Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 8 Uncle Starts His Own Business
"It's so hot! Whoosh~ Whoosh~!"

The heavy rain kept falling. Fu Zihou, who was curled up in the linen quilt in the house, was rarely in bed. When he saw his mother Tao bringing him hot water and the look of heartache in her eyes, Fu Zihou couldn't stop laughing.

This also made Tao give Fu Zihou an unpleasant look.

"Next time it rains heavily, don't run out suddenly again!"

Tao was searching for clothes for Fu Zihou. After she finished speaking, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at Fu Zihou.

"No matter how big the problem is, it's not as big as your body!"

Tao stared at Fu Zihou, looking at her son's ingratiating smile. She was reluctant to vent her resentment on her son.

Tao had already learned about what happened last night. She had no objection to her son's behavior, whether it was going to the Zhao family or giving away the sword. She was even very proud of him in her heart. This was her son, who was not only sensible but also capable of taking responsibility.

But the thought of going out in the rain at night made Tao a little angry.

Even though they knew that the situation was very urgent last night, if his son had not brought people there in time, both Mr. Liu and his son's teacher would have been in great danger.

But no matter how much he said, in Tao's eyes, no matter how good others were, they were still no match for his son.

"Okay, I understand, Mom! I won't go next time!"

"Dad~!"

Just as Fu Zihou was talking to his mother Tao, Zhang's voice was heard outside the door. Then Fu Zihou, who was lying on the bed, and Tao, who was busy nearby, saw the elderly grandfather carrying a quilt in.

"Hou'er, cover yourself with this, don't get cold!"

The thin old man with messy hair, long beard and a thin face looked at Fu Zihou and slowly walked towards him with a quilt.

"Auntie, no need! Hou'er is not cold, Auntie, take it away quickly!"

Seeing Grandfather's actions, Fu Zihou quickly stood up and blocked him with both hands. Tao also quickly put down the clothes in her hands and walked over to follow Fu Zihou to block him.

"Dad! Zihou doesn't need it. Your health is more important. The weather is getting colder, especially in the second half of the night. You should take it back quickly. Zihou is young and will be fine! Dad! Take it back quickly!"

Tao is also trying to persuade.

Unlike the linen quilt that Fu Zihou was covering himself with, the entire Fu family only had one woolen quilt. This was a long time ago when Zihou's father Fu Rui was worried about his grandfather's health and thought of many ways to get a woolen quilt from a merchant in the north. This was also the thing that the Fu family took with them wherever they went when they moved.

"It's okay, Hou'er has caught a cold, cover him up first!"

Aung shook his head. His thin hands didn’t have much strength, but they were unusually firm.

"no!"

However, Mrs. Tao refused to agree to anything and her face became unusually serious. She insisted on taking the quilt from Aung's hand. During the argument, while Aung kept talking, she snatched the quilt and left the room.

Grandad dragged his cold legs and followed slowly behind him, asking Tao to bring the medicine back for Zihou to cover himself with first.

Watching his mother and grandfather leave, Fu Zihou finally breathed a sigh of relief and fell on the bed. He listened to the rain falling outside and stared at the small wooden beams in the room. He saw a little raindrops constantly flowing down the beams.

"I wonder if the Zhao family will doubt the teacher's identity?"

Fu Zihou groaned weakly.

Last night, Zhao Han brought people and captured those people. The Zhao family would definitely know that the teacher also carried a sword.

Among the entire Zhao family, the person Fu Zihou feared the most was Zhao Han’s father Zhao Zi.

Thinking back to the look in Zhao Zi's eyes last night, as well as how Zhao Yong, Zhao Han, and the other strong men obeyed Zhao Zi's orders, Fu Zihou sighed helplessly.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the Fu family and the Zhao family have a good relationship. In addition, considering the kindness Zhao Zi showed last night, I believe that as long as they don't know the teacher's true identity, the Zhao family will not have any ill intentions.

"Teacher, please don't let anything happen to you! I'm counting on you to help me expand my network of contacts!"

Fu Zihou sighed, then drank the hot water his mother brought him. Listening to the heavy rain outside, he knew that his mother would definitely not let him leave home to visit his teacher today.

The next day.

The heavy rain finally stopped. When Fu Zihou got up early in the morning to practice martial arts, he saw mud and puddles everywhere in the small courtyard.

