As expected, An Lushan had even higher ambitions.
Yan Zhuang smiled and said seriously, "Governor, although His Majesty is old now, his ambition has not diminished. He has a great desire to expand. As long as you make more contributions, you will certainly be able to win His Majesty's recognition."
"You are right. If I didn't make contributions, I wouldn't be where I am today." An Lushan smiled slyly and indicated for Yan Zhuang to continue.
Yan Zhuang was overjoyed and continued, "Governor, one of the seven tribes of the Xi Tribe, the Nu Tribe, has invaded the border the most. Why don't we start with the Nu Tribe and kill a few thousand of them to report to the court?"
An Lushan nodded and sneered, "The leader of the Nu Tribe, Li Tagu, has repeatedly looked down on me. I have long wanted to teach him a lesson. However, the Nu Tribe is the largest tribe of the Xi Tribe. The entire tribe has 30,000 soldiers. Their military strength is not below our army. If there is not enough reason to attack, I really can't do anything to him."
"Governor, there is no need to worry. Although the Nu Tribe has many soldiers, they are scattered within a radius of a few hundred li. Each place has no more than a thousand people. Our army does not need to launch a large-scale attack. We only need to send a few thousand elites to attack the tribe that has invaded the border the most and kill most of them. This way, we can present a victory to the court and at the same time intimidate Li Tagu."
Yan Zhuang knew very well that the Xi Tribe had to spread out as much as possible to find enough fodder for their cattle and sheep. If they gathered together, the cattle and sheep would die faster.
And if they gathered together and invaded the Great Tang on a large scale, they would definitely infuriate the Son of Heaven, who rejoiced in grandiose achievements, and thus launch a large-scale northern expedition. But if a small number of soldiers entered the Great Tang to plunder food, they would not anger the Son of Heaven.
An Lushan touched his belly and said coldly, "I really don't have the heart. If the Xi Tribe are all dead, what can I use to present a victory to the court?"
"Governor is wise. The Xi Tribe are cunning rabbits and the Khitans are flying birds." Yan Zhuang smiled slyly.
"Haha, you really are my son. With your help, I have no need to worry about not being able to dominate a region." An Lushan touched his belly and laughed excitedly.
"I will follow your lead." Yan Zhuang was overjoyed.
"Governor, Censor Yan Zhenqing requests an audience."
"Yan Zhenqing."
An Lushan and Yan Zhuang were both stunned.
Yan Zhenqing was only an eighth-rank official, but his calligraphy skills were unparalleled. Because of this, he was quite famous.
Yan Zhuang rolled his eyes and said anxiously, "Commander-in-chief, Yan Zhenqing must have entered the city secretly. If he already knows about Dalang, Commander-in-chief must not take personal feelings into consideration."
"He's just a scholar. I know what I'm doing. Men, open the gates and welcome him."
"Aiya, Censor Yan, forgive me for not going out to meet you. Hahaha." The moment the door opened, An Lushan went forward with a face full of smiles.
Seeing An Lushan's chubby figure and silly smile, Yan Zhenqing was happy. He immediately bowed and said, "Governor An is too polite. I am only an eighth-rank censor. How could I trouble the governor to personally welcome me? Governor An is too polite."
"Censor Yan is inspecting Ying Province on the orders of the Son of Heaven. Even if you are only a ninth-rank official, you are still an emissary of the Son of Heaven. How could you use your rank to determine seniority? Hahaha." An Lushan laughed even more foolishly.
While An Lushan had been a little too polite, Yan Zhenqing was still rather comfortable with it.
"Censor Yan, come, come. Please come in."
"Come, serve tea and prepare the banquet."
An Lushan was too polite. This made it difficult for Yan Zhenqing to speak about An Qingzong.
"Governor An, I heard that Eldest Young Master is skilled in archery and horses. In the future, he will be a valiant general of the Tang dynasty. Would it be possible for me to meet him?"
An Lushan heard this and was startled. He exchanged a glance with Yan Zhuang.
Yan Zhuang understood and said, "Censor Yan, you don't know. Dalang made a mistake today. The governor was very angry. After teaching him a lesson, he has been locked in the woodshed. He is not allowed to leave for a month."
"Hmph, this unfilial son. If his mother did not plead for mercy, he would have been beaten to death on the spot." An Lushan pretended to be angry.
"Governor An, there is no need to be too angry. It is inevitable for young people to make mistakes. Just teach him more." Yan Zhenqing persuaded.
"Censor Yan, please excuse me. The guest room has been prepared. Since you have come all the way here, you must stay for a few days. Let me be the host."
"Thank you, Commander-In-Chief An. In that case, this lowly official will accept your offer."
The banquet needed two hours to prepare. Yan Zhenqing and his entourage went to the guest room to rest under the guidance of the servants of the Governor's Office.
"Censor, in my opinion, Governor An is not selfish. He is an upright person."
"It is too early to say that. One or two interactions are far from enough to see through a person."
Yan Zhenqing felt that An Lushan was being too polite. There was a hint of hypocrisy in his words. Of course, this was just his intuition.
"Governor, Yan Zhenqing indeed knows about Dalang."
"Hmph, what an untactful scholar. I was so polite, but he still could not shut his mouth. Fortunately, Teacher expected this." An Lushan was furious.
