The Great Seminary

Chapter 202 Holding Fast to the Edge
The crowd slowly gathered, and at first it was fine, but gradually the valley became crowded.

The first group of refugees who rushed into Mushroom Valley collapsed to the ground, panting and resting. They were then forced to get up again by the 'rush' of the later arrivals.

We ventured deeper into the valley.

Such a crowded scene is truly rare in this world.

But for Zhang Gui, who had experienced hundreds of thousands or even millions of people crammed into a section of mountain ridge or city wall during his previous life's travels, this was nothing more than that.

"Hey kid, where are you from?"

Suddenly, a foot wearing tattered straw sandals kicked Zhang Gui's buttocks, who remained seated, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

"The one dressed so slickly must be the son of a landlord."

Zhang Gui turned his head and, by the moonlight, saw a disheveled, burly, and very tall young man glancing at him sideways. He couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm a local from Siyang County, and I'd say I come from a fairly wealthy family. What do you want?"

The tall young man hadn't expected that his initial assertiveness wouldn't have intimidated Zhang Gui, who looked two sizes smaller than him.

I was a little confused.

"Third brother, don't cause trouble, or you'll get slapped in the face by the soldiers again."

A tall boy next to him immediately smiled and came to his rescue:

"Don't get me wrong, buddy. We're not thugs or vagrants; we're just naturally sociable."

I just saw you sitting on the ground, looking so dashing and powerful, like a tiger crouching and a dragon coiled...

As they were talking, two skinny young men were jostled by the crowd around them and bumped into the tall boy from the left and right, almost knocking him to the ground.

"How dare you take advantage of our boss! You're asking for it!"

The tall, bear-like youth standing nearby immediately glared angrily and took two steps forward, grabbing the two skinny youths by the back of their necks.

As a result, because their clothes were so tattered and worn, they were simply lifted up and their backs were torn open.

The two skinny youths landed hard on their buttocks mid-air, clutching their tailbones and howling in pain.

The tall young man was stunned for a moment, and then broke out in a cold sweat.

"Don't shout, don't yell."

I didn't do it on purpose, oh dear, I'll apologize to you all, okay...

But before he could finish begging for mercy, a chubby, single-stone corpse warrior wearing a very elastic 'heavy-pleated whale skin armor' had already come looking for him, following the sound.

Seeing the tall, flushed young man, he cursed gruffly:
"Liu San, I knew it was you who started this."

After running two hundred miles of mountain road, everyone else is exhausted to the point of vomiting blood, and you few still want to cause trouble…”

"Boss, you're talking nonsense."

Are we, the fine men and women of western Guangdong, like the sea worms that roam the seas of eastern Guangdong?

In my hometown, children over ten years old, after eating and drinking their fill, can run two hundred miles of mountain roads in two days without getting exhausted and vomiting blood.

Did you see it or hear about it? Did you see it or…?

When the tall young man hadn't been caught red-handed by the "soldier boss," he was terrified of being punished.

But when their weakness was exposed, they stubbornly refused to back down.

Even the tall boy he called 'boss' couldn't stop that chattering mouth.

In the end, it was the chubby, single-stone corpse warrior who transformed into a body of metal and stone, slapped him twice, and warned him helplessly:
"This time, the punishment for 'disrupting the ranks and provoking trouble' is over."

If you keep making mistakes, I'm going to have to keep hitting you.

The tall young man reluctantly shut his mouth and stopped talking.

Zhang Gui watched the entire play from beginning to end, silently thinking to himself:
"The Western Guangdong Province in the Southern Kingdom of the Ming and Song Dynasties has been known for its 'brave and valiant people' since ancient times, and it is also said that 'the people are naturally simple and honest.' This is what it means."

He has a fierce temper, but he is reasonable at heart.

That's fine.

Although they are much wilder than the servants, slaves, and discarded soldiers we've taken in before, as long as they aren't the kind of cowardly bullies who prey on the weak, they can all be educated into qualified citizens of the true dragon.

It seems that although Old Sang Gui has gone a bit too far in his 'running wild', he is still fundamentally upright.

As expected of an old barbarian scholar skilled in both martial arts and literature, he has his own ideas.

In that case, it's better not to try to 'straighten' it at all.

Throughout history, renowned ministers and generals have never been mere puppets who simply followed the orders of the monarch.

Since the strategic objective has been achieved, and even better than expected.

Some of his subordinates, who were in charge, acted on their own initiative, believing that "a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders."

Even if a monarch feels something is amiss, he must silently process it himself; only then is he considered competent.

"Soldier, what is your unit number?"

Having changed his mind, Zhang Gui casually asked,
"Yes, I am Liu She, a soldier of the Zhenlong 'Jia' class, one of the three hundred men and seventy households of the single-stone corpse warriors."

The chubby single-stone corpse warrior didn't react immediately.

But then he saw that the person asking the question didn't look like someone who had traveled a long distance and was exhausted from crossing hundreds of miles of mountains and forests.

One eyeball.

Then I remembered a legendary story that had recently become popular in the True Dragon Kingdom: an emperor traveling incognito to listen to storytellers and chat idly.

He hurriedly recalled the images and sounds of receiving the great Emperor's 'spiritual baptism' at the Grand Plaza and Grand Parade Ground of Gyuyang Palace in Sangseokji.

Just as he was about to have a thought, he wanted to verify whether the person in front of him was the real emperor.

As a member of the Stone Corpse Warriors, a sudden intuition immediately confirmed Zhang Gui's identity as the Stone Corpse King.

So he immediately and without hesitation gave his number.

"So how many Stone Corpse Warriors did you use for this personnel relocation, and who was the supreme commander?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this migration involves 37,560 people... mostly young men under twenty... We have mobilized five centurions..."

Your humble servant Zhenliang, as the chief centurion of the True Dragon's 'Jia' army, is fully responsible for this operation.

Please give your instructions, Your Majesty.

A burly young man wearing a pleated whale-skin armor strode over, blocking the chubby single-stone corpse warrior with his body, and bowed to Zhang Gui before answering.

It's a good thing that soldiers have ambition and a competitive spirit.

However, it was a bit 'rash' for a Hundred Stone Corpse Warrior to steal the limelight from a Single Stone Corpse Warrior.

Zhang Gui couldn't help but laugh and say:

"Commander of the Pillow Ridge, you're very eager to make progress."

"Before the Holy Emperor, your humble servant dares not feign sincerity."

This is a time of great contention, and also the time for my 'True Dragon Kingdom' to rise to power and ascend to the heavens.

Your humble servant is truly eager to begin.

Zhang Gui was taken aback, but this time he genuinely clapped and smiled.

"The chief centurion and hundred-stone corpse soldier of the three armies, named 'True Dragon' Jia, shall be the pillow beam."

Actually, I remember we met a few times, but at that time you appeared very composed or rather, ordinary in front of many superiors.

But you won this bet, and I'll remember you.

From now on, you must continue to 'keep your sharp edge,' understand?

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Tears welled up instantly on the pillow, and she hurriedly covered them by bowing her head and answering respectfully.

(End of this chapter)