Xiahou An may never have dreamed that he would have such a high evaluation at Jushu.

On the way, there was a heavy snowfall.

Pure white snowflakes fell like floating tides, falling from the sky thousands of feet high. Over time, they sank the branches and spread their eyes.

Xiahou An and his group were riding horses, and the horse's hooves slowly moved forward, leaving a long string of hoof prints on the road.

Soon, it was covered up by snowflakes again.

It was already mid-winter when I returned to Duchang.

Looking at the familiar city block, Xiahou An gently tilted the reins under the city. Seeing that the flag was still erected on the city tower, he felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, I survived another disaster.

At the city gate, after recognizing Xiahou An, the officer on duty was excited to take three steps and two steps, and walked up to the front and bow to the worshippers. At the same time, he quickly ordered people to report to the masters in charge of the city.

"Mr. Xiahou is back! Mr. Xiahou is back!"

The soldiers who reported the news almost ran all the way, shouting all the way, and couldn't hide their joy.

When the people working along the way heard this, they all stood up straight. After confirming that they had heard it correctly, they put down their rough work and ran towards the city gate.

"Brother, what's the fun, this is it?"

"Don't you know yet? Lord County Master is back!"

"What, Lord County Master is back!"

"Wife, the county master is back, and the old Li family next door has all gone!"

"Let's not be behind, go and greet him!"

One passes ten, ten calls hundred.

More and more people are leaving their homes and rushing to the city gates continuously.

When Xu Rong, Cao Ang and others arrived one after another, the two-meter-wide gate had been blocked tightly by the people.

"Mr. Xiahou! Master Xiahou!"

"We have been looking forward to you for a long time!"

"You're fine, we'll feel at ease..."

The calls full of enthusiasm and concern all demonstrate Xiahou's position in the hearts of the people.

So many people came to greet each other spontaneously. Looking at the plain smiling faces that were clearly bleak but full of hope and joy from the bottom of their hearts, Xiahou An was so moved that he wanted to cry.

What virtue can you do!

He got off the horse and bowed to everyone: "It's my fault for suffering this time!"

The people shook their heads one after another.

Everyone knew that Yuan Tan was fighting against the banner of clearing the thieves, and before Duchang was settled, they were bandits who followed He Man and Guan Hai to plunder everywhere.

It was Xiahou An who took them in so that they could have a place to settle down.

In order to protect themselves, Xiahou An could have handed them over to take the blame, but he never did. He just kept mediating with Yuan Tan. It was not until not long ago that they realized that it was Xiahou An's sword that took a detour and attacked Beihai County City, which forced Ju Su to retreat.

Otherwise, Duchang City would have been destroyed and people would be killed.

Afterwards, Xiahou An announced in public that in a short period of time, there will be no more wars and disputes here, and everyone can survive this cold winter with peace of mind.

The people cheered.

Xu Rong and others, who were standing behind the crowd, were also very relieved.

"This is what the people want!"

The short black and short-skinned Wang Can gently wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeves, which looked ugly, but it was even more ugly at this moment.

Cao Ang looked from afar and felt indescribable envy in his heart.

After a while of greeting with the people, Xiahou An returned to the county government with Xu Rong and others.

In the room, the hot water for the bathing was already mixed.

Xiahouan, who took off his clothes, lay comfortably in the wooden barrel, with his hands naturally on the edge of the strings, enjoying this rare tranquility and comfort.

Close your eyes, all kinds of past emerged, as if traveling through time was still yesterday.

In a blink of an eye, it was already here.

A thick layer of calluses appeared on my hands, and even the face that appeared on the water became mature and sophisticated.

This seems to be very different from the salted fish life I had originally imagined.

Take a light breath of turbid air, no matter what the future holds, people must move forward.

Xiahou An, who calmed down, got up and changed his clothes, opened the door and walked out of the house.

When I arrived at the dining lobby, I was already full.

