Chapter 43 Buried Alive

  General Guo Yunlong walked out of the big account and hurried to the cavalry camp. Although Wu Sangui said that he would give 2,000 cavalrymen to Gu Zhenhua, he was not completely at ease, so he sent Guo Yunlong as an assistant to assist in command and also to monitor Gu Zhenhua.

  Guo Yunlong was about to go see Gu Zhenhua in the morning, but Wu Sangui suddenly convened an emergency meeting with all the generals to discuss military affairs, so Guo Yunlong had to go see Wu Sangui first.

  According to Gu Zhenhua's suggestion, Wu Sangui had already dispatched his deputy Chen Kun with 8,000 cavalrymen to raid Shanhai Pass yesterday. It has been almost a day since they set out, and the remaining main force should also withdraw separately. Wu Sangui arranged the specific withdrawal tasks, and the army was about to take advantage of the night to retreat back to Shanhai Pass.

  Guo Yunlong received the task and immediately came to find Gu Zhenhua. As soon as he arrived at the camp gate, he heard a loud noise inside, with shouts shaking the sky. The soldiers guarding the gate stretched their necks, sneaking a peek inside, and couldn't help but chuckle from time to time.

  "Soul is weak, is this how you guard the military camp?"

  The garrison saw Guo Yunlong coming over and was so frightened that his legs were trembling. He hastily said, "Your Excellency please forgive me."

  "Hmph, this is getting more and more out of hand. When I have time, I'll let you know what military law is all about." Gu Yunlong hummed and said: "And Lord Gu, has he arrived at the military camp?"

  "It's here, right inside."

  The soldier spoke in a stuttering manner, and Guo Yunlong immediately furrowed his brow, dismounted his warhorse, and strode into the military camp. The drill ground was surrounded by three layers of people inside and out, all of whom were soldiers, each one craning their necks like giraffes to look in, occasionally clapping and cheering, making a particularly lively scene.

  As soon as he saw this, Guo Yunlong suddenly became furious and shouted loudly: "What are you doing? Are you driving out the temple fair?"

  These soldiers, upon hearing Guo Yunlong's voice, were all startled and hastily dispersed, forming a line with trepidation. They may not fear Gu Zhenhua, but they cannot afford to not fear Guo Yunlong, this infamous "Black-faced Bao Gong" who governed the army with utmost severity, having whipped countless people with his lash, and even caned some.

  Kuang Yunlong's anger was like a cat seeing a mouse, they all lowered their heads and completely lost the excitement of just now.

  The crowd dispersed, and Guo Yunlong also walked to the middle. Suddenly, his chin almost dropped to the ground in shock. There were five or six people still fighting together, while twenty others lay on the ground moaning and groaning, all with bruised noses and faces, their bodies covered in dust, looking utterly disheveled.

  "What are you doing?"

  Yue Po Xu rushed over in a hurry and said in a low voice: "General Guo, Master Gu is having a martial arts competition with the brothers!"

  "Lord Gu?" Gu Yunlong was shocked: "Which one is Lord Gu?"

  Before he could finish his sentence, a large and sturdy big fellow was thrown over, like a sack of flour, slammed to the ground with a thud.

  The one who was punished was Hu Shan. This kid made Gu Zhenhua run laps, the first dozen or so were still easy, but as he went on, his legs became heavier and heavier, after twenty laps, it felt like lead had been poured into them.

  By the thirtieth lap, Hu Shan was panting heavily and didn't want to take another step. But Yu Po Xi was still staring at him from the side. At first, Yu Po Xi didn't think of running as a punishment, thinking it would be easy to complete. But after seeing Hu Shan's appearance, Yu Po Xi finally understood the effect of this punishment.

  Even a strong man like Hu Shan can't hold on, it seems that in the future, soldiers can also be punished like this, and another trick has been learned from Master Gu.

  Yue Po Xu's heart was filled with excitement, and the whip in his hand couldn't help but swing: "Hu Shan, there are still eighteen laps to go. If you can't run them down, there are a hundred more waiting for you behind."

  "Ah! I'm not afraid of death, let alone running!"

  "Stop shouting, you're getting slower and slower, at this rate, you'll definitely be late and get penalized!"

  "My old man hasn't even gotten started yet."

  Although Hushan's mouth is hard, the more he runs, the more desperate he becomes. Every lap is like going through a cycle of life and death, torturing people to the point of near-death.

  It wasn't until after a long while that the fifty laps were finally completed, Hu Shan was spinning around, almost falling to the ground. However, there were two even more unfortunate guys behind him, Hou San Hua and Zou Tong, who were also desperately running, these two people's physical strength were not as good as Hu Shan's, their sweat dripped onto the ground, they stumbled and staggered, shaking back and forth, as if they would fall at any moment.

  Seeing others more miserable, Hu Shan heartlessly laughed with a big smile: "How did Master Gu come up with such a damaging idea? I don't want to run for the second time in my life."

  Just as Hu Shan was feeling sentimental, Gu Zhenhua and those Mongolian soldiers had already started fighting.

