Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 8 Cooking Tea
Qi Kerang knew that it was the light of wisdom. Zhu Wen, this young man, not only had the youthful vigor, enthusiasm and sharpness, but also considerable sophistication. He was definitely not a man of mere courage and strategy.

In Qi Kerang's opinion, wisdom was more important than bravery. How could one truly become a match for ten thousand enemies simply by learning how to use a spear or a sword?

However, Qi Kerang had no idea that Zhu Wen would think that his wisdom was no less than Xue Shuai's.

"Today's confrontation is just a warm-up for both of us. What follows is a battle for life and death." Qi Kerang smiled faintly, "Everyone in the Grass Army, see you later."

Since the breakthrough had been blocked and Qi Kerang had personally arrived at the front, the rebel cavalry naturally couldn't stay for long. Meng Kai immediately clasped his fists and said, "See you later! I, Meng, would like to personally experience the Snow Marshal's Shocking Frost Divine Sword, known as 'Frost Freeze Three Thousand Worlds'!"

After saying this, he, Zhu Wen, and Duan Hongyan turned their horses and rode away. Meng Kai twisted his body, holding a huge axe in defense, wary of the Taining army's pursuit, but at this time he seemed quite calm.

When the rebel cavalry disappeared from sight, the Taining army also landed and set up camp, forming a pincer attack with Song Wei's troops in the west.

In the commander's tent, there were only Qi Kerang and Yan Lingkong, one sitting and one standing, no one else.

"General, deliberately sending Chu Kuangsheng and Feng Geyin away to allow the enemy to win first, isn't that too detrimental to our army's morale?" Yan Lingkong asked anxiously.

"Chu Kuangsheng and Feng Geyin abused their power to commit crimes, raping women and committing many evil deeds. However, they have made great achievements in battle, so using the power of the enemy general Meng Kai to eliminate them can also give the people an explanation."

"Since I personally instructed Chu Kuangsheng and Feng Geyin to declare their willingness to use infantry against cavalry in order to pressure the enemy into battle, they naturally believed they had a sure win and began to underestimate the enemy. They were no match for Meng Juehai, Huang Chao's chief disciple."

"After their first victory, the bandits will think that General Xue is nothing special, and inevitably become arrogant. But an arrogant army will inevitably be defeated."

"That fellow, who seems to be called Zhu Wen, is quite interesting, perhaps a bit of a hidden talent. He's clearly Huang Chao's Huang Jutian's newest disciple, and his martial arts haven't been honed by a master for years, so he's still largely undisciplined. Yet, with his sheer tenacity, he was able to fight Feng Geyin to a draw, even taking advantage of Feng Geyin's moment of distraction to slash her with a single blow. This shows his immense mental fortitude, and judging by his appearance, he's a man of deep resolve and wisdom."

After defeating the bandits this time, if I can get this man, it would be like getting a phoenix. As for Chu Kuangsheng and Feng Geyin who sent themselves to death, not to mention that they deserved it, they are just two ducks.

Yan Lingkong was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the coach valued Zhu Wen, a young player who seemed unremarkable, so much.

……

In Yanwang City, Huang Chao’s army camp.

With the remains of the ancient rammed earth walls to rely on, they only needed to gather firewood and cut wood to fill the gaps. The military camp was remarkably spacious, with smaller camps within the main camp, forming a six-pronged pattern that echoed each other. The general's tent, stables, granaries, barracks, baggage storage, and dry latrines were all neatly arranged. A simple trench was dug outside Yanwang City, lined with caltrops as a precaution against enemy attacks.

In a secluded open space in the camp, there was a rectangular fir coffee table.

Zhu Wen changed into a loose and refreshing green robe, and used a long-handled silver spoon with a gilded scroll pattern to scoop out half a spoonful of snowflake-like fine salt from a blue and white porcelain bottle.

The copper kettle filled with water placed on the charcoal fire was already making faint sounds. Zhu Wen skillfully opened the lid of the copper kettle, sprinkled fine salt on the water surface, and then used a spoon to boil the boiling soup noodles. Pearl-like bubbles floated on the turquoise water surface, just like "green clouds are blown by the wind continuously, and white flowers float on the surface of the bowl."

His manners were quite elegant and graceful, with an air of a crane in the clouds. At this moment, there was not a trace of roughness in his manner.

Junior sister Duan Hongyan opened her beautiful eyes wide and looked at Zhu Wen's actions with great curiosity.

