking for a long time, they finally saw the real Sheung Shui Village.

Tall courtyard walls, neatly repaired trees, neat and clean courtyards arranged neatly, dogs barking constantly, and children playing around, it was a completely different world from the one just now.

Murong Gong took Zhang Ning's hand and walked on the road, asking about Liu Taozi.

"I heard that General Anxi appointed the governor of Hengzhou. Why didn't he take office?"

"Turkic cavalry frequently appeared outside the Great Wall, and Puppet Zhou's scouts set fire to Baima. The general could not easily leave Wuchuan."

Murong Gong seemed to be relieved and asked: "Then when will he come?"

Zhang Ning smiled bitterly, "Mrong Gong, I am just a casual official in Beiheng. How could I know about such a big thing?"

Murong reacted and quickly laughed.

Zhang Ning told him other things about the frontier fortress. While talking, his eyes were always looking around, from the buildings, to the houses inside, to the patrolling guards in the distance.

Soon, Murong took him to his mansion.

He arranged a grand feast to entertain Zhang Ning, who had come from afar.

"Jun Zhang, I heard people say that there are not many rich and wealthy families left in Beiheng. They were either arrested or killed, and their wives and daughters were raped. After being killed, they were confiscated as military rations. Is this true?"

Zhang Ning paused, "I've never heard of it."

"Well, my family has been here for several generations. You know it even if others don't tell me. In these years, have I ever treated the villagers badly? I never forget to provide relief every year. Let's talk about you. If I hadn't sold you and sent you away.

Serving in the military, where can you find a good job now?"

"Now, I'm afraid that the general will lead those barbarians to kill us. They are a group of barbarians in the border town. They are cannibals."

Murong lowered his head and couldn't help complaining.

Zhang Ning smiled and nodded, "Yes, yes."

Zhang Ning stayed in his hometown for a few days, then said goodbye to everyone and left quickly.

The villagers came out to see Zhang Ning away one after another, and old man Guan couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh, it would be great if we were under the control of that general."

Zhang Ning walked on this road for a long time and saw a few acquaintances waiting for him at the intersection. After a few people gathered, they immediately changed their horses and ran towards the Muma Slope in the north.

When a few of them rushed all the way to Mumapo, the horse farm here had turned into a school ground.

There were knights patrolling inside and outside. Several people took documents and quickly walked into the camp. Under the leadership of several soldiers, they walked all the way inside.

The camp was extremely lively. In addition to the soldiers, many scribes could also be seen. At this moment, they were gathered together, holding documents in their hands, and they didn't know what they were talking about.
To be continued...