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Chapter 35 Dinner Party
The old soldier's shout quickly spread the news of Zhou Hu and the others' return throughout the camp.
At the camp gate, the first to rush out were not officers, but a group of familiar faces:
Wang Shitou, who had previously competed in martial arts, Zhao Da, who guarded the arrow rack, and Liu Er, who was brought from the stable to take over the post.
They were just curious and craning their necks to look, but when they saw the person Liu Gao was carrying on his shoulder, they all gaped in astonishment.
"We actually found it!"
"Is this the big swindler?"
"Can't you speak properly! What a big liar! He's Guerrilla Commander Shen."
"I don't care about guerrilla warfare. I heard they were dug out from under a cliff; they're incredibly lucky."
The cheers surged one after another from the camp gate toward the central army.
Someone casually patted Liu Gao on the shoulder, making him grimace.
Someone shouted at Yan Qi, "Mountain Rat, how many roads have you recognized this time?"
Yan Qi merely raised his bow, offering no comment.
Several people tried to squeeze through to see Shen Weijing's face, but Zhou Hu only needed one look to push them back.
Old Qian, the fireman, also ran over from the kitchen, clutching half a steamed bun in his hand.
He glanced at the several cuts on Mo Qinmian's armor, then looked at Old Ding limping at the back. His mouth was slightly open, but he didn't ask anything. He just stuffed the pancake into Liu Gao's hand.
"Put some padding in first."
Liu Gao freed one hand and took a big bite.
"Qian Tou, you're the one who loves me the most."
"I love your mother."
Old Qian cursed and ran away.
Shen Weijing leaned on Liu Gao's shoulder, looked at the crowd gathered on both sides, and sighed softly.
"In all these years of traveling around, Mr. Shen has been chased, cursed, and treated like a conman. This is the first time he's been surrounded by people like this."
"Then you'd better remember that."
Liu Gao chewed on a biscuit, "If you run around like this again, you won't get this treatment."
"Don't worry, brother. I won't go anywhere until my leg is healed."
"What happens after your leg heals?"
Shen Weijing thought for a moment, "That depends on whether Commander Li will let me go."
Liu Gao rolled his eyes and shrugged slightly.
Han Shouyi stood before the central command tent.
Upon seeing Zhou Hu enter, he stepped aside and lifted the tent flap.
Zhou Hu nodded to him and led the group in single file.
Inside the tent, Li Rusong sat at the head of the table, with a map of Liaodong spread out on the table.
Beside him was a bowl of tea that had long since gone cold.
Li Rubai stood to the side, scanning each person who came in.
The military doctor, who had been waiting in advance, immediately focused on Shen Weijing's leg injury.
Shen Weijing stopped on one leg, put his hand on Liu Gao's shoulder, and bowed slightly: "Commander Li, I'm back."
Li Rusong didn't stand on ceremony and asked directly.
"How did you get your leg like that?"
"He jumped off a cliff."
"Jump off a cliff?"
"I was being chased relentlessly. I jumped down, and luckily, I survived."
Li Rusong didn't ask any more questions and turned his gaze to Zhou Hu.
Zhou Hu clasped his hands in a fist salute and succinctly recounted the Battle of Yaikou:
Seven Japanese soldiers blocked their way, and Iron Hand, Narrow Sword, Double Sickles, and Longbow were successively cut down.
Two Japanese assassins appeared: a ronin wielding twin swords and a rope-wielding yaksha. Old Ding fought them both single-handedly and held them off until they finally retreated.
Shen Weijing was found at the bottom of the cliff; he had a leg injury, but was otherwise unharmed.
After listening, Li Rusong turned his gaze to the instructor and the monkey.
The instructor clasped his hands in a fist salute: "We were ordered to escort Guerrilla Shen. We were ambushed on the post road, but we jumped into the woods and escaped with our lives."
"Shen Weijing," Li Rusong said.
Shen Weijing straightened up a bit, but this aggravated his leg injury, causing his lips to twitch slightly: "Here."
"What's your opinion on the Japanese camp?"
Shen Weijing licked his chapped lips: "Reporting to Commander Li, Konishi Yukinaga is indeed stalling. Pyongyang's supplies are still adequate, but the Japanese army may not be united. Konishi is willing and able to negotiate, but the Kanpaku (regent) behind him makes negotiations impossible."
Li Rusong nodded and did not ask any further questions.
Finally, his gaze fell on Mochin.
"Mo Qin".
"exist."
"How many people were killed at the cliff's edge?"
"One Narrow Blade Hand and one Iron Hand Hand joined forces with Zhou Hu to kill him."
