Chapter 313: Boredom

There were more people marching this time, so the time spent on the road was much longer than before.

It took Ye Shuo and his group a full half month to reach the border.

Four years have passed. The young General Wei, who was still a little green back then, has now lost his last bit of innocence and is gradually able to stand on his own. His every move and gesture also reveals some of the heroic spirit of the Duke of Zhen.

Although General Wei’s title contains a small character in his title, he is already over 30 years old this year. As General Wei, a fourth-rank official position, it is not too high, but it is still acceptable for his age. The main reason is that he has no chance to do meritorious deeds. Since the last time he defended the city, there has been nothing he can show.

But if he is lucky this time, he should be able to move up a level.

The first thing General Wei said when he saw Ye Shuo was, “Welcome to His Majesty.”

General Xu next to him followed closely behind: “This general greets His Majesty. Long live the emperor.”

Old General Xu is not very old, just over sixty years old. However, due to too many hidden injuries from his youth, he does not look much younger than the old Duke Zhen. His hair is gray and his temples are frosted. He is a little weak and can no longer lead troops to fight. However, the court has not yet selected a qualified successor, so he will remain in this position for the time being.

This was the first time that Ye Shuo saw the true face of General Xu. General Xu had spent more time at the border than his grandfather. It could be said that he had truly dedicated his entire life here.

“General Xu, please stand up.” Ye Shuo hurried forward and helped him up personally.

“I have to thank General Xu for his help back then.” Ye Shuo was talking about Zeng Mohuai and the original school.

But in fact, General Xu was not doing it just for him. After all, if the Zhen Mansion collapsed, he, as a subordinate of the old Zhen Duke, would be in trouble.

I just didn’t expect that by some strange coincidence, I would end up with such a good relationship.

“Your Majesty, please forgive me.” General Xu shook his head hurriedly, feeling extremely terrified and respectful.

After a long round of conversation, Ye Shuo finally came to the king’s tent that had been prepared long ago under the guidance of General Xu.

There are naturally layers of guards in the king’s tent.

General Xu had arranged guards in advance, but when he accidentally saw one of the young men, his face changed instantly.

“Evil creature, why are you here!?”

Following General Xu’s scolding, Ye Shuo looked in the direction he was directed and saw a young man who was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, but less than twenty years old.

The boy’s appearance was not the best, just average. The most outstanding thing about him was his eyes, which were black and bright, full of the vitality of a young man.

Ye Shuo was startled, then raised his eyebrows slightly.

When the boy saw his position being pointed out, he froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth and walked out.

“I pay my respects to His Majesty, the Prince, and… General Xu.”

Prince Ding was totally confused and had no idea what was going on.

Then General Xu said ruthlessly, “Xu Kui, the halberd commander, disobeyed orders and disregarded military law. According to military discipline, he shall be punished with sixty strokes of the cane. Come, drag him out!”

Xu Kui…? Xu?

Ye Shuo vaguely understood something, so he raised his hand and said, “Wait a minute.”

“I think he seems to have something to say, so why not let him say it.” Ye Shuo didn’t think that General Xu’s grandson would be ignorant of military discipline and knowingly violate it.

The young man was still hesitating, but after hearing this, he finally gritted his teeth and seemed to have made up his mind. He spoke straightforwardly, “It is clear that General Xu had said before that anyone who ranked in the top 30 in the military competition could serve as a guard. It was General Xu who broke his promise first, so I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.”

This is the case for all Hui people. They do not seek to rely on their grandfather’s protection, but only hope not to be restricted by it.

As time went by, day after day, he no longer wanted to endure it any longer.

Top 30 in the military competition?

If Ye Shuo remembered correctly, there were tens of thousands of people in the entire Southwest Military Camp.

Ye Shuo didn’t expect that the young man in front of him had such ability. However, it was really hard to understand that he didn’t even have an official position despite having such ability.

Ye Shuo couldn’t help but look at General Xu standing beside him: “General, are you serious about this?”

General Xu opened his mouth and said, “Your Majesty, this is true, but——”

“If that’s the case, then it’s your fault, General Xu. You shouldn’t avoid relatives when selecting talents, and going back on your word is a big taboo in the army. General Xu is a bit overbearing.” It would be too unfair to the young man if he deliberately suppressed his relatives just to avoid suspicion.

“The military only looks at merit, not kinship, let alone faction. What do you think, old general?”

The young man had waited for so long, and finally someone came to support him. He was instantly excited.

“Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty is mighty!”

Without saying a word, the young man bowed his head and shouted “Long live the Buddha” three times with a very pious look on his face.

General Xu: “…”

General Xu couldn’t help but glared at him fiercely. The young man trembled instinctively at first, and then regained his complacent look. Coupled with Ye Shuo’s calm eyes, General Xu had no choice but to lower his head.

“Your Majesty has taught me, and I will obey your orders.”

Just wait for this bastard. Once this matter is resolved, I will definitely teach him a lesson! He is so young, but he has gone crazy!

General Xu glanced at him and gave him a threatening look that said “Just wait for me” before leaving.

However, what General Xu didn’t know was that the more he did this, the more the young man in front of him wanted to show himself in front of Ye Shuo.

After General Xu left, the young man immediately became well behaved.

“Xu Kui, right?” After a while, he suddenly heard such a voice coming from above.

“Which Kui character?”