Zhu Wen signaled her with his eyes to wait, and then focused his attention on the copper kettle. When the sound of water in the kettle became a little louder, he opened the lid, skimmed off the tiny foam on the surface with another silver spoon, and closed the copper kettle again.

A moment later, the water in the kettle began to boil, a sound like pearls falling on a jade plate. Zhu Wen lifted the lid again, but this time, instead of skimming off the water, he scooped two tablespoons of boiling water with a large copper spoon into a porcelain bowl on the tea table. He then gently stirred the water with a bamboo stick clad in silver. At the same time, he used a silver spoon to scoop some tea leaves, as fine as wheat crumbs, from another blue and white porcelain vase and slowly added them to the boiling water.

This is the standard "tea-making method" popular in the Tang Dynasty, which involves adding salt and tea powder to boiling water and then drinking it.

Duan Hongyan said softly, "Not adding any spices, only using salt to season, this is exactly the way of drinking pure tea as described in Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea."

Zhu Wen was a little surprised. He didn't expect that his junior sister had actually read Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea".

But he did not let this distract him. Instead, he stirred the tea wholeheartedly. When the tea was surging, he stopped stirring, added the two large spoonfuls of water he had scooped out earlier, covered the copper pot with a lid, and weakened the charcoal fire to enhance the tea flavor.

When the water in the pot began to make faint bubbling sounds again, Zhu Wen slowly stood up, picked up the copper pot, poured most of the water into the fine porcelain cup prepared for Duan Hongyan, then poured half a cup for himself, gently put the copper pot down, raised the cup between his brows, and invited her with a relaxed brow.

In fact, Zhu Wen feels quite troubled now.

He hated serving anyone.

The food he cooked was terrible too.

But he is very good at cooking wine and making tea.

Because he never wanted to suck out the poisonous sores of his soldiers like the famous generals in ancient times.

He wanted to be a leader. And as a leader, it was much easier to make wine for the soldiers or brew a pot of good tea when recruiting scholars than to suck out a poisonous sore.

However, he accidentally let Huang Chao know that he was very good at brewing tea, and then the master also let the younger sister know about it. The younger sister, who was straightforward and curious, forced Zhu Wen to open her eyes and see what kind of good tea a young man from a humble background could brew.

"What a wonderful tea!" Duan Hongyan drank it all in one gulp, like a cow chewing a peony. She smiled and said, "It's just ordinary tea, but it tastes better than the tribute-offering Changxing Guzhu Purple Bamboo Tea."

"Can you teach me?" Duan Hongyan came closer, her expression instantly turning gentle as water.

Zhu Wen was shocked. He didn't expect that this junior sister who was as brave as a woman from the frontier would suddenly reveal the charming temperament of a little girl from the south of the Yangtze River.

She leaned very close, and the rich fragrance of the young girl filled his nose. Her big watery eyes were slightly raised as she looked at Zhu Wen, full of anticipation.

Zhu Wen knew that she was not some down-and-out scholar who would be moved to tears of gratitude over a cup of tea!
So what was this girl doing? Testing him, or teasing him?
Zhu Wen suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Even if the other party had no ill intentions, Zhu Wen did not want to get into too much trouble.

A gentle girl is actually gentle to everyone, but some people mistakenly think that she is only gentle to themselves, and then they become complacent and forget themselves, and finally end up parting on bad terms, with both parties hurt.

But the girl's fragrance that hit my face even overshadowed the tea fragrance in the air.

Zhu Wen had smelled the fragrance of girls before, but the fragrance of this little junior sister was so strong that it surpassed that of all the women he had known.

He was even more certain that it was not the smell of incense or rose water from the Western Regions, but the natural body odor of a girl!

Zhu Wen shifted his body and changed the subject: "By the way, why isn't Senior Brother here? He was the star who defeated the Taining Army. How boring it would be without him at this time."

"Him," Duan Hongyan shook her head. "He went to Alliance Leader Wang's camp to listen to music again. Master's military law is very strict, forbidding the establishment of brothels in the camp to entertain the public, so he likes to hang out there and listen to some indecent music."

"Oh my, which little girl is talking bad about Senior Brother behind his back again?"

A voice like a loud bell rang out. It was Meng Kai and Meng Juehai, who were shirtless and had chests like bronze towers. They had obviously just returned from listening to music.

Duan Hongyan smiled brightly and said happily, "Big Brother, you're back?"

