Chapter 33: Ma Ang's Army

  Early in the morning, Yang Ling rode his horse steadily to the Yicheng government office. Unintentionally, he had mentioned that the saddle was too hard yesterday, and Nianiang made a thick cushion for him overnight, which was placed on the saddle, soft and light, making him worry that he would fall off at any moment.

  Boasting officials strolled through the streets, generally swaying to the gate of the post office, suddenly from afar, the sound of horseshoes was urgent, more than a dozen fast horses rushed over, Yang Ling raised his head and took a look, A group of guards in bright armor surrounded a general with a helmet and armor, it was that Bi Chunbi Du Si.

  Bai Dusman beamed with joy, a stark contrast to his overbearing demeanor of the previous day. He grasped the reins of his horse and bowed his head, laughing loudly as he said: "Yang brother, thank you for your kindness, I came especially to express my gratitude."

  Last night, Guan Shouying escorted the grain and fodder back, and repeated Yang Ling's words to him verbatim. When repeating them, Guan Shouying still had a proud face, and this loyal and devoted captain was deeply moved by Yang Ling's words.

  After experiencing the officialdom for a long time, Bi Chun wouldn't be moved by Yang Ling's eloquent words and consider him as an old friend. However, he still felt quite pleased and had a better impression of Yang Ling. In the early morning, when he went to the city on horseback, he thought of this clerk and suddenly decided to turn directly to the post house to express his gratitude.

  Yang Ling hurried forward to pay his respects, and Bi Chun heard that he was going to pay his respects to an elder, so he didn't dare leave immediately. He also went in to offer his condolences, lest he lose etiquette.

  A group of people entered the courtyard and saw that Min County Magistrate's green sedan chair was parked in the yard. It turned out that many colleagues had arrived at the county government early, went to visit their superior first, and found that Min County Magistrate's arrow wound was not deep, but he fainted for so long because of the poison on the arrow. After waking up, his body was fine. Hearing that Ma Yi had died, thinking that only Yang Ling accompanied him last night, he felt a sense of sadness, and without listening to dissuasion, he also took the sedan chair to come and mourn.

  Ma Ang siblings did not expect Yang Ling to find so many people with status to mourn, although Minister Min usually called Ma Yi lieutenant brother, first, that was because he had silver to supply, second, Ma Yi lieutenant at least had a brocade guard token on him, otherwise it would be several levels different, they could come is a great face.

  As for General Yang Ling who came with him... think about it, when a county post office director passes away, a deputy provincial leader attends the funeral, you can imagine how his family feels.

  These two brothers and sisters had never seen each other before, and they all came for Yang Ling's face. Thinking of this, Ma Ao was truly grateful to Yang Ling, but Ma Lian'er's gaze at him was filled with a few more grievances, which made Yang Ling inexplicable.

  Bi Chun originally just came to go through the motions, but as soon as he saw Ma Lian'er, he couldn't bear to leave. He didn't expect to see such a beautiful and delicate girl in this small place, 15 or 16 years old, dressed in plain white clothes, with a weak and fragile appearance.

  Her face, like a flower bud bursting forth, with dew and frost on it, is truly indescribably lovely. Even among my three wives and concubines, who are all considered beauties of Jiangnan, not one can compare to her six-tenths beauty.

  Until the two siblings came to the front of this highest-ranking official and thanked him, Bi Doucai only withdrew his reluctant gaze, sat upright and received their salute, then raised his right hand and said: "Please get up, your father died for the country, I, Bi, also have utmost respect, coming to pay respects is also a must".

  The two siblings bowed but did not get up. Ma Ang said, "General, I want to join the government army, kill the Tartars, protect the Great Ming, and avenge my father. Please grant me this wish."

  "This......" Bi Chun hesitated for a moment, if he were to recruit soldiers from the army, it would be easy to gather a few people, but his military was under the Wei-Suo system, and the soldiers under him were all hereditary military households, passed down from father to son, son to grandson, generation after generation. Although there were also cases of impersonation in private, but doing so openly in front of so many people would be inconvenient.

  "General, sir," Ma Lian'er said, raising her head, "my brother has learned a set of martial arts skills and can still serve as a vanguard. I beg you to give him the opportunity to fulfill his filial duty to our father and his loyalty to the country."

  Seeing the beauty's soft words, Bi Chun's body softened to one side, and his triangular eyes narrowed. His head heated up and he said: "Alright, get up quickly, you understand martial arts and are well-versed in literature, first come to my side as a personal soldier, whatever position you take, after achieving military merit, I will promote your official rank".

  Ma Ang hastily kowtowed and stood up. Although Shi Chang was small, he was also a military officer after all. Ma Ang had always been very proud of himself and was confident that his martial arts skills could not only avenge his father in the army but also secure an official position for himself.

  Her elder brother had found a way out, and Ma Lian'er was happy for him. However, thinking of her brother joining the army and leaving her alone made her secretly heartbroken.

  The war situation was unclear, so Bi Chun didn't dare to stay for long. He sat for a moment and then bid farewell to return to the military camp, instructing Ma Ang to report back to the camp after finishing the funeral. Minister Min's arrow wound had not healed yet, and he couldn't sit for long. The county officials all had their own affairs to attend to, so they also took their leave one after another.

