Chapter 45 Establishing Prestige in the Army

  However, the reason why Wang Xu and his men were able to receive such treatment from these people was not entirely due to their birth. The performance just now was also extremely important. This was also the reason why Wang Xu accepted being captured earlier...

  After everyone sat down again on the stools beside the big account, Huangfu Song smiled and asked: "Wang Xu, I don't know what to call the three people below you?"

  "Oh! Sorry, I forgot to report to you generals." As he spoke, Wang Xu immediately turned around and introduced the three of them one by one: "This person next to me is my uncle Wang Qian's son, named Wang Fei. The one below is Xu Shu, the son of a minister in our household! And the last one..."

  When introducing the expectant-looking Zhou Zhi, Wang Xu suddenly felt a headache and hesitated for a moment before casually fabricating an identity. "As for the young man sitting at the end, his name is Zhou Zhi. He's an orphan I took in on the road. I met him when he was being pursued by Yellow Turban bandits, so I rescued him."

  After finishing, Wang Xu swiftly swept his eyes over the crowd of generals in the account and responded loudly: "My second brother Wang Fei is only eighteen years old, but he is extremely brave and can be the vanguard of the army, cutting down enemy generals and capturing their flags! And although Xu Shu is as young as me, he is also wise and has many strategies, it's not an exaggeration to call him a youthful hero!"

  "Hmph!" Before Wang Xu's words had even fallen, a large man who had been sitting quietly in the tent suddenly let out a cold snort and sneered with disdain: "A mere youth dares to speak of bravery? And actually recommends himself as the vanguard of the army, isn't this an insult to our military which has no one else?"

  Don't look at Wang Fei, who is usually quite honest, but that's when facing his family. At this moment, an outsider said so to him, and he immediately raised his eyebrows and stood up fiercely. "Who are you? Why do you look down on me?"

  The general opposite him was obviously not a pushover either, raising an eyebrow and retorting, "I am the Colonel of the Garrison Cavalry, Bao Hong. What can you do to me if you look down on me? If you have the guts, dare to fight me?"

  "What's there to be afraid of!" Seeing the other side provoking him again and again, Wang Fei's anger also gradually rose.

  Looking at the two men glaring at each other, the other generals in the tent, including Yuan Shao and his brother Yuan Shu, did not say a word. They all pretended to be oblivious, clearly not wanting to offend either side.

  As the commander-in-chief, Huangfu Song naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing. Seeing that the two men were on the verge of a fierce conflict, he immediately rebuked them, saying: "You are all working for the country, and the bandits are still roaming freely in front of us. How can you justify starting an internal strife here?"

  As he spoke, his majestic eyes scanned the two men, and then he shouted in anger: "Bao Hong! As a national minister and one of the five military commanders of the Northern Army, how can you provoke the righteous warriors who have come to assist without reason? If everyone is like you, who will be willing to help our great army eliminate the bandits?"

  Bao Hong saw Huang Fu's anger and did not dare to confront him, so he immediately cupped his hands and said: "General Huangfu, I am not provoking a fight, but these few young people can't have any skills. How can they be so arrogant? But that's okay, having the heart to serve the country is always a good thing. However, Wang Xu has just arrived in the army and wants to seek high office, presumably hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate bandits and mix up military achievements! Although he is the son of a meritorious official, such behavior is really unacceptable to me!" As he spoke, he also glanced at Wang Xu with disdain.

  "Bao Hong, I can understand your feelings. But you have indeed underestimated them, Yuan Boye has already said in his letter that Wang Xu's talent is quite detailed." As he spoke, Huangfu Song smiled and looked at Wang Xu, who was calm and composed, before continuing: "Moreover, the letter also said that Wang Xu had led three thousand volunteers to defeat two thousand Yellow Turbans in Shanyang County, without a single casualty. If it weren't for this, how could I have valued him so highly?"

  When he heard this, Bao Hong was taken aback for a moment, but then he said with a face full of disbelief: "Such achievements are unlikely to be achieved by these young people. It's probably because Yuan Taigong is embarrassed about the Wang family's reputation that he wrote it like that!"

  As he spoke, Huangfu Song also fell silent, his bright and spirited eyes staring straight at Wang Xu.