She said to Meng Kai, "Brother Meng, I suddenly remembered that after Commander Xue deployed the trebuchets, you still insisted on charging. Fortunately, Junior Brother persuaded you to stop. Otherwise, our cavalry would not have been able to withstand the losses."

Meng Kai said: "Speaking of which, Snow Commander Qi Kerang's earthwork warfare skills are indeed not to be underestimated.

Zhu Wen suddenly asked Duan Hongyan, "Junior sister, you are quite strong. Archery requires physical strength. No wonder you are so accurate in every shot and kill enemies like grass. I just wonder if you can fight in close combat?"

Before Junior Sister Duan Hongyan could answer, Meng Kai spoke up, "She's afraid of pain, so she doesn't usually engage in close combat. But that might not be the case..."

Duan Hongyan suddenly glared at him, stopping Meng Kai from continuing, and then brought the topic back: "Since Commander Xue is proficient in combat equipment, the underground arts are also the first thing we should be wary of. Although Master must have thought of this, I still need to advise him to take this matter seriously."

Zhu Wen nodded: "The soil in Songzhou is soft, just right for digging tunnels."

At the same time, in the Taining army commander's tent, Qi Kerang and Yan Lingkong were sitting beside a elm wood chess table.

After a moment of silence, Qi Kerang smiled slightly, and suddenly, like a rabbit, he made a move on the chessboard. In Yan Lingkong's astonished expression, he killed a big dragon of Yan Lingkong.

"My turn, my move. The tide is about to roar to the moon."

After chatting with Meng Kai and Duan Hongyan, Zhu Wen returned to his tent and fell asleep.

He always gets enough sleep, and including his nap, he can sleep for five and a quarter hours.

"Get up, the moon is shining on your butt!"

A sound, accompanied by a violent shaking of his body, suddenly woke Zhu Wen from his dream.

"Fuck you!"

Zhu Wen roared, and threw a powerful hook punch, but he abruptly stopped it before it hit the opponent's jaw. "Second brother?"

A very tall young man with a broad face, a wide grin, and very short hair, his crown as plain as a scalp, squatted before his couch with a wicked grin. It was Zhu Wen's second brother, Zhu Cun.

He hasn't seen his second brother for more than half a year.

His impression of his second brother still remained on the night before he left. His second brother, smiling cheerfully, tied several unruly bandits to a red-hot iron plate, cut off their muscles inch by inch, and threw them to feed the dogs. Only when they were cut into pieces did he let them breathe their last.

This cruel and brutal scene made him feel very familiar and nostalgic.

That night, his second brother Zhu Cun, who had been diligently helping him manage the village so that Zhu Wen could abandon his legacy and travel around, suddenly left behind a letter with no beginning or end, and no trace of him was ever found again.

"Sanlang, you've chosen a good master this time." The big man scratched the lice in the crack of his neck and pressed them out viciously, causing a large amount of blood to flow out. The sound of crushing the lice to death seemed to explode the air.

The reason why Zhu Cun was able to sneak into Zhu Wen's camp and into the tent quietly was naturally because the soldier guarding the gate was one of the bandits that the two brothers had subdued together, and of course he recognized Zhu Cun.

Zhu Wen sat up instantly and grabbed his second brother's broad shoulders: "Second brother, where have you been for the past six months? I missed you so much..."

Of course, he couldn't go to his second brother because he still had to take care of the village. Without his second brother's assistance, Zhu Wen found that managing a group of troublemakers was actually a very troublesome task.

"woman."

Zhu Cun said with a silly look.

He always had a grin on his face and was over eight feet tall. Compared to his third brother who was naturally handsome, his facial features were very rough. He gave people the feeling that they did not look like they were born from the same mother. He was simply a big, stupid guy.

But if he was just an ordinary big guy, there is no way he could have tied someone to a red-hot iron plate with a smile, carefully cut off the bandit's flesh and skin one by one to feed the dog, and each time cut off the meat would be of the same size.

Zhu Wen was stunned: "Second brother, you don't care about women."

"What if it's the woman who used to be your second sister-in-law?" Zhu Cun said, "It's a shame she gave birth to several children for me..."

"But second brother, didn't you say that a good horse never turns back? Besides..."

"Pssst, do you think Second Brother is the type to go back to his ex?" Zhu Cun put his hands on his hips and snorted, "That woman really made you, Second Brother, see through all women. Otherwise, what would Second Brother have told you? Women should be beaten, don't be too polite!"

