Chapter 80: Young Fan Kuai [Jinjiang Authentic Edition - Joining the Army]...
The newly released notice was centered in Xianyang City and was transmitted rapidly in all directions, one level at a time, like rays.
Ten days passed before the common people of Sishui County in Chu saw the latest notices from the imperial capital posted on the propaganda walls in each village.
Inside the Sishui Pavilion, where the sun is scorching and the greenery is lush.
Liu Ji was wearing a khaki robe, with a palm-leaf fan tucked behind his waist and a wine gourd in his hand as he slowly wandered on the street. Seeing many common people gathered together to discuss the latest imperial decrees, he couldn't help but raise the wine gourd in his hand and took a sip of the sweet fruit wine. He silently sighed in his heart that the propaganda walls and paper notices produced by the imperial court were really amazing!
In previous years, have we ever seen the common people in remote counties not only knowing what was happening in the imperial capital, but also gathering in groups of three or four to discuss it?
This propaganda wall looks simple, but after it was officially used, the imperial court's policies were communicated, and even the common people who couldn't read a single word could no longer be fooled.
Liu Ji was wandering along the street, drinking and sighing, when at that moment, a very loud and surprised shout rang out from behind him:
"Brother Ji! Brother Liu Ji!"
Liu Ji burped when he heard the sound, and turned around, feeling a little tipsy. He saw a burly man with a full beard, grinning brightly as if he had found gold, waving his right hand at him and running towards him quickly.
Seeing that it was a friend from the same hometown, Liu Ji was instantly happy and waved his hands and shouted:
"Hey, Fan Kuai! Why don't you stay at your stall selling meat in broad daylight and have the time to wander around the streets?"
When Fan Kuai heard this, he hurried over to Liu Ji, stretched out his hand to grab Liu Ji's arm, and laughed heartily:
"Brother, it's hot out, so fewer people are buying meat. The meat I took out this morning was sold out before noon."
"I've been wanting to treat you to a drink these past few days, and today I finally saw you on the street. If you're free today, come home with me and have some mutton stew."
Mutton is a good thing.
When Liu Ji heard this, he happily agreed with his eyes shining.
The two brothers walked side by side and quickly came to Fan Kuai's house.
When Fan Kuai brought a pot of stewed mutton sprinkled with garlic to the table, the aroma of meat and garlic instantly made Liu Ji dizzy.
Fan Kuai held a wooden shovel in his right hand and scooped a full pottery bowl of millet rice from the small wooden barrel for Liu Ji, grinning and handing it to Liu Ji.
When Liu Ji saw wine, meat and rice on the table today, he knew that Fan Kuai obviously had something important to discuss with him!
He took the small earthenware bowl handed to him by Fan Kuai, picked up a piece of fragrant stewed mutton with chopsticks and placed it on the rising millet rice. He scooped two mouthfuls of rice and meat into his mouth, then squinted his eyes happily and asked Fan Kuai:
"Fan Kuai, what's happened to you again? Do you need your brother's help?"
When Fan Kuai heard this, he stretched out his hand to scratch his hair, sat down next to Liu Ji, and said to him with a somewhat embarrassed look:
"Alas, brother is really smart. I can't hide anything from him."
"Oh, what's going on?" Liu Ji said teasingly, winking at Fan Kuai while shoveling meat into his mouth. "Brother, I've already told you that if I still want to help you find a wife, it's not possible. The women your brother and I had our eyes on have all disappeared. I don't have the ability to find a wife for you now."
When Fan Kuai heard this, his bronze face turned red with embarrassment, but he returned to normal after a moment. He raised his hand to pick up the wine pot on the table and poured wine for Liu Ji, while shyly answering:
"Brother, I didn't come to you today to talk about my wife. I have something troubling me and I want you to help me think about it."
"Tell me about it."
Liu Ji picked up the ceramic cup and took a sip of wine, then squinted his eyes and looked at Fan Kuai comfortably.
Fan Kuai blinked and said:
"Brother, I think you know the latest notice issued by the court."
"Hahahaha, what you said is nonsense! The notices in our pavilion are all brought back from the county town!"
Liu Ji held the pottery bowl and looked at Fan Kuai, laughing and scolding him.
Fan Kuai scratched his head, smiled innocently and sighed:
"Brother, I saw that notice saying that the court will not only conscript a million civilians to build the Great Wall after this year's autumn harvest, but also mentioning the arrogant massacre of nearly a thousand Qin envoys by the Baiyue barbarians. To accomplish these two major national tasks, they're actually going to go so far as to erect stone tablets of merit in every county and crowdfund donations from the world's wealthy and extravagant people. Tell me, how did the court suddenly come up with such a brilliant idea?!"
"The writing on that notice is truly amazing! Even an illiterate person, after hearing what the village head shouted out, felt that the Great Wall must be repaired! Those Baiyue barbarians are truly infuriating!"
"These past two days, every household has been discussing these two major events. I also have a vague idea of what I want to do, but I'm not very smart, so I always want my brother to help me make a decision."
"What? You also want to be a commoner and earn thirty Qinbanliang every month from the imperial court?"
