Chapter 7: Border Soldiers

Cao Er did not hope for Longmen Stronghold and Guanzi Mountain to form a joint camp.

Very simply, because his background was that of the gentry of Mianxian.

A joint camp between Longmen Stronghold and Guanzi Mountain involved the fundamental interests of the Mianxian gentry in Longmen Stronghold: the iron mines and well salt of Nanshan in Longmen Stronghold. What they needed was the military strength of Longmen Stronghold to guard this business, not some rebel bandits seeking to overthrow Great Ming.

So initially, although he did not trust Li You, he did not wish to speak up to stop it, after all, what Li You had said earlier aligned with his interests.

But Cao Er's current temptation had long since exceeded this scope, so he cleared his throat and began to speak...

"The 'crime of entrapping a prince' mentioned by Scholar Li truly opens my mind... so the joint camp need not proceed for now. As for Scholar Li..."

Cao Er, speaking thus, looked at Wu Zhuge and said, "I am too busy at Nanshan; my subordinates are all illiterate fools. Why not let Scholar Li, who is your relative, condescend to go to Nanshan first and serve as my accountant or scribe?"

Wu Zhuge felt somewhat displeased in his heart, but Longmen Stronghold was vast, with each faction having its own mountain stronghold; it was not something one person could decide alone, and moreover, Cao Er held a very special position in Longmen Stronghold.

He calmed down, thinking that Li You's background indeed had not been investigated, so he could not be trusted lightly.

In the current times, although there were scholars who rebelled, such as "Lamp-Lighter" Zhao Sheng and "Crash-the-Sky" Liu Guoneng, not every scholar was willing to risk everything.

Besides, even if Li You wanted to join the band, the mountain gate still had its own rules.

Without a recommender, without weapons as a pledge of loyalty, wanting to recommend oneself to enter the mountain would at best make one a "cub," sent to charge and fight as cannon fodder; only after enduring one or two years and surviving could one sit at the table to eat with the others!

Such a leap to become a chief accountant would not satisfy the crowd and would violate the professional rules.

He pondered for a moment, thinking that although his personal guard, Sun Juanmao, was from Shuzhou Shop, he had once been a son-in-law in Qingjian County; why not let him first probe Li You's background?

So he nodded and said, "You must take good care of him; Scholar Li is my honored guest! Do not truly make him a cub soldier."

Li You felt somewhat angry in his heart.

His current thought was naturally to survive first, but the initial goal of survival was to gradually squeeze into the central government, and then decide according to the situation.

After all, the world outside was too chaotic, and winter was coming soon; the hope of surviving as a refugee was too slim, so this place was more practical.

As for the reckless method of chopping down two people like yesterday, forget it; even if strength increased, how many could one chop down?

But this Cao Er insisted on taking him to some broken Nanshan to be a scribe? And where exactly was Nanshan? What kind of place was it?

"Thank you, Second Master, but I have an uninvited request." Li You performed the high crossed-hand salute of the Jianghu, clasping his fist and bowing until it reached his forehead,

pointing at Wu Dading, who was half-lying against the stone mill, and said, "That is my servant boy; he has traveled with me all the way..."

"Naturally, he stays."

Wu Zhuge waved to interrupt Li You; at this moment, his gaze fell again upon the six people locked up with Li You.

Li You then discovered that these six were wearing tattered red padded jackets; the originally bright colors had almost faded away, the red military hats on their heads were also in tatters, and on their feet, the red padded shoes had several toes exposed.

These were the standard military uniforms of Great Ming: the Mandarin Duck Battle Jacket, also called the Fat Jacket.

It turned out these six were border soldiers.

"Kneel!" The child soldiers wanted the six to kneel, but the six, though their legs trembled, stubbornly supported themselves and refused to kneel; however, they still could not withstand the beating and finally collapsed sitting on the ground.

"Damn bastards, Short Wu, victory belongs to the winner and defeat to the loser; I, Gao Conglong, admit defeat. Kill or flay me, do it quickly, and stop making me sick in front of me," roared the man with a bushy beard on the far left.

"Yes, don't be so damn indecisive; hurry up and take this eight-and-a-half-pound head of mine. Make a sound, and I, Guan Hongxin, am not someone who pees standing up," shouted a long-faced man with a dark complexion beside Gao Conglong.

