Chapter 17: On the Road, He Met Wang Ao

  Liu Yu sat in the central army tent, waiting for his subordinates to report on the gains and losses of this battle.

  "Report to the Governor: The vanguard of General's troops has killed 389 people, and annihilated more than 4,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen!"

  "Report to the Governor: The Xiongnu Left Wise King was beheaded by the Young General in front of the army, and his vanguard troops were all surrounded and killed by the Young General at Mount Balin!"

  "Report to the Governor, our army launched a general attack last night and killed more than 5,000 people from the Xiongnu Right Virtuous King's division! The Right Virtuous King himself escaped with only over ten riders back to the north of the desert!"

  As he listened to his subordinates reporting the battle report one by one, Liu Yu's heart was filled with joy. Clearing his throat, Liu Yu said to the crowd in the account: "This battle has brought out the prestige of our great Han Dynasty, killing more than 10,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen, and also beheading the Left Wise King of Xiongnu, forcing the Right Wise King to flee hastily. I will report this to the imperial court immediately, and commend the merits of all the generals."

  The officers in the account all made a fist and bowed: "Thank you, Governor!"

  After clearing the battlefield, Liu Yu's army did not stay and returned to Jiuyuan directly. As when they set out, Ao Lie still served as the vanguard, leading his troops to advance first. However, of the 500 elite soldiers who had set out, only a little over a hundred men followed Ao Lie after this great battle. Nevertheless, these more than a hundred men were all elites among the elites, all of whom were capable warriors who could take on ten men alone and fully qualified to hold low-ranking military officer positions such as team leader or garrison commander in other troops.

  On the way back to the army, a delightful thing happened. Tian Chu found Ao Lie and knelt down in front of him, unable to get up. It turned out that Tian Chu was very grateful for Ao Lie's rescue of Hua Ling, and he knelt in front of Ao Lie, tears of gratitude streaming down his face. Ao Lie immediately took charge and arranged a wedding for Tian Chu and Hua Ling. That night, over a hundred elite soldiers from Ao Lie's unit came to attend Tian Chu's wedding, and everyone laughed and celebrated for a long time before sending Tian Chu into the tent that served as their bridal chamber. As the newlyweds were enjoying each other's company, Tian Chu and Hua Ling felt even more grateful towards Ao Lie in their hearts. This also strengthened Tian Chu's determination to follow Ao Lie.

  On this day, Ao Lie's vanguard troops arrived at a small village to rest temporarily while advancing. The villagers learned that this army was the vanguard of the great defeat of the Xiongnu people and warmly welcomed the soldiers, taking out wine and food to entertain them. After this period of Ao Lie's leadership, these elite warriors had completely achieved discipline and also knew that Ao Lie hated the most was the act of bullying civilians. So they all smiled and politely declined the villagers' kindness.

  An old man with white hair and beard but a ruddy complexion, seeing the behavior of Ao Lie's soldiers, nodded slightly and smiled as he walked towards the village entrance.

  After a brief rest, Ao Lie adjusted his troops to continue their journey. At this time, a soldier came over and saluted Ao Lie with a fist, saying: "Report to General, there is an old man sitting on the stone bridge at the village entrance, refusing to give way and blocking our path." Ao Lie was very surprised in his heart, logically speaking, he had led his troops to victory over the Xiongnu people, and the Han people should be very enthusiastic about him, so why would someone block his way?

  With a strange expression, Ao Lie led his troops to the stone bridge at the entrance of the village. He saw an old man with white hair and a youthful face sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bridge, as if he was meditating. The walking stick in his hand was placed horizontally on his knees, blocking the already narrow stone bridge. Ao Lie stepped forward and said politely: "Old sir, I'm leading my troops to leave, would you mind letting us pass?"

  The old man sitting on the stone bridge seemed not to have heard, still calm and serene with his eyes closed, without even moving a single whisker. Ao Lie slightly raised his voice: "Excuse me, sir, please make way for us to leave." The old man remained deaf to the plea, sitting steadily, without any intention of getting up. Ao Lie wondered in his heart: "Could it be that this old gentleman is deaf?" He stepped forward a few steps, walked to the front of the old man, and while gesturing, repeated: "Sir, we are leaving, please make way for us."

  The old man suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes before disappearing, returning to their dull and lifeless state. He spoke up, saying: "Youngster, I'm not deaf, why are you speaking so loudly?"

