Chapter 48: The Road of Blue Clouds

  Wu Ji's head leaned back, letting Yang Xiuxiu massage his shoulders and back, feeling the softness and comfort transmitted from her fingertips, as well as the strong emotions contained within. Wu Ji felt especially satisfied, so comfortable that he narrowed his eyes, with a sense of peace in his heart.

  "Wu Lang, Huang Fu has arrived." Just as Wu Ji's mind was clear and empty, Yang Xiu Xiu's reminding voice rang out.

  "Huang Pu, sir?" Wu Ji had a kind of inexplicable trust in Huang Pu, although he didn't know him too well, but he knew that this man was a good fellow. As he said, Huang Pu would come back, and now he's indeed back!

  Wu Ji opened his eyes and took a look, only to see Huang Fu's face full of joy, walking towards him with big strides, looking like he couldn't wait to meet Wu Ji.

  "Huangfu sir, you've finally returned!" Wu Ji stood up and quickly walked over.

  "Haha! Lord Wu, you've done a great job! I absolutely didn't expect that I would end up saving a freak like you!" Huang Fu rushed forward with quickened steps, taking three strides in two, and grasped Wu Ji's hand tightly with his right hand, exerting all his strength in this one grasp.

  Wu Ji looked at Huang Fu and saw that he was exhausted, his eyes were red, and he was covered in dust. He had worked tirelessly for the people of Guisheng City, a good man and a good official!

  "Thanks for your hard work, Lord Huangfu!" Wu Ji's heart was moved.

  "Haha!" Huang Fu Xiang threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, feeling extremely relieved. Wu Ji was the first person to show him kindness, which warmed his heart, making him feel that all the hardships of the past few days were nothing, and everything was worth it!

  Two of them escaped from the county government office together, one stayed behind and the other went to call for reinforcements, shouldering the heavy responsibility of saving Guishen County. Although Huangfu returned late, Wu Ji had already settled things down, but this feeling was different from others.

  Maybe this is trust!

  "Huangfu, is this the strange person that the common people are talking about? The one who can summon the wind and rain, and blow away the Flowing Wind Bandits with a single breath? And it's just this physique!" Lin Hong gave Wu Ji a thorough once-over, somewhat dismissive. Wu Ji's build was really too lacking compared to Lin Hong's robust five-three frame, which made him almost negligible.

  "General Lin, the strangeness of a person does not lie in his physical body, but in whether he can turn the tide of crisis!" Huang Fu's eyebrows rose, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, like a sharp sword, sweeping across Lin Hong's face: "General Lin, you have been on the battlefield, fought against the Western Xia people, tell me, if you were in Wu Daren's position, could you turn the situation around? Could you annihilate the Liu Feng thieves?"

  "Uh...this..." Lin Hong was suddenly speechless, his face filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.

  Fortunately, he was a straightforward person and immediately made a fist and bowed to Wu Ji: "Lord Wu, it's not the end general, please forgive Lord Wu!"

  This man is very straightforward, admitting his mistakes as soon as he says them, and never dragging his feet. Wu Ji's good impression of him increased greatly, and he laughed: "General Lin is right, this body of mine really isn't worth looking at, it's too poor!"

  "It doesn't matter if you're poor, as long as you can endure hardship, things will get better. Why don't you join the army?" Lin Hong said with a smile, pointing out a clear path for Wu Ji.

  "I'm going to join the army? Ha ha!" Wu Ji thought that with his small build, if he were to join the army, wouldn't he be torn apart? Wu Ji found it amusing and changed the subject, asking about the reason for the other person's visit.

  Huang Fu said that he rushed to Xiongzhou, saw the defender Zhou Wei, and told him about the situation. Zhou Wei immediately mobilized his cavalry to come and help, but unexpectedly, it was still a step too late, and Wu Ji had already been captured.

  "General Zhou handles matters without dragging his feet, and is decisive in his actions. He's a good general!" Wu Ji heard this and realized that having Zhou Wei command the cavalry would be the best arrangement.

  "That's it! That's it!" Lin Hong raised his head and puffed out his chest, saying with great pride: "Don't you see who brought us here? We are the soldiers of General Wang Shao! We followed General Wang to conquer Xihe, killing Western Xia people until their blood flowed like rivers, their corpses piled up like mountains. We captured over 2,000 miles of land and forced tens of thousands of Western Xia civilians to surrender. If we drag our feet, wouldn't that tarnish General Wang's reputation?"

  The Xihai Campaign was the most famous external war during the reform period of Song Dynasty's Emperor Shenzong. It was a beautiful victory and one of the few victories in the history of the Song Dynasty.

  General Wang Shao's plan was successful, and he led the Song army into Western Xia territory, capturing Xili River, expanding the land by over 2,000 miles, forcing tens of thousands of Western Xia people to surrender, greatly weakening Western Xia, putting the Song Dynasty in a favorable position in its war against Western Xia.

  From then on, the Song Dynasty began to plan to lock up Western Xia. Under the situation of Hexi Wuyou, they concentrated their forces and captured Hengshan, locking Western Xia in the northwest plateau. The war in Shaanxi province finally subsided slightly.

