"Today I finally get to see the real face of Governor Chang." Shi Man said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Governor Chang is younger than I imagined."
Chang Suining smiled and said in a polite way: "General Shi is more decisive than I thought."
This did not deny that she had previously inquired about Ishiman's personality and behavior. Even his mother was kidnapped, so there was nothing to deny.
Shi Man lowered his eyes for a moment, then said, "With the two talented generals, Governor Chang and General Cui, here, I am bound to lose this time, and I lose with conviction."
Chang Suining: "General Shi pulled back from the brink of defeat and together with Xuan Ce's army, he put down the rebellion in Kangding Mountain and drove out the Mohe. It was not a defeat, but a great victory."
Shi Man was stunned for a moment, then smiled with shame: "In the final analysis, I have to thank Governor Chang for giving us a glimmer of hope."
Chang Suining just said, "It was just a coincidence. General Shi, you don't need to thank me."
"Even if it was an opportunity, it was created by Governor Chang." Shi Man insisted, "This is the result. It is true that we are able to survive because of it, and we should thank him."
Chang Suining no longer "refuses" his gratitude.
Whether she was worthy of thanks, I believe Shi Man had his own judgment, and the other party took the initiative to invite her here today, obviously not just for a simple chat.
Owe and gratitude can quickly bring two strangers closer together. It doesn't matter whether thanks are expressed or not. What's important is that it is a very useful bridge of communication.
Besides, even if Shi Man hadn't invited him today, Chang Suining had planned to find an opportunity to meet him.
Seeing Shi Man like this, the generals also followed suit and thanked Chang Suining.
After this, the feeling of unfamiliarity between the two sides faded a lot.
Chang Suining asked at the right moment, "I wonder what General Shi's plans are going to be in the future?"
This may sound like idle chat, but it is the beginning of the main topic.
While Chang Suining was asking the question, his eyes fell on Shi Man's severed hand for a moment.
Shi Man also looked at his hands and said, "Even if the emperor is willing to use me, I am no longer qualified. When the emperor issues an order, I can only decline the offer on the grounds of disability..."
In short, he could no longer serve in the army.
It is an indisputable fact that he and Kang Dingshan jointly started the rebellion. Even if he turned back in time and his merits and demerits offset each other, the thorn in the emperor's heart would not be truly removed... If he continued to serve in the army and waited for the new governor to take office, it would not be difficult to predict what would be waiting for him.
Therefore, his losing this hand was both an accident and inevitable.
If I really turned back to the end, it would be fine. But now that I have turned back, I have to plan for the future.
Continuing to talk about the future, Shi Man's voice was slow: "After that, I may return to the countryside with my old mother and children to spend the day."
He said this, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Chang Suining saw his look and said, "General Shi has been based in Guandong for many years, and I'm afraid it's difficult for his family to adapt to rural life. If he returns home in poverty, there will be a lot of criticism. At present, wars are raging everywhere, and the world is in decline. People are driven by evil thoughts, and General Shi has been on the march for many years, so he should have no shortage of old enemies."
Shi Man had obviously thought about this as well and remained silent at this moment.
Chang Suining said: "If General Shi really wants to avoid disaster, he has to hide in the mountains and forests and take his family away from the world - but if so, is General Shi willing?"
Are you willing? The answer is obvious.
A person who has fought for many years from the bottom to climb to this position may not have the ambition to serve his country, but he must have his own ambitions.
He was neither willing nor at ease to give up everything he had fought so hard for, and fall back into the mud to face a situation even worse than the starting point of his life.
He had to cut off his arm and retreat because he had to, not because he was willing to do so.
He had been thinking over and over these days whether there was any other way out, but he still could not find an answer.
Several times when he was at a loss, he thought of the person who played chess in this battle - he did not dare to easily conclude that the other party would be willing to help him, but if he could talk to him, his words would definitely be worth listening to.
At this time, Shi Man finally spoke to Chang Suining: "I am unwilling to give up, but there is no other way. I wonder if Governor Chang has any good advice?"
Chang Suining looked at the person in front of him who was asking for advice seriously.
According to her understanding, Shi Man is not the same kind of person as Kang Dingshan. Although he has his own ambitions, he does not have the ambition to be the master of the world like Kang Dingshan.
His nature may not be kind, nor may he be very upright. When faced with the constraints of interests, he will choose to go with the flow rather than stick to his original intentions - such people do not have much of an original intention to speak of, or rather, their original intention is survival and profit, which is also a portrayal of most of the military personnel nowadays.
They came from humble backgrounds and most of them were uneducated; all their awareness and aspirations were honed bit by bit by the random environment around them.