  Ao Lie's face turned red as he heard the words, and he hastily retreated a few steps, bowed his head to make a bow, and said sincerely: "I know I was wrong, I offended you, sir. But our army is about to leave, so please let us pass." The old man heard this and drew out his voice to say: "Oh——" Then he pretended to get up, but accidentally dropped the cane in his hand onto the bridge below.

  Ao Lie saw the situation, rushed to run under the bridge, picked up the old man's cane and handed it back to him with both hands, saying: "I'm afraid I disturbed you, sir." The old man smiled and said: "It's nothing, young man. After sitting for a long time, I was temporarily unable to move. Can you help me get up?" Ao Lie took two steps forward, bent down, stretched out his hand to support the old man's arm, and helped him stand up. After standing up, the old man sighed: "Alas, as one gets older, one becomes a burden. Young man, can you escort me back to the village?"

  Before Ao Lie could respond, his subordinates were already discontent. The ordinary soldiers didn't dare say anything in front of Ao Lie, but every face showed anger, clearly dissatisfied with the old man's repeated behavior. Others didn't dare speak up, but Lü Bu couldn't help it and let out a cold snort.

  Ao Lie hastily waved his hand at Lü Bu, signaling him not to speak further. Then, he supported the old man and walked back to the village with him. After Ao Lie sent the old man back and returned to the army, Lü Bu asked him as soon as he saw him: "Second brother, why do you need to be so humble to an old and weak person?" Ao Lie knew that his older brother's arrogant temper had flared up again, so he patiently explained: "Older brother, think about it, what is the key to winning battles?" He also wanted to explain this to his elite soldiers, so Ao Lie turned around and asked them: "You all think about it too, what is the key to winning battles?" Lü Bu replied without hesitation: "Of course, it's the bravery of the warriors." Ao Lie shook his head slightly upon hearing this. Seeing that Lü Bu's answer did not receive Ao Lie's approval, many soldiers chimed in...

  "It's the commander who is in command!"

  "Excellent armor and weapon!"

  "It's the courage to charge forward without hesitation!"

  Ao Lie saw that everyone had finished speaking, and only then did he say: "What you all said makes sense, and they are indeed factors in winning battles. However——" Ao Lie clenched his right fist and struck his left chest with force, continuing to say: "However, the most important thing is the people's hearts. Since ancient times, whoever gains the people's hearts will gain the world. If we don't have the people's hearts supporting us, where would our armor and weapons come from? Where would our food and grass come from? Even our soldiers, where would they be recruited from?"

  Listening to Ao Lie's words, the crowd of sharp and thoughtful people fell into deep thought. That's right, if you don't win over the hearts of the people, where does all this come from? If there wasn't all this, how can you talk about winning battles?

  Zhang Liao immediately understood and saluted Ao Lie with a fist: "This general understands, thank you for your guidance." Ao Lie nodded at Zhang Liao and asked the other officers: "Do you all understand?" The elite soldiers looked up at Ao Lie, their eyes filled with admiration and respect. As Han's elite troops, they had been fighting on the border with the Xiongnu people for a long time, and had become numb and cold-blooded, turning into pure war machines. Today, Ao Lie's words made them transform from war machines back into flesh-and-blood humans. After all, they too had parents and families, and were once ordinary civilians who became Han's elite soldiers.

  The crowd of sharp men knelt down on the ground, saying one after another: "Your subordinates understand."

  After this incident, Ao Lie remounted his horse, Zhaoye Xue Long, and led his elite troops towards the Jiuyuan County government.

  Not long after Ao Lie and the others left, an old man who was supported back to the village by Ao Lie emerged from behind a large tree. His movements were so agile that they were completely different from his frail appearance earlier. The old man stroked his beard and chuckled to himself, saying: "A person who wins the hearts of the people will win the world. This child is indeed extraordinary. It seems that my legacy can be passed on."

  Ao Lie and others rushed all the way, and after a few days, they returned to the government office of Jiuyuan County. After dispersing the troops and letting them return to their respective camps, Ao Lie took Lv Bu, Zhang Liao, and Tian Chou's couple back to the governor's mansion, arranged their accommodation, and made an appointment to have dinner together in the evening.

  Later, Ao Lie came to the back hall, preparing to go and pay his respects to his mother, Mrs. Ao. He must not have slept a wink since he left for battle, right? Now that he had returned victorious, the first thing he did was to go and pay his respects to his mother, also to report his safety and let her be at ease.

