Chapter 59: The Yang Family Has a Daughter Who Has Just Come of Age (Middle)

  Xiao Shouren looked at the lives that had already disappeared or were disappearing on the battlefield, and he really couldn't bear to watch anymore, so he returned to his own tent first. Although he was already used to it, his heart still didn't feel quite right.

  Ge Shu Yun did not expect Xiao Shou Ren to be displeased with such a scene, she had grown up in such scenes since childhood, and in these twenty years, what kind of scene hadn't she seen? This time when she came to the Central Plains, she even thought of more terrifying scenes than this one, thinking of many ways she could die, but she still came without hesitation, for her adoptive father, for the things in her heart, to repay kindness.

  Ge Shuyun has been out for a while and it's time to go back, but she is not willing to give up, doesn't want to return empty-handed, so she still wants to follow Xiang Shouren, thinking of using Xiang Shouren as an opportunity to get close to Yang Guang and make another assassination attempt. However, what she didn't expect was that during the time she was injured, Xiang Shouren had already understood everything from her mumblings in her sleep, but just didn't bother to ask.

  It's as if the heavens have really grown eyes, just when the guards were halfway through cleaning up the battlefield, the heavens suddenly started pouring down rain, heavy rain that came down like a woman's thoughts changing in an instant.

  This autumn rain is cool, this heavy rain is like a brush that washes away the bloodstains, making it seem as if the battle that killed over 300 people had been washed away. If not for the corpses, it would be as if nothing had happened. Life seems so insignificant at times like these, death is just like nothingness.

  The autumn rain came quickly and went quickly, and it didn't last long. It stopped in less than an hour. The withered yellow grass still had water droplets on it. When the wind passed by, they shook on the leaves. Under the moonlight that reappeared, they looked like pearls, which was lovely.

  In this place, on one side were hundreds of corpses piled up, while on the other side was lush green grass teeming with life.

  The fierce battle was short-lived, but the aftermath was exceptionally brutal. The rain had stopped, and the clouds parted to reveal a bright moon in the night sky, which seemed even more serene and deep. Under the clear and cold moonlight, this place looked like a hell on earth.

  Things didn't end as Xiao Shouren had thought, for no other reason than that there were still a large number of merchants and goods here, not to mention the gold, silver, and treasures. These are things that can make people live or die. As the saying goes, "Money can make ghosts grind mills." Before coming to this Great Sui Dynasty, Xiao Shouren had already seen through the essence of this place and modified the sentence: Money can make mills push ghosts!

  This village is not connected to the front, and this store is not connected to the back. These merchants' goods and money are like a silver ingot on the street, who doesn't want it? Who can't bear to think about it?

  So, the current merchant team is very dangerous. In the past, there were more than a hundred strong guards with high martial arts skills, and no one dared to covet them. However, it's different now. The combat effectiveness of the current merchant team has decreased significantly, less than even a third of what it was before. Many horses have been lost, and there are already fewer people, but now some people need to stay behind to take care of the injured guards, which further sharply reduces their combat effectiveness.

  Xiao Shouren had just returned to his tent when Shan Tong came over to look for him.

  "Xiao Ge, thank you so much just now. Luckily there were all of you, if it wasn't for your help just now, the consequences would have been unthinkable." Chuan Tong walked in with a smile and said thanks to Xiao Shou Ren.

  "Hmph! I doubt it, with those ten large chests, even if we don't make a move, the horse bandits won't be able to get their hands on them." Xiao Shouren replied indifferently.

  "It can't be said that way, those crossbow arrows aren't something that can be fired continuously without stopping, they are limited in number. That's why I ordered the collection of those crossbow arrows earlier, each one shot means one less. The manufacture of these crossbow arrows cost a lot of money, all made from high-quality steel." Shu Tong explained with a smile, Xiao Shouren's attitude didn't make him very angry.

  "Shan Da Shao, you really make me curious, what kind of person are you? Just now, you were like a death god from hell, cold and gloomy, but now you're like a 17 or 18-year-old innocent boy. Which one is the real you?" Xiao Shou Ren furrowed his brow and asked Shan Tong.

  "Haha, so Brother Xiao was thinking about this too. I was pretending earlier, my second uncle told me when I came out that in situations like this, you can't panic, even if your heart is already gone, even if your three souls and seven spirits have flown to the ninth heaven, you can't let outsiders see it. Only by doing so can you stabilize people's hearts. The more so at times like these, the more you need to make people unsure of what you're thinking, only then will those below not act rashly, they'll be cautious and listen to your orders." Single Tong took a sip of water and in one breath sold out his second uncle.

  "So it seems, your second uncle is not a simple person, I'll make sure to get to know him when I have the time and opportunity."

  "With time and opportunity, it's definitely possible. This time and opportunity are not far away, hehe, when the time comes, I'll introduce you to him, he also likes to make friends with heroic young men like Big Brother." Single sentence opened his mouth was a flattery, without any skill to speak of.