  Wu Ji's history is not good, and he has never heard of this battle. When asked about it, Lin Hong spoke loudly and began to tell the story. He started with Wang Shao's presentation of "Ping Rong Ce" and how Wang Shao, with the help of Wang Anshi, met with Emperor Song Shen and presented his strategy for pacifying the enemy, then was ordered to go to Shan Prefecture, where he made meticulous preparations, went through a bloody battle, and finally succeeded.

  Lin Hong personally participated in this battle, one by one, making people's blood boil. Wu Ji couldn't help but think that if his Thunderbolt Arrows were used well, Liao Guo would become the second Western Xia, and another Xizhao Battle would be no problem at all.

  Lin Hong finished speaking, and Huang Fu asked about the situation in the city. Wu Ji did not hide anything and told him everything one by one. After Wu Ji finished speaking, Lin Hong and Huang Fu highly praised him.

  "General Wu, what's the Thunderbolt like? Is its power really that great?" Lin Hong hastily inquired. As a military man, he was most concerned with effective weapons.

  This is a good opportunity for promotion!

  Wu Ji naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity, and took Lin Hong to the Wu family's military factory, where he had him personally test it out. After using it, Lin Hong was full of praise. Wu Ji then took Lin Hong to the battlefield, where they looked at the craters on the ground. Lin Hong's scalp felt numb, and his eyes shone brightly: "Lord Wu, this Thunderbolt Shell is a great thing! How much does each one cost?"

  "Not expensive, ten taels of silver for one!" Wu Ji had no intention of lowering the price.

  The Qiyun Society can sell it for fifteen taels of silver each, and ten taels are sold to the Song army. Wu Ji has some losses and cannot lower the price again.

  "It's so expensive? Then give me 50 pieces and let me try." Lin Hong hesitated for a moment, ready to make the purchase.

  "General Lin, think about it, the Thunderbolt shells are so powerful, if the Liao dogs dare to come, isn't that sending them to their deaths? The more Thunderbolt shells you have, the more Liao dogs you can kill!" Wu Ji hurriedly peddled.

  "It's a good deal, but it's just too expensive!" Lin Hong felt a pang of heartache for his silver.

  "It's not expensive! It's not expensive!" Wu Ji continued to persuade: "General Lin, the thunderbolt shell is more deadly than knives, guns, bows and arrows. With a large number of thunderbolt shells, you can kill a large number of Liao dogs, this is military merit! Real military merit! Even with more silver, it's impossible to buy! If not now, when?"

  "Alright... then let's make it 100!" Lin Hong had no choice but to increase his purchase quantity again.

  Under Wu Jie's persuasion, Lin Hong finally bought three hundred. Wu Jie still made too little, however, and no matter what, Lin Hong was unwilling to buy any more, for one reason only: he had to try it out himself before he could believe it.

  Although Lin Hong had seen the destructive effects of the Thunderbolt, he hadn't personally witnessed its killing process and was still unwilling to fully believe it. He would rather believe in knives, guns, bows, and arrows than believe that the Thunderbolt was as extraordinary as Wu Ji said.

  "It seems that the Thunderbolt needs to be tested in actual combat to gain popularity and become an essential equipment for the Song army! Hmm, this is the border between Song and Liao, there will be opportunities!" Wu Ji did not lose hope, but was instead filled with it.

  Lin Hong was very appreciative of Wu Ji, and after a long conversation, he bid farewell and left.

  XXXXXX

  Zheng Ta returned from annihilating the Liufeng stronghold, and Wu Qing, Wu Jian, and Wu Xing followed him back. As soon as they saw Wu Ji's face, they talked excitedly. However, when they mentioned the cruelty of the Liufeng bandits and how they didn't treat the common people like humans, they shed tears again.

  Just then, Zheng Tai arrived. As soon as he saw Wu Ji's face, he smiled and said: "Wu Daren, the Liufeng thief has been destroyed, and it is necessary to discuss merits and rewards! This achievement must be yours! What do you think should be rewarded to you?"

  "Wu Ji hadn't really thought about it and was caught off guard by the question."

  "What kind of commander are you?" Zheng Ta asked, sitting down and sizing up Wu Ji.

  "What? Me as the commander of the vanguard?" Wu Ji was startled, he had never thought of this matter at all.

  "The position of Commander-in-Chief may seem insignificant, but it is actually the most important military post in the Great Song!"

  Zheng Tai looked at Wu Ji and said, "One step further, it's General. With Mr. Wu's military talent, becoming a general is not difficult at all. To say that with such ease, among the many who have read military books, there are only a few who can say so. Even if they do, they won't be as fluent as Mr. Wu! Now that He Wanquan is dead, the position of Camp Commander is vacant, and Mr. Wu is the most suitable person for it!"

  "If I were to become the commander of the camp, let's not mention anything else, this Wu family's military industry would be legitimate and it would be even easier to sell the Thunderbolt Shell to the army!" Wu Ji's eyes suddenly lit up: "Good! I agree!"

  The camp is the most important organizational unit in the Song Dynasty. The commander of the camp is the most important military officer in the Song Dynasty, and one step further up is a general. Once you become the commander of the camp, it means that the path to success has already been paved.