Chang Suining could fully understand this kind of common human nature. To her, as long as such people were capable and not extremely evil, they could be of some use.
"General Shi, what do you think of Kang Cong?" Chang Suining opened his mouth, but asked a question first.
"Strong-willed, stubborn, brave but not wise..." Shi Man thought of the day when the other party killed his father with his hair untied, and reluctantly added: "But he does have some courage."
"But he was the greatest contributor to the suppression of the rebellion in Kangdingshan. He killed Kangdingshan himself. This act of sacrificing one's own family for the greater good was exactly the political direction that the court needed at the moment."
Chang Suining said: "And just as General Shi said, he doesn't have many outstanding qualities, and he doesn't have any prestige in the army. It is precisely because of this that the court will not hesitate to give him a certain degree of 'favor'."
"And precisely because he has nothing, his confusion and helplessness at this moment is just as great as General Shi's."
Meeting the girl's calm eyes, Shi was filled with thoughts.
At the same time, in another tent, Kang Cong was anxiously asking, "...Ani, do you really want to follow that Governor Chang to Jiangdu?"
Kang Zhi rolled her eyes and said, "Nonsense, I will be leaving with the governor tomorrow."
Kang Zhi said, turning to ask Yue Shi beside her, asking her to make a choice: "Do you want to follow my brother, or follow me?"
The Yuezhi were a little at a loss. Other people divided the children, so why did they have to divide the mother?
It was a difficult choice, so she could only say, "Ani, you decide... I will listen to you."
"Then mother, please stay and look after my brother." Kang Zhi said simply, "It's a long way to Jiangdu, mother, please don't bother."
"Why do we have to separate?" Kang Cong frowned and asked, "Ani, isn't it good for you to stay with me and A Niang?"
"Of course not!" Kang Zhi also raised her eyebrows: "You just want me to stay and help you, but why should I give up the opportunity I fought so hard for just for your future?"
Kang Cong: "But..."
"No buts!" Kang Zhi said, "In today's world, if you put two eggs in the same basket, they might break one day! It's better for you and me to work hard and make a name for ourselves. If anything goes wrong, we can at least take care of each other!"
"But……"
Kang Zhi was annoyed: "Who the hell are you?"
Kang Cong turned away and said in a muffled voice: "I am alone and I am scared..."
He is not afraid to go directly to the battlefield, but once he takes up an official position, how can he survive in this brutal area with the notoriety of killing his father known to everyone?
Kang Zhi snorted: "It's right to be afraid. Only by being afraid can you grow brains."
Kang Cong looked at her and said, "Aren't you afraid that my brain will die before it grows out?"
"Look at how little you can do." Kang Zhi rolled her eyes again, and then said, "Don't worry, the governor said that there is someone who may be able to stay and help you."
Kang Cong looked forward to it seriously: "Who?"
A wisp of cool early spring breeze blew into the tent.
Shi Man's expression was equally serious: "Does Governor Chang want me to stay and assist Kang Cong?"
Chang Suining nodded: "Kang Cong is in need of someone to help him, and General Shi has experience and brains, and he has similar circumstances to him. If we can help him gain a foothold in Guandong, we can rely on each other."
Finally, Chang Suining glanced at Shi Man's generals and said, "General Shi's former power will be suppressed and split up, but he is still in the army. With General Shi by Kang Cong's side, he can still take care of him."
Her words were veiled, but this was exactly what Ishiman wanted to keep.
Although Ishiman disliked Kang Cong, after repeated consideration, he could not deny that Kang Cong was almost the safest choice for him to stay in Kanto.
But he still had some concerns: "...But if I do this, will the emperor be afraid of me?"
"Of course." Chang Suining answered without hesitation.
Shi Man was stunned.
Chang Suining looked at him and said, "But in this situation, the emperor still needs to balance the forces in Guandong, and needs to use Kang Cong to warn everyone. As long as you and Kang Cong behave themselves, only show a gesture of mutual support, and do not show any disloyalty, and deal with it carefully, you will not be killed in the next three to five years at least."
Three to five years...
Shi Man's eyes moved slightly. With such turmoil, who knows what the situation will be like in three to five years? Three to five years is enough for him to maintain his strength and wait and see what will happen in the future.
Seeing his expression, Chang Suining finally said: "A gentleman hides his abilities and waits for the right time to act. If there is a way in the world, he will show himself, if there is no way, he will hide - General Shi might as well hide his abilities and wait."
The confusion in Shi Man's eyes completely disappeared, and he stood up and saluted Chang Suining: "Thank you for your guidance, Governor Chang. I will keep in mind what you said today!"
As he spoke, he lowered his body a little and said, "If Governor Chang has any instructions in the future, please tell me, Shi!"
