The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

"Okay, okay, this is easy to handle. Tao Liao thought for a while and said,"Now you have just gotten married, and your marriage has not been consummated yet, and there is no sign of the child yet." Therefore, of course, I will have some reservations about the names I will give to your children born in the future, or I will say keep them secret."

"Foster father, then do as you wish!"Murong brothers said together. Tao Liao said:"I hope you will have more children, whether they are sons or daughters. In the future, when your children grow up, they can call me grandpa or grandpa. So, I am going to give each of you couples the names of two children. However, these four names must be kept secret now and must be sealed in the brocade bag. Can't watch it yet. When I have my first child, I will open my first bag of tips. After having the second child, I open the second bag of tips"

"This is a good idea! This is a good idea!"Murong Shan said and brought the red silk left over from making the red hijab. Murong Shui also brought scissors and needle and thread. The few pieces of red silk left over from cutting on the wooden table just came in handy.

"Leave the job of making the tips to me and Xiaocao!"Xiaohua said. Tao Liao said:"This is the best. Later, when I have time, I can make those pieces of silk into your clothes. If any merchants from Jiangnan pass by here, remember to buy some pieces of fabric and make some sets of clothes for the Murong brothers. We Han people have a saying, 'Marry a Han, marry a Han, dress and eat'’"

"What our adoptive father told us was that we should take good care of the two brothers in the future so that they would have no worries."Xiaohua said, Xiaocao also nodded. Tao Liao then said to the Murong brothers who were smiling at the side:"You two cut four pieces of red silk that are square in size, and then take some leftovers from other colors of silk and let Xiaohua and Xiaocao make them. Four tips. I will give each of your couples the names of two children. After writing them, I will put them in the brocade bag and seal them."

It didn't take long. Brother Murong had cut four small pieces of red silk. After a while, Xiaohua and Xiaocao also made four kits. Tao Liao looked at the four kits with golden threads and couldn't help but think... He praised:"You two sisters are really ingenious. Not only are you beautiful, but you are also so serious about your needlework. The three words on the outside of the brocade bag,"mountain, flower, one, mountain, flower, two, water, grass, one, water, grass, two" are also very carefully embroidered."

Murong Shan took the two tips bags, looked at them, and gave a thumbs up to Xiao Hua:"Awesome!"

Murong Shui took the two tips bags, looked at them, and gave a thumbs up to Xiaocao:"I admire you!"

"Okay, now everyone goes outside the tent, including you two newlyweds."Tao Liao said somewhat mysteriously. Everyone then left the wooden table one after another and came to the open space outside the tent. Seeing that there was no one in the tent, Tao Liao picked up the brush, thought and considered it for a while, and put it on four small pieces of silk. On it, four different words were written on it. When the ink on the handwriting dried, Tao Liao carefully folded it word by word and put the four words into the brocade bag in order. Then Tao Liao shouted outside:"Everyone, come in!"

Hearing Tao Liao's words, the people outside the tent returned to the wooden table. Tao Liao said:"The four names have been written and put into the brocade bag. You two sisters sewed the four kits together with needle and thread. Do not open it normally. Every time a child is born from now on, one of them will be taken apart."

Murong Shan, Xiao Hua, Murong Shui and Xiao Cao quickly picked up their two kits. Tao Liao reminded:"The names in the kits are for your future children. Therefore, do not open the bag of tips before giving birth, otherwise it will be meaningless."

After Tao Liao said that, he asked the soldiers to carry the few boxes they were traveling with to the carriage outside. Tao Liao and his entourage were about to go north to see Murong Xi. The Murong brothers, Xiao Hua and Xiao Cao were reluctant to leave. Murong The two brothers put a lot of Xianbei people's favorite delicacies on the carriage, such as roasted whole lamb, and two barrels of mare's milk. Xiaohua and Xiaocao had tears on their faces, as if they were sending off their relatives, and they couldn't bear to leave Tao Liao and the others. Leave. Murong Shan and Murong Shui went to the back of the tent and fetched four horses. One horse was harnessed to each of the two carriages, and the other two horses were used as auxiliary horses for rotating carriages on the road. Murong Shan said:"Going north from here, although There are only more than 200 miles, but the terrain here is complex, with undulating mountains, dangerous terrain, peaks and mountains, mountains, water, trees, and grass. There is a saying to describe the terrain here, which is called"six mountains, one water and three fields", and there is also a saying of"eighteen bends in the mountain road". I have a road map here. As long as you follow the road map, you can reach Thorny City smoothly. I have prepared two more horses for you and tied them behind the carriage. If the road is bumpy, you can also use two horses per vehicle."

Murong Shan said, taking out a cloth bag from his arms. He opened the cloth bag, and inside was a route map drawn on yellow silk. In addition to the road from the sea to Jicheng, there were also some major place names along the way.. Tao Liao took the cloth bag and said,"Ah Shan, you are interested. Thank you brothers for your thoughtful arrangements these days. It makes those of us from the south of the Yangtze River feel at home. We are about to hit the road, so please take care of yourself, husband and wife. When we meet Murong Shanyu and complete our mission, we will meet again."

While talking, the soldiers had already hitched up the two carriages. Each of the two carriages had a soldier driving the carriage. Cheng Hui, Wufu and the two cooks got on the first carriage, and the remaining soldiers got on. The second carriage. The Murong brothers knelt in front of Tao Liao, and Xiaohua and Xiaocao also knelt down in front of Tao Liao. The two newlyweds said together:"Please take care of your foster father on the way!"

Tao Liao quickly pulled Murong brothers, Xiaohua and Xiaocao up. Xiaohua and Xiaocao had already wet their eyes with tears. Xiaohua took Tao Liao's left hand and said,"Originally, I came to Liaodong with my adoptive father to help you. Yes, but also for the sake of the imperial court and for the sake of no more war. Unexpectedly, we became a family here and had our own emotional sustenance, which rekindled our hope in life. This time I can no longer go to Thorny City with my adoptive father. Please forgive me! Xiaocao took Tao Liao's right hand and said with tears in her eyes:"Although we have no close relatives in our family, we have found our own home here. We are very grateful to our adoptive father." Our adoptive father is our relative, and we will have more relatives from the Murong family here in the future. Please ask your adoptive father to return to his hometown and say hello to the folks! We will miss them!"

"Okay, kids, there’s no such thing as a feast that lasts forever."Tao Liao, who was nearly fifty years old, also had tears hanging from the corners of his eyes. Tao Liao said:"Due to the wars in recent years, the north and south of China cannot be unified, and people cannot travel freely. But I think the unification of our country will definitely come. No matter if this day is ten years, fifty years, or even hundreds of years. Because this is the wish of the people, this is the general trend and what the people want. If they are together for a long time, they will be divided. If they are separated for a long time, they will be reunited. The great unification of the Qin Dynasty has passed, and the Western Han and Eastern Han Dynasties, which made the Huns flee, will definitely appear again on the land of China! See you later, kids!"