Chapter 81: Overjoyed
Upon hearing this, Li Ding smashed the bowl in his hand on the ground with a bang.
"You won't even let me tell you the truth? Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"
A fight seemed imminent between the two, but someone tried to mediate: "Li Ding, stop making a scene. The brothers got up before dawn to train, and they're all tired now. Go and rest after you finish eating."
Li Ding wasn't the kind of person who would take things lightly. He looked at the other person with a gloomy gaze and said sarcastically, "It's only us nobodies who are dragged to training before dawn, unlike some people who have already made connections and are now thriving by exploiting us!"
"Who the hell are you talking about?!"
Li Ding scoffed: "Everyone knows who I'm talking about."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was suddenly knocked to the ground and punched hard in the stomach. Now, the millet porridge he had just finished eating was vomited up before he could even swallow it.
A look of hatred flashed across his face, and he hugged the person tightly without regard for anything else. He had learned his lesson now, and he no longer fought with his fists. If his fists couldn't beat him, he would bite wildly. After a while, people would not only be bitten but also have their faces covered in saliva. This kind of fighting style was very disgusting, so even if there was a conflict with him, everyone would tolerate it as much as possible.
Of course, some people can endure it, while others can't and get angry at the slightest thing.
Everyone gathered around to try and separate the two who were embracing.
But Li Ding used both hands and feet to exert force, and even though he was being beaten and groaning, he still clung to people like an octopus.
"Centurion, stop fighting."
Unable to persuade Li Ding, they had to try another person, since this one seemed much more normal than Li Ding.
Li Zhengyang landed a hook punch on Li Ding's chin, wiping the drool off his face as he did so. "Tell him to let go. If he doesn't, I'll keep hitting him."
Everyone: ...
Everyone knew that Li Ding had personality problems, so they all tried their best not to provoke him, but Li Zhengyang was the only one who paid attention to him.
They were unlucky; their superiors and teammates were all extraordinary individuals who fought and bickered every few days, and they even dragged the other team members into being punished.
Li Ding spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood, and he slammed his head against Li Zhengyang's head repeatedly, making loud thuds, while cursing angrily: "If you're so capable, go beat up Xie Pei! What kind of skill is it to fight me?"
Li Zhengyang saw stars, pulled his hand out, and punched him in the head, saying inexplicably, "Why should I fight him? I hit you because you're foul-mouthed and deserve a beating."
Li Ding was furious and blurted out, "That's right, he's a cavalry captain now, and you, a centurion, got your position by flattering him every day!"
Li Zhengyang was furious. He was indeed close to Xie Pei, but Xie Pei only spared him because of Zhu Mingyue. After entering the camp, the two were assigned to the same team. Later, Xie Pei became a centurion due to his outstanding performance and frequently led them out of the city to kill the southern barbarians. Li Zhengyang followed behind and gained more experience, and his abilities improved by leaps and bounds. He was completely different from when he first came to the military camp and was timid and hesitant.
He admitted that a large part of the reason he was able to become a centurion was because Xie Pei led him well. Of the original hundred men in their unit, three are now centurions, and he is just one of them.
But regardless, he earned his military rank through months of daily training and fighting outside the city, not through Xie Pei's connections as Li Ding claimed.
He didn't want to bother with someone who was incompetent but jealous, but Li Ding seemed to be deliberately picking on him, constantly finding fault and speaking with veiled barbs, every sentence implying that he had become a centurion through improper means.
He always disrupted the team's rhythm, making everyone unwilling to train properly. The whole team was very lazy, and they always came in last place in team competitions.
"What a lively scene!" Just as the fighting was getting intense, a mocking voice came from behind: "Wow! Centurion Li is really dedicated; he's even thinking about giving his men a training exercise after dinner!"
Li Zhengyang turned his head to look, his face showing helplessness. "Don't worry about it."
It's that Sun Kan again. Every time he gets into a fight with Li Ding, this guy seems to know beforehand. He pretends to leisurely walk by and mocks him, then calls him to Xie Pei and complains to him in front of everyone. Xie Pei is too lazy to even reprimand him, just casually tells him to go and receive his punishment.
So now, whenever he sees Sun Kan, his buttocks ache slightly, as if he can see a military rod hanging over them.
