Chapter 44: Speaking with One Voice

()/ famous book)(WwW, MinGshuLou.) Chapter 45: Speaking with One Voice

Jian Yu could no longer find any reason to refute, so the Young Marshal had to ask Jian Yu: "What's going on, how did you transmit the order?"

Jian Yu muttered gloomily: "Probably I was impatient at the time, my voice was a bit low, so …"

"The order was ill‑omened; what crime does that warrant?"

"Punish with a staff, 100 army clubs …"

All the lords were watching here, the Young Marshal could only shout: "Come on, people, pull them down and beat them. **. mingshulou. com**"

Li Bucai saw the blue‑clad guards block the soldiers; two of them took the army clubs from their hands. Their own people fighting their own people would of course not be a real fight. Rather than let them put on a show, it was better to extend a favor.

"Although the Lord of the Guard's order was ill‑omened, he at least delivered the command flag to me. I, the Young Marshal, uphold the law and never act arbitrarily; even an outsider like Li Bucai has heard of me. My own subordinates act personally, so they will not strike lightly. Now, with a great enemy before us, the Young Marshal's guard has been maimed. Who will protect our commander's safety? Whether we strike now or wait until the Thirteen King is rescued, we can also let her redeem herself with merit."

Li Bucai's words were sharp, making her face turn pale then flush; at least he was pleading, but how could a single person plead? He stood there in silence for a moment.

Zou Ying said: "Lord Li is right; now is the time to employ people, so let her redeem herself with merit."

As soon as Zou Ying spoke, everyone below also began pleading on her behalf.

"Fine, in view of everyone, I'll record this this time. If you dare offend again, multiple crimes will be punished together; no leniency."

Jian Yu responded, and two guards released her. **. mingshulou. com**

The Young Marshal's gaze shifted, he gritted his teeth and said to Li Bucai: "This time your tardiness is Jian Yu's fault; you can't be blamed, but why were you rude to General Xu, whom I sent to fetch you? And you even bound him."

Li Bucai asked in surprise: "It was the Young Marshal who sent him? That's odd. May I ask how the Young Marshal gave the order to General Xu?"

The Young Marshal instructed Jingyi to convey the order, directly having him bind Li Bucai and assign him a baseless charge of unexplained absence, then give him a proper lesson. But now that charge no longer holds, and there's no reason to bind him, so he said angrily: "Lord Li was slow to arrive, fearing you might have an accident, so I sent General Xu to fetch you."

Li Bucai said: "We are only a few hundred meters from the camp; General Xu came with so many people. I think the Young Marshal wouldn't arbitrarily conclude, without evidence, that Li Bucai intends to rebel?"

The Young Marshal hadn't been thinking about rebellion at all; even if he were to guess Li Bucai might rebel, he couldn't say it, so he said: "Of course not; General Xu is only concerned about Lord Li's safety."

"Then may I ask, is General Xu someone the Young Marshal trusts?"

"Of course."

Li Bucai nodded: "That will do, release the person."

Wu Zhuoran and others untied all the bound people, and Li Bucai intended to lead his subordinates to the rear of the formation.

The Young Marshal shouted: "Stop! General Xu is a military officer; you bind them then release them without giving any reason, and you think you can just walk away like that?"

Li Bucai said: "I know the Young Marshal is a person of great principle, who would never arbitrarily suspect his subordinates, nor would he send people to assassinate his own subordinates without cause. However, General Xu barged straight into my tent, ordered the soldiers to strike without a word, and I thought he was a rebel spy sent to disrupt us, so I bound him and handed him over to the Young Marshal. Since he is the Young Marshal's confidant, he cannot be a rebel spy, and I do not intend to further pursue his rudeness."

"What evidence do you have for saying that?"

"The Young Marshal can ask General Xu," he turned to Xu Rong: "General Xu, the Young Marshal protects his subordinates and sent you to fetch me rather than to kill me; why did you immediately try to strike and hurt me?"

"I… I only wanted to take the person, not to hurt anyone …"

"Take the person? Did the Young Marshal ever say to you to take Li Bucai?"