  Wang Xu knew it was time for him to show himself, and he didn't mind Bao Hong's repeated provocations. However, obviously, a famous general like Huangfu Song couldn't easily believe one-sided words, and now his eyes clearly indicated that he wanted Wang Xu to prove himself!

  Moreover, the other generals present, although superficially very polite to these few individuals, still need to bring out their true abilities in order for these arrogant ones to truly acknowledge them from the bottom of their hearts!

  Thinking of this, Wang Xu smiled slightly and said: "You must be Bao Hong, one of the two Baos of Fufeng, General Bao! Since you have such a refined interest, how can we disappoint you? Why don't we invite all the generals to move outside the tent, and let my second brother learn from General Bao as well?"

  Who are these people? They were originally pretending not to see it, but now that the conversation has reached this point, they suddenly all have their own opinions!

  "Indeed! I've long heard of General Bao's exceptional swordsmanship. Today is a great opportunity to witness it firsthand."

  "Hmm! That's right, the Wang family's martial arts also have a deep history. Let's take a look and broaden our horizons!"

  At the sight, Huangfu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at Wang Xu deeply before waving his hand with a smile: "Alright! Since everyone is interested, let's have a match. I'll also assess Wang Fei's martial arts skills to see what kind of important tasks she can undertake!"

  Having finished speaking, he stood up promptly and walked quickly out of the tent.

  Everyone saw this and looked at each other, then they all got up and followed closely behind...

  Soon, Huang Fu ordered the soldiers to return the weapons of Wang Xu and others, while Bao Hong's personal soldiers also brought a long-handled large knife under his instructions.

  Wang Fei and Bao Hongyi stood in front of the crowd, took their weapons, and walked towards the open space ahead. However, both of their gazes remained fixed on each other, with intense rivalry still burning between them!

  Because so many generals suddenly appeared here, the surrounding soldiers were also attracted to come over, seeing Wang Fei and Bao Hong's momentum as if they were going to compete in martial arts, they walked over to watch.

  Seeing the surrounding soldiers gathering more and more, Huangfu Song frowned slightly as he saw that both men in the arena were ready. He immediately said: "Both of you, begin!"

  Upon hearing this, Wang Fei, who had been holding back his anger for a long time, suddenly let out a loud shout! With both hands grasping the gun, he randomly danced with several gun flowers, then kicked his right foot and leaped high into the air. The long spear in his hand brought forth waves of breaking wind sounds as it fiercely stabbed towards Bao Hong.

  A master's move is known at a glance, Wang Fei's spear seems ordinary, but in fact it is extremely sharp. Whether it's the movement of his body or the angle and speed of his attack, they have all reached a very high level. The other generals watching this also nodded silently in agreement.

  Bao Hong's martial arts were quite impressive. Although his eyes widened in surprise at the gun's power, his reaction was not slow.

  At the moment when the gun was about to reach his body, he slightly shifted his body and retreated two steps, avoiding the sharp tip of the spear. The large knife in his hand drew a beautiful arc, slashing sideways towards Wang Fei.

  "Hmm!" Faced with the incoming large knife, Wang Fei did not harden. After a cold hum, his right hand suddenly retracted, and both hands grasped the gun handle to deflect the opponent's knife momentum! Borrowing the recoil force transmitted by the gun handle, he quickly drew back and retreated.

  With a few swift kicks, he leapt to Bao Hong's left side. Taking advantage of his opponent's unfinished knife momentum, the long spear swooped down with a fierce slash.

  "Clang!" A fierce metallic impact sounded, and Bao Hong held his sword horizontally above his head, unable to dodge and using the long handle of his knife to block Wang Fei's powerful blow.

  The fight was over in the blink of an eye, and as the intense clashing of weapons subsided, the surrounding soldiers who had been mesmerized by the spectacle finally snapped out of their trance, cheering loudly.

  Wang Xu also let out a sigh of relief, although he was very confident in Wang Fei, but he didn't know much about Bao Hong's martial arts. There were not many records of this person in history, only that he was from Fufeng, and had served as the Colonel of the Northern Army, one of the five northern armies, due to his contributions in suppressing the Yellow Turbans, and later changed to serve under the Western Garden Eight Armies as a lower-ranking colonel! Together with his fellow townsman, Bao Fu, they were known as the "Two Baos".