“It’s so lively, I saw it all, how could I ignore it!” Sun Kan chuckled. “But I think your training method is wrong. How did you turn such good men into dogs? They won’t be able to bite the Southern Barbarians like this on the battlefield.”
Upon hearing this, Li Ding froze, his face suddenly turning bright red. He released his grip on Li Zhengyang's arm and began a frenzied kicking spree.
Sun Kan watched from the side, occasionally offering his comments. Finally, probably tired of watching, he clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Too bad. That's not how you fight on the battlefield."
He stepped forward and forcefully pulled the two apart, then pushed Li Zhengyang away, saying, "Go watch from the side."
Sun Kan didn't want to be like Li Zhengyang, who got carried away with his temper and acted impulsively in fights.
Li Ding was initially stunned when he was pinned to the ground. He had no idea what was going on or why the person hitting him had changed.
But he saw the look in Sun Kan's eyes, which revealed undisguised contempt and disdain.
He was spurred into battle by that look, but his self-taught skills of sophistry were clearly no match for Sun Kan. Sun Kan wouldn't give him any leeway, so he couldn't even touch the hem of Sun Kan's clothes.
After being knocked to the ground countless times, the entire arena fell silent. Li Ding broke down, shouting, "You centurions, yet you all pick on me, a mere soldier who can't even beat you!"
Sun Kan delivered a knee strike to his ribs, knocking him to the ground again. He dusted off his hands and sneered, "Isn't this a clear understanding of yourself?"
He turned to leave, but paused as he passed Li Zhengyang: "It's time you reflected on why some people think they can step on your head and act arrogantly."
Li Zhengyang was awakened and felt extremely ashamed. Since being appointed centurion, he had indeed wanted to train these men as diligently as Xie Pei had done back then.
But he didn't even have a chance to show his skills. Not only did Li Ding provoke him, but others also looked down on him and didn't approve of him from the bottom of their hearts.
Just moments before Sun Kan said these words, he thought it must be Li Ding causing trouble, spreading rumors that he got his position through connections, which was why people didn't believe him.
Only now did he finally understand that Li Ding's slander, aside from damaging his mentality, had no real impact on him. What his subordinates truly despised was his methods.
Even if he was promoted through connections, so what? Sun Kan came from Xie Pei's ranks, so why doesn't anyone dare to gossip about him behind his back? The military doesn't care about connections, only ability. As long as your methods are strong enough, people will naturally respect you.
He knew that Sun Kan's purpose in coming to laugh at him was actually to teach him how to establish his authority. After all, they had fought side by side and shared life-or-death experiences. He was deeply moved, his lips trembled, and finally he managed to say, "Thank you."
Sun Kan: "You're welcome. Disrupting military discipline and fighting and injuring people, go to the camp to receive your punishment!"
Li Zhengyang: ...Suddenly I don't feel so moved anymore.
Wait a minute, a question mark slowly appeared on his forehead: "Didn't you also get into a fight and injure someone just now?"
Sun Kan patted him on the shoulder: "I was just exchanging skills with your men."
Belatedly realizing what was happening, Li Zhengyang quickly followed suit and blurted out, "Then I'll do it too..."
"Stop," Sun Kan interrupted him, "You're not one, so stop thinking about it and go get your military rod!"
Li Zhengyang was on his way to the camp to receive his punishment when he was attracted by a sudden commotion in the distance.
He and Sun Kan exchanged a glance and walked over together in tacit agreement.
Seeing a soldier being stopped by two patrolling guards in the distance, he said, "I am truly entrusted by someone to pass on a message to the cavalry captain for me!"
The guard demanded sternly, "Do you have a token?"
The soldier looked embarrassed: "Uh, no, that man only asked me to pass on a message to the cavalry captain."
The guard said righteously, "Our captains are very busy and don't meet just anyone."
He didn't even have a decent token to offer, and he couldn't give a reason why he insisted on seeing the cavalry captain. If it weren't for the fact that he was also a soldier, he would have been arrested and interrogated as a spy long ago.
The soldier wanted to plead further. He had accepted bribes from Wang Zongxiu, and the two were friends. He felt he should at least get things done properly. However, he hadn't expected the cavalry camp to be so heavily guarded, making it even more difficult to see their captain.
"Brothers, please do me a favor and let them know for me!"
