Kuai En came to Ruyang City with Yang Anxuan. Yang Anxuan arranged for him to learn riding, archery and military rules from Zhou Yong.
Having free time today, Yang Anxuan took his Qingqi out of the city to hunt, and took a look at the results of Kuai En's training.
Zhou Yong was full of praise for Kuai En, saying that he was a born brave general. Even dozens of people could not stop him when he launched a barbaric attack. By the way, he flattered Yang Anxuan and said that he had a good eye for recognizing people, so that Kuai En had a chance to be promoted.
Yang Anxuan smiled and said nothing. A warrior like Quin would stand out sooner or later. He was lucky to be able to get to know Quin first.
Kuai En was still reluctant to ride a horse and could not gallop. The bow Yang Anxuan brought with him did not exceed two stones, and none of them was suitable for Kuai En.
Yang Anxuan and Kuai En dismounted and had a fight. The steel knife and iron spear in their hands collided and almost flew away.
After practicing the mental method, Yang Anxuan's strength is slowly increasing, and he is still no match for Kuai En. The innate divine power refers to people like Kuai En.
The iron spear weighing more than twenty kilograms danced in his hand as light as straw, which was really intimidating.
Pointing to the trees more than forty steps away, Yang Anxuan asked Kuai En to try throwing the spear. The spear struck the tree and passed behind it, which was worse than Xu Xiaozhong's.
Yang Anxuan was overjoyed, Kuai En had indeed lived up to his reputation as a warrior, and his efforts were well worth it.
Kuai En thanked him for agreeing to tailor-make weapons and bows for him after returning to Jiyang.
…………
Towards the end of the month, members of the Yuan family who came back to worship their ancestors began to arrive, and the old house became lively.
The Yuan family is very scattered, and different people come back to worship their ancestors every year. For example, Yuan's younger brother Yuan Shan is an official in Yizhou. He is busy with official business and has inconvenient transportation. He has not returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors for five years.
Yuan couldn't help crying when she talked about her younger brother. The two siblings had not seen each other for nine years. There is also a younger sister who has lost all contact with her and has no idea whether she is alive or dead.
The ancestral grave of the Yuan family is located more than thirty miles east of the city, not close to Ruyang City. The Yuan family members have to pack their bags a day in advance to pay homage.
Yuan is a married daughter and is not qualified to go to worship her ancestors. Yang Anxuan is an outsider and is even less likely to participate. Originally, Yang Anxuan planned to see the Yuan family's ancestor worship ceremony to satisfy the curiosity of archaeologists, but it came to nothing.
Yang Qiu wanted to go home. Yuan planned to return after the ancestor worship. The New Year was coming soon. As the head of the house, she still had a lot of things to do at home.
No one expected that on the day of the Yuan family's ancestor worship, a group of strongmen appeared out of nowhere and kidnapped Yuan Zhu and eight other clan elders.
The thief warned the Yuan family not to report to the official, and gave them money to exchange for others, giving them two days to raise a hundred taels of gold.
Wuxuetang.
Crying, begging, praying, cursing, all kinds of noise filled the Yuan family's old house. Some people thought that the Yang family had provoked bandits, and others were thinking about how to profit from it.
Yuan was very sad. She didn't expect that her clan members would be so miserable in the face of the disaster. They would complain and speak harshly to each other. They didn't have half the magnanimity of the Four Generations and Three Dukes back then.
Yuan Rui was frightened and at a loss. Yuan Hong blamed Sang Huai and resented the Yang family for bringing disaster.
Yang Anxuan looked at them coldly, things must rot first and then insects will grow. If the Yuan family were like Yuan Rui and Yuan Hong and did not take responsibility when things happened, it would be natural for the Yuan family to decline.
Yuan Tao said in a loud voice with a pale face: "Elders and brothers, we should report to the officials as soon as possible and let the officials send people to arrest the bandits and rescue the clan leader and others."
Yuan Hong said angrily: "Yuan Tao, no one in your branch has been kidnapped. My father and uncle were kidnapped by thieves. If something happens to the reporting officer, can you bear the responsibility?"
"Yes, it's okay to worship ancestors every year, but something happened as soon as the Yang family came. The Yuan family can't afford a hundred taels of gold, so let the Yang family help with the money to redeem people."
Yuan Tao said angrily: "Uncle Twelve, how can you say this? How can you put the blame on your aunt when something goes wrong in the Yuan family?"
"Yuan Tao, you have been with the Yang family these days, so you are probably getting benefits from speaking for them. Don't forget that your surname is Yuan."
"Perhaps Tao'er has made up his mind to follow the Yang family to enjoy the glory and wealth. Our Yuan family is ruined and we can't keep anyone."
"No, look at the brocade robe he is wearing. It costs more than a thousand dollars at least. Why would the Yang family give it to him alone?"
