Chapter Sixty Return in Glory

  With the nod of the official family, Cai You immediately went to the "Shiwei Qinjun Bujun Du Zhihui Shisi" (also known as the "Buxiaosi") and asked them to issue an order to the Anfu Si to allocate equipment.

  In late August, Zhao Ji issued an edict to the Privy Council, promoting Cai Chuo as "Administrator of the Privy Council" from that day on, also known as "Privy Envoy". Although he had been in charge of the daily affairs of the Privy Council since his return from the front line, with this imperial edict, he officially became the highest military officer of the Song Dynasty. Cai Chuo celebrated with his colleagues and did not forget to reward Xu Wei with a large sum of money. In addition to being promoted to "Wu Wing Lang" by the Ministry of Officials, he was also rewarded with 500 taels of silver, 50 bolts of silk, a set of armor, and a saber from the Imperial Court. The rewards for his soldiers were counted separately.

  At the same time, Cai You felt that recruiting local braves would soon be promoted in Hebei and Shandong, which was his own achievement for a long time to come. Xu Wei as its representative, some things he had to deal with personally. But he was appointed as the Envoy of the Imperial Secretariat, a high-ranking official, how could he personally summon Xu Wei to Beijing? After thinking about it, he thought of someone.

  Daming County, Xujiazhuang

  The Mid-Autumn Festival that just passed was probably the most un-festive one in the history of Xujiayuan. Xu Wei led his troops to fight in Shandong, and many families in Xujiayuan had men who enlisted to go to war. On the battlefield, there is no regard for life or death, and those left behind at home - parents, wives, brothers - all anxiously await the return of their loved ones.

  If one were to ask who was the most worried in Xu's village, it would probably be Old Master Xu. Because only he knew how perilous this expedition of the Jingwei Army was. Since Xu Wei went on the expedition, the old master had been bedridden and wouldn't get up, causing Xu Wangshi and Xu Xiuping to attend to him day and night without daring to slack off. These two were originally in the dark, but unexpectedly, Xu Sheng, who was a high-ranking official, upon learning that his younger brother had gone on the expedition, became both shocked and worried, and sent a letter home instructing his wife to take good care of his father. Although the letter didn't explicitly state it, there was one sentence that said "The ninth brother's trip to Shandong is fraught with danger", Xu Wangshi and Xu Xiuping knew something was amiss as soon as they saw it, and were anxious and unable to calm down all day.

  On August 27, Xiajin's newly appointed magistrate sent someone to the Xu residence. Firstly, he represented the magistrate to visit Grandfather Xu. Secondly, he also asked if Deputy Magistrate Xu had returned. Grandfather Xu was bedridden with illness and disliked socializing, so after a brief conversation, he dismissed the visitor.

  In the bedroom, Mr. Xu was covered with half a quilt, his hands exposed outside, his eyes dull and staring blankly at the ceiling. A head poked in from the doorway, and his grandson Fan Yi ran in, kneeling in front of the bed and staring at his grandfather for a while before asking in a crisp voice, "Why hasn't Xiao Shu come back yet? Isn't he coming back?" As the saying goes, children's words are innocent, but Mr. Xu felt a pang in his heart when he heard them. He reached out to touch his grandson's little head, speechless and only able to let out a long sigh.

  Xu Xiuping carried a bowl of medicine into the room and saw her son also there, scolding: "Get out! What are you doing here bothering your grandfather again?"

  The child looked wronged, pouting and muttering: "I just asked when my uncle would come back..." After speaking, he reluctantly got up and walked out. Xu Taigong looked at his little grandson, tears streaming down his face. Xu Xiuping was frightened and hastily asked: "Father, what's wrong?"

  Xu Taigong is filled with regret, lamenting the past. Lao Jiu was unruly in his youth, and he had hoped that he would make something of himself. Now that he has indeed made a name for himself, he wishes that he were just an ordinary person, living a humble life. Several hundred troops rushed to Shandong to assist in the war effort - what were those fools at court thinking?

  "Dad, don't worry about Ninth Brother. Doesn't your son understand? Since childhood, he has been fearless and learned from you, who can be his match in Xiajin?" Xu Xiuping naturally knew that her father was worried about her brother, so she tried to comfort him with words. She handed the medicine to her father's mouth, but he refused to drink a single sip.

  "Longing for son's return, longing for son's return..." Mr. Xu muttered to himself, closing his eyes.

  Xu Xiuping couldn't help but redden her eyes and shed tears. "You said you'd stay by Father's side, what's the point of being an official?" This is good, when you're a soldier, you have to fight battles, and when you fight battles, people die. What if something happens to Old Man Ji...

  No matter how much persuasion, Father remained silent. Xu Xiuping reluctantly took the medicine out of the door and saw her younger sister Xu Wangshi standing at the door, holding her nephew in her arms and her son standing below, also with tears streaming down her face. The two sisters-in-law looked at each other, and couldn't help but feel a deep sorrow.

