Chapter Eighteen: Yangping Seeks Help

  In mid-July, Huainan was already very humid and hot, which is the favorite of mosquitoes, and at night in the grass they were even more rampant.

  He still didn't dare to move, his eyebrows twitching slightly as the itching all over his body and the buzzing of mosquitoes in his ears made this iron man extremely uncomfortable, his mood also somewhat restless.

  Looking at the figure in front of him, tightly attached to the ground, motionless, seemingly unaware of the mosquitoes that were ravaging him, and some thin and frail silhouettes, he still felt a wave of shame in his heart.

  Since childhood, Shang Buzi had always yearned to become a brave and strong, outstanding soldier. In Xuyi City for three years, he thought he was the best soldier. But since meeting the young man in front of him, Shang Buzi realized his mistake, how far he was from being an excellent soldier.

  Although the young man was of noble birth and looked like a pampered prince, he was also an excellent soldier.

  I still clearly remember that day, when I and ten other strong men were defeated by a young boy's hands without even exchanging ten moves. The boy looked like he was only thirteen or fourteen years old, with a face as tender as a girl's, but the overwhelming and majestic aura of slaughter and killing intent that erupted from him during battle, his icy gaze that could freeze people in place, all made me tremble with fear. I was extremely curious, even shocked, wondering how many times he had to go through cruel wars and killings to accumulate such a massive killing intent.

  He was a young man who made himself understand the responsibilities of a soldier, his unique and novel training methods, his clear rewards and punishments for his soldiers, and his decisive and ruthless style of doing things, all of which made him admire himself. Outside Shiliang City, he single-handedly intimidated 20,000 Chen troops with just one angry roar, captured Xiao Mohe alive, and eventually even surrendered to him. Such heroic deeds, who among the soldiers of Xuyi did not admire? Even the famous Prince of Balin praised him highly.

  One month, the renowned Langling Wang Gao Changgong was defeated by a young hand, and the on-site Shang Buqi understood even more clearly the strange formation of the young man. The training that seemed dull and boring at the time played a huge role in the battle.

  Shang Buqi often sighed, heaven let himself met Gaoxing, the person who changed his fate. In three months, Gaoxing explained to him what a qualified and excellent soldier is, and how to become one.

  As he thought of this, his originally somewhat restless mind gradually calmed down, forgetting the itching on his body and blocking out the noisy buzzing of mosquitoes. His eyes gradually became sharp and determined, tightly staring at Chen Jun's large camp 100 meters away.

  He was originally motionless and lying there happily, suddenly turned his head to look at him, with a smile as always, his eyes also had a smile, looking at Shang not abandoning lightly nodded and then turned back.

  This is encouragement. Not yet abandoning the turmoil in his heart, a surge of heat burst forth from the bottom of his heart, and in an instant, all the blood in his body gradually became scorching hot, filling him with strength, and the biting of mosquitoes could no longer disturb him.

  When the morning star rises in the east, the happy body moves slightly and says softly: "Withdraw!"

  He didn't make a sound, his muscles tensed up instantly, carefully turning his body, crawling like a snake, moving rapidly towards the distance.

  Delighted to have taken another look at Chen Jun's camp, he didn't linger and agilely crawled forward, quickly catching up with Shang Buqi.

  The two of them held their breath, and then quickly moved forward for five hundred meters before standing up from the ground. Without a word, they made a joyful gesture with their hands, and the two of them quickly picked up their pace, stepping lightly, and swiftly ran towards the distance.

  "Who?"

  Delighted and the monk didn't stop until they ran out of breath for twenty miles, and only stopped in front of a forest. Just as the two were about to enter, they heard a warning sound, a low and cold voice came over, followed by a rustling sound, and then a dozen or so men wearing black tight-fitting clothes rushed out of the forest, quickly surrounding the two. Their eyes were cold and stern, staring at Delighted and the monk. The crossbows in their hands had already been cocked, and the arrows with cold glints surrounded Delighted and the monk's bodies, emitting a strong killing intent that made people's hair stand on end.

  "It's me." he said lightly.

  "General." The man opposite him was delighted, his face lit up with joy, and he called out as he waved his hand. All the black-clad men immediately put away the crossbows in their hands and stood at attention.

  He nodded in approval and said, "Zhìshēn, not bad, you reacted quite quickly. However, I think you should reconsider and follow your father to learn a trade instead. The battlefield is very dangerous."

  "No, General, those are just clever tricks. A real man should die in the saddle, fighting on the battlefield! Don't try to persuade me again!" The young man, about twenty years old, had an ordinary appearance, but his face was resolute, with a fierce glint in his eyes, extremely firm and decisive.

