OFTLHFRO C136

Chapter 136: So Naïve?

Xue Kang and Liu Changlian led their men, together with the troops dispatched by Hu Zhongyi, to deliver a message to the Beiyue border.

That letter was shot over by Hu Zhongyi’s deputy general.

Luo Mingchen didn’t go to join the excitement. Later, Liu Changlian came back and said that man’s archery was incredible—he had nearly scared the enemy soldiers beside him into wetting their pants.

He also said that after the Beiyue general heard their words, his face turned completely green.

Li Yunde laughed. “Old Liu, your eyesight sure is something. At such a distance, you could even see his face turn green?”

Liu Changlian clicked his tongue. “Quit mocking me. Haven’t you seen that bastard before? You think he can swallow this humiliation?”

“Hahahaha! Well, that’s true.”

Once they had their fill of amusement, Huo Yan finally said: “Even if they agree to send supplies over, we cannot let down our guard.”

Everyone grew serious. “Yes!”

News of the victory spread to Bing City.

Wu Qing, who had just finished the seven-day antidote course and recovered his strength after another three or four days, was dumbfounded.

“What? Beiyue attacked Han City and lost?”

One had to know that Beiyue’s soldiers and warhorses were far superior to theirs. Ten thousand men of Beiyue were on a completely different level than ten thousand of theirs—and this had even been a surprise night raid.

Yet what had he just heard?

Han City won?

They had won without his support?

The soldier reporting said: “General, this is absolutely true! They even captured Beiyue’s great general, and now say Beiyue must bring goods to ransom him!”

Wu Qing, who had been about to finish writing a report, fell into silence.

Huo Yan had only just arrived and already won a battle, even capturing Beiyue’s great general. Even if he reported the things Huo Yan and Hu Zhongyi had done in Bing City, the emperor would not side with him.

More importantly, he hadn’t even been part of it…

Thinking of this, Wu Qing’s expression turned sour.

Yet what he never expected was that in the afternoon, Huo Yan actually sent a message over, asking him to bring men to Han City the next morning to demand ransom together at the Beiyue border.

This steadied Wu Qing quite a bit, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Huo Yan doing this meant he wasn’t excluding him. Before the emperor, this would also serve as an explanation.

But… why would Huo Yan do this?

Wu Qing pondered for a while, concluding that Huo Yan must be afraid that one day he might need his help, and so he was deliberately showing weakness now.

Realizing this, Wu Qing puffed himself up again.

—Han City.

Hu Zhongyi strode into the Huo family army’s camp and, upon finding Huo Yan, said directly: “Why did you let that dog Wu Qing come along? We should seize this chance to denounce him properly before His Majesty.”

Huo Yan replied unhurriedly: “And then? Will His Majesty replace Wu Qing?”

These words cooled Hu Zhongyi’s anger, and his tone grew calmer. “Still, we can’t let him take the credit for nothing.”

“It’s just a few mentions of his name. Tomorrow, with General Wu bringing more men over, it will work in our favor.”

Huo Yan didn’t care about these details. He countered: “Would having or not having this credit change anything?”

Hu Zhongyi frowned. “At the very least, it would let His Majesty know Wu Qing’s true conduct, ruining his impression in His Majesty’s eyes.”

“Is the great general really this naïve?”

Coming from Huo Yan’s mouth, the words made Hu Zhongyi feel like a child.

“What Wu Qing has done—does His Majesty not already know very well? Since he has chosen to keep Wu Qing, it means His Majesty still needs him, or rather, the strength of his family. If we cling to Wu Qing’s faults and won’t let go, the one whose image suffers will be us. We’ve only just won a single battle, and already we band together to squeeze out General Wu. How do you expect His Majesty to see that?”

Hu Zhongyi fell into thought.

Huo Yan continued: “His Majesty will think we’re arrogant from our merits, forming factions. If, in the future, we draw closer to some prince, the first to be eliminated will not be Wu Qing—it will definitely be us.”

Ah, this…

Hu Zhongyi was fully sobered, his expression grave as he sighed: “General Huo speaks reason. I was rash.”

“I can understand General Hu’s feelings. But now the most important thing is to steady General Wu. I still want to build roads and plant grain. If General Wu stubbornly refuses to cooperate, then the ones who will suffer through the harsh winter are the people of Bing City. Is that something General Hu wishes to see? Or are we supposed to go save the Bing City people again then? How will the hard-working people of Han City who till the land see it?”

“So that’s how it is…”

Hu Zhongyi straightened out Huo Yan’s meaning and said meaningfully: “General Huo is much easier to deal with than Great General Huo.”

In the past, whenever he spoke with Huo Yuntao, the man would neither state his position nor say much, leaving him to keep guessing. It was very vexing.

Now with Huo Yan, not only was everything arranged clearly, he even explained why he acted so.

If it were Huo Yuntao, Hu Zhongyi could already imagine him saying—“General Wu is our colleague.”

Hearing this, Huo Yan merely smiled faintly.

“Brother Huo, tell me honestly—what kind of crops are we going to plant? It’s not easy to grow things here.”

At that, Huo Yan thought for a moment and said: “If General Hu would trouble himself to come with me.”

“Oh?”

Hu Zhongyi followed Huo Yan with interest back to the estate. In one corner of the courtyard, he saw Luo Mingchen with his sleeves rolled up, busy at work with something.

Seeing Luo Mingchen, Huo Yan quickened his steps, his eyes softening. “Mingchen.”

“Mm?”

Luo Mingchen turned his head. Seeing Huo Yan had brought Hu Zhongyi, he asked: “Weren’t you in a meeting? Why bring General Hu here?”

Suppressing a smile, Huo Yan took out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt from Luo Mingchen’s face. “After we finished our discussion, General Hu spoke to me about General Wu. I wanted to bring him to see our results.”

“Oh.”

Luo Mingchen rubbed at his face with his sleeve, then grinned at Hu Zhongyi. “General Hu, come over here and have a look. I just finished transplanting them.”

Hu Zhongyi leaned closer. When he saw the patch of green inside the vegetable shed, he was dumbfounded. The cabbages had already grown as big as fists.

“This… how did you manage this?”

Luo Mingchen blinked. “An ancestral secret recipe.”

Immersed in his joy, Hu Zhongyi didn’t think much more. “Even in this weather they can grow—then the people are truly blessed!”

He could already see a future of ample food and clothing.

The two husbands exchanged a look.

It was clear that Hu Zhongyi genuinely cared for his country and people, and was easy to persuade. As long as they showed him this, he would not only refrain from hindering them from planting grain but would even give his full support.

Thinking of this, Luo Mingchen felt grateful that Hu Zhongyi was not like Wu Qing. Otherwise, they would have been forced to hold back in everything they did.

Luo Mingchen thought, since they had come to Han City, they likely wouldn’t return in three or four years. They might as well develop it properly here, making life more comfortable.

Besides, life in Han City was better than in the capital.

In the capital, there were too many people, too much gossip, and one could easily offend someone without even realizing it. The rules were endless.

Here in Han City, sending out a message took a whole month, or at least half a month with fast horses riding day and night. Unlike in the capital, where whatever you did today would be in the emperor’s ears by tomorrow.