Chapter Ten: Throwing Peaches

  Dingzhou Military Prefecture, Xiao Yuanshan handed over the draft memorial he had just prepared to Shen Mingchen, the chief clerk. It was less than a month since the defeat at Lishui, but Xiao Yuanshan seemed to have aged ten years. His once black hair now had threads of white, his face was puffy, and he looked like he had been overworking.

  "Minister Ming, would you take a look at this letter and see if there's anything else that stands out?" Xiao Yuanshan was from a noble family with a long history, and he was one of the rare individuals among the aristocratic young men who excelled in both literature and martial arts. In the Great Chu army, people like him were already considered rare, and his handwriting was like golden armor and iron horses, full of the spirit of killing and fighting, each stroke powerful and energetic.

  Shen Mingchen finished reading the memorial with a glance, put it lightly on the desk, but did not answer Xiao Yuanshan's words. He smiled and said: "General, do you know that something strange happened in Dingzhou City today?"

  Xiao Yuanshan shook his head, as he had been busy dealing with military affairs, integrating the city's defense forces, gathering the remnants of the defeated army, and preparing for the arrival of the barbarian army that would soon threaten Dingzhou. He didn't have the mental energy to listen to those strange rumors and anecdotes.

  "General Li Qing, who was just promoted by Da Shuai, has done something that is quite unthinkable!" Shen Mingchen laughed.

  "Li Qing?" Xiao Yuanshan was slightly startled, and he still had a faint impression of this small school lieutenant who brought back the banner of Changsheng Camp. "Is it Li Qing, who was appointed as Yingyang School Lieutenant, the left wing commander of Changsheng Camp?"

  "Not bad, it's him. General Da ordered him to reorganize the left wing of the Invincible Camp, but General Lü only gave him 300 wounded soldiers, plus a few dozen scattered soldiers he gathered himself, and now they are stationed near the City God Temple." Shen Mingchen picked up his teacup, looking at Xiao Yuanshan with great interest.

  "Is Lü Dabing so petty?" Xiao Yuanshan couldn't help but laugh, Lü Dabing was also a newly promoted commander of the Vanguard Battalion, but his older brother Lü Dalin was the Deputy Commander of the Dingzhou Army. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Lü Dabing's behavior, Xiao Yuanshan could do nothing about it and had to give face to Vice General Lü. "It seems that Lü Dabing has a narrow mind and is not suitable for being a great general, far inferior to his brother."

  Xiao Yuanshan shook his head, "What did Li Qing do?"

  Shen Mingchen smiled and said: "He invited Huan Gong to his camp to treat the wounded soldiers."

  "What?" Xiao Yuanshan was shocked, "Huan Gong, Huan Xi? Ming Chen, you're not mistaken?"

  "There must be some mistake, yesterday evening the Huan Mansion mobilized dozens of disciples, and they entered Li Qing's camp in a grand manner. The momentum was so great, now who is that unknown person inside Dingzhou City?" Shen Mingchen said.

  "This is strange. Huan Gong has never even given me any face, how could he be moved by a small school lieutenant?" Xiao Yuanshan was perplexed.

  "General Li must have had no idea that this Li Qing was invited by Duke Huan from somewhere, right?" Shen Mingchen stared at Xiao Yuanshan and asked with a smile.

  "Ming Chen, what are you talking about? If he really invited Lord Huan, it would naturally be at the Huan manor."

  "No, no!" Shen Mingchen put down the teacup in his hand. "It was actually from Tao Ranju's tea house that I heard it. It is said that Li Qing's poem at the time made Miss Mengyan cry on the spot, and only after Miss Mengyan spoke up for him did Lord Huan nod his head in agreement!"

  "Can Li Qing really write lyrics?" Xiao Yuanshan was truly shocked this time. In the Great Chu, if you wanted to find a scholar who could ride horses and shoot arrows, and had some martial arts skills, you might be able to find a few among thousands of people. But to find a warrior who not only recognized characters but also composed poetry and lyrics, it would be hard to find one in ten thousand people. Even Xiao Yuanshan himself, as the son of a noble family, was not known for his literary talent when he was young, and was often looked down upon. It wasn't until he joined the army in anger that he gained great fame and became known as a "Confucian general". But to make him write lyrics and poetry, and to make the famous courtesan He Hongyin shed tears with his talent, this was simply impossible.

