Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 218 Gradually Taking Shape
In view of the hidden injury on Hasar's right hand, Gong Tianwu gave him the Demon Crane Crossbow to use. In this way, he should have no problem protecting himself.

After listening to this, Hasar nodded. When he returned, although two of the four herdsmen were killed, he brought back six war horses and cut off three bloody heads.

This made Gong Tianwu quite satisfied. With these three heads as military merits, his next plan could be implemented more smoothly.

***
Ten days later,

The aftermath of this war is gradually settling.
Many details were also revealed, and the spearhead began to be directed at Chen Feidi, the eldest son of Zhenbei Hou. It was said that he had serious differences of opinion with the generals around him at the time, and the two sides even had a fierce quarrel.

Finally, Chen Feidi led his personal guards and forced his way out, intending to attack the Naiman tribe's tent overnight. The rest of the generals were forced to follow him because they could not afford the consequences of the crown prince's capture.

Chen Feidi's behavior is actually very extreme. If it succeeds, it would be called foresight and foresight.

Unfortunately, he failed, so he was accused of being willful, self-willed, and domineering.
Unfortunately, his actions also had very serious consequences.

After the battle, thousands of soldiers under the command of Marquis Zhenbei were buried on the grassland, and more than a thousand people were injured and disabled, and were forced to retire from the front line.

For the entire Zhenbeihou military system, this is definitely a blow that hurts the bones.

Moreover, although the Naimans were defeated in the end of this battle, it also meant that the benefits gained after the war were very limited, and not even many Naimans were killed.

After all, for the Hu people on the grassland, being defeated is not a big defeat. They are extremely familiar with this strategy transformation.

Under such circumstances, Chen Feidi's position as the crown prince was even somewhat precarious. After all, in these troubled times, the rule that must be upheld is that the capable will be given the upper hand.

Against this background, Gong Tianwu also felt that the time was ripe, so he decided to have a good talk with his father. Too low-key would only make others look down upon.

After all, after these days of observation, Gong Tianwu felt that Chen Yunsheng was also a good father and could barely act fairly.

Soon, Gong Tianwu found a good opportunity. After all, although Chen Yunsheng is a noble Zhenbei Hou, if a son wants to talk to his father, he still has a lot of opportunities.

So very quickly, Gong Tianwu entered the study.

It was not long after dinner and the candlelight in the study was flickering, making Chen Yunsheng's face appear bright and dim.

He sat upright on a rosewood chair. He had a sturdy figure, broad shoulders and a thick back. He was wearing a dark purple brocade robe embroidered with dark unicorn patterns.

The furnishings in the study were simple and elegant. On the wall hung a painting called "A Map of Mountains and Rivers", on which border fortresses were outlined with red ink, and mountains and rivers were clearly visible. On the desk stood a bronze Qilin paperweight, and next to it were piles of military reports and memorials.

Chen Yunsheng held a cup of tea in his hand. The aroma of the tea was wafting in the air, but it couldn't conceal the iron-blooded aura of a veteran on the battlefield.

He stared at Gong Tianwu standing in front of him with a deep look, his tone was plain but with unquestionable majesty:
"Tell me what you want to see me about."

Gong Tianwu bowed slightly, his tone respectful but not humble:
"Father, something happened when you left home, so my child did a few things without authorization. I'll report to you."

Chen Yunsheng put down the teacup, which made a slight sound when it hit the rosewood table. He said calmly:

"What's the matter?"

Gong Tianwu raised his head, his eyes calm:
"My third uncle Cui Ziyang usually does business in the city, so he is well-informed. He accidentally found out that the Xu family of Baosheng was colluding with the Naiman tribe. The situation was urgent at the time, so he had no choice but to report to the governor's office."

Chen Yunsheng raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of surprise in his eyes:
"Oh? I have heard a little about this matter, but I didn't expect the source to be here."

Gong Tianwu continued:
"Secondly, the child rescued a Hu man from the grassland in the city, named Hasar."

"I didn't expect this man to be so talented. He is a master archer among the Takgan tribe. He was able to predict the time when the Naiman people would evacuate. He then led a few herdsmen to hunt down the remnants of the Naiman tribe and captured six horses and four heads."

When Chen Yunsheng heard this, his eyes were full of surprise. He pondered for a moment and asked:
"Why weren't these things reported earlier?"