When they saw Xiahou An appear at the door, everyone in the hall stood up and their names were different. For example, Xu Rong and Xu Chu called "Lord", Cao Ang called "Boyang", and the Xiahou brothers called "Big Brother", while Cao Chun, who had a slightly older generation, called Xiahou boy, while others such as Taishi Ci, Wu'anguo, He Man, Guan Hai, Lu Cui, Wang Can, and the newly joined Xin Pi called him "County Zun" or "Grandman".

Before we knew it, so many talents have accumulated.

Even if you open the Three Kingdoms, these people also possess a lot of writing.

A small county town can be said to be a hidden dragon and a lie.

Xiahou An signaled everyone not to be polite, walked to a place specially made for him, picked up the wine cup placed on the table, turned around and toasted everyone: "Thank you for your hard work during this period, and there is nothing to say, it's all in the wine!"

After saying that, Xiahou An drank it all in one go.

When the atmosphere was coming, everyone also drank all the drinks.

Soon, the hall was filled with hiss and violent coughs.

"Why is this wine so spicy?"

Xin Pi, who was still working for the Yuan family some time ago, ate spicy ginger. While breathing, fanned his hands in front of his mouth, hoping to relieve the burning heat.

Wang Can next to him explained: "This is the spirit liquor distilled from Duchangling. For the first time you drink it, you will definitely have to sleep tonight."

"How could that be..."

Before he finished speaking, Xinpi fell down the table.

Everyone laughed at this.

Seeing this, Xiahou An shook his head slightly and arranged for someone to help him back to the room in order to avoid catching a cold.

During this period, Xu Rong reported on the battle to Xiahou An.

During this battle, the number of people killed in our side was close to 2,000, and more than 4,000 were injured, including the soldiers and horses they had brought, as well as the new soldiers trained by Xu Rong, and some people who volunteered to participate in the war.

Of course, Yuan Jun was not much better, and he paid the price of tens of thousands of casualties for this.

This is still due to unequal military provisions between the two sides.

It seemed that the final victory was achieved, but in fact it was both defeated.

Xiahou An was in a very heavy mood. He could not be resurrected by death, but these brave soldiers would not die in vain. He not only wanted to erect monuments for these dead soldiers outside the city, but also paid the three times the court's pension to his family.

After hearing this, Wang Can, as a county clerk, looked embarrassed and said tactfully that Duchang City, which Xiahou An took over, was a mess and could not afford to pay.

"You just do it. As for money, I'll find a way."

Xiahou An had a firm attitude. At worst, he could not let go of his face to go to the Mi family for credit, nor could he feel the hearts of the soldiers.

Everyone was in awe of this. Although Xiahou An always smiled and had no formality, he never lost his chain at critical moments. This is why everyone is willing to entrust his life to him.

At the end of the year, letters came from Yanzhou.

This was also the first time Xiahou An had received a letter from Boss Cao since he rushed to Beihai.

The letter is very long, roughly meaning: Since the death of Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, the boss Cao who took over Yanzhou has been fighting back and forth with the thieves in Qingzhou for several months. Both sides have won and lost each other and were very tired. It is now the time to decide the victory or defeat. Boss Cao said that if he died in this battle, please ask Xiahou An to take Cao An back to Dongjun, and assist Cao An in inheriting his will and taking over the banner of supporting the Han Dynasty. Don’t let the emperor fall into the hands of the thieves. The country is righteous, and you will never refuse.

After reading the letter, Xiahou An couldn't help but feel silent. Is this considered entrusting his orphan?

After reading the letter to Lu Cui around him, he asked him, "What do you think?"

Lu Cui thought for a moment and gave the answer: "It's a win or a loss."

Although Cao Cao has a good reputation, his record has been poor so far, not to mention that Qingzhou moth thieves are so popular, and it is said that there are 300,000 people, which is not so easy to deal with.

Xiahou An said, Uncle Cao will definitely win.

Lu Cui said 'oh' in confusion, wondering where Xiahou's confidence came from, and couldn't help asking, "How can I see it?"

The cold wind blew, and heavy snow began to fall in the sky again.

Xiahou An reached out and a snowflake fell on his palm, feeling slightly cool.

Looking into the distance, Xiahou An spoke in a long tone, answering rather than asking.
Chapter completed!