Chapter 46: Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun

  Just a few probing attacks, Wang Xu had already made a preliminary judgment about the two men's martial arts skills. Although Bao Hong's martial arts were not weak, if nothing unexpected happened, he was absolutely no match for Wang Fei.

  After all, just now facing Wang Fei's downward slash, Bao Hong's hand was already trembling slightly. But that last move, Wang Fei only used 70% of his strength!

  As the two men in the arena fought more and more fiercely, the cheers of the surrounding soldiers also rose and fell. Gradually, these cheering people were also divided into two factions, shouting hoarsely to cheer for their respective supporters!

  The high-ranking generals who were quietly watching on this side also whispered to each other, and occasionally looked at Wang Xu with a different gaze.

  In the midst of all the generals, Huangfu Song stood out with an even more majestic demeanor. He didn't utter a word about the upcoming martial competition, nor did he reveal any of his own thoughts. Instead, upon seeing the increasing number of soldiers gathering around and cheering, he smiled faintly: "I didn't expect this trial by combat to stir up such fervor in the hearts of our troops! This is an unexpected gain."

  "It's a pity that such things only work once. If only this method could keep all the soldiers in high spirits all the time." Although he said so, Wang Xu also knew that it was impossible, and couldn't help but shake his head regretfully.

  Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song let out a sigh and turned his head to gaze at the young man beside him for a moment before asking: "In your opinion, whose martial arts skills are stronger, Wang Fei or Bao Hong?"

  "Of course it is... uh?" As soon as Huang Fu said this, Wang Xu's first reaction was to tell the truth, but he quickly stopped himself.

  How could a famous general like Huang Fu Song fail to see the obvious difference between the two? He asked this, clearly with another purpose.

  After a moment of serious thought, Wang Xu's mouth slowly curled up into his signature arc, and with a change in tone, he pushed the question back. "With General Huangfu's discerning eye, you must have already made up your mind, how could I dare to speak rashly!"

  Huang Fu Su did not seem to have expected Wang Xu to answer this way, and he was taken aback for a moment, but then immediately laughed and scolded: "Good you, Wang Xu, not old yet, but so cunning!"

  "Heh heh!" Wang Xu chuckled twice, but didn't say anything more.

  Actually, anyone who has a deep understanding of martial arts can see who is superior and who is inferior on the scene. So, Huangfu Song's question just now actually had many implications.

  If Wang Xu said that Bao Hong was weaker, it meant that the imperial court personally appointed the Colonel of the Garrison Cavalry, a man who was highly praised for his bravery, but was not as good as a young man who had just entered the battlefield. This is undoubtedly a slap in the face to the imperial court, and a misuse of personnel! Moreover, at present, it is in the army that is being attacked, and Wang Xu and others are the sons of noble families who assist each other. If they come and suppress the generals who lead the army, it will make the other side lose face in public. The army will also produce divisions because of this, which is what Huangfu Song absolutely does not want to see.

  Moreover, Wang Xu had no soldiers or officials, and no official position. As soon as he came, he was arrogant and domineering, which would inevitably make the military leaders wary of him and reject him. Therefore, Huangfu Song's actual intention was to test whether Wang Xu had thought about these aspects, while also hoping that he would make a statement!

  But Wang Xu is not a fool, if he deliberately shows weakness, that's not what he wants. Participating in the Yellow Turban War was to establish his great reputation, if he stops because of this, then why bother coming here to fight desperately?

  So he gave a very clever answer, the hidden meaning is actually saying: how much ability we have, you know it's enough, how to use it is up to you, I don't care about arguing for this moment. It seems that with your wisdom, you won't be narrow-minded and petty!

  With the magnanimity of a famous general like Huangfu Song, he would not bother with such trivial thoughts. That's why he laughed and scolded Wang Xu for being cunning, but actually also approved of Wang Xu's answer!

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, with Bao Hong becoming increasingly disadvantaged, Huang Fu's brow furrowed. He glanced around at the people nearby and was about to raise his hand to call a halt!

  But to everyone's surprise, he didn't even have time to make a move. Wang Fei, who had been quietly suppressing Bao Hongda in the arena, suddenly changed his gun stance and used his powerful inner strength and arm strength to shock Bao Hong open, then quickly retracted his gun and retreated. He laughed loudly: "General Bao's martial arts are indeed extraordinary, and I admire them. But with a great enemy before us, let's save our energy and turn the competition into who kills more enemies, shall we?"

  King Fei's sudden movement made all the surrounding generals look at him in surprise, and even Wang Xu had a strange expression on his face. He really didn't expect that King Fei, who was usually straightforward, could do such a thing!

