Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 77 Everyone Wants to Get Rich from the Emperor
In the following days, Zhang Min didn't come over for meals, and Hong Guniang didn't come to ask for money. It seemed that everything had returned to how it was when they first arrived in Chuyun City.

Yun Ce finished reading "The Biography of King Huo" at a rate of 1,000 jin of books per day.

When he saw that the King Huo, who had lived for six hundred years, had finally died, he was carried into the Yanran Mountain Mausoleum, and after the tens of thousands of kilograms of the Dragon-Slaying Stone completely isolated the King Huo from the world.

Emperor Liu Shou of the Han Dynasty ordered the whole country to celebrate for three days.

Yun Ce read the book carefully and confirmed that the whole country had indeed celebrated for three days, not mourned for three days.

The current territory of the Han Dynasty was actually established by Huo Qubing and his troops over a period of five hundred years. Before his death, none of his juniors saw him off, and the closest blood relative to him also passed away eighty-three years ago.

Looking at historical records, everyone else felt that Huo Qubing was really pitiful. He lived for so long, but he couldn't protect his descendants. Therefore, the historical records warned people in the end that people should not seek immortality!

Yun Ce felt that this statement was very true. Yun Linchuan had lived for over a hundred years and already felt that he had suffered unspeakably. If Yun Linchuan were to live for five hundred years like Huo Qubing, he was certain that his life would be a life of dedication and a life without self.

Therefore, one should not live too long. One should send off the person who raised you in peace, raise the person you raised in health and safety, and live a few carefree years. When one day you find that you can no longer control your emotions, you should die quickly. The sooner you die, the more you will be remembered.

Huo Qubing lived too long, which is why such an absolutely great national hero became an immortal old thief.

Yun Ce also borrowed many research papers on King Huo. The most puzzling question was why King Huo did not kill Liu Shou and establish himself as emperor.

Logically speaking, King Huo was absolutely capable of doing this. Moreover, in the past five hundred years, King Huo had killed three Han emperors, and each time he killed a Han emperor, he would support another Han emperor, without exception.

"Yes, why doesn't King Huo kill the Han emperor and seize the throne himself?"

Feng An put away the gift he had just wrapped and echoed with a puzzled expression.

"Perhaps he didn't like being emperor."

Liang Kun gave a casual answer, believing that the dead should stay in their graves and not create new problems for the living.

From these two burly, scholarly men, Yun Ce learned that Huo Qubing was not well-liked among the Han people. It was only because he had done so much for the world that many things could not be done without mentioning him, which is why historians had to give him a place in their books.

Looking at Huo Qubing's appearance in the Han Dynasty and recalling his records on Earth, it seems quite similar.

Heroes are only useful for a short time. The best hero is one who, after saving the emperor and receiving his reward, drinks himself to death. That way, history will record him, the emperor will praise him, and the people will remember him.

In winter, the probability of snowfall in Izumo Castle is too high. As long as a cloud drifts over from Mount Kora, it will definitely snow in Izumo Castle. The snow will always fall inside the castle. If you go outside the castle walls, you will be surprised to find that there is no snow outside the castle.

After Feng An wrapped all the gifts laid out on the table in silk or bark cloth, he said to Yun Ce, "Currently, there are two positions available in Chuyun City for you, the winner of the martial arts competition, to choose from: one is the head of the fast horse squad under the Chuyun Prefecture City Lord's Mansion, and the other is the grain and fodder escort officer under the Chuyun Prefecture Governor's Mansion."

The former is responsible for catching thieves, and the latter for security; neither is an easy job, but both are positions of real power. After all, these positions require truly capable people, and you're best suited for them.

Yun Ce said somewhat reluctantly, "Aren't there any positions where you don't have to do anything but get paid a lot?"

Liang Kun nodded and said, "Yes, but it's not your turn."

"Isn't there anything else to choose from?"

"Yes, the jailer."

"Don't give me that nonsense about arresting people, guarding, or being a jailer. You should know that my friends are either rebels or treacherous traitors. Doing these kinds of jobs would easily get you dragged into the den of thieves."

"Then you'll have to guard the beacon towers, or the military's fodder depot. Oh, there's also a royal hunting ground near Izumo City that General Liu Xiang built for the emperor back then. You could go there and be in charge."

These places are free.

Without much thought, Yun Ce said directly, "I choose the Royal Hunting Grounds."

Feng An looked at Yun Ce and said, "That place is about 200 miles from Chuyun City, near Gaoliang Mountain. It's a place where wild beasts roam freely, and I've heard that it's never been peaceful there. At least three stewards have died. After the people from Panxing Tower investigated, they said that a monster was killed and everything will be fine from now on."

However, this claim is not very credible, and that place remains dangerous.

Yun Ce laughed and said, "I have personally witnessed how they killed the Pig King and the Bear King, so their words are credible."

Liang Kun said, "That place has been built for over sixty years now. Despite bearing the name of a royal hunting ground, no royal has ever come here. It's too desolate." Yun Ce glanced at Feng An and Liang Kun and smiled silently, saying, "We're not going there to become officials. Right now, the most important thing is to wait long enough to obtain the title of Shangzao. Then, we'll head to Chang'an. If we're going to be officials, it'll only have some meaning in Chang'an. Here in Chuyun Prefecture, even if we become city lords, what good will it do? We'll still be suppressed by the governor of Chuyun Prefecture and unable to raise our heads."