Gong Tianwu lowered his head and replied:
"The situation in the mansion was not good a few days ago. My third uncle said that it was not the time to report it, for fear of being hated."

Chen Yunsheng stared at Gong Tianwu with a deep gaze, as if he could see through his thoughts. After a moment, he slowly said:

"This matter is of great importance. I need to send someone to verify it."

Gong Tianwu's expression remained unchanged, and he said respectfully:
"Father, I know what I said.

Chen Yunsheng nodded and suddenly asked:

"Did you come to me this time to ask me for something?"

Gong Tianwu raised his head and smiled bitterly:
"I have many brothers, and I am a bastard. My mother's status is even lower, so I have no intention of coveting the position of the crown prince."

"I will soon be fifteen years old. According to the custom of the palace, once I turn sixteen, I must leave the palace to venture out. I have no maternal family to rely on."

"So I'm here to ask for a reward for my second uncle Cui Zicheng. It would be best if he could get an official patrol status. The heads that Hasar kills can be given to him as a reward."

After hearing this, Chen Yunsheng suddenly asked:
"Did someone teach you the above words?"

“Ah?” Gong Tianwu immediately acted like an actor, and said in a panic: “No, no.”

Chen Yunsheng's face suddenly darkened and he said:

"to be frank!"

Gong Tianwu immediately became speechless, and said with some difficulty:
"Yes, yes. Some of them were taught to me by my third uncle, some were told by Hasar, but some are my own thoughts."

Chen Yunsheng said in a deep voice:

"Then I want to know your real thoughts. What do you think?"

Gong Tianwu was silent for a while, and suddenly said in a trembling voice:

"I don't want to stay here, really!"

"Everyone in the Marquis' Mansion is envied by outsiders, but for me, I don't feel any friendship here at all. Everyone looks down on me."

"Although they didn't say it explicitly, their eyes seemed to be mocking me, saying that my mother was of low status!!"

"I want to get out of here soon, I want to get out of this place that makes me breathless."

By the end of the story, Gong Tianwu was already in tears!

This time it was Chen Yunsheng who remained silent. He looked at his son and knew very well that he was telling the truth. After a long while, Chen Yunsheng sighed and said:
"Since you have become my son, you are destined to bear these things."

Gong Tianwu choked up and said:

"Yes, I know, father, I'm at least much higher than those ordinary people outside, and I don't know how many people envy my identity."

Chen Yunsheng nodded, with a hint of approval in his eyes. He slowly stood up, walked to Gong Tianwu, and patted him on the shoulder:

"You gave the head that Hasar had cut off to Cui Zicheng, aren't you afraid that Hasar will have objections?"

Gong Tianwu said: "This matter was proposed by Kasar."

Chen Yunsheng said:

"okay, I get it."

Gong Tianwu calmed down a little, bowed and said with a respectful tone:
"Thank you father for making it happen."

Chen Yunsheng looked at him and suddenly sighed:

"Seventh Brother, I never thought that you look a bit like me when I was young. Go ahead and gain experience. Don't let me down."

Gong Tianwu lowered his head and replied:
"The child will remember his father's teachings."

He left the study and turned away. The moonlight shone on his back, making him look particularly cold and lonely.

Chen Yunsheng stood at the door, looking at his back, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

To be honest, he is in a bad mood these days, just because he usually put too much hope for the prince Chen Feidi, but the facts prove that this child is very arrogant and low-key.

However, the seventh brother, who was usually looked down upon, actually seemed to stand out.

In the study, candlelight swayed, reflecting the "Mountain and River Map" on the wall, as if indicating the unpredictable changes in the border storm.

After a while, Chen Yunsheng said calmly:

"Someone is coming."

A man came out from behind the screen next to him. He was wearing a black robe and a black hood and bowed to Chen Yunsheng.

Chen Yunsheng said:

"Did you hear everything that Lao Qi said just now? Tie Wu?"

Tiewu nodded.

Chen Yunsheng said:

"Go verify what Lao Qi said, especially that Hasar. I want all his information."

Tiewu retreated silently.

About two hours later, Chen Yunsheng got a file with all the information he wanted, of course, the kind that Gong Tianwu deliberately exposed.

After flipping through the file, Chen Yunsheng nodded slightly:
"Two hounds with wolf demon blood?"

