Chapter 64: Du Bing's Scheme

  Du Bingdao said, "Sir, that is indeed the badge of the Imperial Guard, the princess's guard badge has a fire phoenix totem, while Ji Shenglie's guard badge has a tiger head totem."

  Qian Buli hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "This is indeed a good thing." After that, Qian Buli carefully put away the Tiger Head Medal.

  Du Bing and Wang Rui exchanged a glance, neither of them spoke. They knew that Qian Buli's mind was not something they could measure, and when it was time to be silent, they should remain silent.

  "Speed up the march tomorrow and strive to leave Nanling early." Qian Buli walked to the map, silently observing for a moment: "The three of them have already left, haven't they?"

  Du Bing was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what Qian Buli was referring to. He nodded and said: "Yes, sir. Qin Chong asked me to tell you that they would rather die than disappoint your expectations!"

  Money's fingers drew a line on the map at Nanling Sky Ladder, and he sighed: "We've wronged them. This treacherous terrain must be controlled by us, or it will be hard for us to break out from here. Even if we can break out, we won't make it past the Red Water Grand Bridge! After this is all over, I'll definitely give those three a big reward!"

  "In my opinion, the greatest credit goes to you, sir!" Du Bing chuckled: "Sir, with your profound strategies and farsightedness, you had set up a trap long ago. Although Wei Yun's reputation is great, he will eventually fall into your hands!"

  "There's another person who made a great contribution." Qian Buli looked at Du Bing with a smile that was not quite a smile: "You can make Ben Tong happy to such an extent with just a few words, this achievement is even greater than Qin Chong's achievement."

  "Thank you, sir!" Du Bing climbed up the pole: "Wang Rui, what are you still stunned for? Quickly go get the merit sheet and record it for me. By tomorrow, sir might have forgotten my merits."

  Wang Rui was so angry that he couldn't help but laugh, and even Qian Buli was stunned. He immediately laughed and scolded: "Get out of here! I'll reward you when the sun rises in the west!"

  Du Bing smiled and said: "Sir, this is such a small matter, why do you need to write it yourself? I'll write it myself."

  Money was about to get angry and furrowed his brow, but before he could slam the table, Wang Rui grabbed Du Bing and dragged him out of the tent. As they walked, Wang Rui whispered complaints: "General Du, how can you speak without any consideration? What if you really anger Commander-in-Chief?"

  Du Bing smiled carelessly: "Wang Rui, compared to fighting, you and I are not much different, but when it comes to understanding people, you need to practice more. I'm not like you, you have a relative who is an earl, I climbed up from being a soldier, so I won't be able to detect the subtleties of human behavior?"

  Wang Rui was stunned: "Then you......"

  Du Bing waved his hand: "The adults are not the kind of people who pay too much attention to seniority, don't look at the short time, I've already figured out the adults' temper!"

  Wang Rui's mouth corners suddenly revealed a hint of a smile: "Really?"

  "Of course it's true!" Du Bing casually replied, then realized something was off and quickly changed the subject: patting his own chest, he said, "Actually, as long as we truly love and respect our elders..."

  "Get out of my sight!" Qian Buli kicked Du Bing's butt from behind: "Roll back to the night watch immediately, tomorrow we'll add more scouts, if such a messenger appears again, shoot him on the spot, no need to bring him back to see me!"

  "Yes sir... Yes sir!" Du Bing and Wang Rui Xiang ran off laughing like two mischievous kids.

  Looking at the back of Du Bing and Wang Rui, Qian Buli revealed a playful smile at the corner of his mouth. Du Bing's little trick couldn't escape his eyes. When he first arrived in Xueyuan City, what Qian Buli admired most was Wang Rui, but recently, Qian Buli had been trusting Du Bing more and more.

  A capable commander's most trusted subordinate is not the most intelligent, nor the bravest, nor the best at flattering, but rather one who often makes small mistakes in front of the commander.

  Du Bing is well aware of this! If Qian Buli were to deal with Wang Rui or Ren Shuai now, it would inevitably lead to opposition voices, because Qian Buli has no reason to deal with them! However, Du Bing handed over his own handle to Qian Buli voluntarily, and based on Du Bing's words teasing Qian Buli, as long as Qian Buli is willing, one sentence "daring to mock a superior official" can deprive Du Bing of everything, and no one can raise objections, at most it's just begging for mercy. Whether or not to spare Du Bing's life still depends on Qian Buli's intentions.

  After Qian Buli understood Du Bing's intention, he was surprised and gladly accepted Du Bing's loyalty. He occasionally expressed his closeness with kicks and scolding laughter. Tacit understanding can only be achieved between two clever people. If it is explicitly stated, the meaning will change. Therefore, Du Bing did not change his habit of smiling in front of Qian Buli, while Qian Buli always scolded Du Bing a few words. In this back-and-forth exchange, their trust grew stronger and stronger.

  With Qian Buli's cautious and meticulous personality, he naturally considered whether Du Bing had other intentions from one direction, but ultimately dispelled his doubts. Du Bing was an ambitious person, if he wanted to defect to the side of Wei Chi Yun, not to mention that most traitors in the world would end up with a miserable outcome, even if Wei Chi Yun dared to use him, he could at most climb up two levels. However, following Qian Buli, as long as Qian Buli could sweep through the Ji Zhou country like a wildfire, Du Bing would become one of Qian Buli's top generals! What you get depends on how much you are willing to pay, Du Bing was not afraid of taking risks.

  A man with ambition and ability, but without matching power, is bound to overthrow. A man with ambition but without the ability to plan for the overall situation, he hopes to follow a wise lord to overthrow. The latter refers to Du Bing.

  In the distance, Du Bing, who was walking alongside Wang Rui, suddenly blurted out a seemingly unrelated question: "Wang Rui, if General Tong and Count in the future were to have a disagreement, whose side would you take?"

  Wang Rui was stunned, he was a distant relative of Jia Tianxiang, and Du Bing had once been a general under Jia Tianxiang's command, this kind of conversation should not have occurred between them.

  Wang Rui sank into thought for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing: "I was orphaned at the age of ten and fled to Xueyuan City. At fifteen, I joined the patrol team. It took me eight whole years to become the captain. I've been following General Gong for only a month now, what do you think I would choose?"

  Du Bing also smiled, but didn't say anything.

  Wang Rui gazed at Du Bing: "Do you think that if we have ulterior motives, we can deceive Commander?"

  "That's the point." Du Bing patted Wang Rui's shoulder: "I don't want to live with my heart in my mouth all day!"

  The two people burst out laughing together.