Chapter 84 Joining the Army at Fifteen
Wu Xing's originally dark face suddenly turned a deep reddish-brown.
His grip on the sword at his waist tightened, and he instinctively took a step forward, shouting, "Release..."
The mouth shape for the word "fart" was already done, but then he suddenly realized something was wrong and stopped talking in time.
He stood frozen for a long time, then suddenly knelt down on his right knee with a thud, giving a standard military salute, his back straight as a long spear that had never been bent.
"Your Majesty, it's clear!
Our commander has fought on the border for more than 20 years since he joined the army. He has countless wounds on his body and his heart is filled with the desire to serve the country!
Let alone treason, he would never do anything that would harm even the slightest interest of the Great Liang!
In the commander-in-chief's eyes, the Xu family's meager fortune wasn't even as valuable as a bowl of hot soup in the barracks; how could he possibly care about it?
Xiao Yunzhan sat behind the old wooden table, his fingers resting on the edge of the table, and slowly tapped twice, making a soft "tap-tap" sound.
He stared at Wu Xing's tense profile, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "That little bit of family business?"
Wu Xing, you've got quite the nerve.
Xu Fengyan was the richest man in Daliang. His family's silk and porcelain were exclusively supplied to the royal family, and even the Six Ministries had to rely on the Xu family for procurement.
In your mouth, it's become 'that little bit of family fortune'?
"What, what benefits did your commander promise you that have made you so greedy?"
"No!" Wu Xing suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with anxiety, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
"It was in my moment of panic that I spoke without thinking!"
Please don't misunderstand, sir!
Our commander-in-chief has always maintained strict military discipline.
Rewards and punishments are clearly defined. The salary and military merit rewards that should be given are never shortchanged, but neither are any extras that should not be given.
We follow him not for any personal gain, but because he can lead us to victory and make our lives, as lowly soldiers, worthwhile!
He truly possessed only unwavering loyalty, with absolutely no disloyalty towards the Great Liang or the Emperor!
Perhaps he was too hasty, or perhaps he was forcing himself not to do anything out of line, lest the situation become strained and disadvantageous to Cui Yanwu, so at this moment his eyes began to redden.
Xiao Yunzhan didn't respond to him, but instead changed the subject, his gaze darkening.
"Since you say he is loyal, then let me ask you, when he saved Xu Li two or three years ago, don't tell me it was just a coincidence."
"What a coincidence! Why did he have to take a detour on official business and just happen to run into Xu Li being robbed by bandits?"
Wu Xingxian instinctively replied, "That was just a coincidence! The road was congested, so we had to take a detour, and encountering the bandits was also an accident..."
But he suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence, his lips pressed tightly together, his brows furrowed.
As if searching through some forgotten detail in his mind, he whispered after a long while.
"No...it's not entirely a coincidence."
"Oh?" His reaction and answer surprised Xiao Yunzhan.
"What do you mean by 'not entirely a coincidence'? Explain yourself clearly."
Wu Xing looked up at Xiao Yunzhan, his tone calmer than before, but with a touch more seriousness.
"Sir, you just said that Wang Heng confessed that he was Xu Li's accomplice."
Did he admit that I was a distant cousin of his?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunzhan was stunned for a moment again.
He hadn't expected Wu Xing to bring this up so openly.
Xiao Yunzhan didn't rush to nod or deny it, but simply said, "Don't worry about what Wang Heng told us, just tell us what you know first."
Whether it's true or false, we will judge for ourselves.
"Okay," Wu Xing replied, taking a deep breath as if to exhale all the pent-up frustration in his heart.
"Then, sir, listen to everything I know."
The reason I say that rescuing Xu Li wasn't entirely a coincidence is because Wang Heng had someone contact me before we went on that mission.
He paused, recalling the scene at that time.
It was late spring, and the willows in the military camp were just sprouting new buds. He was practicing archery on the drill ground.
A soldier in charge of military procurement approached him, saying, "Your distant cousin, Wang Hengrang, has come to deliver a message."
Wang Heng was a member of the Wang family. He had known about this distant relative for a long time, but they had never had any contact.
He couldn't help but feel uneasy when they suddenly contacted him.
"The person he asked said that there would be some unusual activity in the army, and that I must make time to meet him," Wu Xing continued.
"I was puzzled at the time, but I was also afraid that something might really happen, so I used the excuse of going to scout the route to report to the team leader and went to the tea stall he mentioned."
When I saw him, he was dressed very casually and sitting in a corner.
Wu Xing's gaze, passing through Xiao Yunzhan, seemed to evoke the scene at the tea stall from that day.
"He told me that he had inadvertently received news that Lord Cui was supposed to take over as the military governor of Huainan soon."
However, several powerful families have joined forces, intending to use the disaster as an excuse to suppress Lord Cui and weaken the entire Cui clan.
He also said that Lord Cui had made too many contributions and risen too quickly, which had long aroused the envy of others.
If we don't make some preparations this time, I'm afraid we'll have a tough time getting through this.
At this point, Wu Xing smiled self-deprecatingly: "Actually, I, a rough man who couldn't even afford a meal and was forced to join the army at the age of fifteen, would never understand the intricacies between those big families."
