Chapter 58: Heroes from All Sides Gather (1)

  In the county of Yiyang, in a large household east of the city, there was a young man wearing a single-layer garment, holding a silver spear and dancing with it, like a dragon exploring the clouds or a multitude of stars twinkling, full of vigor and spirit, looking every inch a fine young gentleman.

  In this cold winter season, this young man was already drenched in sweat with just a single layer of clothing, such intense practice, truly using up all his genuine skills.

  Just then, a young servant rushed in.

  "Second Brother, there are knights outside the Zhao State Duke's mansion beating drums and gongs, saying they're recruiting new troops!"

  "Oh?" Hua Erlang heard this and immediately put away his gun, standing up straight like a strong pine.

  "Is that the Duke of Zhao? But isn't the greatest general of the Tang Dynasty, Zhou De-yuan, an old man?" Hua Er-lang muttered to himself: "No, I heard someone say that Old Man Zhou had died in battle in Shu, so this must be the new Duke of Zhao!"

  "I spend my days practicing martial arts, isn't it all for the day when I can take to the battlefield and put everything I've learned to use? Now that Old General Zhao has died in Shu, the army must have suffered heavy losses. With Young General Zhao recruiting new troops, this is our chance as men to rise up. What a waste if we don't seize this opportunity!"

  Hua Er Lang's mind stirred: "My elder brother and sister-in-law have two sons, my old mother is healthy, I've been causing trouble in the city every day, also bringing a lot of trouble to my family. Why not prepare today and leave early tomorrow, leaving behind a letter, to join the army? Fame, wealth, and fortune are on horseback, how can a good son stay at home for long?"

  Ikawa District

  Zhu Bo intercepted the messenger knight: "Is your family's Zhao Guogong, Lord Zhou Wenbo?"

  "Exactly!" The two cavalrymen looked at each other and saw that they were blocked by a county governor, so they answered honestly.

  "What a great little brother, he actually became the Duke of Zhao without making a sound, and now he's recruiting new troops!" Cui Hao learned this shocking news and got more and more excited along the way until he bumped into someone.

  "You lazybones! You spend all day idling around, and today you finally went out to the yamen for duty, how did you get back so quickly?" A stern shout broke into Cui Hao's reverie, he looked up to see that it was indeed his own household's He Dongshi.

  "Madam, Cui Hao is no longer a humble county official!" Cui Hao rarely showed his tough side in front of his wife.

  "What did you say?" Cui Haokou's wife, Meng Shi, upon hearing that her husband was not being taken seriously, hastily threw down the vegetable basket in her hand, jumped forward, and grabbed her husband's ear.

  "Easy, easy!" Cui Hao knew he couldn't win against his wife, so he could only lower his head and admit his mistake.

  "What have you done to offend the county magistrate?" Meng's family was a bit arrogant, but they were still very proud of becoming the wife of the county governor. Now that her husband had lost his official position, she seemed to have lost her soul for a moment.

  "My younger brother, Zhou Wenbo, has now inherited the title of Duke of Zhao and is recruiting new soldiers in Yiyang. Your husband is planning to hang up his hat and join my younger brother!" Cui Hao explained hastily.

  "Are you going to your master's younger brother, can the official be compared to this master?" Meng suddenly froze, even the hand that was pinching Cui Hao's ear relaxed a bit.

  "You ignorant woman, isn't this nonsense!" Cui Hao hastily took the opportunity to shake off his wife's hand.

  "That won't do, I have to go with you tomorrow!" Meng's wife was afraid her husband would be taken advantage of, so she insisted on going along.

  "All right, my little junior brother has never met you, Master's wife. Tomorrow, you and I will go see him together!" Cui Hao could only nod in agreement.

  Yichuan County suburbs.

  A sturdy man in his prime, with a body almost reduced to skin and bones, wore a tattered single garment, with bare feet clad in a pair of rotten grass shoes, was now running vigorously on the mountain road, all the way to a cave at the end of the road.

  This cave is naturally formed, and after entering through the small mouth blocked by earth, it has a very large space inside. There are even hundreds of people living here, and they use this place as a shelter from the cold winter.

  "Great news, great news! Good things are happening. I'm in the county town and heard that someone is recruiting soldiers! Recruiting soldiers means giving land, at least ten acres of land!"

  The robust man ran while loudly shouting, startling everyone inside the cave.

  "What's the hurry? Speak slowly!"

  Responding to him was the master of this group, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a ruddy complexion with a hint of pale yellow, a face with a hard and rugged beard that seemed like iron wire, speaking in a voice as loud as a bell, echoing in this low cave.

  "The Zhao State Duke's mansion is recruiting soldiers, saying that a strong soldier gets 50 mu of land, a regular soldier gets 20 mu, and an auxiliary soldier gets 10 mu!" The sturdy man had a good memory, and he recited the two knights' shouts word for word.

  "Give me a break!" "Really?" "It's already good that you can speak at all!" "Mom, I'm hungry!" "Slap!"