"No, you should leave now." The guards were getting impatient. Not to mention that they might not even see the captain, even if they did pass on the message, what difference would it make? The person in front of them had nothing, so he was probably an insignificant person. If they delayed the captain's time, they might also be held responsible. Thinking this, the two of them pushed each other even more.
"What's going on?" Li Zhengyang immediately shouted.
The guard stopped what he was doing and bowed to the two men: "Reporting to the two centurions, this man was acting suspiciously outside the camp. When we saw him, we went up to question him, but he said he wanted to see the captain. However, he refused to say what he wanted to see him for, and he didn't give us any token."
Li Zhengyang nodded. Sun Kan looked the soldier up and down, and after a moment asked, "Are you from the archery battalion?"
The soldier straightened his sleeves, which had been disheveled from being chased away, and stood up straight, saying, "Sir, I am from the archery battalion."
Although all soldiers in the army wore basically the same uniform, there were always some differences between branches of service that specialized in different combat styles. For example, the soldiers in their cavalry battalion often wore leather or iron vests. The person in front of them had a shoulder strap slung over his shoulder. With a little observation, it wasn't difficult to tell which branch of service he belonged to.
Sun Kan questioned, "Since you are from the archery battalion, what business do you have here looking for our captain?"
Li Zhengyang stared intently at him, as if he would be imprisoned if he said the wrong thing.
The soldier felt immense pressure, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He wiped them away and said tremblingly, "I don't know the captain at all; I'm just here to deliver a message on someone's behalf."
Sun Kan continued to ask, "Who is he?"
The soldier answered truthfully, "Wang Zongxiu, the person who asked me to pass on the message is named Wang Zongxiu." He wasn't entirely sure himself, though; his brother, after learning that Xie Pei was now the Commandant of the Cavalry, had told him that Xie Pei knew him. He wasn't sure if he was exaggerating.
"Also a member of the military?"
"No, they are my brothers from outside the camp."
Sun Kan turned to look at Li Zhengyang. Li Zhengyang had known Xie Pei since before he entered the camp, so he was naturally more familiar with the people around Xie Pei than anyone else.
Li Zhengyang thought about it carefully for a while, feeling that he had heard the name Wang Zongxiu somewhere before, but he couldn't find such a person in his memory. He frowned and hesitated for a while, but finally shook his head: "I don't know."
Sun Kan could only say to the soldier, "Go back."
The soldier blushed, inwardly cursing, "That bastard Wang Zongxiu, he really was just bragging in front of him, making him lose face."
Seeing him standing there motionless, the guard assumed he was still unwilling to leave and went to pull him away.
As the soldier was being dragged away, a sudden thought flashed through his mind in the midst of the emergency, and he immediately shouted, "Someone from the captain's hometown has come to Jizhou!"
"Wait!" Li Zhengyang quickly stopped him, walking up to him with a hint of excitement in his eyes: "Are you serious? Do you know who it is?"
The soldier quickly shook his head: "It's true, I wouldn't dare lie to you, sir. My brother asked me to pass on this message, I really don't know anything else."
He was telling the truth. Wang Zongxiu told him to find Xie Pei, but he only mentioned that Xie Pei's family had come to Jizhou to visit relatives. As for the person's name and what relationship he had with the Captain, he knew nothing!
Li Zhengyang's expression softened slightly, and he ordered the guards to release him, but he did not immediately let him into the camp.
He thought for a moment and then said, "You wait here and do not move. I will report this matter to the magistrate."
Sun Kan gave a few instructions to the guards and then went with Li Zhengyang to find Xie Pei.
Upon arriving at the tent entrance, Li Zhengyang heard Xie Pei say "Come in" and hurriedly lifted the tent flap to go inside. Seeing Sun Kan clinging to him like a leech, he said with displeasure, "What are you going in for? I have something to report to the captain."
Sun Kan raised an eyebrow: "What? You won't let me in? What if I said I also have something to report to the magistrate?"
"You!" Li Zhengyang said, his voice trembling. He had never been able to win an argument with Sun Kan, and he didn't want to argue with him at this moment. He had only come out of curiosity because he heard that someone from the general's family had come.
"I have something to report."
Xie Pei was working on official documents at his desk, and without even looking up, he said indifferently, "Speak."
Li Zhengyang glanced at Sun Kan, who was listening intently, and then said, "Just now, a soldier came to the camp and asked to see you, saying he had something to tell you personally. After the guards stopped him and questioned him, the man said that a man named Wang Zongxiu asked him to tell you that someone from his hometown had come to Jizhou."
