The starry sky in the northwest is beautiful.
After a hard day, Yang Ji and Chen Zhuangshi were finally able to sit down and have a bite of hot food.
It was early winter and both of them were wearing cotton jackets.
The night wind blew in through the window, taking away the heat in the room.
Yang Ji stood up, closed the window, and returned to the dining table.
Chen Zhuangshi ate very quickly. In just three or two bites, he had finished a bowl of rice.
“The chef’s skills are getting better and better.”
Yang Ji was silent.
"Brother Yang, do you have any ideas?" Chen Zhuangshi asked.
Yang Ji put down his bowl and chopsticks, "Brother Chen, have you ever thought about leading the troops to fight instead of hiding in the rear?"
Chen Zhuangshi took out a toothpick and picked his teeth. "I'd like to lead troops into battle, but are we qualified?"
"As long as the Grand Commander gives the order, both you and I can lead the troops."
"Will the military commanders be happy if a civil official leads the troops?"
Yang Ji looked outside and asked, "What if the generals are unhappy?"
Chen Zhuangshi looked at Yang Ji with a strange expression, "Brother Yang, what's wrong with you?"
Yang Ji shook his head. "I'm not provoked, but the opportunity is right before my eyes. How can I not seize it? Brother Chen should know that His Majesty's decision to have His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin lead the troops into battle was merely a temporary measure to dilute the Northwest Army's military achievements and thereby suppress the Marquis of Lu."
Chen Zhuangshi nodded. This was obvious. Anyone with a brain could see it.
Yang Ji continued, "But His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin can't stay in the northwest forever. When His Royal Highness returns to the capital, who will be able to suppress the Duke of Lu? The war will never end. The Grand Commandery needs a true commander. This person is obviously not His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin."
Chen Zhuangshi pinched his chin and thought about it, then he understood what Yang Ji meant.
"Brother Yang, what you mean is that you and I have to fight for it?"
"It's mainly because Brother Chen is fighting for it. I will return to the capital sooner or later."
"Me?" Chen Zhuangshi pointed at himself, incredulous. "You want me to lead the army and suppress the Duke of Lu? I don't deserve such a talent. There are so many noble generals, anyone is more qualified than me."
"Brother Chen, do you look down on me?"
Chen Zhuangshi waved his hand, "Brother Yang, please don't try to provoke me. I think your idea is too arrogant and bold."
"You can go to Xiliang, but why don't you dare to lead the troops into battle?"
"I'm brave enough to lead troops into battle, and I'm not afraid to charge into battle. But if I'm asked to lead an army, I can't expect it to last for at least ten years."
"Then use ten years to build Brother Chen's glory. I am willing to lend a helping hand."
puff!
Chen Zhuangshi was dumbfounded, "Are you serious?"
Yang Ji's face was serious. "Do you think I'm joking?"
Chen Zhuangshi was puzzled. "Brother Yang, can you tell me more about it? Your thoughts are jumping around so much that my mind is a mess."
"Brother Chen only has the title of scholar." Yang Ji said expressionlessly.
Chen Zhuangshi rolled his eyes at first, "Brother Yang, there's no need to emphasize my academic status."
Yang Ji was unconcerned and continued, "Brother Chen has great talent and ambition, but because you only have the title of scholar, you will never be able to enter the court as a civil servant throughout your life. It is very likely that you will spend your entire life in the northwest and never reach the rank of fourth-rank civil servant."
After a great victory in the first half of the year, Chen Zhuangshi was successfully promoted to the sixth rank.
Yang Ji immediately became a fifth-rank official.
This is the difference between having merit and not having merit.
Chen Zhuangshi grimaced, looking distressed.
Yang Ji was too ruthless. With a tear, the decoration that covered up the reality was shattered into pieces.
Who would be happy with this, even if they couldn't reach the fourth rank until they died? Who would be willing to accept this?
"Then what do you think I should do?"
"Brother Chen, if you want to become a general or a prime minister, you have to find another way."
Chen Zhuangshi raised his eyebrows, "Leading troops into battle?"
"Yes! Only by risking your life can you carve out a way out of a dead end. I just don't know if Brother Chen has the courage."
Chen Zhuangshi wiped his face and said, "Let's not discuss the issue of courage for now. I also have a question in my mind, and I would like to ask Brother Yang to tell me the truth."
"Brother Chen, please speak."
Chen Zhuangshi looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
He pointed eastward, in the direction of the capital, and asked, "In Brother Yang's opinion, who can take that position?"
Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Is it possible, Your Highness the Prince of Qin?"
Yang Ji was silent for a moment. "His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin has the best chance. However, with matters like this, no one dares to draw conclusions until the very end. No one knows if there will be any unexpected events along the way."
Chen Zhuangshi simply ignored the second half of Yang Ji's words. "If His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin ascends the throne, you and I, both of whom belong to the Princess of Qin, should have more opportunities than others. Perhaps I can also become a scholar and enter the imperial court."
Yang Ji shook his head and said, "Even if His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin ascends the throne and the Princess of Qin becomes Empress, they must stick to the old ways for the first three to five years and cannot make drastic changes. As for a scholar becoming a high-ranking official, doing so would be tantamount to breaking centuries of tradition and would provoke opposition from the entire scholar community and civil service. Even the Princess of Qin wouldn't dare take such a risk."
Chen Zhuangshi bared his teeth again. "According to what Brother Yang said, I probably won't have a chance to enter the imperial court with the title of scholar in this lifetime."
"As a mere civil servant, your chances are slim. If you lead troops in battle, coupled with your status as a scholar, your chances are at least doubled."
