Chapter 9: Why Should a Man Not Wear the Wu Hook

Northern Xiurong, the General Er Zhu clan's territory.

With a bruised face and disheveled clothes, General Er Zhu Zhao found General Er Zhu Rong playing Go under a tree with Yuan Tianmu.

Upon seeing General Er Zhu Rong, General Er Zhu Zhao immediately began to scold him.

"Uncle, what terrible move did Da Ye Shuang teach me? Not only did we fail to collect the military grain, but Wan Ziqizhen, the herder from Southern Xiurong, was forced into rebellion by Da Ye Shuang! Now, how can we explain this to the Pingcheng side?"

General Er Zhu Rong held a black stone, quietly placing it onto the Go board.

The stone struck the board, producing a crisp clinking sound.

Seeing the shift in the game's momentum, General Er Zhu Rong slowly spoke:

"Since Wan Ziqizhen has rebelled, how did you escape?"

When General Er Zhu Zhao arrived, he had already prepared his excuse.

"Uncle, relying on my own martial prowess, I fought my way out of Wan Ziqizhen's main tent..."

Before General Er Zhu Zhao could finish, General Er Zhu Rong immediately rebuked him:

"What kind of figure is Wan Ziqizhen? How could you, relying on yourself, fight your way out of his tent? If he hadn't spared you for the sake of the General Er Zhu clan, could you be jumping around alive as you are now?"

"Uncle, you already know?"

"You have been showing off your power everywhere these days, causing how many disasters? Do you still want your Third Uncle to take the blame for you?"

Hearing this, General Er Zhu Zhao immediately knelt down. In his entire life, he respected no one, but with General Er Zhu Rong it was different; he held him in great awe.

"Uncle, this nephew knows his mistake."

"Return and be confined for a month. Also, distribute the treasures, cattle, sheep, and women you have looted these days to the soldiers under your command."

General Er Zhu Zhao's face darkened; the rest was fine, but the women, there were indeed a few he truly liked.

But with matters already at this point, General Er Zhu Zhao dared not disobey.

"I will handle it upon my return!"

After General Er Zhu Zhao left, General Er Zhu Rong shook his head.

"Tu Mo has plenty of martial courage but lacks strategic wisdom; he is likely unfit for great undertakings."

Yuan Tianmu agreed with General Er Zhu Rong's assessment of General Er Zhu Zhao, yet he could not say much.

After all, this was an General Er Zhu family matter.

In this game, General Er Zhu Rong's black stones had already gained the advantage.

As Yuan Tianmu responded, he felt unable to hold on. However, his mind at this moment was not on the game.

"Third Brother handled this matter truly brilliantly! Since Wan Ziqizhen has rebelled, next, the Jin region is likely to see beacon fires rise everywhere!"

A hint of pride appeared on General Er Zhu Rong's handsome face as he smiled slightly:

"Currently, Wei Kegu is besieging the Wu Chuan and Huaishuo garrisons. Yuan Shen is hesitant, delaying sending reinforcements, fearing that the surrounding Chie tribes will rebel just like the Six Garrisons. The Grand Administrator of the Eastern Route, Yu, is no match for Liuohan Baling and will surely be defeated sooner or later. Once the Jin region falls into chaos again, the Luoyang side will surely panic!"

The Jin region is the passage connecting Luoyang to Pingcheng, and simultaneously the northern shield of Luoyang.

Once this area loses control, the entire Luoyang will face enormous risk.

Hearing General Er Zhu Rong's words, Yuan Tianmu worriedly said:

"If the Jin region falls into great chaos, the court will likely send Li Chong to lead an army north to quell the rebellion. Once Li Chong arrives, some matters will be difficult to handle. Tianbao, when do you plan to make your move?"

General Er Zhu Rong paid no mind, placed the final stone, and ended the game.

"Wait a bit longer; the situation is not chaotic enough yet."

Looking at the game, General Er Zhu Rong brushed away the fallen leaves drifting onto the board; his pair of deep eyes seemed to have already seen through the treacherous situation in Luoyang.

"The court's troops are few, and Li Chong, this sleeping tiger, has already grown old and will not easily head north again."

Taiping Village.

Carrying a bundle, Jia Sixie, despite Hou Jing's dissuasion, insisted on leaving.

"Mr., wait a bit longer!"

"Even if you cut my throat today, I am still leaving!"