  Shen Mingchen pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, "This is Li Qing's poem that flowed out of Taoranju, I copied it down, General, please take a look."

  He recited it twice, and Xiao Yuanshan couldn't help but praise: "Good words, good poem, the lyrics are especially good, it can be said that one word has exhausted those song girls' heart-wrenching things. I didn't expect Li Qing, a rough and tumble martial artist, to write such a good lyric. Hmm, no, Ming Chen, I came to you today with important business, why did you talk to me about these things?"

  Xiao Yuanshan suddenly came to his senses, Shen Mingshen was his first strategist under him and would not shoot without a target.

  "Great General is wise!" Shen Mingchen laughed. "As for how the Great General will overcome this calamity, I have already thought of a plan, and it involves Li Qing."

  "What help can a small school officer like him be to me?" Xiao Yuanshan asked in puzzlement.

  "Does Commander think that an ordinary school lieutenant like him can have such talent?" Shen Mingchen asked back.

  Xiao Yuanshan suddenly realized, "You're saying Li Qing is behind this?"

  "Not bad!" Shen Mingshen clapped his hands together, "When I first heard about this matter, I was also very surprised. I immediately sent someone to investigate Li Qing's background. Who would have thought that the investigation yielded great results? General, do you know who Li Qing is?"

  Xiao Yuanshan was no fool either. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood, "Could it be that Li Qing is a member of the Li family from Yi State?"

  Shen Mingchen nodded and said: "That's right, this Li Qing is indeed a member of the Li family from Yi State."

  Xiao Yuanshan was perplexed, "The Li family of Yizhou is so powerful that it has dominated the imperial court. Among them, there is one duke and three marquises, all holding high positions. Why did this Li Qing end up as a humble Yunwei Colonel in my Dingzhou army?"

  Shen Mingchen shook his head, "This humble official doesn't know either. This humble official has reviewed the files of those above the rank of Yun Qi School Lieutenant in the army and only knows that Li Qing is from the Wing State Li family's third house, Wei Yuan Hou Li Mu's household. There is only one mother left in the household, and nothing else is known."

  Xiao Yuanshan was silent for a moment before saying, "What plan does Ming Chen have?"

  Shen Mingchen asked, "General, this time the war of Caozhou was a complete defeat in all aspects. In your opinion, who will make things difficult for you in the court and who will protect you?"

  Xiao Yuanshan smiled and said, "What's difficult to guess? The Xiao family will certainly go all out to protect me, because I am the only one in the Xiao family with military power. Moreover, although the Fang family has had some friction with my Xiao family from time to time, they are after all relatives by marriage and won't make things difficult for me. Those who want to get rid of me are none other than the Ma family of Xiangzhou, the Cao family of Wei State, the Guo family of Suizhou, and the Li family of Yizhou. Ah, yes, the Li family of Yizhou! If they not only don't make things difficult for me but also lend a helping hand, then I'll be safe this time." As soon as he figured out this point, Xiao Yuanshan became excited.

  Shen Mingchen smiled and pulled out a document from his sleeve, "A memorial to the throne. I've drafted one for the Commander-in-Chief. What do you think?"

  Xiao Yuanshan scanned it with a glance, let out a long sigh: "Ming Chen, you don't disappoint me as my right-hand man, now I can rest easy, but this is letting Li Qing off cheaply!"

  Shen Mingchen chuckled: "Give them peaches and they'll return with plums, General. You want to stir up the Li family, don't you? Can't help but make a big move!"

  Xiao Yuanshan sighed: "But in doing so, it's like driving a nail into the ground for the Li family in Dingzhou. This Dingzhou was originally a place jointly operated by my Xiao family and the Fang family. Now that the Li family is also involved, I'm afraid the Fang family won't be happy."