"Governor, what is our next step?"
"Send someone to closely monitor Yan Zhenqing's every move. He must not know anything that he should not know."
"Yes, Governor."
White Wolf Village was still White Wolf Village and had not changed at all. However, Ang Lee was now rich, and it was a huge sum of more than 600 strings of cash. Because of this, he was in a good mood. Looking at White Wolf Village in front of him, he felt that it was much more pleasing to the eye than before.
However, after having money in his hands, the two run-down houses at home were very unpleasant to the eye. Since he had money, there was no reason not to improve his life.
Ang Lee's current residence was half a mile away from the ancestral home that he had sold. However, there was a large open space in between. Because of this, he could see the ancestral home every day when he went out. In the past, he could only look at it. Now, Ang Lee wanted to redeem it.
"Kun Xiong, Fei Yu, ever since the Lu family bought our ancestral home, it seems that we have not lived there."
Ang Lee stared at the ancestral home in the distance.
"Big Brother, are you planning to buy the ancestral home back?"
"Big Brother, the ancestral home is ours. We should buy it back."
Ang Lee nodded and said softly, "Kun Xiong, go to the Lu family and take a look."
"Yes, Big Brother."
"Big Brother, today's matter …" Li Feiyu was a little nervous.
Ang Lee smiled indifferently. "Isn't it just beating up An Qingzong? It's no big deal. You don't have to be so nervous."
"Big Brother, do you want to go and say hello to Brother Shouyu first?"
Ang Lee waved his hand. "No need. I'll just tell him the next time we go hunting. This time, we escaped in the northwest direction. Therefore, even if the soldiers want to chase after us, they will go in the northwest direction. White Wolf Village is so remote. It's enough for them to find us."
Ang Lee looked very relaxed on the surface, but he was also a little nervous. However, life still had to go on. As long as he raised his vigilance and passed the limelight, it would be fine. If he was unfortunately discovered, it would not be too late to go to White Wolf Mountain.
"Big Brother, Big Brother."
"Kun Xiong, what's the situation?"
"Big Brother, the Lu family is about to move back to Youzhou. The house they lived in has been sold to the Cui family. Our ancestral house is priced at 50 strings of coins, but the Cui family is only willing to offer 40 strings of coins, and the Zhao family is only willing to offer 35 strings of coins. The deal is not done yet."
Ang Lee was overjoyed. He was just about to redeem the ancestral house when the Lu family moved back to Youzhou. This kind of feeling of being blessed by the heavens was very comfortable.
"Kun Xiong, this is a lump of gold. It's worth 60 strings of coins. I'll leave the matter of redeeming the ancestral house to you." Ang Lee took out a lump of gold and handed it to Li Kun Xiong.
"Big Brother, don't worry. Leave it to me."
"Fei Yu, Little Sprout, pack up well. We're moving tonight."
"Yes, Big Brother."
"Got it, Big Brother."
Fei Yu and Little Sprout were very excited. After all, they were about to bid farewell to the two leaky temporary houses and move into the spacious ancestral house. They would no longer have to suffer from hunger and cold.
Looking at the busy Li Feiyu and Little Sprout, Ang Lee was quite emotional. Their family was finally going to live a good life. And this was only the beginning. Ang Lee had many more plans waiting to be implemented.
The matter of redeeming the ancestral house went very smoothly. Li Kun Xiong convinced the Lu family with the price of 45 strings of coins and immediately closed the deal. This was only 15 strings of coins more than the 30 strings of coins they sold the ancestral house for. Ang Lee was not short of money now, so he naturally did not care about this.
"Big Brother, everything is ready."
Ang Lee nodded and said softly, "Okay, let's go to the ancestral house immediately."
Putting the packed luggage on the sleigh, Ang Lee and the other three immediately went to the ancestral house half a mile away. At this moment, they were very excited. After leaving the ancestral house for more than a year, they could finally go back.
Ang Lee's ancestral house was not a luxurious house. It was only a few acres in size and was divided into two courtyards. In the middle of the front courtyard was the main hall. On the east and west sides were two side rooms. On the south wall were the woodshed and kitchen. The main door of the house was on the southeast side.
The front and back courtyards were separated by the courtyard wall and the main door. When the main door was pushed open, it was the backyard. The backyard was where the head of the house lived. There were more rooms. On the north side of the front courtyard were three main rooms. On the left and right sides were two side rooms. On the south side near the main door and the courtyard wall was a corridor with ventilation. The space in the middle was paved with stone bricks, but there were also some places left for planting flowers.
Although it was not a luxurious house, it was already a very big house for Ang Lee and the other three. It was enough for them to live in comfortably.
The house was located in the westernmost part of the village. The location was a little remote, but it was also relatively quiet. Further west was the temporary house that Ang Lee and the other three built.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
The moment the door was pushed open, the flying dust and snowflakes caused everyone to cough uncontrollably.
"Big Brother, no one has lived here for more than a year. It seems like we need to clean it up properly before we can live in it."
"Yes, Big Brother. We have been away for more than a year."
Ang Lee looked at the familiar yet strange courtyard in front of him and said softly, "It's getting late. Don't worry about the front courtyard. Clean up the backyard so we can live in it immediately."
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