The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 686 Zhang Xutuo wants me to join the army?!

Zhang Xutuo...

Oh!
Zhang Xutuo!

Shen Le was startled.

He had no idea what the previous mention of some kind of prefectural magistrate was, and had absolutely no idea who it was. But when Zhang Xutuo was mentioned, he was wide awake!
This was a famous general at the end of the Sui Dynasty!

Although he stood on the side of the imperial court and suppressed peasant uprisings at the time, his achievements cannot be denied, nor can it be denied that he was a famous general whom even heroes of the time had to respect!

Shen Le took a deep breath and carefully examined the man before him. If he didn't know the official title of "Prefectural Assistant," Shen Le would definitely have thought of him as a thoroughly military officer, without any thought of him as a civil official.

He was burly, with broad shoulders and a thick waist; at 1.8 meters tall, he must have weighed at least 180 pounds.

Moreover, judging from his steady wearing of that iron armor, the smooth movements when he cupped his hands, and the strong voice he spoke, it's likely that beneath that armor lies plenty of muscle, definitely not just fat.

He had thick, black hair and beard, and sharp eyes. He looked to be in his forties, or perhaps older. Shen Le wasn't sure; maybe it was the demands of military duties that had made him look so tired and haggard?
"I have long admired your name, General." Shen Le returned his bow.

"This humble Taoist priest, Mingde, from Xuanzhen Temple, has come here on my pilgrimage to pay homage to the Lord of Mount Tai. May I ask, General, what is this place...?"

He gestured towards the battlefield, drawing a large circle. Zhang Xutuo's eyes immediately dimmed:
"It's all because of Wang Bo and his gang of scoundrels! They evade conscription, gather in the mountains and forests, and even amass troops to plunder the local area! I had no choice but to lead troops to suppress them... Alas..."

He looked around in the direction Shen Le was pointing, his expression not one of triumph or elation, but rather one of deep regret. Shen Le shook his head helplessly.
"No wonder when I looked down from the mountain just now, I saw so much resentment rising from the murderous aura below, lingering and refusing to dissipate. General, please wait a moment, allow me to perform another ritual to appease it—"

If this battlefield is left unattended, it will likely become a ghost town. At that point, forget about farming and herding here; even ordinary people passing through will be infected with diseases and plagues!

Zhang Xutuo hesitated, his gaze lingering on the jade pendant at Shen Le's waist. Finally, he turned and stamped his foot, raising his hand to summon a guard.
"Send one hundred men to follow this Taoist priest. Whatever he needs, you must prepare it for him! The Taoist priest has come to deliver the souls of the dead from the battlefield. You must do your utmost and not make any mistakes!"

Shen Le actually... didn't need anything. After all, he couldn't expect the soldiers to build him a porcelain kiln on the spot and fire some porcelain swords for him to use: by the time he finished firing them, it would be too late.

He could only instruct his soldiers to separate the corpses on the battlefield as much as possible and arrange them properly, even the corpses of rebels (Shen Le thought to himself: the rebels! the rebels!) so as not to be desecrated excessively;

They cleared a small, relatively flat area for him and built a low wooden platform on it, mainly to prevent him from sitting directly in the mud and blood.

A circle of flags in four colors—black, white, red, and blue—was planted around him, each flag guarded by someone. The soldiers watched with awe, thinking he was about to perform a ritual, but it was just to prevent anyone from causing a disturbance.
Then, he sat cross-legged on the wooden platform, placed the sword on his knees, slowly communicated with his surroundings, and softly chanted the Rebirth Mantra.

Gradually, the swirling winds around me surged up again, fine and faint, yet gradually deepening and darkening, before being lifted high and rising like stars, drifting towards the sky.

A gentle breeze blew by, and all the specks of light drifted towards Mount Tai, fell into the forest, and disappeared...

"what……"

Whose land is this in Haoli? It gathers souls, both wise and foolish.

Why is the ghost urging me on? Human life cannot be delayed even for a moment…

The soldiers guarding the plateau looked up at this strange phenomenon and felt their minds clear. It was as if the fear, grief, and various pressures that had accumulated since the start of the war had all drifted away with these points of light.

One soldier, without anyone knowing, began to softly sing a funeral hymn. The word spread quickly, and soon the melodious and sorrowful dirge echoed across the battlefield.
The victorious elite troops returning to their camps, the ordinary soldiers turning over corpses on the battlefield, and the surrendered soldiers being escorted, all moved their lips, murmuring songs. As they sang, they gazed towards Mount Tai:
No matter who it is, what their status was in life, or what caused their death.

Return, all of you, return! The Lord of Mount Tai gathers the souls, and in this matter, everyone is equal, regardless of wisdom or foolishness…

Even the black mist on the battlefield fluctuated, howling and swirling up in clumps, forming shapes of birds and beasts.