Are you injured?
"Left arm skin and flesh injury."
Li Rusong pondered for a moment.
It has only been a little over ten days since Guangningwei began recruiting soldiers, and this soldier from Liaodong has already shielded him from a poisoned arrow, fought his way out of the encirclement of the stables, and now he has killed two Japanese soldiers at the cliff's edge.
"Those who have made contributions should be rewarded."
All eyes in the tent turned to Mo Qin.
Mo Qin clasped his hands in greeting: "Commander Li, I do not want any reward or official position."
Li Rusong's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Then what do you want?"
"time."
"time?"
"Before crossing the river, I asked Commander Li to allow me to be relieved of my miscellaneous duties in the camp so that I could focus on practicing shooting."
Li Rubai glanced at him sideways: "He's a sensible person, after all."
Li Rusong nodded: "Alright. There are still about ten days before the army crosses the river. You should hurry up and train."
Next up is Lin Jun.
"And you?"
Lin Jun clasped his hands in greeting: "Replying to Commander Li, I am the same as Mo Qin."
"In the battle at the cliff pass, my short stick was enough to fight ordinary opponents, but against tougher ones, I couldn't get a foothold. Before crossing the river, I also wanted to master this skill."
"What do you want to practice?"
Li Rusong saw Han Shouyi nod slightly.
"Close combat, short sticks and short knives, usable at point-blank range."
Li Rusong nodded slightly: "Approved. Before crossing the river, you won't be assigned any miscellaneous tasks. There are veteran soldiers in the vanguard who know how to use a short sword; go find them."
Lin Jun clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Commander Li."
When it was Liu Gao's turn, the atmosphere became slightly more relaxed.
"Li Shuai, my door panel is broken."
He tucked half a broken door panel under his arm, the tear haphazardly bound with straw rope, looking utterly wretched.
Li Rusong glanced at it for a moment: "Completely shattered?"
"The cliff was smashed three times, splitting in two. I took a knife in the forest and got another cut."
Liu Gao lifted the door panel, and loosened the straw rope a little more.
Li Rubai's lips twitched, as if he couldn't help but laugh.
Li Rusong frowned slightly and asked, "You left the camp without permission and followed Zhou Hu into the mountains. What is your punishment according to military law?"
Liu Gao's face turned pale, and he stammered.
Shen Weijing wanted to plead for mercy, but Li Rusong glared at him and shut him up.
After a pause, Li Rusong said in a low voice, "Considering that you carried Guerrilla Shen all the way back and prevented him from freezing to death, I'll spare your life. Here's a shield for you."
Liu Gao exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!"
Behind the tent, a guard brought out a wooden shield with a vermilion lacquer background. The shield featured a lion's head with wide-open, angry eyes, a mane that was curled up, and a copper ring in its mouth.
It is lighter than a door panel and easy to hold.
Liu Gao weighed it in his hand, his eyes lighting up.
"The Ming Dynasty's military system provides ten pairs of swords and shields, which is more respectable than your door panel."
Li Rusong's tone was like reciting a military register.
Shen Weijing whispered a reminder: "Brother, please say thank you."
Liu Gao snapped out of his daze: "Thank you, Commander Li!"
He stepped aside, shield in hand, grinning from ear to ear.
Li Rusong turned to the instructor and the monkey: "Protect Shen Youji and continue to follow him. He will be at the command of the central army."
The coach clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes."
Shen Weijing interjected, "With them around, my leg recovered faster."
Someone inside the tent couldn't help but chuckle, and a laugh escaped for half a second.
Li Rusong looked at Lao Ding one last time. Lao Ding was squatting in the corner, pressing his old leg with his hand.
"Do you need something?"
"none."
Knowing Lao Ding's personality, Li Rusong nodded and said nothing more.
Han Shouyi presented small silver ingots, ten taels each, including the instructor and the monkey.
Liu Gao held the shield and clutched the silver ingot, looking at it from left to right, unsure whether to be happy or not.
Yan Qi carefully put away the silver ingots with light and agile movements.
Lin Jun didn't even weigh it before stuffing it into his pocket.
Mochin turned the silver ingots over and put them away.
Stepping out of the tent, the wind and snow hit us in the face.
Liu Gao carried the shield and walked in front, while Shen Weijing was being supported by a monkey and hopping on one leg, muttering, "Everyone must do me the honor of attending tonight, Shen is the host."
The wind and snow howled, but Mo Qin still heard footsteps behind him; it was Zhou Hu.
"Your gun has a frame."
He slowly approached.
