C33 Return to the Capital with Victory
On the Yan Men Guan battlefield, the soldiers of the Song Jun shouted and cheered in the sky. Not far away, the Liaoning army had abandoned their armours and were retreating towards the borders of the Liaoning. After more than half a month of fierce fighting, the Song soldiers once again drove the Liaoans out of the Song Dynasty. Seeing the army disappear into the mountains, the soldiers were unable to get excited. This was because countless heroes had used their lives and blood to exchange for it.
Yang Yanzhao rode on his purple red warhorse, which had been following him on the battlefield for dozens of years, and the spear in his hand, along with the one and only relic left behind by his father back then. At this time, he pulled the horse's head, turned around and said to the soldiers with a loud voice, "Return to camp." The great army majestically retreated to the back.
That night, in the Song Jun's army camp, there were no celebratory banquets nor were there any sounds of laughter. Everyone sat around a bonfire and silently prayed for the heroes who had died, hoping that they would make a good journey.
Just then, Yang Yanzhao walked out of the tent, followed by Zhang Jinliang and Lu Qingwen, the two assistant generals. Yang Zongbao followed beside his father, and after half a month of training, he personally saw countless of his compatriots fall in front of him. He looked more mature and stronger now. The soldiers stood up when they saw the general approaching.
Yang Yanzhao looked at everyone and nodded. He turned around and said to Zhang Jinliang: "Go and prepare a few jars of wine for all the soldiers to drink. After such a long time of killing, they have worked really hard."
Zhang Jinliang sighed lightly, looking at the general in front of him whom he had followed for many years. He thought to himself, "He never thought of himself, the first thing he thought of was his soldiers. Where can he find such a good general?" I feel so ashamed of myself.
Yang Yanzhao saw that he was standing still in his original position, and asked: "What's wrong?"
Zhang Jinliang quickly replied: It's nothing, I'll bring a few people with me to bring the wine over. As he spoke, he turned around and called for a few soldiers to head back to the camp.
Yang Yanzhao smiled slightly, and then said to the soldiers beside him: "Everyone, sit down and talk, now you don't have to be too constrained. When we're not fighting, you can treat me as your best friend, if you have anything to talk about, everyone can talk." Then he smiled at them and sat down cross-legged. Just then, Zhang Jinliang and a few soldiers brought the alcohol over.
Yang Yanzhao said loudly: "Soldiers, during this period, everyone has worked hard, and now, the Empire is at the head, and the attacks of the Liao Family are becoming more frequent, so I do not have anything to give everyone. Today, I will take this opportunity when the Liao Army is defeated to be chased out of the Song Dynasty, and have a drink with everyone." Afterwards, he instructed a few attendants to distribute the bowls and pour the wine.
The soldiers then shouted in unison, "We want nothing more than to follow the general into battle, defend the Song, drive away the Liaoans, and die." His voice was loud and resounding, echoing in the skies above the army camp. Anyone who saw such a magnificent scene would be unable to stop themselves from tearing up.
Even Yang Yanzhao, the great general who had fought on the battlefield for dozens of years couldn't help but be shocked. With a trembling voice, he said, "It's enough to have warriors say those words.
As he spoke, he stood up with the bowl of wine and looked up at the endless sky. He said to the soldiers, "Everyone, hold up the wine, let us honor those brave martyrs who sacrificed themselves to protect our country. They are the role models for all of us. With that, he bent down and sprinkled a bowl full of wine onto the ground that was filled with the flesh and blood of countless of his compatriots. The soldiers then stood up and poured the wine in their hands onto the ground as they chanted in their hearts, "Death heroes, you are the pride of the Yang Jia Jun, the pride of the Great Song. If you leave, we will uphold this belief and take revenge for your deaths, strive for the peace of the Great Song, and bleed our last drop of blood."
Yang Zongbao heard the heroic cheers of the soldiers and saw the sight of the righteous army. He could not help but shed tears, this was truly a captivating scene.
At this time, Yang Yanzhao raised a bowl of wine and said loudly: "This bowl, I offer it to everyone, because you are all soldiers that have followed me for many years, and are close to me. Your families all have parents and brothers, but now you cannot reunite with them. As a general, I do have a lot of things that I don't do well, and I hope everyone will forgive me. In some places, I might have done rather harsh things, but that's all in order to train a Yang Jia Jun that will make people tremble in fear. At this moment, I am ashamed to say so with the bowl of wine in my hand. " He finished the wine in one gulp.
The soldiers replied in unison, "What the general does is always right. We are proud to be a member of the Yang Jia Jun, proud to be able to defend the Song Dynasty with the general. This bowl of wine, we will toast to the general together. " After saying that, the soldiers finished the full bowl of wine in one go.
Deep into the night, after everyone finished drinking, they all went back to their respective camps to rest. Yang Zongbao stood alone outside the camps, looking at the sky.
At this time, Lu Qingwen walked to his side and said: "What are you thinking about here, why aren't you going back to rest?"
Yang Zongbao turned around and said, "If one day I can be like my father, leading soldiers and killing enemies for our country, how great that would be."
Lu Qingwen smiled and said: "Aren't you the same as your father now? To have such spirit at such a young age, in the future, both you and your third brother will definitely be stronger than your father."
Yang Zongbao smiled slightly and said: "How could I compare to my third brother? He is currently studying hard at home and will definitely become a great general like Father in the future. He will lead the Yang Jia Jun to kill enemies for our country." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Oh, right. Uncle Lu, is there something you need from me?"