To drive the honest Jia Sixie to this state shows how much grievance he has suffered these days.

Looking at Hou Jing, Jia Sixie was very angry.

"Not a single... not even one person in your village is willing to learn from me; if that were the case, I would stay! But is there?"

Just at this moment, Li Shuang walked out carrying a bowl of oil-splashed noodles.

Glancing at the time, it was nearly noon, he said leisurely:

"Taiping Village needs Mr. very much, but if Mr. wishes to leave, then go!"

Upon hearing these words, not only Hou Jing, but even Jia Sixie was stunned.

He immediately straightened his attire and bowed with clasped hands:

"In that case, I, Jia, will take my leave first!"

"My Lord, how could you just let him go?"

Li Shuang smiled with delight.

"It won't be long before he returns."

"My Lord, if he can return, I, Hou, will write my surname backwards."

Before Hou Jing could finish speaking, Jia Sixie, who had just been eager to return, had not gone far before turning back.

Amidst Hou Jing's surprised gaze, Jia Sixie approached Li Shuang and bowed, saying:

"I think Brother Li is right; I feel Taiping Village still needs me and cannot just leave like this!"

Hou Jing looked at the panicked Jia Sixie, as if beasts were following behind him.

"What thing has scared you like this?"

Hou Jing muttered and went to the lookout post to investigate, only to see a large army rushing towards Taiping Village, numbering four or five thousand!

Seeing this, Hou Jing hurriedly came to report the news!

"My Lord, Qifu Moyu and that bastard are leading a massive army to attack, surrounding our village!"

Outside Taiping Village.

"Leader, I fear doing this will offend General Er Zhu Rong?"

Qifu Moyu was not worried in the slightest.

"I have investigated clearly; he is merely a mountain bandit who dared to pretend to be an official from Luoyang to deceive me, causing me to lose both face and substance."

Qifu Moyu looked at Taiping Village in the distance, his face showing a fierce light.

"Today I will slaughter his village, so he knows my power."

"But I heard General Er Zhu Rong secured an official post for this Li Shuang; killing him, I fear, will offend the court!"

Qifu Moyu glanced at this unseeing subordinate who kept reminding him, and slapped him across the face.

"What is there to fear? I do not believe the court will go against me for this group of Han people; if truly provoked, I too will, just like Wanzi Qizhen, rebel against the damn thing!"

Qifu Moyu was about to organize his men to attack when he saw the wooden gate of Taiping Village slowly open, and a cavalry unit subsequently galloped out.

"They still dare to come out to meet their death..."

But seeing hundreds of fully armored heavy cavalry file out one by one, Qifu Moyu's expression, which had just been extremely fierce, changed in an instant.

"Leader, we..."

"What is there to fear? We have not yet torn off the mask; there is still room to talk!"

He held back the soldiers under his command, rode forward with his subordinate, thinking that since he had not truly attacked, there was still room for negotiation.

Qifu Moyu forced a smile onto his face and said in a gentle voice:

"I have come to visit Colonel Li Shuang; I wonder if he..."

Before Qifu Moyu could finish speaking as he approached, those hundreds of armored soldiers charged directly forward.

Swords rose and fell, blood sprayed; a faint smile remained on Qifu Moyu's face, but his head fell to the ground right there.

Then, these hundreds of armored soldiers charged into Qifu Moyu's army of thousands, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, cutting and slashing at will!

Inside Taiping Village, Jia Sixie, watching all this, stood frozen in place.

Were these the villagers of Taiping Village he had spent day and night with these past days?

If there were an army of one hundred thousand like this, how could the world not be settled?

Thinking this, Jia Sixie looked at Li Shuang, and his gaze was different.

"Mr., what do you think is why Qin unified the world?"

Li Shuang's words brought Jia Sixie back to his senses, and he spoke:

"It began with Lord Shang's reforms!"

"Lord Shang's reforms focused on the two words 'farming and war'; since Yongjia, the reason our Han family lost the world also lies in losing these two words."

Li Shuang spoke slowly:

"Farming without war makes security hard to maintain; war without farming makes long-term survival impossible."

Pausing for a moment, Li Shuang's gaze shifted from the bloody battlefield to the distant sky, and he said solemnly one sentence.

"Mr., that you are very important to me is not a joke."

Jia Sixie looked at the young man before him eating oily noodles, and his emotions suddenly surged.

At this moment, there seemed to be light upon him!