Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 67 Even Small Pebbles Can Block the Road (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)
"Hekou Village belongs to the Scout Army. Since you are a son of a soldier, why are you wandering around the wilderness instead of serving in the army?"

Zhang Min's question left Yun Ce stunned for a moment. He had just been thinking about how to cover up the fact that he had killed his father and her four brothers, but he didn't expect that she would start to care about his future.

“I am not from Hekou Village. I am a wild man who wandered to Hekou Village. Now I have left and come to Chuyun Prefecture to seek a future.”

"It started with killing Zhang Yaliang, seizing the seal, and writing his own letter of recommendation?"

When Zhang Min spoke, Yun Ce carefully observed her expression and found that she showed no emotional fluctuation when discussing Zhang Yaliang's death, as if she were talking about a stranger.

On a sudden impulse, he stepped forward and said, "Zhang Yaliang deserves to die!"

Zhang Min chuckled and said, "How do you know I'm not his daughter?"

Yun Ce said frankly, "Just because you don't care about the affairs of Pingyuan City."

Zhang Min fiddled with the small cage hanging on his belt and said, "The imperial court has no time to deal with the affairs of the wasteland. Over the years, the wasteland has been plagued by chaos. Of the twenty-seven cities, eleven are at risk of rebellion."

Yun Ce said knowingly, "When a boil is ripe, it should be popped. But why did the boil only appear in Sheyang City when it was already in Pingyuan City?"

Zhang Min looked at Yun Ce with surprise and said, "Zhang Yaliang is too greedy. He wants to make big money and he won't let go of small money. He even wants to sell the imperial court's favor to the wasteland, the talent recommendation book."

Over the years, Pingyuan City had long been on the verge of collapse. It was good to let the people of the wasteland vent their anger, and also to send a warning to the lords of other cities: don't go too far in exploiting them.

Yun Ce continued, "You watched me cut off Lord Yu's feet, the city lord of Sheyang City. What do you say about that?"

Zhang Min laughed and said, "Lord Yu lives a life more luxurious than that of a king or nobleman. He is just a fifth-level city lord and should not live such a life."

Hearing Zhang Min say this, Yun Ce, in a swagger, lifted his robe, revealing his left leg, and said, "I injured your leg, now you can retaliate in kind."

Zhang Min shook her head and said, "Some people say your life is very important. For the sake of righteousness, I'll suffer this loss."

Yun Ce immediately said, "Since you enjoy seeing me strive for improvement so much, I now need three letters of recommendation from nobles of the rank of Grand Master or above, so that I can continue to participate in the competition. Is that alright?"

Zhang Min smiled.

"I am a high-ranking official, and it is not difficult for me to give you three letters of recommendation. However, when I need manpower, you must accept my summons."

Yun Ce nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, of course."

Seeing Yun Ce agree so readily, Zhang Min said coldly, "If you go back on your word or disobey orders, you will find it really difficult to move an inch in the future, and you will suffer hardships you never imagined."

Yun Ce shrugged and said, "People don't know if they'll live or die tomorrow. To exchange an unreliable tomorrow for a smooth life today, to be honest, I think I've made a profit."

Zhang Min reached out and teased the fat worm with her finger. Seeing that the worm was still half-dead, she said to Yun Ce, "Someone will deliver the letter of recommendation to your inn in the evening."

Seeing Zhang Min turn to leave, Yun Ce quickly asked, "Can you tell me who said my life is so important?"

Zhang Min didn't answer, but just gave a strange smile before entering the wealthy man's house.

Long-term planning is not suitable for officialdom, because your promotion or demotion is never in your own hands. The most correct way is to seize every opportunity to climb the ladder.

Having the opportunity to climb higher means your luck has arrived; only by standing on another level can you see a more distant view.

Yun Ce deeply understands this point, which is why the higher one's official rank, the more one believes in fate. Only by reaching the highest position can one truly control one's destiny, rather than being controlled by it.

From Zhang Min's words, Yun Ce could tell that she needed him to act as her henchman in Chuyun City. At this moment, Yun Ce had no objection to being someone else's henchman.

"Izumo City isn't safe either." Yun Ce muttered to himself before continuing toward the schoolhouse. Today, he was determined to borrow the first part of "The Legend of King Huo" no matter what.

Yun Ce studied diligently in the school for four hours before finally returning the first part of "The Biography of King Huo," which he had managed to borrow with great difficulty. It was a fine bamboo scroll weighing over 400 jin.

Many people read this book, and the leather straps binding the bamboo slips broke in many places. There is a special cultural explanation for this, called "the leather straps breaking three times."

After reading only the first part, Yun Ce felt that the unparalleled martial achievements established by the Champion Marquis on Earth were less than one-tenth of those here.

This is nothing special, after all, it's Huo Qubing, a man who could accurately locate the enemy leader amidst thousands of troops and kill him, who could navigate accurately across more than a million square kilometers of land without maps or satellite navigation, and who could achieve unparalleled military exploits every time.

It's quite common for him to accumulate more military achievements here. However, Yun Ce still discovered something remarkable in the first part of the "Biography of King Huo": this guy is incredibly resilient.

