Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 92 Young Zhang Liao (Please read 4k words)

It's obvious that both of them misunderstood, but they can't be blamed; it was just too much of a coincidence.

Our lord's surname is Zhang. He went up the mountain to cultivate with his master when he was young and has only been in the world for a year. His origins are mysterious.

Hearing this news suddenly now, it's inevitable to make connections.

Furthermore, the fact that the lord had reached adulthood three times but had no heirs caused Han Ji and Huang Zhong, two old men in Taoyuan, to feel a sense of inexplicable disappointment.

Once you've pledged allegiance to a lord, you're in the same boat. Only when the lord has descendants can the legacy be passed down.

This idea is a universal value that will remain so today and for over a thousand years to come.

Now that such a Zhang family has suddenly appeared, it's no wonder they would make such connections. So after spending seven or eight days arriving in Luqi and settling in, Han Ji led his group to Mayi.

The distance from Lüchi to Mayi is not much shorter than the distance from Zhending to Lüchi, about 150 li, but the travel speed is several times faster.

Taiyuan Prefecture was the gateway to the north from the Central Plains. It could be said that once one passed through Yanmen and Taiyuan Prefectures to go south, Luoyang and Chang'an were like maidens opening their doors to welcome guests.

Emperor Wu chose Mayi as the location for his first campaign against the Xiongnu, because it was a strategic stronghold deep enough to be considered a bridgehead for entering the Central Plains, which would make the Xiongnu more likely to believe his plans.

Although the Mayi Plot ended badly, Emperor Wu succeeded. It was precisely because of the failure of the Mayi Plot that he was able to carry out a major overhaul of the military system and allow Wei Qing and other Imperial Guards to officially take the stage.

The journey wasn't particularly fast, but Han Ji and his group covered 150 li (75 kilometers) in less than two days. Apart from the treacherous plank road of the Yanmen Eighteen Bends, the rest of the route was relatively flat.

Fifty-odd riders might be considered unusual in other places, but in Bingzhou it was nothing special.

Bingzhou was originally a horse-breeding area of ​​the Han Dynasty, and the horse administration of Dai Commandery has existed since the time of King Wuling of Zhao during the Warring States period. Although the official horse-breeding scale is less than 10% of that during the reign of Emperor Wu, horse breeding is still prevalent among the people.

So while other things may be lacking here, horses are plentiful.

After handing over the travel permit, they entered Mayi. The snow scenery of Mayi, located on a plain, was beautiful, but Han Ji and the others had no time to appreciate it.

Upon entering the city, the group immediately began inquiring about various places. Huang Zhong, displaying his heroic spirit, went to visit the wandering knights, while Han Ji, indulging in the airs of a noble family, visited powerful clans and gentry along the way.

The Zhang family of Mayi had truly fallen into decline. Even with the two men's extraordinary abilities to traverse various counties, it still took them two days to find the exact location.

Keep in mind that the hundred-mile journey they had taken had only taken them less than two days.

But now that we know the location, things are much easier.

Prepare gifts and pay your respects!
In November, Mayi was already covered in snow. A dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city stood alone in the wind and snow. The rammed earth walls of the house were cracked by the erosion of time, and the roof tiles were incomplete. Snow seeped in through the holes and froze into sharp icicles inside the house.

Fourteen-year-old Zhang Liao was wearing only a thin linen garment, chopping firewood in the yard with an axe in his hand. His palms were covered with frostbite, and his tiger's mouth was calloused from holding the axe for many years. Every time he swung the axe, the white breath he exhaled condensed into frost in the cold air.

The sound of her mother coughing came from inside the house.

Since her father's death, the family's savings have been exhausted. Her mother has caught a cold but has no money for treatment. In the past, the Zhang family was quite well-known in Mayi. Her father was once a centurion in the border army, but after his death in battle, the family's land was seized by powerful local tyrants. Now, only this ancestral home remains, but it is also dilapidated due to years of disrepair.

If it weren't for the occasional help from relatives, my family probably wouldn't even have been able to save this old house.

Tired from chopping wood, Zhang Liao paused to rest, gazing silently at the empty stable in the corner of the courtyard, and sighed.

The stables in the corner of the yard were empty; the last old horse had been sold a few days ago to get some money to buy medicine for his mother.

Looking back, he remembered that when his father was alive, the family had more than ten fine horses, and every autumn hunt, his father would take him out on horseback. Now...
The sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, shattering the silence of the snow-covered ground.

Zhang Liao looked up and saw a group of cavalrymen stopped outside the courtyard. The two men at the head of the group were both around thirty years old. One of them was wearing a brocade robe with a fox fur cloak over it and a warm jade pendant hanging at his waist. He was clearly from a noble family. The other man was burly and strong. His thick fur coat was covered with white frost, making him look like an old bear in the forest.