Xie Peizheng paused slightly as he was about to put down his pen, then looked up and asked, "Wang Zongxiu?"
“Yes,” Li Zhengyang nodded. “I do find the name somewhat familiar, but I can’t recall ever seeing this person before.”
Xie Pei suddenly stood up, as if he had thought of something and calmed down again. After sitting down, he asked Sun Kan, "What do you want?"
Sun Kan just wanted to come and have some fun, so he casually mentioned something unimportant.
"Understood," Xie Pei informed him, "You may go now."
Sun Kan: !!!
He was just dismissed like that? He was one of the few people the captain could trust, so what was there that he couldn't stand to hear?
He left the thick tent, leaving only Xie Pei and Li Zhengyang. Xie Pei had lost some of his earlier composure and ordered in a deep voice, "Go and summon that man."
In just half an hour, the soldier was driven away and questioned repeatedly until he was almost numb. If he had known that it was so difficult to see the captain, he would never have dared to accept Wang Zongxiu's bribe and do such a thing.
He stood there under the guards, not daring to move, and when no one came, he felt that this matter was quite dangerous.
He thought to himself that he couldn't get things done today, and that he would return the bribes when Wang Zongxiu came to him again.
Just as he was feeling utterly bored, he saw the centurion who had questioned him earlier approaching again. "The captain has ordered me to summon you."
The soldiers quickly followed him, not daring to look around too much on other people's territory, and were somewhat apprehensive.
Xie Pei waited for him in the tent, tapping the table with his fingertips intermittently, but the frequency gradually increased.
What did Wang Zongxiu say to you?
The soldier didn't answer immediately, but instead glanced at Li Zhengyang.
Xie Pei didn't even look at Li Zhengyang: "Get out."
Li Zhengyang: ...
Sun Kan was also loitering not far from the camp. Seeing that he had also been kicked out, he said slyly, "Oh, I thought you were special to me in the Captain's eyes!"
Li Zhengyang squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "Hehe."
Sun Kan didn't mind his reaction, instead looking curiously into the tent. "What did you hear them saying?"
Li Zhengyang glanced at him irritably: "Guess why I'm standing here with you."
"Oh right, you were kicked out too." Sun Kan grinned like a fox. "By the way, who are your family members in Jizhou, Commandant? Can you guess?"
If he was just curious and wanted to join in the fun before entering the tent, his curiosity instantly reached its peak when he saw Xie Pei's unconscious nervousness and panic.
"Do you think the Captain got married back in his hometown?" he asked, his mind already racing with fantasies. The Captain was such an iceberg, always calm and collected, looking at everyone as if they were nothing. Who could possibly make him lose his composure like this?
He sighed to himself, "I wonder what kind of beautiful woman she is."
Li Zhengyang almost burst out laughing and immediately teased him, "You don't have a beautiful wife, but you do have a handsome husband."
"The Captain's wife is a man?" He was a little surprised, but it only took him a few seconds to accept the fact.
"Hmm, that's normal."
Li Zhengyang burst into laughter: "Are you stupid? Didn't I tell you before that the Captain has never married? You've already forgotten."
“I am from the same village as him. There is indeed a man in the captain’s family, but he is not the captain’s wife. Instead, he is the wife of the captain’s deceased elder brother, who is his widowed sister-in-law.”
“Widowed sister-in-law,” Sun Kan’s eyes gleamed, as if he knew some incredible inside story, “You mean the Commandant’s widowed sister-in-law risked her life to visit him in Jizhou?” That sounds intriguing!
Li Zhengyang, still thinking he didn't believe him, explained, "Of course, the captain and his sister-in-law have always had a harmonious relationship, they are closer than brothers, even I envy them."
As Li Zhengyang spoke, he became somewhat agitated, unsure whether the soldier was telling the truth or lying. Having been away from home for so long, he missed his parents, brothers, Zhu Mingyue, and his friends at the shop.
I wonder if his parents asked Zhu Mingyue to send him a message...
As the two chatted, the tent flap opened from the inside, and the soldier came out with a happy expression on his face.
The two men exchanged a glance and clicked their tongues in amazement. It was truly a rare sight; they had never seen anyone come out of the captain's camp with a smile on their face.
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