  Bao Hong, who was facing him, also slightly stunned, but immediately looked deeply at Wang Fei...

  "Good! Since you have such a broad mind, let's see who can kill more enemies. However, your martial arts skills are not ordinary, I concede!"

  As the two men spoke, the surrounding soldiers burst into applause, their emotions surging! Unable to see through it, they thought Bao Hong was just being polite, and the two were evenly matched. Meanwhile, the generals on this side, although each knew what was going on in their hearts, all kept their mouths shut and remained silent at this moment.

  Upon hearing Bao Hong's words, Wang Xu did have a somewhat improved impression of him, after all the other party had already implicitly admitted defeat in a small scope, and this kind of demeanor was not something ordinary people possessed.

  Just as Wang Xu was sizing up Bao Hong again in surprise, his eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of an out-of-place figure among the crowd of soldiers watching...

  That man stood in the front row, looking like he was in his early twenties. His eyes were bright, and his face had a strong jawline. Although he couldn't be called handsome, he had a lot of presence, and his body was noticeably stronger than the surrounding soldiers.

  But what really caught Wang Xu's attention was his straight body and calm expression, which stood out especially among the soldiers who were cheering and shouting loudly.

  However, as the martial contest had come to an end, Huangfu Song had already quickly summoned the various generals back to the main tent. Therefore, Wang Xu did not have time to take a closer look, but he deeply remembered the other's face in his heart...

  "Huh! You're Zhou Zhi, aren't you? You can't enter the main tent again. We'll discuss military matters later. Why don't you go down and rest for now?"

  Huangfu Song turned his head and ordered the guards not far away: "You go and arrange their accommodation!"

  "Promise!"

  Zhou Zhi pitifully gazed at Wang Xu, but saw that the other party was completely unresponsive and ignored him. He didn't dare say more and dejectedly followed the guard as he walked away.

  Everyone returned to the tent, and after finding their seats, Huang Fu Xiang smiled and said: "Wang Fei is brave and fierce, Wang Xu has quick wit, I wonder what this young man can do?" As he spoke, he looked at Xu Shu who had not spoken a word from start to finish.

  "Hehe! This Xu Shu doesn't like to talk, but he's quite knowledgeable about military tactics and his martial arts skills are not bad either. So this time on our trip, Father has him as my bodyguard!"

  Hearing Wang Xu's explanation, Huang Fu nodded involuntarily. "Mmm! In the midst of war and danger, it's inevitable to encounter critical moments on the battlefield. It's good that he's responsible for your safety!"

  After finishing, Huangfu Song no longer entangled himself in this matter. His expression suddenly turned solemn and he immediately shouted loudly: "Wang Fei, you originally had no official position, but now the imperial court is using people directly. I see that you are brave and strong, so temporarily appoint you as the vanguard of the account, follow me!"

  Military orders are like mountains, Wang Fei heard the words and immediately stood up, cupped his hands and responded: "Yes!"

  "Where is Wang Xuhe?"

  "Agreed!"

  "You have a quick wit, for now let's focus on military affairs! I hope you can come up with more strategies and achieve meritorious deeds in suppressing the bandits!"

  Upon hearing the appointment, Wang Xu did not hesitate and nodded his head in acceptance, saying: "Yes!"

  Seeing the two men take their orders, Huang Fu's face finally relaxed, and he whispered: "Wang Xu, Wang Fei, you two have military positions, so you can't just do as you please. Military law is ruthless, don't ever offend it!"

  "Hmm!"

  They nodded and sat back in their respective seats. However, their positions were all near the entrance of the account, after all, the seated crowd was mostly high-ranking officials with titles, and their temporary appointment identity was naturally the lowest. Wang Xu and Wang Fei also understood this point, so they sat at the end as soon as they came in. Of course, there was still Xu Shu at the bottom!

  Seeing the two sit up again, Huangfu Song withdrew his gaze and scanned the generals in the account with a serious expression.

  "The current situation is well-known to everyone, and we have temporarily suppressed the main force of the Yellow Turbans with General Zhu Jun and Yingying City forming a pincer movement. However, it's extremely difficult for us to annihilate the enemy as they have more than 100,000 troops. Does anyone have a good strategy to break through the enemy lines?"

  The words had barely fallen when a sudden clatter of hooves was heard outside the main tent, instantly drawing the attention of all the generals.

  A moment later, a soldier was stopped by the guards outside the account and shouted: "General, I am here to report on behalf of General Zhu Jun!"

  Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song immediately waved his hand and said: "Let him come in!"

  After being allowed to enter, the newcomer rushed into the tent. Under everyone's astonished gaze, he knelt down on one knee with an excited expression and said: "Reporting to General, General Zhu Jun reports a victory!"