Chen Zhuangshi gritted his teeth and slapped his thigh, "Done!"
Yang Ji smiled, a rare moment. "I will lend a hand, Brother Chen."
"Brother Yang, as a top scholar, if you are willing to lead the troops into battle, your chances will be even greater."
"I will go to the battlefield with Brother Chen, but the credit will mainly be yours."
"No, no, no, brothers should settle accounts clearly. What's yours is yours, and I'll earn mine myself."
"Brother Chen is ambitious."
"How can I not have ambition when you're around to compare myself to? Do you know that you put a lot of pressure on me?"
Yang Ji shook his head and smiled, "I'm just doing my duty."
"Just fulfilling one's duty puts so much pressure on people. If you fight together, will there be any chance for others to survive?"
The two of them teased each other, as close as ever.
The next day, the two men went to the Grand Marshal's Mansion and looked for an opportunity to ask for a fight.
Lord Li readily agreed.
From now on, Chen Zhuangshi and Yang Ji will resign from their clerical jobs and take up arms to lead troops.
From the beginning, he could only lead 500 soldiers to fight small battles, but gradually grew up to lead 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 soldiers...
A great person seems to be great at everything he does.
People like Yang Ji can kill enemies on horseback and compose poems when they get off the horse.
The cold wind bit my bones, blood moistened the earth, and corpses were thrown away carelessly...
Along the long border, smoke of war is rising everywhere.
Before the cold winter comes, Beirong and Xiliang will both carry out a wave of looting in preparation for the winter.
The Northwest Army, the Grand Marshal's Office, and various border troops are under increased pressure.
Beirong and Xiliang's desperate fighting style made everyone breathless.
Liu Zhao, who had been running in the wild, suffered new injuries on his old ones.
"The arrows are poisoned."
"Take the detoxification pill."
"The people who ambushed us today were clearly targeting the prince."
Liu Zhao swallowed the detoxification pill and, in the middle of winter, stood shirtless while the military doctor scraped his flesh to heal his wound. He grimaced in pain, but never uttered a word.
Qian Fu wrote and drew on the map and came to a conclusion.
"In my opinion, the last three or four ambushes were all aimed at the prince. They wanted to kill him and destroy the morale of the Great Zhou."
The military doctor has finished scraping off the rotten flesh and is applying medicine.
The high-quality medicine prepared by Gu Jiu himself felt cool and refreshing when it came into contact with the wound, and Liu Zhao let out a comfortable moan.
He gritted his teeth and said, "The news of my injury must be kept secret and cannot be spread to the capital, lest the princess worry. Xiliang Beirong wants to take my life, is this strange? My life is valuable. Killing me will greatly damage the morale of the Great Zhou. If I were in Xiliang Beirong's place, I would do the same."
"But these times are different. The enemy is clearly well prepared, and there are experts among them. They don't look like people from Beirong or Xiliang, but rather like people from the Great Zhou. I beg Your Highness to retreat back to the interior for the time being and make plans after we have a thorough understanding of the situation."
"Your Highness, please retreat to the interior of the pass. How can you risk your life so easily?"
The subordinates and personal guards knelt down and asked Liu Zhao to retreat to the interior of the pass.
If anything happens to Liu Zhao, everyone present will be buried with him.
Liu Zhao frowned and shouted angrily, "What are you doing? Are you trying to force the emperor to abdicate?"
"I dare not. I am only concerned for the safety of the prince."
Qian Fu directly threatened, "If the prince refuses to return to the interior, I will risk my life to write a letter to the princess."
"Son of a bitch!"
Liu Zhao kicked over the weapon rack, but failed to scare his subordinates.
"Your Highness, please retreat to the interior of the pass. It won't be too late to leave next spring."
Liu Zhao was furious, but he also knew that his repeated injuries had frightened those around him. He was afraid that...
Liu Zhao took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. "I will listen to you this time. I will gather the troops and prepare to retreat to the interior of the pass."
"Yes, sir!"
Qian Fu was not idle.
The spy, who had been buried for many years and had been dormant, was awakened to investigate the internal situation of Beirong Xiliang. The key was to find out who ambushed His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin.
What is the identity of the master who is mixed in among them?
Deep in the grassland, Cao Sanmei, a Han slave, walked into the tent carrying a tray.
She bent down and lowered her head, not daring to look around.
Even though there was a strange Han Chinese man in the big tent, she didn't even look at him.
After the drinks were served, she left the main tent and went to other tents to pack her bedding.
"What are you doing?"
Uncle Chen stood at the door of the tent, staring at Cao Sanmei with vigilance. If he saw something wrong, he would raise his sword and kill Cao Sanmei.
Cao Sanmei looked flustered and knelt down hurriedly, "I have been ordered to clean up the tents of the nobles."
"You don't need to clean up here. From now on, you are not allowed to come in without permission. Otherwise..."
Cao Sanmei hurried out.
Uncle Chen walked into the tent and checked the boxes and desk. Only after he was sure that the luggage had not been touched did he feel relieved.
Cao Sanmei returned to the kitchen.
The kitchen lady was also Han Chinese and yelled at her at the top of her lungs.
"Where have you been, you little slut? Go wash the cups and dishes."
Cao Sanmei was too cowardly to say a word in rebuttal.
The kitchen lady hit her on the head.
When I got tired of fighting, the kitchen lady had a note in her hand.
"Why don't you just get out of here quickly? What are you standing there for?"
Cao Sanmei ran away in a hurry.
The kitchen lady put her hands on her hips, and the note in her hand disappeared in the blink of an eye.
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