Chapter 209 An's Birthday

Chapter 209 An's Birthday
The risk of war was temporarily lifted, and people gradually returned to their own lives.

Xiao Xia also received an eagle letter from the general manager Xue Shixiong. The letter only contained a few dozen words, but it was full of praise and highly praised Xiao Xia for his great contribution in defending against the sneak attack by Tuyuhun. The government also sent a briefing to the court.

In addition, Xue Shixiong reminded Xiao Xia that Tuyuhun had not achieved its goal and would most likely attack again, so he asked him to be on high alert and not to be careless.

For several days, Xiao Xia spent time in intensive training with the soldiers. They ran on the top of the city walls and participated in simulated attack and defense of the city. He was also constantly honing his command ability.

That afternoon, Xiao Xia inspected a leather rope shop in the city. The reason for inspecting the leather rope shop was that the Tuyuhun people still mainly used leather ropes to climb the city walls.

The last time Tuyuhun attacked Shandan County, they used ordinary civilian leather ropes. The military leather ropes they carried were confiscated, but the confiscated leather ropes were also said to be civilian, not real military leather ropes. They did not carry them. If they had carried real military leather ropes with them, the war would have been even more brutal.

The leather rope shop was run by a middle-aged Sogdian named Kang. He took out a roll of leather rope from the inner room and handed it to Xiao Xia, saying, "This is the most powerful military leather rope of the Tuyuhun people. General, you can try its toughness."

This leather rope was made of more than a dozen strands of cowhide twisted together. Xiao Xia put the rope on the table and cut it with a knife. Surprisingly, the rope was not broken at all and was extremely tough. Xiao Xia then tried to cut the rope with a knife, but couldn't cut it either.

Xiao Xia was really surprised, "How did you do this?"

The Sogdian shopkeeper laughed and said, "I heard that this technique was learned from the Han people. The Han people's technique for making lances was passed on to Tuyuhun. They glued dozens of thin, long pieces of first-layer tanned cowhide together, soaked them in oil for half a year and then dried them. They soaked them in oil again and dried them again. After several years, they formed this tough leather rope that cannot be cut or chopped by a knife. They usually used it to make whips."

Xiao Xia nodded, his worries were indeed real.

"Why is the envoy here?" Yin Shishi walked in from outside with a smile.

"General Yin has arrived just in time!"

Xiao Xia waved to him and said, "Come and see Tuyuhun's military leather rope."

Yin Shishi walked up to take the leather rope and looked at it, saying, "I've seen this kind of leather rope before. The most famous Xihai whip of Tuyuhun is made of this material. It is said to be made of old yak hide from the plateau. It takes several years to make. It can't be chopped or cut, and is extremely strong."

"What if we use this leather rope to make a siege ladder?"

Yin Shishi nodded, "Absolutely. Use this leather rope to make a loop and put it on the battlement. Use an ordinary rope ladder underneath and tie it to short wooden sticks. The rope ladder can also be stepped on firmly. In fact, the Qiang people have always used this method to climb ladders, and the Tuyuhun people did the same."

Xiao Xia then paid ten strings of cash to buy the roll of military leather rope. He asked his men to take it back to the barracks first, and then asked Yin Shishi, "General Yin, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Yin Shishi smiled and said, "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten. The head of the An family sent an invitation, inviting you to attend a birthday banquet at the An family in the evening. The invitation is on your desk. The time is almost up, so I came to urge you."

"Is General Yin going too?"

Yin Shishi nodded, "It's Anluo's sixtieth birthday. I'm going home to take my wife with me. I've invited quite a few people."

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I see. I'll pack up and go later. The brothers' training will end early today."

Anluo's 60th birthday should have been ten days ago, but it happened that the Tuyuhun army attacked Zhangye, so it was postponed. After the situation gradually stabilized, Anluo held a birthday banquet again.

The largest mansion in Zhangye City is the An family mansion. The ancestors of the An family came from Bukhara, Anguo. The Sogdians were a merchant nation and were divided into two types: nomadic merchants and sedentary merchants. The ancestors of the An family settled in Zhangye three hundred years ago and have been the Sabao of the Sogdians in Zhangye for generations. Sabao means leader.

