Lord of the Desert

Chapter 396 Return
Two days later, it was the third day of July.

Yunlan City, Gong Mansion.

By evening, the sun had set.

The sky was sinking from iron blue at the top to purple-black in the east, with only a sliver of white light remaining behind the western wall.

A banquet was set up in the hall. Hong Fan and six others sat around a round table, drinking in the rare cool breeze and leisure time they had in the past few days.

"I've been so busy lately, with so many things to do, I wish I could have two more people."

Qiu Yuankui put down the cup and stroked his knees while speaking.

"The court plans to appoint a governor in each of the three counties to oversee military and political affairs, and then split them up after the situation stabilizes."

"Now the news is almost confirmed. This position will be guarded by Second Rank Chief Censor Qiu Chushi."

Everyone present had heard of the name Mr. Qiu. It seemed that he was an important official in the Second Prince's faction and had close ties with the Martial Arts Academy.

"It seems that the headmaster has the upper hand."

Hong Fan said.

"Now that Feng Jianke is dead, the imperial court will naturally have the upper hand."

Xia Houling added.

"The governor is sent by the central government, and the temporary garrison is dispatched from Shengzhou nearby. It should be the Shengyu Army under the command of the princess."

Compared with Mr. Biqiu, Princess Xiao Chu of Dahua is quite famous.

She joined the army at the age of sixteen, was promoted to the Xiantian at the age of twenty-five, and is now twenty-eight years old. She was the first to fight against the sea tribe in the southern part of Zhanzhou. She named her army after the legendary water-commanding beast "Shengyu" who eats fish. She and Shen Tiexin are both considered one of the "most beautiful women in the world".

"The princess has opened her palace and held the imperial seal. The Shengyu Army is stationed in three borders, including more than 10,000 troops at the border of Shengzhou. Half of them will be transferred this time."

When Xia Houling said this, his expression looked a little strange.

Hong Fan knew that he came from a poor family but had great ambitions, and Xiao Chu had always been famous for being a "talented person" and might have had hopes for him.

After they had enjoyed some food and wine for a while, it was Gu Yixin who started the conversation again.

"General Xu, how are we going to be laid off?"

He hesitated for a long time before asking this question.

"It's rare to see you care about these things."

Xu Yuntao said with a smile.

"A few days ago, some people came to me to find a way out, but I don't know anything except farming and martial arts. How can I promise them anything? So I wanted to ask."

Gu Yixin said embarrassedly.

"The policy has been almost finalized in the past two days."

Xu Yuntao put down his chopsticks and replied seriously.

"The total value of the gold, silver, silk, rice, and other goods in the army that are easy to circulate is more than 1.6 million taels. The minimum amount for dismissing silver auxiliary soldiers and civilians is 10 taels, and the combat soldiers are 20 taels. Officers are given double the amount according to their ranks, and military merits are converted separately."

"The rest of the antique jades cannot be sold for the time being, and the land and houses must be handed over according to the court's will, and will be distributed after the new government is established."

After he finished explaining in detail, he looked back at Hong Fan.

"There is one more thing."

"You donated 15,000 taels of silver to the treasury to exchange for the Ming God. It was deposited in the treasury in early June. Now that the war is over, the money must be returned to you."

Xu Yuntao took out a thick paper package from his arms, and when he unfolded it, there were 150 brand new silver bills worth 100 taels each.

Fifteen thousand taels of silver is an incredible sum of money.

When Hong Fan looked at these banknotes, he felt sad.

In a year, there are disappointments, losses and frustrations.

But the three counties of Huaiyang gave him far more than they took away.

"Use this money as compensation for the soldiers who died in the battle of Yunlan."

Hong Fan pushed the banknote back.

Xiahou Ling and Chen Yan were moved by this and each drank the wine in their glass.

War is a vortex of interests.

Those who did good and bad things at that time did not necessarily have good and bad hearts.

But now that the dust has settled, the pension donated must be made with sincerity.

Qiu Yuankui sat there for a while, then suddenly stood up, went back to the house, got out a locust wood box, and gave it to Hong Fan.

The box contained a pair of organs left by Gong Zhengping.