After this incident, he understood a truth - for people like them who are not capable of accomplishing anything on their own, choice is more important than anything else.
If he could follow the true "noble", in this chaotic world, Shi Man might have a chance to make a comeback.
Before that, he had to learn to wait for the right opportunity and endure the disgust to support Kang Bazi first.
Kang Bazi, who was despised by Shiman, treated Shiman with fear even though he did not despise him.
Just like that, two people who were unwilling but forced to be together had an in-depth conversation that night.
Turning back from Shi Man, Kang Cong felt extremely complicated. That was the man who used to be a close friend of his father, but now he had to work for him?
"What's so scary about my brother? He needs to rely on me, and I need to act like a master in the future." Kang Zhi said, "But you can't be harsh to others. Ask for advice when you need it. There's no harm in learning more."
"In addition, there are two things that I want you to remember. You must recite them silently in your heart at least three times every day—"
As they were about to leave, Kang Cong listened carefully to his sister's words.
"First, remember who you are. Put your butt in jail. Don't let your wings just sprout and start to daydream and fall into your old self-righteous habit!"
She would ask her mother to keep a close eye on this.
Kang Cong responded weakly: "I know..."
Whose could it be? That female Rakshasa's.
"Second," Kang Zhi said sternly, "General Shi and Madam Shi must be treated with courtesy, but I will never allow you to treat that idiot Shi Wen with a good face."
She will also ask A Niang to keep a close eye on this! Kang Cong continued to respond weakly: "...I know."
Although it was late at this moment, as they were about to leave, Chang Suining's tent was crowded with people, as well as outside the tent.
Almost all of Cui Jing's advisers and generals who had dealt with Chang Suining in recent days came.
Mr. Jiao even took out several volumes of military strategies from his private collection and gave them to Chang Suining as a parting gift.
As soon as this gift was presented, the generals felt that Mr. Jiao was not kind. Damn it, they all came together, why was he the only one who secretly prepared a gift without saying a word! It was a pity that they had nothing in their hands, and they couldn't find anything decent in the barracks temporarily, so they could only put all their hearts on the strength of the fists -
"We are grateful for the help from Governor Chang this time. The Xuan Ce Army will remember it!"
They don't feel the word "favor" is heavy.
This victory was so beautiful and easy that each of them will be rewarded, which is a real benefit.
But what was truly priceless was Chang Suining's timely intelligence and strategy, which saved them from a head-on battle with the rebels. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't be able to stand here so fully intact at this moment.
"When I return to the capital, Governor Chang will definitely come to our Xuan Ce Mansion for a visit!"
"If Governor Chang needs our help in the future, we will do our best to help him!"
A straightforward general shouted, "These are all from the bottom of my heart. I am not speaking for the sake of the Grand Commander!"
There was immediate sound of friendly laughter and applause in the tent.
Chang Suining couldn't help but smile and nodded.
Yes, she could feel that the way these people looked at her was completely different from when she first arrived.
Most of the attention people paid to her before was related to Cui Jing's proposal of marriage in the past, but the attention they paid to her now was only because she was Chang Suining.
To put it simply, the relationship between Chang Suining and them has been largely "de-jingified".
But Chang Suining knew that the reason she could gain so much trust and respect in such a short period of time was precisely because Cui Jing "deliberately did it".
He put her in the foreground from the very beginning, and often chose to retreat behind her. Even when he was the one going to the battlefield, he would cleverly exaggerate her contributions, push her to the most prominent position, and let her establish prestige in his army.
Prestige in the army is like a sharp sword, not to mention that this is Xuan Ce's army.
When Chang Suining mentioned this to Cui Jing, Cui Jing would only say that she needed it more and that all of this originally belonged to her.
He said: "How can a defender of the Way be without a sword in his hand?"
He also said: "Your Highness should hold the sharpest sword in the world and fight for the people."
At this moment, the moonlight was bright, and Chang Suining looked at the moon and said with a smile: "Thank you very much, swordsmith."
"Your Highness is the one who forged the sword." Cui Jing said, "I am just a charcoal fire in the furnace."
Chang Suining: "Why not call you Cui Yitan?"
Cui Jing smiled slightly and said, "...What a good name."
The two people standing side by side under the moon looked at each other and smiled.
After talking about the current business and their general plans for the future, Cui Jing stared at the moon and tentatively said, "The moon tonight seems brighter than last night."
"Really?" Chang Suining seemed to think for a moment, then said with a little regret: "Ah, I forgot what the moon looked like last night."
4300 words of update! Good night~ (It’s the middle of the month, please give me a monthly ticket!)
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