  The crowd of people who had gathered around all started shouting, with children's crying voices mixed in.

  The child who had just cried and made a fuss was immediately slapped on the buttocks by his mother.

  The master looked around and saw that among the hundred or so people, almost everyone was starving to the point of being skin and bones. Those who could still walk and talk were already considered spirited, and there were only three dou of millet left, truly a desperate situation!

  The master of the house also had no ability to distinguish the accuracy of this message, he was like a drowning person who could only grasp at this straw for survival.

  "Second Brother, go and pour all the millet from the sack into the pot. We'll have a good meal today, and tomorrow morning, we'll set out to join the army in Yiyang!" The head of the household pulled out a limp hemp sack from under himself. He was afraid someone would steal this last bit of food, so he had been keeping it safe himself, never leaving it even when he slept.

  As soon as the master's order was given, almost everyone cheered up, as if the bowl of thin porridge they were about to drink was a delicacy!

  Qiming Chamber of Commerce, 2nd floor, elegant room in Luojing City.

  Shopkeeper Li Dafu sat opposite the middle-aged man.

  "It's all clear now!" said the middle-aged man.

  "Back to the chief, it's all clear!" Li Daifu replied in a very respectful tone: "According to the people we bribed from the Zhao Guo Gong Fu, the young master was given to Zhou De Yan by Li Cun Xue three years ago after the Tang Dynasty overthrew the Liang Dynasty. Zhou De Yan arranged for the young master to be a personal maid of Zhou Wen Bo."

  "It was a pity that in the final battle at Guiyi Village, our lord died and our lady suffered an untreatable injury, passing away three days later on her sickbed. Although I hastily dressed the young master in a maid's clothes, he still couldn't escape the search by the Liang army. Presumably, the young master was mistaken for a maid by the Liang army and taken back with them. However, after being defeated by the fake Tang, they were sent to the Zhao State Duke's residence."

  The middle-aged man nodded in response.

  "Now that we've finally found out where the young master is, what should we do?" Li Da Fu asked for advice from the middle-aged man, who was in charge.

  "Although the young master is the last bloodline left by Master Gong, with a noble status, after all, she is a daughter who will be married off in the future. Moreover, it has been eighteen years since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, and our forces have not only dwindled but even the emperor was brutally murdered. With our current strength, we don't even have the hope of dominating one region, let alone restoring the great Tang Dynasty."

  The general sighed and said, "I heard that Zhou Wenbo is recruiting new troops in the suburbs this week. I have nothing to do, so I might as well go and surrender to this young man's door, and see if he is really a hero or not! If he really has the momentum to dominate one side or even change the dynasty, we lone souls can also find a new master! However, if Zhou Wenbo wants to recruit us, in the future, the position of the lady must be left for my young master!"

  This middle-aged man, once he made up his mind, was straightforward and didn't drag things out: "Dafu, from now on you'll be in charge of things here in Luoyang City. Tomorrow I'll go to the Zhao State Duke's camp at the Military Equipment Depot to enlist as a soldier and first take a look at this Zhou Wenbo!"

  Matteo Ricci's residence in Beijing

  "Dry father, the child has investigated clearly, Zhou Wenbo that kid has already sent people to various counties, is about to recruit new troops!"

  Kneeling on the ground with a flattering expression was Qin Shou, who had been planted by Ma Shaozhong in Zhou Dexiu's mansion. He was also the one who reported to Zhao Guogongfu that Liu Huanghou was trying to make contact with him, thus making great contributions and becoming Ma Taijian's godson and confidant.

  Ma Tao has finally obtained the imperial edict of Emperor Li Cunxu after several days, appointing him as the new Chief Minister.

  Nowadays, it is the imperial envoy Marquis who is in high spirits, and for the past two days, many ministers and generals have come to visit him with thick gifts, making him the number one person in the court, truly living a comfortable life.

  "Hum!" Ma Shouhong suddenly became furious: "This little guy is also good at flattering, the emperor was pleased and temporarily spared Zhao Guogong's house. Now that I am the head of the imperial secret service, I can't even control this little guy! He wants to train a new army? Not a single soldier will be allowed from me!"

  Qin Shou knelt on the ground with his head bowed, but felt somewhat helpless.

  Uncle, the Zhao State Duke's personal army was originally trained at his own expense, so it's impossible to get money from the imperial court...

  "Your Honor, Liu Cheng'en, the eunuch of the Three Departments, has arrived to offer congratulations!"

  After a loud toast, Ma Taijian immediately put on a smile. This Liu Chengen, Liu Taijian, was a red man in front of the empress, and he needed to get close to him. The two sides were equally matched, and now that Liu Taijian had come to congratulate himself in person, it was also giving himself face.

  "Alright, I'll leave this to you!" Ma Taijian hurriedly went out of the middle gate to welcome Liu Taijian and didn't take that naive child seriously, so he handed over this task to his free godson.