Lu Qingwen said: "General, if you still have anything to say, please go ahead."
Yang Zongbao said: "Alright, I will be going now. Thank you Uncle Lu, you should rest early." Then he turned and walked back to the general's tent.
Lu Qingwen looked at his back, and revealed a praising smile.
Yang Zongbao walked into the tent, and saw that his father was reading a book on troops, and lightly said: "General, what business do you have with me in the future?"
Yang Yanzhao looked at him in shock, then laughed: "Why did you not call me daddy anymore, and directly called you general?" As he said that, he waved for Yang Zongbao to sit beside him.
Yang Zongbao walked over puzzledly, and thought: "Last time, I clearly called out his father's name and got scolded. Why did I have to call him father today?"
Yang Yanzhao looked at him, as if he understood his thoughts. He patted his shoulder and laughed: "It's just the two of us now, you aren't even calling him daddy, are you angry at father again?"
Hearing that, Yang Zongbao immediately said: "Zong Bao is not angry at Father."
Yang Yanzhao laughed: "Then that's good, now that you have grown up, after training, you have become more mature, and become more like a man. As soldiers, all the people in the world are our parents. No matter what price we have to pay, we have to let them live a peaceful life, so that the country can become stronger and not be violated by outsiders. If the people aren't soothed, then there's no need to talk about sending troops to fight and resisting foreign invaders. "
Listening to his father talking about the great principle of protecting the nation and saving the people, Yang Zongbao felt extremely emotional, and then said: "I want to be like father, becoming a great general to benefit the people of the world."
Yang Yanzhao nodded with a slight smile: "It's not good to just not talk about cultivation, it's better not to talk about it. The most important thing is to wait for that day to come." You and Vice General Lu will be returning to the capital together tomorrow morning. As soon as the troops return to the Liaoning, they will definitely recuperate for a while, so there won't be an attack soon. Go back and check on the situation in the imperial court. Go home and see your mother and your grandmother. "And guide your third brother."
Yang Zongbao nodded his head: "Since Zong Bao knows, father, you can rest assured."
Yang Yanzhao smiled and continued: "I heard that this year, father is not at home. You are the one who went to Wu Dang to participate in the Martial Forest Ceremony that happens once every ten years.
Yang Zongbao said: "I met a few good friends who were around my age."
Yang Yanzhao said. "Oh, since you're good friends, when you get back, you can meet up with them if you have the chance, and ask them how they've been during this period of time.
Yang Zongbao nodded his head: "Thank you, Father. Zong Bao will know now. If Father has nothing else, then I will not disturb you. I will return first." Yang Yanzhao smiled and nodded.
The morning of the next day, Yang Zongbao and Lu Qingwen bid their farewell to Yang Yanzhao. Zhang Jinliang and the soldiers led a group of people and left Yan Men Guan, rushing towards the capital. On the way, every city they passed, the citizens automatically stood on both sides of the street to welcome the return of these brave soldiers.
A few days later, they arrived at the outskirts of the Bianjing City. When the soldiers guarding the city saw a group of men and horses heading towards them, they shouted, "Which general's army is in front of us?"
One of Yang Zongbao's bodyguards immediately replied loudly, "The Emperor has bestowed upon the people of the 'Great General Wu', 'General Ping Liao', of the Yan Men Guan to the capital."
The captain of the city guards hurried down the city wall when he heard the report from the soldiers, and personally came to welcome them. He walked up to them and said: "So it's Vice General Lu and Eldest Young Noble Yang Zongbao from the Tianbo Estate, I came late, I hope you'll forgive me."
Lu Qingwen replied: "Sure."
That city guard captain asked: "Did you Yan Men Guan chase the Liaars out of the Great Song Empire again?"
Yang Zongbao smiled and nodded.
The city guard captain excitedly laughed out loud, and then he controlled his excitement and said: "This is great, as long as General Yang and his Yang Jia Jun are here, don't think of taking advantage of our Song Dynasty." With that said, he followed Yang Zongbao and the others and entered the city.
Qing Jing City erupted with activity. The citizens gathered on the streets, and even the business people all stopped what they were doing and rushed out into the streets to watch Yang Zongbao and the rest return. The entire city was as lively as if it was the New Year.
People discussed excitedly: "Yang Jia Jun is indeed powerful."
"Yes, as long as Yang Jia Jun acts as the front line, we can definitely defeat all of them."
"That's right, 20 years ago, there was a Yang Ye from the Yang family called 'Yang Wu Lang', and now there's another 'Yang Liu Lang' Yang Yanzhao. No matter what kind of villains he has, the Yang family will never be defeated."
The first person to speak immediately stopped him, "Keep your voice down. It would be terrible if those people heard it."
The second person continued, "That's right, those people are really too ruthless. They are even more vicious than devils. "If the Great Song had more people like the Yang family, they wouldn't have been bullied by a small Liaoning people, sigh …"
When the first person heard him speak, he hurriedly said, "That's enough, that's enough. You don't have to say anymore. Everyone knows that wine is fine now." Saying that, he sighed, as if feeling sorry for the heroes who died in the Yang family.
At this time, Yang Zongbao and the others had already reached outside of the palace, only to see a eunuch hurriedly walking over: "The two generals have finally returned. The moment the emperor received the news, he had been waiting for you two to return to the capital.
Yang Zongbao and Lu Qingwen said at the same time: Thank you, Eunuch. After saying that, he followed his father-in-law into the palace, while the other soldiers were arranged to rest elsewhere.