  Delighted, Zheng said solemnly: "Wu Zhong, I've told you many times, those are science, not clever tricks. Your father's kind of craftsman, although low in status and looked down upon by scholars, it is precisely because of them that our lives will be comfortable and society will progress. In my eyes, they are a hundred times more worthy of respect than those self-proclaimed superior Confucian scholars who only know how to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, deceiving the common people with their so-called enlightenment."

  "No, I dislike the smell of ink and sawdust. Even if I had the skills of Lu Ban, wouldn't I still be just a humble craftsman? Why did Xiaolian follow someone else? Wasn't it because I was born into a poor family with no power or influence? I want to follow the general into battle, achieve great things, and bring glory to my ancestors. This is also what my father hopes for." The young man shook his head stubbornly.

  With a happy and helpless shake of his head, he sighed: "Alas, what a pity about your talent! You'll understand later. Since you insist on this, I won't say more, but remember, your father only has one son, and my soldier only has one called Lu Zhishen." Having said that, Gaixia patted the young man's shoulder forcefully and then walked into the forest.

  Lu Zhishen watched with a moved expression as Gongsun Zhi walked happily into the forest, his turbulent emotions taking a long time to calm down.

  Three months ago, he was still a lazy and idle unfilial son, lingering in the casino every day, falling into the streets like a walking corpse, which broke Lu Ping's heart. Three months later, he became the leader of one of the most elite cavalry squadrons in Xuyi.

  Since he helplessly watched his wife being taken away, Lu Zhishen felt that his life had lost its color. He hated the corrupt officials, he hated Lu Ping for not giving him a glorious birth, and he hated himself even more for being weak and unable to protect his own woman. He hated everything in the world. From then on, his world was dull and grey, except for gambling, drinking, and visiting brothels, he really didn't know what else to do.

  That day, the Eighth Master, who had been rampaging unchecked throughout Mount Tiantai County, was so easily defeated by Hua Rong that he slunk away in disarray and was himself sent to a military camp. At the time, Lu Zhishen thought it was hell on earth, and Hua Rong a thoroughgoing devil, even more cruel and terrifying than Qin Ming's henchman, Yan Poxi.

  Standing in the scorching sun at attention, to Lu Zhishen who had just arrived, it was not only torture but also an inhuman punishment. He "bravely" disobeyed military orders and was immediately demoted to eat with dogs that evening. For several days, Lu Zhishen tragically shared meals with the dogs. At that time, he hated the joy, his body and mind suffering from unparalleled torment.

  A few days later, the county magistrate was overthrown and Qin Baye, who had been arrogant and domineering, was beheaded. When he heard the news, Lu Zhishen burst into tears, and the anger and humiliation that had been suppressed in his heart for many years were all released. It turned out that the county magistrate was the one who had helped Nei Shi's son to rob him of his wife, and now that Gao Qiu and his father had investigated the county magistrate, it was as if they had avenged him, and he was very grateful to them in his heart.

  Lu Zhishen's downfall was also due to another very important reason, which was the provocation of his wife. One time Lu Zhishen met the woman on the street and excitedly went forward to greet her, but she was actually very satisfied with her current life and even said that she should have met the young master earlier.

  To avoid competing with the dog for food, Lu Zhishen yielded and began to participate in training seriously. Gradually, he realized his past mistakes, transferring all the hatred and anger in his heart into training, training desperately. He wanted to stand out, he wanted to bring glory to his ancestors.

  At the end of May, Lu Zhishen passed the exciting assessment and became a member of the cavalry, and also served as the class leader due to his outstanding completion of training tasks.

  This time, Lu Zhishen followed Gao Ying secretly out of Xuyi City and came to Yangping Prefecture to help Wang Lin resist the Chen army.

  Chen Qian's army withdrew all the strongholds along the Yangtze River in Northern Qi after a slow advance, stabilizing and advancing step by step, while adopting lenient policies to assimilate and digest the occupied areas.

  It was precisely because of this that the Chen army, which had come to besiege Yangping, only had 30,000 men. Wang Lin relied on the original 5,000 garrison troops in the city and his own 5,000 remaining soldiers, totaling 10,000 people, combined with the strength of the civilians in the city, barely holding out for nearly three months without losing Yangping Prefecture.

  Wang Lin's call for help was sent to the imperial capital of Ye like snowflakes, but the reinforcements sent by the court were nowhere to be seen. The governor of Huai State on his side still kept dragging him down. Three days ago, Wang Lin had no choice but to seek help from not-so-distant Guangling.