Invincible Iron Army 59, Recovery of Harmony Border Book Flag

  The border areas welcomed the rare tranquility, and the Xiongnu army suffered heavy losses, needing a period of recovery. Now Wang An's army had almost become a nightmare for the grassland army. The Xiongnu women always used him to scare crying children, and found that the effect was much better than ghosts and monsters.

  The Xiongnu army is resting and recovering, hoping to regain its strength. They are considering lowering the minimum age for conscription again in an effort to restore the Xiongnu's former glory.

  Wang An's old soldiers all chose to lay down their armor and return to the fields, unable to forgive the unjust treatment they received from the jiedushi and others. They protested in this way, and Wang An bid a reluctant farewell to them along with Jiang Cai.

  Wang An and Jiang Cai were arranged to lead a hundred-man team composed of five new soldiers, whose combat effectiveness was very poor. They had heard about Wang An's exploits and were filled with joy and longing for achievements, but when they saw the old soldiers casting sympathetic glances at them, they suddenly felt puzzled. One of Wang An's old soldiers said sympathetically to them: "Later on, when you are sold by Wang An, don't help him count his money." These soldiers were even more perplexed.

  Wang An and the soldiers of the Hundred Men's Team were arranged to defend the Great Wall, and they left Youyang. Wang An reluctantly bid farewell to the various defense envoys, who also waved goodbye to him with a lingering attachment. After seeing off Wang An, Du Lin let out a sigh of relief: "It can be said that this scourge has been driven out of Youyang City." Others expressed disdain for Du Lin's behavior, how could he speak ill of others behind their backs?

  Wang Xueli first looked down on Du Lin, then said: "Wang An is really a scourge, it's okay to harm the Xiongnu, but actually harming together, isn't this not distinguishing between inside and outside? I despise people like this the most." Du Lin secretly scolded in his heart: "You don't despise those who harm others, you just don't want to be harmed by others."

  Wang An's army was fully equipped, and their salaries were paid quickly and in full. Now who would dare to embezzle Wang An's military pay? That's something even a jiedushi wouldn't dare do. Embezzling his military pay, isn't that just asking for trouble?

  The Jin army on the border has never been provocative, and naturally rarely attacks the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu is also working hard to recover its strength, so it also rarely attacks Youyang. The border ushered in a long-lost peace and tranquility. The Jin army had a feeling of putting away their swords and letting their horses graze on Mount Nan, one by one relaxing their vigilance. Only Wang An dared not relax his training of the troops at all, and the strength of his troops was slowly increasing.

  The story of Wang An defending the south city was turned into a play by folk artists, performing everywhere, with great effect each time. The people had been bullied by the Xiongnu army for a long time, and when they heard that their own army had defeated the Xiongnu troops, they were extremely happy and proud.

  As Ping's speeches spread, Wang An's army gradually gained attention. The people of Jin were full of respect for the grassroots, civilian heroes who created countless miracles in defending the southern city.

  In a remote wilderness, it's unusually lively here. The annual gang conference is being held here, and everyone is allowed to speak on this stage.

  A young man walked up, and the people below shook their heads, thinking that this person's experience was too shallow. According to our gang's title evaluation principle, this person is at most a small hoodlum, and above him are big hoodlums, small rascals, big rascals, small thieves, big thieves, only big thieves have the qualifications to be the leader of a powerful gang. If your title can be evaluated as a great thief, when you haven't died on duty or been killed by the government, you will definitely become the leader of this gang.

  That rascal looked at the dense crowd below, and he also knew that his election as helmsman was not in his grasp. So he said: "I may be a small rascal, but I've worked under Wang An before, and I once used bricks to smash the Xiongnu." The people below immediately fell silent, and soon applause broke out. A hoodlum with tears streaming down his face thought to himself: "Wang An, idol! This is how you should be a hoodlum! You know that Wang An has sold out the Jiedushi, played tricks on the Defense Minister, and defeated the Xiongnu Khan, causing him to flee in the middle of the night. The Left and Right Wise Kings were also routed. Whenever Wang An's name is mentioned, whether in Puyang or among the Xiongnu, it is filled with respect. People will surely give a thumbs up and say: 'Great hoodlum! Listen, great hoodlum, great rascal! What an honor this is! How long do we have to mix around before we can get such a good reputation?' The boss also stood up and said: "Hoodlums, let's give a warm round of applause to the rascal who participated in the defense of Puyang!" Immediately, applause erupted from below.

  The boss said, "Brothers, the people have a bit of misunderstanding about us, thinking that we are always arrogant and aloof." The hooligans below thought to themselves, "Of course they do, you're being a hooligan, naturally others won't like you and will keep their distance from you."