Eji nodded and said, "Let's go to the royal hunting grounds, as you say, my lord."

Seeing that Yun Ce had made up his mind, Feng An took a few gifts and left with Liang Kun. Although he was not required to give gifts when he went to the royal hunting grounds to be a manager, Feng An still felt that it would be better to bring gifts. It's never wrong to give too many gifts.

As darkness fell, the snow intensified. Just an hour ago, there was a faint glimmer of light on the horizon, but the snow completely obscured that glimmer.

Zhou Chengming stood on a large piece of silk cloth marked with mountain shapes and geography. He wandered barefoot on it for a long time before finally stepping on Izumo City and asking Zhang Min, who was also barefoot on the geomantic map, "Have the people from Panxing Tower all withdrawn from Izumo City?"

Zhang Min nodded and said, "Wu Tong took a group of people to Congzhou. I don't have many people left here. Today, I received an urgent report from Lord Yu, the city lord of Sheyang City, that there are rebels causing trouble there again. Tomorrow, I will lead the remaining envoys to Sheyang City to investigate."

Zhou Chengming sneered and said, "Very well. Tomorrow, I will also lead my troops to Tiewei Pass. In this way, whatever happens in Chuyun City will be none of our business."

Zhang Min sighed and said, "The Black Armor Army is not yet fully trained. If they go to Tiewei Pass to fight the elite cavalry of the Guifang at this time, I'm afraid their chances of survival are slim."

Zhou Chengming sighed and said, "I am already very satisfied that you have given us three years."

Zhang Min gritted his teeth and said, "We will depart from Yunzhou in six days to pay the tribute for the next ten years. The military commander will be Zhao Ling, the military officer in charge, and he will be accompanied by 3,800 cavalry. I heard that the wife and children of Han Du, the governor of Yunzhou, are also in the procession, as well as an unknown number of his family retainers."

Zhou Chengming laughed and said, "Under the charge of the Black Armored Cavalry, they are nothing but a bunch of dead men."

Zhang Min added, "According to my investigation, you're not the only one eyeing this batch of tribute."

Zhou Chengming laughed and said, "Come on, if they don't come to my house, where else can we find scapegoats?"

"You were once a dignified general, but now you're helping your son rob your father's money. I'm afraid that when the world finds out, you will die without a burial place."

Zhou Chengming laughed and said, "Let the world hold out until the moment they can laugh at me."

Yun Ce stood under the eaves and reached out to scoop up a handful of snow. He had never seen such dense snow before. Snowflakes the size of his palm fell from the sky in layers, continuing to accumulate on the ground. In a short time, the snow had accumulated to a depth of two feet.

Having served as an official at the grassroots level for a long time, he has become accustomed to looking up at the rooftops. If such heavy snow were to occur on Earth, he would definitely not be able to sleep and would need to be on duty in the office all night. Once he receives a report of an emergency, he would have to set off immediately to carry out rescue operations.

The officials here don't seem to have this habit. When Feng An and Liang Kun returned through the snow, they were covered in the smell of alcohol, indicating that they had gone drinking with the officials.

Ever since these two participated in the competition, banquets have been held one after another. If it weren't for the fact that they still had to help Yun Ce with his business, Yun Ce felt that the two of them would have drunk themselves to death in the arms of a woman.

Back in his room, after brushing the snow off himself, Feng An handed over Yun Ce's official document appointing him as the head steward of the royal hunting grounds.

Yun Ce glanced at the official document and gave it to E Ji, then looked at Feng An and Liang Kun and said, "I plan to set off tomorrow, you..."

“We’ll go with you.” Feng An said decisively. Seeing that Liang Kun didn’t hesitate either, Yun Ce smiled and said, “Alright, we’ll set off tomorrow.”

Seeing that Feng An was about to leave, Yun Ce couldn't help but ask, "With such heavy snow, it's common for houses to be crushed. What, is the government not going to do anything about it?"

Feng An said in surprise, "Those that were going to collapse have already collapsed. The existing houses are all well-tested and will be fine. Also, don't waste the snow here. Many families who can't afford good water rely on this snow to store water in their cellars."

Only then did Yun Ce understand that there must be a reason why a place can exist for so long. Existence is its own justification. He didn't know who said it, but Yun Ce felt it made perfect sense.

The blizzard stopped after three hours, and the snow on the ground was up to Yun Ce's chest. He thought the snow would affect his departure from the city to take up his post at the Royal Hunting Grounds the next day. Unexpectedly, someone knocked on the courtyard door in the middle of the night.

Yun Ce opened the door and saw Hong Guniang leading a group of people, pushing a cart, standing respectfully at the door. She said weakly, "If my lord does not need this snow, could you please give it to us?"

"it is good."

Hong Guniang was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately ordered people to start shoveling snow from the doorway. These people were very familiar with shoveling snow, using a large wooden shovel to remove the snow layer by layer and then loading it into a bucket cart. People on both sides shoveled the snow, leaving the middle for the bucket cart to drive through. In less than an hour, the snow in Yun Ce's small courtyard was shoveled down to only a thin layer.

Just as Yun Ce was about to close the door and go inside, he heard Hong Guniang whisper in his ear, "Do you want to get rich?"

　Brothers and sisters, if you have any extra monthly tickets, please give them to me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)