Chapter 1288 - 317: The Army Sets Out (Part 3)

Chapter 1288: Chapter 317: The Army Sets Out (Part 3)

The county magistrate read out the "imperial edict" in a refined manner,

but in all honesty, nobody understood the first half; they only comprehended the main part at the end.

His Majesty,

is going to declare war on the Chu Slaves!

Inside the county office, everyone immediately erupted into cheers.

Guo Dong watched the celebrating crowd, watched his exceedingly excited father, and felt a bit lost. The last time he saw everyone so happy was three years ago when the city defenders spotted their own Black Armor cavalry in the distance.

He didn’t understand why everyone was so thrilled. Was war really something to be happy about?

Guo Dong didn’t like war because every day, seeing his injured Second Prince, he would fear the weapons kept at home, viewing them no differently than he did the tombs in the wild graveyard outside the city walls.

Recently, news from the capital had been passed over.

The Chu people sent assassins with the intention to kill His Majesty, but the Third Prince sacrificed himself to save his father, allowing His Majesty to remain unharmed.

Guo Dong remembered that day well; his father was furious and spent an entire hour at dinner cursing the reckless and ignorant Chu Slaves!

Yet,

Guo Dong knew that his father had never been to Chu State in his lifetime.

Guo Dong didn’t feel angered by this matter because he heard others say that three years ago on the city walls, his own older brother died under a Jin soldier’s blade in order to save his father.

Now, Guo Dong was already accustomed to living without his older brother, so he felt that His Majesty should also grow accustomed to living without the Third Prince.

Guo Dong had never shared this thought with anyone, not even his own father, because he knew that such thoughts were quite heretical.

Inside the county office, the magistrate was continuously shouting, informing everyone about the situation Yan State was about to face.

The Chu people and the Qian people had already made a pact to attack Yan State together in a few years.

Therefore, now, we must attack Chu State!

Guo Dong had encountered some merchant caravans passing through Guxian and knew one thing: Qian State was not far from Guxian; crossing Yinlang County would put one into Qian State’s territory.

But Chu State was very, very far from Guxian and required one to cross the entire Jin State.

Guo Dong really wanted to ask the magistrate why His Majesty wasn’t attacking Qian State but instead Chu State, but he still did not dare to.

A long time ago, his father mentioned that unlike his two older brothers, Guo Dong was too timid, too cowardly.

After the magistrate finished speaking,

Guo Dong saw his father, Guo Dayong, step forward and face everyone,

His father shouted,

"Folks!"

Everyone around Guo Dong shouted in response:

"Yes!"

Guo Dong joined the shout too; he always felt strongly that when his father faced the crowd, his gaze would especially focus on him, so he didn’t dare not to shout.

"Three years ago, have you thrown away the skill to kill the Jin dogs?"

"No!"

"Not at all!"

"Have you forgotten the spirit of the people of Guxian?"

"No!"

"Not at all!"

"The Imperial Edict has come down, kill the Chu Slaves, avenge the Third Prince, avenge His Majesty!"

"Avenge!"

"Avenge!"

Guo Dong didn’t know why his father’s few words could stir the villagers so much.

He didn’t want to leave home; he didn’t want to leave his mother or Miss A-shui, whose marriage talk across the street was almost settled.

Originally, Miss A-shui’s family was in very good condition, her father ran a cloth shop in the city, but three years ago, when the Jin people invaded, her father was out delivering goods and was killed by the Jin, leaving both him and the goods gone, causing Miss A-shui’s family to fall.

And since his father became a centurion in the mountain camp, the two families, once thought to have no hope of uniting, surprisingly now had hope of a marriage.

Miss A-shui was incredibly attractive, different from ordinary girls.

Every night,

Guo Dong lay in bed feeling restless, occasionally patting the empty space beside him and showing a silly smile.

He didn’t want to go to war!

But his father put his older brother’s mended leather armor on him.

The mended place was the very wound where his older brother was fatally stabbed.

And so,

under the command of the Guxian County Captain, the whole county town of Guxian and the surrounding areas, a total force of fifteen hundred able-bodied men, set out on their march.

Although Father Guo Dayong was still a centurion, he was highly regarded by the county captain, almost like being a rank beneath one person but above fifteen hundred others in the team.

After passing the mountain range of Horse Hoof Mountain,

entering Jin land,

the troop began to merge with others, growing larger and larger.

By the time they reached the area near Li Tian City, more Jin people were joining them, some were peasants, others auxiliary soldiers.

Guo Dong wasn’t clear if the force from his hometown in Guxian was considered auxiliary soldiers or peasants; he didn’t ask his father because likely, his father didn’t know either.

But, Jin land is indeed vast; he had been marching for a long time.

...

Outside Ying Capital City.

Hui An lost his parents in the wild people rebellion two years ago and became an orphan.

However, he was luckier than most orphans, as he was already fifteen when he became one.

Therefore, he could still manage to survive, not feeling particularly pitiful about himself.

During the wild people rebellion, many refugees gathered in Ying Capital City, and after the chaos subsided, the refugees in Ying Capital City did not significantly decrease.

Because Ying Capital City is now a transit hub for military supplies across the whole eastern Jin, commerce is thriving, daily requiring many laborers.

Hui An acknowledged a labor leader as his godfather and worked under him.

By working hard each day, at least he could ensure he had enough to eat and drink.

A few months ago, military forces suddenly entered Ying Capital City, killing many and confiscating numerous properties. It was said to be done by the troops commanded by Lord Pingye of the Yan people.