The attendants behind him were all dressed in fur coats, and longbows hung beside their saddles, clearly indicating that they were not ordinary merchants.

The man dismounted, bowed respectfully, and spoke in a gentle voice:

"Could it be the Zhang family of Yanmen?"

Zhang Liao gripped the axe handle tightly, warily sizing up the newcomer. Over the years, he had encountered countless scoundrels and ruffians who came to collect debts, forcibly buy his house, or even try to force his mother to become their concubine. He had long since learned to speak with his sword.

But the people in front of him were different—there wasn't much malice in his eyes; on the contrary, they all carried a hint of... expectation?

"Wen Yuan? Cough cough, do we have guests?"

A few coughs came from inside the room, followed by a weak question.

Orphaned and widowed, Zhang Liao, at only fourteen years old, had already come of age and taken on the responsibility of his family.

Zhang Liao remained vigilant, holding the axe handle and facing Han Ji and the others, slowly retreating to the front of the house.

"Mother, a group of strangers have arrived," Zhang Liao said in a language that Han Ji and the others couldn't understand.

"Since you haven't forced your way in... well, my son, please treat this kind guest well."

The same response came from inside the house.

Han Ji was not surprised. There was frequent communication between the Han and non-Han people in Bingzhou. It was common for Han people to marry non-Han people and vice versa.

"But Mother, where in the house do we have any extra money to entertain them?" Zhang Liao's face showed a hint of difficulty. He could tell that Han Ji and the others meant no harm, but if they were to entertain them, where would he find something to offer?

"My son, you are dull-witted. If the guest is kind, a bowl of warm water will be enough to satisfy him; if the guest is unkind, even if you offer him a fortune, it will not fill the void. Cough cough, my son, you must quickly learn how to conduct yourself in society... cough cough, I feel I can't hold on much longer."

"mother!"

The sounds from inside the house grew even weaker. Zhang Liao no longer cared about Han Ji and the others; he threw down his axe, pushed open the door, and ran inside.

Outside the courtyard fence, Han Ji and Huang Zhong exchanged a somewhat embarrassed glance.

'My lord said it was a time of desolation, and it truly is. Alas, this orphan and widow.'

Upon arriving at the Zhang family and meeting Zhang Liao, Han Ji realized he might have misunderstood. Zhang Liao bore no resemblance to his lord, and although the woman in the room had a weak voice, she was not particularly old. The possibility of her being a direct descendant of his lord was practically nonexistent. However, even so, he dared not be negligent. Although she was not a direct descendant, if she was a collateral descendant, then blood relations had to be considered.

He thought for a moment, then pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Hansheng, come in with me. You all wait outside!"

"promise!"

"Sir, the medicine packet."

A soldier from Taoyuan took out a leather-wrapped package from his saddlebag and handed it over.

Han Ji accepted the gift, thanked Huang Zhong, and then stepped into the courtyard.

The two walked quickly to the door, bowed, and said, "We apologize for entering uninvited."

After saying that, the two of them rushed into the house.

The room was simply furnished, and the woman wrapped in several layers of leather on the bed was extremely weak.

Seeing the two barge in, Zhang Liao, who was by the bedside, could no longer contain his anger and grievances. He grabbed a short knife from under the bed and started slashing at them while shouting for kill!
"You! It's all you! Ahhh!" "Kid, calm down."

Facing the dagger coming straight at him, Huang Zhong remained calm, took a step forward, and grabbed Zhang Liao's wrist with his hand.

With a forceful pull, the boy's hand opened, and the short knife fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Zhang Liao struggled after being captured by Huang Zhong, but he was no match for him and was eventually bound by Huang Zhong, who tied his hands to his chest.

“Hey, Gongzhi, you know what, although this kid doesn’t look like you, he does have some of that brute strength.”

Han Ji approached the bedside, tearing at a packet of medicine in his hand. Hearing Huang Zhong's words, he turned his head helplessly and said, "Han Sheng, please don't be rude. It's just that you and I misunderstood our lord's intentions."

"These two have little to do with the lord, so don't tarnish the lady's reputation."

After saying that, he opened the medicine packet in his hand, picked up a ball of dry millet, looked at the medicine bowl by the bed, put the millet ball into the medicine bowl, and added some water from the earthenware jar next to it.

After the millet ball melted, he helped the extremely weak woman up and said, "Excuse me."

He then fed the woman the millet porridge in the bowl.

This millet soup was a special life-restoring porridge that Zhang Xian prepared for the Taoyuan people who were away from home and suffering from illness.

The drying process reduced the recovery effect by half, but even so, the woman's complexion improved instantly after drinking the porridge.

After finishing the bowl of cold porridge, the woman's complexion became rosy.

It must be said that the ingredients in this porridge are precious. Even disregarding the special function that Zhang Xian bestowed upon it, the ginseng root powder alone is enough to keep a dying person alive.

