Dou Yong asked Kong Ze to find paper and pen, as military doctors usually carry paper and pen with them.

Dou Yong personally took the notes; his handwriting was excellent, neat and meticulous.

Of course, some of the more seriously ill patients have already fallen into a coma, and we need to wait for them to wake up before asking them questions.

Some of them, even those who were already dead, were buried.

He made each of the prisoners of war who could speak speak in detail, including their names, hometowns, when they joined the army, their reasons for joining, their positions in the army, and what they had done.

Then they signed and sealed their names one by one.

Finally, Cao Qiang was interrogated.

Cao Qiang forced himself to stay awake; he was extremely exhausted.

He dared not feel the slightest bit tired, for fear that the fierce-looking Dou Yong might do him a harm.

Yes, Dou Yong's appearance is extremely fierce.

It was as if he were possessed by a demon.

Despite his tendency to yell and even kick when he's in a hurry, Li De, the company commander, doesn't look fierce at all; in fact, he has an honest and unassuming appearance.

Dou Yong, who seemed to be calm and methodical, had a creepy face.

This is also why Dou Yong had a rather bumpy road ahead.

His parents never liked him because of his appearance, and even believed that he was a reincarnation of an evil spirit.

Dou Yong was always intelligent and his family was wealthy, but his parents wouldn't let him study. So he would secretly go outside the private school to listen to the lessons. One day, the teacher saw him and, on a whim, tested him. Dou Yong answered fluently.

The private tutor was very surprised and impressed.

Pointing to the private school, he said, "If you clean this place and fetch two buckets of water every day, you can go in and listen in on the lessons."

Dou Yong was overjoyed. He started attending private school as an auditor when he was five years old and continued until he was eight.

After Dou Yong turned eight, his parents made him start working in the fields, and Dou Yong no longer had time to attend classes.

He never gave up the idea of ​​studying, and whenever he had free time, he would read and write, and he would go to the private tutor's house to ask for advice whenever he had a spare moment.

The private tutor felt it was a great pity that his brilliant talent was buried in obscurity in the countryside.

He tried to persuade Dou Yong's parents, but they were determined to let Dou Yong be a law-abiding farmer.

Dou Yong was furious. His family had enough money to pay for his schooling and provide him with a comfortable life, but he had no share in it.

Before he knew it, Dou Yong turned twenty. With his passion and enthusiasm, he passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

But just after passing the exam, chaos erupted in Bian'ai County.

It's a complete mess.

His parents were fleeing south with gold, silver, and grain, but they left Dou Yong behind to guard the house.

Dou Yong was originally going to leave too.

But he had nothing; his parents hadn't left him any money.

He survived until he took charge of Bian'ai County in Chenxi by sheer willpower and the little wealth he had quietly accumulated over the years.

Later, he joined the army.

Thanks to his intelligence and literacy, he quickly rose to the rank of platoon leader in the army.

Moreover, Company Commander Li De held him in high regard.

Dou Yong didn't want to be just a platoon leader.

In the army, he trained every day without stopping, and his kung fu skills were above average.

He had his own goal, which was very clear: to become a great general that everyone admired throughout history.

But being a general is not an easy job.

Besides, he's only twenty years old and just a platoon leader.

They don't even have the right to see Chenxi.

This time, he finally had the chance to fight the bandits alongside Shen Xi, but Shen Xi left first, and they only provided backup from behind.

Now it seems that Shenxi's current danger may actually be the opportunity for him to rise again.

He asked Cao Qiang in detail, including the current military situation in Linchuan County, and even thoroughly investigated the background of the Cao family, including the background of some officials and aristocratic families closely associated with the Cao family.

Cao Qiang was a direct descendant of the Cao family and was favored by them, so he naturally knew a lot of information. At this moment, he dared not hide anything and told them everything in detail.

When Cao Qiang could no longer come up with anything new, Dou Yong made him sign and put his fingerprint on the document.

Only then were these people taken away.

Kong Ze clicked his tongue and said, "I didn't expect that the Cao family would actually want to take over Jianming Prefecture. They have quite the appetite."

Dou Yong smiled slightly; this time, he might have really made a contribution.

"Of course the Cao family can have such a big appetite. Several major families in Jianming Prefecture have kinship ties and interests with them. These families alone have 20,000 guards. If Cao Qiang hadn't told us, how could you and I have imagined that these families have such great power?"

"Yes, calling them guards is less accurate than calling them armed forces. With their infiltration into the army, it's not impossible that these aristocratic families could rebel and seize Jianming Prefecture once Tao Feng leaves with his troops."

Kong Ze was somewhat frustrated: "But what do these things have to do with us? Wu Aimin is no good, but these powerful families are no good either. If a fight breaks out, it's the common people who will suffer."

Dou Yong tapped his head: "Stone blockhead, don't think about it anymore. Let's go and rest for a while. There's still a lot to do after the fire is out."

Kong Ze's stomach was rumbling, and he muttered, "When will we get something to eat? There's absolutely nothing to eat in this village."

Dou Yong was also starving, and gave the only food he had to Li De. He joked with a smile, "Why don't you jump into the well? You'll be full after drinking some water. It's called being full from water."

Kong Ze put his arm around Dou Yong and said with a grin, "Platoon leader, let's go have a good drink together."

Dou Yong pulled away Kong Ze's arm, picked up the water bowl, and really gulped down a bellyful of water: "It's not bad to be full from drinking water."

As he spoke, he went to a room next door, lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and silently pondered his thoughts.

Kong Ze followed him in and lay down to the side, saying somewhat sullenly, "It's been so long since I've been hungry, I've really forgotten what it feels like to be hungry."

Speaking of going hungry, Dou Yong also felt a pang of resentment: "If I hadn't used the money I had saved for scientific research, I wouldn't have gone hungry during that period."

His parents wouldn't give him money for the imperial examinations; he saved it all up little by little. After passing the examinations and becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), he thought that given his family's circumstances, even if his parents didn't want to support him, the clan would be amazed by his self-taught talent and would eventually provide for him.

Who knew things would turn out so chaotically? The scholar's exam was in vain. He had spent almost all of his savings, and with the little he had left, he used it sparingly until he finally managed to take charge of Bian'ai County in Chenxi.

I was never full during that period.

Now I'm experiencing the point where I drink water when I'm hungry again. Is this a way of remembering the bitter past and appreciating the sweet present?

But the situation is different now. Before, we just endured the hunger without any hope. Now, we'll only go hungry for a couple of meals. Once the messenger returns, the food will be there.

Dou Yong relaxed, stretched out his limbs, and gradually felt sleepy.

Kong Ze, however, was already snoring beside him.

Dou Yong's lips curled slightly; this guy has always been so guileless.

While Dou Yong was in a daze, a soldier came in, saw that Dou Yong was resting, and was about to leave.

Although Dou Yong was half asleep with his eyes closed, he still heard footsteps, opened his eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"