  "I married into the Xu family, and Ninth Brother was only eight years old. I raised him with every bite of food, never letting him suffer even a little bit? Watching him grow up, become an adult, and understand things, hoping that our household would have a pillar to rely on... Eldest Sister-in-law is like a mother, Xu Wangshi has been worried every day since knowing that Xu Wei's trip was more likely to end in disaster than success, often washing her face with tears."

  Xu Xiuping was also worried about her brother, but at this time she had to put on a stern face and scold: "Don't you know what's going on? Aren't you afraid of Father hearing? Hurry up and quiet down, go away!"

  Just as the two women and children had just turned out of the back hall, they saw a servant woman from that family hurrying over with her skirt in hand. One of them didn't stay and fell to the ground, and before she could get up, she shouted: "Back, back!"

  "Who's back?" Xu Xiuping asked.

  "Master! I just went out and saw Old Zhang's wife hurrying to the west of the village, saying that the militia has returned from their expedition! I didn't believe it, they've only been gone for a few days? I ran over to take a look, and the wheat field is already being set up as a campsite, there must be several thousand people!" The servant woman exclaimed loudly.

  "Have you seen Lao Jiu?" Xu Wangshi hastily asked back.

  The woman shook her head: "Look, there's Zhang Jiaolao, Yang Da and Ma Er..."

  The two sisters-in-law exchanged a glance, picked up the child and ran out. As soon as they left the gate, they saw that every household was rushing to the wheat field on the bluestone road, like dogs chasing after something. The two of them were sandwiched in between, also heading towards the wheat field, but soon couldn't run anymore. It turned out that the front was blocked by a crowd, probably with 200-300 people, and they heard the sound of quarreling coming from ahead.

  "What are you blocking us for? My elder brother is a soldier under Jiulang!" a man shouted loudly.

  "Military camp is a restricted area, unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter!"

  "You're an outsider, right? What's with the military tone, this is our Xu family village wheat field! Get out of the way, my elder brother is a squad leader, do you know how many people a squad leader is in charge of? Fifty!"

  The quarrel in front grew louder and more anxious, the family members of the deceased were chattering endlessly, arguing with each other. The two women from the Xu family didn't dare to squeeze in, standing aside anxiously. The child in their arms was frightened and burst into loud wails.

  At a loss, I suddenly heard someone shouting from the front: "Yang's son has arrived!" Then there was a commotion, some people calling out "Yang Da", others calling out "Yang Yan", all asking about their own family members. Again, I heard a woman wailing loudly "My dear child, I'm worried to death! Come quickly and let me see you, are you hurt? Have you eaten?"

  Many people in the crowd secretly laughed, and at nearly twenty years old, how could he still be called "good boy"? Were they waiting for him to come over so they could feed him milk? It was imaginable what kind of expression Yang Yan had on his face. He didn't pay attention to his mother but instead shouted loudly: "Did you hear that?! The team just got back and there are many things to do! Everyone go back! You have half a day off!"

  When he said that, the crowd dispersed a lot. But his mother was still there, stubbornly saying "my good son", listening to Yang Yan's face hanging down, yelling: "The ninth brother said, leaving the post without permission will deduct military pay and silver rewards, and also be beaten with 100 military sticks!" His mother listened, and indeed did not make a sound.

  "Is Xujiao being too overbearing? Not even allowing a meeting?" someone muttered while walking back and forth.

  The person next to him was about to refute him, when a woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere and scolded in a shrill voice: "What do you know? Don't you know that without discipline, nothing can be accomplished? This is the army, not some game of house!"

  It's not a glorious thing to be scolded by a woman. The man was momentarily annoyed and was about to retort, but he took a closer look and quickly ran away with his tail between his legs. Good heavens! Xu Jia Sanmeizi, when she was still a maiden, was already like a small chili pepper, after getting married her temper has become even more explosive! After finishing scolding, Xu Xiuping saw Yang Yan Zheng walking back to the camp and hurriedly went forward to stop him.

  Yang Yan turned back and ran back, scolding the soldiers who blocked the way: "Are you looking for death? This is the sister and sister-in-law of the commander!" After scolding, he changed to a smiling face and carefully asked: "Sister Xu San, Fourth Sister, what's the matter?"

  "What about my ninth brother? Why can't I see him?" Xu Xiuping stretched her neck to look around the camp.

  "Jiuge has a lot of things on his plate and might not be able to leave for the time being. Why don't you and Xu Siniang head back first, and I'll go tell Jiuge about it?"

  Xu Xiuping looked again for a while, nodded and said: "Alright, you go tell him, just say his sister-in-law is calling him back home for dinner. Ah, win or lose?"

  "Isn't that nonsense?" Yang Yan blurted out, suddenly remembering the person in front of him was Xu Sanjie, and hastily smiled apologetically "Of course we won, didn't you see? This small army of two thousand men."

  Xu Xiuping and Xu Wangshi rushed back home, eagerly reporting the news to their father. However, Xu Taigong was skeptical. "You've only been gone for a few days, how can you be back already? And with Old Ninth's limited troops, how could he possibly win?" He suspected that his daughter and daughter-in-law were trying to comfort him by making up this story. Seeing that he refused to believe them no matter what, Xu Xiuping got angry and dragged her sister into the kitchen, saying "Just wait until your precious son stands in front of you, then you'll naturally believe!"

