Xie Ming

The bright moon rose over the river at half past midnight.

On the 25th, the matter of the Anqing East Navy Inspection was hastily reviewed during the day and I will not elaborate on it. All the generals and officers returned to their camps and went to sleep.

As the night deepens, the river breeze becomes cooler.

After Wang Chuanwu finished his night patrol in the camp, he was alone, full of worries and unable to relieve them.

He paced and wandered, gradually reaching the bank of the river.

I lament the brevity of my life and envy the infinity of the Yangtze River.
At night the river roared with great waves.

Occasionally, a thin mist rises and comes with the cool breeze, making it impossible for people to guard against it.

wow——

wow——

Wang Chuanwu sighed and walked slowly along the edge.

The sound of the tide hitting the shore rises and falls, and although not very intense, it is continuous.

It came suddenly, just when Chuanwu was unprepared and sad.

A robe was draped from behind to his shoulders.

"Huh?!" The general was surprised and panicked, and turned back to check.

However, he found out that it was just Old Huang, the personal guard accompanying the army.

"Haha, it's cold at night, you shouldn't come here to catch the wind."

"If you catch a cold, your legs..."

"Oh, no, no, no."

Old Huang has been in Chuanwu's tent for a long time since he came from Beijing.

He is a kind and charitable person, and he is very good at teaching martial arts.

Chuanwu couldn't bear to let him go because of his old age, so he kept him by his side.

At the beginning of last year, after the battle in Baoding Prefecture, Chuanwu injured his legs and feet. If it weren't for Old Huang who has been taking care of him all the time, he would never have recovered so well.

These two people, on the surface, seem to be generals and soldiers, but in private, they are more like a pair of awkward father and son.

"Oh, it's so dark, how did you get out of the camp and come here?"

"I'm not cold, it's okay, you can go back quickly."

"It's dark, and your old eyes can't help."

"Go back soon, go back."

Chuanwu was very annoyed when he heard Lao Huang's nagging. He pouted and told him to go back to the camp with a cold face.

But Old Huang just smiled and followed behind without moving.

"Hey, you're still talking about me."

"You are the commander of a battalion, yet you came to the river bank at night."

"I see you are troubled."

"Come back to the camp this afternoon. Look at your droopy face."

"What?"

"But what happened to the Governor General that has offended you?!"

Old Huang was a very observant person, his heart and eyes fixed on Chuanwu. He saw that he was returning to the camp alone, listless and in a bad mood, not bothering to take care of trivial matters. He was afraid that he must have been offended during his trip during the day, which was why he was like this.

To show his concern and his martial arts-minded spirit, Yi Shu came over to ask questions alone.

"Uh, where is it?!"

"You old man, you just think about things all the time."

"Go back, go back."

"Tell me to be alone, it will be fine in a moment."

Chuanwu was feeling very depressed but he was still stubborn and unwilling to talk, showing a lot of impatience.

"Oh, you!"

"It's just that I'm too worried."

"Right now, since Commander Xiao has promised me the position of land battle vanguard, it means that he still has me in his eyes."

"After all, we have come all this way, and we are his personal soldiers."

"You know this clearly. Commander Xiao has a clear mind as well."

"But, such an important task suddenly fell on our heads. I'm sure the generals of some battalions in the army must be feeling uncomfortable."

"In front of people and behind their backs, they gossip and talk nonsense, saying whatever is good or bad to hear."

"Now that we have achieved something good, we have to endure the slander, right?"

"Let them ridicule those who are causing trouble."

"As long as we fight this battle, we can keep our composure and fight beautifully."

"After the war, we can shut them up."

"You say that's not true?" Old Huang tried to persuade him earnestly. He was clear about what was right and what was wrong, and he was also considerate of the ways of the world.

Upon hearing this, Wang Chuanwu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

What Old Huang said touched my heart.

So, instead of keeping the matter to himself, he opened up and started talking to Old Huang.

"Ugh"

"That's right."

“It’s just me.”

While he was speechless, a wave of the river tide came heavier and hit the gravel on the shore, splashing all over his boots and socks.

Wang and Huang followed each other from the front and back, and then they came side by side.

Seeing the waves were getting bigger, Lao Huang pulled Chuanwu tightly and moved two steps toward the beach.

"Oh, I'm going with the general to watch some naval parade this afternoon."

"But he just interrupted me."

"That's great. That black fellow Li Huchen is clearly targeting me and is attacking me."

"In front of Minglu, Changting and many others."

"There's really no place to put my face."

"call--"

"Originally, we snatched this vanguard general from Li Huchen."

"The general may be biased because he feels sorry for me."

"Yes, we have to be good and not act cute."

"But, but that black fellow is really going too far!"

"Old Huang, there have been huge changes in the past year. Now there are many brave generals under the general's command."

"It's not the same as it used to be."

"I, Wang Chuanwu, didn't keep up at the beginning. I'm afraid things will be difficult in the future."

The sound of waves hitting the shore and the breeze blowing at night.

Chuanwu sighed and lamented, feeling very regretful and unable to cheer up.

Seeing this boy like this, Old Huang felt distressed.

"Alas, times have changed."

"In this life, no matter who you compete with, don't compete with your own life."

"As the old saying goes, if it is destined for you, it will come true. If it is not destined for you, don't force it."

"Let's just do our best in everything."

"If we have to compete to see who's better, how will it ever end, huh?!"

After hearing this, Old Huang's face showed an expression of extreme pain and sorrow for some unknown reason.

However, at this moment, Wang Chuanwu was trapped in sorrow and resentment and had no time to care about anything else.

"Humph, you old fool, it's easy for you to say that."

"But to gain a foothold in the army, all we have to fight for is our dignity."

"You always back down, who can respect you?!"

"Military strength, strength, what exactly is considered strength?"

"It all depends on who has a stronger back and stronger arms."

"A good man will be bullied by others; a good horse will be ridden by others."

"To accomplish something, one must be a real man who has rolled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, and a tough guy."

"If I, Wang Chuanwu, want to stand out and turn the tide with these miscellaneous troops at my disposal, I must fight a tough battle."

"The general knew what I wanted, so he tampered with the lot and gave us this opportunity."

"This time, if we can't make a good show for the generals in other camps in the army, we can't afford to lose."

"Humph, I'm afraid there's no going back!"

"Old Huang, time is running out. Whether we can succeed really depends on this one battle!"

"Don't blame me for being cruel. I have selected two teams of brave warriors from the camp and will lead them to the battlefront."

"Even if one hundred or five hundred people die, we still have to fill the gap."

"As long as we can win in the end, it won't matter even if the whole battalion is wiped out."

"I am eager to make a contribution!"

"Old Huang, do you understand or not?!"

Wang Chuanwu was filled with hatred, with veins bulging on his forehead. He looked determined and unwilling to look back. (End of this chapter)