Chapter 454

One operation was as fierce as a tiger, yet Gu Wenjie still ran away.

This made Chen Wuji extremely regretful.

That bastard actually took advantage of the chaos to swap clothes with his subordinates, pulling a golden cicada shedding its shell.

Thousands of Bīngmǎ in mighty array chased after that fake one, hacking wildly; only after catching him did they realize it was a fake, while the real Gu Wenjie had already vanished.

"Commandant, it's certain that after coming down from the cliff, that brat went into the mountains." By the side of a small stream with murmuring water, Chen Li flipped the fish on the grill and voiced his speculation.

The fish were just caught from the stream after the army rested; five or six of them, not big nor small, barely enough to stuff a tooth gap, a little snack.

"That must be it; our troops pursued him relentlessly, he didn't have that much time to escape!" Chen Wuji affirmed Chen Li's speculation, "Don't worry, he can get away on the first day but not the fifteenth."

"Old Yang should also be outside Hezhou City; he'll definitely give him a big surprise."

After descending the Ancient Road carved into the cliff, they went deep into Xia Gu; the mountains on both sides were places where no one had been seen for years, thorns everywhere, weeds overgrown.

Even if Gu Wenjie had fled into the mountains, he surely wouldn't have it easy.

Chen Wuji felt uneasy just looking at those mountains.

"No need to worry about him; we'll set up camp here today, tomorrow we'll ease our pace and leisurely head to Hezhou." Chen Wuji ordered, "Also, keep an eye on those surrendered troops; later bring the highest-ranking official among them to see me."

"Yes!"

Chen Baojia suddenly stood up, "Commandant, since we're setting up camp, I'll go catch a few more fish!"

"How can you have such stamina, kid?" Chen Wuji asked in surprise.

Chen Baojia muttered, "I didn't get to cut down any enemies, my hands are itchy, I'm looking for something to do."

Chen Wuji blinked, turned to Chen Li and asked, "Is this kid resentful that I didn't give him a chance to fight? Does he have complaints?"

"Seems so, but the complaint probably isn't big." Chen Li laughed.

Chen Wuji chuckled, "What kind of soldiers and generals have I raised?"

All in all, it's rather surprising.

"Commandant, the fish are grilled."

Chen Li took a fish from the grill by the fire and handed it to Chen Wuji.

This kind of fish looks very much like a small yellow croaker; after grilling it gives off a faint fresh fragrance, the flesh is tender and springy, and even without any seasoning it tastes delicious.

"Give one to the Presented Scholar." Chen Wuji said after taking a bite, ordering Chen Li.

Yuan Jinshi finally, through relentless effort and persistent persuasion, managed to sneak into Chen Wuji's Personal Guard Lìng, but his duty remains merely serving tea and water; to this day he hasn't drawn a blade.

In today's battle, he initially stood beside Chen Wuji, but being small in stature, he was snatched by the rear personal guards and dragged to the back, then the rear guards grabbed him again and pulled him further back.

By the time Yuan Jinshi reacted, he had already ended up standing together with Chen Baojia of the rear army.

Thus, the two watched the front-line fighting with extreme boredom, having no chance at all.

"Thank you, sir."

Yuan Jinshi turned his head to see Chen Baojia, who had rolled up his pant legs and was frantically looking for trouble with the fish.

He also wanted to go spearfish.

"Tomorrow leave some soldiers to send the fallen troops home." Chen Wuji finished the small yellow croaker in a few bites, then tossed the fish-spearing stick into the fire.

"Also, remember to tally the troops' Military Merit, separating that of the fallen from the survivors. Since Mr. Xu and Li Run aren't here this time, these tasks will have to fall hard on Shi Yi Shu."

Chen Li agreed to each point, then raised his hand and passed another fish to Chen Wuji.

Chen Wuji took a bite of fish, furrowed his brow and asked, "Shi Yi Shu, where do you think we could find scholars on a large scale?"

He is currently so lacking in talent that he's almost going crazy.

Dividing the troops to fight has already begun, and it will only become more inevitable.

By then the army won't even have a single clerk responsible for recording Military Merit, which will be quite a hassle.

The overall cultural level of these troops is deeply worrying; there's basically no possibility of promoting someone from within.

A soldier who can memorize the Thousand Character Classic and write most of its characters is already a cultured person standing at the top of the military.

In such a troop of that caliber, trying to find someone capable of recording Military Merit is quite difficult.

Chen Li gave a wry smile and said, "This is indeed somewhat difficult; actually there are not a few scholars in Yunan City, even many xiucai and juren elders, but for some reason they all like to pretend to be illiterate rustics."

Chen Wuji's expression lit up instantly, "There's such a thing? How come I didn't know?"

"I've only heard this through hearsay as well; in fact I've never actually seen one." Chen Li explained.

"However, in Yunan City all sorts of odd things aren't considered odd; perhaps this is indeed true. But these people deliberately disguise themselves as illiterate rustics, and with so many ordinary folks in the city we can't tell them apart, so we can't just go door-to-door asking."

Chen Wuji's mind stirred, "Eight or nine out of ten scholars in Yunan City are exiles who committed crimes; they probably have connections among themselves. Having been exiled for their crimes, they may pretend to be unlearned scholars as a way to keep a low profile."

"As for the reason, it doesn't matter if we can't figure it out; but if we find one person, we should be able to draw out a whole string of scholars. After we return victorious, we need to think of a way."

Sticking together in groups is quite normal.

Looking at Zhuge Liang's situation while hiding in Xiangyang, and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, you can guess about seventy or eighty percent.

Leaving aside the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, what kind of people did Zhuge Liang associate with?

They were basically all elite celebrities.

From the top: the trusted Cai Kaiqi and Pang Pangshanmin of Liu Biao, the scholar Huang Chengyan, the Water Mirror Master Sima Hui, Pang De Gong, and others.

Down to Zhuge Liang's four friends Xu Shu, Cui Zhouping, Meng Jian, Shi Tao, as well as Ma Liang, Ma Su, Pang Tong, and others.

All the famous scholars of Jingzhou know each other.

Yunan may be somewhat special due to politics, but these scholars certainly have private connections; they just keep a low profile because of their criminal status, not daring to be too ostentatious.

"After we return victorious, we should issue a recruitment order to see if we can lure out one or two, then follow the vine to melon." Chen Wuji's lips curled up.

That vague rumor from Chen Li instantly gave him a glimmer of hope.

If it weren't for that remark, he would have almost believed that Yunan had hardly any scholars.

Chen Wuji is also quite familiar with the mingling in Yunan, but to be honest, the scholars he sees most often are just shopkeepers and accountants.

Besides that…

Really none!

On the main street, you wouldn't see anyone wearing a scholar's robe; Qin Feng was the only one.

Even a strategist as renowned as Xu Zengyi, who deals with coffins all day, one can imagine what others are like—eh, would Xu Zengyi know?