Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

"The Northern Barbarians are now lawless and have plundered and slaughtered our Daning border without reason, angering the Emperor. We are immediately ordering a crusade against them. We are now recruiting dozens of military doctors. The Northern Expedition will march out soon. Doctors who see this notice must report to the military camp immediately. Anyone who violates this order will be severely punished upon discovery!"

The succession of dynasties throughout the ages seems to follow an invisible yet magical law.

That is, in the end, most rulers lost their country due to their incompetence, debauchery and tyranny.

The third old Khan of Di State was one of them. He was addicted to wine and sex all day long and ignored the affairs of state. He died suddenly on the dragon bed due to impotence twenty years ago. It was said that it was caused by taking too much Shengyang Pills.

The country has been in constant turmoil, divided into many factions, and with various ethnic groups exercising their own power.

Among them, the Chishuo and Danba tribes, mainly in the east and west of the grassland, were the most powerful, followed by Zuoyan.

Daning is a vast country with rich resources.

These Di people suffered heavy losses in their internal fighting and turned their attention to the Central Plains.

Daning sent troops to fight against them for many years, and they were quiet for a while.

The tribes had no choice but to form an alliance and send envoys to sign a peace agreement with Daning. They paid taxes and tributes to the Central Plains every year, and could engage in reciprocal trade, and their lives were relatively stable.

After years of recuperation, the Di tribe became increasingly powerful and was reluctant to submit.

Horseback archery is the strong point of nomadic peoples, but they are afraid of the strong military force of Daning and can only operate in the border areas.

In recent years, these nomadic cavalry have been killing and looting on the border from time to time, causing great suffering to the common people, who are terrified of the Di people.

Many young men whose entire families were killed joined the army and vowed to seek revenge, while those with elderly and young children in their families mostly moved away from the border to the inner city to make a living.

Speaking of the inner city, although there are wars every three years, a small one and every five years, it is much better than the border city, where those who are in it will die of drought or flood.

The local garrisons were mostly young soldiers who were fed by the emperor and could not play a big role against these guerrilla cavalry. For this reason, the imperial court would send troops to attack every few years.

"What does this notice say?"

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

"Is there anyone who can read please come out and take a look."

The people gathered around the notice wall and talked in low voices.

At this time, an old man wearing a simple long gown, with extraordinary aura and looking like a Taoist priest stood out.

His temples were streaked with white hair, and he was holding a banner with the words "divination and fortune-telling" in his hand, which was very eye-catching. He glanced at the notice.

"We're going to war with the Northern Di. The court doesn't have enough military doctors. It says they're recruiting them. I heard they've been recruiting from the public every year, and this year it's Yongzhou's turn."

"Ah? There's going to be another war!" The people were immediately in an uproar.

"This city is mostly populated by the elderly, the weak, women, and children, as well as the disabled and ruffians. Where can we find any military doctors to recruit?"

"These damned Di people have destroyed our family and killed both of my sons. May the Buddha bless us and send a great general to destroy them all."

The old man wiped his graying beard and responded.

"I heard that the commander of this force is none other than the young general who conquered the Zuoyan tribe three years ago, who also took the head of the eldest son of the Chishuo tribe and quelled the rebellion in southern Xinjiang a few years ago."

"This general is young, but his achievements are remarkable. He was already granted the title of Marquis of Dingbei at such a young age. The Daning Dynasty has seen its share of military leaders decline. Now, having such an outstanding figure emerge as the heir to the Duke of Wei is truly a great blessing for our dynasty."

"I know Marquis Dingbei." A middle-aged man dressed in jewels came out to answer.

"Three years ago, I had the honor of meeting him. Back then, the caravan I was leading was returning through Guangyang Pass when it was robbed by Di people and bandits. We happened to run into an army, and a young general, wielding a long sword, galloped out on his horse and chopped off the bandit leader's head with one blow, splattering blood right there."

"At that time, I didn't know who he was. I only knew that he was extremely tall, about eight feet six inches, and the long sword in his hand was even more astonishing, more than ten feet long."

"I've been in business for many years and have met countless people, but this is the first time I've seen such a remarkable person. Later, when I came back and asked around, I found out that it was because I met the new noble of the dynasty, Marquis Dingbei, who was returning to the capital from the Northern Expedition. That's how I was able to survive. The theft of my goods was the least of my worries; many of my brothers died."

