Chapter 6: The Yuezhi Cavalry Commander

  (Thanks for the rewards from Mo Mei Yao, Mei Se Qing Xin and Liu An Hua Ri Yue!)

  As for the resumes of these officers in front of him, Chen Kefu had already obtained a complete copy from Yuwen Shu, and basically had a general understanding in his mind.

  Hu Hai, the deputy commander of the cavalry, stood in the first row of Chen Kefu's formation, not too tall but standing straight. His face was dark and had a scar from his forehead to the bridge of his nose, giving him an even more intimidating aura. A pair of sharp eyes made people feel that he was a seasoned veteran who had crawled out of piles of white bones.

  Chen Kefu raised his right fist and heavily knocked on his left temple, saying seriously, "Scars are the most courageous witness of a general, Lord Hu, you are a real man, I Chen Kefu admire such a man. Come, bring wine, I want to personally toast Lord Hu with a bowl of wine."

  There were new troops assigned to Chen Kefu's account, who brought a jar of good wine. Although drinking was prohibited in the army, wine was often a necessity. Especially in this cold and barren land of Liaodong, wine was used for warmth, cleaning wounds, and as a farewell before going into battle.

  He raised a bowl of wine for Hu Hai, holding it with both hands in front of the man in his forties. After he took it, Chen Ke Fu also took another bowl, "Toasting to the true Han and hero! Being able to be comrades-in-arms with such a brave warrior as you is an honor for me, Chen Po Jun. Cheers!"

  A bowl of wine was gulped down, and Chen Ke almost spat it out after swallowing. This kind of wine is actually called strong liquor, but I don't know if it's even 20 degrees, probably just a bit higher than beer in terms of alcohol content, but the taste is far worse.

  Hu Hai was slashed in the face by a Turkic warrior on the battlefield, but he survived with a hideous scar. This scar had always been his Achilles' heel; anyone who dared to glance at it would immediately incur his wrath, as he had fought many battles with his comrades in other garrisons. However, today Chen Kefu brought up the scar and Hu Hai felt like his heart was blocked, an iron-blooded man having a feeling of wanting to shed tears for the first time. He tilted his head back and downed the few drops of tiger's tears mixed with wine in one gulp.

  "From now on, as long as the adults have orders, I will die without complaint!" Hu Hai shouted loudly with a big cupped hand.

  Chen Kefu nodded and walked to an old man with a head of white hair and a white beard, who he had thought was over 70 years old. If not for the robust body in front of him, Chen Kefu would have really thought this was some famous mountain's Taoist cultivator.

  "Li Benlei, Lord Li, you have been following the previous emperor since the Northern Zhou dynasty. I recall your presence during the battle against Yuwen Huaji's rebel army back then. You also made multiple contributions to our victory over the Turks later on. During the campaign against Chen, you were part of the first team that attacked Jiankang. Moreover, this is already your second time coming to Liaodong to conquer Goguryeo. Originally, you held the position of Hu Benlang Jiangjun, but due to two consecutive failures in the Liaodong campaigns, especially the last one where 300,000 troops crossed the river and only 2,000 returned... Although you fought your way out at the cost of your life, you were punished by the Ministry of War and demoted all the way down to Yue Qi Xiao Wei. I heard that this time, you weren't even supposed to be part of the expedition, but you insisted on coming?"

  The old man's tiger eyes shed a few lines of tears, and he stood up straight against Chen Kefu, "Sir, the Goguryeo people killed tens of thousands of my comrades-in-arms. I must come to avenge this grudge myself. In this life, I have already killed many people, but killing all the Goguryeo people is also difficult to relieve my hatred. This life has nothing else to ask for, only to die in battle in this vast Liaodong!"

  Chen Kefu said loudly, "Lord Li, a hero for a lifetime, three generations of his family, three sons and two grandsons, are all good men in the army, but they all stayed in this land of Liaodong. This is not only your personal vendetta, Lord Li, but also the vendetta of my entire army of 3,000 sons. Since we have the chance to meet today, let us avenge those great men who died for our country! Bring wine, I want to toast this elderly predecessor who has been loyal to the nation!"

  The old man didn't say another word and drank the bowl of wine dry, patted Chen Kefu's shoulder and said, "It is indeed my good son, young people, I will leave the remaining days to you. Follow your orders, I will definitely obey, only wish to kill a few more Khitan bandits in this life."

  "General, come and introduce these fine young men of the Han family to me."

  The old man didn't decline, and walked in big strides to the front of the next young man. "This is also my Left Wing Guard's newly promoted Deputy Captain Zhang He, Captain Zhang is one year younger than General Pojun, and is the youngest deputy captain among my three thousand sons."