  The boss continued, "But I want to tell you all, don't worry about these things. If others look down on me, it's fine, I also look down on them. However, we have our own bottom line and principles, which is to love our country and not do anything that harms the nation. We're being hooligans because as people at the bottom, we have no choice, but our feelings of loving the country are the same as everyone else's. Just based on this one point, that Xiaopi once participated in the defense of Yu Yang, he has the qualifications to be evaluated as a great thief and has the right to control the Yu Yang branch." The hooligans below responded with enthusiastic applause.

  The host raised a cup of wine and said, "Let me toast to the great rascal Wang An who defended Yu Yang." After finishing speaking, he fell to the ground, and others also poured their wine on the ground. Wang An was at the border pass, feeling a little tremble, thinking strangely, why do I feel a bit trembling? Is someone thinking of me?

  Wang An's southern city troops, restored their respective identities, some were small vendors, some were rough-skinned, some were laborers, and some were beggars. In the vast sea of people, they met by chance. You would think that they are ordinary, because they are indeed a group of ordinary people. But who could have thought that such an ordinary group of people gathered together, actually formed an army that made the Xiongnu's military tremble with fear?

  The people have not forgotten this hardworking and meritorious army, giving them the respect they deserve. In a restaurant in Luoyang, Henan, a man went to pay the bill, and the boss said: "We'll give you an 80% discount, you spent 10 taels of silver, we'll charge you 8 taels because you participated in the defense of Fuyu". Another soldier who was eating suddenly became excited, pointing at the golden medal awarded by the Jiedushi, saying to the boss: "I also participated, give me an 80% discount too!" The boss shook his head and said: "Okay, you spent 10 taels, but I'll charge you 12 taels". The man asked: "Why?" The boss replied: "I gave him a 2-tael discount, so I'll charge you 12 taels. You have to know that small business is not easy!" The soldier was furious and raised his fist to hit the boss. The boss shouted loudly: "The soldiers who attacked Fuyu are going to beat someone up!" The neighbors, men and women, young and old, rushed forward, punching and kicking, hitting with sticks and rods, instantly beating the soldier until he was bleeding profusely. While beating him, the crowd said: "We've been wanting to beat you guys for a long time! You're a bunch of shameless people, we pay taxes to support you, supply you with food and drink, even supply you with women... When the enemy invades, you disappear without a trace. Others defeat the Xiongnu, and you go to plunder. Is this world just going to let you do whatever you want?" The crowd beat him while thinking it was really satisfying. At this time, a group of yamen came from afar and said: "What's going on? Do you know that beating people is against the law?" The crowd next to them said: "This is a soldier who attacked Fuyu, do you want to have some fun too?" The yamen didn't say another word and joined in the beating. After a while, some soldiers came from afar, and the crowd immediately dispersed, pretending to be innocent bystanders. The yamen still said with a sense of justice: "You know that beating people is against the law? There's a saying that goes 'a gentleman uses his hands but not his mouth', no, it's 'a gentleman uses his mouth but not his hands'". The beaten soldier was lying on the ground, cursing in his heart. Earlier, you were all so enthusiastic about beating me, even using despicable tactics like a monkey stealing peaches... Now you're pretending to be good people?

  Those soldiers walked up and scolded, "How dare you beat the army's soldiers? Is there no king's law?" The beaten soldier was overjoyed, thinking that he had finally met his own people and that the soldiers would definitely help him. A member of the crowd told him, "These are soldiers from the Yu Yang assault." Those soldiers said, "That doesn't mean you can beat them up either." The beaten soldier was even more delighted, thinking, "These soldiers are my comrades-in-arms; they will certainly protect me." Those soldiers said, "A person like this is worthless; killing him would be a good deed." He immediately drew out his waist knife. The crowd instead advised him, "We are civilized people; there's a saying that gentlemen use their mouths but not their fists."

  The beaten soldier shouted: "Ayo, ayo, you'd better take action, don't bite me anymore!" The group of soldiers also said in their hearts: "It's still better to be a gentleman, look at us biting him and he's scared, it's better to use words than fists." The crowd watching this scene was also stunned, with contempt in their eyes for these rough and uncultured soldiers. The soldiers hated these attacking soldiers the most.

  Wang An continued to urge these soldiers to practice archery, preparing for further battles. Wang An believed that the Xiongnu had suffered a great loss and would not let it go easily, they would definitely come back for revenge.

  Wang An's worries soon came true, and the Xiongnu launched many attacks on Miyang. This time, the Xiongnu did not linger in battle, nor did they attack the city. They specifically sought out the Jin army to engage in field battles, plundering and burning everywhere, causing great losses to Miyang. Liu Jiao was also worried sick, and the halo of national heroism that had just been placed on her head gradually faded away. Although the Xiongnu continued to invade Miyang, they consistently avoided Wang An's defensive territory, and in their hearts, they still felt a deep fear of Wang An.

  Recommendations wanted, seeking recommendations.

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