He stroked the yellow jade ring on his thumb and continued.

"I also heard that because he is stronger than ordinary people, everyone in the military calls him the God of War of the Northwest."

The common people were talking one after another, each expressing their dissatisfaction.

While they were discussing, a skinny man who looked like a scoundrel squeezed into the crowd with his hands clasped in his sleeves and his shoulders hunched.

He took a quick look at the fortune-telling flag and walked forward to pull the person away without saying a word.

"Old Taoist, let's go and count it as one for me."

Before the Taoist priest could react, he grabbed the man's arm and walked out of the crowd with his head down, muttering to himself.

"Damn it, is this a ghost of bad luck? I don't believe it. I have to settle it today and make up for the money I lost no matter what..."

Before he could utter the word "come back", he bumped into the chest of a tall man wearing white clothes and a conical hat.

This man has an elegant demeanor and extraordinary aura, as if he is a disciple from some fairy mountain or spiritual temple who has come down to earth.

The strong impact caused his shoulder to tilt half a degree backward, and his companion beside him immediately scolded him.

"Hey, how do you walk? Don't you have eyes?"

The skinny man covered his forehead with his hands, and the words "possessed by an unlucky ghost" suddenly flashed through his mind.

He immediately became furious, and before he could even see who was coming, he started cursing at the white chest in front of him with foam flying at the mouth.

"Who the hell is so blind as to bump into me?"

After cursing, he suddenly raised his head and saw the man in white and the man in dark blue next to him staring at him gloomily.

Seeing the black and white, he immediately uttered a frightened question, "Black and White Impermanence?"

"Hey, who do you say is the Black and White Impermanence?"

The noise attracted a crowd of onlookers who pointed and talked.

The man in dark blue didn't intend to let him go either. He grabbed the skinny man's collar and was about to beat him, but was stopped in time by the man in white.

"Lao Su, forget it, business is more important."

Su Chengfeng was also a martial artist who was eight feet tall. Even if there were ten of these skinny guys, they would not be enough for him to break.

The skinny man was so scared that he bent his back and kowtowed, begging for mercy.

"Yes, yes... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you. I beg you two young men to spare my life."

After hearing what the person next to him said, Su Chengfeng shook off his clothes, patted his chest with his backhand, and snorted.

"You're a jerk, yet you're trying to be a bully? You're lucky today. If I see you being a bully again, I'll break you in two. Get lost."

The skinny man was very sensible and left quickly. There was no need for fortune-telling.

The old Taoist smiled slightly and said nothing. He glanced at the two of them and left.

Su Chengfeng looked in the direction of the old Taoist's back, wondering what he was thinking.

A moment.

When he turned around, the person next to him had already walked a dozen feet away, and he shouted in a slightly higher voice.

"Ziqing, wait for me."

He was tall and strong, and walked fast. He walked to Lu Ziqing's side in just two or three steps and thought about their serious business.

"How do you think you're going to mix..."

Halfway through his words, Fang noticed that there were many people talking on the street, so he lowered his voice.

"Have you figured out a way to get into the palace?"

Lu Ziqing looked at the crowd in front of him and turned his head slightly back.

"Isn't it written on the notice?"

"List?" Su Chengfeng was stunned, then immediately remembered, "You mean... military doctor?"

"What else? With my status, this is my only chance to enter the palace."

For a rural itinerant doctor, with no background and no recommendation, it would be harder than climbing to the sky to enter the palace legally.

There is no better solution right now than to enlist as a military doctor.

There is nothing wrong with this, but the only thing that worries people is that military doctors are supposed to accompany the army to fight in battles, and they are not imperial physicians who treat princes and ministers.

He traveled thousands of miles and went all the way around. What if he went to see his ancestors early before entering the palace?

Thinking of this, Su Chengfeng felt a little worried.

"We're going to war with the army, so you've got to think it through. We already took a detour by changing our route to Yongzhou, so why go the extra mile now? Can we think of another way?"

Lu Ziqing turned his head and looked at him with an expression of "What do you think?", and counted calmly.

"Doctor, we have no status and are not qualified to participate in the assessment. Naturally, we are not allowed to serve in the palace."

"The court officials recommended us. You and I are just common folk and no one knows us."

"The Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards are not eligible for selection, but..."

Lu Ziqing raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "There is another way."

"What kind?"