Chapter 71: Old Dad Gets Promoted

  If it weren't for General Wei's strong recommendation, Li Er wouldn't have met with a centurion, especially after losing face. But General Wei was shocked by the centurion's combat power, and also because his old man was very kind, handing over some spoils of war, so that General Wei could provide assistance to the families of some fallen soldiers.

  "Yang Lüshuài, hello! The general has ordered me to follow you to Chang'an City. Let's set off now." Just as Old Man Tian had arrived at the county's garrison training camp, Tian Heng was already waiting for him there. (Note: From here on, the term "Bai Fuzhang" will be replaced with "Lüshuài", although it seems that this title actually originated from a later period when the Zhenchufu was established.)

  People are learning from Tian Heng's tone, although he says small things, but looking at his appearance, it really doesn't look like a small person. Following the general, naturally feels prestigious, and looks down on these old friends.

  He was moved by some livestock given to him by Lao Die and took the initiative to come and inform Yang Heng and others.

  Yang Heng was delighted at this time. Since General Wei Chi had sent Tian Heng to call his father, his father must have been promoted this time. Even if he couldn't see Li Er, it was still an order from Li Er that led to the promotion.

  As expected, Yang Heng was not wrong. At this time, Li Er was enfeoffing his meritorious officials on a large scale because he had become the Emperor. The throne was not yet stable when the event of the Turks coming to take advantage occurred, followed by humiliation from the Turks. If they did not enfeoff the meritorious officials on a large scale, this emperor would have no face at all. At that time, Wei Gong was enfeoffed as Duke of Wu State, Right Martial Marquis General, and granted 10,000 bolts of silk, with a real fief of 1,300 households.

  Lao Die, under Wei Chi's strong recommendation, also met Li Er and was appointed as the Zhong Lang Jiang of the Right Wing, which is a fourth-grade military officer position that can be independent. However, it is still under the leadership of General Wei Chi, the Right Wu Hou Da Jiang Jun, meaning from now on Lao Die will be directly under General Wei Chi's command.

  Perhaps it was because of the spoils of war that were given, or perhaps it was a reward, who can say for sure, but in any case, before his promotion, General Wei gave Father Yang a house in Chang'an. The courtyard wasn't very big, just a four-section compound with twenty or thirty rooms, and it was quite dilapidated, everything needed to be renovated from scratch. But that didn't matter, even if it were just a broken-down house, or even just an empty lot, Yang would still have been overjoyed. This was the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an City, the largest city in the world at the time, and one that would be hard to surpass even in later generations. It was currently the early Tang period, and due to the war, there were still some vacant areas within the city. If a few more years had passed, it would have been difficult for even a fourth-rank civil official, let alone a military officer like Father Yang, to find a house in Chang'an.

  The old man's position was You Yi Zhong Lang Jiang, the head of a group of Wu Hou who patrolled the streets. In later terms, they were city police officers. The old man was naturally their leader, but this leader was the head of the Wu Hou in Chang'an City, which was quite different. This fully illustrates Yuchi's status in Li Erxin's mind. The old man, a small and unknown soldier, had only fought one battle and was given an official position from the fourth rank, which can be said to have risen to heaven in one step. If it were Li Er himself who discovered the talent, giving him a direct second-rank official position would also be normal. However, this was through Yuchi's recommendation, and even though Li Er had only met the old man once, he gave him a fourth-rank position. It must be said that Yang Heng's plan was very successful.

  "What did you say? My father has sent you to take us to live in the city." With Chinese New Year approaching, Old Master Yang had also dispatched a few men from Chang'an to pick up the entire Yang family and bring them back to the city.

  "Yes, young master, the general said he didn't have time to come back and pick you up, so I was sent to take you to the city to stay." As he spoke, he took out a token, which naturally could be seen at a glance, this was written by the old man himself, with very neat handwriting, just like kindergarten children's writing.

  "Uh, okay, got it. But I want to ask, how big is the courtyard of my family's house in the city?" Suddenly, Yang Heng thought of a question, whether he should bring his mother and younger brother along with the servants or if he needed to bring others as well, which naturally depended on the number of rooms.

  "Your house has four courtyards, with over thirty rooms, covering an area of more than two mu. It's enough for twenty or thirty people to live in." "Alright, you wait a bit, let me go and discuss it with them."

  In this case, Yang Heng cannot just go home alone and will naturally bring Egg and others along, as well as whichever uncle wants to go.

  "That's how things are, you see. This is how it's arranged." "Young master, I won't be going, but don't worry, I'll make sure to send some things into the city on time." Feng Bo interjected from the side, he had grown fond of his work, with a large group of chickens, ducks, geese and over a dozen pigs, as well as cows, horses and sheep. Life was quite comfortable for him, especially since he felt that in the city, there wouldn't be so many animals to raise, and also, Yang Heng's household needed someone to watch over it.

  "Alright, Uncle Feng, I'll leave this to you. And, uncle, the front yard of this house is yours too, but please don't enter the backyard." The uncle had just had a daughter recently, and before he could even name her, his wife had already given her a nickname, Guanguan. Although the uncle didn't have any objections, to be honest, he was somewhat disappointed that they had a daughter. However, seeing how hard his wife worked during childbirth, he didn't say anything. But this couldn't escape Yang Heng's eyes. At the time of childbirth, it was indeed very dangerous for Auntie, as it was her first child and neither Yang Heng nor his mother could criticize her. So she ate more during pregnancy, which made the baby a bit bigger. In the end, it was the midwife who, after consulting with Yang Heng, used scissors to cut open the birth canal, thus avoiding unnecessary tearing and also avoiding excessive bleeding.

  Uncle and aunt didn't go back after that, even when the child was full moon, they still lived in Yang Heng's house. Ah-yong and Ah-po came to visit a few times when Yang Heng and his mother were not at home. Actually, it was just that whenever Yang Heng heard that Ah-yong asked if they were at home or not, he immediately took his mother out.