"This …" The Young Marshal had already said earlier that he sent so many people for his safety; how could he dare claim it was the Young Marshal's order again?

Li Bucai bowed to the Young Marshal and said: "The Young Marshal discerns right from wrong; General Xu tried to strike, and even smeared Li Bucai as a rebel. Out of helplessness, I bound him and handed him over to the Young Marshal for disposition."

He then dragged Xu Rong into it; originally I wanted him to at least apologize to Xu Rong, but now there's no room for apology, and instead I have to reproach him.

When she was in Sky City, whether in verbal sparring or martial contests, she was the Emperor's cherished jewel; no one dared surpass her, so she won every bout, which fostered a willful, reckless character. In Sky City she could do as she pleased, without any restraints.

Now that we have arrived at Luo Ping Hai, first during the duel, even with the help of my subordinates I was still half a move short, nearly exposing my springtime glory and losing face; last night I tried to treat him with his own method, but mishandled the medicine and was accused of being disrespectful to him; today, in front of the lords, I wanted to give him a proper lesson, yet his few words shifted all responsibility onto my subordinates. I thought I could flaunt my authority here, but the title of commander became a tightening band; his sarcastic remarks pointed at me, and I had no room to retaliate. Never having endured such humiliation, my tears welled up, about to burst, I quickly turned away, forced a trembling voice and said: "I understand, you may go down."

In a low voice to Zou Ying he said: "I'm feeling a bit unwell; I'll leave this to you for now." After speaking, he hurried away amid the guards, returned to the main camp's big tent, unleashed all his fury onto the tent's belongings, sending items flying everywhere, then collapsed on the bed sobbing, angrily muttering: "That bastard, I must kill him, I must kill him …"

……

Zou Ying was unaware of all these arrangements; after the Young Marshal left, he ordered Xu Rong to apologize to Li Bucai and reprimand him severely, instructing him to take some troops back to guard the camp, to ensure the Young Marshal's safety.

Li Bucai led the group to the very end of the formation. When passing a school‑uniformed girl, she gave him a thumbs‑up, silently praising his adaptability.

In the crowd, on the left side were the forces of Shalan River South Bank; the brothers Tan Ping and Tan Jiang were the heads of the South Bank, each standing nearest the command platform.

Tan Ping said: "What's this kid's background?"

Tan Jiang said: "A man of eloquence, he likes to flaunt his words. The girl that he and Wei Zidan are after are together; when I went to find them, I didn't even dare to let out a fart, and Wei Zidan snatched the girl away."

Tan Ping rebuked: "You always act so carelessly; how can you become a king of ten thousand nations? That kid's eyes don't look like a pathetic loser; he even dares to offend the commander… From today on, you may skip other tasks, but you must keep a close eye on this kid, and if possible, eliminate him as soon as possible."

Tan Jiang nodded.

Zou Ying announced to everyone what the Young Marshal intended to proclaim. In short, the rescue of the Thirteen King this time will be rewarded by merit; each battle achievement earns a golden leaf, and after the Thirteen King is rescued the top three with the most golden leaves will divide 50 first‑rank troops, 50 second‑rank troops, 20 warhorses, and three Lord Skills.

He concluded: "Besides these, there is another significant matter. Scouts reported that twenty li from Sand Spring, at Ant Mountain, there is a narrow pass where a rebel force is gathering. About 200 people have already assembled, numbers still rising, and they could attack at any moment. All the lords are outstanding of this age; the Young Marshal plans to strike while they are unsteady and not yet entrenched, wiping them out at the pass. What do the lords think?"

Someone said: "Over 200? We have over 400; of course we should eliminate them while they are still unstable, otherwise if we stay here and they outnumber us, fighting later will be difficult."

"Exactly, we should launch an attack."

"Then what are we waiting for? It's only twenty li; if we don't kill them now they could kill us at any time. Better to strike proactively than defend passively."

At that moment, two distinct voices from the crowd shouted in unison: "What if we lose?"

The crowd turned toward the voice and saw Wei Zidan of Xiao Longma Guo and Li Bucai speaking simultaneously.