"Ah, both are heroes!" Zhang Zhuanggen, sitting on the platform, glanced sideways at the two, then sneered at the tall man in the middle and the two beside him who had been frowning: "Master Li, Master Zhou, I know you are capable, have been on battlefields, seen grand formations, and possess skills with your hands.

Last month when we invited you to join, you stubbornly refused, looking down on us bandits with our roguish ways... but when we went out for a spring outing, you came to ambush our Longmen Stronghold. Do you really think Longmen Stronghold is a bunch of cowards?"

The tall man, called "Master Li," was named Li Qinxiang; he glanced contemptuously at Zhang Zhuanggen and only looked at Wu Zhuge, saying, "We are not on the same path; what is there to join?"

Zhou Yin, standing nearby, immediately fixed his gaze on Shi Dayong, who was drinking alone, and suddenly spoke: "If General Shi knew in the heavens that he had given birth to such a mountain bandit and horse thief, he would regret not drowning you in a urine bucket back then."

This sudden dialogue made many people in the parade ground pause; even Wu Zhuge, who had words on his lips, swallowed them back and looked at Shi Dayong, who was holding a wine pot nearby.

Shi Dayong's body clearly froze; he sat up slightly, and his scattered gaze finally lowered to look at Zhou Yin, who was speaking.

He opened his eyes wide to look carefully for a moment, then spoke again in a drunken manner: "No need for long speeches! What 'Shit General' or 'Urine General'? Such nonsense, or perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else."

Having finished speaking, he continued to drink drunkenly, paying no more attention.

Wu Zhuge thought that these six border soldiers were just relying on their ability to forge iron and make swords, spears, and firearms to be treated as honored guests by the big and small bands nearby, then living off them!

Their arrogant and aloof appearance was even more annoying to look at; since they could not be used, they should be chopped down early to avoid being recruited by the strongholds of Maobian and Qiganshan.

These six soldiers had voluntarily made room for him and Wu Dading in the water prison last night, and from the cursing just now,

he roughly guessed that these six were unwilling to join forces with the bandits, and when Wu Zhuge had gone out with all his forces, they had returned to raid, which is why they were captured.

With such courage, they were indeed truly formidable men, far superior to the chaotic soldiers of the present.

"Jinku, take a few brothers, dig a pit; it's been a long time since I've seen the 'One Zhang White' of the sky-flower; use these six bastards to crack open their skulls and see if Little Si's skills have regressed."

Wu Zhuge laughed loudly; the man standing on the left side of the platform like a post immediately received the order and called people to dig a pit.

Li Qinxiang, Zhou Yin, Guan Hongxin, Wang Tingxing, and others, upon hearing about the "One Zhang White" of the sky-flower, immediately turned pale, losing all the heroic spirit they had earlier, yet they remained silent, and no one spoke to beg for mercy.

"Heh, my skills are excellent; Second Master, watch closely; I guarantee the brain will spray high and straight!"

A man lying under the eaves on the right suddenly became animated; he laughed loudly at Wu Zhuge on the platform; as he spoke, the tumors on his forehead and face trembled constantly, as if ready to burst at any moment, which was extremely terrifying.

Li You remembered this person clearly; outside the Lueyang city gate, he was the one who first killed an old woman full of firewood and tree bark and a three-year-old child, and along the way, two women also died at his hands, one of whom was a girl of at most fifteen years old.

The leader named Niu Jinku, leading six or seven men, had already started digging a pit in front of the woods.

Many bandits who were previously lying or reclining suddenly became animated and stood up one by one.

However, there were still some people who remained unmoved; they had never been interested in such torture and humiliation from the beginning, and even found it somewhat repulsive.

Li You, retreating to the right side below the platform, withdrew his gaze and fell upon the six people forced to kneel before him, his eyes wandering over their faces.

Finally, it fell upon the round-faced man beside Gao Conglong; rather than a man, he was more like a teenager; on his yellowish face, only a few sparse hairs grew, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

This person was Gao Conglong's younger brother, named Gao Conghu.

Gao Conghu obviously knew what was coming next; his eyes wandered restlessly, and finally met Li You's gaze, filled entirely with the desire and urgency for life.

Li You frowned, his lips pressed tightly together...