Seeing that Fan Kuai was becoming more and more embarrassed as he spoke, Liu Ji raised his chopsticks and tapped them twice in his direction and joked.
"Eh? Look at what my brother said. How could a butcher like me be interested in those thirty Qin Banliang coins?"
Fan Kuai puffed out his chest and said with a smile.
Seeing this, Liu Ji also put down the pottery bowl in his hand, looked at Fan Kuai with some concern, frowned and said:
"Do you still want to join the army?"
Fan Kuai rubbed his hands together and nodded shyly, looking at Liu Ji with shining eyes and said:
"Brother, I don't want to hide it from you. I really want to join the army."
"Look, I can't compare to my elder brother's popularity. He has friends everywhere and can get along well with everyone. I can't compare to Brother Xiao and Brother Lu who are well-educated and can make a living as a minor official. What do I, Fan Kuai, have? I just have the strength and physique to be a butcher."
"Brother, I'm already 22 years old. Many good girls don't want to marry me because my family kills animals and commits sins all day long. I'm already this old and I can't even find a wife!"
"In the past, I didn't have the opportunity, and I didn't dare to dream of anything. But now the court is not only recruiting civilians, but also recruiting young and strong men to serve as soldiers to attack the Baiyue in the south."
"I'm thinking, isn't Baiyue right next to our Chu territory? If I can seize this opportunity and go south to the battlefield, with my physique, I can get a title in no time if I can take a few heads."
"If I had a title, wouldn't that mean I had some status? Wouldn't it give me a better chance of success if I discuss marriage with that girl in the future?"
When Liu Ji heard Fan Kuai's analysis, the expression on his face gradually became serious.
He carefully looked at the fellow villager in front of him who was a dozen years younger than him. As for family background, although the butcher's family was not a prominent family in this small town, the daily meals at home were not bad.
Fan Kuai was a very strong man, tall, strong and muscular. If he trimmed his beard well, he would be a spirited young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
But Fan Kuai's weakness lay in his temperament. As he did the work of butchering all day long, not only was he covered in blood, but he also had a very fierce aura. Not to mention the little girls, even adult men did not dare to get too close to Fan Kuai, for fear that Fan Kuai would frown and hit them on the forehead with his sandbag-sized fist.
Like the famous gangster he was, Fan Kuai also had difficulty finding a husband in his hometown.
Hearing that Fan Kuai wanted to join the army and seek a future on the battlefield, Liu Ji's reason told him that Fan Kuai was probably suitable for this path, but his emotions told him that an expedition was no joke.
He stroked the wine gourd at his waist with his fingers, frowned in deep thought, and patiently listened to Fan Kuai's words. Then he raised his hand and asked Fan Kuai seriously:
"Brother Kuai, I understand what you mean, but do you know what the situation is in Baiyue?"
Fan Kuai shook his head.
Liu Ji shook his head and sighed:
"Brother, this imperial court's attack on the Baiyue is different from the previous War of the Seven Heroes. Don't think that just because the Baiyue is adjacent to our Chu territory, this war against the Baiyue is suitable for you."
"According to what I heard, the Baiyue region is densely forested, the weather is very hot, and there's terrible miasma!"
"Although the natives living there are few in number, they are extremely difficult to deal with. Each one of them is as slippery as a wild monkey. If one of our Seven Heroes were to get infected by the miasma there, let alone fight on the battlefield, a single diarrhea attack would kill you!"
"You want to go to the Baiyue battlefield to collect heads and fight for a title, but you might not even be able to get through the miasma!"
"What will happen to your family if you can't come back from the south?"
Hearing his elder brother's words, Fan Kuai was stunned. This was the first time he heard the actual situation of Baiyue.
Seeing Fan Kuai stunned and frowning in confusion, Liu Ji sighed silently in his heart, "You are young and full of energy, and your ideas are too simple." Then he shook his head and started to eat with his chopsticks.
The aroma of the stewed mutton was very strong and slowly spread out through the half-open window.
A hot summer afternoon.
Located southeast of Pei County, it is about 500 miles away from Huaiyin in Chu.
A young boy, about ten years old, with a dagger on his waist, was holding a simple fishing rod and staring at the river surface under the glaring sunlight, hoping to catch a fish to satisfy his hungry stomach.
An old woman who was carrying a wooden basin to the river to rinse kapok saw the child running to the river to fish in such a hot day, and couldn't help but say in her heart, "What a sin!"
The child was dark and thin, and became famous locally for being "poor".
His father died of illness when he was two or three years old. His mother raised him single-handedly until he was eight years old, when she also passed away. During these three years, the orphaned boy had to rely on eating at hundreds of homes to avoid starvation.
These days every household is not well off. It's okay if it happens once or twice, but if it happens too many times, everyone will get tired of it.
Hearing the child's stomach growling so loudly, it was obvious that he was very hungry again.
The old woman sighed inwardly, then slowly walked behind the young boy with the wooden basin in her hand and shouted:
"Goudan, you didn't find anything to eat?"
The young boy who was fishing silently with a simple fishing rod he made turned his head when he heard the sound and saw a kind-looking old woman in her fifties. He pursed his lips and lowered his head in silence.
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