Chapter 15: Not Letting the Tartar Horses Cross the Yin Mountains

Walking on the path to the Temple of the Flying General, Han Gang's steps were light and steady. After several days of rest and exercise, he was in high spirits. Although his body was still thin, the cheeks that had been deeply sunken due to illness were gradually becoming rosy and plump. He was starting to feel a breeze under his feet as he walked.

To achieve his dreams, Han Gang read and wrote tirelessly every day. This hard work deepened his understanding of Confucian scholarship and Zhang Zai's theory of Qi. If he continued, Han Gang believed that in at most half a year, his theoretical research would yield some results.

In addition to reading and research, Han Gang practiced archery every morning. He could now pick up the hard bow hanging on the wall of his room, no longer using the soft old hunting bow. He pulled the hard bow a hundred times every day as a form of exercise. Gradually, he could draw it to more than half its full length. At this rate, by next January, he should be fully recovered.

Upon arriving at the Temple of the General, Han Gang first went to the kitchen to check on Han A-li and Han Yunniang's preparations. He was immediately chased out, as the saying goes, "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen," a phrase even women know. With nothing to do, he began to wander around the temple. In his previous life, he had visited Tianshui and the Temple of Li Guang. From his personal experience, it was only two years ago, but from an external perspective, it was a thousand years.

A thousand years later, the Temple of General Li had changed a lot. The pavilions, halls, trees, and rocks were all different. Li Guang's tomb and tombstone were also completely different. The biggest difference, however, was the inscriptions on the walls of the halls. In this era, most of those who had the leisure and taste to travel were scholars, so the signatures on the walls were not vulgar phrases like "visited here," but poems praising the Flying General's achievements or lamenting Li Guang's failure to receive a title.

Han Gang casually glanced at the inscriptions and shook his head. He thought it would have been better to just write "visited here." The two poems on the west wall, "The General Draws His Bow at Night" and "Not Letting the Tartar Horses Cross the Yin Mountains," were written by Han Qi, and the calligraphy was first-rate.

Throughout history, most of the works that have been passed down are masterpieces, while the inferior works that have not been passed down are probably a hundred times more. The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu that have been passed down to the Northern Song Dynasty are only about a thousand each, but the number of poems they wrote in their lifetimes is far more than that, perhaps even tens of thousands. Think of the thick-skinned Ten-Perfected Elder of later generations, who, relying on his imperial status, left behind ten thousand poems and lyrics! With the supreme poetic talent of Li Bai and Du Fu, only one in ten of their works were masterpieces, let alone the works of lesser talents. In any era, the proportion of excellent works is like panning for gold in a river, always more sand and stones than real gold.

In the main hall of the temple, several eternal lamps were lit, and several large vats of lamp oil were filled. To pray for Han Gang's recovery, the Han couple had donated twenty pounds. However, no one could say how much of it had been used to light the lamps. Han Gang saw that the dim light in the hall could barely illuminate the statue of Li Guang, and the old soldier guarding the temple had a shiny, fat face, clearly having taken more than half of the oil for himself.

The old soldier had been on duty at the Temple of the General for many years and was a familiar face to the Han family. Seeing Han Gang, he hurried over to greet him. He had seen Han Gang wandering in the hall earlier, but originally, Han Gang was tall and strong, and when he picked up a bow, he looked like a soldier. Now, he was thinner and wore loose, comfortable robes, giving him a more scholarly air. The change in Han Gang's appearance made it hard for him to recognize him at first, but as he got closer, he realized it was the third son of the Han family.

"Is it the third scholar of the Han family? I almost didn't recognize you after two years."

"Tsk, tsk, you're as tall as your father now, and you look more and more handsome. Walking down the street, you'll attract many young ladies. You'll definitely find a good match in the future."

"Still a bit thin, though. Your illness isn't fully recovered. You need to take better care of yourself. I heard you were sick a few days ago, and I was very worried. When Han Dage and A-li came to offer lamp oil, I added two more pounds."

"I heard that these days, the third scholar has been studying even harder than before. In another two years, you'll definitely pass the imperial exams and bring glory to our village."

The old soldier chattered on, leaving Han Gang no chance to interject. He was even dragged by the sleeve and couldn't get away. Fortunately, a group of people's voices came from outside the temple, and he finally had a chance to excuse himself and escape.

Han Qianliu had brought the invited guests, and Han Gang stood at the door, welcoming them one by one. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, it was time to start the banquet.

The main hall of the Temple of the General was not available for the Han family, so they borrowed a side hall. Several tables were set up, and a group of people sat around them. Large dishes of meat (pork, mutton, fish) and vegetables (lotus root, cabbage, leeks) were served, along with a jar of wine at each table. This kind of banquet was not much different from those in later times. Of course, there were also banquets where one or two people had their own table, but such banquets were not affordable for ordinary families.

The dishes and wine were quickly laid out on the tables. Han Qianliu raised his wine bowl, about to thank the neighbors for their kindness. But at that moment, someone walked into the side hall—it was the village head, Li Laizi.

Li Laizi's uninvited arrival immediately chilled the atmosphere in the side hall. Everyone knew that Li Laizi was not close to the Han family and had recently had a dispute over land. His sudden appearance did not bode well.

Han Gang also felt something was amiss. When he was seriously ill, Li Laizi had been urging the family to sell their land, even the last remaining vegetable plot. But since he recovered, after being scolded by Han A-li a few days ago, Li Laizi had been quiet. Now, his sudden appearance did not seem to be an attempt to mend fences. It was rumored that the village head had been running to the city these days, possibly plotting something with his in-laws.

Han Gang was not worried that Li Laizi could cause any trouble. The land prices in Guanzhong were low, with ordinary top-quality land costing only two or three guan per mu, and poorer land only a few hundred or even a hundred wen. The Han family's three mu and two jiao of vegetable garden in the river bend, due to its fertile soil and good location, was top-quality land, and they had sold it to Li Laizi for ten and a half guan, which was actually worth about twenty guan.

However, to get Chen Ju to act, this amount of money was not even enough to make him open his mouth. With his influence, it would take at least fifty to sixty guan to get him to say a word. Spending fifty guan for twenty guan was not something anyone would do. If Li Laizi could only get his in-laws to help, Han Gang, as a scholar, would not take a mere county constable seriously. He sat calmly, waiting to see what Li Laizi would do.

Even though it was an unwelcome guest, the host still had to be polite. Han Qianliu stood up and went forward to greet him: "It's the village head! I forgot to invite you. I apologize! I apologize! Fortunately, the banquet hasn't started yet. Please sit down and talk." He then had someone bring over another stool.

"No need to trouble yourself, I'll just say a few words and leave!" Li Laizi waved his hand and smiled, "I came uninvited today for two reasons. First, to congratulate your third brother on his recovery. Second, to inform you of something. I just received a notice from the county, and there's a shortage of clerks in the county office. Each village needs to provide manpower. I looked at the list..." Li Laizi shook his head and clicked his tongue, "And your name is on it!"