The cold words were like arrows, pricking Yuan Tao all over his body, making him choked and unable to speak.
When Yang Anxuan saw his mother hiding her face and crying, Qiu'er tightly pulled the corner of her clothes, snorted angrily, and shouted: "A pile of mediocre oak wood, noisy! If you can't handle it, just leave it to Yang."
Leading Yang Qiu and striding out of the hall, Yang Anxuan shouted loudly: "Zhou Yong."
When they learned that the Yuan family had encountered a thief, Zhou Yong and others were waiting outside. When they saw Yang Anxuan coming out, Zhou Yong and others stood in awe and obeyed orders.
Yang Anxuan glanced at Zhou Yong and others with satisfaction, and said: "Quai En, Hua Qiang, Ma Ning, and Zou Yong, the four of you stay and follow the young lady to protect the mistress. The others will follow me."
He bent down and faced Yang Qiu and said, "Qiu'er, lead your people to protect my mother and wait for my brother to come back after killing the thief."
Yang Qiu saw the four Kuai En standing beside her. They were very courageous. Following the example of her father and brother, Yang Qiu responded crisply: "I will obey your orders."
Xiongjiujiu led the four of them back to the lobby, standing next to their mother, glaring at the Yuan family with glaring eyes.
…………
The sound of horses' hooves was so fast that pedestrians ducked to both sides in shock. More than twenty riders rushed out from the east gate and headed straight for the Yuan family's ancestral grave.
With the cold wind hitting his face, Yang Anxuan gradually calmed down and secretly warned himself that as a commander, he must learn to control his emotions, stay calm when angry, stay restrained when happy, endure pain when faced with sacrifice and death, and make choices to achieve his goals.
These are things he must learn as he grows up. Gaining them will mean losing them at the same time. Today, the life and death of the Yuan family will serve as a test.
In half an hour, Qingqi arrived at the Yuan family cemetery. The cemetery was in a mess, the incense table was overturned, the incense candles were scattered on the ground, and a cloud-gathering shoe fell alone in front of the incense table.
Yang Anxuan ordered to dismount and rest for a while. Zhou Yong served as a scout and skillfully inspected the traces on the ground. Soon, Zhou Yong discovered that the thief had escaped to the north.
I followed the trail left by the thief all the way. After walking for more than ten miles, there was a forest in front of me. There was no need to ask the thief when he entered the mountain.
It was getting late and it was inconvenient for the war horses to enter the forest. Yang Anxuan jumped off the horse and said to Zhou Yong: "Let's find a place to rest for a while. You can take a few people into the forest and see if you can catch the thief's spy."
When the people who bought food came back, Zhou Yong led his men to catch two people from the forest and returned, one tall and one short.
Yang Anxuan greeted everyone to eat and brought the two people over. Both of them were wearing brown shirts and carrying ropes and iron axes. They looked like woodcutters.
"Are you from nearby?" Yang Anxuan asked.
"Yes, the two villains are from Niulan Village." they replied.
Yang Anxuan stuffed the cooking cake into his mouth and asked: "Why haven't you gone back so late? How much firewood did you collect?"
The two of them were stunned for a moment, apparently they were just trying to find out what was going on and forgot to chop some firewood to show off.
Yang Anxuan stood up, drew his sword, and said, "Tell me, where are your accomplices? How many are there? Who is the leader?"
The tall man forced a smile and said, "Ah, what accomplice?"
Yang Anxuan was too lazy to talk to him, raised his hand and cut off his arm with a sword, pointed the sword at the short man and asked: "Where are the accomplices? How many are there?"
Blood spurted out, and the tall man covered his arm and howled in pain. The short man turned pale with fright, knelt on the ground and said, "There are more than a hundred people in Yeyang Stream."
Yang Anxuan raised his hand and stabbed the tall man to death, and asked: "Who is the leader? Why are you arresting the Yuan family members?"
The short man glanced at the tall man in the pool of blood, and said tremblingly: "It's...it's Mr. Zhao, he said... he said he wanted revenge on Dafu Mountain..."
It turns out that they were bandits who escaped from Dafu Mountain and left behind troubles without eradicating the roots. The leader of the bandits should be Zhao Ying, the second-in-command of Dafu Mountain.
Yang Anxuan laughed. It seemed that the Yuan family was right. This disaster was really caused by themselves.
After asking for the location of Yeyangjian, Yang Anxuan decided to attack at night.
Zhou Yongdao: "What if someone in the Yuan family is hurt?"
Yang Anxuan waved his hand and said resolutely: "I can't care less. We can't let the thieves lead us around. Try to save people as much as possible."
…………
Yeyang Stream is a long and narrow rocky stream with streams flowing through it during the rainy season. One side of the stream is a cliff, and the other side is a dense forest, about a mile long.
