Chapter 71: The Princess of Tang Dynasty, Li Worry-Free (Part 2)

  "Oh? I'm just a maid, rarely leaving the mansion, how did you find out?" Zhou Wenbo had already believed half of it. Li Mutang didn't need to hide himself in this matter, and with Hong Zhuang's stunning beauty, if he said she was from a poor family, it would be hard to believe.

  The Hong Zhuang from five years ago was already eight or nine years old and must have understood things, but perhaps for the sake of protecting herself, she kept this earth-shaking secret hidden.

  "Qiming Chamber of Commerce is our legitimate business." Li Mutang answered every question, just to gain Zhou Wenbo's trust.

  Zhou Wenbo immediately thought of the time half a month ago when he took Hong Zhuang to stroll around Dongshi, and also met Miss Fu Fengzhen there, and even composed a poem for her.

  "I don't know what happened to Hong Zhu's parents after they died, who among you was in charge?" Zhou Wenbo was very interested in this so-called former Tang Dynasty remnants organization and also wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of this middle-aged man with a legendary color.

  "The Emperor trusted me, first appointing me as the Protector of the Imperial Guard, and later as the Supreme General of the Heavenly Strategy. After the Emperor and Empress passed away, I unified the strength of all the remaining people and temporarily took on the role of leader."

  Zhou Wenbo's eyelids jumped up as soon as he finished listening to Li Mutang's words, and he hastily asked: "As far as I know, Emperor Li Tang appoints the Imperial Guard's Protector-in-Chief from among the eunuchs. I wonder..."

  "When the emperor was in the palace, I was already a close attendant by his side. Because of my exceptional bravery, he entrusted me with important tasks..." Li Mutang felt somewhat embarrassed but still had to reveal the truth.

  What a brave and powerful eunuch!

  What a great eunuch who was promoted to be the Grand General of Heavenly Strategy!

  What a fierce general is Brother Li Mutang!

  No wonder Li Mutang is such a majestic and powerful man but has a pale face with no beard, it turns out he was originally a eunuch!

  Li Mutang's lord was a Tang imperial prince. When this prince ascended to the throne, the Li family's Jiangshan had already been replaced by the Liang dynasty. Although it was a small court in exile, it could make the Li family disregard their taboo of over 200 years and re-bestow the title of Tian Ce Shang Jiang, which was held by Li Shimin before he became emperor. This is an unimaginable achievement for ordinary people!

  Although the position of Tian Ce Shang Jiang is lower than that of the nominal Emperor's teacher (Tai Shi, Tai Fu, Tai Bao), however, in the 289 years of the Tang Dynasty, only Li Shimin was conferred this title. Unexpectedly, the eunuch Li Mu Tang also received the title of Tian Ce Shang Jiang.

  However, according to the military strength ratio of the Three Kingdoms era, Li Mutang's strength can also rank among the top thirty in the world. A small court that has been exiled for so many years and was destroyed only because of a traitor's betrayal must have been due to the influence of General Meng. No wonder Hong Chou's father ignored his ancestors and old examples and directly appointed Li Mutang as the Heavenly Strategy General.

  "It's been over a decade since Mo Tang came to join the army, I wonder how he feels about our military?" Zhou Wenbo had already figured out Li Mu Tang's true intentions and reasons for coming to surrender, so the atmosphere at this meeting immediately relaxed.

  "Guo Gong is indeed a man of both literary and military prowess, not only is he incredibly talented, but also born with natural leadership qualities. In just over ten days, he has transformed a group of civilians into soldiers with high morale, although their skills are still lacking, their spirit can be used, and they will surely become a powerful army in the future!"

  Li Mu Tang was half flattering and half expressing his true feelings.

  "When King Wei Li Jixi returns to the capital, it will be the time when the rise and fall of our Zhao Guo Gong Fu is decided. Now in Luoyang City, it's like a pot of boiling water that has been simmering on the fire for a long time, and it's about to boil over soon!" Zhou Wenbo began to explain to Li Mutang why he had called him over.