  "Zhang He raised his hand and slapped it on his chest, saying loudly, 'Zhāng Hé, the Yueti Colonel, has seen General Yingyang.'"

  Chen Kefu smiled and patted his shoulder, "Zhang He, originally a traveling general, a few days ago in the Battle of Liaoyang, he led his cavalry to bravely kill the enemy, personally beheading five levels of enemy commanders. He is indeed a rare young hero in our army. My Chen Broken Army needs brave and capable sons like you. You and your subordinates are the pride of our three thousand sons!"

  "This is Liu Tiezhu, a veteran of my Left Guard Regiment."

  "Commander Liu Tiezhu has arrived and requests an audience with Your Excellency!" Liu Tiezhu stood up straight and announced loudly.

  "General Liu Tiezhu has been leading troops for many years, and is known in the military for being steady. I hope you can give me more guidance on leading troops in the future..."

  All the way, Mr. Li introduced in front of him, Chen Kefu greeted each one warmly and was able to make timely and appropriate comments on their resumes. This understanding and appreciation of the officers made them feel less resentful. Everyone had a good impression of this handsome and overly courteous officer.

  "This is..."

  "I know that this is our young General Luo Lin, who on the day of the ambush at Liao River against the Goguryeo cavalry, was always fighting side by side with me. I didn't expect that today you would have such a good fortune to fight side by side again. As far as I know, General Luo is the grandson of the old marquis of the imperial court, and I didn't expect that not only did he enlist in the army this time, but also made such an outstanding performance, it's really astonishing."

  "Hey, don't look down on people. Although I know I'm no match for you, but that day I also didn't kill fewer of those high-ranking Goguryeo people." Luo Lin looked like he was still very young, not at all like someone in his twenties.

  Chen Kefu smiled and said to Wang Lin, the military advisor beside him, "Sir Wang, I remember that according to the law of our Great Sui Empire, only males who are twenty-one years old or older can be recruited as soldiers. Are you certain that Lord Luo Lin before us is at least twenty-one years old?"

  Li Benlei looked at Luo Lin with a grandfatherly gaze, smiling as he explained, "Luo Lin is only sixteen years old this year and according to the law, he shouldn't be enlisted. However, after the imperial court declared war on Goguryeo again, Luo Lin secretly took his grandfather's armor and rode his grandfather's old warhorse to come here. When His Majesty found out about this, he originally wanted to send someone to escort him back to the capital. But this child refused to go back, saying that he wanted to come to Liaodong to find his father, General Luo Feng of the Imperial Guard. In the end, His Majesty had no choice but to agree, so although he's underage, he's an exception."

  Chen Kefu's yesterday saw the data on which there is no record of his father's affairs, hurriedly asked, "What happened to General Luo?"

  "General Luo is also my superior," said Li with a somewhat subdued tone. "During the last campaign against Goguryeo, we were ambushed and fell into enemy lines. We don't know whether he's alive or dead, but it's been so long since he was captured by the enemy, I'm afraid he may have met with disaster."

  "Father must still be alive," Luo Lin suddenly shouted loudly, "he was just captured by the Goguryeo people. This time I will definitely rescue him and bring him home."

  Chen Kefu did not expect that this sixteen-year-old, who should still be considered a child, would be so filial. He couldn't help but feel moved. "Lord Rolin is indeed very filial, I believe your respected father will be greatly comforted if he knew about this. If Lord Ro were still alive, I would definitely help you rescue General Ro. Remember, you are not alone, you have us three thousand brothers."

  "Long live Emperor Yang of Sui, may His Majesty live forever!"

  "Long live Emperor Yang of Sui, long live Your Majesty!!!"

  "Kill all the Goguryeo people! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

  "Kill all the Goguryeo people, kill! Kill!! Kill!!!!"

  In one corner of the Sui army's large camp under Liaodong City, a majestic and powerful voice suddenly burst out, its sound like thunder, its momentum surging into the sky. The Goguryeo defenders in Liaodong City heard this shouting-like howling sound, and many soldiers couldn't help but have their hearts tremble several times at this voice filled with murderous intent.

  Yang Guang, who was discussing the strategy of attacking the city with the generals and ministers in the imperial tent, couldn't help but pause for a moment. He pricked up his ears to listen carefully, and when he found out that the voice came from the newly formed Broken Army Camp, a smile spread across his face. It had only been one day since Chen broke away from the army, yet he was able to create such an atmosphere; it seemed that Yang Guang hadn't misjudged him after all.

  "Come forth and bestow upon the Broken Army Camp three hundred jars of fine wine and one hundred heads of cattle, let them train vigorously. Tomorrow, for me, conquer Goguryeo!"

  The new book ranking has moved up one place and is now at number thirteen, just one spot away from the top of the new book chart. Everyone please vote, collect and recommend it!