Old Liu had also stood up, but compared to the young Fu Zihou, Old Liu, who was already suffering from a hidden illness at his age, still looked a little weak, and the bruises on his hand from being injured by a wooden stick the night before were still there.

"Mr. Liu, why don't you take a break?"

Fu Zihou asked with concern.

"I'm an old man. If I don't move more, I'm afraid I won't be able to get up from my lying position."

Old Liu raised his bruised hand and waved it, saying that he didn't care. Then he told Fu Zihou to practice martial arts and told him not to bother with him.

In the yard, watching Fu Zihou draw his sword and swing it vigorously in the muddy yard with steady and swift steps, Old Liu's eyes were full of relief and satisfaction.

Fu Zihou's talent in martial arts amazed him. Thinking of what happened the night before, Liu Lao was still in fear, but he was also very grateful that the young master Fu Zihou brought the person to the temple in time.
Otherwise, if in the end, he was forced to kill someone and implicate the Fu family, even if Mr. Liu died a thousand times, he would never be able to get rid of the guilt in his heart.

In the small garden.

As time passed, Fu Zihou, who was practicing martial arts, saw his aunt and mother supporting his grandfather and sending his uncle away from home.

"My dear, don't worry about the family. Zhier and I will take good care of ourselves! You must be careful when you are outside!"

"Brother, be careful on your way!"

Fu Zihou looked at his aunt's red eyes full of tears, and at his father who came out with his uncle. He stopped waving the sword in his hand, knowing that his uncle was going to leave today to "start a business."

"Uncle, be careful on your way!"

Fu Zihou held the sword behind his back and saluted his uncle.

"Ok!"

Fu Hong saw his nephew Fu Zihou and nodded casually. Although he was very surprised by what happened the night before, he didn't take it to heart when he thought about the big thing he was about to do.

In Fu Hong's eyes, everything is insignificant compared to the great thing he is about to do.

So he looked at his father, wife and others beside him, then saluted to Old Liu, asking him to take care of his family. After Old Liu's return salute, he turned around and hurriedly walked out of the courtyard without looking back.

……………………“Is this the sword you gave to the Zhao family?”

Inside the wooden house, Liu Zhiyuan drew out the sword in his hand and looked at the stripes on the blade with a complicated look in his eyes.

Whether it is the sharpness of the blade or the exquisite stripes on the sword body, they are enough to show how precious this sword is. Being able to obtain such a good sword is something that countless men dream of, no matter in prosperous times or troubled times.

However, when Wang thought of the thirteen-year-old boy in front of him, he went to the Zhao family alone in the heavy rain that night and delivered the sword personally.

Although he is still at an age when he is not yet mature and when he is particularly concerned about gains and losses, as a disciple, he does things differently from all his peers.

"Yes!"

After hearing Fu Zihou's answer, Liu Zhiyuan closed his sword.

"Are you willing?"

"Disciple is willing to give it up!"

Liu Zhiyuan put down his hand and returned the sword to Fu Zihou who was kneeling on the ground: "Just for a teacher who only taught you for one day?"

"In the eyes of a disciple, the teacher is more important than the sword!"

Fu Zihou did not say anything sentimental, but answered simply and sincerely.

After bowing and saying this, he gently took the sword from the teacher with both hands, and Fu Zihou waited for the teacher to teach him today. However, he thought of something, put down the sword, and quickly bowed.

"Teacher, Mr. Liu was thinking about his disciples before. I hope you won't blame me!"

Fu Zihou thought about what happened that night and realized that it all had a lot to do with himself, so he couldn't help feeling a little apologetic.

"He has already told the master! You didn't know about this matter, and after knowing it, he spoke up to dissuade him. It has nothing to do with you!"

After listening to the teacher's words, Fu Zihou's heart finally settled down.

He raised his head and looked at the teacher. After interacting with him, Fu Zihou found that although the teacher was arrogant, he was very friendly and would not easily blame someone for his mistakes.

That night, the teacher almost lost his life!
But the teacher is willing to forgive Mr. Liu!
No wonder countless heroes and great men in the future were willing to follow the teacher.

Especially in the future, when the former leader of Wagangzhai, Zhai Rang, was about to do something bad to the teacher, he was eliminated by the teacher. Then the teacher went into Zhai Rang's barracks alone and successfully subdued all his generals.

