"Haha, as expected of Li Wu's son. Bold and straightforward."
Seeing that Ang Lee did not care about beating An Qingzong at all, Yan Zhenqing nodded approvingly. He liked this kind of young man with courage and personality, just like when he was young.
"You know my father?"
Ang Lee was very surprised. The person standing opposite him was the famous calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. And from Yan Zhenqing's tone, he seemed to be very familiar with his father.
Yan Zhenqing nodded and said, "Not only do we know each other, but your father and I are best friends. But the world is unpredictable. I had the opportunity to stay in the capital to work, but your father was transferred to Ying Province. Since then, we have only exchanged letters and never met again. And now …"
Yan Zhenqing really could not continue. Other than sadness, there was only sadness in his heart.
Ang Lee never expected that his father and Yan Zhenqing were best friends. He had never heard of this. Of course, he had been a martial arts fanatic since he was young and did not care about this kind of thing.
"Uncle Yan, please come in."
Since he was his father's best friend, Ang Lee naturally had to politely call him uncle.
Yan Zhenqing nodded lightly and stepped into the front yard with his entourage. He habitually looked around.
"You're called Ang Lee. Uncle remembered correctly?"
"Yes, as in 'safe'."
"Your father is a straightforward person. Why would he give you such a gentle name? It's not like him." Yan Zhenqing smiled and shook his head.
"Uncle is right. My name was given by Ah Weng. He hopes that I will be safe and sound, so he gave me a courtesy name in advance."
"Oh, I see. Then your courtesy name …"
"Safe and sound."
"Safe and sound? Good. It seems that your Ah Weng really hopes that you will be safe and sound. Uncle will call you safe and sound then."
"Of course. Come, Uncle, please come in." Ang Lee extended his hand and gestured for Yan Zhenqing to sit.
Yan Zhenqing did not stand on ceremony and walked to the seat of honor. After all, Ang Lee was a junior. He did not need to be polite to a junior.
After the host and guests were seated, Aunt Bai served them a cup of hot tea and asked what else they needed to prepare.
"Auntie Bai, Uncle is an important guest. Ask Teng Ya 'er to come over and help cook. Also, ask Gouzi to get the wine."
"Oh, okay." Aunt Bai hurriedly agreed and walked towards the West Courtyard.
"I'm fine. Just a few dishes to fill my stomach. No need to trouble yourself." Yan Zhenqing hurriedly said politely.
Ang Lee smiled gently. "The White Wolf Mountain is a small place. If Uncle wants delicacies, I can't give you anything!"
"Haha, you are indeed Li Wu's son." Yan Zhenqing laughed heartily and pointed at Ang Lee. "You're fine. Your father really isn't a good friend. He didn't tell me he had such a good son, nor did he mention your uncle in front of you. Am I right?"
Ang Lee smiled faintly and admitted it.
Yan Zhenqing continued, "A few days ago in Liucheng County, Uncle saw you for the first time and mistook you for your father. However, after not seeing you for so many years, Li Wu couldn't be so young. It was more likely that you were his son. That was why Uncle told you his name and wanted to test you. I didn't expect you to just be stunned for a moment. You didn't seem to know Uncle at all.
It seems that you haven't heard of Yan Zhenqing's name. "Being stunned for a moment meant that he had a reaction in his heart. How could he say that he had never heard of Yan Zhenqing's name? The famous calligrapher Yan Zhenqing would be very famous in the future.
Of course, Ang Lee knew that Yan Zhenqing misunderstood his stunned behavior. He thought that his upright behavior of not accepting the gold had surprised Ang Lee, so he was stunned for a moment. However, he didn't know that Ang Lee was shocked by Yan Zhenqing's name.
However, Yan Zhenqing's logic wasn't wrong. After all, if Ang Lee knew that he had an uncle named Yan Zhenqing, he would definitely be shocked and ask about it. Ang Lee didn't ask, which meant that Li Wu didn't mention Yan Zhenqing's name.
Aunt Bai and Teng Ya 'er were very fast. In less than half an hour, a dozen dishes were prepared. Gou' zi also prepared a few jars of turbid wine.
After slaughtering the wild boar, Kun Xiong and Fei Yu came to visit Yan Zhenqing and eat with him. Aunt Bai and the others ate in the kitchen. After all, the rules of this era were like this. Ang Lee was from the future, so he couldn't change all of this.
After the meal, Aunt Bai and Teng Ya 'er were busy cleaning up the dishes. Kun Xiong and Fei Yu were in the kitchen cutting up the slaughtered wild boar meat. Gou' zi and Xiao Kui ran to the house next door to play. Ang Lee accompanied Yan Zhenqing to the West Courtyard for a walk. His attendants followed behind them.
"Wuyang, you're already seventeen this year and can be considered an adult. What plans do you have for the future?" Yan Zhenqing looked at the small animals in the shed and asked casually.
"Your nephew is still young. I feel that hunting and practicing martial arts every day is quite enjoyable."
Yan Zhenqing's expression was slightly unhappy. He said loudly, "A real man should have the world in his heart. Wuyang, your ability isn't bad. How can you be willing to be buried in this small mountain village?"