The hunted wild boar is roasting on the bonfire, and the fragrance is fragrant. Zhao Ying sat on a stone, holding his forehead with his hands and thinking. The cliff behind them naturally formed a groove, and Yuan Zhu and others were locked in the groove.
I chased Yang Anxuan from Pingshi City to Ruyang, and suffered a lot of hardships all the way. Unable to pass all the checkpoints, Zhao Ying led his men over the mountains and ridges. Fortunately, Yang Anxuan traveled all the way and didn't walk too fast, so he didn't get lost.
Because Yang Anxuan traveled late and stayed early, and was careful along the way, Zhao Ying did not find an opportunity to make a move. Instead, he encountered their small business trip and was unlucky. At least thirty people died in their hands along the way.
The team has grown from more than 60 people to more than 140 people. They include merchant guards who threaten to join the group, as well as thieves recruited along the way.
After arriving in Ruyang City, Yang Anxuan and others went to the Yuan family. Zhao Ying sent someone to find out that the Yuan family was worshiping their ancestors on December 1st, and he planned to rob people in exchange for money.
His right eye was twitching, and Zhao Ying was uneasy and asked: "Have the people sent to the Yuan family come back? Is there any reward for Lin Bian's spy?"
"Master Zhao, it's still early."
"Send a few more brothers to take a look." Zhao Ying ordered: "Don't let the officers and soldiers break in."
"Let's go after dinner. Brothers are all hungry."
Zhao Ying stood up, glared and cursed: "Damn it, if the army comes, you still have life to eat. Bring some food and go quickly."
The people who were selected stood up and cursed, took a rabbit from the shelf, grabbed it and left without caring whether it was cooked or not.
Sitting back on the stone, Zhao Ying said: "After the brothers have finished eating, they will be divided into two shifts. When we get the money, everyone will have a share."
Zhao Ying didn't know whether the Yuan family had money to redeem the people. He actually wanted to lure Yang Anxuan into ambush for revenge. If he could grab the horse, he could come and go like the wind.
A little further north is the territory of Yan State. He and his brothers are bandits in this area. There is no need to go back to Pingshi City if the beautiful green mountains are not a safe place.
His men cut off a pig's foot and brought it to Zhao Ying. He had just taken two bites when he heard screams coming from the forest opposite.
Zhao Ying threw the pig leg away, grabbed the steel knife placed by the stone, and shouted: "Everyone, be careful, go and see what's going on?"
It was already dark, the thieves looked at each other, and no one dared to go and check.
"Lu He, please take someone over to have a look." Zhao Ying said by name.
Before Lu He could move, an arrow flew and a thief fell to the ground screaming. The thieves in the stream were so frightened that they all fell to the ground, and some tried their best to run away.
Zhao Ying shrank and hid behind the stone, stretched out his head to look across, and saw dozens of figures emerging from the forest, holding bows and arrows and shooting towards them.
Zhao Ying crawled back, came to the groove, grabbed a member of the Yuan family, put a knife across his neck, and shouted: "Stop shooting, or I will kill the Yuan family."
The rain of arrows did not stop, falling towards the thief in the stream, and the sound of crying and howling was heard.
The thieves noticed that the rain of arrows only fell towards the bright part of the campfire, and they all bowed their heads and fled towards the darkness.
Zhao Ying saw that the other party did not throw a rat attack, as if he didn't take the Yuan family to heart at all. He didn't know if the Yuan family reported to the officials and the officers and soldiers came after them.
Using a knife to force the Yuan family member forward, Zhao Ying also wanted to take the opportunity to escape.
The short thief next to Yang Anxuan said: "General, the person opposite is Master Zhao."
Yang Anxuan's sharp eyes saw clearly the scar on the thief's face and asked, "Is there a scar on Zhao Ying's face?"
"yes."
Yang Anxuan walked out slowly and blocked Zhao Ying's way with his bow.
Zhao Ying hid behind the Yuan family, stuck out half of his head, shouted with blood-red eyes: "Get out of the way, or I will stab him to death."
As he said that, Zhao Ying raised his knife and cut the Yuan family member's arm.
The Yuan family members screamed and shouted loudly: "Xianxuan Anxian, please don't do anything, help me."
Yang Anxuan didn't hesitate, bent his bow and arrow, and shot it.
The arrow flew past the Yuan family's neck and went straight into Zhao Ying's right eye.
Zhao Ying screamed and fell to the ground. The Yuan family member felt a heat in the back of his head, rolled his eyes, and fainted from fright.
Yuan Zhu and others were rescued. Looking at Yang Anxuan, who was full of murderous intent and smelled of blood, the Yuan family's legs trembled and they did not dare to look directly.