  As soon as Ao Lie arrived at the door of the master bedroom, he walked to the front of the door and was about to knock when he heard a sigh coming from inside. Mrs. Ao's soft voice sounded: "Yan'er, are you saying that Lie'er single-handedly infiltrated the Huns' large camp, not only rescued you but also killed more than a dozen Hunnish military officers in a row? How can this child be so bold? If something goes wrong, how can I explain it to his mother?" Ao Lie was taken aback by her words. Yan'er? Could it be Cai Yan? Hmm, it must be the case. A few days ago, when he met with his father, his father mentioned that for safety reasons, someone had already escorted Cai Yan back.

  Here is the translation:

  "Indeed, Cai Yan's unique clear and pleasant voice rang out as she comforted Mrs. Ao: "Mother, if you had seen Second Young Master's heroic appearance with your own eyes, you would not be so worried. At first, I was also extremely worried about Second Young Master, but later he charged forward triumphantly, and those Xiongnu people could not even touch a single hair on his head." Mrs. Ao smiled softly: "You just know how to help Lie'er say nice things to deceive me." Cai Yan seemed slightly embarrassed, with a hint of shyness in her tone: "Mother, what are you saying? How could I deceive you?" Mrs. Ao took Cai Yan's hand and said: "Yan'er, since you've already started calling me 'mother', how can you still call him 'Second Young Master'? Mother is looking forward to the two of you getting married soon." Upon hearing this, Cai Yan's face immediately turned bright red, and she twisted and turned, speaking in a low voice: "This matter... let's wait until Second Young Master returns before discussing it." Mrs. Ao pretended to be angry, her expression sinking as she said: "Why are you still calling him 'Second Young Master'?" Cai Yan's face became even redder, and her voice grew softer: "Then... then let's wait until husband returns and discuss this matter again."

  Standing outside the door, Ao Lie suddenly felt himself surrounded by great happiness, Yan Er had actually changed her mouth to call herself husband! Under the excitement, Ao Lie forgot his identity as an eavesdropper and accidentally touched the door ring.

  Mrs. Ao stood up in the room and asked towards the door, "Who is there?" The tone was surprisingly stern. During the Eastern Han period, etiquette was taken very seriously, so Mrs. Ao naturally did not like it when servants eavesdropped on her conversations with Cai Yan. However, when the door was pushed open, the sternness in Mrs. Ao's voice immediately turned to surprise: "Lie'er! You're back!"

  Ao Lie walked into the room with a awkward expression, greeting Ao Furen and asking for her well-being: "Lie'er returned to the mansion early this morning, after settling the soldiers, I came to pay my respects to Mother." Ao Furen was overjoyed and tearful, two teardrops rolled down her face like pearls, but she didn't care, embracing Ao Lie's head and holding him in her arms, sobbing softly: "As long as you're back, it's all good. Your heartless father actually let you be the vanguard, he clearly knew that my child is only ten years old!"

  Ao Lie's already awkward face turned even more awkward, and he hastily patted his mother's hand, saying: "Mother, ambition is not limited by age, isn't the child back now? Ah, Mother, Yan'er is still watching from the side."

  After being reminded by Ao Lie, Mrs. Ao realized her mistake and let go of Ao Lie's hand, turning around to look at Cai Yan who was blushing: "It's mother who lost composure, don't laugh at me, Cai Yan." Cai Yan shyly waved his hands repeatedly: "Mother, what are you saying? Ah, husband...Ah, Second Master is back, you two talk first, I'll take my leave." When Ao Lie was not around, calling him 'husband' didn't feel too difficult, but now that Ao Lie was standing right in front of her, how could she say the word 'husband' in his face? So Cai Yan hastily found an excuse to slip away.

  What a clever person Ao Lie is! Can't see through Cai Yan's thoughts at this moment? However, Ao Lie doesn't plan to let Cai Yan succeed in slipping away, but instead plans to take advantage of this opportunity to thoroughly capture Cai Yan. Watching Cai Yan lightly move her lotus steps and walk out of the room, Ao Lie suddenly grabbed Cai Yan's sleeve and turned back to say to Madam Ao: "Mother, you see my and Yan'er's matter——" Madam Ao is a seasoned person and naturally understood the meaning behind Ao Lie's words, smiling with pursed lips: "Alright, I'll have someone go notify Cai Lingjun, when your father returns, we'll hold an engagement ceremony for you two."

  Ao Lie's heart was overjoyed, and he pulled Cai Yan down to kneel together in front of Mrs. Ao: "Lie'er (Yan'er) thanks Mother."