A soldier who was moving the corpses got too close and was struck by the black mist. He collapsed suddenly, clutching his throat and rolling around on the ground.

Even those who haven't activated their spiritual eyes can see a dark shadow shrouding his body, writhing and twisting as if desperately trying to squeeze into it.

His comrades rushed over, unsure whether to help or not. They drew their swords and slashed horizontally, but the steel blades sliced ​​through the air like water, having no effect whatsoever…

Fortunately, Shen Le, with his eyes slightly closed, suddenly pointed his fingers, and the porcelain sword on his lap flew out. It twisted in the chaotic air mass and instantly shattered into fragments.

The scattered black mist let out a mournful roar, but was sucked into the vortex, rising higher and higher until it disappeared. The soldier caught in the vortex let out a long breath, released his grip, and blinked.

"I'm all better? I'm okay?!"

"Chang Immortal!"

Several of his comrades who had rushed over had already forced him to kneel down.
"Thank you so much, Immortal Master, for saving my life!"

You...sigh, I can't save you all the way through. Shen Le opened his eyes slightly, then immediately closed them tightly again, directing his flying sword to relentlessly annihilate those energy spheres.

Here was a mass that looked like a black dog, there was a mass that looked like a black cat, and there was an especially large mass that had already separated into limbs and a head, vaguely resembling a human shape, but it was shattered into pieces by the flying sword.

Only when the moon was high in the sky, all the nearby air masses had been completely annihilated, and the black mist on the battlefield had been mostly dispelled, did he open his eyes and let out a long sigh:
"Ugh……"

I'm so tired!

This was just a small-scale battle, and it exhausted him like this. If it were a major battle, or if a major battle were to occur and no one had cleaned up the mess for too long, turning it into a dead zone, how could he possibly manage to clean it up by himself?

He braced himself on his knees and tried to get up. But unlike the military training instructors he'd seen, he couldn't rise gracefully and nimbly.
I pressed it again, but it still wouldn't get up;

When he tried to resign himself to his fate and change his posture from sitting cross-legged to kneeling, and then push himself up from the ground, a pair of arms reached out from the side, gently lifted him up from under his armpits, and put him down on the ground.

Shen Le turned his head and saw Zhang Xutuo, looking travel-worn, clearly having just finished his inspection and rushed over. He bowed to him.

"Thank you for your salvation, Immortal Master. If you would not mind, could you please come to my camp and have a cup of plain wine with me?"

“Forget about the vegetarian wine—” Shen Le blurted out. He didn’t drink alcohol, and besides, this “vegetarian wine” was actually wine. What good grapes or wines did the Sui Dynasty have these days?
The world is in chaos, the Silk Road is broken! Fine wine in a luminous cup—that kind of thing wouldn't be popular until the Tang Dynasty! Before he could finish speaking, a long rumble came from his stomach. Shen Le froze, completely speechless. Zhang Xutuo also paused, then burst into laughter:

"Please come into the camp for a meal, Immortal Master. The military life is simple and frugal, there are no elaborate banquets, but you can still eat your fill—does the Immortal Master have any dietary restrictions?"

No! I don't eat vegetarian food!

He was already so hungry that he didn't refuse and was invited into the military camp by Zhang Xutuo. The moment Shen Le stepped through the camp gate, he felt a weight on his shoulders, and his entire aura was sealed off:

Sure enough, the military aura and royal aura naturally countered these cultivators. They had only just entered the military camp, not even reaching the core area, and already most of his spells were unusable!
If it weren't for Zhang Xutuo, he would have already run away. Fortunately, it was this famous general, so he dared to go in and have a meal openly and honestly.

Just as Zhang Xutuo said, life in the army was hurried and austere, with no grand banquets or particularly exquisite or expensive dishes.

What was presented to Shen Le was a whole chicken, freshly scooped out of the stew pot, dripping with juices.
A ceramic urn, presumably containing mutton? Cut into large chunks, cooked, and soaking in a milky white broth.

A thick, dry stack of flatbreads—Shen Le knew without even picking one up to bite it that it was probably too tough to chew…

In front of Zhang Xutuo was only a pottery urn, one size larger than the one in front of Shen Le. The meat inside was a deep red color and did not look like mutton or beef; it was not very tender...

"Please have some, Immortal Master." Zhang Xutuo gestured for him to have some, then drew a short knife from his waist, stabbed a piece of meat out of the earthenware jar, cut it into small pieces, and chewed it with gritted teeth.

Seeing Shen Le looking over curiously, he straightened his neck and swallowed a piece of meat, then smiled wryly:

"This is horse meat, it's very coarse, the immortal probably won't be used to it. Alas..."

