Chapter 28: The world receives his grace, the mountains and rivers collapse

Zhou Cheng came back to his senses.

His gaze fell on the clothing of the bearded man, the style was different from the south, he couldn't help but ask:

"This big brother, from the North?"

The big man didn't want to talk much, but seeing the young man's temperament was outstanding in the crowd.

The bearded man was an old hand in the escort agency who traveled south and north, and saw at a glance that although the young man only brought one servant.

But his every move revealed a noble spirit that was born with him, hard to hide.

This young master was either rich or noble, perhaps both.

Having experienced war, he already had a sense of caution and vigilance.

In fact, the world had only been peaceful for a few years.

At this moment, he brought his wife and children from the North to Mount Zhongnan, just to fulfill a vow in the Daoist temple.

The man didn't want to cause trouble and didn't respond.

The child was tiger-headed and tiger-brained, and at this moment had fallen asleep peacefully on his broad shoulders.

The wife guarded by his side, but was a gentle Jiangnan woman.

The two formed a contrast.

Hearing the voice, the woman turned around.

First, she took the child from her husband's shoulder with heartache, and rubbed her husband's shoulder, asking softly:

"If you're tired, just say it, you're always like this!"

There was a bit of blame in her eyes.

The man responded gently: "Not tired."

Zhou Cheng smiled and stepped forward:

"This must be sister-in-law, big brother is really lucky."

The woman just heard the young man speak, and knew that the young man was definitely a noble from the south; this capital elegant language could only be spoken so authentically if one grew up here.

The capital is worth an inch of gold, and living in the capital is not easy.

She pushed her husband slightly.

The big man then opened his mouth sullenly:

"I can't afford to be called big brother by the young master; we are indeed from the North."

Zhou Cheng heard this, and doubt appeared in his brows.

"Big brother, you traveled thousands of miles to this Mount Zhongnan, what for?"

"It can't be for burning incense and praying for blessings!"

The burly man remained silent.

The woman gently held her husband's hand and took over the conversation.

"Young master, do you know who is the most famous on this Mount Zhongnan?"

"Naturally, it's that Lu Shaobao who shakes the four directions." Zhou Cheng answered without hesitation.

The woman smiled lightly:

"Young master must have come for Shaobao, and we couple are also the same."

Her words revealed her reverence for that Shaobao.

Zhou Cheng heard this, and couldn't help but feel a trace of confusion.

He understood that it was impossible for the couple opposite to know his true identity, but they were not wrong; he did come for Lu Chen.

The woman seemed to perceive the confusion in Zhou Cheng's heart; she pointed to the mountain road, which was extremely crowded, where people were moving and pilgrims were like clouds.

Among them, there were many people with similar clothing to their couple, who should be from the North.

"Most of them are from the North, all here to fulfill their vows to Shaobao."

"Fulfill a vow?"

Zhou Cheng heard this, and felt more and more confused.

The woman sighed lightly, with a trace of sorrow in her eyes, and explained slowly:

"In the past, I followed my father north to take office, and happened to encounter the Northern Wind iron cavalry going south, beacon smoke everywhere, the North was looted, and my father finally died there; he was a Southerner, but his soul returned to the North."

Zhou Cheng heard this, and he roughly outlined the woman's life experience.

She was originally from an official family and moved north because of her father's transfer.

The family should not have been powerful, otherwise, how could they be placed in the war-torn North.

"I wanted to die to show my ambition, not wanting to be humiliated by the enemy. Fortunately, my husband saved my life, and I have today."

The man heard this, held his wife's hand tightly, and gave her silent comfort.

"But," the woman continued, "there were many refugees fleeing that year, and my husband and I went south with more than thirty thousand people; although we took care of each other, the target was too big and became the target of the Northern light cavalry."

"They chased relentlessly, but didn't wipe us out, instead forcing us to Fengling Ferry."

"The young master might not have heard of this place name, but in my heart, it is a place I will never forget in this life."

Zhou Cheng nodded; he was well-versed in military strategy and knew the terrain of the North like the back of his hand.

"Fengling Ferry, the key ferry of the Yellow River, directly down to Tongguan, one water separates north and south, the Central Plains spirit is complete. This place is the intersection of three provinces, and passing it can go directly into the south; its strategic position is no less than Hulao Pass."

Chen Ji, on the side, was slightly proud:

"My young master is knowledgeable, knows astronomy and geography, read ten thousand books at the age of nine, is knowledgeable, how could he not know a place like Fengling Ferry!"

The woman heard this, and if it was really so, she couldn't help but look at this young master with three more points of respect.

In this era, having ten books in the family was already a wealthy family, let alone reading ten thousand books

Zhou Cheng gave Chen Ji a look of disapproval.

Chen Ji hurriedly shut his mouth.

