Chapter 151: Operation Nine [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

But let's talk about another place.

Commander Yang was both angry and annoyed to see the group of lazy soldiers.

Because he was seething with anger, he inevitably went a little too far with the whip, which cracked with a deafening sound. But even louder than the sound of the whip was the soldier's scream. The shrill, ear-piercing scream sent chills down everyone's spines. They turned their heads away, not daring to look at the unfortunate man, whose face was deathly pale and who looked as if he had lost half his life. A sense of shared sorrow arose within them.

Half of them were brought here by Commandant Yang.

They usually respected their boss, who was a man of few words and focused on his work, and knew he could become short-tempered when things went wrong, but they never expected him to be this volatile. It wasn't that they didn't want to leave; they were simply too weak to move or be pushed.

Even the scout who suggested taking a detour felt a chill run down his spine; he then realized he had given a terrible idea.

I chose to take a detour in the hopes of saving time.

Who would have thought the mountain road would be this muddy...

Soldiers' physical strength is depleted at an unusually high rate.

In the end, Zhai Huan couldn't stand the farce any longer and stepped forward to appease Commander Yang. His reasoning was justified: if the soldiers were exhausted and encountered an enemy that appeared out of nowhere, would they still have the strength to defend themselves?

Commander Yang's face darkened instantly.

He knew perfectly well what Zhai Huan was worried about.

He had thought taking a detour would speed things up, but instead he found himself in an awkward, stagnant situation. He considered turning back, but that would only waste more time. If he forced himself to continue, the soldiers' stamina clearly wouldn't last much longer.

This is truly distressing!

"I have only been in Xiaocheng for a short time, and I have heard people mention your name more than once. Everyone says that you are skilled in training troops and love your soldiers like your own children. I have admired you for a long time. I also know that you are impatient because you are dedicated to your duty. No one else could have done as well as you. However—it is important to get on the road, but the health of the soldiers is also important. We cannot give the enemy an opportunity. I urge you, Commander Yang, to think it over carefully."

Zhai Huan was adept at reading people's hearts. Seeing that Yang Duwei's eyes were not as firm as before, he seized the opportunity to flatter him.

Who doesn't want to hear sweet, gentle words?

Commander Yang kept his mouth shut, his cheeks clenched, but his expression visibly brightened, and his anger subsided somewhat.

"Indeed, sir, you are right."

He knew in his heart that scholars' words were deceitful, and that if one out of ten compliments was true, that was good enough. Some nice words were just for show and shouldn't be taken seriously. But Zhai Huan's words gave him a way out, so he waved his hand and ordered the entire army to rest for a quarter of an hour.

The soldiers felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they all found a shady spot to sit down, drinking water or eating dry rations, seizing the time to replenish their strength.

"It's tough, who knows how long this journey will take."

He sat and pounded his two hard, rock-hard calves.

"Sigh, who knows. Look, I could wring two pounds of water out of this shirt." To cool off, he took off his shirt, exposing his arm.

"Say no more, or you'll be dead if the captain hears you."

Upon hearing this, several nearby soldiers felt a pang of unease and fell silent. They kept their mouths shut, but whether they were seething with anger and cursing was anyone's guess. Everyone hung their heads, except for one man who craned his neck, looking around furtively.

Needless to say, this person is Zhai Le.

Zhai Huan tried to signal him several times, but it didn't work.

This cousin has always been a robust and active person.

What are you doing now?

Zhai Le laughed and said, "Of course, it depends on when the date and wine sellers come. We've already drunk all the wine in our jars. If I had known this would happen, I would have asked Brother Shen to buy a few more jars. Why am I now so tempted by wine?"

Zhai Huan's eyelids trembled violently.

He scolded, "Your drinking habit is getting worse and worse..."

He started developing into a drunkard even before he was officially crowned.

What should we do next?

"Hehe, isn't that because drinking can drown all your sorrows?"