"Then uncle, what do you think I should do?"
"Join the army and serve the imperial court like your father." Yan Zhenqing was a little excited.
Ang Lee smiled faintly and said softly, "Uncle, you're really loyal to the imperial court. But since ancient times, the generals who made meritorious contributions didn't have good endings. Meng Tian, Han Xin, Peng Yue, Tan Daoji, they all didn't have good endings."
"Those were the generals before the Tang Dynasty. The generals of the Tang Dynasty all made meritorious contributions and entered the Lingyan Pavilion. What do you mean by they didn't have good endings?" Yan Zhenqing corrected him.
What he said was true. The Tang Dynasty was a tolerant era. The generals who made meritorious contributions were all treated very well. In this aspect, it was much better than other dynasties. Of course, this was also related to the official army system and the system of appointing generals and ministers in the Tang Dynasty.
The official army system made all the soldiers in the world the emperor's army, and they wouldn't be controlled by the generals. The system of appointing generals and ministers could make the generals who made great meritorious contributions give up their military power and become prime ministers without military power. Thus, they couldn't pose a threat to the emperor and were easy to control. Therefore, there was no need to kill the generals who made meritorious contributions.
In addition, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it had been fighting against foreign countries. A large number of capable generals were needed to fight against foreign countries. Therefore, it naturally wouldn't destroy the Great Wall by killing the generals who made meritorious contributions.
However, Ang Lee was already used to the comfortable life in White Wolf Village. He really didn't have much interest in making meritorious contributions to the country and entering the Lingyan Pavilion. What was the purpose of a person's life? Was it to be hung in the Lingyan Pavilion after death for future generations to admire?
"Zhuangzi once said that I don't want to be a dead turtle. I'd rather be a dead turtle in the temple than a dead turtle. Is the Lingyan Pavilion really that good?" Ang Lee pretended to be naughty and didn't think much of the Lingyan Pavilion.
"You …" Yan Zhenqing's chest was suddenly filled with anger. However, it was quickly released. He shook his head and said, "Forget it, forget it. Maybe you really haven't grown up yet and still don't understand many things."
Ang Lee smiled gently. "Uncle is right. Maybe in a few years, I'll be fighting to enter the Lingyan Pavilion, haha …"
Yan Zhenqing smiled bitterly and took out a letter from his chest. He warned, "Don't worry. If you want to join the military in the future, you can use this letter to go to the Shuofang and ask to see Wang Jieshuai. He will definitely give you a good future."
"Wang Jieshuai!"
"It's the Shuofang Provincial Governor, Wang Zhongsi."
"Wang Zhongsi." Ang Lee was shocked again. His father and Yan Zhenqing were close friends, which was already shocking enough. However, Yan Zhenqing actually knew the famous Wang Zhongsi. Moreover, he seemed to have a good relationship with Wang Zhongsi.
"That's right, Don't worry. Wang Jieshuai is three years older than uncle, but three years younger than your father. He's also your uncle."
"What, Wang Jieshuai is also close friends with my father?"
Ang Lee was shocked again. His little heart was pounding. He felt that his luck was really good. His missing father actually knew so many important people. Like this, he wouldn't have to be afraid of being bullied in the Tang dynasty.
Yan Zhenqing nodded. "That's right. The three of us are all good friends. Also, Wang Jieshuai's bravery far surpasses your father's. Furthermore, he has made great contributions to the Tang dynasty. If not for that, he wouldn't have become a Provincial Governor at such a young age. Uncle is still a Rank 8 Imperial Censor.
Right now, Wang Zhongsi was only thirty-six years old. It could be said that he was very young. To be able to become a Provincial Governor at this age was really not simple. This was enough to prove Wang Zhongsi's outstanding strength.
Ang Lee was still immersed in the atmosphere of his father knowing so many famous people, but Yan Zhenqing was already planning to leave.
"Don't worry. Uncle still has things to do, so I won't disturb you."
"What, uncle is leaving so soon? Are you returning to the capital?"
Yan Zhenqing shook his head. "I'm going to White Wolf Mountain to find someone first, then I'll return to the capital."
"Uncle, there are only fifty bandits in White Wolf Mountain. Why are you looking for them?"
Yan Zhenqing was stunned. "Don't worry. You know them very well."
"Their leader, Li Feishou Yu, is a good friend of mine."
"That's great. In that case, uncle's matter will be very easy to handle." Yan Zhenqing and his follower looked at each other with a joyful expression.
"However, uncle, I don't know where they live. I'll just meet Li Feishou Yu when I go hunting in the mountains. It's already late today. Why don't uncle stay for the night? Tomorrow morning, I'll go with uncle."
"Alright, since that's the case, uncle will stay for the night." Yan Zhenqing nodded in agreement.
The west wing of the backyard had always been empty. After dinner, Yan Zhenqing and Ang Lee walked around the west wing for nearly two hours before entering the west wing with their followers to rest.
"Imperial Censor, why didn't you tell Li An about An Lushan's attempt on Li Wu's life so that he could be on his guard against An Lushan? Moreover, with his father's death on his mind, he can't remain idle."
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