Chapter 28, Twenty-Eighth Aspect: Jealousy and Envy of Talent
Three days later, Lu Huantang was slowly awakened by the clanging sounds of construction work outside.
Several of his major wounds had already scabbed over. He leaned against the wall and went outside, and was surprised to see that the ruins of the bombed-out buildings had already taken on the structure of houses, with only the walls to be built and the mud to be plastered on remaining.
Someone helped him up from behind and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? You've lost a lot of blood, you'll feel dizzy if you stand up."
"What are you doing here? Cough," Lu Huantang choked with anxiety, "It's so dangerous, go back quickly!"
A golden token was held up in front of him, and Jiang Linzhi said smugly, "Supervised by imperial decree! What do you mean by that?"
No wonder, given Jiang Linzhi's wealth, this speed isn't surprising. Lu Huantang finally felt relieved, supporting her shoulders as he spun her around to make sure she wasn't hurt, before saying in a coquettish tone, "I'm hungry, will you have dinner with me?"
If Jiang Linzhi hadn't rushed back to help that day and happened to see Lu Huantang's god-slaying appearance, she would have truly believed that his philandering and roguish demeanor was his true nature. Recalling the scene, even Jiang Linzhi, who was used to seeing generals full of ferocity on the battlefield, was terrified.
Thinking about it this way, Jiang Linzhi shuddered slightly and rubbed his arms.
Lu Huantang thought she was cold, so he quickly led her inside, saying, "It's cold outside, you stay inside, I'll go get some food."
Jiang Linzhi did not respond. He helped Lu Huantang back into the house and then asked someone to prepare food. He turned around and said with a smile, "It's cold outside. Neither of us needs to go out. Otherwise, all this money I've spent will be wasted."
Sure enough, the national treasury didn't have that much money, and Jiang Linzhi had once again become the emperor's moneybag. But... Lu Huantang secretly glanced at Jiang Linzhi's expression and said, "Including the money from the gold mine, it's enough."
“Without you around, the gold mine was poorly supervised and was discovered by the Regent’s men. It was confiscated long ago.” Jiang Linzhi sighed helplessly, but immediately cheered up. “Sui Kingdom is full of remote places, so there might be other gold and copper there.”
Before long, the servants brought the food. Even though it was on the border, Jiang Linzhi's meals were of the same standard as those in the capital.
Lu Huantang took a sip of the delicious mutton soup and joked, "I really benefit from Miss's fame."
"No, Lord Lu, when the imperial court bestows its rewards, it will be this humble subject who benefits from your favor," Jiang Linzhi retorted, mimicking his manner.
The scouts have already gone to investigate the cannons. In the past few days, the army has retreated one kilometer and temporarily set up camp in the city, so they are no longer afraid of being bombed.
The soldiers who returned alive with Lu Huantang all admired him from the bottom of their hearts. Whenever he went out, from the deputy general to the lowest soldier, everyone would bow to him with awe.
Zhang Wanchun brought him a lot of medicine. His admiration and envy made Lu Huantang feel a little awkward, like an ordinary man being targeted by a homosexual. Zhang Wanchun sighed and said, "I'm not very capable. I can't go to the battlefield, and I couldn't even defend a single field. The land was almost completely destroyed. Usually, I just distribute supplies after the war. Now that the Jiang family is here, I'm of no use."
Zhang Wanchun's story had already reached Lu Huantang's ears through gossip. He heard that on the day of the war, while others were busy attacking or defending, he was busy covering the fields with green cloth.
A fireball landed a few feet away from him, deafening one of his ears. He was still desperately trying to pull at the green cloth, whether out of madness or stupidity, it was hard to tell.
Fireballs don't have eyes, so why would they be unhit by covering them with a green cloth used in field operations?
Everyone was puzzled, but seeing that he was injured again, they didn't want to be too harsh on him. However, Zhang Wanchun's reputation, which he had built up over the past few months, was once again in a state where he was disliked by everyone.
Lu Huantang didn't know what to say. He found it utterly laughable and hateful, and really didn't want to get entangled with such a fool. But outwardly, he maintained the demeanor of an elder brother and advised, "What are you growing grain for?"
"Give it to the soldiers."
"So you're saying soldiers are the most important? Then why did you save Miao instead of helping others?" Lu Huantang directly hit the nail on the head.
Zhang Wanchun finally calmed down, sat for a while, and then left.
A moment later, Jiang Linzhi squeezed through the crack in the door, glanced back before closing it, and asked, "How did you get involved with him?"
"It seems he's quite famous; you already know about him." Lu Huantang smiled wryly.
“I’ve known him for a long time. He and Chen were classmates. He joined the army after his family suffered a disaster. He was a stubborn fool when he was in school, and he’s not cut out to be a soldier now.” Jiang Linzhi made no attempt to hide his disdain. “Being genuine and pure is good, but living like that, as if he can’t stand on solid ground, is something we mortals can’t understand.”
Chatting with Jiang Linzhi was the most relaxing thing. Lu Huantang said in surprise, "The person Chen visited was him."
“Yes, so Chen is also a stubborn person. That’s why I know how to use people. Over the years, Chen has saved my life hundreds of times.” Jiang Linzhi said with some pride.
Lu Huantang chuckled and pinched her earlobe. "Praising others while also praising yourself, Miss has really been..."
"Really what?" Jiang Linzhi raised a fist the size of half a sandbag and waved it wildly in front of Lu Huantang's face, his face scrunched up like a kitten. "I'm warning you not to spout nonsense!"