After three hundred years of operation and accumulation, the An family has become the richest family in the Hexi Corridor and one of the two most powerful families. The other is the Longxi Li family. They are mainly powerful in military and political affairs.

Although the Sogdians lived in Zhangye for hundreds of years, they still maintained their own religious beliefs, language, culture and living customs, and did not intermarry with the Han people. However, the Sogdians' Hu culture had a profound influence on the Sui and Tang dynasties.

In the evening, Xiao Xia rode to the An Mansion. There were already many carriages parked in front of the An Mansion. All the celebrities in Zhangye City had received invitations. In front of the gate, the brothers An Xinggui and An Xiuren were receiving guests. The guests were dressed in gorgeous clothes and came to the An Mansion in an endless stream. The An brothers were busy inside and outside.

Xiao Xia wore casual clothes and a gauze hat. He had no time to make clothes, so these clothes were given to him by his elder brother Yang Zhao.

An Xinggui saw Xiao Xia from a distance, and he hurriedly came over with a smile, "I was afraid that you had forgotten, so I was just about to send someone to invite you!"

Xiao Xia laughed, "Your father's sixtieth birthday, how could I forget such an important birthday? I am not late, am I?"

"No! No! It won't start until dark, and the guests haven't arrived yet."

Xiao Xia nodded and handed the brocade box in his hand to An Xinggui, "A pair of porcelain, a little gift from me, please accept it!"

"You are too polite, please come in!"

An Xinggui handed the brocade box to the butler next to him and personally took Xiao Xia into the mansion.

The An family mansion covers an area of ​​about 30 acres. It is a typical Sogdian-style building in the shape of a "U" character. It is built in a square shape with three floors around it and an open space in the middle.

It doesn't rain much in Zhangye, and the earth is completely moistened by meltwater from icebergs, so the open-air square in the middle of the big house is the family's public activity place, but daily religious services are held on the roof, with people kneeling facing the sun to worship the God of Light.

The open space in the middle covers an area of ​​ten acres, covered with carpets, with a large tent and green plants around it. Several dancers are dancing the Hu Xuan dance in the open space, with musicians sitting around them.

In addition to the large tent in the middle, there are more than a dozen small tents around it. In front of the tents are small tables. Many guests are sitting on the ground in front of the small tables. There are various fruits and snacks on the tables.

Hundreds of guests had already arrived, and they were all sitting at small tables chatting. An Xinggui took Xiao Xia and walked quickly across the square from the first-floor corridor to the main tent. The birthday boy, An Luo, was already waiting in front of the big tent.

The Sogdians were not only powerful in Hexi, but also in Chang'an. An Xinggui learned from the Sogdians in Chang'an about Xiao Xia's true identity: he was the grandson of the emperor and the third son of the King of Jin.

Although he was not born of a legitimate wife and was not formally accepted by the royal family, it did not affect the fact that he was the emperor's grandson. Instead, he was highly regarded by the emperor. Before he was even seventeen years old, he was able to stand on his own and was personally appointed by the emperor as the military commander of Zhangye, an honor that no other grandson of the emperor had.

The An family was well aware that the emperor had appointed Xiao Xia as the military commander of Zhangye, and it was very likely that he would be the future governor of Liangzhou. As the emperor's grandson, he would be in charge of Liangzhou and would have more power than Xue Shixiong.

An Luo smiled and bowed, "Welcome to my humble abode!"

Xiao Xia also returned the greeting and said with a smile: "Today is the birthday of the Patriarch, I wish him a long life like the evergreen pines on the southern mountains, and a long life like the ever-flowing waters of the East China Sea!"

The phrase "Live as long as the Southern Mountains" came from the Ming Dynasty. It was the first time An Luo heard it. He was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He said quickly: "Your Excellency is the top military scholar, a man of both civil and military talents. I beg you to grant me calligraphy for these two sentences!"

"If the master doesn't mind my crude calligraphy, then I will show off my ugliness!"

"Your Excellency, please!"

"Master, please!"

The two men exchanged politeness and walked into the big tent.

(End of this chapter)