Chapter 625

In a secluded corner of the Xianya front courtyard, Xie Jichuan and Wei Shu pushed Feng Lincheng into a corner against the wall.

"Lincheng, I'm telling you, what the hell is up with your guts? When you were killing mountain bandits and horse thieves, you were like a killing god possessed, your eyes turned red, your blade got nicked, and you didn't stop. How come when it's something crucial to your own future, you've turned cowardly like a woman?" Xie Jichuan grabbed Feng Lincheng's collar and shouted in frustration.

"This is an outright disgrace to the prestige of our Dingbian Two Rivers!"

Feng Lincheng raised his neck, helplessly said: "I… being a bit cowardly, isn't that reasonable? You make it sound like you don't get scared when you see the Brigade Commander, but for us little folks, who isn't scared standing before him? You two better not spout nonsense."

"Being cowardly, I admit that, but we haven't been cowardly to this extent, have we?" Xie Jichuan shouted, "Regardless of success or failure, just give it a try, won't that work?"

Feng Lincheng said gloomily: "Isn't it just that I'm afraid of failing? Being cowardly toward the Brigade Commander is one thing, but being even more cowardly would waste this opportunity. Becoming a Great General is not only my lifelong obsession, but also restoring my family's name through Military Merit, and even more, it's the obsession of our whole family and clan; it cannot be taken lightly, do you understand?"

"Understood!" Wei Shu nodded, "But does the Brigade Commander really seem that hard to talk to? Not succeeding now doesn't mean the Brigade Commander looks down on you, nor does it mean he'll ruin your future opportunities."

"Exactly, the Brigade Commander is actually quite easy to talk to!" Xie Jichuan said.

Feng Lincheng let out a gloomy sigh, "You… like this, you let me be quiet, I'll think it over myself, and once I've decided I'll tell you."

"What the hell are you still thinking about? The army has already set out!" Wei Shu shouted, "You didn't hear the drumming just now? The beat was so intense it felt like they wanted to break the drum—this is an urgent troop mobilization, there's pressing military news."

"You're acting like you know more than me, but I certainly heard it—there's urgent military news, the setting out is probably just one detachment of troops; it couldn't be the whole army setting out, there's still time." Feng Lincheng said.

Wei Shu jerked his neck up, "Your ears—honestly, I don't think you need them at all!"

"You definitely understand military drums better than I do, but your ears are surely not as good as mine—just now a few drums sounded, were there any bugle calls? How many detachments did the Brigade Commander bring this time? If it's not a full army mobilization, I'll chew the outside drums raw in front of you."

Feng Lincheng jolted, "Really? The whole army is setting out?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

"But with urgent military news, how could the whole army suddenly set out? That's too hasty."

"We don't know where, but there's definitely an urgent battle ahead." Xie Jichuan said, "Earlier, a unit left Dingbian; I guess they ran into something, and the Brigade Commander, in anger, mustered the big army to rush to their aid."

"Of course, I was just speaking off the cuff; you can just listen casually, and all we can say is that this possibility is fairly big. No, are you going or not? If you don't go, you really won't have a chance—the Brigade Commander's army is setting out, and when they return victorious they definitely won't pass through Dingbian."

"Go!" Feng Lincheng said firmly, "Wait for me, I'm going to see the Brigade Commander right now."

Wei Shu burst out laughing, "Now that's more like it—if you've got the guts, keep being cowardly and still lecture me; you're lecturing me about chicken feathers."

Saying that, he hooked an arm around Xie Jichuan's neck, "County Magistrate, let's go drink flower wine later—we haven't seen Miss Lingyu in a while, and I really miss her."

"Drink to drown sorrow, then lie in a beauty's embrace?" Xie Jichuan asked with a laugh.

Wei Shu shook his head sharply, "What sorrow are we drinking to drown? Our futures have long been planned by the Brigade Commander—on the day he held a banquet, I happened to be a guest and overheard something by chance."

The Commander seems intent on sending us to the prefecture; you and I both know what Guangtongzhou is like, and with a swing of the Commander's knife, the corrupt officials in the prefecture probably won't have many left—us two won't be far behind either.

'Really?' Xie Jichuan suddenly became excited.

'Naturally it's true; although it was the Commander's drunken words, it should be genuine.'

'By the way, what's up with Linchuan?'

'Yes, we three will all go. But Linchuan's heart is on the battlefield, wanting to win merit and a future on horseback, so for now we shouldn't tell him—he already overthinks things, his mind is complicated, and if I tell him this, he'll find it even harder to make up his mind.'

Xie Jichuan nodded, 'That's right.'

Damn it, after all these years my daughter-in-law has finally become a mother-in-law. Today I'm hosting guests, you shouldn't keep thinking about your Miss Lingyu—call another one; tonight we'll have a... what's it called... double... double what?

Wei Shu shook his head and sighed, 'You've wasted all those years drinking flower wine for nothing, and what's this "double" nonsense? It's all about pairs, hahaha.'

'Too excited, I can't think of it right now, but whatever—laborers, we've got to pair up today, let's go!' Xie Jichuan shouted.

……

When Feng Linchuan came to pay his respects, Chen Wuji was, with Chen Li's help, putting on his armor.

'It's Linchuan, please sit, please sit.' Chen Wuji raised his hand.

Feng Linchuan didn't sit down; instead, he stood straight, bowed, and with a voice tinged with involuntary nervousness said loudly, 'Commander, I, your subordinate, also wish to join the army and earn military merit to make my way forward.'

'You're not planning to stay a civil official?' Chen Wuji asked with a smile.

'Reporting to the Commander, my lifelong ambition is to gain fame and rank on horseback; being a civil official was merely... I had no choice back then, so I became the County Assistant of this place.' Feng Linchuan said.

'I've actually seen through your thoughts for a long time.' Chen Wuji thought for a moment, 'How about this: I'll give you two options, and you decide.'

'One is the Negotiation Colonel of Guangtongzhou, commanding the provincial troops of this prefecture. I have adjusted the provincial troops under my jurisdiction; you can look into it when you have time. The authority of the Negotiation Colonel has increased—now he commands the troops and horses of one prefecture, but the total troop strength has decreased compared to before, roughly only half of what it was.'

'The other is to be a Brigade Commander, leading six hundred soldiers.'

After hesitating a few breaths, Feng Linchuan clasped his hands and said, 'Commander, I, your subordinate, am willing to serve as Brigade Commander!'

'Have you decided?' Chen Wuji asked.

'I have decided!' Feng Linchuan said, standing tall and speaking with firm resolve.

Chen Wuji nodded, 'Since you've decided, go find Xie Fengxian—you'll serve as a Brigade Commander under him. Troops aren't being assigned to you for now; once the Dingzhou conscripts arrive, you can go pick your own soldiers.'

'Yes!'

Feng Linchuan received the order, hurried out of the office, prepared to tell Xie Jichuan and Wei Shu the good news, but after searching for a while and finding no one, he returned to his room, grabbed his weapons, and hastily went to the camp.

The roll-call drum had been beating for a while; if he didn't go now, he'd truly be late.