Zheng Anping returned to his hometown and talked and discussed with Zhang Lu for a long time. Unexpectedly, the east was white. Zhang Lu said: "Young Master, please endure the hardship and go on your way. I will go inside to pray to Qi Shao."
Zheng Anping said: "Since the emperor has given me a gift, how can I report it to the village again?"
Zhang Lu said: "If you don't tell the villagers, how can you know the merits of the young master!"
Zheng Anping hurried back to the post house. Everyone made breakfast together in the post, and also served a bowl of Masan Gong, with vegetables, jam, and fruit in abundance.
Mr. Zhongyue's medicine is very effective, and their wounds have shown a tendency to heal. I heard from Zhang Lu that General Mangmao was plotting to kill Lord Xinling. Although I didn't dare to believe it, I always felt a little sad in my heart and felt that my injuries were not worth it. But he also knew that he couldn't talk about it openly and could only rot in his stomach, so he felt even more uncomfortable. Everyone didn't sleep well at night, so everyone took a nap outside the mourning hall throughout the morning.
The white cloth Zhang Lu bought in the city was delivered by the head of the village himself. Also arriving in the car were quilts and some fruits that Zhang Lu brought from home. All the postmen came to the door, thanked them one by one, and put on their clothes. The head of the village then went outside the mourning hall, rushed inside to pay homage, and presented the funeral rites: a jar of candied dates. After worshiping, he sat in a cubicle, made friends with everyone, and expressed his condolences.
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Mr. Zhongyue's voice sang loudly: "Xinling Jun Wuji is sincere and dedicated to the Ma family!"
This voice frightened the soul inside, and Zhang Huang said: "When Lord Xinling arrives, where will I go?"
Zheng Anping took him out, opened a room that had been unoccupied for a long time, pushed him in, and said: "Quiet!" The head of the house quickly ran in. Zheng Anping closed the door, and went out with the three of them. Kneel on either side. Zheng Anping said: "How dare you trouble me to come in person!" The other three just bowed their heads and remained silent.
Lord Xinling bowed deeply and said: "Brother Ma died in the country, he deserves to be sacrificed!"
Mr. Zhongyue sang again: "Mr. Xinling sacrifices!"
Under the guidance of Mr. Zhongyue, Lord Xinling crossed the gate and went straight to the back hall, followed by ten retainers, each holding a sacrifice, arranged on both sides. After they finished walking, the four postmen stood up and followed them.
Mr. Zhongyue led Lord Xinling to the compartment of the mourning hall in the back hall to arrange the sacrifices. The four postmen entered the mourning hall and knelt down again by the door. Mr. Zhongyue took out four sets of mourning clothes from the compartment. They were much more exquisite than the temporary white cloth. They included clothes, clothes, ruffles and belts. The four of them took off their bloody clothes, hid them in the corner, and put on these mourning clothes. Although it is a little cold, it is better than the original clothes.
After they had changed into mourning clothes and removed the tributes from the cases, Mr. Zhongyue entered the compartment, and the four postmen knelt down in front of the door. Mr. Xinling came out first, followed by Mr. Zhongyue, and all the retainers were holding sacrifices, supported by small tables, and lined up in the compartments one by one.
Lord Xinling came to the door of the mourning hall and bowed first. Mr. Zhongyue sang in praise: "Lord Xinling, I sincerely bow to you!" He took the first sacrifice from the retainer: a pig's head and handed it to Lord Xinling. , and sang praises again: "Sacrifice!"
Lord Xinling took the pig's head and held it in his hands. Zheng Anping at the door quickly took it with both hands and placed it on the confession table. The following are millet, millet, and clear water in order, all placed on the table one by one. Then silk, cloth, clothes, and crowns were spread one by one on the ground in front of the case. Finally, there was a bunch of money and a jug of wine. The money was on the clothes and the wine was spilled on the ground in front of the door. Every time a song is presented, Mr. Zhongyue sings its praises one by one.
After the ten gifts were presented, the four postmen bowed down and thanked him. Finally, Lord Xinling beat his chest and shouted: "Mr. Ma is gone!" Mr. Zhongyue said promptly: "The ceremony is completed!" Lord Xinling withdrew. All the retainers gathered in front of the door as if they were joining in the fun. They greeted each other one by one, and the four of them bowed back one by one. Their heads were a little dizzy.
Finally, Mr. Zhongyue sang: "Sending a letter to Lord Ling!" The four of them quickly stood up and followed the retainers straight out of the door. The retainer took down a pottery pot from the car, and Mr. Zhongyue explained: "I am afraid that the lamp oil will not be exhausted, so I specially offer a pot of castor oil to help him use it." The four people thanked him and knelt down to send Lord Xinling to board the car and leave.
When the group of people were finally out of sight, the four of them fell to the ground with an "ouch", their whole bodies aching and their wounds aching. It took him a while to recover.
The chief saw Mr. Xinling walking away and came out of the darkness himself. He took the initiative to carry the oil in for the four people and fill the lamps with oil. Together with the four others, I reinstalled the door panels that were removed yesterday, working diligently and thoughtfully. The four of them were a little dissatisfied and said: "Elders don't have to worry about it, the boys will come on their own."
The head of the village said: "You guys can have Mr. Wei Xinling personally come to you, and you can build an unparalleled building, and get the supreme reward. Mr. Zheng lives in my house, and there will be many people who will seek refuge in you in the future!"
Zheng Anping said: "I am a humble person living in a noble place. I have received so many favors and I dare not forget them!" The head of the village paid his respects again and again and drove away reluctantly. Zheng Anping asked him to tell Zhang Lu that he would stay vigil at the post house today and would not go home.
After the chief left, the four of them sat in front of the lobby door to discuss the next step.
