knife

Chapter 41 Deliberately making things difficult
Zhang Ruo and his group experienced firsthand the high prices in Zhenwu City.

It was a very ordinary inn with three barely enough rooms. Instead of charging per room, it charged per person, one tael of silver per person per day. It claimed to include meals, but there were only two meals a day, and the quality of the food was just enough to fill you up; don't expect anything else. Every day consisted basically of millet porridge, cornbread, flatbread, and pickled vegetables. In the evening, there would be a bowl of meat soup with a few drops of oil floating on top.

Want more meat and fish? That's fine too, just pay extra.

The people of Zhenwu City rip off tourists from other places because they are united in their hatred of the enemy.

Moreover, Zhenwu City is Linghu Ye's headquarters and an unavoidable place for all outsiders.

Therefore, people from other places will not stay here unless absolutely necessary. Even if they have a reason to come, they will finish their business quickly and leave promptly.

Zhang Ruo, the Yuan Rong and Yuan Tong brothers, plus Wu De and his three remaining men, a total of seven people, would need seven taels of silver a day just to maintain the most basic survival.

While it may not be considered an exorbitant price, it is certainly extremely expensive.

Even in Chang'an, staying at an inn with meals included would cost less than one or two taels of silver per person.

The problem is that I don't know when these days will end.

On the first day of entering Zhenwu City, Wu De immediately took Zhang Ruo to the headquarters to deliver a letter. He thought that as long as the other party accepted the letter, took Zhang Ruo, the prisoner he was escorting, and gave him a reply, he could go home. If he was fast enough, he could even reunite with his family during the New Year.

However, although the other party did accept the documents, after looking Zhang Ruo up and down, they did not take away the person in charge, but told them to go back and wait for news. As for the documents that Wu De wanted, they were nowhere to be found.

Without a reply, Wu De's task was not considered complete, and he could only wait.

As for reasoning with the other party, Wu De really didn't dare to.

Don't be fooled by the other party's polite manner; this is the headquarters of the warlord, and the military officer who came out to see him is a proper fifth-rank official, much higher in rank than Wu De.

Once I reached the area beyond the Great Wall, I had some dealings with the soldiers there, and not one of them was reasonable. One moment they would be all smiles and calling you brother, and the next they could be pulling out a knife and yelling at you.

They stayed for more than ten days. If it weren't for the presence of two powerful figures in the martial arts world, Yuan Rong and Yuan Tong, Wu De and Zhang Ruo would probably have been kicked out and forced to wander the streets.

Zhenwu City is a military city, and almost everything here is inextricably linked to the army.

For example, in the inn where they stayed, there was a wooden frame shaped like a human in the lobby, with a suit of iron armor hanging on it and a horse-slaying sword standing next to it.

The waiter proudly introduced that this belonged to their manager.

This surprised Zhang Ruo and the others. Could it be that the old guy who leaned on a cane and dozed off behind the counter all day had actually made great contributions on the battlefield?

It's not uncommon for someone to take weapons with them when they retire from the military, but to take a full set of armor means they must have made a great contribution.

Judging from the style of the armor, it should be a military officer of the rank of Colonel Xuanjie, a mere eighth-rank officer, which can only be considered a low-ranking officer.

It is indeed something to be proud of that such a low-ranking officer could achieve such a great feat.

In Zhenwu City, even a dragon has to coil up, and a tiger has to cower. An ordinary old man selling vegetables outside can command the wind and rain. If you dare to bully him, he can shout and the whole street might come after you.

Therefore, being low-key and honest is the right way for outsiders to survive here.

Wu De now looked worried. It was obvious that the headquarters was deliberately making things difficult for him.

“Starting tomorrow, I will stand outside the headquarters every day and wait!” Zhang Ruo was also stubborn. “Linghu Ye is capable, so he has never seen me.”

"How can anyone stand outside in this kind of weather?" Wu De said.

“That’s exactly right!” Zhang Ru sneered. “If Linghu Ye doesn’t want to see me freeze to death outside the headquarters, then he has to give me an explanation, instead of leaving me hanging like this. Don’t worry, Wu Tixing, it won’t be long before you can set off for home.”

Wu De was speechless, having no other options, so he had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

Zhang Ruo turned to look at the Yuan brothers: "You two, do you really want to join the army? Even if you want to serve the country, you can go back to the pass. The garrison commander of Yangguan is a good friend of mine. I will write you a letter and you can go there. Why get involved in this mess outside the pass?"

