Chapter 1298 - 319: Bad News (Part 5)

Chapter 1298: Chapter 319: Bad News (Part 5)

When they arrived at the Central Army King’s Tent, Lord Zheng only then discovered that he was considered late.

As per the usual custom,

the military meeting with Prince Jingnan typically started with everyone having a meal first.

The food was not elaborate; after all, this wasn’t a victory banquet—just some crusty pancakes with sauces and vegetable soup.

The generals of the Yan and Jin present were all above the rank of commander. In their respective camps, they were the masters whose word carried weight, yet here they squatted on the ground like old farmers in the field, eating pancakes and soup, and grinning with exposed teeth when they saw acquaintances.

When Lord Zheng arrived, he immediately attracted a lot of attention. Many people came up of their own accord to greet him.

This is what reputation is.

The use of reputation is to make those lower than you naturally look up to you, and to make those on the same level have no choice but to respect you.

Younger people regard you as a leader, while older people feel embarrassed to flaunt their age in front of you and instead carefully hope that you might support their young relatives in the future.

Lord Zheng greeted everyone with a bow and said:

"I, Zheng, am not talented and have written some essentials on siege methods and precautions—not to show off or seek attention, but because our Yan Army has always been good at field battles but weak at sieges, so forgive any laughter you may have."

There are two ways to offend people and easily end up friendless:

One is to boast about how well you’re doing in front of others;

The other is to display your strengths and specialties in front of others.

Therefore, some humble words must be said first; otherwise, after distributing these booklets, there’s no telling what might be said behind your back.

At this moment, Li Fusheng, who squatted in the innermost part eating pancakes, heard and shouted:

"Brother Zheng, no need for politeness here! Everyone present has fought their way through battlefields and understands the principle that one incompetent general can endanger the entire army.

You, Brother Zheng, have received true teachings from our Prince, and you’ve also compiled the ’Zheng Zi Art of War’; I respect your ability in warfare.

Come, come, give me a copy."

With that, Li Fusheng clapped his hands, stepped forward, took a booklet, held it up, and said:

"Everyone, aren’t the men under your banners precious? They’ve all fought by your side from the battlefield. With this booklet, it might save some unnecessary blood from being shed by our men.

Moreover, I’ve witnessed Brother Zheng’s siege skills firsthand, and there’s no denying it. To say something you might not like to hear, in the past, in warfare, apart from the Prince of Zhenbei and our Prince here,

I never respected anyone else, but now there’s another one—I respect him!

Don’t just stand there, come get your copies. What do scholars like to say... a word of advice? Ha-ha, we soldiers don’t indulge in such sour talk, let’s say we owe him a drink under the red tents after the battle is won!"

The generals immediately swarmed over to start taking the booklets, each thanking in turn.

At that moment, the King’s Tent was lifted, and a personal guard announced:

"The Prince commands all generals to enter the tent."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

......

Meanwhile,

at a very far distance from eastern Jin, within the city of Liang Town in the three borders of Qian State.

An urgent letter from Chen Town was delivered, with the messenger carrying a multicolored banner which signified military urgency of the highest order, allowing them to ride swiftly into the city after the gates were opened in advance.

Eventually,

the letter landed on the desk of Yao Zizhan, the governor of the three borders of Qian State.

At the time, Yao Zizhan was teaching in the back courtyard of the government office;

He was indeed teaching,

with students ranging from those newly enlightened to those in their early adulthood.

This governor of the three borders of Qian State, shortly after taking office, established a private school.

All his students were children of military officers from the three borders of Qian State.

Even though the government began to elevate military leaders’ status, how could the societal and official customs, which favored civil over military virtues, change overnight in Qian State?

Even the Emperor cannot change people’s inherent worldview instantly.

Thus, being accepted as a student of Master Yao was considered a great honor, and it would shine brightly on one’s career path.

For scholars, this was the case, and for the children of military officers, whose status and ranks were generally much lower, it naturally incited envy and fervor.

Yao Zizhan knew he wasn’t versed in military affairs, so as governor of three borders, he never intervened in military matters.

Regarding military intelligence and affairs, he would send someone to ask Old Minister Zhong for advice, and Yang Grand Commandant, shortly after returning to court, was also appointed as Prefect of Shu Prefecture, which was very close to the three borders, and he occasionally helped with strategic advice.

Yao Zizhan focused on teaching, assimilating hearts and minds, bringing the generals of the three borders to submission, and at the same time, sorting out and resolving their conflicts.

In essence, what he did was no different from what Lord Zheng did at Snow Sea Pass—letting professionals handle professional matters.

Since taking office, the ethos of the three borders of Qian State had been significantly rectified, and he had indeed done very well.

A servant came to report an urgent military situation, and Yao Zizhan hastened back to his office without even having time to change clothes.

Upon tearing open the envelope,

and after glancing at the extremely brief content,

Yao Zizhan was struck as if by lightning,

stumbling backward,

he fell into the armchair behind him, his face deathly pale,

and shouted loudly:

"The heavens do not bless my Qian State, the heavens do not protect my Qian State!"

——————

This is not deliberately leaving the story hanging; to set up the long Chapter for tomorrow, leaving some suspense is more appropriate.

The courses ended yesterday, but this morning there was a graduation ceremony, which took up half a day.

At the beginning of the month, I said I would update 300,000 words this month. Taking a look, with this Chapter, there have been 295,000 words updated this month due to having courses for half a month, which indeed affected my energy and time for writing.

Next month, the goal is still 300,000 words, and I will make up for what was lacking this month.

Just as the recent buildup is almost sufficient, the courses are over, and tomorrow marks a new month, working hard on writing!