Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4931 An's Migration
【September 18th! September 18th!】

An Yuanshou walked in Fanhe City wearing a cloak. Everywhere was devastated by the ravages of war. Although the snow had stopped, the stars and the moon were dim. The snow made a slight "crunching" sound when he stepped on it. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the city, but no one organized to clean up the snow...

He sighed softly, feeling very lonely.

When he took over the Right Guard from his father, in order to take control of this army as quickly as possible, he continuously deployed and infiltrated members of the An family. Although this eventually made the Right Guard united and obey orders, it also caused the morale of the entire army to be low and their combat effectiveness to decline. Otherwise, they would not have been defeated by Cheng Yaojin in one blow.

At this point, perhaps moving the entire clan inland would be a good outcome. If they continue to linger, it will only lead to more corruption in the Right Guard, and eventually they will suffer a more serious blow...

After returning to the mansion, he waved his hand to refuse the personal soldiers from entering to report, and walked through the gate.

The whole mansion was silent. The servants walking back and forth all looked worried and dejected. There was an air of decline in the air.

When he arrived outside the main hall, he heard his wife and son talking, seemingly discussing how to worship their ancestors during the New Year. This immediately made An Yuanshou feel like a needle piercing his heart...

If it weren't for his inflated ambition and wrong judgment, how could he have fallen into such a predicament?
The An family has lived in Guzang for a hundred years, and their ancestral graves are all there. But now during the New Year, they cannot kneel down and pay respects in front of the graves. They can only burn a few pieces of paper and light a few sticks of incense in this remote and cold Fanhe City to express their grief from afar...

Unfilial.

An Yuanshou walked into the hall with a heavy heart. Zhai Liuniang and An Shengan both stood up to greet him. Zhai Liuniang took the cloak he had taken off and put it aside. She poured a cup of hot tea into his hand and asked with concern, "It's so cold at night. Where have you been, my dear?"

An Yuanshou drank a sip of hot tea, and his body warmed up a little. He said in a muffled voice: "I have nothing to do, so I just walk around the city."

Fanhe City was probably the last city in Hexi where he would stay in his life. When he moved to Guanzhong, he would probably never set foot in Hexi again, the land where he was born and raised.

Feeling both sad and angry, he could not help but pound the table beside him and said angrily, "I have also made contributions to the country! How could Li Chengqian treat me like this?"

An had a brave bloodline, and he showed extraordinary talent since he was a child. "He gathered soil to form a formation, and had a military aspiration since he was young; he tore silk into flags, and learned the use of weapons early." He became famous at a young age, and because of this, he gained the attention of the King of Qin, and was able to enter the Qin Palace as "Kuzhen", "affiliated with the Qin Palace, and was in charge of guarding, accompanying, and riding horses." In short, he was the armed guard and personal soldier around the King of Qin!

On the "Night of Xuanwu Gate", An Yuanshou was ordered to guard Jiayou Gate.

Jiayou Gate is a strategic pass in and out of the Taiji Palace from the Ye Ting, and is the palace gate closest to the Xuanwu Gate on the west side of the Taiji Palace. At that time, "the Qin Prince's Palace was in the west", which means that the troops of the Qin Prince's Palace could not only enter the Taiji Palace continuously through Jiayou Gate and join forces with the troops in the north of the city to attack the Xuanwu Gate. It is also the main road from the Taiji Palace to the Qin Prince's Palace.

Xue Wanche clamored to massacre the Prince of Qin's Mansion to avenge Li Jiancheng, and he wanted to leave the palace through this door and attack the Prince of Qin's Mansion - "Wanche clamored to attack the Qin Mansion, and the officers and soldiers of the Qin Mansion were greatly frightened."

From this we can see how important An Yuanshou’s mission is.

He was in charge of major events and rewarded according to merit. "The titles and salaries were set up one by one. He was first rewarded for his service as a guard. Then he was rewarded according to his orders. In return for his outstanding performance, he was specially appointed as the Right Thousand Oxen Guard." He suddenly became the second in command of the personal guard.

Two months later, Jie Li Khan led an army of more than 100,000 to attack and fought all the way to the north bank of the Wei River. At that time, Emperor Li II had just ascended the throne and his foundation was not stable. He could only swallow the humiliation and negotiate peace with the Turks and spend money to buy peace.

During the negotiation, the Turkic envoy asked his attendants to leave, and Emperor Li II left only An Yuanshou by his side to guard him... He showed such favor to him.

It stands to reason that with such qualifications and favor, An Yuanshou's official career would be smooth and his future would be promising.

Unexpectedly, his father died, and he returned to his hometown to mourn for three years. Just after the mourning period, his wife became seriously ill, so he had to "take on the official position and return home to take care of her." Later, his wife passed away, and there was another round of mourning... In the end, he was not allowed to return to Chang'an to take up his post.

He was dreaming about going back to Chang'an so much!

Especially the rapid rise of the younger generation such as Fang Jun, which made him feel that time was not right for him. If he were in Chang'an, most of these paths to success would have been his, and it would not be difficult for him to ascend to the throne and become a prime minister today.

But now, he finally got the chance to return to Chang'an, and it was "permanent", and he was reluctant to leave Hexi, where he was born and raised...

……

The next morning, An Yuanshou had just gotten out of bed when he saw Zhai Liuniang walking towards him. She whispered, "Husband, get up quickly and wash up. The angel from the palace is here to deliver the decree."

An Yuanshou quickly washed and put on his official robes, then went to the main hall surrounded by his disciples, greeted the angel, set up an incense table and received his orders.

