This time everyone understood that Masan had been killed and wanted to return to his hometown for burial.
Taigong Ma also understood. He helped Zheng Anping up and said: "Ma San is the only one in the family. He has no brothers. He did not work hard at farming when he was young, and devoted himself to wandering. Both his parents were tired, and they died for a long time. That's right. Ma San was buried in the wilderness, and without sacrifice and sweeping, the weeds submerged him, making it difficult to find his trace..."
Zheng Anping did not expect this result, and suddenly felt disheartened. He wanted to explain that Ma San would be buried with military honors, but if this aroused the greed of the villagers, it would not be good. After calming down for a while, Zheng Anping said: "This boy belongs to Brother Ma. He has been indebted to me for a long time, and I have no choice but to repay him with my brother's death. Now that Brother Ma has passed away in the post, I ask the Grand Duke to tell me what will happen in the end."
Ma Taigong looked around, pointed out a person, and said: "Ma Zhong, you and Ma San are the closest. Ma San calls you Uncle Zhong, you can say something."
Ma Zhong was a middle-aged man who naively did not dare to come out. He said: "Ma San is a descendant of one lineage and passed down to three generations alone. Ma San has not been married yet and has no heirs. He is dead now. There are no households, so what can I say!" But listen to the Grand Duke’s orders.”
Ma Taigong then said to Zheng Anping: "When you came to our hometown before, you were like a merchant; now you are like a soldier. Who is Zunjia, and what does Ma Sangui do for a living?"
Zheng Anping felt deep sadness in his heart. Ma San was a life-or-death person, and his livelihood was not in the eyes of the villagers at all. If Ma San was not dead and came to report to them and ask them to make a decision, they would not even be interested in asking about Ma San's past. What is a living? He endured his temper and replied calmly: "Brother Ma is a soldier of the Wei Dynasty. I saw that he was a servant in Liangxi Post. All the people he met were nobles and officials. The boy was not talented, so he was a pawn under Brother Ma. Brother Ma died in the country and passed away. I am sorry for my glory, and I wish to protect my family, so I came to repay you!"
When Ma Taigong heard "I am sad after my death, I would like to protect my family", he immediately became energetic and said, "Can Ma San be rewarded?"
Zheng Anping said: "Your Majesty will reward you with a coffin, a coffin collar, and embroidered clothes for burial. Sacrifice an animal and a cup."
Zheng Anping spoke very lively, but Ma Taigong actually didn't understand. He thought there were many things, so he called Ma Zhong again and said: "Ma Zhong, Ma San is your close relative. Death is a matter of destiny, and the Ma family has to offer sacrifices. Can you?" Taking the nobleman to his home, but there are one or two that can be taken. Ask the nobleman to take them and bury them in the tomb. It is also a scene in the countryside. When you are young, you can go with Ji'er to worship in front of the spirit. If it is convenient, you can help the spirit return to his hometown. , I finally found a place to be buried. If it’s inconvenient, please be careful and ask the nobles to do it for you. You can be careful and know the boundaries, and the Ma family will be able to sacrifice and sweep them! Don’t let the nobles report the news! "
Ma Zhong had no choice but to nod his head and said, "Please, noble man!" He nodded and handed over to Zheng Anping and Xiao Si. The two of them had no choice but to follow and go to the countryside.
In a desolate corner, there is a hut leaning dilapidatedly, as if it will fall down if you blow on it. The door leaf has been removed, leaving the door wide open; the window panes have been replaced with broken earthen jars. Entering the door, there was nothing else to be found except dust. Zheng Anping couldn't find a slightly more complete piece of pottery. After searching left and right, I finally found a fire stick under the kitchen that was still intact. One side had been polished with glaze. It seemed that it had been used for many generations. It was a "heirloom treasure", so I picked it up. Wipe clean. Xiao Si couldn't find anything, so he kicked it from side to side unwillingly, raising waves of dust that made people cough. The three had no choice but to quit.