  "I no longer have the time and energy to take care of all matters in this army, and I've been studying literature since childhood, not familiar with military affairs. The subsequent truly effective battlefield fighting skills are not something I can teach. I wonder if Li Mutang is willing to take on this heavy responsibility?" Zhou Wenbo confirmed Li Mutang's general talent and naturally did not want to give up such a free labor force.

  "Thank you, Lord Xie!" Li Mutang stood up and bowed, accepting Zhou Wenbo's appointment.

  "I intend to divide the Milk Tiger Army into three regiments, setting up three commands. Liu Meng will be the commander of the Imperial Guard Regiment, you will be the commander of the First Regiment and concurrently the Chief Instructor of the Milk Tiger Army, Hua Qing will be the commander of the Second Regiment, and Song Tianbiao will be the Deputy Commander of the Second Regiment and concurrently the Traveling Marshal. This is the appointment order!"

  Li Mutang took over his appointment, and saw that he had been appointed as the Zhongzheng of the seventh product of the regular script, the commander of the first battalion of the Rutiger Army and the chief instructor of the Rutiger Army.

  Zhou Wenbo deliberated repeatedly and finally came up with his own plan. In the end, he still chose to trust Li Mutang and Hua Qing, who were obviously exceptionally talented and strong in martial arts, the best among the best!

  "Liu Mengzhong's loyalty is enough, but commanding two or three hundred people is the limit of his ability. Hua Qing has potential, but he still needs to be tempered. Mù Táng, if I weren't in the army, this Tiger Army would follow your words. My intention is that you can understand?" Zhou Wenbo suddenly said these shocking and moving words, leaving Li Mutang stunned and touched, and he hastily nodded repeatedly.

  After young Zhao Guo Gong had gone through his own complicated experiences and revealed himself, not only did he not ask about the hidden power in his hands, but also unhesitatingly handed over the only military force in his hands to him. This trust and magnanimity truly made Li Mu Tang extremely admire and feel excited for Zhou Wen Bo's appreciation.

  After Li Mutang left, Zhou Wenbo successively summoned Liu Meng, Hua Qing, Song Tianbiao and Qian brothers, appointing them to the positions of commander and deputy commander. Their official ranks were also Zhong Qiujie Jieyu and Zhong Qiujie Fu Jieyu, which was the highest rank that Zhou Wenbo could promote his officials to. Higher-ranking officials would need to be reported to the Imperial Secretariat and the Emperor for appointment.

  Zhou Wenbo did not forget Duan Shichen, who had also been busy for over ten days as a staff member. He promoted him to the position of Xuanjie School Lieutenant, in charge of military clerical affairs. Although he was not yet appointed as the chief clerk, it was almost equivalent to being just one step away.

  When these people received their official positions, they were far from being as calm as Li Mutang, the former Tiance Shangjiang. Half a month ago, they were just ordinary civilians, but now they have become seventh or eighth-grade officials with real power and military authority in their hands, which is absolutely not a thin treatment.

  As for the positions of more than a dozen division commanders in the current army, Zhou Wenbo only promoted five from among the new recruits, including the three positions of Song Tianbiao and the Qian brothers. The remaining ten positions were left to his guards who wanted to fight on the battlefield to make achievements rather than protect their homes.

  These guards, with their loyalty and ability, also had much more military experience than the new recruits. Zhou Wenbo appointed these men as commanders of the army, on the one hand to ensure control over the troops, and on the other hand to balance Li Mutang and Hua Qing who had just risen to power.

  It's not that Zhou Wenbo is overly suspicious, it's just that a responsible person needs to be cautious when doing big things.

  After seeing off the new officials who were in high spirits, Zhou Wenbo finally had time to recall Li Mutang's words.