  Those two women went to the kitchen, and Xu Tai Gong couldn't calm down, forcing himself to get out of bed, put on his clothes and go take a look. As soon as he walked out of the guest hall, he saw his son walking in big strides. But it wasn't Seasonal Son Xu Wei, but rather Eldest Son Xu Sheng. See, I told you those two were trying to comfort me, clearly Xu Sheng has returned.

  Xu Sheng had been worried ever since he learned that his brother had gone to Shandong. Recently, he suddenly received news that Xu Wei had won a great victory in Shandong, defeating the bandit army of Wang Shan. Overjoyed, he also found Zheng Jian, the supervisor of the grain transport, and actively requested to be in charge of transporting grain and military supplies. Zheng Ying also knew about Xu Wei's victory and was certain that the Xu family would rise again, so he was happy to do this favor.

  Seeing his father's haggard face, Xu Sheng's heart tightened and he quickly stepped forward to support him, asking: "Father, have you been well lately?"

  "Alas..." Xu Taigong let out a long sigh, and then walked back into the house. Xu Sheng felt strange, his ninth brother had won a victory and returned, why wasn't his father happy? He had seen the camp set up in the wheat field earlier and wanted to go visit his brother, but was blocked by the guards. This Jingwei Camp was quite well-organized.

  Suddenly, I heard the sound of armor clanking behind me, and a voice came: "Dad! Fourth brother!" Who else could it be but Xu Wei?

  "Good!" Xu Sheng responded loudly, but saw his father standing still, and only turned around after a long while. He saw his son wearing armor, with his right hand on the hilt of his sword and his left hand holding his helmet, walking with a majestic stride, exuding an aura of power. Xu Taigong's expression was complex, a mix of joy, sorrow, and surprise, as he gazed at his son's eyes, initially soft and gentle like a loving mother, carefully examining him from head to toe, then gradually becoming stern again, and finally expressionless.

  "How long has it been since you led the troops into battle? How can you be back already?"

  Xu Wei was stunned by his question, what did he mean? I went to suppress the bandits, and when the bandits are eliminated, I will naturally come back. Ah, look at you now, how different from that night on the wooden bridge? At that time, you cried and shouted not to let me go, now I'm back, but you're blaming me instead?

  "Come in." Xu Taigong said in a low voice, and then walked inside on his own. The two brothers were left behind, looking at each other in dismay, and couldn't help but smile wryly. Dad, it's always been like this, can't change him.

  Back home, Xu Wei quickly went to report his safety to his sister-in-law and third aunt. The two women saw that their brother hadn't lost a single hair and were overjoyed, telling him to hurry up and keep the old man company, saying he had been away for so many days and was worried sick about his father. Xu Wei thought to himself, "Worried sick?" Just now when they saw me, it seemed like I had run away with a guilty conscience.

  In the main hall, Xu Taigong and Xu Sheng had already sat down. After Xu Wei came out, Xu Sheng went forward to help his brother take off his armor, and the three of them sat together, naturally talking about this time's expedition to Shandong to assist in the war. Xu Wei briefly told them about the battle situation, and his father and older brother secretly felt shocked and suspicious at the same time - was Old Ninth just bragging? How could your 700 men defeat Wang Shan's army of 10,000?

  Xu Wei then carefully explained that although Wang Shan had a force of over 10,000 men, more than half were actually coerced and intimidated civilians. The two thousand cavalrymen who ambushed him were somewhat stronger, but as soon as the offensive did not go well, they immediately dispersed and were simply unable to withstand a single blow.

  "Think about it, there are even people carrying hunting spears, shouldering hoes, and dragging wooden sticks. Can this be called an army?" Although they had won the battle, Xu Wei didn't seem particularly excited. It was just that their opponents were too weak, not that the Jingwei battalion was too strong. If one day they could fight against the Jurchen people and achieve similar results, then that would be a truly satisfying victory.

  Xu Taigong listened and intentionally or unintentionally cast his gaze towards his eldest son: "I really don't know what the Imperial Guards have been living on all these years!"

  Xu Sheng felt his father's discontent and was also ashamed himself. He served in the army, so he naturally knew the reason behind it. To be frank, the current Song Dynasty army could be described as rotten. What kind of people were they? Convicts, vagrants, rascals! The military discipline was poor, lacking training, what's the use of having good equipment? If the Jin State really attacked, would these people be able to defend their homeland? It's better to give up early on.

  Hurry to change the subject, and said to his younger brother: "Ninth brother, although Jingwei Camp has won several victories in a row, you must be cautious and not be proud or impetuous. The top priority is to intensify training and never slack off."

  Xu Wei naturally understood his brother's intention and nodded solemnly: "I remember."

  The father and son were talking when a loud voice outside shouted, "Congratulations to the old master!" Why did this voice sound so familiar? It seemed like... Zheng Ying Zheng Jian Ya!