The Yuan brothers are both skilled martial artists, and Zhang Ru really doesn't want them to serve Linghu Ye in the future; that would be aiding and abetting a tyrant!
Yuan Rong shook his head and said, "Scholar, what's the point of joining the army inside the pass? The army inside the pass spends most of its time suppressing those poor people. My brother and I are江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial world), and we really don't want to swing our swords at those poor people. And what battles are there to fight in Yangguan? It's much more exciting outside the pass, where we're killing those barbarians and savages. Every one we kill brings a bit more peace to the border of our Great Qin, and that's what gives us a sense of accomplishment! We want to join the army not to try and get some kind of title or wealth, but simply to slaughter those barbarians."

After that battle, these two men's sense of national pride and patriotism surged. Now they are single-mindedly devoted to being true heroes, serving their country and its people, and they no longer care about the entanglements of their past in the martial arts world.

Zhang Ruo was helpless; he knew that what Yuan Rong's brothers said was not untrue!

“If you really want to join the army, why not join Xiao Changche? Xiao Changche is a true general!” Zhang Ruo recalled Li Dachui’s words. Such a talent would be better off in Xiao Changche’s hands than in Linghu Ye’s.

"As long as we can kill barbarians, it doesn't matter who we side with!" Yuan Rong laughed. "I've also asked the soldiers I know about the passersby who come to Zhenwu City. With our cultivation levels, we brothers can get a sixth-rank Zhaowu Colonel as soon as we enlist. Although we won't have any real positions and will mostly serve as the general's personal guards, as long as we participate in more battles, we have a great chance to become front-line commanding generals!"

“If you really want to fight the barbarians, then go and join Xiao Changche. Didn’t that Li Dachui say that Xiao Changche has fought the most battles with the Northern Yuan in the entire area outside the Great Wall? Moreover, he is sworn to be at odds with the Northern Yuan. If you two join him, you will definitely have plenty of opportunities to make contributions! And he won’t erase your achievements. But here, it’s hard to say. You have no background in the army, so it’s hard to say that you won’t be plotted against.”

The Yuan brothers nodded. No matter where you are, if you want to get ahead, you either need to be capable, have some connections, or have both.

Those who have nothing might be able to make a living inside the Great Wall, but in a place like outside the Great Wall, they would probably be devoured and left with nothing in just three to five days.

"Once you've settled in, Scholar, we brothers will go find Xiao Changche," Yuan Rong said with a smile. "I don't think he'd look down on us. It's just that he's still quite young, while we're all quite old. It would be a bit embarrassing for us to serve as his personal guards!"

"Learning has no order of precedence; those who are accomplished are teachers!" Zhang Ruo said, "Xiao Changche is indeed young, but he earned his current position through hard work and dedication. Since joining the army at the age of sixteen with a hundred soldiers from various families, he has participated in more than a hundred battles, large and small, over the past ten years. From an eighth-rank Xuanwu Colonel to his current third-rank Chariot Cavalry, the merits he has accumulated through countless bloody battles are highly valued even by the court in Chang'an."

“Scholar, forgive my bluntness, but at first, General Xiao did indeed rise through the ranks based on his military achievements. However, after he began to distinguish himself, I’m afraid the court had other intentions. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to become a General of Chariots and Cavalry at the tender age of twenty-five!” Wu De, who was more familiar with officialdom, whispered from the side.

Zhang Ruo paused for a moment and said, "Although there is some connection involved, ultimately it is his own hard work that has made him successful."

"The court's strategy of sowing discord is indeed simple and straightforward, but does Linghu Ye truly not understand it?" Wu De asked, "Or does he not care?"

Zhang Ru sneered: "The strategy of 'Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors' and 'The Edict of Grace'—which of these famous strategies recorded in history wasn't proposed openly and honestly? But so what? They still all fell into the trap. The so-called 'open strategy' means you clearly know the other party's intentions, but you are powerless to stop them. What can Linghu Ye do if he knows? What can Xiao Changche do if he knows? The two will still harbor resentment towards each other."

In a few words, the conversation turned to some heavy topics. But it's hard to avoid such topics when you're in the remote area, especially for people like them.

Seeing the somewhat somber atmosphere in the room, Yuan Rong stood up with a smile: "Scholar, please rest first. I'll go to the street to buy some wine and meat, and we can have a few drinks together tonight. These past few days, my mouth has been so bland it's practically tasteless."

"This will be quite a burden for you, Brother Yuan," Wu Dexi said. "I'm penniless right now, so I can only repay you after I return to Chang'an. But Brother Yuan has decided to develop his career beyond the Great Wall, so who knows when we'll meet again!"

“We’ll meet again if fate allows. The prices in Zhenwu City are indeed surprising, but we brothers still have some savings, so we won’t go broke from eating.” Yuan Rong said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)