The imperial edict first affirmed the achievements of his father, General You Wuhou and An Xinggui of Liang State, and then changed the subject to mention the favor and reuse of An Yuanshou by Emperor Taizong. It also reprimanded An Yuanshou for his arrogance and eccentric behavior since he took over the throne. He did not care about the people's livelihood in Liangzhou and exploited them severely, causing the people to live in hardship. He did not abide by the laws of the court, sent troops without authorization, and disregarded the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects. Considering the merits of two generations of the An family, the emperor could not bear to punish him for treason, so he strictly ordered the whole family to move to Zhuoying County, close to the capital, for observation, so as not to let him degenerate and repeat the same mistakes...

Apart from this, there is nothing else. The title of "Duke of Fanhe County" which was lowered from "Duke of Liang" was not revoked, and even the post of "General of the Right Guard" was not dismissed. It seems that a vacancy was left for him so that he can receive a salary for nothing to demonstrate Your Majesty's magnanimity.

An Yuanshou thought it was okay. As for Zhuoying, he didn't know much about it. He thought that since it was in the capital area and under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Prefecture, it couldn't be too bad, right?

I moved to Guanzhong not to enjoy life. It doesn't matter if it's better or worse, as long as I can settle down. If I want the An family to prosper again, I need not only my own efforts, but also the opportunity of the times. I can't ask for too much...

After the imperial edict was read, An Yuanshou gave the eunuch an ancestral jade pendant and took him to the inner room. After serving him tea, he asked, "Your Majesty is magnanimous. The An family is grateful. I just wonder where my brother An Zhongjing is now. Will he go to Guanzhong with him?"

He must get An Zhongjing out and find out what happened. Most importantly, where did the money accumulated by the An family for generations go?

Without money, how can we survive after moving to Guanzhong?

Are you really going to let the whole family work hard, return to the basics and become a landlord who passes on farming and reading as a family tradition?
The eunuch said, "An Zhongjing was arrested for 'intentional treason', but now His Majesty has pardoned all of An's crimes. The An family is innocent, so An Zhongjing is naturally innocent too."

Of course, An Zhongjing was only innocent in legal terms. As for whether Cheng Yaojin would release him and when he would release him, no one could guarantee it.

An Yuanshou nodded and asked, "How will Your Majesty deal with Cheng Yaojin?"

The eunuch said, "Transfer General of the Left Guard and Duke Niu Jinda of Langya County to General of the Right Guard. Duke Lu will continue to stay in Guzang and cooperate with Wuwei County to promote cotton planting."

"Ok?"

An Yuanshou was stunned at first, then he felt relieved and laughed out loud with his head raised: "Hahaha..."

Laughing till tears came out.

He naturally knew that the reason why Cheng Yaojin targeted the An family and even launched a fierce attack was that he must have received a hint from His Majesty that he could return to Chang'an as long as he punished the An family. Now Cheng Yaojin's dream has become a bubble, and he has to stay in Hexi... Promoting cotton? It's really gratifying!
"Has your majesty given any instructions on when An should set off?"

"It is only right that the An family should be punished for their mistakes, but the An family is a large family with tens of thousands of members. If we rush to do this, people will panic and suffer unnecessary losses. Your Majesty is so magnanimous and benevolent that you cannot bear to see such a tragedy happen. Therefore, there is no specific date. But I dare to say that it is better to set off as soon as possible to avoid being impeached and attacked by the imperial censors and causing trouble in your life."

"Your Majesty is so gracious, I am deeply grateful and regretful! We will move to Guanzhong one after another today, and I will be the first to leave!"

Although An Yuanshou stood on the wrong side and made the wrong choice, he has always been a decisive and ruthless general. Now that things are irreversible, he can no longer continue to stay in Hexi and linger. He should neither give the imperial censors in the court a pretext to impeach and criticize him, nor add fuel to His Majesty's already dissatisfaction.

The eunuch said happily: "We will report the truth to Your Majesty."

After receiving the benefits, I will naturally say a few good words without distorting the facts...

……

That afternoon, An Yuanshou simply packed his luggage and set out from Fanhe City with a dozen of his clansmen, heading for Chang'an. Zhai Liuniang and her sons stayed in Fanhe City to comfort the clansmen and prepare for trivial matters, and then set off one after another after the New Year.

Zhai Liuniang's wisdom and prestige among the An family members are both strong and capable of taking on this important task.

But suddenly leaving the land where they were born and raised and moving to the unfamiliar land of Guanzhong, the whole clan was filled with sorrow and sadness...

*****
Inside the Ganzhou government office, it was warm like spring and the air was filled with the fragrance of tea.

Pei Xingjian stood in front of the map holding a teacup, his eyes swept across Zishankou, Yaoniu River, Dangla Mountain, Gechuanyi and other places, and finally stopped at Lhasa City, his brows furrowed and he looked a little anxious.

"Is the Grand Protector worried about Lun Qinling's sudden advance?"

Next to him, Su Liangsi was also holding a teacup and asking in a low voice.

Pei Xingjian took a sip of tea and nodded, saying, "You have seen the plateau in winter. The heavy snow blocked the mountains and the roads were buried. Even if we tried our best to supply, we could not move forward. Under such circumstances, Lun Qinling rushed in regardless and plunged into Dangla Mountain. His troops were heading straight for Gechuan Post. If he took one more step, Luoshui City would be within reach... But by then, he would also be in a dead end. The Zamp's troops would completely surround him and kill him in Gechuan Post. He would have nowhere to advance or retreat, and he would be dead for sure..."

(End of this chapter)