Chapter 333 Li Rong with a Strange Expression
The wind outside was biting cold, whipping up snowflakes that stung people's faces.
Inside Li Rong's tent, however, it was warm and cozy.
"General, do you have a charcoal brazier? I'll give you this one."
Looking at the three charcoal braziers in his tent, Li Rong rubbed his temples helplessly: "Really, it's not necessary. I appreciate your kindness, but it's just too hot to sit here."
"General, we are not cold, please use it."
The young soldier said that, put down the charcoal brazier, and ran away.
Li Rong didn't even have a chance to speak.
Good heavens, his tent was overflowing with fruits, vegetables, eggs, and chicken legs. Some of the generals already knew his identity, and others thought he was Ah Nuan's husband, so they would send him gifts from time to time to express their gratitude. Now, there was hardly any room to step inside the tent.
"General, are you there?"
Just then, they heard a sound from outside, and a moment later a rather old soldier entered the tent. Upon seeing Li Rong, his eyes turned red as he said, "General, do you have enough charcoal braziers? Here, take this one."
Li Rong understood, but didn't mention the charcoal brazier. He simply asked, "What's your name, and what's your rank?"
"My centurion Zhang Erzhu!" The soldier's face flushed red, and his eyes were filled with an almost undeniable excitement.
Li Rong nodded: "Zhang Erzhu, listen to my order. Have a few men distribute all the charcoal braziers in this room to the soldiers, and send all the food to the kitchen to fill the soldiers' meals."
"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhang Erzhu responded forcefully, then immediately went out to call for people to move the things. His hands trembled slightly as he moved the items, but in no time, he had everything packed up and taken out. When he returned to report, he received a "very good" from Li Rong, and immediately left feeling elated. Li Rong could still hear him loudly boasting to his comrades from inside the main tent, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Li Rong knew all too well how scarce charcoal was in the army; ordinary soldiers couldn't use it, only lighting large fires for warmth. Only those of higher rank were allocated some charcoal. Even then, sometimes several people would share a single basin. With these few basins he had, he wondered how many soldiers would suffer from the cold.
It has to be said that this feeling was quite novel for Li Rong. In the past, when those boys in his military camp saw him, they would run away like mice seeing a cat. They would disappear as soon as they saw him from afar. They would never be so enthusiastic as to bring him things. General Wan's soldiers were probably a little different.
Furthermore, the several women hired by the kitchen staff were all family members of soldiers. They probably didn't know who Li Rong was, but they knew about the legendary doctor A Nuan, and they kept pulling him aside to talk about A Nuan. The women's questions were really overwhelming, but it was a feeling Li Rong had never experienced before.
"General, General, I'm back!"
General Wan arrived at that time and pulled the young soldier at the door, saying, "Is the general busy? Never mind, no matter what, go and inform him that Wan Yu has something to ask of you and it cannot be delayed."
Then, I stood anxiously at the door waiting.
Upon hearing the sound, Li Rong's expression turned somewhat strange.
"General, my general is out here requesting an audience, saying he has important business to discuss." The young soldier was very honest, grinning as he entered the room, his eyes fixed on Li Rong with eyes full of admiration.
Li Rong's expression became even stranger.
He immediately got up and left the tent.
Upon closer inspection, one could see General Wan standing obediently outside the tent, his hands respectfully placed at his sides, his head bowed and eyes lowered in a humble and deferential manner.
Li Rong: "."
He fell to the ground and stepped forward, saying, "This humble subject, Li Rong, greets the General. If the General has important matters to discuss, this humble subject may accompany the General to your tent."
General Wan respected and valued him, but sometimes he lost his sense of propriety, which was indeed not good for the army. Li Rong was self-aware enough not to do anything like usurping someone else's place.
Upon hearing Li Rong's words, General Wan seemed to realize what he meant and coughed awkwardly twice, "Ahem, it's just a habit."
Then, the rear guard got into position and said, "Well, General... cough cough, come with me into your tent and we'll talk."
As he spoke, he instructed the people behind him, "Go and summon Military Advisor Shen."
Then, without saying a word, he went into the tent.
Li Rong nodded to the young guard at the gate and then followed him into the main tent.
After a cursory glance at his tent, Li Rong raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping around before finally settling on his bundle, which seemed to have been placed in a different spot than before. Then, without making a sound, he sat down near the only table and looked at General Wan.
"General, as expected, I was promoted this time I came to the capital. Guess what the Emperor said to me?" As soon as General Wan entered the tent, he excitedly pulled Li Rong aside and began to tell him about it.
Li Rong poured him a cup of tea: "No rush, please speak slowly."
General Wan downed his tea in one gulp: "The Emperor says I must return to the capital to report on my duties!"
Then, he leaned closer mysteriously and said, "Guess what Eunuch Li, who serves the Emperor, said?"
Li Rong lowered his eyes slightly, brought the teacup to his lips, and took a small sip.
In the winter, the tent was already chilly after the charcoal fire was turned off. Steam rose from the tea, obscuring Li Rong's expression. Only his calm voice could be heard as he asked, "Does the general want to take me back to the capital? Did you specify what kind of status you want me to have when I go back with you?"
General Wan was stunned by Li Rong's words: "You're amazing! The Emperor meant that he wanted you to be his advisor, and he even said that as long as you go back, he can return the general's mansion to you!"
As he spoke, he sighed and said, "You have no idea how cryptic the eunuch Li who delivered the imperial decree was. If I, Wan Yu, were even slightly out of my mind, I wouldn't have understood what he meant! General, what do you think we should do about this?"
Li Rong put down his teacup, reached back and picked up a booklet from the desk. He then began to search through it.
General Wan and the others scratched their heads, saying, "General, we've had this file for you for a long time, and you've read it many times, haven't you? As for the Lin family's matter, if you ask me, if all else fails, just let it go. Lord Lin's family entrusted it to me in a hurry, and that's all they have. I also thought about saving my friend back then, but I've read the file several times and can't find any tricks in it. Perhaps if we go to the capital, we might find another breakthrough."
Li Rong didn't even look up, but flipped through the booklet to one of the pages and handed it to General Wan: "General, take a closer look here."
General Wan frowned and looked over: "The journey took five days to reach the mountain pass. We then switched to waterways and arrived at the camp seven days later on the sixth day of the tenth month. What's wrong? There's no problem."
Li Rong's expression was grave: "This is a huge problem. Lord Lin wasn't alone. He was carrying so much stuff. Even if he traveled as fast as he could, how could it have taken only seven days to get from the mountains to the Cangshan camp? Transporting such a large amount of grain onto the ships would take at least a day, and then another day to unload it. Even with favorable winds, it would still take five days to reach the camp by water."
General Wan nodded: "Yes, that's right. It's exactly seven days. If he hurrys, won't he arrive just in time?"
(End of this chapter)
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