Back to the front, Grandpa has called Ji'er, his grandson, who looks lively. The Taigong pointed at Ji'er and said to Zheng Anping: "Your Majesty, please condescend to our hometown tonight. I would like you to lead these two people to worship in front of their souls tomorrow. Your Majesty, please sit down and have a meal." He turned around and bowed to the two of them. People are invited to come to their own homes in Lizhong. Seeing that the Grand Duke was personally receiving the funeral, everyone had no interest in talking to the mourners, so they dispersed. Some people gathered together in twos and threes, lamenting old anecdotes about Masan and lamenting that another family had lost its queen.
After dinner, we rested for the night in the thatched barn. When they got up the next day, Taigong prepared four portions of grains. Ma Zhong and Ji Ershuan packed the packages and set out for Daliang together.
Zheng Anping asked Xiaosi to lead the two Ma family members back to Liangxi Yi to worship in front of the spirit. He thought that Huayang City was not far away and wanted to go into the city to visit his former brothers. Since they were bringing two villagers with them, they made an appointment to take the Nanguan Pass this time, exploit the loopholes in the Nanguan Pass that had not yet been repaired, rest for a while in an unattended post, and then go straight into the village along the field path.
Not long after walking along the avenue, he found that Zuoying's soldiers had sent out sentries from a distance. Seeing Zheng Anping coming, he came out to ask why he was here. Zheng Anping said that he had returned to the country with Lord Wei Xinling, and now he had an errand to come to the area to visit his former comrades. The sentry said: "Brother, the war has resumed now. If nothing happens, please come back. We are trapped here, and we can do nothing. Brother, we will get out soon. Be careful not to make a mistake."
When Zheng Anping heard that "the war had resumed", he was shocked: Didn't Lord Xinling go to unsealing the peace negotiation? Why did the war start again? Asked: "The Qin people are coming again to attack?"
The sentry said: "I've heard that they are Koreans, but I don't know the truth."
Zheng Anping was even more shocked now. Han, aren't they allies of Wei? I even made a trip to Zhengcheng to visit Dr. Xu Jia who was on an envoy trip! He wanted to ask for more details, but drums suddenly sounded in the city. The sentry urged: "Brother, if you don't leave, you may be trapped! Go quickly!"
Zheng Anping did not dare to delay and left quickly. All I can think about is what is going on in this world? Is there any certainty?
Xiaosi took two villagers with him and naturally walked away unhappily. Zheng Anping almost entered the abandoned Nanguan Station with them.
There were no traces of fighting in the inn, but all the food and supplies had been collected, and all practical utensils had been taken away, leaving almost only the four walls.
After Zheng Anping entered the inn, without waiting for greetings, he hurriedly said to the three of them: "Can you hear the sound of drums in the city?"
Xiaosi said: "I seem to have heard something, but I haven't realized it."
Zheng Anping said: "The war has resumed, and the Koreans want to attack Huayang!"
Xiao Si almost jumped up: "Nai He is Korean?"
Zheng Anping learned what happened. Xiaosi said: "Brother Zheng is going to come back quickly. This is inevitable. What can we do?"
The two people in Mayi were also frightened when they heard that there was going to be a war. Zheng Anping said to the two of them: "If it weren't for me to dare to interfere with your family relationship, it would be a war, which would cause inconvenience to the outside world. Please return quickly and inform the villagers that they may be prepared."
Ma Zhong nodded repeatedly. Ji'er still had some knowledge, so he took out a bunch of money from his bag and presented it to Zheng Anping, saying: "We are deeply aware that a noble person has come from afar to report his funeral. Our city is too small and we cannot have a banquet. I would like to offer it with a small gift. If there is anything left, I would like to offer sacrifices in front of Ma Sanling. If the fighting does not stop for twenty-seven days, I will help you choose a good place for burial. Ma will be grateful!"
Zheng Anping saw that the young man's words were very reasonable, unlike the Grand Duke who only thought about his own interests, so he excused himself and said: "Brother Ma is buried in a funeral ceremony. We are brothers. I don't dare to accept this ceremony. If it is convenient, I can place it in his tomb." .”