Originally, if something happened, everyone would listen to Masan. Now that Ma San is dead, Zheng Anping is the oldest among the four and has "seen the world", so he has become the backbone of everyone. Zheng Anping said: "Although we are brothers, we are not family members regarding Brother Ma's affairs. His family is still needed for funeral matters, and we cannot handle it arbitrarily." Everyone agreed unanimously.
Among the four, only Zheng Anping had been to Ma's house, so this task fell to Zheng Anping again. Zheng Anping said: "One is for private purposes, and the other two are for public purposes. I would like to invite one brother to accompany me." Everyone also recommended the second-oldest brother Su. Brother Su excused himself, "There must be no one in the post. There are only two boys left for fear of upsetting the world. It's better for Xiao Si to go with us. Brother Quan and I will take care of the post." Seeing what Brother Su said, Xiao Si did not dare to object. He could only say: "It's all thanks to Brother Zheng!"
Masan's friends are all military soldiers. Now during the war, there is no way to report the news, and he doesn't even know where they are. Except for Lord Xinling, no one came to express condolences. The four of them had nothing to do, but the wound started to hurt, so they decided to start a fire, debridement, apply medicine, cook porridge, eat, and sleep. After agreeing on the order of the night watch, the postmen went to a wing in the backyard and fell asleep.
After breakfast the next day, Zheng Anping took the festival talisman from the post, pretended to be a public servant, and went to Huayang. Liang Xiyi's talisman was true, and the two of them did not dare to work too hard, and hit the top every time they met the station. We rested for one night at Xizhong Post Station and one night at Great Wall Post Station. After breakfast, we left the Great Wall and came to Xinhuayang.
After leaving the Great Wall, there was no way station to rest, so we had to eat and sleep in the open air. When he arrived at Xiaoyi, Zheng Anping called for the city gate to be opened and showed his talisman, indicating that he was a soldier from Wei who was on official business in Huayang and stayed here. The people who opened the city called an old man, and the old man said: "It's okay to rest, but there is no food."
Zheng Anping felt strange and said: "How can there be no food in such a big city?"
The old man said: "Your Majesty came from Daliang, I'm afraid you don't know. We have been stationed in our city for several days. We have run out of food and fodder, and our strong men have been captured by the army. There are hundreds of people in the city, all old and weak, women and children. We don't know how to survive!" The man led into the city lord's palace, opened a side room, let the two of them in, and said: "I am an elder, and I am the temporary lord of the city. Your Majesty, please rest in the palace for a while. If there is any movement at night, I beg you not to join me!"
The last sentence shocked the two of them. The old man obviously didn't want to say what would happen at night, but it was obviously not a good thing. After the elder left, the two closed the door and whispered: "What can I do?" Both of them knew that the Wei army had taken the entire city as prisoners, and they still lived in the city for many days, although they did not directly conflict with the people in the city. , but the relationship will definitely not be harmonious. If they knew that they participated in the attack on the small town, would they...
I was thinking wildly, but I couldn't make up my mind. Finally, Zheng Anping said: "If you don't want to sleep in the open and live here, nothing may happen. Even if something happens, we can fight to the death with two crossbows and two halberds! Stay alert at night!" Before leaving, in order to ensure a smooth journey. , Brother Su lent his halberd to Zheng Anping, so the two of them had two halberds.
The two arranged the crossbows and arrows, refastened the halberds, and patrolled the room, but found nothing unusual. I untied the grain bag, ate a meal, and then rested against a corner. This ensured that I could hear all the movements, and that I could look after each other, so as not to be swept away.
In the haze, I heard noisy voices. Listening to the noise, people seemed to be gathering in the square outside the city, and there seemed to be a faint sound of cows "humming". Both of them woke up with a start and listened carefully. Someone was speaking, but they couldn't hear clearly. It seems like someone said something like "there will be consequences". After the commotion for a long time, everyone left without entering the city. At this time, the rumbling sound of the car was more obvious, as if it was carrying something heavy, two or three times. It wasn't until the sound of the car gradually faded away that I heard the door of the city lord's palace open and close with a "squeak" sound. The two of them were so nervous that their hands were sweating, and they never dared to fall asleep again. They were ready for the day...but nothing else happened that night.
At dawn the next day, the two of them did not dare to stay long, so they hurried out of the mansion and saw the two of them guarding the city gate. Zheng Anping explained that he stayed overnight yesterday and was leaving the city now. The two of them worked together to open the city gate and let them out. The two of them vaguely felt that these two people were probably women. But he didn't dare to take a closer look, so he left quickly after leaving the city.
After coming out of the small town, the two quickened their pace and kept going all the way, finally arriving at Masan's hometown outside Nanguan at dusk.
The arrival of the two people attracted everyone's attention. Someone soon recognized that Zheng Anping came with Ma San, but at that time, he was dressed as a merchant, and now he was dressed as a soldier. They stepped forward and asked, "But he is a friend of Ma San?"
Zheng Anping knelt down and worshiped: "It is Wei Shu!"
People hurriedly helped him and said, "Since you are a friend of Masan, why should you do this?"
Zheng Anping said: "Brother Ma... died for the country!"...
Although everyone did not understand what "dying for the country" meant, they could tell from Zheng Anping's sad expression that something bad must have happened, and they hurriedly said: "Please, Grandpa, please Grandpa!"
Taigong Ma was tremblingly called over, and everyone was talking: "Grandpa Ma, something happened to Ma San!"
Ma Taigong asked Zheng Anping, "What's wrong with Ma San?"
Zheng Anping said: "Brother Ma has been killed by thieves, and his body is parked in the post. I don't dare to do anything wrong with it. I will report it to the Taigong for his decision!"
