Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 73 Is this also a traitor?
"The martial arts competition is held at the Tiger General's Mansion in Chuyun City. Unlike the civil service competition, which is held only once every three years, you can go anytime you want."

If you defeat the infantrymen, you become an infantryman; if you defeat the spearmen, you become a spearmen; if you defeat the light cavalry (oh, the sheep you mentioned), you become a light cavalry; if you defeat the Thunder Smoke Beast heavy cavalry, you become a Thunder Smoke Beast heavy cavalry and can also obtain the title of Duke.

If you are skilled enough to defeat the Thunder Smoke Beast Heavy Cavalry Centurion, you will become a Centurion and be promoted to the rank of Shangzao. If you are confident that you can defeat the Thunder Smoke Beast Grand Commander, then you will be even more impressive. You will be granted the title of Zan Niao, and the army will provide you with housing, servants, and ten catties of gold.

We, too, will be able to officially become your retainers, the kind recognized by the government, unlike the untitled retainers we are now.”

Feng An was very good at gathering information. In just two hours, he had already found out all the rules of the martial arts competition in Chuyun City in great detail.

Seeing that Yun Ce wanted to praise him, Feng An quickly waved his hand and said, "These rules are engraved on the wooden boards at the entrance of the Tiger Guard Commandery's training ground, so you don't need to praise me."

Yun Ce smiled and asked, "How has the martial arts competition been these past few years? How many people have been promoted to the rank of Gongshi, and how many have been promoted to the rank of Shangzao? And how many have become Zan Niao?"

Feng An proudly raised an index finger at Eji, Anji, Liang Kun and the others who had gathered around, and waved it from side to side, saying: "We have infantry, Gongshi, Shangzao, and Zanniao, but none of them. Not only this year, but the last person to receive the title of Gongshi was five years ago, and he is now a ten-man general of the Thunder Smoke Beast Heavy Cavalry of the Tiger Guard Commandery."

Liang Kun quickly asked, "What's the intricacies of this...?"

Feng An shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of anything dirty. After all, you replaced the person you defeated. I've never heard of anyone deliberately losing to their opponent. They all beat each other to death."

Liang Kun looked at Yun Ce and asked, "What is the master's opinion?"

Yun Ce frowned and said, "Don't talk to me like this in the future. It's much better to talk like before. Why do you have to speak so inhumanly?"

Feng An opened his mouth several times, and finally laughed and said, "It's better to follow the rules. When Prince Huo first joined the army, he was willing to get along with the soldiers. He was brave in battle and often charged ahead and retreated behind. Do you know what happened later?"

Yun Ce thought for a moment and said, "His deputy general wants to replace him."

"Huh? How did you know?" Feng An was surprised; he didn't remember telling Yun Ce this story before.

Yun Ce laughed and said, "A general should unite his command team the most, rather than mixing with the lower-ranking soldiers. Over time, the general will lose his authority, and the soldiers will lose their respect for him. At the same time, his command team will think that the general always charges ahead and retreats behind, and that he will die sooner or later."

Therefore, the lieutenant had many ways to deliberately kill him.

Tell me, how was Huo Qubing framed and killed?

Feng An bowed to the east and said, "That was when King Huo was pacifying the Gui Fang. At that time, facing the Gui Fang's 80,000 elite cavalry, King Huo planned to use 3,000 Thunder Smoke Beast heavy cavalry in the central army to charge and break through the enemy's formation. After the enemy was in disarray, he would then use the left and right armies and the remaining central army to completely annihilate the Gui Fang's 80,000 elite cavalry."

Upon hearing this, Yun Ce sighed and said, "He personally led the troops into battle?"

Feng An shrugged and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. The 80,000 elite cavalry of the Gui Fang are the cream of the crop. King Huo is invincible. He is the sharpest spear of the Han Dynasty. If he doesn't lead the troops, the 3,000 heavy cavalry won't be able to achieve their goal."

So he charged into the enemy lines, fighting for two hours before finally breaking through and killing Saitama, the king of the Oni tribe. This threw the enemy army into chaos, leaving him with less than five hundred men. Just as he was about to wait for the rest of the army to advance, he found them standing firm.

Thus, in this fierce battle, legend has it that King Huo single-handedly beheaded 20,000 enemies.

When Yun Ce saw that Feng An was keeping him in suspense, he understood that Huo Qubing had killed 20,000 Han soldiers. The matter was clear, but he really wanted to know how Huo Qubing had managed to create such a famous scene of killing 20,000 people all by himself.

Seeing that Yun Ce didn't ask for a long time, Feng An said, "Do you know what Prince Huo did?"

Yun Ce snorted and said, "I don't know what Huo Qubing did, I only know that Huo Qubing must have suffered a crushing defeat in that battle."

Alright, I'll tell you the rest of the story after I participate in the martial arts competition. You all should get some rest. Even though Zhang Min will be helping you in tomorrow's literary competition, you still need to show some literary talent. Don't let Zhang Min complain afterwards that she helped two idiots and keep asking me for favors.”

Feng An and Liang Kun were somewhat excited. Although they both hoped to pass the test based on their own abilities, they tacitly avoided mentioning Zhang Min.

It seems that the two of them are well aware that they cannot get through this without Zhang Min's help.