According to the "Biography of King Huo", from the time he first led two thousand Thunder Smoke Beast cavalry to destroy the Horned Throat Kingdom, to the last battle he participated in that broke the 600,000-strong rebel army of Maqi, this guy actually lived for five hundred years!

At first glance, "The Legend of King Huo" is straightforward, concise, and uncomplicated. It simply recounts events without incorporating personal emotions, and is not a novelist's fabrication.

In Yun Ce's view, the historical records of Huo Qubing's biography are more authentic and credible than the records in the "Records of the Grand Historian," which is written in a literary narrative style.

If we include the twenty-four years this guy lived on Earth, he has lived for a total of five hundred and twenty-four years, five hundred of which are calculated according to the Divine Dragon Calendar.

Having made a good haul today, Yun Ce went to the meat stall and bought half a wild boar and a bag of rice. Seeing that the sky was overcast, he decided to cook a delicious braised pork meal for E Ji and the others so that they wouldn't be too full of energy and would keep thinking about climbing into his bed.

When Feng An returned to the inn, he had already eaten, but he looked very tired and listless. This was probably the consequence of going through the door of that noble lady. He could make up for it later by having the inn's waiter get him a couple of beast whips or something.

Liang Kun lay on the bed, his face covered in injuries, and his back and legs were not very stable. Listening to his groans and complaints, Yun Ce learned that he had tricked a large group of students into staging a sit-in protest at the governor's office early this morning.

Instead of the governor coming out to comfort them, a large group of fierce-looking yamen runners appeared, wielding sticks and hitting them, specifically targeting their faces.

After beating them, they didn't even offer an explanation, and instead threatened them that if they dared to come again, they would beat them again.

Seeing that Liang Kun was about to rebel in anger, Yun Ce quickly comforted him, saying that he had obtained three letters of recommendation from the Grand Master through some channel!

Leaning against the bed, Feng An said weakly, "It's nothing more than money and sex. Power has nothing to do with us, my lord. In the future, we two can do such shameful things, but you can't."

Yun Ce said seriously, "Don't be so extreme in the future. There are still good nobles in this world. I killed her father, Eji killed her four brothers, and I even shot an arrow through someone's thigh in the wilderness. Even so, people still think I am an unparalleled genius."

Worried that my lack of a recommendation letter would block my opportunity to serve the court, she practically begged me to accept her handwritten recommendation. Seeing that I wasn't entirely satisfied, she wrote both your recommendation letters and will send them over this evening.

"Zhang Min?"

This time, not only did it surprise Feng An and Liang Kun, but even Eji clutched her hair and let out a shrill scream.

"impossible!"

Yun Ce chuckled lightly, then left the room full of fools behind and went briskly to the kitchen to prepare his specialty, braised pork.

After opening the bag of rice, Yun Ce was stunned for a moment. He couldn't believe that any grains of white rice could be as big as peanuts. Now, seeing them with his own eyes, each grain glistening, it was clear that they were very rich in carbohydrates.

Yun Ce put the rice into the steamer and began to process the pork. After he removed the pork belly from the wild boar, he couldn't help but frown. The pork was too lean and the muscles were too coarse, making it difficult to chew.

There are also uneaten piglets hidden in the Dragon Balls. He carefully selected those piglets; they were plump and tender. Even without pork belly, the braised pork he made would definitely be delicious.

While stewing the meat, he checked the stock of Earth's soy sauce powder inside the Dragon Balls again. There wasn't much left, so he should use it less in the future.

A small pig, including meat and bones, weighs only about ten pounds. With the addition of beans, which are unique to the Han people, a large pot of food was managed to be made.

When he lifted the lid of the steamer, he casually scooped up a grain of rice to eat. Sure enough, just as he had expected, this rice not only had a faint sweetness in its taste, but also a delicate fragrance of autumn chrysanthemums.

When the braised pork was brought to a boil, the aroma was so irresistible that not only was Angie, who was helping in the kitchen, drooling, but the eyes of the little girls were also filled with longing for the food.

Despite his weak condition and embarrassment at standing with a group of women and children, Feng An leaned against the door frame with one hand, watching Yun Ce's busy figure as if he were seeing a god.

The two girls helped Liang Kun from the bed to the stone table in the courtyard. Looking at the mountain of dark red meat chunks piled up in the basin, they swallowed hard and said to Eji, "If we could have such delicious food every day, our monthly allowance could be reduced."

Eji served each of the little girls a bowl of meat and sent them away. Just as she was about to sit down and eat with Feng An and Liang Kun, she heard a clear and melodious voice coming from the courtyard gate.

"I want to eat too, so please add another set of chopsticks and a bowl."

After discussing what Yun Ce said before cooking, Feng An, Liang Kun, and E Ji concluded that it was impossible and treated it as a joke.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Min came to visit in person. She casually placed the three prepared silk scrolls on the table, took the rice that Eji had prepared for her, picked up a piece of braised pork with her chopsticks, examined it on the rice for a moment, picked up the rice bowl, and pounced fiercely on it.

(End of this chapter)