  Shen Mingchen shook his head and said, "Li Qing is still under the command of the general, what's to fear that he'll stir up any trouble? Once the general gets through this ordeal, there will be plenty of ways to deal with him."

  "It can't be helped!" said Xiao Yuanshan.

  The secret meeting at Dingzhou Mansion was unknown to Li Qing, who was excitedly accompanying Huan Xi in treating his hundreds of wounded soldiers. As the saying goes, a man's reputation is like a tree's shadow - Huan Xi's great reputation was not undeserved, and even his disciples and servants were much better than those wandering doctors. In just two or three days, they had treated Li Qing's wounded soldiers with great care.

  Huan Xi, however, did gain something from the experience. Some of Li Qing's methods left him perplexed at first, but then he seemed to understand. For example, the sanitation in the military camp was extremely clean and tidy, with ditches and toilets already set up despite it being newly established. The bandages used on the wounded soldiers had all been boiled in hot water, and fresh meat was applied to their wounds, which surprisingly prevented most of the wounds from becoming inflamed or infected. Huan Xi was baffled by this and asked Li Qing about it, but Li Qing just smiled and said it was a secret remedy passed down from a wandering doctor, without revealing that the fresh meat contained antibiotics that could effectively prevent inflammation. Huan Xi didn't think much of it, as he had encountered many heroes with real skills in his travels, and it wasn't unusual for some hidden talents to be found among the common people. He praised Li Qing's methods and let the matter drop.

  It was daytime, Li Qing had set up several tables of wine in the camp to entertain Huan Xi and his disciples. Since there were no good things in the camp, they just got some big fish and meat, cooked them after boiling, and brought them up with large basins, piled on the case. The wine was also bought from a cheap wine shop in Dingzhou, which made Huan Xi, who valued the way of nourishing life, frown greatly. Sitting in the camp, he didn't even bother to taste it. On the other hand, Li Qing was drinking and eating with Wang Qinyan, Jiang Kui, Feng Guo and others, having a great time.

  Huan Xi saw Li Qing like this, and couldn't help but secretly admire him. The day before yesterday, he had seen Li Qing's literary talent and calligraphy at Tao Ran's residence, and thought that Li Qing was a well-read man of letters. But today, he seemed no different from an ordinary person on the street. This contrast between the two made Huan Xi feel shocked and compelled to think deeply about it. Such a person would surely not be mediocre in the future, and it was worth befriending him. Perhaps by showing kindness today, there would be a reward someday.

  Li Qing had already shown three parts of drunkenness, but Huan Xi smiled and said: "Commander Li, now that the wounded soldiers in your camp have all been treated, from now on they only need to change their dressings daily. In about ten days, they will be as energetic as dragons and tigers."

  Li Qing laughed and raised his wine bowl to Huan Xi, "Thank you for your kindness, Li Qing respects Lord Huan. Come on, everyone, let's raise our bowls together and thank Lord Huan." Wang Qian, Jiang Kui, and Feng Guo, the three newly appointed Yunwei colonels, all stood up in unison and toasted to Huan Xi.

  Huan Xi didn't take the bowl, but instead smiled and said: "In that case, shouldn't we settle our accounts?"

  "What's going on?" Li Qing was perplexed.

  "Not bad, let's settle the account." Huan Xi smiled, his smile as if a tiger had spotted a small white rabbit and was about to pounce on it. "I, Huan, charge one hundred taels of silver per person for my medical services. Your camp has over three hundred people, but I'll give you a discount and only count three hundred people. The total comes out to be thirty thousand taels of silver. Now that the matter is settled, please ask Li School Lieutenant to pay up."

  "Ah! Li Qing almost choked on his wine, nearly spitting out everything he had eaten. 'Thirty thousand taels?' Sweat broke out on his face instantly. Wang Qi and the others exchanged a glance, each of their faces also breaking out in cold sweat."

  San Zhang is here today, where did Er Huan go?

  Collect it!!!!!