In the evening, Zhang Min came again. Her belly was still swollen, which caused her legs to splay outwards when she walked. Even so, she still walked over. She must have endured a lot of strange stares and scrutiny along the way.

"This martial arts competition is the closest you've ever come to winning the title of 'Zan Niao Jue'. You managed to seize such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I must say, your luck is truly exceptional."

Yun Ce had become somewhat tolerant of Zhang Min's unpredictable way of speaking. After E Ji undid his long hair, he sat on a wooden stool to wash his hair, not intending to fall into Zhang Min's trap.

"Do you know that I have some news? That captain participated in the battle to kill the Pig King and the Bear King some time ago. Although he killed the Pig King and the Bear King, he was stabbed in the stomach by the Bear King's claws and was seriously injured. He has not fully recovered yet."

"I see your martial arts are quite good. If you challenge this Grand Commander now, you're sure to win. Then, the coveted noble title will be yours for the taking!"

Yun Ce immersed his head in warm water, ignoring Zhang Min's seductive words. This woman always said that Eji, Feng An, and Liang Kun were all descendants of sinners, with the blood of sinners flowing in their veins. But after getting to know Zhang Min better over this period, he realized she was a truly ruthless person; her numerous scars were proof enough. What decent woman would dare to continue charging into battle against swords, spears, axes, hooks, and a hail of arrows?
This results in a front covered in scars, while the back remains as white as jade.

Such a person doesn't even value his own life, so how could he care about the lives of others?

She made it sound so easy, but Yun Ce had heard Gouzi say that although he was scratched by the bear king, it was to take the opportunity to kill the bear. In the end, he survived while the bear was cut into pieces. Yun Ce didn't want to become that bear king who died unjustly.

Yun Ce ignored her, and Zhang Min didn't feel embarrassed. For some reason, she suddenly noticed that E Ji was applying a large, grayish substance to Yun Ce's hair. After applying it, some foam appeared, and after a little rubbing, Yun Ce's hair was clean.

I took some from Yun Ce's hair and smeared it on my hands. It was sticky and slippery. I rubbed it a couple of times, then rinsed my hands with water like E Ji did. When I raised my hands again, I inexplicably felt that my hands were much whiter and softer.

After washing his hair, Yun Ce dried his long, wet hair with a cloth and said to Zhang Min, who was holding the soap and didn't want to put it down, "This thing is called soap, and it's very good for cleaning and bathing."

"I took it." Zhang Min remained as unreasonable as ever.

Yun Ce continued, "E Ji always wants to buy a big house and decorate it according to her wishes, preferably with many diligent and beautiful maids and servants to accompany her."

"Look, I'll give you this and the secret recipe. Will they fulfill Eji's wish?"

Zhang Min held the soap to her nose and sniffed it, then looked at Yun Ce and said, "It smells nice."

Yun Ce handed the cloth to E Ji and said, "You can adjust the fragrance or choose your favorite scent."

Zhang Min asked incredulously, "You came up with this?"

Yun Ce nodded.

Zhang Min looked at Yun Ce and said, "Women should really like this stuff; it's much better than making your hair all sticky with bean powder."

Yun Ce raised his hand and said, "Men's hair is also very long."

"If you knew it was a good thing, why did you give it to me?"

Yun Ce sat down on the wooden stake, somewhat dejected, and said, "What will happen to a boy who hides gold in his pocket and walks around in the bustling city? His fate will be my fate."

Zhang Min continued to sniff the soap haphazardly. When she had had her fill, she returned the soap to Eji and sighed, "This thing is too good, and I am just another child."

Yun Ce took the used soap from E Ji's hand and placed it in Zhang Min's hand, saying, "It should be fine for you to use it yourself."

Holding the soap, Zhang Min finally said to Yun Ce, "Whether you like it or not, Zhou Chengming will come down to fight you in tomorrow's martial arts competition. If you don't reach the level he expects, he will kill you without hesitation."

"Why?"

"He didn't want people to know that Wu Tong had misjudged people in the past."

"Is it this Wu Tong who made you let go of the hatred between us?"

Zhang Min shook her head and said, "Not entirely, but we all trust Wu Tong. He hasn't made a mistake yet, and I hope he hasn't misjudged this time either."

I'll also inform him about your soap via Feixin. He should have a way to deal with it, and incidentally, fulfill your greedy young lord's wish.

After watching Zhang Min leave, Yun Ce asked Feng An, who was secretly observing Zhang Min from the side, "Did you figure it out?"

Feng An said in a somber voice, "She trusts Commandant Zhou and Wu Tong, and Commandant Zhou trusts Wu Tong even more. Therefore, I think the three of them are in cahoots, and not with the government."

Yun Ce recalled the Red Girl and Pei Chuan he encountered as soon as he entered the densely populated area, and couldn't help but wonder in his heart if anyone he had a deep relationship with was a traitor.

Tomorrow, I must take a good look at this Captain Zhou, lest I stumble upon a highly armed rebel group.

He didn't want to become a traitor that everyone hated before he had a clear understanding of this world.

Furthermore, according to the Earth's rebellion patterns, those who take the lead in becoming rebels never have a good ending.

(End of this chapter)