Shen Le also let out a long sigh. Horses, warhorses, even if they were used as pack horses for war, how heartbreaking it is to lose one!

After a battle, being able to eat horse meat would be a happy treat for ordinary soldiers who rarely ate meat.
However, for high-ranking generals, taking a bite is like having a knife cut into their heart, isn't it?
He silently began to eat. He scooped up a spoonful of soup, tore off a piece of flatbread to soften it, then tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing away.

After a whirlwind of eating, barely managing to fill half a stomach, I cautiously inquired:
"General, you have achieved a great victory in your campaign against Wang Bo's army today, haven't you?"

"No." Zhang Xutuo snorted, his face dark. He wanted to say something, but his gaze swept over Shen Le's face and the jade pendant at his waist before he swallowed it back, only saying angrily:

"Why did they rebel! Why did they rebel! Those people, those people... The minor leader we killed today was the best young man in Muli Village. He was good at farm work and carpentry.
Another one was the blacksmith from Yuanzhuang Village. When someone went down to inspect a house, he brought me water and mentioned that his daughter was getting married next year... He then swung his hammer at me..."

Shen Le had a mouthful of flatbread stuck in his throat, neither going up nor down. After a long while, he stretched his neck a few times and finally managed to swallow the flatbread, then pounded his chest twice.
"Perhaps...it's because they can't go on living?"

Zhang Xutuo's imposing manner immediately deflated. He lowered his head, picked up another piece of horse meat, and ate it, crunching the rough red flesh as if he were tearing apart the corpse of his enemy.

"I clearly distributed grain! During last year's great disaster, I clearly distributed grain..."

The grief and helplessness in his voice seemed to permeate the entire tent. Shen Le sighed softly, unsure how to offer comfort, and could only cautiously say:
"Give grain here and requisition it there... but it's no use. Without able-bodied men in the family, they can't even pull the plow. How are the elderly, women, and children supposed to survive?"

"But--"

Zhang Xutuo clenched his large hands into fists. After a long while, he finally let out a sorrowful sigh:

"It will be fine once His Majesty returns with his troops... His Majesty is still wise. Last year, I opened the granaries without authorization and distributed grain, but after reporting it to the emperor, he did not blame me..."

Ah, Emperor Yang of Sui was a wise man; he could distinguish right from wrong and did not blame ministers who did the right thing. That was something he was capable of doing.

But the more this happened, the more deeply it hurt the ministers who had high hopes for him: after all, not everyone could see through his true nature.

The saying goes, "He has enough words to cover up his mistakes and enough wisdom to reject advice." It's not that he's not smart; he's too smart. He doesn't treat people like human beings and acts impulsively!

Shen Le sighed, but he couldn't very well complain about Emperor Yang of Sui in front of Zhang Xutuo—he was afraid that Zhang Xutuo would jump up and kill him.

After thinking for a moment, he cautiously inquired:

"Then, General... in the future..."

"As a subject, I should do my utmost to be loyal," Zhang Xutuo said resolutely. Shen Le hesitated, opening his mouth several times, only to swallow his words back each time.

The general before us was promoted to the position of envoy to suppress Wang Bo after the campaign against him. He fought in battles across the country and eventually died in what appears to be a battle against Wagangzhai.

In fact, even if he had won that battle, there would have been another one, and another one after that, and another one after that...

The three campaigns against Goguryeo, the construction of the Grand Canal, and the southward expansion of the country... Emperor Wen of Sui's accumulated national strength was completely exhausted, the people were forced to live on, and war broke out everywhere.

How could one or two loyal and upright generals possibly salvage such a situation?

These words rolled around in Shen Le's mind several times. Finally, Shen Le said:
"General, the tide of history is irreversible. Even a good general must sometimes adapt to the circumstances in order to protect himself and, in turn, the people..."

How could I not know?

Zhang Xutuo answered in a deep voice. He stared into the distance, his facial muscles twitching slightly, then lowered his head to begin gnawing on the horse meat, juices splashing everywhere.

After a long while, half of the horse meat in the earthenware jar had been gone. He suddenly stood up, lifted the curtain, and went out.

His tall figure stood upright at the tent entrance, his head slightly tilted, listening to the howling wind outside, as if he too was gazing at the dark silhouette of Mount Tai.

The wind howled, dark clouds rolled in, and in the deep mountains and forests, countless black clouds seemed to gather into an ominous shape.

After Shen Le had filled her stomach and slowly emerged, swaying slightly, he suddenly turned around and bowed deeply to her:
"Immortal Master, may I be invited to join my army, where I can receive your instruction day and night, and also accompany you to pray for the souls of the deceased?"

(End of this chapter)