"Follow the Master out!"

While Fu Zihou was thinking, he heard his teacher asking him to stand up.

Although he didn't know the reason, Fu Zihou still stood up obediently, followed him out of the house, and then followed the path and walked out of the village.

along the way.

Although Fu Zihou was very curious, he remained patient and did not ask.

Fu Zihou felt a little depressed as he watched more and more people starving along the road, even a few women, under the command of a man, burying a body that had died of starvation and freezing.

People started dying in the village, which was not good news for Fu Zihou.

for a long time.

Following teacher Liu Zhiyuan all the way to the river outside the village, Fu Zihou looked around to see that there was no one around, felt the breeze, and looked at the teacher with some curiosity.

"You memorized it well last time, so don't learn it this time!"

Liu Zhiyuan glanced at Fu Zihou, then turned around, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the stream with a calm expression.

"In the future, when you go to Taishan, if you talk to someone, they must be some powerful officials of the dynasty, or some great scholars. You know most of these. I will tell you more details later. What I want to tell you today is that Taishan or others may chat with you about other things, such as Wei Wei to save Zhao. Do you know how to answer them?"

"Besiege Wei to save Zhao? Teacher, are you going to teach me the art of war?"

When Fu Zihou heard this word, he opened his eyes wide and asked quickly, feeling a little excited.

It is not surprising that Fu Zihou did so. From ancient times to the present, no matter which dynasty, a person with military books and strategies will not be bad, and will be respected wherever he goes.

What’s more, it is now the Daye period.

However, Liu Zhiyuan's next words poured a bucket of cold water on Fu Zihou.

"I don't know military books! These are just some ancient books and knowledge, not worth mentioning! If you, Taishan and others hadn't asked me during a casual chat, you wouldn't have to tell others, just know it yourself!"

Liu Zhiyuan looked into the distance and answered in a faint tone.

"Oh! I also ask the teacher to warn me, if Taishan asks, how to answer!"

Fu Zihou couldn't help but feel disappointed when he heard Liu Zhiyuan's words. He thought that the teacher would teach him some military tactics, which might be useful, but it turned out that he was overthinking.

Indeed, how could a teacher who hides his real name teach others the art of war so easily?

Just as Fu Zihou bowed, Liu Zhiyuan took a deep breath, his eyelids moved slightly, and his eyes looked across the river with a look of calmness and confidence, and also a hint of hidden arrogance.

"It is better to have separate enemies than to have a common enemy, and it is better to have the Yin enemy than the Yang enemy!"

Liu Zhiyuan spoke.

"Warfare is a major issue for a country, a matter of life and death, a road to survival and destruction, and must be carefully considered! Encircling Wei to save Zhao is a strategy of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak. It is like controlling water. The strong avoid the sharp edge, like dredging, and the weak plug the weak, like building a dam. Therefore, when Qi was saving Zhao, Sun Tzu said to Tian Ji: To resolve a complicated dispute, one does not hold the fist, and to seek a fight, one does not fight. Instead, one attacks the strong and attacks the weak, and the situation is restrained, and then the solution will come naturally..."

By the river, as the sound of the water flowed, Liu Zhiyuan kept talking and Fu Zihou listened silently.

"...When two armies are at war, it is better to divide the enemy's forces, avoid the strong and attack the weak, and defeat them one by one. It is better to attack the enemy with weak morale than to attack the enemy with high morale..."

In Liu Zhiyuan's detailed account, he specifically listed one example after another, from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the battles in the Qin and Han Dynasties.

As time passed slowly, after Liu Zhiyuan finished speaking, in order to make Fu Zihou have a more thorough understanding, he specially asked Fu Zihou to find two or even three ant nests and catch some insects.

Then Liu Zhiyuan asked Fu Zihou to use insects as bait to make different ants come into contact with each other, and then fight because of the temptation of food.

What Liu Zhiyuan had to do was to stand aside and teach Fu Zihou to let the weakest ant nest fight with the strongest ant nest first. Whenever the weak ant nest was about to lose, he would use the method of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak to help it delay the opponent. Then he would use food to induce the ant nest that was neither strong nor weak to use the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao, and defeat the strongest ant nest together with the weak ant nest.

(End of this chapter)