The banquet is almost over.

Everyone asked each other about their future plans.

Xu Yuntao needs to arrange his comrades one by one, and may stay in the three counties for one or two years.

Gu Yixin is going back to his hometown in Shengzhou, hoping to catch up with the end of this year's autumn harvest. Qiu Yuankui plans to go to Shenjing to ask Guan Qimai or Xiao Ding for his contributions to the righteous army and improve the skills inherited by his master...

The cups and plates were in a mess.

Xiahou Ling hit the bowl with his chopsticks and sang a song to cherish time under the influence of alcohol.

【Life has no roots, floating like dust on the road;

Dispersed and following the wind, this is no longer an ordinary body...】

For the last round of drinks, even Gu Yixin raised his glass.

The stars and the moon are like a dream.

Qiu Yuankui asked about Hong Fan's return date.

Hong Fan smiled and waved his hand, saying only that he should not ask too many questions, so as to save them from separation.

······
Three days later, it was the sixth day of July.

Hong Fan finished his morning prayers and went to Guyi New Courtyard to have breakfast with him as usual. Unexpectedly, he had left at dawn, leaving only a short message on the table.

Originally, Hong Fan planned to be the first one to leave without saying goodbye, but Gu Yixin, who followed suit, got there first, so he had to go back with a wry smile.

After an hour and a half, Feng Qing and Xue Chi arrived on time, accompanied by Gan Deshou.

The former leader of the Niutou Mountain Volunteer Army has been staying in Yunlan City for some time. Yesterday, he brought Niu Laoba to seek refuge, hoping to follow him.

Seeing their sincerity, Hong Fan accepted it.

We meet again today to make the final arrangements.

Including when the letter was sent, the time and place of pick-up in Liangzhou, the address of the manor outside the city where one will stay after arriving in Xijing, etc.

After everything was made clear, Hong Fan took out another 1,500 silver notes and divided them among the three people.

Apart from travel expenses, most of the money would be used to purchase mounts and vehicles - the Feng family had collected most of the cattle and horses in the city when they moved north, resulting in high livestock prices.

Seeing the three men put away the banknotes, Hong Fan was silent for a while, and then added a word of advice.

"You don't need to save money on this trip, and there's no need to rush. The three counties are still not peaceful, so be careful."

After saying this, not only others but even Hong Fan himself laughed.

Three of them were completely skilled, nearly thirty of them were all through, and the rest were all veterans who had seen blood...

This situation is enough to suppress several waves of bandits. What else are you afraid of?

Feng Qing and his companions took their leave.

After closing the gate, Hong Fan had lunch alone.

After dinner, the cicadas chirped louder. He couldn't help but think of his clansmen in Jinhai and his friends in Xijing, and he felt itchy.

After grinding the ink in a hurry, Hong Fan picked up his pen and wrote down the eight words "Goodbye life, see you again in the world" and placed them on the desk.

Carrying the God of Light on his back and holding the Yuanci treasure in his arms.

Seeing that there was no one in the yard, he gathered his sand wings and flew up lightly.

The sun shines brightly.

No one noticed a dark shadow passing through Yunlan Street.

Looking down from above, Hong Fan saw the long queue outside Gong's house to collect the redemption money, the people repairing their houses, and many young people searching in the empty Feng's house...

Face the wind and rise higher.

He walked around the handsome Fengyunding three times, brushed past the treetops on the top of the cliff, said goodbye silently, and turned northwest.

The world suddenly opened up, as if the walker himself was not moving, but the earth was rolling beneath him.

Twenty miles, just out of the city.

Four hundred miles, passing by Duanli.

To the north, there are Liangshankou and Longqiu Town; to the west, there are Pang County and Niutou Mountain…

As we travel along the way, the mountains and rivers change.

Rocks are separated mountains, lakes are young seas.

The sun is scorching.

When he raised his eyes, the long-lost Liangzhou was already in sight.

Still the same as before.

PS: Life is rootless, floating like dust on the road;

Scattered and turned around by the wind, this is no longer the case.

——Excerpt from Tao Yuanming's Miscellaneous Poems

(End of this chapter)