He sighed, "Ha, when you were young and needed your brother's help the most, you went chasing after that woman. All you cared about was pleasing her and you were completely ignored. You suffered so much injustice all those years. I'm really sorry!"

Zhu Wen was stunned. "What are you talking about, brother? It happened many years ago. You've worked so hard for me all these years. As your younger brother, I can't express my gratitude to you soon enough..."

"Oh, let's not talk about it anymore." Zhu Cun waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about that woman who made me, the second brother, feel so sorry for her. She was sold to a brothel."

Zhu Wen was shocked: "Could it be..."

Zhu Cun said, "It's really funny. She was leaning against the door and trying to show off her smile, and suddenly she burst into tears and begged me to redeem her out of our old friendship."

"She ate my food, drank my drinks, stole my men, and even ran off with them. I hate this bitch so much, how could I be willing to redeem her!"

Zhu Cun suddenly gritted his teeth and said.

"But wow, thinking about that bastard who took my beloved wife and played with her as he pleased, and then sold her to a brothel when he got tired of her, I'm really upset."

Zhu Wen had already guessed what would happen next.

Sure enough, Zhu Cun continued, "I can't use the money in the village. All that money and food is yours. So I searched everywhere for half a year, traveling thousands of miles, and hey, I finally found that bastard."

"As for my second brother, I would hang him upside down and whip him. When I saw that he couldn't bear it any longer, I would let him down to rest for a while, and then continue whipping him until he admitted his mistake."

"I finally gave him a good time. I searched his pockets for money, but it wasn't enough. My second brother cut off his flesh piece by piece and sold it to the steamed bun shop as pork."

"Then..." Zhu Cun showed a slightly smug look: "Your second brother will take the money back, redeem that damned woman, and then marry her to the old bachelor at the head of the village."

"Sanlang, tell me, did Second Brother feel happy about what he did?"

"Of course it feels great!" Zhu Wen clapped his hands.

He didn't know whether the scar on his second brother's heart had healed beneath his smile.

As for the fatigue of searching and tracking along the way, the hunger and thirst, and hunting wild game for food, Zhu Cun, who has always been a rough man, was too lazy to mention these things.

My second brother was also quite naughty and willful when he was young. But after Dad passed away, he became more serious. To this day, he has only been willful twice.

It was all because of the woman who used to be his second sister-in-law.

Apart from this, the meaning of the second brother's life seems to be for his younger brother.

"Sanlang, I heard you're going to have a big battle?"

"On the government army side, it's Qi Kerang, the governor of Taining, who is known as 'Qilian Snow Clear'." Zhu Wen nodded in agreement. He was too lazy to mention Song Wei's name.

"Okay, let Huang Shuai and the others see what my little brother is capable of!"

Zhu Cun showed a proud expression and seemed proud of his brother's intelligence.

But he added, "Sanlang, you must also remember, 'When you meet someone, be careful not to reveal your heart completely.' You, boy, are clearly extremely intelligent, but you often act on impulse. The village fortune teller says that young men like you are likely to achieve great things, but I also know that many knights have died young because of this..."

Zhu Wen was silent.

The silent barriers and subtle atmosphere between Huang Chao's army and Wang Xianzhi's army were indeed clearly seen by this wise but foolish second brother.

"To accomplish great things, one must study, but many profound principles can be understood without studying." Zhu Cun let out a wicked smile. "Sanlang, if you want to accomplish great things, I, your brother, will be like the pillars of a stone bridge, supporting you. My eyes are very clear, and if there's anything you can't see clearly, I, your brother, will be your eyes! As the saying goes, 'Those involved are often confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see more clearly.' I, your brother, have never sought fame or fortune in my life, so naturally, I see things more clearly than the average person..."

Zhu Wen felt a warm feeling in his heart, and his eyes couldn't help but become moist as he thought of his second brother who had helped him block his father's ruler when he was a child.

"Alright, you've always been a sleepyhead, so I won't disturb your sleep. Now that I'm back, I won't leave. Tomorrow, I'll be with you and we'll have a good fight against the imperial army!"

After saying this, Zhu Cun patted Zhu Wen on the shoulder and stood up. His tall figure suddenly seemed to support a mountain. He strode out of the tent like a meteor.

Zhu Wen stared at the direction of the tent door where his second brother disappeared, and his eyes stayed there for a long time.

He just felt suddenly relaxed and relieved.

(End of this chapter)