This threat was so cute that Lu Huantang smiled helplessly and easily wrapped his palm around her little fist.
Jiang Linzhi struggled in vain, then continued, "You're not allowed to suppress me with force! Heh!"
Lu Huantang pressed the hand that was holding hers against his chest and continued to laugh uncontrollably, "No, hahaha, I'm laughing so hard my wound hurts!"
A slight tremor ran beneath her fist, quite strange. Jiang Linzhi suddenly drifted into thought, recalling the day she heard Lu Huantang had rushed back severely injured, the man covered in blood and barely breathing.
There was a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal, and also a very magical feeling.
Seeing Jiang Linzhi lost in thought, Lu Huantang slowly stopped smiling and said softly, "I'm not that easy to die."
Jiang Linzhi nodded. "You have to achieve all those goals you told me about before. If you die along the way, I'll have them engraved on your tombstone. Every time someone comes to pay their respects, they'll laugh at you. Laugh until you can't stand it and come back to life."
Truly rejecting any ambiguous atmosphere, Lu Huantang was so angry he laughed. He squeezed Jiang Linzhi's hand hard and said, "Don't worry, even if I can't do it, I will marry Miss first and earn you an official title. When the world laughs at me, Miss will be included too. Look, Miss Jiang has such poor taste in men."
"Damn it!" Jiang Linzhi laughed and cursed.
As the two were chatting and laughing, Qi's men came to summon Lu Huantang, saying that someone from the imperial court had arrived.
"Lord Lu, don't forget this humble woman now that you've been promoted," Jiang Linzhi said affectedly.
Lu Huantang, brimming with confidence, raised his chin and said, "Wait for me."
Lu Huantang, leaning on his crutches, went with a group of equally wounded soldiers to receive their reward.
Rewards for meritorious service are generally based on military rank. When Lu Huantang read about the captain, he already had a vague feeling that something was wrong. His rank was above the captain, so why wasn't his rank mentioned?
When the words "So be it" were finished, not only Lu Huantang, but everyone else frowned and looked at him.
After General Li received the imperial decree, everyone immediately surrounded him. They were all indignant. If factionalism was more important than military merit, then the military merit system established by the Sui Kingdom over the past hundred years was nothing but a contraption to fool the common people.
General Li stared at the imperial edict for a long time, thinking that it might really be the Regent's intention. Although he was helpless, there was nothing he could do, so he dismissed the crowd.
Qi Er asked first, "General, is there anyone missing here?"
General Li naturally knew that someone had been missed. He dismissed everyone except Lu Huantang.
Before leaving, Qi Er patted Lu Huantang on the shoulder and whispered, "Talk to him in a good mood. It's probably the higher-ups' idea. It shouldn't be that the general didn't write it down."
Upon hearing this, Lu Huantang felt a surge of anger rising from his neck. He didn't care who had erased his military achievements; wherever he went, crows were all black. First it was his ancestors, then his senior brother, and now it was finally his turn.
Thinking this, even the usually mild-mannered Lu Huantang couldn't hold back any longer and asked directly, "Why?"
General Li was taken aback by his bluntness and said after a moment of hesitation, "The higher-ups mean a reward of money, but no official rank."
General Li was a rough man, not good with words, and these words struck Lu Huantang's bottom line directly. Lu Huantang didn't know where the strength came from, he threw away his cane, grabbed his sword and staggered away, sneering, "Is that so? I think if I don't pledge allegiance to the Regent, I will always just be a captain."
"Insolence! Who do you think you are, presumptuously speculating about the Regent?" General Li roared. The Regent had his reasons for doing so, and it couldn't be explained simply by jealousy and resentment.
Unable to suppress the anger in his heart, Lu Huantang continued in a sarcastic tone, "Oh? Is that so? General Qi is over forty years old and is still only a deputy general. Why is that?"
"He's incompetent; no one can recommend him."
"Incompetent? Still a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Huo Zhuo. That kind of debauched scoundrel can still make a name for himself in the surrounding counties. Are you saying General and Deputy General Qi are inferior to that kind of person?" These words were truly vicious. Huo Zhuo was directly nailed to the pillar of shame by the Regent. Even after his entire household was slaughtered, the Regent didn't order an investigation. General Li was indeed sent to this arduous and demanding task because he lacked social skills. Naturally, everyone wanted to enjoy the good life, and he was resentful. But considering how much the Regent trusted him, he never held a grudge over the years.
Now that he had been exposed by a junior from another party, General Li felt embarrassed and coldly rebuked, "If you don't want to be court-martialed, then get out of here! You're still alive, and you'll earn merit one day, so what's the rush!"
Lu Huantang laughed loudly, his anger burning ever brighter.
General Li was also enraged by his laughter, and actually drew his sword and held it to Lu Huantang's chest, "Get out of here!"
With a long "clang," Lu Huantang swung his sword and knocked General Li's sword away. The two, consumed by rage, immediately engaged in a fierce battle.
After a few moves, General Li clearly felt that he was no match for the man before him. He could only defend himself, but had no chance to retaliate. While marveling at his strength, he prepared to use his trump card to subdue Lu Huantang and then have a proper talk with him after he calmed down.
General Li circulated his Qi through the Small Heavenly Circuit, using ten times the force of normal to deflect Lu Huantang's sword with a loud "thud".
Someone fell to the ground in response.
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