With the special ability bestowed upon him by Zhang Xian, he instantly brought a person on the verge of death back to life and continued to restore the life force that should have been exhausted.

"Ahem. Thank you for your help."

When Zhang woke up, she realized that she seemed to be held in someone's arms, and her face tightened. But after noticing the change in herself, she suddenly realized that she had probably been rescued.

Beside him, Huang Zhong chuckled and released Zhang Liao, who had stopped struggling, saying, "Kid, you understand now, right? We're here to rescue him."

Zhang Liao blushed, stammered, and frantically tried to put his hands and feet down, unsure of what to do.

Han Ji put Zhang down, stood up and bowed: "I was very rude just now, I hope you will forgive me, Madam."

"Your words, sir, are truly embarrassing for my son and me. We are so sorry for our rudeness... cough cough, we apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality. We hope you will forgive us." Zhang's complexion improved, but her cough persisted.

Han Ji turned to Huang Zhong: "Hansheng, I remember we brought typhoid medicine?"

"Of course! Our lord has already prepared it for us." Huang Zhong laughed and called out, and a soldier came in carrying a medicine packet of a different color.

Zhang Xian had prepared a complete set of supplies for them, including three doses of recovery medicine for each person, covering stamina, physical strength, and vitality.

They also keep plenty of regular medicines on hand, including common colds, and even several prescriptions for each person for surgical wounds.

When Zhang Xian sent Han Ji and others out this time, he felt like he was using a rare card to run a dungeon. If he could, he would even like to control it remotely, but since he couldn't, he could only start with the supplies.

Huang Zhong took the medicine packet, opened it, and took out a cloth bag with the words "typhoid fever" on it, then threw it to Zhang Liao.

"Can the boy read?"

Zhang Liao hurriedly took it, nodding and saying, "I know it."

Huang Zhong was overjoyed and said, "Then let's brew the medicine according to the handwriting. This is the prescription of the Immortal Physician of Jizhou. I guarantee that this prescription will cure your mother's illness!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao disregarded everything else and immediately ran outside to brew the medicinal soup.

Inside the house, the three of them fell silent for a moment.

Huang Zhong smacked his lips and decided to go outside to talk to the boy. He would leave the women's affairs to Gongzhi, as he was not good at them.

"Where did you come from, Your Excellency?"

Seeing the quiet atmosphere in the room, Zhang couldn't help but ask a question.

Han Ji knelt beside a table, writing something with a pen in hand. Upon hearing this, he paused and said, "Madam, please rest for a while. We can talk in detail after you have your medicine."

"It's not that I'm afraid of neglecting our esteemed guest," Zhang said, her face showing embarrassment.

When someone comes to visit, instead of being treated to a meal, we are treated to a meal.

Remembering that there were still many people outside the courtyard, Madam Zhang hurriedly said, "Your Excellency might as well let your subordinates come in to avoid the cold. It's freezing cold and it's easy to get sick in this weather."

As the writing gradually filled the paper, Han Ji shook his head slightly: "Your yard is too small to accommodate so many people, so it's better not to come in."

"I see..."

They chatted intermittently inside the room.

Before long, Zhang Liao, who was brewing medicine in the courtyard, ran into the house with the soup and carefully fed it to his mother by the bedside.

Han Ji stopped writing, shook the gray paper, and blew cold air onto it to speed up the drying of the ink.

When it was almost done, I folded the paper and stuffed it into my sleeve.

"What did you write?" Huang Zhong asked curiously as he stepped forward.

Han Ji said softly, "I will send what I have seen and heard along the way, as well as the situation of Zhang and her son, back to the lord when I return to Luchi."

"I wonder how Taoyuan is doing. I've missed it terribly these past few days." He sighed. Unbeknownst to him, Taoyuan had become his second home.

Huang Zhong, standing to the side, echoed, "Yes, I was originally planning to have a bean-cutting contest with Gongzhi during the late harvest, but I never expected you to drag me out of it."

After the two talked for a while, Zhang Liao was feeding the medicine while his ears were perked up.

Peach Blossom Spring? Where is that?
Late harvest of beans? Aren't they nobles? Do nobles also have to work in the fields?
A myriad of questions welled up in Zhang Liao's mind. From initially being wary of everyone to now, all he felt besides curiosity was gratitude.

The bowl of herbal soup was quickly emptied, followed by a bowl of congee and another bowl of herbal soup. The lady was clearly feeling quite full.

But his spirits are much better than at the beginning.

Zhang Liao could clearly feel that his mother's voice was much louder, and he immediately felt much more relaxed.

Just as he was about to thank the two distinguished guests, he heard a loud shout from outside.

"Stop whoever comes!"

Then came the clanging sound of swords being drawn from their sheaths.

(End of this chapter)