The burly man to the side, however, spoke coldly at this moment:

"The garrison commander of Fengling Ferry, facing the threat of a fifty-thousand-strong Northern Wind army, resolutely declared: 'While the lives of fifty thousand people are indeed precious, how can they be mentioned in the same breath as the safety of the nation?'"

Zhou Cheng nodded inwardly; fifty thousand iron cavalry, fifty thousand commoners, all like fish on a chopping block.

Once Fengling Ferry was breached, the Northern Wind could bypass Hulao Pass.

The burly man sneered: "I hate those types the most—people who talk about the common people of the world all day long, while harboring nothing but selfish, treacherous thoughts in their hearts. They have spineless bones and act like petty villains."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cheng gave a leisurely smile.

The woman continued:

"We thought we couldn't escape death, but who would have thought that after the Lu Shaobao learned of this, he would bring nine thousand Lu Family Army soldiers through the night to reach us."

Mentioning this, tears shimmered in the burly man's eyes, as if he had returned to that desperate moment when the Northern Wind howled and the iron cavalry surged like a tide.

Trapped in a desperate situation, someone else risked their life to save them.

Who wouldn't shed tears!

A man does not easily shed tears; it is only because the moment of deep emotion has not yet arrived.

"I still clearly remember what the Lu Shaobao looked like when he arrived; he was covered in blood, his entire body able only to slump over the horse's back."

"Having encountered several major battles on the road, the Lu Shaobao hadn't closed his eyes for several nights. Coupled with the cold winds of the north, he had long since fallen gravely ill, yet he couldn't let go of the safety of the thirty thousand commoners and came in person."

"By then, he could barely hold on, yet he still said with his lips:"

"I'm late."

"I, Lu Shenzhou, am late. I have let you all suffer."

As the burly man spoke of this, his lips trembled, and his voice grew lower.

"The nine thousand Lu Family Army soldiers fought a bloody battle against the fifty thousand Northern Wind iron cavalry, beheading eight thousand of the enemy. Only three thousand Lu Family Army brothers remained. The Lu Family Army was fearless in the face of death, and they frightened the Northern Wind into retreating."

Zhou Cheng frowned; he knew the battle reports of the Lu Family Army in the north from those years by heart, and he remembered there being no mention of the Fengling Ferry incident.

The burly man said with some resentment:

"Fengling Ferry didn't send a single soldier or officer from start to finish. When the great battle finally ended, the Lu Shaobao called for the city gates to be opened."

"That garrison commander negotiated terms: the battle merit would go to him, and the city gates would open."

"The Lu Shaobao agreed."

The burly man didn't know what came over him, but he suddenly said with some melancholy:

"The Lu Shaobao agreed without the slightest hesitation."

"At that time, many among the thirty thousand commoners wanted to join the Lu Family Army, but they were all refused by the Lu Shaobao."

The burly man could no longer control his voice, choking up more and more.

"The Lu Shaobao smiled and said..."

"Outsiders, go home early."

By the time the burly man said this, his voice was hoarse, and hot tears welled in his eyes.

"If it weren't for the fact that I still had to protect A Ru back then—I really couldn't rest easy leaving a girl like her—I would have knelt down and begged the Lu Shaobao to let me lead his horse and hold his whip."

A Ru was the woman's name.

The woman held the child in one arm and gripped the man's hand tightly with the other.

The burly man said: "The Lu Shaobao said back then, go home early, get married, and have children. Once you have a child, there will be hope. If you really have one, just remember to tell him."

In a single conversation, hearts are bared; a man's promise is worth a thousand taels of gold.

"Having promised the Lu Shaobao back then, how could we dare to break our word."

"Compared to the Lu Shaobao's three days and three nights of rushing a thousand miles, what does our journey from the north count for?"

The burly man gently stroked the child in the woman's arms, his eyes filled with deep emotion:

"Later, the Lu Shaobao retired to Mount Zhongnan. Now this child is already three years old. Some things were delayed over these three years, so my wife and I thought that no matter what, we had to come this year to tell the Lu Shaobao."

"Whether the Lu Shaobao knows or not, my wife and I had to come."

"We call this fulfilling a vow!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cheng looked carefully at the people on the mountain path wearing the same attire as the burly man, and to his surprise, many of them were also carrying children.

The burly man smiled:

"Young Master, there is no need to look; only thirty thousand of us were saved by the Lu Shaobao back then, but who knows how many tens of millions in the north have received the Lu Shaobao's grace."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cheng couldn't help but think of when Lu Chen resigned and retired.

There were ministers in the imperial court who submitted secret memorials.

"Please kill Lu Chen."

The reason was:

"The whole world has received his grace; once he harbors any ulterior motives, I fear the mountains and rivers will be overturned."

(End of this chapter)