"This Hasar is a talented person. The daughter he brought with him is indeed his biological daughter. This almost rules out the possibility that he is a deliberate undercover agent."

"I never thought that this old man would be lucky? He's not even fifteen years old yet, and talented people are starting to emerge around him?"

Of course, these opportunities that Gong Tianwu had were just ordinary in Chen Yunsheng's eyes. After all, for someone in a high position like him, what kind of things had he not encountered?
I won’t talk about the rest, but just take the ancestors of the Chen family for example. Their background can be said to be extremely humble. They had done the menial work of emptying night incense, worked as a waiter in a shop, worked as a night watchman, and collected horse manure.

Even when he was forty years old, he still hadn't found a wife, and was a total bachelor.

However, after his time came, he was appointed as the general and the marquis in just ten years. In such an explosion of life, it can be said that it is full of various opportunities and low-probability events.

Compared with his rise, Gong Tianwu's opportunity is totally insignificant.

***
In the blink of an eye, another three months have passed.
Gong Tianwu has successfully turned fifteen, and the last secret talk with his father had a very obvious effect.
My second uncle Cui Zicheng was promoted to be a criminal hunting officer in the Sansheng City Patrol Department. Because he had submitted several bloody heads, he was still an eighth-rank official and had more than twenty people under him.

The scale of my third uncle's warehouse has expanded four or five times. He has become a veritable big shopkeeper, managing four other shopkeepers under him, and can provide stable revenue every month.

Kasar's men already have nearly a hundred people, almost all of them are made up of herd slaves.

These people were placed in a farm outside the city. When there was business, they would escort the caravan of the Cui family's warehouse. When there was no business, they would train in the form of war soldiers.

It is worth mentioning that these people were selected by Gong Tianwu himself, and more than one-third of them have low-level talents.

One of them is called Tazan, who has the talent of natural divine power, and is like a horse war, but after wearing two layers of heavy armor, he holds a golden gourd hammer, which is a killer weapon for attacking the streets.

At the same time, because Hassar gave up his head, he obtained a large blue brick house and two female slaves to serve him, which also solved his worries and made the other muslims envious.

Gong Tianwu also reminded Hasar to keep an eye out for good seedlings. If he felt there was potential in him, he could teach him the first level of the Leak-free Body and Mind Method.

Anyway, without the corresponding secret medicine provided by Gong Tianwu, it would be difficult to successfully cultivate the Wulou Body quickly.

To put it more intuitively, Hasar has only been practicing the Immaculate Body for a short time, but he has already cultivated it to the third level.

This has surpassed the ten years or even dozens of years of hard training that others would need, and directly reached the level of a dark energy master!

Without the help of medication, it would take Hasar at least ten years to reach this point.

In addition, Gong Tianwu was also surprised that although his second uncle had no talent and did not seem to have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, his advantages were very obvious:
The most important advantage: loyalty.

Secondly, he has strong execution ability, and probably because of his humble background, he has a strong affinity and can easily get along with the people around him.

If you put such a person in a fixed position, he will not give you any surprises.

However, the orders were carried out meticulously, which actually made Gong Tianwu very satisfied. The idea in his mind was taking shape bit by bit.

On this day, dusk wrapped in dust fluttered on the window lattice. Gong Tianwu was having dinner with his mother Cui Xiaoyi. He picked up a piece of cold sand onion with chopsticks. The mung bean and pork ribs soup in the porcelain bowl was still steaming.

Cui Xiaoyi had just scooped a spoonful of soup and was about to hand it over when he saw Cui Ziyang breaking open the door curtain with sweat, and the yellow sand from the Gobi Desert was still stained with the collar.

"Seventh brother, something happened!"

Cui Ziyang's throat tightened and veins in his neck throbbed.

The porcelain spoon fell into the soup bowl with a clang. Cui Xiaoyi's face turned pale. "What happened?"

Gong Tianwu slowly finished chewing the sheep's trotters and wiped his fingertips on the edge of the blue and white bowl:

"My third uncle came just in time. The soup my mother cooked can reduce the heat."

Cui Ziyang's throat rolled, and he forced a smile: "Sister, it's just business..."

"mom."

Gong Tianwu suddenly interrupted:
"Look at my third uncle's sweating profusely, go and serve him a bowl of soup to suppress his shock."

(End of this chapter)