  Hong Zhuang - Princess of the Great Tang Dynasty - Li Wu You.

  As a person who has lived for two lifetimes, Zhou Wenbo was like a middle-aged man who had truly lived for nearly fifty years. The memories of the first Zhou Wenbo unfolded in his mind like a series of connected paintings...

  At that time, Qing'e and Hong Zhuang, the two girls who had entered the Zhao State Duke's mansion, were sent to the 13-year-old Zhou Wenbo by their father Zhou Dejian.

  The young girl, still just over ten years old, had already grown into a delicate and lovely porcelain doll. However, the beautiful girl seemed to have been emptied of her soul, leaving only an empty shell.

  At that time, Zhou Wenbo was extremely sensible in the eyes of everyone, studying hard every day, and just grinding pen tips could fill a drawer.

  However, Zhou Wenbo, who had just entered puberty, saw Hong Zhuang for the first time, and it was as if he had seen a touch of vibrant purple in a world that was originally black and white, like a burning flame, like a blooming flower.

  The boy's originally closed and isolated heart had built a thick, hard wall on the surface, but at this moment it was as if he had been hit and knocked down by an express train.

  The boy was a lonely boy, and the girl was a sensitive girl.

  They seemed like two small animals that had been tortured and became extremely sensitive, carefully probing each other, communicating, and finally building a bridge of mutual trust in each other's hearts.

  The boy gradually became more cheerful, and the girl's eyes also regained their sparkle.

  In these years, the life of young Zhou Wenbo was accompanied by his occasionally appearing father and his expressionless "mother", as well as several senior fellow disciples and teachers. However, the deepest impressions in his vast memories were left by two girls, Qing'e and Hong Zhuang.

  Of course, Hong Zhuang was even more important in the heart of young Zhou Wenbo, just like the most precious treasure in his life, even more important than his own life and everything, and even surpassed the status of the biological mother's image in his fantasy.

  This fervent and intense emotion was neither familial, nor friendly, nor romantic, yet it seemed to be the same as that soul named Yu Lu's unreasonable but supreme first love in his youth, born out of ignorance and fleeting. This inexplicable palpitation, this burning madness, made Zhou Wenbo's heart seem to stop beating for an instant.

  Zhou Wenbo finally woke up from the memories that had been dormant deep within his body. He suddenly clutched at his chest, and he could feel this heart beating steadily and powerfully, which finally allowed him to relax.

  Zhou Wenbo was not a person who liked to pry into others' privacy, so since he crossed over, unless it was absolutely necessary, he never went out of his way to investigate the original memories that belonged to this body.

  It's as if I'm desecrating a dead person, and that dead person is the one who sacrificed his life to save me.

  Even if it's self-proclaimed to have loved, hated, and never regretted, finally reaching the age of thirty, the soul that belongs to the quiet road, which has become calm and no longer turbulent, is also shaken by this memory belonging to youth, this purest, truest, and most unadorned emotion.

  With Zhou Wenbo's current memory, he can naturally remember every moment he spent with the girl Hong Zhuang since he came to this world.

  Practiced calligraphy and forgot about time, turned around to see the sleeping girl, mischievously knocked on her head, but got a clumsy bump from the screen in return, then was held in her own arms...

  While driving to Lin's place, the girl who was engrossed in reading inadvertently revealed a stunning and captivating charm that left herself instantly enchanted...

  When I neglected Qing'e's fate because of my concern for the Zhao State's imperial court, the girl cleverly reminded me once and helped me and Qing'e come together...

  And finally, before departing for the military camp, that sweet and crazy kiss had already sealed their fate for life...

  Who would have thought that the originally lonely and dependent maid was actually the last princess of the Tang Dynasty, and at a young age, she had witnessed her parents' tragic death with her own eyes.

  And she had inadvertently opened her heart, which was truly a priceless treasure left for herself.

  Thank you, young man, I will take your place, live well, love well, and make the future life so wonderful!