  The soldiers of the Guanning Iron Cavalry were mainly divided into two parts. One part was Han people from Liaodong, and the other part was surrendered nomadic soldiers. These people were skilled in archery and horse riding, and as long as they were trained well, they became elite soldiers. For example, General Man Gui was a Mongolian who fought bravely against the Qing dynasty and died heroically for his country.

  The four who came out to fight were all Mongolian wrestlers, with astonishing strength and courage. They surrounded Gu Zhenhua together, causing him a lot of trouble. Fortunately, Gu Zhenhua had honed his skills in the army, and his moves were simple and effective, striking at the vital points. With his physical fitness greatly improved, he became calm and composed after a brief moment of panic.

  In less than a minute, all four Mongolian strongmen were knocked to the ground by him. After three rounds of continuous trials, the soldiers present changed their views on Gu Zhenhua rapidly, everyone felt that he was straightforward and neat, skilled in martial arts, and most importantly, without any official airs, they accepted Gu Zhenhua's leadership from the heart.

  When they saw the four guys being knocked down, some soldiers rubbed their fists and were eager to try. Gu Zhenhua was in high spirits and couldn't help but laugh loudly: "Who else is interested? I won't refuse anyone who comes!"

  Suddenly, more than a dozen guys jumped out and fought with Gu Zhenhua. From time to time, someone was beaten out. Gu Zhenhua didn't feel good either, and his body took many old punches. However, his legs were like roots, firmly standing on the ground, unshakeable.

  Knocked down a few more, Hu Shan also rushed over at this time, he rubbed his hands, and suddenly came a move of hungry tiger pounce, pressed directly on Gu Zhenhua's body.

  At this moment, several soldiers took the opportunity to work together and move Gu Zhenhua. They thought that in this way, Gu Zhenhua would become a dish that anyone could cut at will, but unexpectedly, after falling down, Gu Zhenhua became even more difficult to deal with.

  In the troops, Gu Zhenhua had learned various combat skills and had also specialized in studying Jujutsu. He was tall and leggy, with sufficient strength, and when he used Jujutsu's grappling techniques, these elite soldiers from the Guanning Army were all caught off guard, constantly being locked down and thrown out of the ring by Gu Zhenhua.

  By the time Guo Yunlong arrived, Gu Zhenhua had already knocked down twenty or so of them and was just throwing out the last one when he finally got up from the ground.

  His whole body was covered in dust, and his left eye had even been punched, becoming a national treasure eye. However, it had been a long time since he had such a pleasant fight. Gu Zhenhua was exceptionally excited, especially after fighting with these people, Gu Zhenhua also gained a better understanding of his own body.

  This is absolutely a strong and extraordinary physique, with quite surprising potential. As long as you exercise and train more, no matter what kind of brave general you face, you won't be at a disadvantage!

  Just as he raised his head, he saw Guo Yunlong. Gu Zhenhua suddenly smiled and said: "Guo Youji, how did you come here? Do you want to have a try too?"

  Guo Yunlong hastily waved his hand: "General Gu's bravery is beyond ordinary people, I won't lose face. However, the commander has given orders for the army to return to Shanhai Pass immediately. The cavalry unit will be responsible for covering the rear, we should strengthen our vigilance and discipline!"

  Gu Zhenhua also detected the critical tone in Gu Yunlong's words and hastily smiled: "Commander Gu, it was just my momentary arrogance, I forgot the rules. How about this? I'll punish myself with a 50-lap run too?"

  "Master, it was our suggestion, how could we let you take the blame?" Hou Sanhuai hastily said in a loud voice.

  As soon as Guo Yunlong heard this, his eyebrows furrowed, and he immediately guessed what was going on. No wonder the mighty Zhongyongbo would clash with them - it must be that these guys wanted to teach him a lesson, but ended up kicking an iron plate instead.

  "You're all guilty of offending your superiors and should be punished severely"

  Gu Zhenhua waved his hand: "Guo Youji, since General Wu has entrusted the army to me, let's not pursue these trivial matters. If everyone is willing, let's run together with Gu certain and make 50 laps around the school field, how about that?"

  "Alright, I'll follow you for all 100 laps!"

  Gu Zhenhua shouted slogans, and the crowd followed closely behind him, circling the school field again and again. Everyone was sweating profusely, but they were all willing and felt especially exhilarated. Guo Yunlong watched with a nod of approval.

  This Lord Gu is not simple, being able to obtain recognition from a group of arrogant and powerful generals so quickly is really not easy.

  ……

  After a trial, Gu Zhenhua and the soldiers narrowed their distance. Wu Sangui's army also began to retreat in batches overnight, leaving Yongping and heading towards Shanhai Pass.

  Gu Zhenhua and his men, as the rear guard troops, waited for a day before setting out. Gu Zhenhua had just finished dressing and was about to leave when Yue Poxiu rushed over in a fluster.

  "Lord Gu, something terrible has happened! Over a hundred brothers have fallen ill, the military doctor says they've contracted the plague and need to be buried!"