Zhai Le didn't really want to drink; he just found it interesting that novels could be brought to life. However, the "heroes of Liangshan selling dates and wine" he so longed for hadn't materialized. A quarter of an hour passed, and even the most unwilling soldier dared not remain on the ground.

Commander Yang loves to eat vegetarian food, but the whip in his hand is not vegetarian.

Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours—

Misfortunes never come singly.

The group set off again, and only a quarter of an hour later, a light drizzle began to fall. As the rain intensified, the path became increasingly difficult to traverse, and the long line moved like a snail, barely managing to advance a short distance. Sweat mingled with the rain, causing Yang Duwei's mood to plummet to rock bottom.

The cart wheels splashed up large amounts of yellow muddy water as they rolled over the puddle.

Zhai Le wiped the raindrops from his eyelids and sighed, "This is truly miserable; I'm afraid we'll be stuck here forever."

It's rare for someone to make such a mess of themselves before the imagined enemy even appears. Just then, a soldier pushing a cart nearby slipped, lost his footing, and the cart wheel, still not quite reaching the puddle, rolled down and ran over his foot.

The car and its occupants rolled into the roadside bushes.

Upon hearing the commotion, Commandant Yang rode his horse over to investigate.

Because the cart tilted, the two large boxes on it rolled off, their seals already soaked by the rain, revealing ingots of silver. Yang, the captain, instantly flew into a rage, and without thinking, lashed out with his whip two or three times, sending the soldier rolling around in terror, clutching his head.

Zhai Huan: "..."

It's one thing to speculate, but it's quite another for speculation to be confirmed. This tax and silver team is actually real!

Commander Yang quickly ordered his men to clean up the mess.

Zhai Huan and the other person pretended not to have seen this scene.

The team continued on their way, but at a slower pace than before.

Suddenly, Zhai Le's spirits lifted.

"Brother, brother, there's the sound of a flute!"

The rain curtain stretched between heaven and earth, and the only sound was the gentle patter of raindrops hitting everything, which grew monotonous after a while. But then, at that moment, I heard something unusual.

The clear and melodious air drifts and lingers.

The flute music is full of liveliness and enthusiasm; upon closer listening, it sounds like the legendary mountain spirit singing with its neck outstretched, incomparably beautiful.

Zhai Huan's hearing was not as good as his, and he did not hear it at first.

But as the sound drew closer, figures emerged from the rain-soaked sky. Commander Yang tensed, secretly fearing that thieves had arrived. His subordinates, swords in hand, spurred their horses forward, only to find upon closer inspection an old man, a young boy, and an old ox.

His aggressive approach frightened the old man and the young man.

The melodious flute music that had just been playing came to an abrupt end.

"Stop! Who are you?"

The cowherd on the ox's back shrank back in fear.

The old man was in no better shape, but he still mustered his courage to reply.

It turned out they were a grandfather and grandson who depended on each other for survival. The grandson had been herding cattle nearby during the day, and the old man, noticing the unusual weather, worried about his grandson's safety and came to bring him a raincoat and hat. The rain changed rapidly, and with darkness approaching, they decided to go home together.

There was nothing wrong with their explanation. The grandfather and grandson were obviously ordinary people from a remote and impoverished area. After questioning them for a couple of minutes, the official said, "There are soldiers ahead on official business. You should leave quickly and not block their way, lest you lose your lives."

The old man opened his mouth, but could not express his suffering.

This request is truly rude.

This is the only way for the grandfather and grandson to get home.

How to "leave quickly"?

So how can you say it's blocking the way?

|ω`)

I think I've finally experienced the beauty of typing on a mechanical keyboard. The clattering sound is so satisfying, and it even helps me vent my emotions. I'm already looking forward to getting a cute pink mechanical keyboard on Singles' Day, hehe. The keyboard color scheme from the monthly pass giveaway is a bit hard to describe. That brand has so many collaboration keyboards, and they just picked the most masculine color scheme...

P.S.: Hehe, by the way, here's a no-prize guessing game: what are the identities of the old man and the shepherd boy?

(End of this chapter)