Ji'er said: "Your body is strangely thin and you live in a poor hometown, but you have this ear."
When Zheng Anping saw what Ji'er said, he had no choice but to accept it and said, "You can return quickly so that the countryside can be prepared!" The two of them walked out of the inn, and Zheng Anping heard Ma Zhong complain: "What's wrong with a lot of money! What's more!" Can't get through..." Ji'er didn't answer, just pulled Ma Zhong and walked away quickly. Zheng Anping looked at the money in his hand and just shook his head.
Xiao Si was also a little anxious next to him, saying: "Why are the Koreans attacking me? Han and Qin are in harmony, and they are betraying their alliance?"
Zheng Anping said: "How can a villain know the things of a gentleman?"
Xiaosi asked: "Will you repay Shouhu?"
Zheng Anping said: "Who ordered it? How do you feel about it? Is it true?"
Xiaosi asked: "What can I do?"
Zheng Anping said: "We came out to report our funeral in Mayi. Now that Mayi is under attack, we are unable to offer sacrifices. So I gave a bunch of money and asked to offer sacrifices and choose a good place to bury him. The matter has been completed. Return to Yi to sacrifice Brother Ma!"
Xiaosi nodded in agreement. So the two of them raised their halberds, Zheng Anping inserted a fire stick into his waist, and walked along the field path to the village. Knowing that there might be a big battle, the two of them did not dare to rest at night. They only ate something and walked through the night. Fortunately, the moonlight was hazy, so it was not difficult to walk. It was not until early morning the next day that he returned to the prison. I took a rest in Xizhongyi with Jiefu, lit up the fire and had breakfast. Continue to Liangxiyi.
When they arrived in the confinement, the two of them felt relieved, no longer in such a hurry, and slowed down their pace. It was not until noon that they reached Liangxi Station.
Entering the post, Brother Su and Brother Quan were cooking porridge. When they saw the two coming in, they hurriedly greeted them. Zheng Anping unloaded his halberd and crossbow, flushed his face with water, and then said seriously: "The war in Huayang resumes!"
Su and Quan were also frightened and said: "Your Majesty has gone to Qifeng, how can we resume fighting? Your Majesty is in danger!"
Zheng Anping said: "If you are not fighting with South Korea, you are actually fighting with South Korea!"
This confused the two of them even more. Why did they start a fight with South Korea? Could it be that Wei Guo occupied Han's Huayang and South Korea wanted to take it back? Zheng Anping couldn't explain clearly, so he asked Su and Quan, "Has your Majesty reached the stage of unsealing?"
Brother Su said: "Brother Zheng doesn't know the strange way. On the day Brother Zheng and others left the post, Lord Xinling went to open the seal. Rumor in the village said that that day, the bells and drums were ringing, the flags were flying, two royal ships, and more than ten war ships. Go down the river until the seal is unsealed. The day after hearing the news, we will negotiate a peace treaty and wait until we go to the altar to tell heaven."
Zheng Anping said: "Should you tell heaven?"
Brother Su said, "Maybe we are waiting for an auspicious day. We haven't heard of it yet." Zheng Anping had not applied medicine for several days, so he asked Su and Quan to help clean the wound. The two of them drew water, burned it by the fire, and continued their discussion. Zheng Anping thought for a while and said: "I have no idea about this matter, so I'll just think about it. Maybe I'll consult the gentlemen..."
Brother Su said: "Brother Zheng left, Mr. Jun came to visit, but he didn't know each other. I want Mr. Yue and Mr. Zhang to go and unblock it!"
Zheng Anping asked: "What happened?"
Brother Su said: "But I will leave you a thousand yuan, and I will bury it with Brother Ma. What will I get from going to Mayi?"
Zheng Anping didn't want to say the Ma family's heartless and unjust words, and said: "The Ma family originally sent two people to accompany me to offer sacrifices, and they would carry the coffin and bury them when they could. However, the war broke out and the two returned to their hometown. It was inconvenient to come, so they left money. A bunch of them for burial. Choose a good place to bury them."