"I saw it clearly when you were wrapping your narrow blade around the cliff edge earlier. Your energy flow has become much smoother, with fewer breaks in the middle."
"But the changes are still superficial."
Zhou Hu's words were true, and Mo Qin could only remain silent.
Immediately, a jolt ran through my shoulder.
Looking up, Zhou Hu nodded and said, "You came across the river to find me. Spending a few rounds with you will be faster than practicing alone on a wooden stake."
Overjoyed at this good news, Mo Qin quickly clasped his hands in thanks.
Inside the kitchen, steam was rising.
Old Qian was in charge of cooking, grumbling and complaining, but his hands were never lax in their work.
Stewed meat in a large pot for half an hour, the aroma of bones and broth wafts out from the stove opening.
The steamed buns were piled up like a small mountain, with pickled vegetables and mixed grain rice placed next to them.
Liu Gao sat down with his shield in his arms, Yan Qi leaned against his shoulder, Lin Jun slowly blew on the soup, and the instructor monkey flanked Shen Weijing on both sides.
Mo Qin sat leaning against the door, his white wax spear resting across his lap.
Old Ding had initially declined the offer, saying he was too old to rest.
He said he wouldn't come, but he still came, only squatting by the stove and not going to the table.
Shen Weijing raised his glass and suggested that they drink together.
After swallowing the strong liquor from Liaodong, the fire rushed straight to Liu Gao's chest, causing him to choke and tears to stream down his face.
Shen Weijing remained expressionless and downed half a bowl in one gulp.
"That night on the post road,"
Shen Weijing wiped his mouth. "When we retreated to the edge of the cliff, the three of us had three bows. We thought we were going to die. But when we looked back, the snow was as thick as a cotton quilt."
"You just jumped?"
Liu Gao asked.
"He jumped."
Shen Weijing slapped his thigh. "I lost my leg, but I didn't die. When I woke up, I was covered in some kind of stuff."
The monkey peeling the cake said, "Your mouth is too big, and you talk too much nonsense. If you had said less when the three of us were running away, we might not have had to jump off the cliff."
Shen Weijing raised an eyebrow: "A big mouth makes a lot of friends. If you didn't have a big mouth, would you have made so many friends?"
Liu Gao, holding his shield, drank wine and began to talk more.
Patting the lion's head, he said, "Great! It's a hundred times more spirited than a door panel. It could scare away half of the Japanese pirates if it went into battle."
Yan Qi chimed in, "Wake up first. The Japanese pirates haven't even retreated yet, and you're already swaying."
Liu Gao: "It won't shake!"
Laughter erupted.
The coach, holding a bowl, said, "It's not easy to sit at a table and drink together."
The monkey held up the bowl: "Stop talking nonsense, drink."
Everyone clinked glasses, the aroma of wine, meat, and cooking mingling together, and the firelight reflected smiling faces.
Everyone drank heartily, but strangely enough, Mo Qin couldn't drink alcohol because he was allergic to it!
I forced myself to drink a few glasses, then quickly ate something to calm down.
After all, rice was more important. By the time he ate the fourth bowl, the air in his chest began to swirl, as if he was digesting the alcohol.
Halfway through the drinks, a private message popped up: Wolong is from Chengdu.
"Hey Hubei guy, Shen Weijing is back alive. The Huaxia Alliance will remember this."
Mo Qin put down his wine bowl and replied, "Alright. We'll talk about it after we cross the river."
Another private message popped up:
"After crossing the river, the situation in Korea will be ten times more complicated than in Liaodong. The Japanese camp has hired more than just the two assassins from Yaikou from Paradise; the main force of the Qingliu Society has also been assembled. You need to hurry up and practice your kung fu. Pyongyang is no small matter."
Mochin silently thought to himself, "If I remember correctly, the date of the attack on Pyongyang... was the sixth day of the first lunar month, the first battle in the Korean War."
The public chat channel was in an uproar again: "They managed to recapture Shen Weijing on the Liaodong front? The Qingliu Society is truly useless!"
"Don't you know how many have died?"
"Where are you drinking your horse in Jiangnan? Come out and take a walk."
Another ID popped up: "Listen up, you clowns from the Manchurian Legacy Association! You couldn't control the Liaodong line, but you'll be even less able to control it once it crosses the river."
"Don't speak too soon. Let's wait until we get to Pyongyang and see who kneels down first."
It was all nonsense. Mo Qin glanced at it a few times and then closed the channel.
The snow has lessened a bit, and the sound of drums from the main camp can be heard from afar.
There are still more than ten days left.
We are about to cross the Yalu River with high spirits and great strides!