  Logically, Ma's siblings should have kept vigil for seven days and then let their father rest in peace. However, at that time, it was considered proper to return to one's roots, so if someone died away from home, the coffin would typically be stored in a temple or other location until there was an opportunity to transport it back to the family's hometown for burial. Some families were too poor to afford the long-distance transportation costs, and the coffin might remain in storage for over ten years.

  The two siblings discussed and decided to temporarily place the coffin in Putuo Temple at Jimingyi, and transport it back to their hometown later. At present, Ma Ang is eager for revenge and wants to join the army as soon as possible. Although this doesn't follow the traditional mourning rituals, it can also be considered a way of showing filial piety, so naturally no one will criticize him.

  But this made Ma Ling'er's arrangement a difficult problem. Yang Ling saw Ma Ao looking at himself and said, "Brother Ma doesn't have to worry, Miss is still living here!"

  Ma Lian'er looked at him faintly, her face stern: "My brother and I are now completely unconnected with the post office, living here is not proper." Women love to hold grudges, especially beautiful women who have been spoiled. Yang Ling thought she still resented that little official, so he said: "What's wrong with this? I'll help you arrange it later."

  Ma Lian'er wrinkled her nose and said: "I have no relation with you, nor do I owe you anything. Who knows what rumors will spread later?"

  Ma Ang glared and said, "Who dares? Besides... not being related by blood is one thing, but how can you not take care of your own sister? Yang and I are also good friends, what's wrong with helping me take care of my sister?"

  Ma Lian'er stomped her foot and turned away, ignoring the fool. Yang Ling secretly calculated that Ma Lian'er was right, because as a deputy postmaster, he hadn't even moved his family into the post office, and if he allowed a young girl to live there, it would indeed attract gossip.

  County Magistrate Min said as he was about to leave, "I've already sent someone to inform my brother-in-law. Why don't you let her go and live with your younger sister for a few days first? Then I'll move into the post house myself. When the official appointment is announced, I can let her have that small room of mine." He thought to himself, then said to Ma Ang, "The young lady's words also make sense. Living here is inconvenient. I think it would be best if you asked the young lady to stay at my place first..."

  He said this, and saw Ma Ang's mouth open like a hippopotamus yawning, and Ma Lian'er's pair of willow eyebrows also stood up, and hurriedly added: "Uh...... First accompany my humble wife, I'll move to the post house to live. Wait for the Tartars to retreat, Miss will decide what to do next."

  Ma Angxi couldn't help but feel pleased, what's there to worry about with this arrangement? Ma Lian'er glanced at Yang Ling and thought for a moment before falling silent, and the matter was settled just like that.

  On that day, the Tatars only sent out a small contingent to make contact with the Ming army in a probing manner. Both sides were testing each other's strength and neither side committed their main force to battle.

  In the late evening, Yang Ling led his men to help Ma Ang and his sister move Ma Yi's coffin to Pu Du Temple. After everything was arranged properly, Ma Ang went to report to Bi Dou's military camp. Yang Ling took Ma Lian'er back home. Yu Niang was a kind-hearted woman who sympathized with this poor young lady, so when she heard that they were only coming to stay for a few days, she naturally agreed without hesitation.

  Ma Lian'er was as cold as ice to Yang Ling, but when she saw Han Youniang, she was still warm. This made Yang Ling breathe a sigh of relief. All day long, Ma Lian'er had been smiling at him with a cold and fake smile, and Yang Ling didn't know what he had done wrong. He was worried that once they got home, this Miss Ma would also throw her weight around to Youniang, and although he could tolerate the anger himself, he couldn't bear anyone giving Youniang a hard time.

  The young lady didn't read much, but she had a gentle disposition and was clever in her interactions. She knew what to say and what not to say. Malan had grown up outside the Great Wall since childhood and couldn't stand the pretentious attitude of women from the Central Plains who were well-read in poetry and books. However, she got along famously with this young lady, and before long, they became very familiar with each other.

  A figure slipped quietly into the gatehouse and asked the gatekeeper, "Is Magistrate Yi in?"

  The current gatekeeper was originally a courier, because he was injured in the leg when he was on duty in the city and it was inconvenient to move around. The courier station is currently short of manpower, so he temporarily swapped jobs with the original gatekeeper. He thought that the visitor was asking about Acting Courier Yang Ling, and asked from the kang: "The official just went out, what's your business?"

  As he spoke, he took a closer look and saw that the newcomer was wearing ordinary civilian clothes, with the brim of his dogskin windproof hat pressed tightly over his eyebrows, and his face was weathered from the wind.

  That man listened and took out a letter sealed with wax from his bosom, handed it to him and said: "I came from outside the pass and will rush back tonight, please trouble you to deliver this package to Magistrate Yi, goodbye!"

  The gatekeeper nodded and took over the oil paper package. The man pushed open the door and flashed back into the vast night. The gatekeeper looked at the letter and saw a strange fish drawn on the fire seal, but he didn't care, yawned, and placed the letter on his bedhead.