Chapter 2: Home
After bidding farewell to the old lady, Yun Ye stepped into the camp and checked the materials being transported one by one, sorting them into categories and making a good account. After checking it again, he saw that there was no major discrepancy. He then came to the chapter hall with the account book in his arms.
He was not a meticulous person, nor was he a Daoist who could restrain his desires. He just took the opportunity to clean up the accounts to calm his chaotic thoughts.
Just now, the old lady held him and cried about the Yun family’s hardships, and then thanked the heavens for their kindness. At that moment, this poor woman truly believed that she was the only remaining descendant of the Yun family, and she felt justified in venting the joys and sorrows of the past 15 years.
Yun Ye greedily enjoyed the warmth of family affection, while suffering the lash of his soul. Fortunately, he also had the surname Yun and had worshipped at the ancestral temple. Even he himself did not believe that the bloodline would still be similar after 1,400 years. Anyway, Yun Ye had always been an open-minded person. Since fate had arranged it this way, there must be a reason for it. Is the sky the biggest? I haven’t seen my old lady thanking the sky for giving her back her grandson. In theory, she really was thrown into the Tang Dynasty by the sky. Since it has come, it should be settled. After thinking it through, his pace quickened a bit.
Zhang Tang, this is Yun Ye’s name. In fact, his name is the Council Chamber. Old Cheng sat in the main seat, and the table was full of arrows. A ceremonial sword was placed on the sword stand to demonstrate strictness. Next to it was a yellow brocade box with half a tiger token. This is a symbol of the right to mobilize troops and send generals.
This trip to Longyou is a military mobilization intended to deter, not to conquer, so Lao Cheng only has half a tiger token to supervise the military. Otherwise, he would have to call Lao Cheng the general manager, with military and political power in his hands, and his power would be so great that a small city like Lanzhou would have been trembling in fear and allowing the army to come and go, and would not dare to be as arrogant as it was a few months ago.
Laoniu sat in the first seat on the left, and Huang Zhi’en sat behind him. On the table were ink, paper, and an inkstone. He had a seat as a clerk, and the remaining officers all stood in two rows in full uniform.
Yun Ye signed up to enter, not daring not to report, otherwise he would be beheaded.
“Left Military Commander of the Army, Lan Tian Hou Yun Ye greets the General.” A single leg of the army knelt down and bowed. There was no way. Li Tang had to show the majesty of the commander-in-chief. No matter who it was, as long as you were a subordinate of the general, you had to formally bow in the meeting hall. If there was a slight mistake, it would be lightly beaten with a military stick, or even worse, it would be fatal.
“I have ordered you to supervise the transportation of food and supplies. Is there any problem?” This was the first time I had heard the metallic tone in Lao Cheng’s voice.
“General, the total amount of grain for the Zuowei is 106,000 sacks, which is enough to feed the army for 15 months. There are also 1,800 sacks of horse feed, 50,000 bundles of grass, 500 sacks of salt, 23,000 catties of dried meat, and 700 sacks of other grains. They have all arrived at the camp. Please inspect them.” He handed over the account book with both hands.
The personal guard took the account book and placed it on the desk. Old Cheng just said, “I know,” and waved Yun Ye to leave.
It seems that Yun Ye is the last officer to hand in his order to the general.
“I have already submitted the order to the Ministry of War. At the grand court meeting the day after tomorrow, all of my left-wing military officers of the sixth rank must appear before His Majesty. No one is allowed to be disrespectful or transgress the rules. Those who violate the rules will be severely punished. You have not returned home for two years, and I am not an unreasonable person. I am granting you two days off to reunite with your families. I will gather the officers two days from now. Those who do not show up without a reason will be dealt with according to military law and will not be tolerated. Now disperse.”
The generals all said yes in unison and then left the camp in an orderly manner. Yun Ye was about to leave when he was stopped by Lao Cheng, who threw a cloth bag over to him. Yun Ye caught it and opened it to find it was a bag of gems, colorful and dazzling.
“This is a little gift from me and your uncle Niu. You have nothing of value, so you should have a gift to give your relatives when you see them. Don’t give your teacher’s belongings to your younger siblings. I will use them to find a good match for you. Remember.”
He was no longer afraid of Lao Cheng finding him a wife. What could he do? His wife had already taken his love away, and now he was just a shell. He had to think about passing on his family line, and as long as it wasn’t too hard to accept, he didn’t care who it was.
After respectfully thanking the two old generals, he was kicked out of the meeting hall and found Wangcai and his personal guards, who were smiling like a pervert. He was going home, and each of these personal guards with families was given ten strings of cash to go home, and they would leave together when they returned to their fiefdoms. The remaining eleven bachelors who were not accepted by heaven and earth went to the Yun family to rest with Yun Ye.
The imperial court bought back the old Yun residence that had been sold years ago and had it renovated. The old lady was invited to see it, and even the furniture, porcelain, antiques, and other household items were all in place, which made the old lady cry again.
Thirteen people and fourteen horses quickly passed through the Golden Gate and entered Chang’an City. The city gates were already closed, and if it weren’t for Lao Cheng’s request for a special permit from the military division, they would only be able to enter Chang’an at sunrise tomorrow.
Zhuang San, the new head of the Yun family’s guards, seemed to know what the marquis was thinking. He led the way through Jude Square, West Market, and Yanshou Square, and finally arrived at the Yun family’s Yong’an Square. Yun Ye had no interest in seeing the night view of Chang’an. He only felt that the streets were bustling with people, and the West Market was still open, with bright lights and bustling business.
A servant standing at the gate of the Yong’an Lane saw a dozen horses galloping on the wide Chang’an Avenue in full armor and knew that the master was coming. He ran back, shouting, “The master is back! The master is back!” Passers-by looked sideways, wondering what kind of master was so arrogant.
The newly renovated high gate of the Yun mansion was hung with four huge red lanterns, with the word Yun written in black and very arrogant. Red felt from the Western Regions was spread at the gate, regardless of the heavy snow that had just stopped. The women of the mansion, both big and small, were looking out at the gate with thirty or forty servants in plain blue clothes. The neighborhood committee director, who was standing across the street, looked respectfully at the dozen horses galloping towards them.
Yun Ye stopped his horse at the gate and saw the middle door of the Yun mansion wide open. The old lady was wearing a noblewoman’s official dress and standing inside the gate, tearfully watching Yun Ye in full armor. This grandmother was good at everything, except for her love of tears.
Yun Ye dismounted from his horse with a happy sigh. The other horses were taken to the stables by servants, but Wangcai was stubbornly following Yun Ye, biting and pulling at whoever tried to separate them. Zhuang San knew Wangcai’s place in the heart of the marquis and stopped the servants who were trying to pull him away.
Everyone watched Yun Ye cross the brazier, his armor clanking as he bowed to the old lady in a dignified manner. Next to the old lady stood seven or eight women in their thirties and forties. At the old lady’s command, they all came forward, taking off their helmets and armor, and some of them even held bowls of rice and sprinkled it on Yun Ye’s head. After Yun Ye took off his armor and helmet, he was dressed in a brocade robe, his hair was tied up in a bun, and he had a white jade hairpin in it.
After sitting down in the hall, all thirteen sisters of the same generation in the family knelt down and bowed, saying that Yun Ye had worked hard for the country and had suffered a lot. Yun Ye hurriedly got up to help them up, but the old lady stopped him from doing so, saying that this was a rule that had been in place in Guanzhong for thousands of years. Soldiers returning from battle would be greeted by their families with great ceremony.