But I know he's right.
For someone like the commander-in-chief, who has a powerful background, has accumulated many merits and risen through the ranks quickly, there have long been too many envious cowards in the military who fabricate stories that he relied on his family to forge military achievements.
So I asked him, "What do you want me to do after you asked me out?"
His tone became more serious. "Wang Heng said at the time: My wife, Madam Wang, received a favor from Lord Cui in her early years."
Now that we know someone is targeting Lord Cui, we can't just stand by and do nothing.
I have already made arrangements for this journey.
As long as you accompany Lord Cui on missions, if you encounter any injustices along the way, report them to Lord Cui immediately so that he can take action to resolve them.
Don't worry about whether those things are reasonable or not.
As long as Lord Cui doesn't raise any questions, and this matter won't harm Lord Cui, you just need to follow orders.
He said that he did this so that Lord Cui could make some small or medium contributions.
This way, the Emperor would know that Lord Cui was capable, but it wouldn't be too ostentatious.
This leaves those who want to suppress him without an excuse.
Once Lord Cui successfully assumes the position of military governor, given the Cui family's strength, those people won't dare to act rashly.
As Wu Xing spoke, he tightened his grip on his sword.
At first, I didn't dare to believe him either.
I don't know him well, so why should I believe him?
What if he's using me to harm the head coach?
But he later told me that I didn't need to do anything else, just scout the way as usual.
Wu Xing continued, "He also said that if I'm worried, I can keep an eye on things."
Anyway, it's just a small matter of lending a hand. Even if there are problems, they won't cause any major issues.
I figured that made sense, so I agreed.
When the mission actually took place, it turned out just as he had predicted.
We encountered quite a few things along the way.
One moment it's refugees blocking the road, the next it's caravans being robbed.
At first, I was worried that these things might be a scam.
But each time it was resolved in no time, without taking too long or requiring much effort; it really felt like I was just lending a hand along the way.
At the time, I thought to myself, Wang Heng wasn't lying to me; these things were indeed "not a small achievement."
It was because of these delays on the road that we were a few days behind schedule.
They waited until the very last minute before finally running into Xu Li on that small path.
Wu Xing lowered his voice, "At that time, I had no idea that Wang Heng was already a manager in the Xu family. I just thought he was an ordinary merchant caravan leader."
Later, the commander-in-chief successfully took over as the military governor of Huainan. I was secretly relieved, thinking that it was fortunate that I hadn't been too cautious and ruined the path that others had paved to help the commander-in-chief avoid disaster.
It wasn't until I was transferred to Yangdu with the commander-in-chief and happened to run into Wang Heng outside that I learned he was the deputy steward of the Xu household.
Wu Xing clenched his fists even tighter, his knuckles turning white. "He even brought this up with me back then."
He said, "What a coincidence! I originally just wanted to help Lord Cui."
Unexpectedly, it indirectly helped our eldest son. This truly proves the saying, "Good deeds are rewarded."
When I heard him say that, I put aside my initial unease about knowing he was the deputy steward of the Xu household and simply assumed it was a coincidence.
"But now that I think about it..." Wu Xing punched the ground, drawing blood.
"I was so careful, but I still fell into his trap!"
He didn't actually want to help the coach.
He's using me to tie the head coach to the Xu family!
Now that such a huge thing has happened, even if the commander-in-chief had a hundred mouths, he wouldn't be able to explain himself!
"What you've said is all your side of the story," Xiao Yunzhan said slowly after staring at him for a long time.
"Words alone are not enough; how do we know you're not trying to exonerate Cui Yanwu?"
Wu Xing seemed to have expected him to say that. He raised his head, and the anxious look in his eyes was gone, replaced by a sense of relief.
“Sir, I have witnesses and physical evidence to prove that what I said is true.”
Upon hearing this, everyone in the side room was stunned.
Xie Ji was leaning against the wall, playing with a small pebble he had picked up from the ground. Upon hearing "witness testimony and physical evidence," he immediately straightened up, and the pebble fell to the ground with a "thud."
"Do you have any physical evidence? What is it? Show it to us now!"
Liu Jingchang also frowned and moved forward.
He originally thought that Wu Xing could only talk about the past, but he didn't expect him to be able to produce evidence, which was beyond his expectations.
Xiao Yunzhan was also somewhat surprised, raising an eyebrow: "Witnesses? Physical evidence? Tell me, what witnesses and what physical evidence are you referring to?"
Wu Xing sneered, "Although I, Wu Xing, don't understand the intricacies of those big families..."
But I also joined the army at the age of fifteen, and through hard work and struggle, I climbed all the way to the rank of captain through my own abilities.
It's all about being bold and cautious.
I still have the note that Wang Heng asked me to write.
Moreover, since he invited me, I certainly wouldn't go alone.
The rule for scouts: one in the open and one in the shadows. If something happens in the open, the one in the shadows can sneak back to report.
So every time I met him, I brought a different person with me.
The precaution was to prevent the worst-case scenario: that they used me to harm the commander-in-chief, and then killed me to cover it up.
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