“It’s… the character Kui from the Kui beast.” Seeing that the emperor and Prince Ding were still a little confused, the young man plucked up his courage, borrowed the pen and ink on the table, and wrote for them to see.

Prince Ding took the time to take a quick look and discovered that the handwriting of any of the pawns was several times more beautiful than that of his own brother.

Seriously, after all these years, doesn’t he have the slightest bit of shame?

Ignoring his cheap brother’s weird look, Ye Shuo borrowed the paper and finally understood a little.

Kui is a one-legged monster in myths and legends. According to the “Classic of Mountains and Seas: Great Wilderness Classic”, there is a beast on the Liubo Mountain in the East China Sea, which is 7,000 miles into the sea. It looks like an ox, with a blue body and no horns, and one foot. When it comes out of the water, there will be wind and rain. Its light is like the sun and the moon, and its sound is like thunder. Its name is Kui. Huangdi got it, used its skin to make a drum, and peg it with the bones of thunder beasts. The sound could be heard 500 miles away, and it intimidated the world.

This name is appropriate and impressive, but I don’t know if he can live up to it.

“You just said you were in the top 30, how many points exactly?” Ye Shuo asked.

Xu Kui answered honestly: “Your Majesty, I am the third.”

“It’s actually the runner-up.” Prince Ding at the side couldn’t help but exclaim: “You’re amazing.”

Xu Kui was a little embarrassed by Prince Ding’s straightforward praise, and couldn’t help but chuckled: “To reply to your Highness, I was born with supernatural powers, and I got up too late that day and didn’t have a full meal, otherwise I might be able to compete for the first place.”

“…He’s young, but he speaks so arrogantly.” If he hadn’t had a lame leg, King Ding might have really wanted to compare himself with him.

Then, Prince Ding changed the subject: “However, I like your straightforward temper, which suits my taste the most.”

As he spoke, Prince Ding couldn’t help but pat the young man on the shoulder.

The boy didn’t care at all, he was even very happy.

Seeing this, Ye Shuo on the side couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

While the two were chatting, Ye Shuo couldn’t help but lift the door curtain and walk into the innermost resting and sleeping area.

The sand table, maps, etc. are all here. These were originally things only in the main tent, but now General Xu has put them all in his own tent.

General Xu had thought clearly. He knew that since the emperor had come, the command of the army would naturally fall into his hands. Moreover, due to his health, General Xu had already thought about resigning. Since he could no longer march and fight, the best strategy was to hand over the military power as soon as possible.

As generals, most of them spend their whole lives in military service, either dying on the battlefield or being liquidated by their superiors at a certain time. General Xu does not ask for anything else but to be like the old Duke Zhen.

Besides, Xu Zhong and Fang Shiquan had already informed him of the matter, so what was there for General Xu to worry about?

Ye Shuo thought about it, and then called in Xu Kui and Prince Ding.

Xu Kui was the grandson of General Xu, so he should be trustworthy. After the two entered the inner tent, he pointed at the sand table and then at the map: “Do you know these two things?”

“Of course.” These two things were what Xu Kui had read the most since he could remember. How could he not understand them?

The moment he finished speaking, Xu Kui slowly began to explain at Ye Shuo’s signal.

“This is the heartland of the State of Chen. Most of the trade flows here. This is the capital of the State of Chen, and there is also this river…”

I have to say that although this young man is only seventeen or eighteen years old, he speaks very fluently. When he counts the cities and terrain of the State of Chen, he knows them like the back of his hand. This is the benefit of family education.

It was not until late at night that Ye Shuo felt that he had heard enough and that it was not much different from what he heard when he went to Beijing, so he let him leave.

“I’ll take my leave.”

After the young man left, Prince Ding belatedly remembered something: “If I remember correctly, General Xu’s six sons seem to have already…”

“Well, I know. They have all died in battle. Now I’m afraid this is the only one left who has a future.”

None of the six sons survived. This would be considered an extremely rare event outside, but it is quite normal at the border or on the battlefield. If one’s luck is a little worse, most of them would have died in the battle.

Prince Ding, who had also led troops, could not help but sigh: “No wonder General Xu acted like this, he must have had the intention of protecting this young man.”

“But it is obvious that he, like his uncles and grandfather, is extremely eager for the battlefield.” Ye Shuo easily caught the word “desire” from the young man’s eyes.

“Look at what you said, these are clearly two different things. If it were you, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to accept it so easily.” Prince Ding looked at his younger brother who was already the father of three children.

Ye Shuo thought of his three daughters. If they were like this young man in the future, wandering on the edge of life and death…

Ye Shuo’s breathing stagnated.

However, Brother Cheap was wrong about one thing. The reason why General Xu suppressed this young man so much was not only to avoid suspicion and protect him, but there were more important reasons.

Just when Ye Shuo was thinking about something, he suddenly saw the cheap brother opposite him touching his chin and saying something.

“Your Majesty, did you hear just now that young man said he was born with supernatural powers?” If we talk about people with supernatural powers, Prince Ding himself can be considered one.

At first he thought this thing was extremely rare, but as more and more people around him were born with supernatural powers, he felt that it was no longer valuable.

“It’s okay that I’m old, but Your Majesty, you are also born with supernatural powers. I wonder how this young man compares to you.”

Ye Shuo: “…”

“boring.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that his cheap brother was becoming more and more leisurely, just like… him in the past.