  "Go on, what's the matter? What can I help you with that you won't refuse?" As soon as Xiao Shouren heard Shan Tong boasting about himself, his eyes jumped and his heart trembled, knowing that this kid must have come over for a reason.

  "Xiao Ge is really wise and all-knowing, nothing can escape his eyes. I've come this time to ask for your guidance on something, hoping Xiao Ge can teach me what to do." Xiang Tong glanced at Xiao Shou Ren and saw through his intentions without even blushing, happily taking the opportunity to flatter him again, truly not letting go of any chance to curry favor.

  "What's up?" asked Xiao Shouren.

  "It was like this, just now those few somewhat influential merchants followed Tong Zhan and Bai Qi, the deputy captain, into my tent. I was also having a hard time with that matter at the time, and when they came, I had an even harder time."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I was in a dilemma at that time, not knowing whether we should travel overnight and non-stop until we reach the Upper Valley to recruit more guards or wait for my second uncle to send someone over, or if we should just stay put and wait for my second uncle to send someone over."

  "Go on, tell me what you're thinking."

  "I'm also worried, if we take the first option, it's all about luck. If we don't encounter any notorious horse bandits from here to Shanggu County, I think there won't be a problem. What I fear is that Lishan will not swallow this and will attract more people to come after us when we return. In that case, we're doomed, even if we have many more crossbow arrows, which are already damaged, and can only exert their maximum killing power in open terrain. It's hard to guarantee that the entire route is open.

  But if we follow the second method, it will be a waste of time. This merchant group has brought back things from outside the pass for one purpose, and the deadline is approaching. If we stay here for a few days, we'll miss it. Not only will the merchants' goods depreciate, but also our family's carefully prepared items must be delivered on time. If we're late, I won't be able to explain."

  "What's going on? What made all of you suddenly so busy?"

  "Huh? You don't know? You really don't know? The Yang family is marrying off their daughter!" Shan Tong's expression finally changed, and the look in his eyes was as if he was staring at an alien.

  "Yang Fu marrying off a daughter? Is this very famous or something? I don't know, isn't it strange? After all, it's not like the Emperor is marrying off a princess." Xiao Shouren couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Shan Tong's expression and asked in surprise.

  "Who is Yang Zhu Guo, the Minister of Rites? You don't even know that? And which Yang Mansion are you referring to? Besides Your Majesty and King Kuai Shan, what other person with the surname Yang can compare to Yang Zhu Guo?" Dan Tong looked at Xiao Shou Ren with a foolish expression.

  "Minister of Rites? Yang Zhuguo? How can he be both Minister and Zhuguo?" asked Xiao Shouren.

  "Hehe, no wonder you're curious. In the past, when Yang Zhuguo was still a Zhuguo, we all called him Yang Zhuguo. Now that he's been promoted to Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, although he's already an official of the second rank, everyone is still used to calling him Yang Zhuguo." Danchong smiled and explained to Xiao Shouren.

  "Yang Zhu Guo? Minister of Rites? What are you talking about?"

  "What? Don't you know? It's Yang Xuangan! You can't be telling me that you don't even know who Yang Xuangan is?" Shan Tong looked at Xiao Shouren with an expression of utter disbelief and shock, as if he was looking at an alien.

  "Huh? Yang Xuangan? He's really famous?" Xiao Shouren asked, looking foolish. There was no way around it - since he had been interested in history from a young age, Xiao Shouren of course knew who Yang Xuangan was. But precisely because he knew, Xiao Shouren felt a little scared - this young Yang was quite an intimidating figure, although compared to his father Old Yang, there was still some distance.

  His father Yang Su had assisted Emperor Yang in seizing the throne and suppressing the rebellion of Han Wang Yan, and as a result became chancellor. This young Yang, because of his father's achievements, was naturally very arrogant, believing that his family was noble and honored, with many officials being old colleagues of his father; he also saw the imperial governance being in disarray, with Emperor Yang suspicious of his officials, and was internally anxious. At this point, he did not know what to do yet, but Xiao Yu knew that within a year, at most a year, this young Yang would rebel, and in the last few months' time would be torn apart by five horses, and all those who were involved with Yang Xuangan's rebellion would have no good end.

  If I said that I didn't know Yang Xuan Gan, and didn't know what would happen to him afterwards, then I would definitely go over and hug his leg. But now that I do know, and it's not just a little bit - I can say that I've engraved Yang Xuan Gan's fate in my heart. How could I still possibly go over and hug Yang Xuan Gan's leg? Now, Xiao Shou Ren's thoughts are to try to distance himself from Yang Xuan Gan as much as possible, the farther the better!

  Went out at night, so the update was a bit late. Hope everyone can forgive me. Also asking for votes, collections and comments.